"It's free, the boss gave it to me."

Ye Mingcheng pulled out the bicycle and casually tossed the bamboo tube into the basket, a stark contrast to his previous doting attitude.

"Same owner as this bamboo tube?" Ye Qingqing became even more interested. Her father had improved, managing to get a ceramic jar for free. Although it was broken, it was still more valuable than the bamboo tube, at least the craftsmanship was more complex.

"That old swindler, I bought a bamboo tube and a painting for 250 yuan, and then he gave me this jar as a gift..." Ye Mingcheng said angrily, but suddenly stopped and couldn't continue.

The air fell silent again, and everyone's eyes showed even more sympathy.

Ye Qingqing barely managed to suppress her laughter, and she mercilessly teased her father, "Dad, the boss didn't lie to you. He explained everything to you clearly. You were the fool who insisted on jumping into the fire, and you're blaming the boss for not pulling you back."

The boss made it clear that her father was an idiot, but her father, being so stupid, just didn't understand. The boss was really wronged.

Ye Mingcheng's face darkened even more. No wonder the shopkeeper looked at him strangely when he paid that day. He must have been laughing at him for being an idiot. He really was an idiot!

Furious, Ye Mingcheng wanted to smash that big swindler's stall. He went back inside and drank three cups of water, but it still couldn't extinguish the fire in his heart.

"Dr. Ye, didn't you also buy a painting? Take it out and let this gentleman appraise it for you," Dr. Hu reminded him.

"Yes, Dad, go get it."

Ye Qingqing joined in the commotion, smiling at the old man, "Sir, please take a look. Your medical expenses are waived, we won't charge you."

The old man smiled and shook his head. "Medical expenses don't need to be waived. I'm not an expert, but I do do some research on this stuff and I enjoy it. However, I may not be able to make the right diagnosis."

"That's still better than my dad. He's a sucker."

Ye Mingcheng paused in his steps upstairs, turned back and looked at Ye Qingqing with a resentful expression. He was being disliked by his daughter, and it was also his own fault for being stupid. Sigh!

The others had all finished their IV drips and didn't go home. They stayed to wait for Ye Mingcheng to bring out the painting of the treasure, wanting to see what it was. They figured it was probably a fake.

Ye Mingcheng carried several paintings downstairs. They were some of his prized possessions, and he thought they were genuine. He decided to let the old gentleman take a look, promising to only charge him the cost price from now on. The old gentleman was in poor health and often came to his clinic for treatment, but he was not a talkative person. This was the first time he had taken the initiative to speak.

The old man picked up a scroll, but without unfolding it, he frowned and shook his head, saying, "It's a fake. See this scroll? It's obviously mass-produced. It even smells like chemicals. This is the lowest quality antiquing agent. You can tell it's fake just by smelling it."

"Isn't this a musty smell? The boss said that calligraphy and paintings will develop this smell if they're left out for a long time." Ye Mingcheng gritted his teeth, feeling like he wanted to rip off the boss, thinking he was a heartless bastard who had no anus.

"I'm just kidding. Anything that smells like that is a fake. It's the most basic trick. Only a novice would fall for it."

The old gentleman had little hope for the remaining paintings, but he still looked at them all. As everyone expected, they were all the same, low-quality imitations mass-produced on modern assembly lines, worth at most a few dozen yuan, but Ye Mingcheng spent several hundred yuan to buy them as treasures.

"I...I'll go find him!"

Ye Mingcheng clutched the calligraphy, paintings, and bamboo tube tightly, then stormed out. He had been swindled out of so much money and all he got was a broken jar; he had to go back and get some back.