Chapter 87

Everyone immediately thought of the foreign businessmen accompanied by their fists bigger than casserole dishes, always on high alert. "My God, Yousi, you actually have bodyguards?!"

"No wonder you never do your homework, now I know why."

Gu Yousi's lips twitched; you really can't joke around with these kids.

She didn't explain, since these little ones would release a message every day, and by tomorrow the matter would be long forgotten.

"Boss, boss."

Gu Jinshui went to see Old Master Xi and helped Old Master tidy up his house before deciding to go to Panjiayuan to browse the shops.

Last year, he acquired a storefront there and opened his own antique shop. He usually has Shanhu watch the stall there, while he goes over there every few days.

Just as he reached the vicinity of Panjiayuan, he saw Sun Lianfu, a young man he had recently hired for his stall, running towards him with a worried expression.

Gu Jinshui hurried over, "Lianfu, what happened?"

Sun Lianfu was out of breath and took a while to catch his breath before saying, "Someone from the shop came to cause trouble, demanding a refund, saying we sold counterfeit goods."

"Fake goods? Who are you?" Gu Jinshui called Sun Lianfu to get up and asked questions as they walked. Panjiayuan has been developing rapidly in recent years. Foreigners, Hong Kong compatriots, and Taiwanese compatriots all know that antiques are cheap and good here, so more and more people are doing business here, and this kind of thing is also becoming more and more common.

Gu Jinshui's Golden Stone Studio restaurant has been open for almost a year and has always had a good reputation. He doesn't want anyone to ruin his brand.

Sun Lianfu said, "You know this person too. He came to buy a Yellow-Ground Famille-Rose Floral-and-Fruit Vase the day before yesterday. He even bargained with us, and finally bought it for two hundred."

When he said that, Gu Jinshui remembered.

He remembered one incident and cursed, "That's a brand new item, what's with the talk of fakes? Are they trying to scam me?"

"It's hard to say. Brother Tiger wasn't sure, so he sent me to invite you right away," Sun Lianfu said cautiously.

As they spoke, the two had already arrived at Golden Stone Studio.

Golden Stone Studio is located in Panjiayuan. It has three rooms and a yellow pear wood plaque. Usually, there are not many people coming and going, but today the entrance is crowded with people, and the outside is surrounded by people watching the excitement with their arms crossed.

"Make way, everyone make way."

Sun Lianfu shouted as he asked the crowd to make way.

Gu Jinshui shook out his jacket and strode inside. He'd barely stepped inside when he heard a man shout, "Why can't I get a refund? Department stores offer refunds, are you some kind of bigger store than a department store?"

Shanhu was clearly in a state of utter panic.

Gu Jinshui walked straight over, "Shanhu, what's going on?"

He turned around and stared intently at the three people who had come to cause trouble. All three were dressed as students, and their clothes even had the Peking University badge on them.

"Brother, you've come at the right time..." Shanhu breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Gu Jinshui arrive. They had been in business for so long, and this was the first time they had encountered such a naive young man.

"You're the boss! You've come at the perfect time! Give us our money back!"

The student who spoke was thin and had a somewhat pale face. He was holding a Yellow-Ground Famille-Rose Floral-and-Fruit Vase and was about to shove it into Gu Jinshui's hands.

Gu Jinshui caught the bottle, and just by taking it, he knew that the people opposite him were probably new to the antique business, otherwise they would know the rules of dealing with porcelain.

This porcelain is fragile, and both the buyer and seller are afraid of taking responsibility, so in any transaction, one party has to put the item down before the other can take it.

If this guy with the lousy eyes just shoves the bottle in like that and it breaks, who's responsible?

Song Jianshe could tell that this group of people were novices. It was rare to see Gu Jinshui run into something like this, so he tapped the rim of the jar and said, "Gu Jinshui, making money isn't easy. If you sold counterfeit goods, you should pay them back."

The idiot immediately acted as if he had received a royal decree, saying to Gu Jinshui, "Yes, boss, you see you make a lot of money, you don't care about our two hundred yuan. We'll give you back the goods, just refund our money."

"Did you just start buying antiques recently?"

Gu Jinshui wasn't annoyed. Instead, he put the vase on the table, propped himself up on it, and looked at the man. "Look at our wall. What's written on it?"

