Chapter 195
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Chapter 195 The Authentic Work of Wu Daozi
“I didn’t expect Young Master Zhang to grace us with his presence. Come in, please have a seat inside.” The female manager said with a smile, like a spring breeze caressing one’s face.
She knew that this young man named Zhang Xuanqi came from a rather wealthy family. His parents were divorced, and he now lived with his father. Their family was quite well-off—he often stole some of his father’s collectibles to exchange for spending money.
Regarding this point, his father was naturally helpless, but the Guohua Pawn Shop welcomed him with open arms.
“Sister Wan’er, I haven’t seen you for a few days, and your figure has become even better.” The man called Young Master Zhang kept his eyes fixed on the female manager’s figure, his eyes gleaming with lust.
“Don’t joke, little brother. I, Gu Wan’er, am already past my prime. In a few more years, no one will want me.”
Saying this, she glanced at Su Rui who was waiting nearby and asked, “Is this gentleman also here with you?”
Young Master Zhang snorted and looked at Su Rui with disdain, saying, “Of course not. Would I associate with someone who drives a broken Passat?”
Su Rui glanced at him, appearing too disdainful to bother with him, and answered, “I’m here to pawn something.”
“All visitors are customers.” Gu Wan’er had good judgment and noticed that although Su Rui was dressed simply, his entire demeanor exuded a sense of dignity and steadiness rarely seen in ordinary men.
As for whether he drove a Passat or a luxury car, Gu Wan’er didn’t care at all. In their line of business, what they feared most was looking at people with colored glasses, as this would cause them to lose many business opportunities.
Especially when she saw that Su Rui didn’t mind Zhang Xuanqi’s attitude, but was quietly looking at some collections in the exhibition hall, seemingly recognizing the origins of these items.
Gu Wan’er’s powers of observation could be described as meticulous. Seeing this, she quickly invited Su Rui inside: “Why don’t you come to the reception room as well, sir? We can talk while we discuss business.”
“No way, Sister Wan’er, you’re not giving me face.” Zhang Xuanqi said unhappily. “He blocked my car with that Passat at the entrance earlier. I’m already being nice by not settling scores with him, and now you want me to go in with him?”
Obviously, Zhang Xuanqi wanted to be alone with Gu Wan’er and flirt with her a bit. With Su Rui as a third wheel nearby, he couldn’t make any moves!
“Young Master Zhang, all visitors are customers. By acting this way, aren’t you pushing away my business?” Gu Wan’er smiled, her eyes showing a hint of charm. “How about this, I’ll treat you to a meal another day, okay?”
Zhang Xuanqi snorted coldly.
“Actually, both of you came at a good time today. Our pawn shop is holding an appraisal event. Several famous appraisal experts from around the country are here, and the TV station is recording. If both of you are confident in your collections, you can also ask the experts to evaluate them on the spot.” Gu Wan’er said with a smile.
Zhang Xuanqi looked at Su Rui disdainfully: “I certainly have confidence, but I don’t know if this guy does?”
Su Rui gave him a cold look, the corner of his mouth curling into a cold smile: “If you say anything disrespectful to me again, once we’re outside this door, I’ll beat you up.”
“Beat me up?” Zhang Xuanqi reacted as if he’d heard the biggest joke ever!
“All my life, I’ve only beaten others, no one has ever dared to beat me! Today you’ve provoked me again and again, you really must be tired of living!” Zhang Xuanqi shouted. He seemed to have forgotten that if he hadn’t stolen Su Rui’s parking spot first, there wouldn’t have been any friction later.
Gu Wan’er was about to mediate when she saw Su Rui say softly: “Shut up.”
Though these two words were simple, they carried a sharp aura!
Zhang Xuanqi wanted to say something more, but found himself being lifted up, his feet leaving the ground!
Su Rui had grabbed his collar with one hand and actually lifted him up!
What tremendous strength!
Gu Wan’er was extremely surprised, her mouth slightly open, seemingly forgetting what she was about to say!
Zhang Xuanqi also hadn’t expected Su Rui to suddenly take action. This made him look extremely awkward, especially in front of the woman he admired, which was truly humiliating.
“Put me down! Do you want to die?” Zhang Xuanqi struggled, but no matter how he tried to pry Su Rui’s fingers, he couldn’t move them at all!
“I’m in a good mood today and don’t want to fight.” Su Rui looked at this extremely rude rich second-generation, his eyes releasing a cold light. “But if you want to fight, I’ll definitely oblige!”
“Fine, you wait!” Zhang Xuanqi seemed to know he was no match for Su Rui and could only make threats, though this already showed he had lost the momentum.
Su Rui released his grip, and Zhang Xuanqi fell to the ground, almost twisting his ankle. His neatly ironed casual clothes had become all wrinkled.
