Chapter 3064

At this moment, Xiao Changkun was in his own office at the Calligraphy and Painting Association, busy making a strategy for his trip to Dubai.

Hearing Zhang Ermao say that there was a lead on the matter he was concerned about, he instantly became interested and hurriedly said: "Come to the association to see me, let's talk in my office!"

"Got it!" Zhang Ermao agreed readily and blurted out: "President Xiao, wait a moment, I'll be there right away!"

Xiao Changkun hurriedly lowered his voice and reminded: "By the way, after you get here, absolutely do not call me President Xiao in front of others. You must call me Vice President Xiao, understand?"

Zhang Ermao was a pure expert at human nature; how could he not understand this principle?

The reason he called Xiao Changkun "President Xiao" instead of "Vice President Xiao" was to please him, but this title naturally couldn't be used indiscriminately at the Calligraphy and Painting Association.

So he said with a smile: "President Xiao, you can always rest assured with me, Zhang Ermao, handling things!"

After hanging up the phone, Zhang Ermao drove to the Calligraphy and Painting Association as fast as he could.

At this time, in the Calligraphy and Painting Association, there were only about a dozen people scattered among dozens of workstations, but there were many office supplies or personal items on the dozens of workstations, which made Zhang Ermao feel a bit curious.

After asking around, an employee took him to Xiao Changkun's office. After knocking on the door, he pushed it open and said to Xiao Changkun: "Vice President Xiao, someone wants to see you."

Xiao Changkun looked up and saw Zhang Ermao behind the other person, so he waved his hand and said: "Alright, let him in, you go get busy."

"Okay, Vice President Xiao!"

The employee invited Zhang Ermao into the office, then closed the door and left.

Zhang Ermao came to Xiao Changkun with a grin and sat down on the chair in front of his desk.

After sitting down, he couldn't help but ask curiously: "President Xiao, there are so many workstations outside, why are there so few people?"

Xiao Changkun hurriedly lowered his voice and said: "Don't call me President Xiao, call me Vice President Xiao!"

Zhang Ermao smiled sneakily and then said: "There's no one else here, so don't worry. Besides, I think you'll take off the 'Vice' in Vice President sooner or later."

Xiao Changkun feigned modesty and said: "Eh, you can't say it like that. Before it's officially taken off, I am the Vice President, I can't overstep."

As he spoke, Xiao Changkun tapped the desktop and said: "You just asked why there are many empty workstations outside, right?"

Zhang Ermao nodded repeatedly: "Yes, yes, yes."

Xiao Changkun stretched and smiled: "This is the comfortable part of the Calligraphy and Painting Association. Everyone has no pressure, and we don't have any excessive requirements for the staff below. If you can get up in the morning, come; if you can't, come in the afternoon. Once you've sat here enough, men can invite friends for coffee, and women can invite best friends to go shopping. Just fill in a reason about visiting calligraphy and painting authors. I don't often stay here either. I used to like going to the University for the Elderly to chat, but now I don't like going to the University for the Elderly, and I haven't developed the next project to pass the time."

As he spoke, Xiao Changkun waved his hand, feeling very bored: "Let's not talk about this, it's annoying. Let's talk about the project you mentioned, how do we play it?"

Zhang Ermao smiled and hurriedly said: "I went to the antique street today to inquire. Zhou's return this time only has a few hundred thousand in funds. If we make him misjudge and lose all these hundreds of thousands, won't he be finished? Not only will the money be gone, but his face will also be gone. By then, he will have to roll out of the antique street in disgrace again. By then, your revenge will be avenged!"

As soon as Xiao Changkun heard this, he instantly became excited.

Yesterday, his daughter and Ye Chen also said that hitting someone might lead to jail time. He is now the Executive Vice President of the Calligraphy and Painting Association and the most advantageous competitor for the next president. If he gets arrested for hitting someone or hiring someone to hurt others, he definitely won't be able to stay in the Calligraphy and Painting Association.

But Zhang Ermao's method is much better. Not only does he not have to bear any responsibility, but the damage to Zhou Liangyun is even greater!

