Chapter 131: Elegant Gambler

  The connoisseurship is not deceiving, the antique has its own unique color accumulated over time, so in terms of appreciating antiques, Xuan Qi has a special confidence. This painting has a color that belongs to the Qing dynasty antiques, could it be because the material used for this painting has been passed down?

  At this thought, a strange color flashed in Xuan Qi's eyes, and he remembered another possibility. After thinking for a moment, he put the calligraphy and painting back, and continued to search at this stall.

  The man who ran the stall had a very bad habit. He didn't dare to look people straight in the eye, his gaze was always wandering and he would glance at customers with the corner of his eye. It seemed like he lacked confidence, but actually it was because he had a guilty conscience.

  Xuan Qi opened another painting, this one was a work by Qi Bai Shi, of course it was fake. There wasn't any spiritual energy to it, it seemed that this thief wasn't stupid either, he should be stealing and cheating at the same time. He had some real things in his hands, intentionally mixing them with the fake ones to sell together, deceiving and cheating one by one.

  "How much for this?" Xuan Qi pointed at the shrimp on Hei Bai Shi's plate.

  The stall owner stretched out his palm and said, "I really like it, five hundred thousand."

  "What a crappy painting!" Xuan Qi's eyes flashed with disdain, and he said strongly: "I'll give you 500 for this piece, will you sell it or not?"

  "Get out of here!" The stall owner glared at him with a pair of angry eyes: "Are you trying to make fun of me?"

  "Authentic goods at authentic prices. I've also taken a look at your stall, and the only thing that can be considered an antique is this Huang Shaoqiang's ink bamboo painting. Name a price."

  "The vendor put away his disdain, knowing what he was selling. He would first learn to appreciate the goods before faking them. Xuan Qi's tiger-like aura at this moment wouldn't make the vendor lower the price, but instead, he would be even more ruthless in his pricing. Because it was too good to be true, there was no such thing as haggling in the antique business, and although Huang Shaoqiang's work looked very real, there were still doubts."

  A big stick liked by a cunning businessman needs to meet several elements. The most basic is arrogance and self-conceit. They believe in their own vision and are self-conceited, thinking they have unique insights into antiques. They can always find big bargains that others can't from small stalls.

  If they can still afford to be foolish and spend a lot of money, then it's perfect. For the sake of their beloved items, they would spare no expense, even if they knew it was a fake. In the end, when the cultural relic appraisal expert appraised it as a fake, they would still say with a calm smile: "Just consider it tuition." Even if he cursed behind his back, for the sake of his face and to maintain his image, he would still keep his elegant demeanor, still be active in the front line of the antique market, and still be paying tuition.

  Xuan Qi now meets the basic elements of a stick, as for what kind of stick Xuan Qi is, that still needs to be tried.

  The stall owner was guilty but very cunning. Seeing Xuan Qi wanting to buy Huang Shaoqiang's ink bamboo, he immediately said: "This is indeed an antique from the Ming dynasty. Since you also see that it's a genuine piece, I'll give you a fair price." He stretched out two fingers: "If you're sincere about buying, 200,000 yuan will do."

  "Swindler" Xuan Qi's emotions were written all over his face. With a wave of his hand, he said: "Do you think Huang Shaoqiang is as famous as Qi Baishi or Xu Beihong? His reputation isn't that high, and the number of his works in existence isn't that many either. Twenty million is too high; I can only offer five hundred thousand."

  As soon as Xuan Qi quoted the price, a hint of joy flashed in the stall owner's eyes. This thing that seemed to have come out of thin air could sell for no less than 500,000 yuan. However, according to the principle of asking for the sky and paying on the ground, 500,000 yuan was definitely not the transaction price. So the stall owner directly shook his head: "500,000 is too little, if you really want it, then give me 1.5 million."

  Xuan Qi didn't hesitate: "For 50,000, if you don't sell, I won't buy it." Xuan Qi started to get suspicious and covered up his doubts with a poker face: "Don't think you can cheat me because I don't know the ropes. I've also noticed that these two paintings are different from other Republican-era paintings. Are they later additions made to look old?"

  As soon as these words came out, the stall owner was shocked and his heart skipped a beat. Fortunately, this master did not recognize that this was the style of a Qing dynasty painting scroll, otherwise this deal would have been ruined, let alone 50,000 yuan, it wouldn't even sell for 5,000 yuan.

  So the stall owner immediately flattered Xuan Qi and said: "You really have a discerning eye, you can see the problem with this painting at a glance. When selling goods, one must be generous, you are generous, I am also generous, five hundred thousand is settled." The stall owner said while using a brocade box to wrap up the painting, afraid that Xuan Qi would still have doubts about the painting.

  Xuan Qi was also relieved and took out his bank card to transfer the money to the stall owner. After waiting for the other party to confirm receipt of the transfer information, he continued to stroll in Panjiayuan with the painting roll in his arms. The feeling of having a thorn on his back still existed, Xuan Qi felt that he needed to do something.

  Unconsciously, he walked back to the Jade Stone District. Xuan Qi saw Zhou Gongzi not far in front of him, and at the same time, Zhou Gongzi also saw Xuan Qi. Those small eyes immediately flashed with resentment and poison, like a wolf rushing over, staring at Xuan Qi: "Good little boy, I finally waited for you"

  "What? You didn't accept the loss last time and now you want to lose again?" Xuan Qi was fearless, anyway he also wanted to cause trouble, since that's the case, might as well make a bigger scene.

