Rebirth 93: Break off the engagement at the beginning and marry Bai Fumei

Lao Shan had heard plenty of gossip about that middle-aged man with his own melancholic aura from Qin Haofeng and Zhu Zi. Afterwards, Lao Shan found an opportunity to quietly approach Chen Yang, his expression as if he were about to share a huge secret. He lowered his voice and asked, "Boss Chen, tell me honestly, his family is in such a state, and you still…" Lao Shan deliberately paused, gesturing to Chen Yang with his eyes, and after a long pause, finally managed to say, "You still have the heart to lie to him? Aren't you afraid of your conscience?"

Chen Yang, who was smoking, nearly threw his cigarette away when he heard Lao Shan's skeptical question. He glanced at Lao Shan, a slight smirk playing on his lips, and his eyes swept over Lao Shan with a hint of amusement and teasing. He shook his head slightly and said, "Lao Shan, you need to work on your awareness! But what does 'deceive' even mean? Why should I feel guilty? I'm helping him, you understand?"

"Help him?" Lausan's eyes widened as if he had heard something unbelievable, then he curled his lip. "With your purchase price, you think it can be related to charity? You must be kidding me!"

Seeing Lao Shan's disbelieving expression, Chen Yang decided to teach this naive young man a lesson. He cleared his throat and said slowly, "Lao Shan, you need to understand that doing business is about mutual consent. I have never forced him to sell me anything, nor have I deliberately lowered the price. Every time, I have offered a price much higher than the market price. Isn't that helping him? Let's count if you don't believe me."

Chen Yang spoke calmly, as if stating a simple fact. He continued, "Take his first visit, for example. He brought more than a dozen items, but to be honest, not a single one of them was genuine, let alone any priceless treasures."

At this point, Chen Yang held up a finger and waved it in front of Lao Shan, emphasizing, "There is only one set of items that can be called a masterpiece, and it is priceless."

“When I saw his family’s situation, to be honest, I felt bad too, so I gave him 20,000 yuan!” Chen Yang held up two fingers, his tone tinged with helplessness. “20,000 yuan, Lao Shan. You have to understand, if it were any other antique dealer, they’d be lucky to get 2,000, let alone 20,000. Don’t you think I’m being kind enough?”

Chen Yang spoke at length, seemingly trying to persuade Lao Shan, or perhaps defending himself. He looked at Lao Shan quietly, waiting for his response.

Lao Shan's eyes were filled with complex emotions. He neither nodded in agreement nor shook his head in disagreement, but simply stared at Chen Yang silently, as if scrutinizing his inner thoughts. Chen Yang's words echoed in his ears, but he could not easily make a judgment.

He recalled the middle-aged man's weathered face, the simple furnishings of his home, and his helplessness in struggling to make ends meet; a strange sense of sympathy welled up within him. Lao Shan thought of his own past experiences, of how he too had struggled for a living and strived for his dreams. He understood the middle-aged man's helplessness, and he also understood Chen Yang's shrewdness.

But he always had a scale in his heart, weighing good and evil, right and wrong. However, Chen Yang's words were not without reason; he did give that man a price higher than the market rate, which could be considered a form of help in a way. Lao Shan fell into deep thought, as if two forces were pulling at each other within him, making it difficult for him to make a decision.

"The second time," Chen Yang's voice pulled Lao Shan back to reality. He stubbed out his cigarette in the ashtray, his legs crossed. "He brought quite a few items again, including a Qing Dynasty Daoguang period coral-red ground eight-treasure lotus scroll gold-painted ruyi double-eared vase, and a Kangxi imitation Chenghua doucai flower and butterfly pattern jar." As he spoke, Chen Yang pointed to the Kangxi imitation Chenghua official kiln piece, which was sitting on the shelf. "I gave 80,000 for both items!"

Lao Shan knew about this, because he was already by Chen Yang's side at that time. Before that, he had been to Boss Chen's house and even rescued a teapot from the garbage dump at night. Moreover, that Kangxi imitation Chenghua doucai teapot was on the shelf. At that time, even Song Qingyun said that the price he paid was outrageous.

"Antiques," Chen Yang paused deliberately, picked up the purple clay teapot on the table, poured himself a cup of tea, blew on it gently, took a sip, and then continued, "finding bargains is very addictive, do you know why?"

Lao Shan looked at Chen Yang without speaking, knowing that Chen Yang was waiting for him to ask a question. Chen Yang observed Lao Shan's expression, hoping to see a hint of surprise or emotion on the other's face. However, Lao Shan simply looked at him calmly, as if he had already expected this.

Chen Yang curled his lip in boredom, thinking to himself: This kid is getting more and more composed.

"Because finding a bargain is like gambling, full of excitement and temptation." Chen Yang put down his teacup and looked at Lao Shan. "Think about it, an ordinary thing, or even something that others throw away as trash, you only spent a few dollars, tens of dollars, or even a penny to get it for free, and then you can resell it for hundreds, thousands, or even tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars. Tell me, who can resist such temptation?"