The man with the shaky eyes glanced at the wall, his expression turning somewhat embarrassed. "Items are non-refundable and non-exchangeable once they're sold."

"That's it. In our antique business, who offers refunds?" Gu Jinshui, "You bought our stuff two days ago, right? If you switched it with something else, like a cat replacing the prince, and replaced our goods with fakes, where would I go to complain?"

Gu Jinshui was good at interpersonal relationships, and he had a good relationship with the business owners around him.

Everyone's speaking up for them now.

"Who says that's not true? Let alone now, even decades ago, there was no such thing as being able to return antiques you bought."

"There are so many laymen in our industry these days. They don't even understand the rules, yet they come here to cause trouble."

The three students were shy. They had been provoked by an older student at school, and they thought that two hundred yuan was not a small amount of money, so they risked everything to come and ask for their money back.

Now that everyone has said that, he's losing face.

One of the more shy ones tugged at the sleeve of the dim-witted man and said, "Qian Guangwen, how about we forget about it and go back?"

Song Jianshe couldn't let these people leave.

Gu Jinshui's Golden Stone Studio restaurant has taken away a lot of their business from this place. Today, they finally have a chance to make Gu Jinshui unlucky. If they let this opportunity pass them by, they wouldn't be Song Jianshe.

He hurriedly said, "This is two hundred! Are you really willing to suffer this loss in silence?"

Upon hearing this, Qian Guangwen's facial muscles tensed, and he became unwilling to move.

"Qian Guangwen, Hu Xiao, what are you doing here?" A clear voice came from behind.

Qian Guangwen and the others turned around, both happy and apprehensive. "Professor Bai, what brings you here?"

The man called Professor Bai was wearing a Zhongshan Suit and glasses. He had a very refined and scholarly air about him, and anyone could tell at a glance that he was a learned man.

When Qian Guangwen and his group saw him approaching, they were like chicks seeing their mother hen, suddenly feeling reassured. "Professor Bai, you have to help us! This thing is clearly fake, but he refuses to give us a refund."

"Little Qian, don't talk nonsense."

Professor Bai reprimanded Qian Guangwen and gave him a serious look.

After Qian Guangwen calmed down, he turned to Gu Jinshui and asked, "How should I address this boss?"

"My surname is Gu. Are you a professor?" Gu Jinshui asked in a somewhat nonchalant tone.

Professor Bai wasn't annoyed by his cold attitude, after all, it was his student who had acted recklessly first. "Yes, I am their professor. Today's matter is my student's fault. How about we have everyone disperse and go inside to talk?"

You can't hit someone who's smiling at you.

Moreover, this man was quite adept at handling things; he offered Gu Jinshui a cigarette, showing none of the arrogance often associated with highly educated intellectuals.

Gu Jinshui took the cigarette but said, "I can usually give you face like this, but not today. These students of yours are all second-in-commands, they don't know any rules, and they come to me saying they sell counterfeit Gu Jinshui. I'm not bragging, but ask around, when has Golden Stone Studio ever not sold counterfeit goods? It's all well-known."

In Panjiayuan, antique shops sell a mix of genuine and fake items, but everyone knows that Golden Stone Studio is an exception. When they're not selling, they open their doors wide, and when they are, they do so with great fanfare. They often go six months without opening, but when they do, they make enough to last them for six months, and they charge high prices.

But foreigners and overseas Overseas Chinese all said that the things in his shop were good, so his reputation kept getting better and better. Not only did he not need to solicit customers, but he was also surrounded by customers.

Professor Bai had inquired about this before he came.

He looked somewhat embarrassed. "Yes, it was my student who was too reckless and foolish. He acted recklessly after being provoked. I apologize to you."

As he spoke, he was about to bow to Gu Jinshui.

Gu Jinshui was surprised that he was so unpretentious, and before she could react, she accepted his greeting.

Qian Guangwen's eyes immediately reddened, and he shouted, "Professor, why are you apologizing to him? That thing is fake! Let him show everyone the mark on the bottom of the bottle. That mark says 'Made During the Great Qing.' What kind of mark is that? If it's not fake, what is?"

Song Jianshe has really learned a lot over the years.

