Zhou Xuan's own car hasn't arrived yet. At home, there's only a Bugatti Veyron that Brother Hong gave him, and an Audi INI that Fu Ying owns. Driving the Bugatti Veyron would be too flashy, and Zhou Xuan's driving skills aren't up to par yet. Although he has his driver's license, he still wants to practice more before driving on his own. By the time the car ordered from the 4th dealership arrives, he'll have almost mastered the skills.
Li Wei drove the car out of Hongcheng Garden and onto the road before asking, "Brother Xuan, your beautiful sister-in-law seems a bit off today. I don't know why, she just seems unnatural. You'd better make sure she's happy; she's incredibly good to you."
Zhou Xuan said irritably, "Drive your car and do your own thing. You haven't even cooled your own porridge down yet, and you're already trying to cool mine down."
Li Wei was a very talkative person, and he was about to speak when he suddenly remembered that Zhou Xuan was his own brother-in-law, and he couldn't joke about it. So he swallowed the words that were about to come out.
For some time now, Li Wei had been working at the antique shop with Zhou Ying, and could be considered a formal employee. However, unlike other children of high-ranking officials, Li Wei wasn't arrogant or domineering. He mingled with the other workers, chatting and laughing all the time, and he was also very diligent in his work. The workers all knew that Li Wei was Zhou Ying's fiancé and one of the shop's owners. Although Zhang Jian was nominally in charge, they all knew that the real owner of the antique shop was Zhou Xuan, and it was a shop owned by the Zhou family.
Zhou Xuan's whole family worked in this store. However, later, his younger brother Zhou Tao and Zhou Tao's girlfriend Li Li were transferred to the jewelry store, and now Li Wei and his younger sister Zhou Ying have been transferred away. Only his father Zhou Cangsong is left in the store.
Because Zhou Cangsong is old and not very educated, it is obviously not suitable for him to work in a jewelry company. Besides, he has now become accustomed to and fond of working in an antique shop. He comes to the shop every day with great enthusiasm and a sense of accomplishment.
To be honest, when Zhou Xuan first wanted to open this shop, his family was not optimistic because they knew nothing about the antique business and the investment was considerable. Losing money would be a huge loss. However, after the shop opened, the business grew bigger and bigger every day, and the money he earned was unimaginable. Back in his hometown, he only earned 30,000 to 40,000 yuan a year from his orange orchard, but now, he could easily earn millions from a single transaction. Some of the low-priced items his son Zhou Xuan bought were unexpectedly resold for tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of yuan, which was beyond his comprehension. Now, he no longer worries about making money when he goes to the shop.
Zhou Xuan had privately told his parents, siblings, and other family members that those miniature carvings, each worth hundreds of millions, were actually his. Zhou Cangsong was completely bewildered; he couldn't even count his son's wealth in the hundreds of millions.
Upon seeing his son enter the shop, Zhou Cangsong brewed a pot of tea and invited him to sit in the back room. Old Wu followed him in, smiling wryly, and said, "Young Zhou, I don't know if I, Old Wu, was fooled this time, or if someone is trying to extort us, but in any case, a dispute has arisen."
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Mr. Wu, don't overthink it. This is a small matter. As the saying goes, no one is perfect. It's normal to make a mistake once. Even if we've already figured out the truth, and it's confirmed that we made a mistake, the responsibility is ours. We'll just keep making ten million. It's no big deal. Mr. Wu has made far more money for our store than that. How can you fuss over such a small matter?"
Zhou Cangsong was finally relieved. Old Wu was the technician at the store, and apart from the special things Zhou Xuan did, he actually made the biggest contribution to the store. This incident was indeed a problem; if they lost money, it would be ten million, a figure that could bankrupt countless people. Zhou Cangsong wasn't sure what his son would think about such a large sum of money, but now that he heard his son say this, he felt at ease. His son had earned so much money; even if he lost this little bit, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"Old Wu, please tell me the cause and course of this matter first, and I'll think about whether I should ask someone for help," Zhou Xuan asked calmly after putting them at ease.
