Playing the Fool to Catch the Tiger

Elder Chu studied Zhang Yang. The young man had been mocked in public, subjected to personal attacks, and even told that his wife should divorce him. Yet he remained remarkably calm, as though they were talking about someone else.

Staying calm in the face of such insults was no ordinary feat. The young man had hidden his abilities well. He was playing the fool to catch the tiger.

Ling Junsheng examined the white jade hairpin for a long time, his brow furrowing and relaxing again and again. Still unable to reach a conclusion, he held out his hand to Chu Yaotian.

"Elder Chu, may I borrow your magnifying glass?"

After getting it from Chu Yaotian, Ling Junsheng aimed it straight at the butterfly's wings on the hairpin—the same spot Chu Yaotian had examined earlier. Clearly, that was where the secret lay.

"Elder Chu, you do like to joke. For one thing, this is a white jade hairpin from the Han dynasty. Its historical value alone is considerable. And the craftsmanship is no worse than that of the tiny boat described in The Story of the Stone Boat."

Though Ling Junsheng had pointed out where the secret lay, he still held back the answer. Elder Chu had done the same to test Zhang Yang and see whether he had spotted it.

"Exactly. The moment I held this hairpin, I noticed something unusual about the wings. Under a magnifying glass, the details became clear: incredibly fine lines, landscapes too small to see with the naked eye, and even an inscribed poem. It would be difficult to create such a work of art today, even with magnifying tools."

Zhang Yang was grateful to Chu Yaotian and Ling Junsheng. Neither had revealed the secret. They had left him the chance to vindicate himself before everyone.

"So if Elder Chu wants it, he'll have to ask my mother-in-law to sell it to him. And the price is still up for discussion," Zhang Yang said with a grin.

Zhang Yang really had paid only five hundred thousand for the white jade hairpin, but Wu Daorong had given him a friend's price. Even Wu Daorong had misjudged the piece. Selling it to Zhang Yang at its original price was the cost of that lesson.

Everyone was astonished. Did Zhang Yang truly know his stuff, or was he bluffing? They waited for Elder Chu and Boss Ling to confirm it.

"Young Zhang, you're quite something. You didn't simply stumble onto a bargain. You saw what was special about it from the start." Elder Chu was stunned. Zhang Yang really had been hiding his abilities.

"You flatter me!"

Zhang Yang smiled and glanced at his eldest sister-in-law and her husband. Both looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Elder Chu, you ought to give us an appraisal!" Ling Juntian said respectfully. Before Elder Chu, he was still a junior without the standing to make the call.

Ling Juntian found it amusing. He had come for a birthday banquet, but it felt as though he had wandered into an antiques market to appraise treasures.

The guests stopped whispering and fell silent, eager to hear Elder Chu's verdict.

"This is the first white jade hairpin of its kind I've seen. Its finest feature is hidden away, so it's easy to overlook."

"The miniature carving on it is beautiful and extremely rare. When I said five hundred thousand earlier, I was undervaluing it. A small piece of finely carved white jade, only a little bigger than a thumb, once appeared on an antiques appraisal show. It also had a landscape and an inscribed poem, and the seller valued it at seven hundred thousand."

Elder Chu paused. His mouth had gone dry, and he licked his lips.

"That was many years ago, and pieces like this have only appreciated. So my conservative estimate for this hairpin is nine hundred thousand."

Ling Juntian smiled faintly. His own estimate was clearly very close to Chu Yaotian's.

Zhang Yang could accept that price too. When he bought it, Wu Daorong had said five hundred thousand was sixty percent of its value, but Zhang Yang had paid the asking price, certain it was worth more.

"Nine hundred thousand?"

"Now that's a fine son-in-law. He kept quiet, then stunned everyone in one move."

"Just dumb luck. Bet he didn't pay much for it!"

The guests burst into discussion again. Some sounded admiring, others jealous.

Zhang Yang met it all with a cold smile.

"Young Zhang, how much did you pay for it?"

Elder Chu knew that if Zhang Yang had spotted the hidden detail, the seller probably had too. The price could hardly have been low. He was curious to see whose estimate of what it was worth had been closer.

"Well, Elder Chu, I picked it up from a friend I'd only just met. When he heard it was a birthday gift for my mother-in-law, he gave me a friendly price. It was exactly what you said earlier: five hundred thousand."

That was the explanation Zhang Yang gave Elder Chu.

Elder Chu nodded repeatedly, his opinion of Zhang Yang improving. This young man was certainly no freeloader. Perhaps he was like some of those remarkable figures from history.

"Young Zhang, you came out ahead!"

Elder Chu marveled. Why did other people always find bargains like this, while he never did?

"Nine hundred thousand?"

Yang Su could no longer stay calm. What Ling Junsheng held was no longer a white jade hairpin in her eyes, but nine hundred thousand in cash. She immediately took it from him and examined it.

But however closely Yang Su looked, she could not see what was so special about it. Even if the carving was as beautiful as they said, you needed a magnifying glass to see it. Who the hell would stop her in the street and pull out a magnifying glass to inspect her White Jade Hairpin?

Besides, Yang Su did not particularly like the White Jade Hairpin. Nine hundred thousand in cash, on the other hand, she would gladly accept.

"Let me have another look!"

Cheng Hai held out his hand, but Yang Su refused to give it to him.

"What would you know? If you understood antiques, you wouldn't have paid so much to learn your lessons," Yang Su snapped at Cheng Hai.

Watching his mother-in-law's greedy expression, Zhang Yang shook his head. She was beyond help.

With the appraisal over, everyone returned to their seats and the birthday banquet began. Cheng Dongyu and her husband, however, looked like deflated balloons. They could no longer put on airs. Of the three sisters paying tribute to their mother, their family had come off worst, dealing their vanity a crushing blow.

Naturally, the family sat together at one table again.

"Zhang Yang, that was a bold move. When did you start studying antiques? Take your brother-in-law along sometime." Only after they sat down to eat did Yang Gang learn that Zhang Yang had bought the White Jade Hairpin himself—and paid five hundred thousand for it.

Few people would risk five hundred thousand without being sure of themselves, least of all someone who was not particularly wealthy to begin with.

"Sure, he got lucky this time," Cheng Dongxue said at once, playing down Zhang Yang's achievement. "Though he did show a few tricks when he appraised a bronze mirror on Antique Street."

"Sure, second brother-in-law. We can go have a look around sometime." Zhang Yang nodded. Yang Gang had spoken up for him earlier.

"It's settled, then. I'll call you when I have time. Help me pick out a few antiques as investments." Yang Gang grinned. His company had only just started and needed time to find its feet before it could bring in revenue. Making some money from antiques in the meantime sounded pretty good.

"Yang Gang, keep your feet on the ground. Don't buy antiques you don't understand!" Cheng Lin said, casting a glance at her father, Cheng Hai.

Cheng Hai lowered his head. When it came to losing money on antiques, no one there could beat him.

"Zhang Yang, where did you get so much money to buy a White Jade Hairpin?" Yang Su asked. She was more polite to him now, though her question still stung.