As they were strolling around in the antique shop, Lin Yijun was shocked by the exorbitant prices of the items there.
Next to Lin Yijun, Lu Chen followed quietly. Although most of the antiques here cost more than 100,000, he still could afford them. However, seeing that Lin Yijun did not believe him, he wouldn't bother buying anything too expensive.
When they were about to head out, a grayish clay wine glass caught Lu Chen's eyes.
He curiously picked up the cup and inspected it. The cup's earthy gray appearance was unremarkable, not to mention its price of 2,000, which definitely wouldn't attract the attention of antique lovers.
"You have a great eye, young man. This cup is a cultural relic of the Song Dynasty. It is said to be the wine glass of the late Prime Minister of the Southern Song Dynasty. Although it looks a little old on the outside, its real
value lies inside." When the store owner
saw Lu Chen looking at the clay cup that had been unsold for several years, he immediately stepped forward to persuade Lu Chen.
While stocking up his antiques three years ago, he was fooled by the supplier who sold the cup to him for 10,000. He took it back and marked it at a sky-high price of 50,000. Alas, no one paid attention to it.
Since then, the price had been reduced to its current price of 2,000. Even then, no one was interested.
Now that Lu Chen expressed a keen interest in the cup, he immediately sprung to action.
I should at least recover 2,000 in cost.
"Oh, really?" Lu Chen smiled as he held the cup and flicked it by his ear. Listening to the ethereal slight echo, a tinge of surprise flashed across his eyes. Of course, he managed to hide his emotions well.
"Are you going to buy this clay cup for my dad?" Lin Yijun was speechless when she looked back and saw Lu Chen talking to the owner while holding the rustic cup.
"I have thought about it, mainly because the price is cheap." Lu Chen smiled slightly.
Lin Yijun felt completely speechless. A cheap gift was fine, but he should at least get a decent-looking one. tad
My dad will be embarrassed to accept such a lame gift.
"Sir, can you lower the price?" Lu Chen looked at the store owner and asked.
The boss shook his head and said with a smile, "Young man, this is the lowest price I can offer. It was originally priced at 1,800 when I had it imported back then. I would be earning only 200 in profit, excluding the freight. You have to understand, my business hasn't been doing well recently."
The store owner was frustrated as he had actually bought this ugly cup for 10,000, but he did not dare to tell the truth.
Because if he were to tell him, Lu Chen might suspect that the cup was fake.
"Very well, you can't gain much profit from this ugly cup anyway. 2,000 it is then. Please pack it up for me." Lu Chen nodded as if he understood the store owner.
"Are you crazy? Why are you spending 2,000 to buy this? Do you have money to burn? And even if you give it to my dad, he won't want it at all!"* Lin Yijun scolded with a glare.
"Relax, your dad will definitely like it." Lu Chen smiled confidently as he paid the owner. Seeing this, anger flooded Lin Yijun's veins.
The store owner took over his money and was about to pack it up for Lu Chen. This ugly cup is finally sold! Although I've lost 8,000, it's still better than letting it sit idly in the shop without getting a penny back.
"Young man, may I have a look at the cup in your hand?"
Just then, a very enthusiastic middle- aged man came in and spotted the clay cup in Lu Chen's hand.
"You're here, Professor Yu." When the store owner saw the middle-aged man, he immediately stopped packing the cup and greeted him.
"Professor Yu."
"Professor Yu."
The customers who were browsing the antiques in the shop also came over to greet him. In an instant, a group of people immediately surrounded Lu Chen and the middle-aged man.
Even then, everyone only focused their attention on the middle-aged man. No one bothered about Lu Chen at all.
This middle-aged man, Yu Zhengtao, was a well-known figure in the antique industry of Chongqing. He was a professor in the archaeology
department of Chongqing University, known for collecting different antiques of significant value. Apart from that, as a professional appraiser at the Chongqing auction, he was repeatedly invited by the Chongqing TV station as an appraiser guest.
Everyone in the antique world knew and respected him.
Yu Zhengtao nodded to everyone, and then looked again at the cup in Lu Chen's hand.
"Young man, may I take a look at this cup?" Yu Zhengtao asked again.
Lu Chen nodded and handed the cup to Yu Zhengtao.
Although he never involved himself in the antique world, he had heard of Yu Zhengtao. He wanted to see whether this famous man in the antique world was truly skilled.
"Young man, how much did you buy this cup for?" Yu Zhengtao looked at the clay cup for a while. Excitement flashed across his eyes, but he hid it very well and no one saw the change in his expression.
"2,000," Lu Chen said.
"This cup looks like an ancient artifact, but the appearance of the color is modern. The probability of it being an ancient artifact is almost less than ten percent. However, I've always liked to gamble. I'll consider myself lucky today should this be the real deal," Yu Zhengtao looked at the clay cup and commented.
"I've had the same thoughts as Professor Yu back then and bought it for 10,000. Unfortunately, I was wrong." the store owner interjected with regret.
Anyway, Lu Chen had already paid, so he did not care if Lu Chen doubted whether this was a fake. Even if this
clay cup was really a pile of dump, Lu Chen would not dare to ask him for a refund.
"Gambling is definitely risky, especially when it comes to antiques." Yu Zhengtao smiled and looked at Lu
Chen. "Young man, I will give you 20,000 for this. How about selling it to me? I'd like to try my luck today."
He wants to pay 20,000 for something worth 2,000. Is this clay cup really an ancient cultural relic?
Everyone was intrigued by Yu
Zhengtao's words, and they all looked at the clay cup in Yu Zhengtao's hands.
No matter how they looked at it, they still could not find anything special about the cup. Therefore, they could not help feeling puzzled.
They simply could not believe that Professor Yu was trying his luck.
Yu Zhengtao was the best appraiser in Chongqing, so anyone who knew him
wouldn't believe his words.
If he did not see anything in the cup, he certainly would not want to spend 20,000 to buy a clay cup valued less than half that amount just to bet on whether it was an ancient cultural relic.
"20,000?" The store owner was startled, and felt a pang of heartache as he realized that he had lost 18,000.
"Sorry, this cup is a birthday gift for my dad, so I don't plan to sell it." Lu Chen raised his eyes and shook his head.
Although Yu Zhengtao hid it well, Lu Chen still saw the quick flash in his eyes.
It was then Lu Chen realized that he had also discovered the true value of this cup.
"100,000, Yu Zhengtao said quickly when he saw that Lu Chen was about to leave.
100,000?!
Everyone was shocked again. This had basically affirmed their thoughts.
This ugly cup is the real deal!
The store owner almost had a heart attack.
He finally understood that this clay cup was truly an ancient cultural relic.
Lin Yijun opened her mouth wide in disbelief. Lu Chen had just bought a clay cup for 2,000, and if he were to sell it off now, he would earn 98,000. This was the madness of the antique world.
But just when she was about to persuade Lu Chen to sell the cup to Yu Zhengtao, the store owner spoke before her.
"Young man, I'm sorry, I can't sell you this cup."
As he said that, he reached out to grab the clay cup from Lu Chen's hand.