The Scammer

The moment they saw the man walk in, the same thought flashed through everyone's mind: was he here to cause trouble?

An unoccupied sales assistant hurried forward. "Sir, is there anything I can help you with?"

"Is your manager here? I've got a big deal to discuss."

The man in the fur coat set his case on the counter, acting as though he owned the place.

The sales assistant glanced at the case and maintained her smile. "May I ask what you need to see our manager about, sir?"

"What's with all the questions? Doesn't Zhou Dafa buy jade and gold? This is a big deal. A little sales assistant like you can't handle it. Get your manager out here, and stop wasting my time!"

The man in the fur coat picked his teeth as he spoke.

So he's here to sell something. He made it look like he was here to smash up the store. Gave me a fright!

The sales assistant relaxed at his words. Without any further questions, she asked him to wait a moment and hurried away.

Before long, a man with meticulously combed hair came over.

"Hello, sir. I'm the store manager. May I ask what you're selling?"

The manager approached with a smile and held out his hand.

The man in the fur coat glanced at the offered hand but made no move to shake it. He spat, then looked at the manager. "You're in charge? This is a big deal. Are you sure you can handle it?"

The manager smiled faintly. "That depends on the deal. If it's within our usual scope, I have full authority."

"Hmph. Fine, I'll let you have a look first."

The man in the fur coat snorted, then opened his leather case a crack.

The manager leaned closer curiously. Inside lay a piece of jade as large as a plate, gleaming with a blood-red sheen. It appeared to be bloodstone!

"This is..."

The manager's eyes lit up, and he reached out to touch it.

Smack!

But the man in the fur coat slapped his hand away and closed the case.

"Don't you know the rules? Is this something you can just touch whenever you please?"

The man in the fur coat glared at the manager.

"Yes, yes, that was thoughtless of me. So you're looking to sell this bloodstone, sir?"

The manager rubbed his hands together with an embarrassed smile.

"Obviously. Why else would I come here?"

The man in the fur coat sounded irritated.

"Certainly, that's no problem. But I'll need our appraiser to examine it first. Please wait a moment, sir!"

The manager nodded repeatedly. Although he had only caught a fleeting glimpse, his experience told him it was top quality. If he could secure it, the company might even reward him at the end of the year.

"Fine. Make it quick. I'm short on time."

The man in the fur coat nodded, then carried his case to the nearby seating area and sat diagonally across from Jiang Tian.

Before long, the manager returned with an elderly appraiser.

After a brief exchange, they opened the case again and began examining the goods on the spot.

With nothing else to do, Jiang Tian looked over as well.

He would never have noticed without looking, but now that he had, something seemed wrong with that bloodstone...

Jiang Tian frowned. Is this man a scammer?

Still, he said nothing. After all, there was an experienced appraiser here. If the man knew his trade well enough, he would probably spot the problem.

Diagonally across from him.

"Master Liu, what do you think? Can we buy it?"

The manager looked at Master Liu cautiously as he asked.

The man in the fur coat sat opposite them with one leg crossed over the other. "No need to keep checking. It's absolutely bloodstone. I'm telling you, I brought this piece back from Northern Myanmar. If I weren't short on money lately, I'd never bear to sell it!"

Master Liu ignored them both and continued examining it carefully with a magnifying glass and various instruments.

Several minutes later, he straightened and drew the manager aside. "Manager, I don't think there's anything wrong with this bloodstone. Both the blood coloration and the texture are top-grade. And a piece this large? Even I've never seen one like it in my life!"

"So you're saying we can buy it?"

The manager brightened.

Master Liu took off his glasses and nodded. "Yes. It could even be our store's showpiece."

"Then how much do you think we should offer?"

The manager lowered his voice.

Master Liu considered it, then glanced at the man in the fur coat. "Let's see how much he wants first."

The manager slapped his forehead. Why was he getting so carried away? He returned to the man in the fur coat with a smile. "Sir, our appraiser has confirmed there's nothing wrong with the bloodstone. What price are you asking?"

"I told you it couldn't be fake. As for the price, thirty million. Not a penny less!"

A mocking glint flashed through the fur-coated man's eyes as he spoke.

"Thirty million?"

The manager frowned, then looked at Master Liu.

Master Liu considered it briefly before giving a slight nod of approval.

He had just examined it, and both its quality and blood coloration were excellent. By his conservative estimate, it could sell for forty million. Buying it for thirty million certainly wouldn't lose them money.

With Master Liu's approval, the manager brightened and nodded. "All right, thirty million it is. Shall we go inside and sign the contract?"

"Sure, but let me be clear: cash only. No checks or bank transfers! I need the money urgently!"

The man in the fur coat stood without hesitation, ready to sign the contract.

"Cash only?"

The manager froze.

"What? Can't come up with it?"

The man in the fur coat frowned.

"That's not it, but I can't produce that much cash at such short notice. How about this, sir? I'll call now and have the cash prepared. It'll be delivered within half an hour!"

The manager looked at him as he spoke.

"Half an hour? You expect me to wait another half an hour? Fuck, if you can't afford it, don't buy it! You're wasting my time!"

The man in the fur coat immediately flew into a rage. He picked up his case and made to leave.

Who knows what might go wrong in half an hour!

Seeing the man about to leave, the manager hurried forward to stop him. "Wait, sir, please don't go! Twenty minutes. Would twenty minutes do?"

"Ten minutes. I'll give you ten minutes at most. If you can't get the money by then, forget it!"

The man in the fur coat laid down his terms.

"Ten minutes?"

The manager hesitated, but finally gritted his teeth. "All right, ten minutes it is. I'll call the bank right now and have them deliver the money!"

With that, he hurried aside with his phone and started making a call.

The man in the fur coat returned to his seat, his grin stretching almost from ear to ear.

In truth, even he hadn't expected things to go so smoothly. If this really worked out, he would have nothing to worry about for the rest of his life.

Watching from nearby, Jiang Tian couldn't help shaking his head. He had thought Zhou Dafa's appraisers had some skill, but now it seemed they weren't much good after all.

Still, he had no intention of intervening. This was their business, after all. If their lack of expertise led them to misjudge an item, they had no one else to blame. There was no need for him to get involved.

With that, he looked away. But just as he was about to put the matter out of his mind, he unexpectedly noticed that the man had taken out a string of beads and begun playing with them.

The instant Jiang Tian saw the beads, his eyes lit up. "Huh? Those beads are actually made from warm sun jade? And they seem to have been consecrated, too?"