Chapter 377: A duet

"Don't worry, we will definitely be able to find antiques that are more valuable than this set of Song dynasty porcelain."

Xu Tian raised his hand to look at his watch, and then picked up the tea beside him that had already cooled, drinking it unhurriedly. It didn't look like he intended to leave for a while.

The young clerk who had received them before asked with some disdain: "What's wrong with you all? Didn't you hear my boss say he doesn't welcome you? You aren't buying anything, just sitting here drinking tea. Do you really think our place is a teahouse?"

"Which eye of yours saw that we aren't buying anything?" The Astrologer couldn't help but retort: "Can't we choose slowly?"

"Fine, fine, fine, you just choose slowly."

Li Wancai got the bargain and still acted spoiled. He pretended to say to the young clerk in the shop: "Little Wu, just let them sit there. Anyway, it doesn't affect your business. Maybe they are waiting for the private auction in the afternoon, wanting to find some treasure in the auction that is comparable to the whole set of Song dynasty porcelain!"

Although he said so, he didn't think so in his heart. He had already seen the auction catalog. Although there were some jade and calligraphy and paintings on it that could be considered treasures, their value couldn't compare to the set of Song dynasty blue-and-white porcelain with dragon and phoenix patterns in his hands.

And just then, a figure suddenly walked in from the door. This person was wearing a set of worn-out casual clothes, the cuffs were frayed, and the leather shoes on his feet also seemed to have not been maintained for a long time.

This person was also followed by a young man who looked like a follower. The two of them worked together to carry a large wooden box half a person high.

After the down-and-out man entered the door, he carefully placed the wooden box on the ground with the young clerk beside him, and then couldn't wait to look around, seemingly looking for someone, until he saw Li Wancai, who had a triumphant look, and his expression relaxed slightly.

"Boss Li, I brought the batch of goods I had on hand according to your instructions. Come over and check it. If there's no problem, we will trade directly. Do you want to transfer the money or write a check?"

Before Li Wancai could answer, Chen Sanping looked at the down-and-out man who entered with great disdain and said sarcastically: "The sun has come out from the west today. Manager Mu of Tiancheng Antiques, who has always disdained to associate with me, Chen, has actually taken the initiative to come to the door?"

The down-and-out man called Manager Mu heard the sarcasm in Chen Sanping's tone, endured his displeasure without erupting, and turned to look at Li Wancai on the side: "Boss Li, I brought all the goods you wanted. Come and take a look!"

Li Wancai walked to the down-and-out man unhurriedly, looked down at the large wooden box beside him, and said with a very unhappy tone: "I originally had some spare money and wanted to buy these pieces of junk you have on hand at a low price. However, I just spent a huge sum of money to buy the Song dynasty dragon and phoenix blue-and-white porcelain from Boss Chen, and I currently don't have the funds to buy your goods."

"You want to sell me these broken jars with rough workmanship for several million? Why don't you go rob someone?"

Li Wancai knew that Chen Sanping and Manager Mu were at odds, so he was afraid that the other party would misunderstand, so he hurriedly explained: "Boss Chen, I didn't take a fancy to the things in his hands either, but because you weren't planning to leave that set of porcelain vases to the Tang family before, and I temporarily couldn't find any suitable porcelain to answer to the boss in Yinghua Country."

"And this person came to me every few days to cry poor and pretend to be pitiful. I softened my heart for a moment and ordered his goods... In fact, the junk he has on hand has no value to me..."

Upon hearing this, the down-and-out man's face became even uglier. He immediately heard from Li Wancai's words that the other party had a better choice and didn't intend to buy the porcelain he had on hand anymore.

Chen Sanping looked at the down-and-out man with great disdain, and then said to Li Wancai with a tone of sarcasm: "Boss Li, this is your fault. How bad Mu Qiu nian's reputation is in our line, you know without me saying it. You even dare to want the antiques he has?"

Li Wancai explained with a smile: "I naturally know, but he said he would sell them to me at the cost price he collected them for, plus our ancestors had some kinship, and seeing his shop was about to close down, he was truly a bit pitiful, so I intended to spend a few million to buy the junk he had on hand, just as accumulating virtue and doing good deeds."

Upon hearing this, the smile on Chen Sanping's face became even more disdainful: "Boss Li, you are kind-hearted, which is correct, but there are quite a few fakes among the goods he has on hand. If you buy them, you will ruin your reputation for nothing, and when the things cannot be sold, you will suffer a real loss of several million."

