"Five million?" the young customer asked, looking at his fingers.
"No, fifty million," the old man said, a smile playing on his lips as he addressed the young customer.
"Is that true?"
The young customer was overjoyed upon hearing the price. "I knew someone with discerning taste would recognize its value. How could such a fine item be sold cheaply?"
The old man nodded. "It's true, but I must examine your jade carefully. Only if I confirm it's flawless will I purchase it."
"No problem, please examine it at your leisure, sir. This jade is absolutely perfect."
The young customer willingly handed the jade to the old man for inspection.
After a patient examination, the old man's expression suddenly turned serious. He shook his head and said, "Young man, this piece of jade has issues."
"See these spots on the jade, and the numerous cracks? These are flaws that jade should not possess. Therefore, the price we discussed earlier will have to be significantly reduced."
"Sir, please name your price. How much are you willing to pay? If the price is right, I'll sell it to you." The young customer guessed that he would intentionally find fault, otherwise, he would have bought it outright earlier.
However, he believed that since the other party had offered a high price of fifty million, even with some minor flaws, the remaining amount would still be much higher than twenty-four million.
"I can give you two million at most. Sell it if you accept, otherwise, forget it," the old man said after careful consideration.
"How much?"
The young customer's eyes widened. He snatched the stone back and said indignantly, "I wouldn't even consider selling it for five million, and you want to buy it for two million? Give me back my jade."
"This young man, so impolite!"
The old man shook his head and dismissed him.
The young customer, without hesitation, returned to Li Yang's shop with the jade, deciding to sell it to Li Yang after all.
But when he returned to the shop and saw Er Dong again, Er Dong examined the jade, his brow furrowed. "Kid, are you doing this on purpose? The jade you took away earlier was clearly not this one. You switched it and now you want to come back for twenty-four million."
"Do you take us antique shop owners for fools?"
"What? I didn't switch it. This is the very jade I cut earlier. It never left my hands," the young customer immediately denied.
He carefully examined the jade, which was unmistakably the same one. How could it have been switched?
As they argued, Li Yang happened to walk down from upstairs. Seeing a familiar face in the hall, he walked over and asked, "What's going on here? Why is it so noisy?"
"Boss, this kid is back with the jade again, saying he wants to sell it to us. But I've examined it, and he switched the jade. He's deliberately trying to extort us," Er Dong said earnestly.
"Is that so?"
Li Yang's brow furrowed. He stepped forward to personally examine the authenticity of the jade.
He picked up the jade and felt its weight, immediately realizing something was amiss. He shook his head and said, "This jade is indeed fake. It's not real jade inside, but stone injected with rock strata."
"Impossible! I think you're deliberately trying to lower the price by telling me it's fake," the young customer retorted.
"If you don't believe me, we can verify it right now. Just smash the jade, and the inner jade layer will be revealed, making the authenticity clear. If it is real jade inside, I will bear all the losses and compensate you twenty-four million."
"But if it's fake, then I apologize," Li Yang said cheerfully.
"Alright, let's smash it open and see!"
The young customer's brow furrowed. He didn't believe that the stone could be fake.
He had personally kept an eye on the jade the entire way, and it was impossible for it to have been switched. Therefore, it couldn't be fake.
Seeing his disbelief, Li Yang stepped forward and threw his jade onto the ground. The jade instantly shattered into eight pieces, with many fragments flying out.
The young customer quickly ran over and picked up the jade fragments to examine them. He discovered that the inside of the jade was completely different from the outside; it had indeed been injected.
For a moment, he stood there stunned!
"How could this be? Who switched my jade?"
The young customer was filled with despair. The jade was now worthless and could no longer be sold.
Li Yang calmly looked at him and said, "Someone must have switched the jade when you weren't paying attention while others were examining it."
"This jade is now worthless. I wouldn't take it even if you gave it to me for free. Please take it and leave."
"I..."
The young customer was utterly desperate. He thought carefully and realized that it must have been the old man from earlier who switched the jade.
Apart from him, everyone else genuinely wanted to buy it, but he had enticed him with a high price. After he agreed, he suddenly drastically lowered the price. This must have been a trap!
"I know! I'm going to find that old man. He must have switched my jade."
The young customer, realizing this, immediately bid farewell to Li Yang and left the shop.
Er Dong said helplessly, "Boss, this fellow seems to have been truly tricked by someone. He refused to sell to us earlier, and now he'll probably go home and cry."
"Go and investigate secretly who bought this jade," Li Yang suddenly said.
"Boss, you're not thinking of helping him get the stone back, are you?" Er Dong asked with surprise.
"Does he have anything to do with me? And he sold the stone himself; he should bear the losses he incurred. I'm asking you to investigate because I have my own reasons. Just do as I say," Li Yang said thoughtfully.
"Understood, boss. I'll go investigate now."
Er Dong nodded and quickly went to trace the source of the jade.
Li Yang came back to his senses and thought to himself, "It seems someone is trying to play dirty tricks behind the scenes. Since you want to play, I'll make sure you lose everything."
"Young master, as you instructed, I've found a good opportunity to retaliate against Li Yang. I intercepted a top-grade jade from one of his customers."
In a villa, the old man who had just intercepted the jade through switching stood before a young master and respectfully presented the jade.
"Oh? I didn't expect Li Yang to be in this situation. Let me see the quality of this jade."
Shen Yunfeng took the jade and examined it carefully, nodding with great satisfaction. "Hmm, it's an exceptionally rare Imperial Green. Old Zhong, you've done me a great service today."
"It is my honor to serve you, young master. It is but a small matter!" Zhong Dingxiong said respectfully.
"Such fine jade, to be able to snatch it from the hands of Li Yang, a first-class jade master, is truly a great fortune. Go and have this jade made into jewelry, and we shall make a good profit from him," Shen Yunfeng instructed.
"Young master, I have a better idea," Zhong Dingxiong said seriously.