As the atmosphere at the scene became extremely tense, I subconsciously sat up straighter.
“Boss An, I’m truly sorry. My poor management has made you a laughingstock.”
Manager Zhang gave a wry smile, glared at the young woman, and said sternly, “Apologize to Boss An quickly! Is this a place for you to speak?”
The woman looked wronged, covering her face, tears falling drop by drop.
“I’m sorry… I…”
Before the woman could finish, Sister Ying raised her hand and asked, “Manager Zhang, is this transaction still proceeding?”
Manager Zhang licked his lips, his expression uncertain.
Just then, his phone rang.
As if he had grasped a lifeline, he grabbed his phone abruptly. “Boss An, please wait a moment…”
As soon as he finished speaking, the private room door was pushed open, and a middle-aged man dressed in a tea-colored Tang suit walked in.
Following him were four or five men in black suits.
This entourage clearly indicated someone of importance.
“Boss An.”
The man in the Tang suit had his hands behind his back, exuding an extraordinary presence, his hair meticulously combed.
“What wind brings Mr. Bai here?”
Sister Ying, with a smile, greeted the man in the Tang suit.
It seemed this “Mr. Bai” was the Bai family member Sister Ying had mentioned earlier.
I was curious. When Sister Ying and Uncle Hong spoke of the Bai family before, their expressions were very grave.
Could it be that the Bai family held significant influence in Guangling?
As I was pondering, Mr. Bai went to the tea table.
Seeing this, Manager Zhang quickly stood up and offered his seat.
“Master Bai, please sit.”
Mr. Bai smiled faintly and sat down without any pretense. He then casually picked up the Xuande censer on the tea table.
“Hmm… the item is indeed good, but the earthy smell is a bit strong.”
He muttered to himself, “Then again, it’s something from Anyuantang. It would be strange if it didn’t have an earthy smell.”
“Mr. Bai, what do you mean by that?” Sister Ying slowly sat down and continued to prepare the gongfu tea.
“Boss An, Manager Zhang is my friend. I heard he wanted to buy the item you have, so I came to join the fun.”
“So Manager Zhang and Mr. Bai are friends. That makes things easier.”
Sister Ying smiled and said, “Manager Zhang heard that I had acquired a Xuande censer and immediately sent someone to find me, wanting to buy my censer. Back then, Manager Zhang was afraid I’d regret it, so he even had me sign a no-regret agreement… I presume Mr. Bai is well aware of these matters?”
Mr. Bai looked surprised. “Oh? Is that so? You signed a no-regret agreement?”
Manager Zhang nodded slightly.
“The no-regret agreement is a hundred-year-old rule established by our Guangling antique dealers…”
Mr. Bai said, then looked at the Xuande censer in his hand. “Originally, this matter shouldn’t have concerned me, but since my friend invited me, I naturally have to lend my eyes to help my friend.”
Sister Ying handed the prepared gongfu tea to Mr. Bai. “It would be best to have Mr. Bai’s appraisal… What do you think of the censer, Mr. Bai? Is it real or fake?”
“The censer is definitely real,” Mr. Bai said with a smile.
Hearing this, I noticed Uncle Hong’s expression visibly relax.
“However…”
“However, what?” Sister Ying asked.
“However, this censer is a defective product.”
Upon hearing this, Sister Ying’s brows furrowed, and I couldn’t help but become nervous as well.
The next moment, Mr. Bai gently picked at a rust spot on the censer with his finger, and instantly a large piece of rust fell off.
As the rust fell, a hole appeared on the censer!
I inwardly thought, “This is bad!”
Last night I already felt something was off with that rust spot…
I didn’t expect there to actually be a problem!
The hole wasn’t large, only about the size of a fingernail, but for an antique, this was fatal!
A defective product, even if genuine, is still defective. It’s only slightly better than a top-tier fake.
Antique collecting emphasizes perfection.
No one wants their collected item to be a defective piece.
Sister Ying’s face turned extremely grim, while Manager Zhang’s eyes lit up, and the corners of his mouth turned upwards.
“This mending technique is truly clumsy,” Mr. Bai chuckled. “It’s obvious it wasn’t done by a professional… Boss An, were you fooled like this?”
I had noticed that patch of patina last night, but at the time, I hadn’t examined it closely, and the lighting in that area wasn’t very good, so I hadn’t detected anything amiss.
The main reason was Professor Li, which made me let my guard down and not investigate further.
Thinking about it now, I felt truly ashamed.
“Master Bai indeed has extraordinary eyesight!” Manager Zhang said with delight.
Mr. Bai smiled and said, “Since it’s a defective product, according to the no-regret agreement, Boss An will have to pay quite a bit of money this time.”
Sister Ying took a deep breath and forced a smile. “To have Mr. Bai personally appraise it, I admit defeat this time.”
“What does Boss An mean?” Mr. Bai asked indifferently.
“Nothing. I just admire Manager Zhang for having a friend like Mr. Bai. There are probably very few people in all of Guangling who can invite Master Bai to appraise items.”
Sister Ying raised her tea bowl and took a sip. “I will pay Manager Zhang the money. Today’s transaction ends here.”
“I don’t want your money!” Manager Zhang suddenly said.
Sister Ying looked at him. He licked his lips and smiled. “According to the rules of the no-regret agreement, I hope Boss An will truthfully answer one question for me, and then this matter will be over.”
“What question?”
“Where is An Siye?”
I noticed Sister Ying’s facial muscles twitch slightly. Although her expression remained unchanged, this question was clearly more serious to her than losing money.
Who is An Siye?
I suddenly recalled the conversation I overheard at the entrance of the farmstead that day. Sister Ying had mentioned then that the other party might have come for her fourth uncle.
So, this An Siye must be Sister Ying’s fourth uncle!
Seeing Sister Ying’s predicament, I felt a pang of distress.
Sister Ying is the goddess in my heart. To be threatened by an old man like this, I was filled with righteous indignation.
I carefully recalled the entire sequence of events. It seemed that, as Sister Ying had said, this was all a setup orchestrated by the other party.
And she knew it was a trap but had no choice but to walk into it.
At this point, she had no way out!
Thinking this, I gritted my teeth and stood up, saying, “Wait a moment!”
Perhaps due to some excitement, my voice was exceptionally loud.
Everyone turned to look at me.
Sister Ying’s eyes showed a hint of confusion and worry, as if to say, “Xiao Fei, what are you doing? Sit down quickly.”
I walked over calmly, picked up the Xuande censer from the table, and glanced at everyone.
Then, I raised the censer above my head and, without a word, smashed it onto the ground.
“Bang!”
With a loud crash, the bronze censer hit the hard marble, and the lid instantly separated from the body. The entire body of the censer caved in!