Although Fang Dacheng had been punished by Zhou Xuan and dropped to the bottom, Chen Sanyan gave him one last chance out of kinship. He had suffered losses, made small mistakes, and endured hardship, which toughened his mind a bit, but he was still a scoundrel who couldn't be brought to the table. After hiding it for a while, he finally spoke up: "Mr. Wei, the quality of your jadeite is not very good. It's oily green. Hehe, if you want to sell it, how much do you want?"
Zhou Xuan sneered inwardly. When this guy first sold it to him, it was top-quality jadeite. Selling it to him for 16,680 was already cheap. But when he bought it back in the blink of an eye, the same thing was immediately labeled as poor quality, just oily green, with no mention of micro-carving. But no matter how cunning he was, it was useless!
"It's an oil-green clay surface, but as for micro-carving, I only know a tiny bit about it. However, I heard the master who made this micro-carving say that he never sells it. But he likes to exchange it with antiques of the same value. This is the piece he asked me to bring in for exchange!"
Fang Dacheng looked slightly disappointed. If Zhou Xuan insisted on exchanging antiques, it would be troublesome. Even if he used fakes, those fakes would cost two or three hundred thousand yuan each, and he didn't know how many Zhou Xuan wanted before agreeing to the exchange. He would have to spend a lot of money. This was different from simply introducing Zhou Xuan to do business.
If it were just an introduction, Fang Dacheng would get a commission if Zhou Xuan bought the antique at a high price. But now that Fang Dacheng has taken a liking to this miniature carving and wants to keep it for himself, he needs to spend money to buy a fake first to exchange with Zhou Xuan. He has to pay out of his own pocket!
Zhou Xuan glanced at Fang Dacheng's expression, smiled faintly, and casually asked, "Boss, if you don't want to change it, that's not impossible. How much are you willing to pay?"
Seeing that Zhou Xuan had suddenly changed his tune, Fang Dacheng paused for a moment before pondering, "If we're going to make an offer, the value of the oil-green clay is indeed not high, but the miniature carving looks alright. How about... I'll offer a higher price, six thousand for this piece... how about that?"
Zhou Xuan couldn't help but chuckle, even making Old Zhang look a little embarrassed!
Volume 1, Chapter 352
They really treated this miniature sculpture like it was nothing!
Old Zhang had done many such plays with Fang Dacheng, but Fang Dacheng's words were so outrageous that he still felt a little embarrassed!
Zhou Xuan had just bought a Guanyin statue with a dark green background from them, spending over ten thousand yuan and getting ripped off. The seller didn't say a word, and didn't seem like someone without money. He probably understood the value of the miniature carving without anyone telling him, and he handed over the ten thousand yuan as if nothing had happened. Fang Dacheng, however, only offered six thousand. Would the seller be short of six thousand yuan? Would six thousand yuan be useful to him?
Sure enough, Zhou Xuan chuckled, took the miniature carving back and stuffed it into his pocket, then said, "Boss, goodbye!"
Fang Dacheng's eyebrows twitched, and he quickly said, "Mr. Wei, please sit down. Let me discuss this with Old Zhang. Please wait a moment!"
After speaking, Fang Dacheng quickly made a fist gesture to Fang Xiaolin, signaling her to keep Zhou Xuan with her no matter what and not let him leave. ()
Fang Dacheng and Lao Zhang went into the inner room. Before they could speak, Lao Zhang complained, "Boss Fang, you're going too far. In my opinion, this miniature carving is worth at least five million, if not ten million. You offered six thousand? If it were me, even if I had to haggle, I wouldn't tolerate someone insulting my treasure by offering such a low price!"
"Five million?...Ten million?" Fang Dacheng was startled. Although he knew this item was valuable, he never expected it to be worth so much. He estimated it could only fetch a few hundred thousand to a million at most. If he could get it for less than ten or twenty thousand, he would have made a profit. So, he thought six thousand was a bit low, but not too outrageous. In business, it's all about buying low and selling high; there's no such thing as outrageous!