Seeing this, Gu Wan’er quickly said: “Both of you, please calm down. What could be more important than your mood? Let’s go meet the experts first, and we can talk more later. Please give me face on this.”
Zhang Xuanqi snorted coldly: “For Sister Wan’er’s sake, I’ll deal with you later!”
Su Rui remained silent, simply too lazy to respond to him.
Seeing this, Zhang Xuanqi took out his phone and secretly sent a text message.
The appraisal event was a tradition of the Guohua Pawn Shop. Every so often, they would invite experts to conduct appraisals. Ninghai TV station had a special appraisal program where experts would evaluate items on the spot and provide estimates. Interested parties could even bid on the spot. Today, the TV station had chosen to record the program at the Guohua Pawn Shop’s auction hall.
Five elderly men sat on the stage of the auction hall, looking spirited and energetic, currently appraising a blue and white porcelain vase. The atmosphere was quite lively. In the audience seats, there were several rows of spectators and guests. With so many people, no wonder Su Rui couldn’t find a parking spot earlier.
Zhang Xuanqi entered through the side door and immediately noticed the cameras. He couldn’t help but smile slightly, thinking he finally had a chance to appear on television. He touched something in his bag, a confident smile appearing at the corner of his mouth.
Gu Wan’er walked to the host’s side and whispered something, and the host nodded repeatedly.
At this moment, a white-haired expert on stage said: “This audience member’s blue and white porcelain vase has a market value of about one million yuan.”
Hearing the expert’s definitive judgment, the audience member who had brought the vase to the show was overjoyed. It was said that he had found it at an antique stall, originally paying only 200,000 yuan, and now it had multiplied in value so much.
Just as the audience began to applaud enthusiastically in congratulation, a discordant voice rang out!
“One million? A mere one million yuan collectible, what’s there to be happy about? A bunch of unsophisticated bumpkins!”
Zhang Xuanqi looked coldly at all the audience members and walked directly onto the stage.
The applause immediately stopped, and the audience member holding the blue and white porcelain vase’s face alternated between red and white, obviously feeling embarrassed.
Su Rui shook his head, coldly watching this idiot who was publicly placing himself in opposition to everyone.
At that point, he wouldn’t need to act himself; these people could surround and defeat him.
Gu Wan’er, standing nearby, also shook her head at this sight—no normal person would do such a thing.
The man carrying the camera asked the program director: “Director, should we cut this part?”
“Of course not.” The director’s eyes lit up: “This is a gimmick, an absolute gimmick! Our ratings for this episode will definitely skyrocket!”
Zhang Xuanqi, this idiot, didn’t know he had already become a tool for boosting ratings.
The host smiled and said: “Someone who doesn’t even care about one million yuan must have an extremely precious collection.”
Zhang Xuanqi proudly said: “Of course.”
The reason he had such confidence, even daring to mock a collection worth one million yuan, was because of a painting in his bag. This painting had been acquired by his father from a Hong Kong merchant two years ago for five million yuan. After these two years, its value must have reached tens of millions!
Zhang Xuanqi often watched such appraisal shows and knew that almost no one’s collections were worth tens of millions, so this was his chance to show off!
However, if his father knew that his son had secretly taken such a precious item to sell, he would probably be furious!
Over the years, Zhang Xuanqi had sold many collections to get pocket money. His father ran a bar and made quite a lot of money each year, but even that couldn’t sustain his spending habits.
Zhang Xuanqi took out a scroll tube from his bag and held it high, looking like he was showing off.
The host asked with interest: “This gentleman seems very confident. Is this a painting?”
Zhang Xuanqi proudly said: “Of course it’s a painting. This is an original work by Wu Daozi!”
An original work by Wu Daozi! The Tang Dynasty painting master Wu Daozi! It was nearly 1,500 years old!
Hearing this, the audience immediately erupted in exclamations, and the old experts’ faces showed signs of excitement!
Su Rui shook his head. Even if the painting was genuine, this wastrel bringing such a treasure to a TV show was truly foolish.
The host was obviously also very shocked, because Wu Daozi’s reputation was truly enormous. This was the most prestigious collection ever brought to the show!
“I have to say, when I heard the name ‘Wu Daozi,’ my heart almost jumped out of my chest!” The host forcibly suppressed his excitement, trying to maintain composure. “This gentleman’s previous confidence was indeed well-founded!”
Zhang Xuanqi looked around the room like a victor, standing proudly.
“Now, please allow this gentleman to show us this precious collection!”
Hearing this, Zhang Xuanqi slowly unfolded the painting. This guy wasn’t stupid; he knew to be careful.
The elderly experts all widened their eyes. Even though they had seen all kinds of collections, they had rarely seen original works by Wu Daozi!
Su Rui narrowed his eyes, as if wanting to see the painting more clearly.
