Chapter 54: Outnumbered but Unable to Win
Lance eagerly grasped Su Youling's hands, seeking her approval. "You just said I was right? You believe I'm not just making trouble and trying to extort money, right? It's obvious that this shop owner is bullying his customers because he's a big business, and he's deliberately squeezing out an outsider like me."
As she spoke, her tone became tinged with the grievances of being a stranger in a strange land, like a little puppy wagging its tail for comfort, her eyes glistening with tears.
Su Youling was defeated by the boy's overly familiar manner, so she quickly withdrew her hand and coughed lightly, "Can I see the teapot in your hand?"
“You’re so young, you probably can’t tell anything anyway.” Lance said this, but still handed her the teapot, saying dejectedly, “My father came all the way to the country to find a master who could repair painted pottery. He finally found out that this Mr. Hong’s craftsmanship was unparalleled in the world, but he never expected to encounter something like this…”
Su Youling ignored his grievances and focused on inspecting the repaired parts of the teapot, pointing them out to Lance, "Are these the damaged parts?"
“That’s right. It’s because the damaged area is large and the repair is difficult that I came here to ask an expert for help.” Lance glared at Boss Hong unwillingly. “It’s because he is a reclusive master with fame and skills that no one believes me. They all think I’m a fraud.”
Old Hong hadn't taken the two young people seriously, but upon hearing their voices, he looked at Su Youling with new respect. "Little girl, you have a good eye. My repair skills are enough to make it impossible for ordinary people to see the repair marks on this teapot. Have you studied pottery or do you know anything about antique appraisal?"
Seeing that Su Youling was so young yet still putting on airs, the onlookers immediately started to gloat, saying, "Old Hong, don't waste your time with two young people. What can a little girl who hasn't even grown up yet possibly know?"
"This girl might be one of the accomplices this foreign swindler hired. She already knew where you hurt yourself, and now she's acting to help him extort money from you! Why don't we just help you beat them up and get rid of them!"
Lance couldn't win an argument, so he resorted to speaking in English, which the group couldn't understand. This only fueled their xenophobia, and they rolled up their sleeves to kick the two of them out.
Lance quickly blocked Su Youling's path and whispered, "You run first, they're too fierce."
"True gold fears no fire. Anyone who dares to make a move, call the police immediately." Su Youling coldly glanced at the restless crowd. Seeing that they were indeed hesitant, she turned around, placed the teapot on the table, turned it to let the light shine on it, suddenly squinted her eyes, and raised her hand to touch the gap where the spout and the body of the teapot met.
Old Hong's expression changed slightly, and his fingers gripped the wheelchair handles tightly.
Could this little girl really have some special skills?
Although the deadline was tight, he was always confident in his skills, and even experts would find it difficult to spot the trickery in the teapot.
But the only flaw in this teapot is at the seam where the spout meets the body...
“Young man, if you’re really not satisfied with the old man’s repair results, why not invite a third-party organization to come and evaluate it? I’m an upright man with nothing to hide.” Boss Hong maneuvered his wheelchair, subtly blocking the light in front of Su Youling. “Don’t cause trouble here today, it’s affecting everyone’s business. Let’s talk about it later.”
Lance frowned. "It's not that I'm dissatisfied, it's this teapot..."
"This teapot is a fake," Su Youling continued, her words startling. "Boss, your craftsmanship is truly superb. You've created such a realistic replica in just a day or two. If it weren't for the tight deadline and the fact that the clay at the joints wasn't completely dried naturally, resulting in a slight color difference, I probably wouldn't have been able to tell the difference."
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"Really? My father was right, this is a fake." Lance's eyes lit up, and he took the teapot and examined it for a long time, but he couldn't see the color difference she mentioned.
Old Hong's expression remained unchanged, but he was panicking inside. The more panicked he became, the calmer and louder his voice became. "Girl, you're so young and you've already learned to spout such swindling nonsense. You two young people, who sent you to cause trouble?"
"Old Hong, this is probably a trick sent by the rivals! All that talk about different clay colors is just a hoax. We're all people who know about pottery and antiques, do you think we'd be fooled by a little girl who keeps lying?" Without hesitation, everyone chose to believe Old Hong and even shouted that they would call the police to prove his innocence.
At this moment, Wei Ning squeezed in from behind, and upon hearing this, deliberately crossed his arms and snorted, "This is a top student of Master Ai, a national ceramics master. He's much more professional than this old man."
Su Youling glanced at him, thinking to herself that this kid could make up such a ridiculous rumor so easily, and even dragged her into it!
"Are you out of your mind?" She gently pinched Wei Ning.
Wei Ning whispered, "Grandma, this guy is probably Dr. J's son. If you want to help him out of this predicament, you'll have to deal with these arrogant old men. Just because your fakes are 100% indistinguishable from the real thing, while this old man's are flawed, you're better than him. So your master isn't much weaker either."
Su Youling's heart skipped a beat.
Her master had a head of gray hair that was always frizzy and hung over his shoulders. He was thin and hunched over, with rough skin but not many wrinkles, and a pair of cloudy but powerful eyes.
You can't tell his age or experience just by looking at his face.
In terms of pottery skills, he is indeed extremely skilled.
Could that old man really be Mr. Ai, the recluse of pottery?
In any case, the only way to solve the current predicament is to let the facts speak for themselves.
While everyone was still stunned, Su Youling pulled Wei Ning aside and gave him a few instructions. He was a little surprised after hearing them, but time was of the essence, so he obediently went.
There was a moment of silence, followed by a burst of laughter.
"Not long after Mr. Ai retired due to illness, news of his death spread. Judging from this girl's age, could she have been learning pottery from a master in the underworld?"
"Even if Mr. Ai were still alive, he would be almost a hundred years old by now. Even if he didn't have dementia, he wouldn't be able to dig soil or fire pottery anymore. How could he teach this inexperienced little girl to make pottery?"
"Little girl, your teacher isn't dead yet, is he? Old Hong studied pottery with Mr. Ai when he was young, so you're practically classmates. If you've got the guts, dig him up and show everyone what he's made of."
Su Youling looked surprised.
I never expected that this Mr. Hong would have such a prestigious background, being accepted by a national ceramic master. No wonder his craftsmanship is so good.
Why would someone so talented choose to do business in an antique street like this?
Boss Hong's tightly furrowed brows relaxed slightly with a hint of irony, and he angrily said, "These young people are outrageous! To achieve their goal, they're actually insulting the name of a deceased person. Please help me out and 'escort' them out!"
Having offended Mr. Ai's reputation, the people on the street instantly became indignant and shouted that they would beat all three of them out.
Lance grabbed Su Youling, preparing to run away, and said nervously, "Let's come back to argue another day. They outnumber us and I can't beat them."
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