Old Zhang snorted and continued, "You don't know, jade can't be micro-carved. The fact that this piece could be made requires extraordinary skill. This craftsmanship is priceless. Besides, while I don't have extensive knowledge of micro-carving, I've seen many masterpieces. Compare them to the works of the most famous micro-carvers—the scenery, the objects, the words, the paintings—even if their craftsmanship is good, the quantity is far inferior. The essence of micro-carving is the word 'micro,' and this piece takes that 'micro' to the extreme. To be honest, I've never seen a higher level of micro-carving. Aside from the material itself not being top-grade, the micro-carving itself is top-notch. If you ask me, ten million, five million, that's just my estimate. In the hands of those who appreciate it, it's priceless, invaluable!"
Fang Dacheng paused, then asked in surprise, "I also think this is a good item, but is it really worth the price?"
"In our line of work, what matters most is a keen eye. No one dares to claim 100% accuracy. The antique industry is flooded with fakes and counterfeits these days, and you can easily be fooled if you're not careful!"
Old Zhang sighed and said, "The antique business is more dangerous than anything else. One wrong move and you can lose your family and your life. But micro-carving is different. Micro-carving doesn't care about age or anything like that. It can't be faked because there's no point in faking it. If you can make it, it's already a remarkable piece. So, you won't be fooled in this area. When you look at this, you only need to pay attention to a few points. First, the level of miniature. The more miniature the scene, the more detailed the characters, the higher the value. Second, the skill of the micro-carver. The craftsmanship of the painting and calligraphy is the same as appraising calligraphy and paintings. The paintings you and I write are naturally worthless, but the paintings by Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi are valuable. The principle is the same. The painting and calligraphy skills on Mr. Wei's micro-carving are at the level of a master. The combination of these two naturally results in great value. Plus, the micro-carving technique is one in a million. The only difference is that the quality of the jade itself is a little inferior, but that's irrelevant. People are focusing on the micro-carving, not the jade!"
Fang Dacheng was stunned for a moment before asking in a low voice, "Old Zhang, how much do you think we should pay?"
Old Zhang sighed again and said, "I'm afraid we don't have a say in the price; the only question is whether Mr. Wei will sell!"
“But we need to come up with a real price. He asked us, ‘Surely there has to be a price for this,’” Fang Dacheng said, frowning.
Old Zhang pondered for a while before saying, "Boss, we should make an offer, but I don't think it should be too outrageous, lest Mr. Wei gets annoyed and leaves. If we make an offer, it's just an offer, it doesn't really count, and he might not even sell. At least we should make him feel that we are sincere. If we're going to offer... let's offer 500,000!"
"Five hundred thousand?" Fang Dacheng jumped in surprise!
"No, no, if we ask for 500,000 and he sells it right away, wouldn't that be a bad deal for us?"
Old Zhang shook his head inwardly. This Fang Dacheng was short-sighted. If he could buy this miniature carving for 500,000, he would make at least ten times the profit. But he still thought he had paid too much. In his opinion, this Mr. Wei probably didn't care about the price.
However, he also realized that Fang Dacheng's entire fortune was only around a million. It would be hard for him to spend half of his fortune to buy something like this. It would hurt his wallet. Fang Dacheng was only suitable for earning two or three thousand a day, or running errands for others. He didn't have the ambition or spirit to make big money.
"It's up to you then. I'm afraid even if you offer 500,000, they still won't sell it. And if you do manage to buy it, it could fetch at least 5 million!" Old Zhang couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He casually replied to Fang Dacheng, letting him decide for himself. If Fang Dacheng didn't want to buy it, he wouldn't be able to come up with that much money to buy it.
Fang Dacheng thought for a moment, but couldn't resist the temptation of money, and asked in a low voice, "Old Zhang, you're sure you can sell it for at least five million? It can't be less?"
Old Zhang snorted, "Boss, when have you ever seen me lie to you? This thing, let alone tampering with it at the auction, even if I just get a few acquaintances to come, they'll immediately throw out five or six million to buy it. Five million is the minimum price!"
Fang Dacheng blushed upon hearing this. Who doesn't want money?
He gritted his teeth, slapped his thigh, but still tried to lower his voice and said, "Okay, five hundred thousand it is!" He thought that as long as he spent five hundred thousand to buy it, he could make four or five million in profit, which would make him rich again. How could he not take such a gamble?
This is different from the last time I gambled on stones. I was cheated because I couldn't understand the stones and couldn't see through them. I lost all my money and even owed a lot of debt. I still don't dare to go back to Jiangnan. This time, as Lao Zhang said, I definitely won't lose out. This micro-carving is obvious and can't be faked!