Even if he slapped him twice, it wouldn't be interesting. Watching him lose everything and ruin his reputation would make him feel even more satisfied!

Thinking of this, he immediately asked Zhang Ermao: "Is there anything that can ensure that Zhou will definitely misjudge?"

Zhang Ermao said cautiously for once: "President Xiao, as for what item Zhou will definitely misjudge, I can't guarantee that, but I can find someone who specializes in scamming experts."

Xiao Changkun asked curiously: "Someone who specializes in scamming experts, what do you mean?"

Zhang Ermao explained: "There are too many fakes in the antique industry. Street vendors selling antiques and lying that they are ancestral or just dug up from a construction site are all acid-washed and aged crafts, which belong to the lowest level of fraud, specifically for scamming big fools. Using them on the antique street to scam some foreigners or some enthusiasts who know a little bit is another level. Besides that, there are some masters of forgery who specialize in making things that look real to scam those rich big players and even experts."

As he spoke, Zhang Ermao added: "This kind of master's forgery skill is very realistic. They usually find something from the modern era or even the late Qing Dynasty that is a high-quality imitation of the Tang, Song, Yuan, or Ming dynasties, and then modify it to meet the characteristics of those periods. For example, using a Qing imitation of Yuan porcelain to pass as Yuan Dynasty porcelain, something worth tens of thousands instantly becomes worth millions or tens of millions. The most powerful ones are those who use Qing imitations of Chenghua doucai to pass as real Chenghua doucai. Back then, a big collector was scammed out of one hundred million by someone using such a chicken cup!"

Zhang Ermao continued excitedly: "President Xiao, think about it. If we can find such an item and go to Zhou Liangyun to ask for a price of a few hundred thousand, Zhou Liangyun will take a look and think, 'Good guy, this is worth at least a million,' and he will definitely want to take it. Once he really takes it, we will find a channel to spread the word that the item is fake. Won't it be stuck in his hands?"

Xiao Changkun nodded and said with a smile: "Stuck in his hands is good, stuck in his hands is good! Let him lose everything! Damn bastard, he didn't think he would have today when he hit me!"

As he spoke, he hurriedly asked again: "Ermao, but if we really do this... is it against the law?"

"What law?" Zhang Ermao smiled: "Antique trading never promises authenticity. Auction houses all over the world don't guarantee authenticity either, let alone private transactions? It's all about buying and selling, willing to bet and willing to lose."

"Good, good, good!" Xiao Changkun asked again: "Can you get such an item?"

Zhang Ermao said with a smile: "I can get it, but I'm not sure how much it will cost, because although this kind of thing is fake, it's not worthless. On the contrary, the more realistic it is, the more expensive it is."

As he spoke, Zhang Ermao explained: "This thing is of the same nature as counterfeit money. If you draw a one-hundred-dollar bill yourself and even the big yellow dog at the entrance of the village can see it's fake, it's estimated that one bill is only worth... one cent!"

"If it can only fool the old men and women selling vegetables at the morning market, it's estimated that one bill is worth ten or twenty, and at most thirty. If most people and money detectors can't tell the difference between true and false, then some people are willing to buy one for fifty or sixty."

Speaking of this, Zhang Ermao was afraid that Xiao Changkun would worry about the cost, so he patted his chest and said: "President Xiao, don't worry, you don't need to worry about this matter. I'll solve the item. No matter how much the cost is, you don't need to pay a penny!"

Xiao Changkun's eyes rolled, and he thought to himself: "Damn Zhang Ermao, you old fox, you said that doing this kind of thing is not against the law, so wouldn't the money scammed from Zhou Liangyun all fall into your own pocket? If you invest fifty thousand and get back five hundred thousand, that's a profit of four hundred and fifty thousand. If you don't let me pay, doesn't that mean you won't let me have a share?"

Thinking of this, Xiao Changkun immediately said righteously: "Ermao, I can't let you bear the cost for me for this kind of thing. I still have some money here. Whatever the cost is, I'll pay it!"

Although Xiao Changkun only said he would pay the money, the subtext was that he would enjoy the profit alone.