Old Wu has a wide network of connections, but he's too embarrassed to ask others to help him with this matter because it concerns his reputation. If a master craftsman, a national-level expert, were to be fooled, it would be a huge blow to his reputation. So he hasn't told anyone about it.
Zhou Xuan understood this principle. He wanted to figure things out before making a decision. However, he had to consider Lao Wu's reputation first. Even if he found out that Lao Wu had indeed been tricked, he would just pay the money and be done with it.
Zhou Cangsong poured a cup of tea for each of them. Old Wu took a sip before saying, "I acquired this item about a month and a half ago. The woman selling the painting was a middle-aged woman named Jiang Yu'e. As we all know in this line of work, there are often hidden stories. To protect our clients' privacy, we don't pry into their backgrounds. When she gave me the painting, I immediately recognized it as a work by the contemporary master painter Luo Baishan. I have a personal relationship with Mr. Luo and am familiar with his paintings, so I recognized it at a glance. After careful examination, I confirmed it was an authentic work by Mr. Luo. In recent years, Mr. Luo's reputation has grown significantly, and his paintings are very distinctive, combining poetry and painting with a magnificent style. Last year, one of Mr. Luo's paintings fetched a high price of US$540,000 at auction in Hong Kong; it was a painting with a poem of the same length."
Zhou Xuan didn't say much about Lao Wu's appraisal skills. If he didn't have special abilities, he wouldn't even be qualified to carry Lao Wu's shoes. So he didn't say anything and quietly waited for Lao Wu to continue.
"Xiao Zhou, as you know, we shop owners are all about profit. Since ancient times, pawnshops and antique stores dealing in antiques and jade have always bought low and sold high. The antique business has always emphasized cash transactions; once you buy, you're done, and you're responsible for the authenticity. Although the antique market is booming now, almost all the items in it are fake, or even more so, almost all of them are fakes, with not a single genuine item."
Old Wu sighed as he spoke, "That's certainly how the antique market is now. The government's policy is to crack down on genuine antiques, not fakes. If you get fooled, you just have to accept your bad luck."
"So I asked the woman surnamed Jiang to name her price, and she offered a whole million. Although that price was worthwhile and would have yielded more than double the profit, we business people always strive for the best. Even though her offer was lower than I expected, I still had to haggle with her. After some negotiation, we finally settled on a price of 760,000."
Zhou Xuan was actually quite at ease. Old Wu's skills and abilities were trustworthy. Being able to bargain down an item worth millions to 760,000 was already an impressive feat, because the other party, the woman surnamed Jiang, knew the painting was valuable.
Old Wu continued, "That woman surnamed Jiang knew the painting was valuable, but she only quoted a price of one million when she opened the door. After that, she lowered the price to seventy-six thousand. I was afraid there might be a problem, so I examined it carefully for a while. Only after confirming it did I pay her in cash."
After recounting the process of buying the painting, Old Wu frowned, took a sip of tea, and then said, "But that woman named Jiang Yu'e had another condition. She said she was forced to sell the painting because she urgently needed cash, but she really liked it, so she hired an artist to make a copy. She just needed to bring the original painting to her house for use, so she asked us to bring the painting to her house every day and bring it back after it was finished. Of course, we also stayed close to the original painting. In fact, that's exactly what we did. We went there for nine days in total, and it took her hired artist nine days to finish the painting. During those nine days, I stayed close to the painting, and I even brought your father, Old Zhou, with me when I went."
At this point, Zhou Cangsong quickly added, "Yes, yes, I go with Lao Wu every day. The paintings are all rolled up and placed in painting tubes. When Lao Wu is on break, I watch over them, and when I'm on break, Lao Wu keeps watch. There haven't been any problems."
