Chapter 123 The Hook
Qu's father angrily swept everything on the table to the floor. Not satisfied yet, he kicked Qu Xin several times and pointed at her nose and cursed: "How many times have I told you? I told you not to provoke Yuan Tingchuan, why don't you listen? Old Jia told me that he wanted to quietly sell the things to raise funds, and you said you would help him deal with it. Is this how you deal with it?"
Qu Xin sat on the sofa with a smile on her face: "Isn't this good? If nothing goes wrong, it's good for you, me and everyone else. If something goes wrong, Yuan Tingchuan can be dragged into it. Even if he can get away with it in the end, he won't have an easy life."
Last time in Hexi Village, Yuan Tingchuan threw her out without any regard for their old friendship, making her so embarrassed. The combination of new and old grudges made Qu Xin go crazy.
It just so happened that Lao Jia wanted to sell a Chenghua Doucai porcelain. Lao Jia was also in a dilemma. Although Qu's father did not say it explicitly, he knew at the time that the thing was of ill-gotten origin. But he was in urgent need of funds recently. He took his collection of ancient violets to sell, but people said they were all fakes and not worth anything at all. Only this Chenghua Doucai porcelain was left.
He was reluctant to part with it. He had been collecting antiques for several years and had collected this authentic piece. However, the company was at a critical juncture and he could not care less about it. He gritted his teeth and decided to sell it.
Qu Xin told him that he could sell it for a high price, and he readily agreed. On the one hand, he would have an explanation to his old friend if Qu Xin sold it to him, and on the other hand, he was short of funds at the time, so the more he could sell, the better.
Father Qu's eyes flickered, and he slowed down his voice and said, "It's already come to this, there's no point in saying anything. Since Yuan Tingchuan has put us on the fire, don't blame us for being ungrateful if he's ruthless. I'll leave this matter to you, do you understand?"
Qu Xin nodded excitedly. Her father finally agreed. This time she was determined to make Yuan Tingchuan look bad.
In order to create hype for his piece, Yuan Tingchuan invited reporters from the provincial newspaper, and this time he also included exquisite pictures, which made people even more jealous.
An old comrade was holding a newspaper in silence. His expression was very serious and his brows were tightly furrowed. After a while, he made up his mind, rolled up the newspaper in his hand, and went straight to the director's office.
"Take a look at this Chenghua Doucai porcelain bowl?"
The old curator picked up the newspaper, put on his reading glasses, glanced at the title, and said with a smile: "Why? Are you also interested in this porcelain? I heard it will be auctioned tomorrow? Oh, it's a good thing, but we can't afford it. It's useless to look at it. Can you afford it?"
His original intention was to tease Lao Qin, who was an expert in the study of ancient porcelain and was very obsessed with porcelain, but like himself, he could not afford these things at all.
"Please take a closer look. Is this piece of porcelain exactly the same as our Chenghua Doucai Fish and Lotus Bowl?" Lao Qin's voice was serious.
When the old curator heard what he said, his heart skipped a beat. He picked up the newspaper and looked at the picture carefully. His heart sank and he had a bad feeling.
The two looked at each other and hurried directly to the museum lobby.
What they didn't notice was that there was a statement in the middle of the newspaper: Because the original picture was damaged, the accompanying picture is for reference only.
When Master Zheng was returning home in the evening, he met two people at the entrance of the alley in front of his house. They were the bodyguards of the Qu family who had visited him before.
"Tomorrow you just need to tell people that the person you received hurriedly handed you the bowl and left. Mr. Yuan told you behind your back not to look into it and just accept it. You don't need to worry about anything else."
Master Zheng said hesitantly, "Although my brother's problem has been solved, if I offend Mr. Yuan, I'm afraid I won't be able to continue in this business. How will my family survive?"
So you want money? The Qu family bodyguards seemed to have anticipated his request. One of them took out two stacks of RMB from his pocket and threw them into Master Zheng's arms.
"I've given you the things, but what if you can't do it well?"
"Don't worry, I know what to say."
Master Zheng watched the two black-clad bodyguards leave, his eyes flashing. What should he say? That depends on what happens tomorrow. Do you want to buy the lives of his entire family for just 20,000 yuan? That's too cheap.
In the golden autumn season, chrysanthemums are in full bloom in Yuan's Yiyuan, with a faint and elegant fragrance. The moss on the rockery is accompanied by the ancient rhythm of the stone patterns. In the distance, there is a small bridge over the flowing water and green trees forming shades. The scenery is very pleasant.
There are more than a dozen tables neatly arranged on the small lawn outside the "Pomo Pavilion", which is full of guests who are drinking tea and chatting, waiting for the auction to begin.
In front of it was a makeshift high platform, on top of which was a long, gold-velvet-covered table.
Several items have been placed on it, all covered with red silk, waiting for someone to reveal their secrets.
Some guests were anxious and kept looking around.
"Have you heard? Today we are not only auctioning the Chenghua Doucai small bowl, but also an authentic work by Zheng Banqiao."
"The story of Emperor Chenghua and Consort Wan is really heartbreaking. My wife cried as she was holding a newspaper yesterday. She asked me to give her the Chenghua Doucai bowl today. She said it was a testimony of love."
"That won't do. I came here on a mission from my mother, and she's waiting for me to bring this porcelain back to her."
"Well, the story sounds okay to me, but I'm quite interested in this porcelain."
With a light cough from the auctioneer on the podium, the auction officially began.
Although everyone came here for the Chenghua Doucai porcelain, and some just wanted to take a glimpse of it, after all, everyone knew that such a national treasure must be worth a lot of money, and since they were here they couldn't come in vain, so it would be nice to get a few nice-looking pieces.
Yuan Tingchuan and Du Ruo stood on the second floor of the Mo Pavilion, looking at the auction on the lawn with a smile.
The atmosphere was heated, bidding was booming, and Mr. Yuan made a lot of money.
"Will the fish you catch be caught? What if they don't come?"
"If he doesn't come, then don't come. If he doesn't come, I will continue to make money. If I don't catch anything this time, maybe I can catch a bigger one next time."
"You have a big appetite, be careful."
"I have a big appetite, didn't you know that a long time ago?" Yuan Tingchuan whispered in Du Ruo's ear: "Or do you want to try another way?"
Du Ruo pushed him and said, "Be quiet and wait for your distinguished guest."
"Dear guest? They are just a few small fish at most. The real big fish won't take the bait. If you want to clean up the fish pond, you have a long way to go."
That's true. The water here is so deep that the big fish at the back won't show up easily.