Fooled Again

As they talked, the group gradually grew familiar with one another.

Cheng Hai wanted to get to know Wu Daorong, a leading figure in the Antiques trade. At last, he could not hold back and struck up a conversation.

"Mr. Wu, I picked up two pieces of Antique Jade at a bargain today. Sorry for the trouble, but could you take a look and tell me what they're worth? Did I make money or lose it?" Cheng Hai asked with a grin.

Wu Daorong was stunned. Zhang Yang had a keen eye for Antique Appraisal, so why had Cheng Hai come to him for an appraisal?

Wu Daorong looked at Zhang Yang in surprise. Zhang Yang gave a helpless, wry smile, and Wu Daorong immediately understood. He nodded with a smile.

Cheng Hai laid the two pieces of jade on the tea table. Without picking them up, Wu Daorong spotted the truth at a glance and shook his head.

"What did the seller tell you these were?" Wu Daorong asked Cheng Hai.

Cheng Hai froze. Mr. Wu had not even picked up the Antique Jade before asking that. Was something wrong?

"Han-Dynasty Blood-Jade," Cheng Hai answered honestly.

Only then did Mr. Wu pick up a piece. It was plain and unadorned, with dark-brown staining that seemed convincing enough.

"Recently made. Not worth a tenth of what you paid. A shame to ruin two good pieces of jade." Wu Daorong set it down again without giving it a second glance.

"What?"

Cheng Hai was stunned. Wu Daorong could not have conspired with Zhang Yang to deceive him, so Mr. Wu's judgment still carried weight.

Cheng Hai trembled all over. This meant he had lost nearly a million. If Yang Su found out, she might eat him alive.

"Mr. Wu, how is that possible? The quality of the jade, the patina, the staining..."

Cheng Hai still could not believe it. Judging by his many years of experience getting swindled, the Antique Jade was real. How could it turn out to be fake in Mr. Wu's hands?

He refused to believe his keen eye had failed him. He refused to believe he had been fooled.

"Unless... that fat guy swapped them," Cheng Hai insisted.

"Impossible. He handed them to you in plain sight, and they weren't even wrapped," Yang Gang said, recalling exactly how the transaction had happened.

"How is that possible? How..."

Cheng Hai's face turned green. He had paid a steep price for this lesson, even though someone had tried to stop him at the time. More than one person had, and none had succeeded.

The way Cheng Hai had fallen for it was almost beyond belief.

Yang Gang looked at Zhang Yang and gave him another thumbs-up. Zhang Yang had never touched the Antique Jade, yet he had known it was fake from a distance. Cheng Hai simply had not believed his live-in son-in-law.

The idea that Zhang Yang was useless was so deeply ingrained that anything he said might as well have been a fart.

"Dad, let's go find him and get your money back." Cheng Dongxue thought it was like buying something from a store: if it turned out to be counterfeit or shoddy, she could complain to a consumer watchdog or return it. But this was an Antiques deal, and that did not work here.

"Dongxue, Antiques deals don't work that way. Once you leave the shop, you're responsible for the consequences," Zhang Yang explained.

"Have some tea." Wu Daorong had watched without betraying a reaction, and he continued inviting them to drink. What did Cheng Hai's swindle have to do with him? Cheng Hai was hardly the only fool with money to burn. People were fooled on Antique Street every day.

"Dad, it's all right..." Seeing that Cheng Hai was almost in a daze, Cheng Dongxue tried to comfort him.

Only after Cheng Dongxue did everything she could to console him did Cheng Hai begin to recover. He had been taken in again, but he still did not think Zhang Yang had a keen eye. To him, Mr. Wu was the one with sharp judgment.

"My young friend, there are some fine pieces in the shop. Why not take a look?" Once they had nearly finished their tea, Wu Daorong invited Zhang Yang to browse, hoping to make a friend through their shared interest in Antique Appraisal.

Zhang Yang accepted with a smile, and the group left the tearoom. Cheng Hai was still dazed.

Cheng Hai had no interest in looking at Antiques anymore. First, he needed a plan for dealing with Yang Su's fury.

Zhang Yang examined several Antiques in Antique Pavilion. They were all fine pieces that Mr. Wu had already appraised, among the shop's better offerings.

But Mr. Wu's expertise ran deep, and he had already priced those Antiques. They were good pieces worth collecting, but there was no chance of making a fortune on them. Mr. Wu had squeezed the profit margin down to almost nothing.

"Mr. Wu, thank you for the excellent tea. We're going to keep looking around. Would you like to join us?" Zhang Yang asked after finishing his look around Antique Pavilion.

Mr. Wu walked Antique Street every day. Whenever something good turned up, he heard about it and went to see it straightaway. There was little left for him to browse, so he politely declined.

They continued along Antique Street. With Mr. Wu no longer beside them, Yang Gang could speak freely.

"Zhang Yang, help your brother-in-law pick out an antique worth investing in," Yang Gang said. Knowing Zhang Yang had no money, he added, "If we make a profit, we'll split it fifty-fifty."

Yang Gang believed in treating people fairly. If he wanted Zhang Yang to appraise something, he could not make free use of those sharp eyes. So he offered him a share of the profit.

Everyone knew Zhang Yang was broke. He needed money.

"Brother-in-law, there's no need to be so polite. If we find something like that, I'll gladly take a look for you." Zhang Yang was not boasting. He had the ability to back it up.

At the street stalls, Zhang Yang did not need to squat down for a close look. As long as his view was clear, one glance was enough for him to tell whether something was genuine and estimate its value.

He found nothing suitable at the stalls, so they moved on to the antique shops.

"Well?"

In one shop, Zhang Yang finally picked up a Blue-and-White Porcelain Vase and examined it closely. Yang Gang knew at once that the vase must be genuine and worth considering as an investment.

"Haggle," Zhang Yang said, leaving the bargaining to Yang Gang. That one word made it clear he wanted the vase.

"Boss, how much is the vase?" Yang Gang asked eagerly. The shopkeeper was in his fifties and wore glasses.

The shopkeeper wore glasses but looked over them rather than through them. He lowered his head and gave Yang Gang and Zhang Yang a sidelong glance. Two young men. In reality, few people their age knew anything about Antiques. They were probably just caught up in the excitement—fools with money to burn.

"Eight hundred thousand." The shopkeeper raised a hand, forming an eight.

Zhang Yang grinned. He clearly did not agree with the price.

"Too expensive. Four hundred thousand." Without even examining the vase closely, Yang Gang cut the price in half.

That figure suited Zhang Yang, so he said nothing, signaling that Yang Gang had bargained well.

The bespectacled shopkeeper was startled. This young man looked like an amateur, but his opening offer was ruthless—and surprisingly accurate.

"Not many vases like this survive. Don't let it slip away when you find one. Besides, that's no way to bargain. I can't sell it for that." The shopkeeper shook his head repeatedly.

"The color's a little dark, the glaze lacks luster, the base isn't white, and the painting is rather rough." Zhang Yang made a show of studying the vase and nudged Yang Gang with his elbow.

"Three hundred thousand." Yang Gang played along perfectly. He had actually understood what Zhang Yang meant.

"What? Are you having me on?" the bespectacled shopkeeper cried in shock.

Yang Gang had no idea why they were bargaining this way. He only knew that the lower the price, the greater his potential profit.