When Chu Chen put the bottle back, Zhou Daya hurriedly asked, "Boss Chu, what do you think of it?"
Chu Chen smiled and said, "Not bad. What's the price?"
Zhou Daya said with a beaming smile, "Boss Chu, since you want it, and Old Wu and I are old acquaintances, I'll let you have it for eighty thousand."
Old Wu said, "Daya, since we're old acquaintances, eighty thousand is a bit too high. I'll give you a fair price."
Zhou Daya shook his head. "Old Wu, when have I ever not given you my lowest price? Besides, since Boss Chu wants it, would I really quote him an inflated price?"
"After all, it's a blue-and-white piece with Peacock Blue Glaze from the Jiajing period. I'll take it for forty thousand."
Chu Chen did not believe that the other man would deliberately offer a low price because of him. Besides, most people in the antiques business were not only seasoned storytellers, but also highly skilled performing artists when it came to talking up a deal.
If you spent a few years in the collecting world, you would certainly hear many stories about antiques, each more novel and miraculous than the last. If you were observant, you could record them all and compile a book called A Collection of Stories.
That was why Chu Chen would never believe that Zhou Daya gave Old Wu the lowest price every time.
"No, no! Forty thousand is far too low." Zhou Daya firmly rejected the price. "Let's not haggle anymore. How about sixty thousand?"
"Sixty thousand is far too high..."
After a round of bargaining, they finally settled the deal at fifty-one thousand yuan. Chu Chen was not entirely satisfied with the price, but fine Peacock Blue Glaze blue-and-white pieces like this were relatively rare,