InvincibleConnoisseur

Chapter 39 Sympathy

The breeze in the morning brought the refreshing air, making people feel the comfort and distillation in their spirits. Occasionally, some sparrows were lingering on the branches, adding vitality to the spring.

Wang Ke, with a plastic bag and the breakfast in his hand, was hurrying to the antique market while eating the breakfast. He knew that a lot of people must have remembered him as he saved lives yesterday. So, he thought he must be more and more low-key in the next few days, trying to make others forget him.

He came to Changji in such a hurry because he was too famous in the former place. Back then, no stall owners in Antique Street were willing to sell him the goods.

Keeping low-key was the right way. Adopting a low profile to gain more was the kingly way.

This was Wang Ke's definition of life in his mind.

Half an hour later, having returned the clothes to Cheng Renjie, Wang Ke walked into Self House hurriedly.

Zhao Menfeng, who was sitting behind the counter, lifted his eyes and glanced at Wang Ke. His gaze passed over that plastic bag in Wang Ke's hand. Then he stood up slowly and asked, "I've heard that you became a hero yesterday."

Wang Ke was surprised for a moment. He never expected that Zhao Menfeng had known that he saved people. Wang Ke smiled and said with a nod, "I just passed by there accidentally, Mr. Zhao. I have an antique now. Could you help me authenticate it? Is it genuine or fake?"

Zhao Menfeng glanced at Wang Ke in surprise. Seeing him taking out a bronze Buddha statue from the bag, Zhao Menfeng took it over and asked with an expressionless face, "Where did you get it?"

Wang Ke said, "The man I saved yesterday, who jumped into the river, insisted on inviting me to go to his home and have lunch. Therefore, when I went into his home, I..."

Having told Zhao Menfeng the whole story that had happened yesterday, Wang Ke smiled and said, "I cannot be sure whether it is genuine or fake. So, I take it here and ask for your help."

Zhao Menfeng looked at the bronze Buddha statue with little dull eyes. Then he raised his head slowly and fixed his eyes on Wang Ke's face. He asked dully, "You bought this thing mainly because you wanted to give charity to that worthless wretch who jumped into the river?"

Wang Ke's expression changed. He said with a deep voice, "Mr. Zhao, that was not charity. I wanted to help him. I thought that Brother Li who jumped into the river is worthy of my help. And I got this bronze Buddha statue in return, didn't I? One good turn deserves another. Maybe I can earn back from this good! Risk and profit have always been dependent on each other. Besides, Brother Li is not a worthless wretch. Everyone makes mistakes, and one can be a real man if he can correct his mistakes. I think he is a person of good character."

Although Wang Ke was a little worried in his heart as he contradicted Zhao Menfeng, he was not frightened. That was because after coming into contact with Zhao Menfeng, he thought Zhao Menfeng was not narrow-minded. There might be a hidden meaning in his remarks.

Just as Wang Ke finished his words, a thin old man with dark skin stumbled into the gate of Self House. Tears sparkled in his eyes, and he held something wrapped in floral cloth in his arms.

"Boss Zhao, please...please have a look. How much is it worth? I'm in desperate need of money. My son is still on the operating table. They won't operate on him unless I pay one hundred and forty thousand yuan. I beg you to see if this thing is an antique or not. Can it be sold for one hundred and forty thousand?" The old man's wrinkled and anxious face was full of hope.

Zhao Menfeng did not reach out to take that wooden knocker the old man gave to him. Instead, he turned to Wang Ke and said, "You help him have a look. This item... Humph!"

Wang Ke frowned slightly. He felt that Zhao Menfeng seemed to be a little abnormal today.

After a second of hesitation, Wang Ke took over that wooden knocker.

The wooden knocker was in the shape of a round fish with a hollow abdomen. Its head was open in the middle, and its tail was coiled. Its head was up, and its tail was hidden. The striking part on its back was slope-shaped. The sides were triangular and the bottom was elliptical. The diameter of the front was about twenty centimeters. The overall color was dark brown with little dark red in it. The wooden hammer had an olive-shaped head, engraved with a vivid and lifelike dragon pattern.

"It is slightly heavy, and its color is dark. The carving craftsmanship is exquisite. Holding it in his hand, one can feel the coolness. It does have a good hand feeling. Its back is a little concave, obviously caused by years of beating. This thing is eighty percent likely to be a genuine antique." Wang Ke thought to himself.

"Young man, please tell me if it is a genuine antique. My son is waiting for the money to have the operation." The old man looked at Wang Ke eagerly, hoping to hear the evaluation he wanted from him.

Wang Ke turned his gaze from the wooden knocker to Zhao Menfeng. He could not be sure whether it was a genuine antique or not!

"Don't look at me. This is a small test for you. You estimate its value by yourself. It will have nothing to do with me if you're cheated. You can buy it if you want. If not, you can drop it. I'm not interested in that." Zhao Menfeng glanced at Wang Ke and then walked leisurely to the chair behind the counter.

Hearing that, Wang Ke frowned slightly. Suddenly, he had an inspiration. Although he could not be sure whether it was a genuine antique or not, he could observe it with the extraordinary vision to see whether it was a magic weapon. If it were a magic weapon, it must be a genuine antique. If not, it would be OK to refuse it.

Thinking of this, he quickly mobilized his spirit energy, making it converge to his eyes. When the slight pain disappeared, milky white smog appeared on the wooden knocker. This smog was originally flowing in a special trajectory. However, when he used the extraordinary vision on it, the white smog immediately stopped following in the previous trajectory. It seemed to possess spirituality all of a sudden, struggling to pounce towards his eyes.

