chapter 28 You were cheated ===

"How come? Do you think I'm not capable? Let me tell you, I've put in the effort. And by the way, my buddy Joe is currently doing this. He recently bought something for tens of thousands and sold it for two million." Lionel Ye patted a man with shifty eyes next to him: "Thorpe Chen, make friends who can help you, not hang out with your no-good friends all the time." "Thank you for the reminder. I'll make a change." Thorpe Chen nodded. His uncle is truly one who never pressures him. "Old Ye, this Tang tri-colour piece looks good." While speaking, Joe pointed to a Tang tri-colour piece on a display table. "Where? Let me take a look." Lionel Ye hurriedly ran to Joe's side. The one displaying the Tang tri-colour piece was a walk-in customer. This piece had a primary colour scheme of yellow, green, and white, and looked a bit ancient. "Look at this Tang tri-colour piece, it has an ancient hue, and it's well preserved. It's from the Tang Dynasty's golden age. The price is 280,000, and if you resell this, you'll make a lot of money." Joe excitedly pointed at the antique. "Brother, you have good eyes. My hometown is Luoyang. This piece came from a tomb. I priced it at 280,000 because I urgently need money. Otherwise, I wouldn't even sell it for a million." The stall owner was a man, winking at Joe. These two were definitely in cahoots. "Joe, are you sure there's no problem?" Lionel Ye's eyes gleamed. "Of course. When have I ever been wrong? If I had enough money on me, I would have taken it directly." Joe said seriously. "Boss, can you give a discount?" Lionel Ye was tempted. "Bro, don't make it hard for me. I need the money. Your friend knows his stuff. Ask him if 280,000 is worth it." The stall owner declined outright, leaving no room for bargaining. "Lionel, don't miss this chance. If you want to get into antiques, you have to be bold." Joe was coaxing him on the side: "If you hesitate for a bit, someone else will snatch it up." "Hey, good things don't wait." The stall owner glanced at Joe, acting as if he had hot commodities that would sell easily. "I don't have enough money. I only bought 180,000. This is all the capital I scraped together." Lionel Ye was genuinely interested. "Well, I know a guy who can lend you money, but he'll want some interest. Should I call him over?" Joe had an idea. "Alright, call him over. A bit of interest is fine as long as I can secure this piece." Lionel Ye gritted his teeth. "Okay, I'll call him now." Joe happily muttered "idiot" under his breath and then made a call. "Hold on." Thorpe Chen suddenly stepped forward: "This Tang tri-colour, it's from the Tang Dynasty?" "Of course. My grandfather dug it up from the ground. It's been passed down to me. If I didn't need money, I wouldn't sell it." The stall owner said. "Looking at this Tang tri-colour piece, the colour is ancient, and it seems like it was unearthed. I might not know much about these things, but by its energy, I can discern its age." Thorpe Chen stared at the Tang tri-colour: "If I'm not wrong, this is a modern replica, then buried to age it, giving it a sense of antiquity." "Who are you? Stop talking nonsense here." The stall owner was angered. "Lionel, is this your useless brother-in-law?" Joe had finished his call by now. "Yes, it's him." Lionel Ye sneered: "Thorpe Chen, you know nothing. Just because you found one good deal doesn't make you invincible. Get lost and don't block my way to wealth." "Hindering your wealth? I'm trying to save you." Thorpe Chen was angry, thinking Lionel was ungrateful. "You should save yourself. A bottom-feeder of society, what right do you have to advise me? Get lost right now." Lionel Ye completely ignored Thorpe Chen. "Then don't regret it." Thorpe Chen was speechless at Lionel. He was being swindled and didn't even realize it. "This is Jermaine Zhang." After a while, Joe led over a bald man with a scar on his face: "But he starts lending from 150,000, to be paid back in three days." "Sure, I'll gather the money when I get home," Lionel Ye agreed without even looking at who was talking. "No problem, sign and put your fingerprint here, and I'll transfer the money to you immediately," the man with a scar (no name replacement given) took out a contract. Lionel Ye, with a wave of his hand, signed his name. The man with the scar looked and made the transfer immediately. Thorpe Chen, who was standing nearby, was surprised. Couldn't his cousin see this obvious trap? But if he didn't know better, it wasn't Thorpe's place to intervene. "Haha, I'm rich!" Lionel Ye exclaimed excitedly, having bought the tri-coloured horse artefact for 280,000. "Lionel, once your store opens, this will be its crown jewel. I bet it can sell for around 1.5 million," Joe was hyping him up. "Joe, I owe you a drink. Thanks a lot!" Lionel Ye was ecstatic. "This tri-coloured horse is that valuable?" Thorpe Chen scoffed. "What, don't believe me?" Lionel Ye looked at Thorpe disdainfully. "Last time you just got lucky. The antique business requires both effort and investment. I'm going to make a fortune selling this and even more in the future." "Well then, with so many experts around, get it appraised. If it's valuable, auction it off. With so many antique enthusiasts here, someone might pay even more," Thorpe Chen suggested. "Right, there are experts here for appraisal. I'm going to have it appraised. Haha, I'm rich!" Lionel Ye, laughing heartily, went to get the artefact appraised. In the appraisal stage, several experts were chatting, and Elder Wu was among them. Lionel Ye approached them, "Sirs, I've just acquired this Tang tri-coloured artefact. Could you take a look?" "Somebody's getting an item appraised!" The crowd, seeing an appraisal in progress and experts ready to explain, quickly gathered around. Holding his head high, Lionel Ye believed he had struck gold, having spent 280,000 to obtain something worth millions. "Let me see," one of the experts took a glance and paused, "How much did you pay for this?" "280,000. Sir, did I get a great deal?" Lionel Ye asked eagerly. "280,000?" The experts on stage exchanged glances. The first expert gave a wry smile, "Elder Li, you're the expert in tri-coloured artefacts, you tell him." Elder Li began, "First, from its clay body, Tang tri-coloured artefacts are low-temperature glazed pottery, delicate and porous, typically white with a hint of yellow or pink." He picked up the artefact and started to explain. "Counterfeit ones are usually made of porcelain, very fine and dense, and produce a crisp sound when knocked." Elder Li gently tapped the artefact, producing a clear ringing sound. "I see," the audience nodded, looking enlightened. "So, how much is my Tang tri-coloured artefact worth?" Lionel Ye, still not catching the hint, asked excitedly. "Firstly, it's about the design. Authentic Tang tri-coloured artefacts have realistic and expressive designs. As for counterfeits, they might look similar but lack the spirit. Take a look at this tri-coloured horse; while the design is very intricate, it lacks some authenticity. If I'm not mistaken, you can find this in an ordinary store for about 30 bucks," Elder Li continued. "What? 30 bucks?" Lionel Ye's hopeful smile suddenly froze. "Just a reminder to everyone, this is just a platform for antique enthusiasts to interact. Please be cautious when making transactions," an announcer reminded the crowd. "Joe, you tricked me! You damn cheated me!" Lionel Ye finally realized and angrily charged at Joe.