Zhou Xuan didn't use ice energy to detect him in the shop because the ice energy had recovered too little and needed to be saved for crucial places. Now that the other party had reached the Great Perfection stage, even a child could figure out his thoughts, so there was no need to bother detecting him anymore.
Fang Dacheng and Lao Zhang came out in three or four minutes, and sat down again with smiles on their faces.
"Mr. Wei, I'm quite interested in this miniature carving of yours, but I think you should name a price first. If it's suitable, I'll take it; if not, then there's nothing I can do!"
Fang Dacheng thought about it and still didn't make a bid. However, Lao Zhang agreed with what he said. If Zhou Xuan could really make a bid, that would be the best. He would be mentally prepared, and he wouldn't have to worry about offending him by offering an extremely low price again.
Zhou Xuan naturally wouldn't offer that price. If he offered too little, he wouldn't do it; if he offered too much, it would be too high and the guy wouldn't be able to handle it, and it would scare him away. Judging from Fang Dacheng's appearance, he didn't know the true value of this miniature carving. If he saw the scene of Zhou Xuan auctioning it off at the opening of his antique shop in Beijing, he would probably be green with envy and want it no matter how high Zhou Xuan offered. However, he certainly didn't have that kind of ability on his own. Even if he did want it, he would have to team up with someone else who had the ability.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then smiled and said, "I can offer this price myself, but I think you should invite a few more powerful business owners over so we can all take a look together before making a decision!"
When Lao Zhang heard Zhou Xuan say that, he knew that Fang Dacheng's attempt to get a bargain was doomed. Zhou Xuan must understand the value of the item. The reason he wasn't offering a price was because he thought Fang Dacheng couldn't afford it. If Fang Dacheng couldn't afford it, then it must be worth more than 500,000. Fang Dacheng was reluctant to pay. If he really offered 500,000, the other party wouldn't even bother with him!
"Okay, boss, you and Xiao Chen should invite Boss Lin over. Since Mr. Wei has this idea, let's do as he says!" Old Zhang said to Fang Dacheng as soon as he understood, and then gave him a few winks.
Fang Dacheng understood perfectly well that the Boss Lin that Lao Zhang was talking about was named Lin Shilong, the most powerful antique shop owner in Jiangbei City. Moreover, he was not only involved in antiques, but also in other businesses. Antiques were just a hobby for him, and he was quite knowledgeable about them. Lao Zhang wanted him to invite Lin Shilong, which meant that he was only expected to earn a delivery fee. This Mr. Wei would not sell it to him for 500,000!
However, Fang Dacheng was still unwilling to give up. How could he be sure that this man surnamed Wei wouldn't sell before even revealing the actual price? What if he thought 500,000 was a high price and was eager to sell?
Thinking of this, Fang Dacheng couldn't help but say, "Mr. Wei, I can invite someone to come and have a chat, but I'd like to ask you first, would you sell for 500,000? I suspect that if I invited someone else, they might not be willing to pay that price!"
Zhou Xuan chuckled and tilted his head, saying to Fang Dacheng, "Boss Fang, 500,000 is just pocket money for me, like a day or two. Would the treasures I've been hoarding be worth only pocket money for a day or two? I have a few of these miniature carvings. I just want to exchange them for other treasures. As for the money, I don't care about it!"
Fang Dacheng was taken aback. Zhou Xuan's tone was too arrogant. He wondered if he was just bragging or if it was true. But one thing Fang Dacheng understood was that Zhou Xuan was definitely not interested in the 500,000 yuan price, just as Lao Zhang had said. It seemed that he could only cooperate with Lin Shilong. He wondered if Lin Shilong had this idea and if he was willing to do so.
"Alright, Mr. Wei, please wait a moment while I go and invite Mr. Lin over. He's also a collector, so perhaps he has something good to exchange with you, or maybe he'll just buy it outright. Either way, it's negotiable, as long as the terms are satisfactory!"
Fang Dacheng decided to cooperate with Lin Shilong, but he had to personally go and negotiate with Lin Shilong privately. It was not convenient to talk about it here, and the content of the discussion could not be heard by Zhou Xuan.