Chapter 82: All Crows Are Black!
Ye Fan stood to the side, quietly recording the entire scene with his phone.
After receiving the one thousand yuan, the two men quickly left. As they walked away, they muttered to themselves,
“This deal made us a nice profit! Damn, we bought it from an old woman for fifty yuan and turned around and sold it for a thousand. Not bad at all… Haha!”
They really were shameless.
Ye Fan sighed inwardly. Since everyone involved was so greedy and unscrupulous, he no longer felt the slightest bit guilty about what he was about to do.
The moment the two men left, the shop owner, Ma San, eagerly unrolled the painting and carefully examined it again.
The painting appeared to have bold and powerful brushwork, clear lines, and a profound artistic conception. It bore the signature of Wu Daozi and depicted a fierce tiger descending a mountain.
Everything about it seemed excellent.
The only problem was that the colors of the painting were extremely faded and worn, giving it little visual appeal.
“What a pity. The craftsman who made this high-quality imitation was too impatient. He made the painting look far too aged. Still, it's not bad!”
Ma San lifted the painting and prepared to hang it in a prominent position in his shop.
If some unsuspecting customer who didn't know much about antiques came along, he could make a killing based on the quality of the brushwork. Either way, he wouldn't lose.
“Boss, I'll take this painting for 1,500 yuan!”
Before Ma San could even turn around, Ye Fan had already appeared at the entrance of the shop and smiled at him.
Ma San froze.
1,500 yuan?
This young man's eye was pretty sharp. Ma San had bought it for 1,000 yuan, and the young man was only willing to give him an extra 500 yuan as a handling fee?
“Handsome, you're joking, right? This is an authentic painting by Wu Daozi! I spent a million yuan to acquire it after going through great trouble to find it!”
Ma San spoke with complete seriousness, as though he had really spent one million yuan on it.
“If you don't want to buy it, then don't cause trouble. But if you're genuinely interested, I'll give you a sincere price. I'll let it go for 300,000 yuan!”
Ma San spoke as if his heart were breaking, while his eyes remained fixed on Ye Fan, carefully observing every change in his expression.
The antique business had always been about judging the customer before setting the price.
Antique dealers might not be good at many things, but when it came to reading people, they were absolute experts.
They would say a few words to test your reaction. If you were obviously wealthy and didn't show much surprise at a price of 300,000 yuan, the dealer probably wouldn't lower the price any further.
Unfortunately, Ma San had met Ye Fan.
Ye Fan had recorded the entire transaction between Ma San and the two men just moments ago.
How could he possibly be cheated?
“Boss, don't be too greedy. Just take a little profit for your trouble.”
As he spoke, Ye Fan smiled and walked forward, opening the video he had just recorded on his phone.
The video clearly showed the entire transaction between Ma San and the two men, including the price they had agreed on.
“You…”
A sharp glint flashed through Ma San's eyes as he stared intensely at Ye Fan.
“What do you want?”
Ma San's reputation on Antique Street wasn't exactly good. In fact, he was famous for being unscrupulous.
Although he had always wanted to improve his image, whenever he encountered something valuable, his instinct was still to squeeze as much money out of the customer as possible.
As a result, business had been rather slow lately.
If Ye Fan posted this video online, Ma San would basically never be able to do business in Yuncheng again.
“I already told you. I'm here to buy the painting for 1,500 yuan. You get 500 yuan for your trouble. You won't lose anything.”
Ye Fan knew the painting's true value. Forget one million yuan—even ten million wouldn't be considered expensive.
But Ma San was simply too greedy.
Ye Fan had come here precisely to teach him a lesson.
“You…”
“Fine, you win!”
Ma San glared fiercely at Ye Fan.
At this moment, several muscular men with bare chests had gathered behind him, looking at Ye Fan with unfriendly expressions.
However, because Ma San had displayed the painting, quite a few onlookers had gathered around the shop.
Everyone had come to watch the excitement.
In the antique market, everyone loved the idea of finding a hidden treasure themselves. And watching someone else discover one was just as entertaining.
“10,000 yuan. Take the painting and leave. That's my final offer!”
Ma San had originally intended to have his men deal with Ye Fan and drive him away.
But with so many people watching, he still had to consider the impact it would have, so he could only patiently haggle with Ye Fan.
“1,500 yuan. You have ten seconds to think about it.”
Ye Fan looked as though he had Ma San completely under control.
“Technology is so advanced these days. If this video gets exposed, your losses won't be limited to just a few tens of thousands of yuan.”
Ma San was furious.
But he had to admit that Ye Fan was right.
If Ye Fan uploaded the video online and it gained even a little traction, Ma San's shop could be forced to close.
“You… Kid, are you deliberately looking for trouble?”
“My boss is Wu Laolang. You'd better think carefully. If you want the painting, pay 10,000 yuan and take it. Otherwise, if we completely fall out, neither of us will benefit…”
Ma San approached Ye Fan and lowered his voice threateningly.
Wu Laolang?
Ye Fan was stunned.
He had initially felt a little guilty about pressuring Ma San like this.
But after hearing that Wu Laolang was the man behind Ma San, that feeling immediately disappeared.
Wu Laolang was the bastard who had nearly killed his wife, Su Yixue. He certainly wasn't a good person.
Moreover, Wu Laolang had already been dealt with by Xia Hao and Li Hu, and the Fierce Tiger Hall had already been disbanded.
Yet Ma San was still throwing his weight around using Wu Laolang's name?
“You can try.”
Ye Fan didn't show the slightest intention of backing down.
“I'll count to three…”
“Three…”
“Two…”
“One…”
Ye Fan began counting down without hesitation.
His forceful attitude nearly drove Ma San crazy.
The young man in front of him seemed strangely familiar, but Ma San couldn't remember where he had seen him before.
When Ye Fan called out the final number, Ma San gritted his teeth fiercely.
“Fine! You win!”
Ye Fan dared to gamble, but Ma San didn't.
Ma San angrily stuffed the painting into Ye Fan's arms.
“Give me the money!”
Ye Fan smiled faintly, pulled out fifteen red banknotes, and handed them to Ma San.
“Next time you do business, show a little conscience.”
“I'll remember you, kid! You'd better watch your back when you're walking around!”
Ma San took the money and stormed back into the shop.
He had originally planned to make a huge profit from the painting.
Instead, he had been exposed on the spot and could only make a pitiful 500-yuan profit.
What a disaster!
Just as Ma San threatened Ye Fan and Ye Fan was about to respond, a girl's delicate voice suddenly came from the crowd.
“Handsome! Can you sell that painting to me? I'll pay you eight million yuan!”
Gasp!
The girl's words instantly caused everyone present to suck in a breath of cold air.
A painting that had just been purchased for 1,500 yuan was now being offered eight million yuan for?
Could these two have been working together and putting on a show?
Everyone turned toward the girl.
She was wearing a long green dress with a yellow belt tied around her waist, accentuating her slender waist. Her graceful curves gave her an alluring charm.
“Is that Miss Ren Xueying, the heiress of the Ren Family from the provincial capital?”
“I heard that Miss Ren is also an expert when it comes to antiques. If she's willing to offer eight million, she must have her reasons!”
“Could we really be witnessing an incredible hidden treasure today?”
(End of Chapter)
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