Zhou Xuan immediately understood that the problem most likely lay there, but he didn't ask directly. Instead, he asked, "Old Wu, how was it discovered later? And with whom did you have a dispute?"
Old Wu took a few breaths and said somewhat indignantly, "The rest of the auction was entrusted to Brilliant Auction House. Because Brilliant Auction House is an old friend and an acquaintance of ours, my item was auctioned off directly without any further expert appraisal. It was sold for 3.66 million to a buyer named Zhao Chengzhi. After the auction, Zhao Chengzhi transferred the full amount to us directly via bank transfer. I felt that this person didn't seem to care about the painting at all, but was just there to buy the item. He didn't spend any time looking at or appraising the painting from beginning to end, but he was very careful when signing the purchase contract."
As Old Wu spoke, he squinted as he recalled the events of that day: "At the auction house, a contract is signed after each transaction. It's a contract between the auctioneer and the buyer, stipulating that if the item is a fake, the seller must compensate the buyer one to several times the original purchase price. Therefore, the auction house has to have experts authenticate each item before auctioning it. I was one of the experts they hired, so my item didn't undergo a second authentication. The compensation amount in the signed contract is usually negotiated between the two parties. If the seller is certain their goods are genuine, then the amount of compensation doesn't matter, because if it's genuine, there's no possibility of compensation. But I signed a contract with Zhao Zhicheng for three times the compensation."
"Four days after the auction, Zhao Chengzhi suddenly came to our antique shop, claiming that experts had determined the painting we sold him was a fake. I immediately asked him to show me the painting, and I was puzzled. It was genuine; it was the same painting I had authenticated before. So I argued with him, each sticking to our own opinion. Zhao Chengzhi was furious and threatened to sue us. I decided to resolve this issue and put an end to his plans. I told Zhao Chengzhi to leave his phone number so I could ask the original artist, Mr. Luo Baishan, to testify. Zhao Chengzhi agreed immediately, saying that if Mr. Luo himself could prove the painting was fake, he would have no argument and would just have to accept his bad luck."
At this point, Old Wu's expression suddenly turned somber, and he sighed, "The trouble started later. Mr. Luo and I have a long-standing friendship. When I invited him over the phone, he agreed without hesitation. After we discussed a time, I immediately notified Zhao Chengzhi. When Mr. Luo arrived at the appointed time, he began to examine the scroll in front of Zhao Chengzhi."
Seeing Old Wu's silent expression, Zhou Xuan asked, "What did Old Luo say?"
Old Wu shook his head and said, "Old Luo only looked at it for a moment before shaking his head and saying that the painting wasn't his. I understand that. Every painter or calligrapher leaves some unique marks on their work after it's finished. Others can't see them, but the artist himself can tell at a glance."
Although Luo Baishan and Lao Wu were old friends, Luo Baishan was very clear about the authenticity of his own works and his own authentication. Lao Wu also believed that Luo Baishan was telling the truth. If he were to ask Luo Baishan to authenticate other people's paintings, he might make a mistake, but when it came to authenticating his own paintings, there was no need to say anything more.
The current situation is that either Lao Wu, to save face and reputation, will obediently and silently pay Zhao Chengzhi ten million, or he will break ties with Zhao Chengzhi and go to court. But now Luo Baishan has personally said that the painting is not his, but a fake. Lao Wu believes what Luo Baishan said. However, painters and calligraphers like Luo Baishan have their own secret codes and will not tell outsiders, so Lao Wu will not press Luo Baishan for details.
In this case, if the case goes to court, Lao Wu is almost certain to lose. But losing the case is a minor matter; Lao Wu's reputation will be ruined.
After listening to Old Wu's story, Zhou Xuan pondered for a moment. Old Wu's words made him feel as if he had fallen into a trap. After thinking for a while, he asked, "Old Wu, can you still find that woman surnamed Jiang?"
