"How could I lie to you? This Mr. Li Yang is the antique expert I told you about." Tang Hucheng suppressed his anger, forcing a smile onto his face, and glanced at Li Yang.
"He's an antique expert?" Chang Wei looked at Li Yang in surprise. "Mr. Li, you look no older than twenty."
"Yes, President Chang. At my age, most people wouldn't reach expert level. However, my family has been in the antique business for generations. I grew up immersed in it, learning from my elders. So, I'm not like most people," Li Yang said with a slight smile and a nod.
Chang Wei let out an "Oh," and smiled. "That explains it."
"President Chang, as we discussed yesterday, you had an item whose authenticity was hard to determine. Why don't you bring it out now and let Mr. Li take a look?" Tang Hucheng suggested.
Chang Wei smiled. "You mentioning it, I almost forgot." He glanced at his secretary beside him and asked, "Secretary Jin, when will Boss Yang be here?"
"We just spoke on the phone. He should be here in about ten minutes," Secretary Jin replied with his head bowed, his voice somewhat low.
Chang Wei smiled. "Alright, we'll wait for Boss Yang. Brother Tang, you don't mind, do you?"
"Heh, we've already waited half an hour. What's another ten minutes?" Tang Hucheng, though seething inside, had no choice but to agree to wait. He had never been made to wait like this before.
Chang Wei smiled. "Brother Tang certainly has a great temperament. Then, while we wait, we can enjoy the scenery of Donghu Lake and cultivate our minds."
"Heh, you're right," Tang Hucheng thought with a sneer.
Li Yang stared at the shimmering golden light on the lake, his eyes narrowing. He felt as if there was something beneath the water, but even when he activated his Wuxin cultivation technique to enhance his vision, he couldn't discern anything.
"What's wrong?" Tang Xinyu asked softly.
Li Yang shook his head. "Nothing. It's just that President Chang probably doesn't intend to give you the loan."
"Why do you say that?" Tang Xinyu asked.
Li Yang replied, "If he were truly willing to lend you the money, making you wait here for half an hour would have been sufficient. Now, he's making you wait for some Boss Yang. It's clearly an excuse to play with you."
"What you're saying might be true, but the Tang family is in a precarious situation. Even if there's only a one-in-ten-thousand chance, we can't just walk away," Tang Xinyu said bitterly. She and Tang Hucheng had both sensed something amiss, but circumstances were beyond their control. They could only go along with Chang Wei's manipulative games, the ungrateful wretch.
"Ten minutes," it turned out to be nearly an hour. Secretary Jin finally led a middle-aged man in a suit, with thinning hair and carrying a briefcase, into the pavilion.
Secretary Jin announced, "President, Boss Yang is here."
"Oh, Boss Yang, you've finally arrived," Chang Wei said with a laugh, turning to look at him.
Boss Yang immediately apologized, "I'm truly sorry for making President Chang wait so long. In that case, let's not waste any more time and get straight to the point?"
"Certainly. I happen to have a young antique expert with profound family knowledge who can appraise your treasure for me," Chang Wei said with a smile.
Boss Yang smiled and glanced suspiciously at Li Yang. "The so-called young antique expert, is that you, young man?"
"It is. My surname is Li," Li Yang replied.
Boss Yang let out an "Oh," lowered his eyes, and didn't pay Li Yang much attention. He opened the briefcase and said, "President Chang, please take a look."
"My, what fine craftsmanship," Chang Wei exclaimed as he looked down.
Li Yang also looked. Inside the case was a blue and white porcelain vase, with a gilded rim. The body of the vase depicted an old man riding an ox, exuding an ethereal and distinguished aura. Behind the old man was a man in black official attire, bowing respectfully in salutation. The setting appeared to be outdoors, with a checkpoint bearing three characters: "Hangu Pass." This was none other than the familiar "Laozi exiting the Pass" to many Chinese people. Legend had it that the timeless national classic, the *Tao Te Ching*, was imparted by Laozi as he left the pass, its five thousand characters leading to the Great Way.
Boss Yang stated, "This 'Laozi Exiting Hangu, Purple Qi Coming from the East' blue and white porcelain vase is a Yuan Dynasty piece, rarely seen. It can be compared to the 'Guiguzi Descending the Mountain' Yuan blue and white porcelain vase that caused a sensation back then. This treasure is something I would consider an heirloom."
"If it weren't for you, President Chang, I would never have taken it out to sell."
"Then I should thank you, Boss Yang," Chang Wei said with a smile, then turned to the others. "What do you all think?"
"It's a very beautiful vase," Tang Xinyu commented, her eyes gleaming slightly. Even Tang Hucheng, who wasn't particularly interested in antiques, found the vase visually pleasing. However, he remained silent, looking towards Li Yang.
Li Yang smiled slightly. "Since President Tang invited me to help appraise treasures, I should say a few words about this vase."
"Haha, young man, don't be modest. Speak your mind," Chang Wei said with a smile.
Li Yang continued, "Then I'll be direct. Although this vase is well-made, it is not a Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain. It's not even from the Qing Dynasty; it's a modern imitation."
"A modern replica?" Chang Wei frowned and looked at Boss Yang. "What do you say?"
"This is absolutely baseless talk." Boss Yang immediately put on a stern face. "This item of mine has undergone carbon-13 testing. It is definitely from the Yuan Dynasty!"
"President Chang, if you don't believe me, I've brought the test results with me today. You can take a look." As he spoke, he pulled a document from the briefcase. It was indeed a carbon-13 detection report from an authoritative institution, confirming it was a Yuan Dynasty artifact.
Chang Wei looked at the report and then exploded in anger. "Brother Tang, I consider you a friend. Your Tang family is in trouble this time, and even Jiangcheng Bank has issued a decree for everyone not to help you. Yet, I'm willing to risk offending Jiangcheng Bank and meet with you to discuss the loan. But you've brought someone utterly ignorant, claiming he's an antique expert, trying to fool me. Is this how a friend behaves?"
"Indeed, President Tang, our President Chang has been so good to you, and yet you do this. It's truly not being a good friend!" Secretary Jin immediately chimed in, accusing Tang Hucheng.
Tang Hucheng's face turned somewhat grim. He looked at Li Yang angrily. "Mr. Li, if your skills are insufficient and you've misjudged, why don't you apologize to President Chang and the others immediately!"
"I haven't misjudged," Li Yang said with a smile, trying to calm him. "Second Uncle, don't worry. A carbon-13 test result report alone cannot serve as proof."
"Ridiculous! If this isn't acceptable, what is?" Boss Yang said with a cold face. "President Chang, I think there's no need for further discussion. Let's just have this young man who's talking nonsense thrown out!"