He immediately chimed in, "Oh, there's something to it here. The marks on these new goods are either the year of manufacture or the name of the business, like Ancient Moon Pavilion or Hall of Nurtured Harmony. Where are they Made During the Great Qing? Even a blind man could see something fishy about them."

Song Jianshe had a loud voice, and his words immediately caused a stir among the people around him.

"That's true, we've never seen anything like this before."

"Could it be that Mr. Gu made a mistake? We can all tell that this is fake, so why did he still buy it?"

Listening to the crowd's discussion, Song Jianshe's lips curled into a smug smile, and he glanced triumphantly at Gu Jinshui.

Gu Jinshui ignored him and instead chuckled. He crossed his arms and said to Qian Guangwen, "You said this thing of mine is fake, is that why?"

"Isn't that enough?"

Qian Guangwen retorted angrily, "The key to judging porcelain is the mark and the 'fire' (or 'fire' markings). Yours is wrong, it's never been made before, it's not a fake, so what do you say?"

"What if this isn't a fake? How will you compensate me?"

Gu Jinshui even found it somewhat laughable.

At this moment, Qian Guangwen was burning with anger and had lost all reason. He immediately said, "If yours isn't fake, I'll compensate you two hundred!"

"Guangwen!" Professor Bai, noticing Gu Jinshui's expression, guessed there was something fishy going on. Seeing Qian Guangwen speak so casually, he frowned and scolded in a low voice, "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't say whatever you want!"

"Professor, that thing of his is definitely fake. You can rest assured."

Song Jianshe, standing nearby, fanned the flames, saying, "Gu Jinshui, if this is fake, then what do you say?"

"If this is fake, I'll not only refund your money, but I'll also apologize to him and smash this porcelain."

Gu Jinshui pointed at the vase and said firmly.

"Alright! Everyone come and see, Manager Gu is going to show us his skills today."

Song Jianshe shouted in a sarcastic tone.

People outside, hearing that there was some excitement, all gathered around.

Professor Bai was sweating profusely. At this point, the matter was beyond repair. He could only hope that the item was a fake, so that he could say a few words later and salvage the situation.

"Look, this mark indicates it was Made During the Great Qing, isn't it?"

Gu Jinshui remained neither humble nor arrogant, and picked up the vase to show everyone the bottom of it.

Upon closer inspection, everyone nodded repeatedly. "Yes, it's the Made During the Great Qing."

"Let me tell you, it was precisely because of this mark that I recognized this as a genuine piece, and not just a genuine piece, but a rare one!"

Gu Jinshui's tone was decisive, and his face showed no sign of panic.

Song Jianshe couldn't help but laugh, "Boss Gu, you've already been fooled and you're still bragging. What dynasty used this 'Made During the Great Qing' mark?"

"What a coincidence, this style was used during the Xianfeng era of our Great Qing Dynasty."

Gu Jinshui said with a half-smile, "What you all don't know is that before Emperor Xianfeng passed away, he entrusted his son to eight reliable ministers, forming the Eight Regents.' Among them, Sushun was the most powerful. At that time, everyone thought Sushun wanted to change the dynasty and usurp the throne, so the officials at the imperial kilns deliberately used the mark 'Made During the Great Qing.' This way, they could both please Sushun and avoid offending the two empress dowagers, namely Cixi Cian. But as you all know, Sushun was killed by Cixi, and soon the Tongzhi was changed. The mark 'Made During the Great Qing' became a thing of the past."

Everyone was taken aback.

Qian Guangwen and the others couldn't help but waver. The man spoke so convincingly; could it be the truth? Was this item not a fake, but a rare genuine product?!

Chapter 89 The Eighty-Nineth Day of Being Eavesdropped On

Professor Bai was clearly aware of this period of history. He nodded slightly and said, "There is such a record in the Qing Dynasty history, but I really didn't know that such a thing happened."

Seeing the situation about to reverse, Song Jianshe couldn't help but fan the flames, "Having this mark doesn't mean it's an authentic piece. Maybe only the base is genuine. Look at this vase, all its fancy flowers, how can it be an authentic piece?"

Gu Jinshui glanced at him. "This is none of your business. Why are you interrupting?"