Imposter Young Master
Chapter 367 - 370 Ancient Painting_1

Chapter 367: Chapter 370 Ancient Painting_1

The middle-aged vendor appeared bewildered, "What do you mean, con artist?

"Ah, Luo Saihu, you’re still trying to play dumb with me, huh?" The young man with the dragon tattoo on his left arm sneered coldly, producing an ancient painting. "This ’Picture of Cold Mountain’ was sold to me by you a few days ago, wasn’t it?"

Yang Gang was somewhat puzzled by the young man’s actions, raising his eyes to look on.

The ancient painting in question exuded a decisively Chinese aesthetic featuring mountains and waters, rendered in a style that was rather quaint and simple.

Yang Gang was stunned the moment he saw the painting!

That was because the ’Picture of Cold Mountain’ in the young man’s hands was the very same one he dreamed of last night!

...

The others didn’t notice Yang Gang’s expression.

The vendor, Luo Saihu, glanced at the painting and nodded, "Yes."

The young man with the dragon tattoo sneered, "I’ve had it appraised. Your painting is a counterfeit. The experts say the style, ink, and spirit are all wrong. Even though the brushwork and style somewhat resemble the Ming or Qing Dynasty, it is only imitation. It’s clear that this is a counterfeit and is worth at most five hundred yuan. You actually sold a fake to me? So how are you planning on dealing with this?"

Yang Gang managed to compose himself, speechless at the young man.

This guy was either deranged or just spoiling for a fight.

In the world of antiques, there was hardly ever any talk of scams. Being conned just meant that your eyes were unskilled, and such things happened nearly nine times out of ten. Take these so-called experts for instance; when they were young, they probably all made countless misjudgments. These keen eyes that seemed magical to ordinary people were honed through hundreds and thousands of misjudgments, but there was never a case where an expert claimed they were scammed. Let alone hearing about buyers returning antiques and seeking compensation from the seller!

Luo Saihu was also very annoyed. "Listen, kid. I sold you this painting for three thousand yuan. If I knew it was the real deal, I wouldn’t even sell it for a hundred thousand yuan, let alone three thousand. Selling antiques is like buying lottery tickets. A two yuan ticket could win you five million yuan, but more than likely it’ll be worth nothing. Have you ever heard of someone who bought a lottery ticket without winning, and then ran back to the lottery stall or the lottery center complaining that they were swindled?"

The young man was speechless for a while, but immediately became even angrier with embarrassment. "Anyway, I wanted a genuine painting and you tricked me into paying three thousand yuan for a fake. Stop with the nonsense, just give me a refund for the three thousand yuan for this clumsy painting. Also, I spent ten thousand yuan on appraisal fees for the painting, this you must also compensate. Along with compensation for my emotional distress, give me thirty thousand. Otherwise, don’t think about setting up a stall here."

The cocky attitude of the young man caused Yang Gang to frown, "Playing with antiques when you can’t afford to lose, aren’t you embarrassing yourself?"

The crowd was in an uproar.

Even a blind person could see that the young man with the tattoo had the upper hand. Who had such daring to speak on behalf of Luo Saihu?

Soon, all eyes turned towards Yang Gang.

"Who the fuck are you? Looking to die?" The young man with the dragon tattoo said menacingly.

"I can’t stand people making a fuss over nothing," Yang Gang sneered, "So, don’t act in front of me."

Such small shrimps were not even worth Yang Gang’s notice.

The dragon-tattooed young man snorted derisively, turning his head. "Hey, what’s going on today? Every locust wants to hop around. Don’t they know autumn is coming?"

His gang of thugs broke into guffaws.

Seeing the situation escalating unpredictably, Luo Saihu became anxious, "Alright, alright, I will give you a refund for the painting, but compensation..."

"Heh, trying to step up for someone else. Okay, fifty thousand," the dragon-tattooed young man became more audacious.

Yang Gang glanced around. Even though many people noticed the incident, almost everyone chose to look away or stealthily observe from a distance.

He sighed inwardly, such is life for the poor.

Truth be told, Yang Gang had no interest in dealing with these minor rascals. He was a hidden Boss, and slapping these hooligans had no sense of thrill.

After a pause, Yang’s gaze fell back on the painting, his eyes flickering.

At this moment, Luo Saihu’s face was filled with embarrassment.

Suddenly, Yang Gang spoke up, "Fifty thousand, and I buy your painting. After that, it will not have anything to do with Boss Luo. How about that?"

The moment he spoke, everyone froze. Luo Saihu’s mouth dropped open wide enough to fit two eggs.

The dragon-tattooed young man was also stunned for a while before he could react. He was secretly delighted, "I didn’t expect this unremarkable fellow to be a big spender, even if he is a fool."

His smirk grew darker, "A hundred thousand if you want to take it."

Yang Gang just smiled, "Then keep it for yourself, I’ll go report this to the police."

The dragon-tattooed young man’s eyes filled with rage, "Wait, okay fine, fifty thousand."

"Ten thousand. If you don’t decide soon it’ll drop to five thousand," Yang Gang remained smiling.

The dragon-tattooed young man looked at the smiling Yang Gang, becoming a bit unsure.

Normally, anyone seeing his gang would feel intimidated, right? So why didn’t he detect any fear in this man? No, more importantly, how much could his counterfeit painting sell for?

He knew, in the antique world, there was no such thing as returning a purchase. But he was just mad and trying to pull a fast one on Luo Saihu. It would be ideal if Luo Saihu was scared of him, agreed to refund the money and even threw in some extra expenses. But he also knew that even if Luo Saihu is weak, he wouldn’t let him bully him. At most Luo might take back the counterfeit painting, getting compensated for it might be difficult.

Therefore, the young man’s bottom line was the three thousand yuan he spent on the painting. But the situation developed unexpectedly. An interesting fellow was actually willing to pay a high price for this fake painting, and that was a lot higher than what he had in mind!

"Fine, fine, ten thousand it is," the dragon-tattooed young man finally nodded.

Yang Gang went to the nearby bank to withdraw ten thousand yuan, and the painting naturally became his.

After the simple exchange of procedures, the dragon-tattooed young man, now holding the ten thousand yuan, grinned at Yang Gang. "Ten thousand for a counterfeit painting that’s worth five hundred. Besides being amazed at your foolish brain, I don’t know what else to say."

Just then, another commotion arose from afar.

"Hey, Old Qin is here," someone called out as they ran towards it.

Immediately, crowds swarmed out from both inside and outside Hangcheng Antique City. The originally quiet antique market suddenly sprung to life.

"What’s happening? Who is Old Qin?" Yang Gang asked Luo Saihu.

"Oh, it’s Qin Yang. He resides in Yanjing and is a master in appraisal of calligraphy and painting. While many antique experts are diversified in what they specialize in - ceramics, ironware, ancient texts, calligraphy and painting, even jade stone gambling, they know it all. But Qin Yang specializes solely in calligraphy, painting, and texts and is a master in these fields. Some time ago, the relevant departments specially invited Qin Yang and other experts to Hangcheng Antique Market. People who knew about it didn’t believe it. How would a national level expert like Qin Yang visit the Pingjiang Antique Market, such a small place? But surprisingly, he really came."

"Purchased an antique painting for ten thousand bucks huh, if it were me, even if I were already condemned, I’d hope for a second appraisal by an expert. There could be a huge plot twist," the dragon-tattooed young man said to Yang Gang with a smirk.

"Hmm? That seems like a good idea."