Lin Chen unfolded the painting in his hands and said with a smile, "Although this painting is a counterfeit, its value is second only to that stone Buddha."
"What did you say? A counterfeit worth so much money, are you joking with me?" Hu Dahai scoffed.
At this moment, Wang Hua came up to the table, looked carefully at the painting on the table, and even used a magnifying glass to examine it for a long time.
At last, he shook his head and said, "Mr. Lin, this painting indeed is a counterfeit; there's nothing special about it!"
"Ha-ha, Mr. Wang Hua himself said it's a counterfeit, now you've got nothing to say, have you?" Hu Dahai sneered.
"It seems this kid just got lucky."
"Indeed, no matter how valuable a counterfeit is, how much can it really be worth?"
The people around kept shaking their heads, none of them believing Lin Chen's words.
"How about we make another bet, Mr. Hu?" Lin Chen said with a smile.
Hearing Lin Chen proposing another bet made Hu Dahai very wary, as he had just lost a stone Buddha worth over a hundred million.
"What are you betting this time?" Hu Dahai asked.
"Don't worry, this time we're not betting objects, just ten million," Lin Chen smiled.
"Fine, let's bet. I refuse to believe a counterfeit could be worth much!" Hu Dahai huffed.
This time he was very confident; even if the painting were authentic, it could be worth a few hundred thousand at most, let alone a counterfeit.
Lin Chen smiled and said to the antique store owner, "Could you please pass me a small knife?"
"A small knife?" Wang Hua suddenly looked startled, as if he thought of something.
"Mr. Lin, are you saying there's a compartment in the painting?" Wang Hua excitedly asked.
In the tumultuous past, some collectors, to prevent their precious items from being stolen, would hide the genuine articles in compartments. Such items had appeared on the collector's market before.
Wang Hua had examined the painting carefully, but he had never considered the possibility of a hidden compartment.
Lin Chen nodded, "If I'm not wrong, there should be a compartment in this painting, and the item inside should be very valuable."
As he spoke, he carefully started to cut open the painting little by little with the small knife.
"Wait a moment, Mr. Lin. If there is a compartment in the painting, cutting it haphazardly could damage the painting inside," Wang Hua urgently said.
Lin Chen smiled, "Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."
He possessed the ability to see through objects; he knew exactly where the painting inside was located. Even though he lacked experience, knowing the location of the hidden painting meant there was no need to worry about damaging it.
As Lin Chen slowly cut open the counterfeit, an ancient painting gradually began to reveal itself to everyone present.
"Oh my God, there really is a compartment in the painting!"
Everyone was stunned, staring unblinkingly as the true nature of the ancient painting slowly emerged.
Wang Hua's hands trembled as he examined the ancient painting extracted from the compartment with a magnifying glass.
"It's an original, it's actually an original."
"This is, this is a painting from the master of landscape painting, Zhang Tian..."
Wang Hua couldn't stop his hands from shaking.
Zhang Tian was the progenitor of landscape painting. His authentic works no longer existed in the world, only copies.
"A Zhang Tian painting! How can this be possible."
The entire hall fell into a deafening silence, everyone was stunned.
Hu the Fatty turned pale, he could have never imagined that a counterfeit could be hiding a priceless original within.
At this moment, everyone looked at Lin Chen in shock, wondering if he had guessed that the blue and white porcelain was a fake, that the stone Buddha was a fake, could it be that he also guessed the painting hidden within the compartment?
Clearly impossible, such odds simply could not exist, which meant this young man was not a novice at all but a master of antiques.
Wang Hua's excited face flushed red as he gripped Lin Chen's hand tightly.
"Mr. Lin, I've been in the antiques trade for decades and have never admired anyone before, you have truly outranked me; next to you, I am merely an apprentice," Wang Hua said, his voice trembling, his face bearing respect.
Seeing this scene, everyone was inwardly shocked. Who was Wang Hua? He was a grand master of the antiques world. If even he considered himself a student of Lin Chen, what did that make the rest of them?
Hu Dahai's face twitched; he had actually made a bet with Lin Chen, which was like showing off his axe in front of Lu Ban, embarrassing himself.
Sun Li was even more surprised; he felt that Lin Chen was like a man shrouded in mystery.
Exceptional martial arts skills, astonishing medical expertise, a gambling stone expert, and now such a stunning performance in the antiques realm.
Being proficient in one area is not difficult, but mastering everything is the challenge, and Lin Chen was just such a terrifying existence.
"Mr. Lin, sell me this painting, I'll pay fifty million," someone offered a price at that moment.
"Old Li, you're too much, this is a genuine work by Zhang Tian, and you dare to offer only fifty million? I bid sixty million," said an old man with graying hair.
"I bid seventy million," Hu the Fatty bit his lip and joined the bidding fray.
Now he regretted everything; originally, he was supposed to buy the painting for only a few hundred thousand, but when he discovered it was a counterfeit, he lost interest. How could he have thought that now he would have to pay the steep price of seventy million?
"I bid eighty million," Sun Li said in a deep voice.
Sun Li's grandfather, Sun Yunshan, adored ancient paintings, especially those by Zhang Tian. Even a few years back, when he acquired a replica, he was overjoyed, so getting the original was something he had to do, no matter what, for his grandfather.
"I bid ninety million," Hu the Fatty bit his lip and said.
"I bid one hundred million," Sun Li raised the price again.
"Have you gone mad, Sun Li? Although it's a Zhang Tian piece, it's not worth a billion. Since you want to be the big spender, be my guest," Hu the Fatty snorted coldly and stopped bidding.
"Hmph, what about a billion? It's the old man's eightieth birthday this year; if spending a billion makes the old man happy, I'm willing," Sun Li retorted.
Lin Chen smiled and said, "Sun, I'll sell you the painting for fifty million."
"Fifty million?" Everyone was caught off guard by Lin Chen's unexpected move to lower the price, considering fifty million was no small sum.
"Since it's your grandfather's birthday, Sun, I want to offer my respect, so I'll sell you the painting at cost," Lin Chen said with a smile.
"Lin, I, Sun, will remember this favor," Sun Li felt warmth in his heart and clasped fists with Lin Chen.
Lin Chen wasn't particularly fond of antiques, and in the end, the stone Buddha was sold for one hundred and fifty million to a mysterious elder. Originally just there for the spectacle, Lin Chen unexpectedly ended up making two billion.
After having a late-night snack with Sun Li and sending Xue Ying home, it was already past eight in the evening.
Lin Chen had arranged for Qiao Yong to stay by Xue Ying's side to protect her, and he was supposed to check on his private kitchen restaurant. Just as his car had barely driven far, he noticed he was being followed.
The car had been tailing Lin Chen for a whole day, and though it thought itself undetected, he had long since been aware of it.
Lin Chen suddenly floored the accelerator, heading towards the outskirts.
The car arrived at the entrance of an abandoned factory and he abruptly stopped, leaning against the car door, watching as another car slowly approached from a distance.
Soon, the car that had been following Lin Chen also arrived at the old factory entrance, and a brawny middle-aged man got out of the car.
Seeing who approached, Lin Chen sneered, "So it was you!"