With his X-ray Vision active, beyond discerning the details of the authentic teacups, Yang Fan also clearly saw the ingenious mechanism set into the bottom of the mahogany box.
"Boss Zhou, I think this tea set is quite nice. Why don't you pick it up and let me have a closer look?" Yang Fan smiled faintly, tossing the hot potato back at him. "After all, this is Song Dynasty white-glazed porcelain and it's worth a fortune. I’m afraid I’d be too nervous—if I were to drop it, I couldn't afford to pay for it!"
It was not unusual for a mere employee to make such a request.
However, Zhou Shenping was taken aback and refused without leaving a trace of hesitation. "You're quite the joker, young man. You didn't hold back when you were tearing that shirt earlier; how come you've suddenly become so timid now?"
"You should just pick it up yourself. That way you can see it more clearly."
"Exactly!" Zhou Lin chimed in, stepping forward to back his father up. "You’re an appraiser! If you need others to handle the antiques for you while you 'appraise' them, won't people laugh their heads off if word gets out?"
"That’s enough! Quit playing games and just get on with the appraisal!"
Facing Yang Fan’s strange proposal, Yang Rong was also quite puzzled. But thinking back to his recent success in appraising, she had a vague feeling that her younger brother must have his reasons. She chose to remain silent, deciding to wait and see how things played out.
Meanwhile, Yang Fan remained calm and collected. "Boss Zhou, Young Master Zhou, that’s not really the point. The shirt earlier was a fake and not worth much, so if it got torn, it was no big deal. But you can’t compare that to this tea set..."
He paused for a moment, staring straight at Zhou Shenping. "Hey! Boss Zhou, I’m just asking you to hold the teacup for me. Why are you being so evasive? Could it be that you, a big boss, are just like a worker like me—worried about dropping the cups? Or is it that you’ve tampered with the box, and the moment I pick up one cup, the remaining three will be smashed?"
*Clack!*
The sudden, pointed question caused the expressions of the father and son to change instantly!
"Damn it! What the hell are you babbling about?"
Incensed by embarrassment, Zhou Lin grabbed Yang Fan by the collar and growled, "Watch your mouth, kid! If you keep spouting nonsense, see if I don't tear that mouth of yours to shreds!"
"Hey, hey! Let's talk this out, no need to get physical!"
The sudden escalation terrified Yang Rong, who quickly stepped in to play the peacemaker, hoping to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
However, the surrounding staff members were clearly disgruntled. After all, it was the Baobao Pavilion that had come to stir up trouble in the first place; they had no right to get defensive now.
"Isn't this bullying? Yang Fan just made a passing comment, and you're already resorting to violence!"
"Right! Yang Fan was just asking; he didn't even say you actually tampered with the box. Why are you so worked up?"
"It must be because their conscience is guilty and they're lashing out in anger!"
"..."
"Alright, everyone, that's enough." Yang Rong interrupted the crowd, feeling quite helpless. At the end of the day, she was just the manager of the small Brocade Pavilion, not a big antique store owner like the Zhou family. If she were to truly burn bridges, it wouldn't just be about her being targeted—it would be a disaster if it dragged down the benefactor who had always looked after her and her brother.
Calming herself, she gently patted Yang Fan's back to comfort him. She then turned to Zhou Shenping and apologized with a forced smile, "I'm sorry, Boss Zhou. Yang Fan is just a bit too blunt, but he definitely didn't mean anything by it. Why don't we continue?"
"Continue?" Zhou Shenping snorted, deliberately seizing the opportunity to make things difficult. "Appraising has its rules, and speaking does too! He claimed I tampered with the box? Then bring out the evidence! If you can't, watch yourself—I’ll sue your Brocade Pavilion for defamation!"
Sue him? Yang Fan inwardly sneered. This was exactly the moment he had been waiting for!
"If I have evidence to prove it, then you must sell me this set of Song Dynasty white-glazed teacups at twenty percent of the market price! How about that?"
"Fine! It's a deal!"
Zhou Shenping agreed readily, never believing for a second that Yang Fan could spot the flaw. He knew that this mahogany box was custom-made by a master from the Luban Sect. Unless one was an expert, they wouldn't just fail to find the mechanism—they wouldn't even notice anything was wrong!
*Heh,* no matter how heaven-defying this kid's eyesight was, there were boundaries between trades... He was bound to lose!
*Whoosh!*
Just as the Zhou father and son were gloating, Yang Fan grabbed the three teacups and, in the same motion, dropped into a crouch with lightning speed, catching the fourth cup just as it fell!
His reaction time was astonishing!
But what really left Yang Rong trembling with fear was the realization that her younger brother had been right all along... The cup really had fallen through the false bottom of the box!
"Yang Fan, what on earth is going on?"
"The problem was with this box!"
Yang Fan carefully placed the four cups aside, picked up the mahogany box, and demonstrated it to the crowd. "There is a mechanism hidden inside this box. The moment a cup is picked up, the bottom layer automatically opens, smashing the remaining cups!"
As he spoke, he turned the box upside down and tapped the sides repeatedly until the magnets inside loosened, allowing him to slide out the bottom panel... With his demonstration, the hidden mechanism was exposed for all to see!
In an instant, the entire room erupted in an uproar, the gazes directed at the Zhou father and son filled with contempt.
"I’ve long heard that Baobao Pavilion plays dirty, having already driven several competitors into the ground..."
"Tsk, tsk. I used to think those were just rumors, but looking at this, it's truer than pearls!"
"Who's to say otherwise? This Zhou fellow is truly despicable, resorting to such underhanded schemes! No wonder they got so defensive and angry earlier—they were guilty!"
"..."
The sound of one mockery after another left the Zhou father and son flushed with shame and fury, their faces turning from green to white.
"Boss Zhou," Yang Fan said with a grin as he set down the box. "Heh, this set of Song Dynasty white-glazed teacups is flawless, and it's better preserved than others of its kind. At market price, it should fetch about 1.3 million!"
"So, we'll take it for 260,000!"
"Damn you! Are you hallucinating? You want to buy a 1.3 million antique for 260,000..." Zhou Lin, infuriated, rolled up his sleeves to start a fight.
However, before he could lose his temper completely, his father held him back. "That's enough, Lin'er. We lost the bet, and we must honor it! 260,000 it is!"
Zhou Shenping pulled out his payment code. Seeing the 260,000 transfer, he felt a bitter sting in his heart. But they had been caught red-handed in their dirty tricks, and even if they were reluctant, they couldn't afford to flip out in public. If this news got out, it wouldn't just be the Brocade Pavilion's reputation on the line—it would destroy the credibility of his own Baobao Pavilion!
"As expected of Boss Zhou, truly magnanimous!"
Having picked up such a bargain, no one was happier than Yang Rong. She delightedly found an exquisite box, carefully tucked away the full set of teacups, and couldn't keep her grin from widening.
"Enough chatter. There's still one more antique left. Let's take a look!" Zhou Shenping said with a cold face, desperate to recoup his losses on the final piece.
The last item was a jade brush pot. Just looking at the glaze and texture of the outer layer, it appeared to be quite old. But truth be told, Yang Fan had become something of a half-baked appraiser, and relying on the experience he’d gained from helping his third sister over the years, he could tell even without X-ray Vision that this was an artificially aged imitation.
Still, to be safe, he focused his concentration and gave it a thorough look with his X-ray Vision. To his surprise, he discovered that there was more to this brush pot than met the eye!
"This brush pot is decent!" Yang Fan said, downplaying its value, though he couldn't hide the eagerness in his eyes. "Third Sister, let's take it!"