“Especially someone like him,” Chen Yang said with a smile, spreading his hands. “He was penniless to begin with, and then one day he found a few antiques at a bargain price and sold them for tens of thousands of yuan. It’s like a penniless gambler who suddenly wins hundreds of thousands of yuan. Do you think he would stop there or continue gambling?”

“I’ve seen too many people like him!” Chen Yang shook his head and continued, “Once they taste success, they become obsessed, constantly looking for the next target, fantasizing about getting rich overnight. But they don’t realize that there’s no such thing as a free lunch.”

Chen Yang's tone turned somewhat somber as he said this, "The antique business is too murky. Some people are destined to pay their dues. Once they make a wrong turn, those dues can last a lifetime!"

Lao Shan remained silent because he knew Chen Yang was right. A penniless gambler who suddenly wins hundreds of thousands will never stop, because he will think his luck has turned and he will want to win more. As a result, he will only sink deeper and deeper and eventually lose everything.

As he spoke, Chen Yang glanced at Lao Shan and said, "Think about it, he sold it for 20,000 yuan the first time and 80,000 yuan the second time. He must think he's all set now. And I reckon he's still lucky this time. He must have found a really good item and made a fortune."

“And these few items,” Chen Yang pointed to the items on the shelf, “he only asked for 3000 yuan. What does that mean? It means he already knew the value of these items. He wasn’t satisfied with the prices offered by others, so he thought he’d try his luck with me. Isn’t that the logic?”

“I’m telling him that the value of the item is there for all to see, and no one will be a sucker,” Chen Yang said, glancing at the shirt. “Besides, even if I offer three thousand yuan, I will have a clear conscience, because that price is already very high on the market, otherwise he wouldn’t be able to sell it.”

At this point, Chen Yang stood up and patted Lao Shan's shoulder, saying, "The most righteous are often the lowly butchers, while the most ungrateful are often the scholars. I've been very kind!" After saying this, Chen Yang turned and walked away.

Lao Shan glanced at Chen Yang's retreating figure, then clasped his hands together and silently chanted, "Benefactor, Amitabha!"

Qin Haofeng glanced at Lao Shan with the same look he gave a lamb that had wandered into a pack of wolves, and sneered with a hint of disdain, “Third brother, you’re asking a pointless question.”

Lao Shan looked bewildered and scratched his head. "Why?"

Qin Haofeng put down his pen, sighed, and said in a tone of exasperation, "Third brother, you usually seem quite clever, how come you can't think straight right now?" He picked up a water glass from the table—a blue-and-white porcelain cup with several lifelike koi carp painted on it, seemingly about to leap out of the water at any moment. Of course, it was a modern craft item. "Come on, let me give you an example. This water glass is worth 80,000 yuan. I'll tell you everything about its craftsmanship, age, and value. And let me tell you directly, I'll buy it for 300 yuan. Will you sell it?"

“Of course not,” Lausan shook his head without even thinking, looking at him as if he were a fool. “Wouldn’t it be foolish of him to sell it to you?”

"That's settled then," Zhu Zi couldn't stand it anymore and rolled his eyes so hard that his eyeballs almost popped out of his head.

"The secret to making money from antiques lies in knowing what you don't. I profit from this information gap. Am I obligated to tell you the history of these treasures? What you think is worthless, I can resell for a fortune. That's my skill!"

As Zhu Zi spoke, he puffed out his belly, looking smug. "On the other hand, if I'm mistaken or fooled, it's because I'm not skilled enough. I can only accept my bad luck and suffer in silence. That's the rule in the antique business. Everyone competes on their eyesight and skills. There's no such thing as cheating!"

Qin Haofeng chimed in, "That's right, Third Brother, you can't always focus on the intrinsic value of the item. In your hands, it might only be worth two hundred yuan, but in my hands, it can increase tenfold, a hundredfold, into two hundred thousand. That's my skill! Besides, when have I ever cheated him? Haven't I always given him prices higher than the market price?"

“But…” Lao Shan still hesitated. He blinked like a lost fawn. “I understand all of that, but that Hongzhi yellow-glazed porcelain bowl, Mr. Chen clearly told people it was a fake, but it turned out to be genuine!”

“I know, in the antique business, it’s normal to occasionally fool laymen!” Lao Shan’s tone was noticeably weaker. “But, but that man’s family situation…”

"Third brother, I beg you, put away your overflowing compassion!" Qin Haofeng was almost defeated by Lao Shan's kindness. "Do you think that brother would still bring the bowl to our shop if everyone else could tell it was genuine? Since he already had someone check it and no one could find anything wrong with it, isn't it only right that I make this money?"

"Hey, third brother, you!" Zhu Zi shook his head helplessly and said in a tone of someone who had been through it all, "Take your time to learn. Some things, you can't learn from others. You can only understand the truth by experiencing them yourself! Experience teaches you, and once is enough!"

“Right!” Qin Haofeng nodded heavily beside him, glancing at Lao Shan. “You believe in ‘If I don’t go to hell, who will?’ But we believe in ‘If I don’t go to hell, whoever wants to go to hell can go to hell!’”

“You guys…” Lau shook his head with a smile after hearing this, “That’s a pretty clever little word!”