Old Wu said with distress, "This is the problem that's bothering me. After Zhao Chengzhi prepared to sue me, I thought of finding that woman surnamed Jiang to find out more. But when I went to the address that Ms. Jiang used to live in, it was already occupied by someone else. When I inquired, I was told that the house was rented. It had been temporarily rented to a middle-aged woman before. The landlord said that because the price was high and it was only rented for a short period of time, less than ten days, the rent was equivalent to two months' rent."
Connecting these suspicious points, Zhou Xuan suddenly understood. This was a trap. The most crucial thing now was to find this woman surnamed Jiang. If he found her, things would be much easier to resolve. Of course, this could also be an alias, and finding her would likely be very difficult.
Old Wu's antique appraisal skills were excellent, and he was very experienced, but when it came to life experience, he was inferior to others. In his opinion, it was almost impossible to find this woman surnamed Jiang without outsiders knowing. The only way to settle things peacefully was to compensate Zhao Chengzhi with ten million yuan.
After thinking for a moment, Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Old Wu, you don't need to worry about this. Leave it to me. I guarantee you'll be satisfied." Then Zhou Xuan asked Old Wu, "Old Wu, where is that painting? Is it with us or with that Zhao Chengzhi?"
"Of course it's with Zhao Chengzhi," Old Wu sighed as he replied. "I believe Zhao Chengzhi didn't tamper with the painting, and he definitely didn't switch it."
Zhou Xuan smiled and said, "Of course he wouldn't tamper with it, since the painting was already fake, so he naturally wouldn't need to go to the trouble of tampering with it. Mr. Wu, I need to see the painting in person. Whatever the reason, could you arrange it?"
Old Wu nodded, pondered for a moment, and then said, "Just tell Zhao Chengzhi that we need to have the painting appraised again, and ask him to bring it over."
Zhou Xuan smiled slightly. It seemed that the woman named Jiang Yu'e was definitely the one who set the trap. However, he wasn't sure if Zhao Chengzhi was in cahoots with her. If they weren't, then it was just Jiang Yu'e's random act, and Old Wu was simply fooled. It was also possible that Jiang Yu'e had secretly switched the fakes while making them. But if Zhao Chengzhi was in cahoots with Jiang Yu'e, then it was a well-designed, multi-layered trap, a meticulously planned scam.
Zhou Xuan pondered that, from the current perspective, Zhao Chengzhi and Jiang Yu'e seemed to have no connection on the surface, but whether Zhao Chengzhi was connected to Jiang Yu'e could only be determined after he saw the painting, which would require his special ability to detect.
We need to examine that fake painting to see if there are any clues left by Jiang Yu'e, because this painting is a very precious item, worth millions. Such a valuable item must have been touched by very few people. As long as very few people have been in contact with it, Zhou Xuan can detect the images of those who have been in contact with it.
However, if he comes into contact with too many people, the aura will be too numerous and mixed, and Zhou Xuan might not be able to detect it. But right now, the most likely way is to find clues from this painting, which is a gamble.
If Zhou Xuan couldn't find any clues about Jiang Yu'e on the fake painting, he planned to go find Fu Yuanshan again. If he could use the police to find Jiang Yu'e, it would be much more efficient, and he wouldn't have to worry about revealing that Lao Wu had been tricked.
At this moment, Zhou Xuan had already decided on the next few steps. After thinking it over, he couldn't help but be secretly surprised at himself for having such a meticulous and careful way of thinking.
Seeing Zhou Xuan deep in thought, Lao Wu immediately took out his phone and called Zhao Chengzhi. Upon hearing Lao Wu's request, Zhao Chengzhi immediately agreed, saying that if an appraisal was to be done, it should be done properly. He didn't want to waste any more time and would come over right away. He would do his best to cooperate with whatever Lao Wu needed, hoping that Lao Wu could compensate him for his losses as soon as possible.
After hanging up the phone, Lao Wu said to Zhou Xuan, "Xiao Zhou, Zhao Chengzhi said he'll be here with the painting right away."