In front of Tang Hao was a bronze cauldron.
The cauldron was sturdily built and looked rather ancient. It was a Ming dynasty Xuande incense burner, commonly seen in the market.
Xuande incense burners were a batch of bronze cauldrons commissioned by Emperor Xuande of the Ming dynasty in 1428 for use in the royal palace. It was the pinnacle of bronze craftsmanship of its era. Not many survived in the modern age, and each one of them was an incredibly rare antique.
The cauldrons were very popular among collectors, and that was why there were many imitation cauldrons especially from the Qing dynasty.
The cauldron in front of Tang Hao was one of those imitations. It carried a 50,000 yuan price tag.
No one paid attention to it. Everyone knew that genuine Xuande incense burners were incredibly rare, and that item was obviously an imitation.
Everyone became a little suspicious when they saw Young Master Tang exclaim in surprise and look ‘incredulous’ at the obvious imitation.
However, Young Master Tang seemed like an expert who had been studying antiques since very young. Otherwise, how would he pick up that Han jade annulus?
“Don’t tell me that it’s real?”
“That’s impossible!”
Everyone was whispering among themselves.
Fatty Diao became alert. He looked closely at Tang Hao.
“What are you so excited about, Younger Brother-in-law? Anyone can see that it’s an imitation!” Qin Gang walked toward Tang Hao and played along.
“Shh!” Tang Hao turned toward him and shushed him, then shouted at the worker, “Hey! I want this cauldron, Quick!”
Fatty Diao’s expression changed immediately. “Wait!” He roared.
He walked over quickly and said, “I want this cauldron too. I offer sixty thousand yuan!”
Sixty thousand yuan was not a lot of money to him. He was afraid of losing out, and he did not mind losing a small amount of money to an imitation.
Tang Hao acted shocked. Then, he shouted, “I offer a hundred thousand yuan!”
Fatty Diao was shocked, and he became more suspicious about the genuineness of the antique.
‘Don’t tell me… this is a genuine Xuande incense burner?’
“You’ve lost your mind, Younger Brother-in-law!” Qin Gang seemed worried.
“You’re the one who’s lost your mind. I’ve seen a genuine Xuande incense burner before. It’s exactly the same,” Tang Hao said softly, but loud enough for Fatty Diao to overhear.
Fatty Diao’s expression changed completely. His eyes sparkled with greed.
He had completely taken the bait.
Tang Hao’s acting was too convincing. Furthermore, Fatty Diao had let down his guard because Tang Hao had successfully picked up a bargain earlier.
A genuine Xuande incense burner was worth tens of millions, while the price tag on the antique was only 50,000 yuan.
“One hundred and fifty thousand!” Fatty Diao shouted urgently.
“Two hundred thousand!” Tang Hao shouted without hesitation.
“Three hundred thousand!” Fatty Diao was becoming nervous.
“Four hundred thousand!” Tang Hao shouted while glaring at Fatty Diao, pretending to be angry.
Fatty Diao looked more gleeful than ever.
He was completely convinced that the cauldron was genuine.
“Five hundred thousand!” Fatty Diao yelled. Then, he looked provocatively at Tang Hao. “You’re still too young to fight against me, kid! Give up as soon as you can!”
Tang Hao looked furious. He gritted his teeth and shouted determinedly, “One million yuan!”
Fatty Diao was shocked. He had not expected Tang Hao to increase the bid by so much.
“F*ck, you’re one hot-tempered kid! Alright, I’ll fight you until the end. One and a half million!”
Everyone stared incredulously at the bidding war.
That was an obvious imitation in their eyes, but why were they bidding furiously as though it were the real thing?
Even more dumbstruck were the employees of Spirit Atelier.
They were beginning to doubt their appraisal abilities.
If it was an imitation, why would the two people be fighting each other over it?
Fatty Diao became impatient when the offer reached three million. “Five million!” He roared.
The hall descended into complete silence.
Everyone’s eyes glazed over.
Tang Hao hesitated. He struggled for a while, then gritted his teeth and shouted, “Six million!”
It was Fatty Diao’s turn to hesitate.
However, he remembered that a genuine Xuande incense burner was worth tens of millions. He would be able to flip it for a profit as long as the price was within ten million yuan.
He gathered his courage again. “Seven million!”
Tang Hao hesitated. “Seven and a half million!” His tone of voice wavered.
Fatty Diao became happier than ever. He could sense that the kid was reaching his limit.
“Eight million!” Fatty Diao said arrogantly while spreading his arms.
Tang Hao hesitated. A while later, he shook his head and looked disappointed.
Fatty Diao was ecstatic when he saw that. He pounced at the bronze cauldron and said happily, “Treasure! Treasure! You’re mine!”
Words could not express the victorious feeling in his heart!
He could feel a heavy burden lifted from his shoulders.
Then, he immediately paid for the item, in case Tang Hao wanted to top his bid again.
All the people from Spirit Atelier, including Boss Mo, were dumbfounded throughout the entire exchange.
“Look at this, it’s a genuine Xuande incense burner! It’ll be a family heirloom from now on!” Fatty Diao said happily.
Then, he left the store, hugging his spoils of victory happily.
The hall remained silent for a long while.
The people had not returned to their senses yet.
Meanwhile, Tang Hao and Qin Gang had a curious look on their faces.
Eventually, Qin Gang started shaking and burst out laughing. He could not hold it back anymore.
“Finally someone taught that Fatty Diao a lesson!” Qin Gang was gleeful when he was reminded of Fatty Diao’s self-satisfied look earlier.
Even Tang Hao broke into merry laughter.
Fatty Diao was an idiot. He took the bait so easily.
Everyone around them was taken aback. Then, they realized that Fatty Diao had been tricked!
“Hahaha!” Everyone laughed merrily.
None of them liked Fatty Diao because he always snatched their finds.
“I’d like to see that fat bastard’s face when he realized that he spent eight million yuan on an imitation!” Qin Gang said happily.
“He’d have a heart attack!” Someone said.
“Nice one, Young Master Tang! That Fatty Diao has been a thorn in our sides for a long time!”
“Young Master Tang, you were very convincing earlier! I nearly fell for it!”
Everyone crowded around Tang Hao and said happily.
Even Boss Mo came over. “I’ll have to thank you, Young Master Tang. You managed to sell a fifty-thousand-yuan imitation piece for eight million!” He said with a grin on his face.
Qin Gang bought a few more trinkets in the store. Meanwhile, Tang Hao was not interested in the other items.
They left the store and Tang Hao went along the street to visit the stores one by one. He inspected every item in those stores.
He did not leave empty-handed. Late in the afternoon, he found a mysterious mirror in one of the stores.