  Zhou Gongzi's face flashed with a strange color: "Last time I gambled on Tian Huang, I wasn't good at it. Today, Yushi Xuan received a new batch of Burmese seeds, just in time for us to try our luck."

  Xuan Qi raised an eyebrow: "How do you want to gamble now? I've already used that Burmese red jade, no way to take it out and bet with you."

  "What are you betting on, the red jade? If we're going to bet, let's bet in renminbi. One game, win or lose, two million. Are you daring enough to agree, following the same rules as last time?" Zhou Gongzi's eyes gleamed with a cold light, his heart eager to regain face, his expression calm and collected, yet full of impatience.

  "You're only worth this much? You open your mouth and it's just two million?" Xuan Qi looked at Zhou Gongzi with disdain. With his ability to discern the aura of things, going to gamble on the stones wasn't a gamble for him - it was a win. Since Zhou Gongzi was willing to come to his door and offer money, Xuan Qi didn't mind winning a bit more.

  "Ah?" Zhou Gongzi's face flashed with surprise. He had shouted 2 million just to scare the other party into not daring to respond, but now Xuan Qi actually wanted to raise the stakes, this was too good!

  "You say how big we bet, then we'll bet that big."

  "Lose five million, win directly over ten million, do you have the guts?" Xuan Qi had already decided to start a business in Huaqing Garden, and money was of course better to have more. If it weren't for still having to save some money to buy jade seeds, Xuan Qi would have wanted to bet six million with him.

  "Gambling?" The corner of Zhou Gongzi's mouth curled up into a cold smile. To him, the difference between 1 million and 10 million wasn't significant. As a member of the billionaire Zhou family, one of the top business families in China, half of the shops in Panjia Garden were their assets. Just the annual interest from the rent they collected was enough to support several small households for decades. Five hundred million was just a drop in the bucket to him.

  Two people walked hand in hand towards the Jade Stone Pavilion, a legendary high-stakes gamble that would be talked about for decades was about to unfold. Meanwhile, at the end of Jade Street, in the grand hall of Mj's mansion, Old Sword closed his eyes and furrowed his brow, unable to detect even a hint of another cultivator's presence. Was he too cunning, able to remain completely hidden? Or had his cultivation surpassed his own by so much that he had already left Pan's Garden? Old Sword's originally calm heart was now rippling with waves. The hunter and the hunted, one light and one dark, one moving and one still, continued to wait patiently, both gritting their teeth in endurance, whoever made the first move would be giving up the initiative.

  The young shop assistant of the Jade Stone Pavilion saw Xuan Qi and Zhou Gongzi, and immediately thought of their past grievances. Afraid that innocent people would get dragged in, he hastily ran to the back hall to find Old Master Luo.

  Yu Shi Xuan's Luo Zhanggui is also a prominent figure on the antique street. His family has been in the antique business for generations, especially during the liberation of the capital, his ancestors played a crucial role in facilitating the peaceful liberation of Beiping without firing a single shot or bullet. The old master not only received an audience with the great ancestor but was also bestowed with a treasured calligraphy, a red heart with four characters that allowed the Luo family to remain unscathed during the tumultuous decade and even achieve rapid development, becoming a leading figure in Beijing's antique industry.

  Luozhanggui is the third generation heir, seemingly young in years but actually very experienced. Whether it's dealing with people or things, or being good at dancing, he does everything exceptionally skillfully.

  From a distance, he greeted Zhou Gongzi: "Early this morning, I heard the magpie calling again. It turned out that Zhou Gongzi had arrived in person. Sorry for not welcoming you from afar, please forgive me." As he spoke, he really bowed and made a gesture of apology.

  Zhou Gongzi and Luo Zhanggui were familiar with each other and not much different in age. Seeing Luo Zhanggui giving him face, he smiled and said: "I heard a few days ago that your store would have a batch of goods arriving, coincidentally meeting an old friend on the road, today I'll borrow your precious land to play around."

  "Welcome, welcome!" Luo Zhuangui's face was smiling: "It just so happens that Sheng Gongzi and Rong Gongzi are also here today. Zhou Gongzi, what do you think we should arrange?" In this small place in the capital city, the real red second generation is also relatively familiar with each other. Everyone plays in the same way. Within the same circle, they often meet familiar friends.

  Marquis Zhou seems very powerful, but compared to the other two, he is actually inferior. The grandfathers of the other two are still alive, their families are prosperous and have influence in both the military and political circles. In contrast, the Zhou family has already begun to decline, with short-lived ancestors unable to bless future generations. Therefore, compared to the other two young masters, Marquis Zhou is even more inferior.

  As he pondered, Zhou Gongzi said in a low voice: "I came here to have a friendly gamble with this friend, I'm afraid the other two won't..." Before he finished speaking, another voice sounded beside his ear.

  "Is it going to be a high-stakes gamble again or just another game of guessing the stone?" A man with a pale face walked out of the house, wearing a tailored suit, holding a magnifying glass and flashlight. The fact that Zhou Gongzi had lost one million yuan in a high-stakes gamble last time had already spread among some people in the circle who were eager to try their luck. They all wanted to experience the thrill of high-stakes gambling, where winning or losing was not important, but the excitement was everything. This was more exciting than playing cards or chasing women. Today was just the right opportunity, and the two of them naturally had to join in on the fun.

  Zhou Gongzi's face turned pale, his eyes rolled over, one sheep was also driven away, a flock of sheep was also released. Since they were interested and Xuan Qi had no objection, he explained the betting rules. A legendary game that would be talked about for thirty years began.