At this time, some people who came to attend the auction had arrived one after another. Hearing Chen Sanping's words, they all looked at the down-and-out man and the large wooden box beside him with curiosity, and some even whispered.

"What is this person doing? Boss Chen said many of his goods are fakes. Is it true?"

"Of course. Don't you even know Mu Qiunian, the owner of Tiancheng Antiques? Let me tell you, this is a black shop that specializes in pitting laymen!"

"To say that Tiancheng Antiques was a big shop before, at its peak, it could even rival Linglong Zhai. It's a pity that the manager Mu Qiunian is crooked and often collects some fakes to fool rich merchants who don't understand anything, thereby earning high profits."

"Later, it was Boss Chen who couldn't stand it anymore and exposed his crimes, which made Tiancheng Antiques' reputation fall to the bottom. If it weren't for Boss Chen's righteous words, I'm afraid many people would still be deceived."

You have to know that reputation in the antique circle is very important. Once a shop is labeled as selling fakes, even if all the items in his shop are genuine later, they will be viewed with colored glasses by peers and buyers.

After all, most of these antiques are priceless, and the cheap ones are also over a hundred thousand. No one will spend money in vain to buy a lesson for themselves.

Therefore, after Tiancheng Antiques was exposed for having fakes, business gradually became bleak, and it even reached the point of not being able to make ends meet and being about to close down.

And Xu Tian, after hearing the names Tiancheng Antiques and Mu Qiunian, looked at the down-and-out man not far away calmly.

Mu Qiu nian listened to the words of the people around him that turned black and white, and his face became even uglier.

Li Wancai's face of giving alms to him now was completely different from what they had agreed upon before. The reason why the other party promised to buy these porcelain pieces he had on hand was because the price he offered was nearly 50% lower than the market price.

And he could also ensure that these porcelain pieces were all genuine. It's just that most of these porcelain pieces came from the end of the Qing dynasty, but even if they weren't as precious as the Song dynasty blue-and-white porcelain, they were valuable because they were well-preserved. Each piece of porcelain could be sold for hundreds of thousands when resold.

With the profit of doubling after reselling, Li Wancai naturally had no reason to refuse.

Mu Qiunian's bleak business in these few years was all thanks to Chen Sanping. Originally, the scale of his shop was on par with Linglong Zhai, but because he accidentally discovered Chen Sanping reselling high-quality fakes a few years ago, he exposed it, and Chen Sanping was angered into shame. He not only bribed experts to justify his high-quality fakes but also spread rumors, saying that Tiancheng Antiques specialized in selling fakes to rich merchants who didn't understand the trade.

Although there was no solid evidence, the rumors spread from ten to a hundred, and coupled with Chen Sanping's influence, it gradually made peers avoid him.

Plus Chen Sanping's unremitting negative publicity for his shop, even rich merchants who didn't understand the trade gradually heard the rumors that Tiancheng Antiques sold fakes.

Regardless of whether the news was true or false, these people would definitely choose to avoid his shop when buying antiques. Therefore, in these few years, except for a few old customers who had cooperated with him for more than ten years and still believed in him, Tiancheng Antiques almost never opened for business.

But such a big shop couldn't just be supported by two or three old customers.

This time, he used all his savings to collect more than a dozen pieces of porcelain from a Western Alliance person, aiming to let the antiques he collected go to auction during the public auction and sell them for a good price.

However, the two public auctions this year were canceled for some reason, and as for the private auction held by Chen Sanping, it was even more impossible to send him an invitation.

Therefore, in desperation, Mu Qiu nian found the wealthy Li Wancai, hoping that the other party would acquire the batch of porcelain he had on hand, allowing him to tide over the difficulties.

As a result, Li Wancai clearly agreed to let him take the porcelain to find him, but went back on his word temporarily before the transaction.

The day after tomorrow, the rent for his shop was about to expire. If he couldn't pay, the landlord would send someone to seal the shop.

Seeing Li Wancai and Chen Sanping singing a duet, Mu Qiu nian felt bursts of despair in his heart.

And just then, Chen Sanping spoke loudly again: "Mu Qiu nian, I didn't expect you to still not repent, actually using such inferior fakes to deceive Boss Li. I am truly disappointed in you!" ===== CHAPTER 378 =====