After Su Jialiang presented his conditions, the hot-tempered middle-aged man slammed his fist on the table and shouted, "Su, you get this straight! We're here to negotiate, not to beg for peace! Your business has crossed the line, and the basis for negotiation is to give back everything you've taken!"

"Spit it out?"

Qing Huai sneered: "This world is so vast, covering millions of square kilometers. You keep saying we've crossed the line, but I'd like to ask, who drew this line?"

"Ah Liang, if this is your attitude, isn't it a bit too unreasonable?"

Uncle Gen's face suddenly darkened: "Your Su family's business has always been in the Northwest, while the southern routes have always been operated by us. Both sides have been sticking to the old ways for so many years, doing business on their own turf. Are you trying to deny it?"

Su Jialiang's lips curled up into a slight smile: "Uncle Gen, I don't agree with what you're saying. The antique business is all about dealing with the world's most precious treasures. What kind of logic is this about dividing the country into separate regions? If we follow your logic, shouldn't you also withdraw from the mainland and go back to Taiwan to do business? You set up this tea ceremony; you must know the rules, right?"

Uncle Gen's cheek twitched slightly upon hearing Su Jialiang's response. After a moment of silence, he picked up his teacup.

Seeing that Uncle Gen had accepted the terms, Su Jiaming picked up the teapot, poured two cups of tea, and then placed all the teacups against the spout of the teapot.

This formation is different from the fighting formation. Once the formation is activated, there is no chance for anyone to back out, so this is the dual-talent formation.

Taking the left cup, the two would then engage in a verbal battle, showcasing their knowledge of history.

Taking the right cup is the same as before; we take out the item and let the other party find a flaw.

This time, it was the hot-tempered middle-aged man who reached out. He first glared at me fiercely, then took the right cup.

Without being modest, the nine Daquan Wuqian coins that Uncle Gen and his team just brought out are the best quality counterfeits on the market. Without using instruments, the number of people who can identify the authenticity using rudimentary methods is extremely small.

So the hot-tempered middle-aged man holding the right cup was clearly intimidated by me and chose to avoid his sharp edge.

As Su Jialiang waved his hand, Su Jiaming stepped forward carrying a briefcase, opened it, and took out three identical bronze wine vessels.

The hot-tempered middle-aged man took the bronze wine vessel and fiddled with it for half an hour. When he couldn't find any flaws, he had no choice but to take out a spray gun.

Seeing this, Su Jiaming behind me, and Qing Huai and the others beside me all laughed. Although they didn't make any noise, their laughter was full of contempt.

I didn't react to that.

After all, the current situation involves a competition between two of the top counterfeit gangs in the country, and I have just personally experienced the difficulty involved. If the method of making copper coins float on water doesn't work, I don't even know if I would resort to this method if I were in a desperate situation.

After much fuss, the hot-tempered middle-aged man finally managed to pick out the fake.

Although the other side didn't win as gracefully as I did, they were still the victors. Uncle Gen then took the opportunity to state their demands: "When you were stealing our business, you caused us a lot of losses and even cost us many brothers. You need to come up with this compensation. Including our losses, it should be at least 300 million!"

Upon hearing the figure Uncle Gen quoted, Su Jiaming reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, letting out a loud howl: "Old man, are you fucking crazy? You think three hundred million is three hundred dollars? You think I can just pull it out of my wallet and give it to you?"

The hot-tempered middle-aged man slammed his hand on the table: "Kid, do you even know the rules of tea ceremony? You don't even have a seat, do you have the right to speak in this room?"

"Third brother, don't talk nonsense."

Su Jialiang turned around and scolded, then looked at Uncle Gen with a smile: "You old man are really cunning. I took your territory and you started asking me for money. If you take out these 300 million, we'll have to work for nothing for at least five years on the new territory we just acquired."

"That's not how you calculate it. We already lost territory, and you even blew up two old pits. Aren't those losses?"

Uncle Gen sipped his tea with a relaxed expression: "If you're willing to give back the territory you've taken, I can waive this money! Business is always a gamble. You think I'm asking for too much, and I also think you're going too far. If you give the territory back to me, I can give up the three hundred million, hehe."

As I listened to their conversation, a sense of unease began to creep into my heart.

Since both parties have participated in this tea party, it shows that everyone has come with sincerity.

Since a statue of Fan Li has been erected, rules must be followed. This is not to say that the statue of Fan Li is particularly imposing, but rather that it represents a set of rules. Once news of someone breaking their promise spreads, they will be unable to continue their activities in the circle.

So, based on my initial guess, after Uncle Gen and his group won this round, they should continue to discuss the division of territory. At the very least, they should make Su Jialiang ensure that the servants would not expand their territory. After all, as long as there is a fixed sales area, there is no need to worry about not making money.

But Uncle Gen put the cart before the horse and chose to ask for money, which shows that he was absolutely confident of winning this final round of verbal battle.

To attend this tea party, Su Jialiang prepared three antiques, while Uncle Gen and his group only had two.

I looked at the rectangular object on the table covered with red silk and suddenly became nervous.

At this point, Su Jialiang also made a decision: "Alright, then we can do as Uncle Gen says. We can pay this compensation, but regarding the territory, we hope Uncle Gen will accept the consequences of his bet."

"Enough talk, let's get started!"

The hot-tempered middle-aged man didn't utter a single unnecessary word; he reached out and ripped the red silk ribbon off the table.

Cola Boy and another person came forward, took out a scroll from the long brocade box, and spread it out on the table.

I frowned slightly when I saw the paper on the scroll.

The color is pure white, slightly dull, and it looks like it's only a few decades old; it's not a valuable antique.

It wasn't until the scroll was unrolled that I understood why it looked so new.

1864 AD, the third year of the reign of Emperor Tongzhi of the Qing Dynasty.

Many important things happened this year.

The Taiping Rebellion failed, and the Qing army captured Nanjing.

Quanjude Roast Duck Restaurant opens.

The American Civil War broke out.

Qi Baishi, a master of Chinese painting and a world-renowned cultural figure, was also born in this year. Because Mr. Qi passed away in 1957, many people regard him as a modern painter during the Liberation period, but they do not know that his life spanned the Qing Dynasty, the Republic of China, and the War of Resistance against Japan, until the founding of New China, and he was already famous during the Qing Dynasty.

Qi Baishi's original name was Chunzhi, courtesy name Weiqing, and pen name Lanting. Later, he changed his name to Huang, courtesy name Binsheng, and pen names Baishi, Baishi Shanweng, Laoping, Esou, Jieshan Yinguan Zhuzhe, Jipingtang Shanglaoren, and Sanbaishi Yin Fuweng.

The old gentleman worked as a carpenter in his early years and later made a living by selling paintings. After the age of fifty-seven, he settled in Beijing. His brushstrokes were vigorous and moist, his colors were rich and bright, his shapes were simple and vivid, and his artistic conception was simple and unpretentious. His paintings of fish, insects, shrimp and crabs were especially outstanding.

The painting in front of me is Mr. Qi's "Shrimp Playing".