Zhang Ermao was very clever and immediately understood Xiao Changkun's intention.

However, he didn't organize this matter to make money, but to curry favor with Xiao Changkun. So, while helping Xiao Changkun vent his anger, if he could help him earn a sum of money, wouldn't Xiao Changkun be even more grateful to him?

So, Zhang Ermao said without hesitation: "President Xiao, since you are paying, I will give you every penny of the profit earned."

Xiao Changkun said with a smile: "Oh, oh, how can I be embarrassed? If I make money, I definitely can't let you, Ermao, work for nothing!"

As he spoke, he waved his hand and said readily: "How about this, Ermao, I'll pay all the costs, and you get twenty percent of the net profit!"

Zhang Ermao said with a smile: "President Xiao, these are things for later. I have to remind you that once we choose the item, we have to pay first. Buying imitations is also paying and delivering on the spot, and it's about buying and selling. We choose the item and buy it back. If Zhou Liangyun doesn't take the bait, then this money is equivalent to throwing it into the water. Whether it can be sold to others is also an unknown. If you are going to bear the cost, I have to make this risk clear to you."

Xiao Changkun said with a smile: "To tell you the truth, Ermao, if I were to choose it myself, I definitely wouldn't be sure. But don't I have you as a consultant? If we talk about scamming and bluffing on the entire antique street—oh no, I mean if we talk about packaging and storytelling, then you, Zhang Ermao, are definitely the first. I believe in your vision. The things you choose should be easy to fool Zhou Liangyun."

As he spoke, Xiao Changkun added: "Oh, by the way, even if we take a step back, it doesn't matter if Zhou Liangyun doesn't take the bait. He's not the only rich person. I believe that with your ability, you can definitely sell it."

Xiao Changkun's words made Zhang Ermao feel a bit depressed.

He thought to himself: "Old Master Xiao is trying to make me cover the bottom for him! This means that even if we can't scam Zhou Liangyun, I have to find someone else to scam to get the money for him? Truly shameless..."

Zhang Ermao was already regretting taking the initiative to help Xiao Changkun take revenge.

Before, he just wanted to take the opportunity to do a favor and gain some goodwill, but now it seems that if this matter doesn't succeed, he will have to spend a lot of money. If he really takes Xiao Changkun to spend fifty thousand to buy something to scam Zhou Liangyun for five hundred thousand, and if this matter doesn't succeed, he will have to pay him five hundred thousand?

Thinking of this, Zhang Ermao sighed in his heart: "Dark! Truly fucking dark!"

However, Zhang Ermao also knew very well: "Damn it, there's no turning back for this kind of thing, and there's no regret medicine to eat. Since things have reached this point, I can only bite the bullet and go on, just consider it repaying Master Ye's favor."

So, he said: "President Xiao, don't worry. Even if we can't take down Zhou Liangyun in this matter, I, Zhang Ermao, guarantee that no matter how much money you invest, you can at least get back double."

By making the promise of double, Zhang Ermao could be considered to have set an upper limit for his possible losses.

It was originally just to scam Zhou Liangyun for a few hundred thousand, so the investment in this matter would be at most one hundred thousand. If it exceeds one hundred thousand, then it's not cost-effective.

You can't spend one hundred to buy a fake one-hundred-dollar bill and then go to a shop to spend it, right? That's just pure sickness.

As for this one hundred thousand cost, it must be paid by Xiao Changkun. If Zhou Liangyun doesn't take the item, he will give Xiao Changkun two hundred thousand. If the item can find the next sucker, he will still have a profit and won't lose money.

Xiao Changkun had just received two sums of fifty thousand US dollars from Xiao Churan and Ye Chen yesterday, so he had money in his account and confidence in his heart. He said very readily: "Ermao, no wonder you are reliable! Let's see when we can go see the items? This matter should be done sooner rather than later. I'm going to Dubai in two days, so I'll try to get this done before I go to Dubai!"

Zhang Ermao also let go of everything and hurriedly said: "President Xiao, since it's sooner rather than later, let's just go now!"

Xiao Changkun slapped the table: "Let's go! Let's get him!"