"Mr. Tian, you are the organizer, so you get to pick these two antiques," Old Man Fan said to Tian Feng, intending to show him favor.
Although Tian Feng and Lou Dong had a good relationship over the years, Tian Feng did not belong to Lou Dong's faction, making it necessary to win him over.
Tian Feng smiled, "Since Mr. Fan trusts me so much, I shall humbly choose the antiques."
"Mr. Tian is too kind. When it comes to appraising treasures, your eyesight is far superior to most people here," Old Man Fan chuckled.
While this sounded like flattery, it was also the truth.
As Jiangcheng's richest man, Tian Feng genuinely loved antiques. With his means and passion, his achievements were naturally no less than those of an ordinary appraiser.
He immediately selected two antiques and placed them before Li Yang and Fan Qingshan. "Gentlemen, please appraise them. Who would like to touch them first?"
"Let him go first. After all, I chose this method of competition. If I still get to touch the antiques first, it would be too much of an advantage. If he refuses to admit defeat then, won't I have wasted my efforts?" Fan Qingshan said.
The crowd nodded slightly, as this was generally how things should be done.
However, Li Yang smiled and shook his head, "No need, Mr. Fan. I already know what these two antiques are. You may touch them."
"What did you say? You already know?" Fan Qingshan was stunned.
The crowd also showed expressions of disbelief. What was going on? How could this kid know what the antiques were without even touching them?
Most people would be completely in the dark, unable to even distinguish their size, let alone know their origin!
Hearing Li Yang's words, Tian Feng couldn't help but wonder if he was joking. "Boss Lou, what does he mean by that?"
"He means exactly what he said," Lou Dong replied in surprise. "Although I don't know how he knows, since he said it, it means he truly knows the origin of these two antiques."
"Absurd! How can he possibly know without seeing or touching them?" Old Man Fan immediately retorted. "I think this kid is just putting on a show, deliberately trying to destabilize my son's confidence with some trickery."
"But he underestimates my son."
"Heh, Boss Li, you say you've already identified them?" Fan Qingshan asked with a cold smile.
"Yes."
"Very well, since you've identified them, I don't need to look either," Fan Qingshan said with a laugh. "As long as you correctly state the origin of these two antiques, I will consider myself defeated."
"I will immediately hand over one hundred million yuan."
"That might not be right. How about you touch them? Perhaps we might have a draw," Li Yang suggested.
Fan Qingshan said coldly, "No need! Please just state them directly!"
"Since you say so, Mr. Fan, I will be direct," Li Yang smiled and then said, "The two items that the richest man Tian is holding are, one is a high-ice jade pendant with red color, likely dragon-shaped, originating from the late Qing Dynasty."
"The other is a rather large censer, gilded bronze, also from the late Qing Dynasty."
"Did I say that correctly?"
Those present who heard his words had their expressions change drastically, their eyes widening as they looked at him, then at the two antiques. He had actually gotten it right!
"How did he know?"
"Did someone tell him?"
"Impossible! Everyone here is watching and listening. If anyone told him, we would have heard it."
"Exactly. If not, then how did he know?"
"How could this be?" Old Man Fan's expression changed.
Fan Qingshan was about to ask the crowd if Li Yang was correct when he heard their murmurs, and his expression suddenly changed. He exclaimed, "Dad, he couldn't have been right, could he?"
"This..." Old Man Fan was silent for a moment, then finally nodded, "Yes."
"How is that possible!" Fan Qingshan immediately removed the black cloth from his face and looked at the items before him. They were indeed a jade pendant and a gilded bronze censer!
Judging by their style, craftsmanship, and the patina on the antiques, it could be confirmed that these two items truly originated from the Qing Dynasty!
This shook Fan Qingshan to his core. He glared at Li Yang and questioned, "How did you know? Is there something wrong with the black cloth?"
"This black cloth was given to you by me. If there's a problem, it wouldn't be from my end," Li Yang said, taking off the black cloth and handing it to him. "Besides, this black cloth is perfectly fine."
"I don't believe it!" Fan Qingshan gritted his teeth, snatched the black cloth, and examined it closely. Indeed, there was nothing wrong with it.
Li Yang smiled, "Mr. Fan, a bet is a bet. Shouldn't you be giving me the hundred million now?"
"I..."
"You're not going to renege, are you?" Li Yang asked.
Fan Qingshan's face turned red. Where would he get a hundred million? But if he reneged publicly, he would never be able to show his face in the circle again.
He could only cast a pleading look at his father, Old Man Fan. "Dad."
"Don't worry, no one in our Fan family is a sore loser," Old Man Fan said, though very reluctantly. He took out a gold card and tossed it to Li Yang. "Boss Li, there's one hundred and thirty million here. The extra thirty million, I'd like to ask you a question."
"Oh, what question do you have? Ask away," Li Yang said with a smile.
"How did you determine these two antiques without removing the black cloth and with your vision completely obscured? Especially since you even knew their colors, that's simply unbelievable!" Old Man Fan demanded.
The entire crowd also looked at Li Yang, including many appraisal masters and seasoned veterans. Yet, faced with this question, they were like obedient students, their expressions serious as they awaited the answer from their teacher, Li Yang.
Lou Dong was also very curious, but he said, "Boss Li, this is your secret technique, you don't have to answer."
"It's alright, Boss Lou. This matter sounds rather mysterious, but it's actually not that difficult to understand."
Li Yang smiled and said, "My answer is simply this: intuition."
"Intuition?" The crowd was taken aback.
Old Man Fan's expression changed slightly. "I cannot accept this answer."
"Whether you accept it or not is your business. In any case, I have already answered you. This money belongs to me now," Li Yang said with a smile, accepting the gold card.
Old Man Fan was furious, wanting to strike him with his dragon-headed cane, but he couldn't hold back any longer. "Fine, fine, you have guts, young man!"
"I hope you can maintain that courage in the future."
"Thank you for your well wishes. I will definitely be even more courageous in the future," Li Yang replied with a smile.
Old Man Fan was almost overcome with anger. No young person had ever spoken to him like this before. "You..."
"Ahem," seeing that the atmosphere was becoming tense, Tian Feng quickly interjected, "It's getting late. Shall we begin the appreciation session now?"