"Let me take a look."
Taking a deep breath, Li Yang maintained his composure and slowly walked to the table to examine the jade thumb ring, but he dared not touch it. What if his hands automatically absorbed its energy, thus implicating the other person?
His vision flashed, and a piece of information appeared. "One of the Qing Dynasty Empress Dowager's Four Divine Beasts thumb rings, the Black Tortoise thumb ring. Made with top-grade Imperial Green jade, exceptionally rare. Value: sixty million. It will increase by one percent next week."
"Boss Li, do you know the origin of my thumb ring?" Shuang Dafu asked with a smile.
Li Yang looked at him and said, "Its origin is extraordinary. You know who the Empress Dowager was, right? During the time the Empress Dowager interfered in court affairs and held immense power, everyone wanted to please her. Among them was a Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi. Knowing his fondness for jade, he ordered artisans to craft four thumb rings, known as the Four Divine Beasts thumb rings."
"The pattern on this thumb ring is the Black Tortoise, and this thumb ring is naturally one of the Four Divine Beasts thumb rings, the Black Tortoise thumb ring."
"Boss Li, you are indeed an expert. You can discern the origin of my treasure at a glance. It's all thanks to you; otherwise, I don't know how long it would take me to know the true appearance of this thumb ring."
Shuang Dafu's face showed excitement, and he quickly took out two bulging red envelopes and placed them on the table. "Boss Li, could you please estimate the market value of this thumb ring?"
"The value of this one is around sixty million," Li Yang said.
Shuang Dafu said happily, "That's great! Thank you, Boss Li. I have a clear idea now. I'll go find a client to sell it to."
"Boss Dafu, why go far when you can come near to sell this item?" Li Yang said with a smile. "Why not sell it to me?"
"Boss Li, you want it?" Shuang Dafu looked at him in surprise. "Sixty million is already a considerable sum. If you buy it at this price, it might be difficult to sell it at a higher price."
"I don't plan to sell it; it's for personal collection," Li Yang smiled.
Shuang Dafu smiled and said, "So that's how it is. Then I'll sell it to you, Boss Li."
Saying that, he took out a card. "Please transfer the money to this card."
"A foreign bank card?" Li Yang glanced at the card and immediately recognized it as a UBS card.
UBS has very high confidentiality, which is why many criminals planning to flee often transfer their money to UBS.
Of course, many legitimate wealthy individuals also do this, given the high security.
Shuang Dafu smiled and asked, "Is that okay?"
"Of course, it is," Li Yang nodded and transferred the money to the bank account.
After a few minutes, Shuang Dafu checked the arrival of the funds and smiled, "Thank you, Boss Li. This jade thumb ring is now yours."
"I have something to attend to, so I'll be leaving. I won't disturb you while you admire it."
"Take care. Old Dong, see Boss Dafu out," Li Yang smiled and nodded.
Shuang Dafu waved his hand and said, "No need to be so formal. I'm not far away. Feel free to visit my shop anytime you have the chance."
"Alright," Li Yang smiled.
Watching him leave, Li Yang immediately grabbed the thumb ring. As expected, his finger touched it, and a suction force was generated.
Li Yang immediately put his hand into his pocket, then sat on the sofa chair, closed his eyes, as if resting.
No one would disturb him in this situation; he could safely absorb the power from the thumb ring.
After a while, he felt a warmth throughout his body, knowing that his strength had become more formidable than before.
He opened his eyes, and his vision became even clearer. The information before him also became more detailed.
He had broken through!
However, this breakthrough did not come with any desire for women. Instead, his mind felt exceptionally clear, as if he were free from all desires.
"Boss?" Er Dong walked over and called out softly.
Li Yang turned to look at him and suddenly saw a string of numbers appearing above his head: "Sixty-three!"
What was going on?
He immediately looked at others. Each person had a number above their head: fifty-eight, sixty-nine, thirty-three, twenty-nine.
He looked at people passing by outside; they also had numbers above their heads, some of which were the same.
What did it mean?
Seeing that he remained silent and somewhat bewildered, Er Dong asked worriedly, "Boss, are you alright?"
"Oh, I'm fine. What did you need me for?" Li Yang asked, coming back to his senses.
Er Dong said in a low voice, "Boss, it seems our store's surveillance equipment had a problem just now. I was reviewing the playback video, and there was no footage of you entering."
"Let me see." Li Yang stood up and walked to the computer, clicked the mouse, and indeed, it was true.
The surveillance video only showed him sitting on the sofa chair absorbing energy, while the content before that had disappeared.
"Was there a power outage just now?"
"No, Boss. The footage before you arrived is still there, but the segment where you arrived is missing," Er Dong said. "Although there's no problem, if such an issue occurs again in the future, and a difficult customer makes a transaction with us and later claims our item is faulty, it will be hard for us to protect our rights."
"So, my suggestion is, can we find a professional to investigate, and preferably replace the surveillance equipment?"
"You are the store manager, and this matter falls within your authority. If you think it should be handled this way, then proceed." Li Yang nodded.
Doing business truly means fearing such situations. Although in the antique business, everything depends on one's judgment, and buyers cannot claim rights if they buy a fake at a loss.
However, Li Yang's store promised authenticity and even a ten-times compensation for fakes.
If a fake item appeared, compensation would be required. Otherwise, it would be considered fraud, with significant consequences.
But this incident happened too coincidentally.
Li Yang's eyes narrowed slightly as he looked towards the antique shop opposite. He saw Shuang Dafu also paying attention to his side, his gaze particularly cold.
But it was only for a moment. Shuang Dafu's cold gaze disappeared, and he smiled at Li Yang with a face full of smiles, appearing very amiable, not like someone who would stare coldly.
"Boss Li," Shuang Dafu walked over with a smile. "Do you need something from me?"
"No," Li Yang shook his head.
Shuang Dafu said, "I saw you looking this way and thought you wanted to talk to me."
"How is Boss Dafu's renovation going?" Li Yang asked.
Shuang Dafu said, "The renovation has just begun, and it's still a long way off. If construction only happens in the morning, it will probably take about ten days to half a month."
"But this is good too. Being able to come to Boss Li's place to learn before completion will surely lead to a better outcome after completion."
After speaking, he smiled and looked outside.
Just then, several police cars sped over and stopped at the entrance of Li Hao Antique Shop.
Li Yang's eyebrows rose. As expected, something was about to happen!