It was a magic weapon!

Wang Ke felt delighted in his heart. He quickly cut off his spirit energy, raised his head, and said to that old man, "Uncle, this wooden knocker is indeed an antique, and it is also a magic weapon. As for the price, I'm not sure. But as you've said, you need one hundred and forty thousand yuan for your son's operation, I can pay you one hundred and forty thousand yuan for it. If you think it's OK, I can take you to draw the money immediately. You give me the good, and I give you money. Is that OK?"

The old man was pleasantly surprised. He nodded his head without hesitation and said excitedly, "OK. OK. You give me money, and I give you this. Thank you, young man. You are my benefactor! You are my son's benefactor! I want to express my gratitude to you on behalf of my son as well as my whole family."

"So stupid!"

Zhao Menfeng snorted with a deep voice behind the counter.

Wang Ke was shocked with his eyes full of confusion.

What was wrong?

Why did Mr. Zhao say that he was stupid? Could it be that he failed to recognize this was a magic weapon? Or was the price he offered too high?

Whatever. This old man was in urgent need of money. Therefore, even if he offered a little higher price, he would not lose too much. Buying such a magic weapon, he could pass Zhao Menfeng's test, couldn't he?

Thinking of this, Wang Ke ignored what Zhao Menfeng had said just now and said to that old man, "Uncle, let's go to the bank."

That old man wore a bright smile on his face. However, when he heard the two characters Zhao Menfeng had said, his expression became weird. His dim eyes slowly narrowed, looking at Wang Ke from head to toe several times. Then he suddenly shook his head and said, "Well, I don't want to sell the wooden knocker now. I can feel that you have fooled me. If it is a magic weapon, it must be worth a higher price. Thank you for helping me authenticate it. I'd like to go to some other stores. Bye."

Having finished his words, the old man grabbed the wooden knocker from Wang Ke's hand and turned to walk out of Self House.

Wang Ke was in open-mouthed wonderment because of the sudden change.

What happened?

Didn't the old man say that his son was still on the operating table waiting for the operation? Wasn't he in urgent need of money? And he needed one hundred and forty thousand yuan, right? Then why did he give up selling it all of a sudden?

Or was it that he didn't plan to sell the magic weapon at all, but, like him some time ago, went to other stores to find someone to do a free appraisal so as to estimate the price?

Wang Ke put on an annoying face, staring fiercely at the back of that old man walking away quickly.

Zhao Menfeng stepped out of the counter with an indifferent face and even a little sarcasm in his eyes. He said plainly, "Well, do you feel uncomfortable as you've messed up a sure thing? Little boy, do you know the business of antiques and magic weapons? That old man was here to sell an antique, but you told him that it was a magic weapon directly. Tsk. Can the prices of antiques be on par with those of magic weapons? Have your head got some water in yesterday?"

Wang Ke said with a bitter smile, "Mr. Zhao, that's my fault. I offered him a price of one hundred and forty thousand yuan mainly because he said he was in desperate need of money for his son who was on the operation table waiting for the operation. Therefore, I..."

Zhao Menfeng waved his hand to stop Wang Ke. He sneered, "Then only for this reason, you offered him one hundred and forty thousandyuan without estimating the probable price? So Stupid. I have never seen such a stupid kid like you. Don't forget what kind of industry you are going to be engaged in. It is the industry of antiques as well as magic weapons. If you want to make money in this industry, you have to rely on your true ability to find undervalued treasures and then make a lot of money."

"If I had been you and been sure that the good that old man brought was a magic weapon, I would have told him without hesitation that it was only an ordinary antique, even only could be considered as an antique scarcely. Its price could not be higher than several thousand yuan or tens of thousands of yuan. When the old man had been disappointed, I would have persuaded him with rhetoric to sell me this magical weapon and then resold it for a higher price, earning a lot from the price difference."

The anger on Zhao Menfeng's face was a bit stronger than before. He thundered, "Do you think you are kind? Do you think you are helping him? What's the result? Do you see what you have ended up with? When that old man heard that it was a magic weapon, he turned to leave without hesitation. You seemed to draw water with a sieve, gaining nothing in the end."

"Kind? In the industry of antiques and magic weapons, countless people would take advantage of your pathetic kindness to cheat you out of all your money even without leaving you your trousers. If the old man had just taken a well-imitated magic weapon, and you hadn't been totally sure that it was a genuine magic weapon, would you still have offered him one hundred and forty thousandyuan to buy it out of conscience just as you've bought that bronze Buddha statue which you cannot be sure whether it's genuine or fake?"

"I..."

Wang Ke smiled bitterly in his heart. He knew that Zhao Menfeng had said what he thought in his heart. If it hadn't been because of the extraordinary vision, maybe... Maybe he would also have bought it because of sympathy, wouldn't he?

Zhao Menfeng looked angrily at Wang Ke who wanted to argue with him. He said with a deep voice, "In the business of antiques and magic weapons, good and evil people are mixed up. Countless people take advantage of the poor buyers and use various methods, even including badger games. They cheat poor but kind people like you, making you miserable. Wasn't that man who jumped into the river treated like this?"

Having said those words, perhaps Zhao Menfeng realized that his tone was too serious, so he sighed and said with earnestness.

"This is a society where people deceive and blackmail each other. You must always be on guard against others because every time you are cheated, you need to pay a painful price. I hope you can learn from this and listen to my words. If you want to do well in the business of antiques and magic weapons, you need to adapt to this deceitful business and put away your pitiful sympathy."