chapter 31 Prodigal boy, are you bloated?

To be honest, Stanley Du wasn't really into antique appraisal. But his mother-in-law, Elen Zeng, was pretty keen on trading paintings and calligraphy. So when Flora Han invited Stanley Du to this appraisal event at Vintage Grace Antiques, it seemed like a great chance for his mother-in-law to expand her social circle. "Can I bring my family along to the event?" "Of course, you can. By the way, have you sold that authentic 'Inscription on Inkstone' by Mi Fu?" "Sorry, I've already sold that painting to Keith Xu of the Silver Phoenix Jewelry Group." "Ah, my boss wanted to buy it too, but Mr. Xu beat us to it." ... As it approached noon, Stanley Du, Dinah Yang, and Elen Zeng arrived at Vintage Grace Antiques. Turns out, Vintage Grace Antiques was hosting an open auction today. Lots of folks from the antiques circle came with their prized possessions, ready to show them off and strike deals with each other, with Vintage Grace Antiques just providing the space. Almost every industry bigwig in Ning City, as well as several mainstream media outlets, made an appearance. This wasn't surprising since Vintage Grace Antiques is one of the top antique shops around here—their event space alone is a whopping 3,000 square meters. In the crowd, Stanley Du spotted Jimmy Xu and Hedy Yao. Guided by these two, Stanley Du, Dinah Yang, and Elen Zeng quickly became familiar with the surroundings. Dinah Yang was dressed to kill today in a white off-shoulder knee-length dress, turning heads with her smooth shoulders and delicate collarbones. Stanley Du, on the other hand, was just in casual summer clothes—pretty basic. A plain guy with a knockout? Yeah, that's asking for some teasing. Soon enough, everyone who was supposed to be there had arrived. After a quick intro by the host, the auction kicked off. Elen Zeng whispered with her hand open, "Stanley Du, I secretly took out 500,000 from the bank without telling Roy. If I see something good, you gotta help me verify if it's the real deal." "Mom, Stanley Du's just a hobbyist. He can't always spot the real deal. If he messes up and you lose out, don't hold it against him." "Psh, really. Girls always defend their boyfriends. You aren't even married yet, and you're already on his side." As they browsed, they noticed an old man surnamed Zheng, who was pretty popular. Many brought their treasures to Mr. Zheng for his expert opinion. Stanley Du found out that Mr. Zheng was a well-known figure from Changyang, even appearing on provincial and national treasure appraisal shows—way more famous than Flora Han. "Mr. Zheng, could you take a look at this for me? It's a statue of the Martial God of Wealth, Guan Gong." A man in his forties handed a statue to the old master. When Stanley Du saw the statue of Guan Gong, he stepped closer to get a better look. "Mr. Zheng, my name is Cecil Zhang. I bought this Guan Gong, the Martial God of Wealth, for 180,000 from a temple market in Zhongzhou. I've worshipped it for two years now. But, I haven't struck it rich yet." The man, Cecil Zhang, kept on rambling. Mr. Zheng cradled the statue, examining it closely, and remarked, "This Guan Gong is wearing golden armor underneath and a green robe on top, wielding a gleaming green dragon saber. The craftsmanship is indeed exquisite. Where did you place it in your house?" "I put the Martial God of Wealth on a table directly facing the front door." "Hmm, the placement is correct, but if you're still not seeing any financial luck, it just means your character's not cutting it. Guan Gong isn't blessing you with wealth." "Heh, I don't believe in this stuff anymore. I'm thinking of selling this Martial God of Wealth. What's your price estimate?" "About 80,000 should do." "Alright, is there anyone here willing to pay 80,000 to take this Martial God of Wealth home?" "I'll offer 88,000!" boomed a loud voice. The speaker was Caleb Gou, the pet tycoon from Ning City. "100,000!" Stanley Du shouted, too. "Kid, dressed like that, do you freaking have 100,000?" Caleb Gou gave Stanley Du a disdainful glance. "Don't underestimate him, Caleb Gou. A few days ago, he spotted a big treasure at the Calligraphy and Painting Street." Someone recognized Stanley Du and whispered. This made Caleb Gou reconsider his scorn. Looking at Stanley Du, he gritted his teeth and said, "180,000!" "200,000!" Stanley Du smiled. "Mr. Gou, I've admired Guan Gong since I was a kid. Please be generous and let me have this Martial God of Wealth statue." "And what if I don't?" "Then you keep bidding, and I'll back out." Caleb Gou thought, "Master Zheng said this Martial God of Wealth is worth only 80,000. This kid's offer of 200,000... if I raise the price and he backs out, I'll be trapping myself and take a big loss." "Alright, I'll give you face. I won't compete with you for the Martial God of Wealth" "Thanks, Mr. Gou." After that, Stanley Du and a middle-aged man named Cecil Zhang completed the transaction, and he got the Martial God of Wealth statue. "Kid, Master Zheng said that the Martial God of Wealth is only worth 80,000. You spent 200,000 on it. Are you an idiot?" "Kid, since you're so foolish with your money, why don't you give some to me?" "Hey, I heard that a few days ago on Calligraphy and Painting Street, you spotted a big treasure. Now, you're not thinking of stumbling upon another big treasure, are you?" "That's impossible! Master Zheng said that the Martial God of Wealth is worth only 80,000. He spent 200,000 on it, clearly at a loss." "If that Martial God of Wealth is actually a big treasure and he spotted it, wouldn't that prove he's even better than Master Zheng?" Hearing this, Master Zheng approached Stanley Du and said, "Young man, you spent 200,000 on something worth only 80,000. Even if you're rich and reckless, you shouldn't waste money like that." Elen Zeng couldn't hold back and scolded Stanley Du, "You fool, just made some money selling paintings, and you're squandering it like this! Have you lost your mind?" "Mother-in-law, I haven't lost my mind." Stanley Du smiled and said, "I've spotted another big treasure." At these words, everyone was shocked. Elen Zeng's eyes sparkled with excitement, "Does that mean, this Martial God of Wealth is worth more than 200,000?" "Of course. If I say it's worth 2 million, would you believe me?" As soon as Stanley Du said this, there was an uproar! "Kid, you must be blowing your own trumpet way too loud, huh?" "How could your skills surpass Master Zheng?" "The young people these days really have no respect for the old ways, always wanting to step on the shoulders of their elders to climb higher." Master Zheng coughed twice to quiet the crowd's ridicule of Stanley Du. Then he said to Stanley Du, "Even if you did find a big oversight at the Calligraphy and Painting Street the other day, that only proves you have some skill in art appraisal. But this Martial God of Wealth is just a wood carving. I refuse to believe you have deep expertise in appraising wood as well." After a pause, he challenged Stanley Du, "You say this wood carving is a big treasure. What proof do you have?"