Ye Chen followed Li Rongrong to a traditional-style pavilion.
There was a sign hanging on the pavilion that read "Treasure House."
As Li Rongrong walked in, several attendants immediately greeted her respectfully, "President Li, you’re here."
"Hmm." Li Rongrong nodded and approached the front desk.
A group of people surrounded the appraisal counter, and a young man impatiently said, "When is your treasure appraiser coming? I’m in a hurry."
"He’ll be here soon, sir, please wait a moment."
"Even Fourth Master said my Bloodstone is genuine, how could it be fake? Don’t you even trust Fourth Master’s words?" the young man said coldly.
At this moment, an attendant saw Li Rongrong and quickly said, "Our President Li is here."
Li Rongrong looked at the young man and asked, "Are you selling the Bloodstone?"
"Yes! It’s a family heirloom. I’m only selling it because I urgently need money, otherwise I wouldn’t part with it," the young man said, opening the box.
Seeing the Bloodstone inside the box, a glint of excitement flashed in Li Rongrong’s eyes.
The other neighboring antique shop owners also gasped in surprise.
"Oh my, it really is a Bloodstone."
"The color is excellent; it’s definitely top quality."
Listening to the praises from the antique shop owners, the young man’s lips curled up.
"This Bloodstone has been passed down in my family. Look at the engravings on it; it was endowed to my ancestor by Ming Chengzu, and has always been considered a family treasure."
Bloodstone, named for its cinnabar red like chicken blood, along with Imperial Jadeite and Qingtian Light Ice Stone, is hailed as one of the Three Treasures of Seal Stone.
In recent years, Bloodstone in circulation is quite rare, let alone one from the Ming Dynasty, which doubles its value.
Li Rongrong was instantly captivated by this Bloodstone.
However, she asked calmly, "How much do you want for this Bloodstone?"
Based on her experience, the color, texture, and feel indicated it was a genuine Bloodstone.
Moreover, the other antique shop owners agreed that it was real, so it couldn’t be fake.
While everyone was praising this Bloodstone, Ye Chen could not help but shake his head.
When he saw the Bloodstone, the information about it popped into his mind.
"Chemically manufactured stone, era: modern, value: 100 yuan!"
This kid is bold, using a piece of chemically manufactured stone and claiming it’s a Bloodstone to sell for money.
The most crucial part is that he managed to fool these treasure appraisers.
Li Rongrong may have the title of a treasure appraiser, but she’s still too young.
Listening to the persuasion of the other antique shop owners, she was easily deceived.
Actually, there’s another reason Li Rongrong was so easily deceived: because the staff said Fourth Master had appraised it, so everyone naturally assumed Fourth Master’s appraisal was accurate.
Ye Chen stood by, not exposing it directly, but wanting to see how the situation would develop.
Li Rongrong played with the Bloodstone for a moment, then asked, "What price are you planning to sell this Bloodstone for?"
The young man said, "This Bloodstone is my family’s heirloom. If it weren’t for needing to buy a house for my wedding in Kyoto, I wouldn’t be selling it at all. A firm price of two million."
Li Rongrong pondered for a moment, "Two million is too expensive."
The young man shook his head, "I checked online; a Bloodstone auctioned recently fetched that price, and mine isn’t any worse. Not a penny less."
Li Rongrong hesitated while holding the Bloodstone.
This Bloodstone is indeed a rare top-quality piece, but the price is a bit too high.
At this moment, a middle-aged man emerged from the crowd.
"Young man, is this Bloodstone yours? I want it. I’ll give you three million."
Three million, and everyone present gasped in shock.
Li Rongrong became anxious after hearing this: "Sir, do you know the rules? The young man intended to sell it to me first."
The middle-aged man snorted coldly, "It hasn’t been sold yet. Whoever offers more gets it, right? What’s wrong with that?"
Seeing someone offering a high price, the young man excitedly said, "Bro, if you’re offering three million, I’ll sell it to you."
On the side, Li Rongrong got anxious. This Bloodstone’s color and era are exquisite; she liked it a lot. She had hesitated a bit, but seeing someone compete, she became anxious.
"I’ll take it for three million," Li Rongrong said with a deep breath.
Ye Chen almost burst out laughing at this scene.
This woman has clearly been deceived.
These two are obviously in cahoots.
Everyone says beautiful women are easily deceived, and it seems to be true.
"Ms. Li, you’re being unfair. I offered three million first, didn’t I?"
"But the young man approached me to sell it first."
The young man sighed, "Alright, stop arguing. Here’s the thing, I have principles. Manager Li, if you’re willing to pay three million, I’ll sell it to you."
Saying this, the young man regretfully said, "Sorry, bro, but since I’m selling it at their store, one must keep their word."
"Sigh, what a shame. I really liked this Bloodstone," the middle-aged man sighed with regret.
Ye Chen found it ridiculous—what an act! These two performed so well; they’re clearly seasoned con artists.
Ye Chen typed out a message to Zhou Susu and then laughed, "How amusing."
Hearing Ye Chen’s laughter, everyone’s eyes turned to him.
"Ye Chen, what do you mean?" Li Rongrong asked, puzzled.
Ye Qian tugged at Ye Chen, "Ye Chen, you don’t understand, don’t talk nonsense."
Ye Chen nonchalantly chuckled, "You all are out of your minds, fighting to buy a fake stone. Isn’t it funny?"
"Fake stone?" Ye Chen’s words stunned everyone.
Everyone looked again at the blood-red glowing Bloodstone on the table.
Then, they looked at Ye Chen with disdain.
"Fourth Master appraised this stone and said it’s real. How could it be fake?"
"This young man’s unfamiliar; where did he come from?"
"Daring to question Fourth Master, this kid has guts!"
The young man’s face turned red with anger, "Kid, you need to be responsible for what you say. This stone has been passed down in my family; how could it be fake?"
Several antique shop owners also chimed in, "We’ve all appraised this stone; the color, texture, and grain are fine. Do you even know what you’re talking about, showing off here?"
Li Rongrong also frowned, "Mr. Ye, if you don’t understand, don’t make rash statements."
The middle-aged man said coldly, "How laughable. I have deep knowledge of Bloodstones, and this one is clearly authentic. Fake? Tell us where it’s fake."
Ye Chen nodded, "Since you asked me to explain, I’ll thoroughly show you where it’s fake!"