Chapter Fifty: The Golden Inlaid Jade Guanyin

Zhang Wei had originally intended to turn down Manager Wang, but just as he was about to speak, a sudden idea struck him. He thought to himself, “Though I can’t tell whether these antiques are real or fake, Manager Wang is the owner here—he must know the truth himself! If I can use my mind-reading ability to see through his thoughts, won’t I be able to judge the authenticity of these antiques?”

“Manager Wang, I know very little about the world of collecting—I’m no expert, and I don’t have any particular preferences. To put it bluntly, I’m just an ordinary guy who likes to buy whatever is of good quality,” Zhang Wei said with a smile.

“Mr. Zhang, you certainly look the part of a wealthy man—decisive and bold,” Manager Wang replied, grinning and giving him a thumbs up.

Though Manager Wang wore an ingratiating expression, he actually looked down on Zhang Wei, thinking to himself, “No wonder he came in here with Fatty Zhou—turns out he’s just another nouveau riche. Let’s see how I can squeeze some money out of him.”

The collection room at Agarwood Pavilion was organized in two ways: one by category—such as porcelain, jade, bronzes, paintings and calligraphy—and the other by price, with a section for items under ten thousand yuan and a premium section for pieces priced over two hundred thousand.

Since Zhang Wei had expressed an interest in buying something expensive, Manager Wang naturally led him to the premium collectibles section. Here, items were classified by price, so a dazzling array of artifacts filled the shelves, leaving Zhang Wei almost overwhelmed.

“Mr. Zhang, everything in this section is among the most valuable and expensive pieces in our shop. Would you like me to introduce some of them to you?” Manager Wang offered with a smile.

“Sure, I’ll leave it to you, Manager Wang,” Zhang Wei replied, nodding. The antiques here were of every imaginable type and style, so many that Zhang Wei hardly knew where to look, let alone distinguish the real from the fake.

“Mr. Zhang, please take a look at this piece here on my right—this earthenware jar was excavated from Chang’an and dates back to the Western Han dynasty. I bought it from a farmer in Chang’an over a decade ago and paid almost a thousand yuan for it! At the time, that was quite a fortune—enough to buy a house on the outskirts of the capital,” Manager Wang said, a look of longing and sincerity on his face.

Though his words sounded convincing, his thoughts told a different story. As Zhang Wei listened to his introduction, he fixed his gaze on Manager Wang’s eyes and saw a row of golden letters flash before his vision: “I did pay a thousand yuan for this jar, but I bought it just last month, not over a decade ago. It’s a high-quality replica, meant precisely to fool outsiders like you.”

Seeing through Manager Wang’s inner thoughts, Zhang Wei realized the jar was a fake and lost all interest in buying it. Still, he examined it briefly—the jar was molded from clay, grayish throughout, half a meter tall, with a wide mouth, a rounded belly, and a pointed base, its surface etched with intricate patterns. A tag beside it listed the price at three million yuan.

From its appearance, the jar looked genuinely ancient, its neck inscribed with archaic script. If Zhang Wei hadn’t seen through Manager Wang’s thoughts, he would have had a hard time discerning its authenticity, which gave him pause.

Both the real estate and antique industries were highly lucrative. Selling a villa could net Zhang Wei hundreds of thousands, and passing off a reproduction as an antique could bring a similar windfall. Yet, there was an essential difference between the two: in real estate, one profited from the fruits of one’s labor, whereas the antique trade had a whiff of fraud about it. Real estate carried little risk, but in antiques, a single misjudgment could ruin a person entirely.

When Manager Wang noticed Zhang Wei wasn’t interested in the jar, a flicker of disappointment crossed his eyes. This jar was, after all, the most expensive item in Agarwood Pavilion, and selling it could keep the shop afloat for six months.

Despite his disappointment, Manager Wang kept his composure and continued introducing other items to Zhang Wei. One after another, he presented more than a dozen pieces—all fakes, as Zhang Wei discerned from the man’s inner thoughts, and so he had no intention of buying any of them.

Just as Zhang Wei was beginning to feel disheartened, Manager Wang introduced another artifact—a Guanyin statue made of jade and gold. The statue was carved from jade, with a lotus pedestal fashioned from gold and a rim of gold encircling it, making it exquisitely beautiful and resplendent.

Manager Wang’s introduction of this gold-inlaid jade Guanyin was unusually brief, almost as if he wanted to gloss over it. But Zhang Wei noticed that, for once, Manager Wang’s words contained no hint of falsehood, piquing Zhang Wei’s interest.

“Manager Wang, this Guanyin is indeed beautifully carved, but the price tag of three hundred thousand seems a little steep. Could you give me a discount?” Zhang Wei probed, his deep eyes fixed intently on Manager Wang.

Hearing this, Manager Wang’s heart gave a jolt. He thought, “This jade Guanyin is one of the few genuine pieces in the shop—it would fetch at least nine hundred thousand to a million at auction. In fact, it’s the most valuable antique in Agarwood Pavilion. If not for the shop’s ‘One genuine among nine fakes’ reputation, I’d never mark it at just three hundred thousand for sale.”

Yet, he was also beginning to feel uneasy. He’d introduced more than a dozen antiques to Zhang Wei with no reaction, but as soon as they reached the Guanyin statue, Zhang Wei inquired about the price. Could this young man really not be a nouveau riche or some spoiled heir, but rather a master appraiser disguised as a layman?

The thought flashed through Wang’s mind, only to be dismissed a moment later. If Zhang Wei were an elderly man over fifty, Manager Wang might have suspected him of being a shrewd, experienced connoisseur. But Zhang Wei was just a young man in his twenties—he probably didn’t know the first thing about the collectibles business, so how could he be a master?

Though Wang didn’t believe Zhang Wei could recognize the value of the gold-inlaid jade Guanyin, he dared not take him lightly and began strategizing how to dissuade him from buying it.

Little did Wang know that his thoughts were laid bare before Zhang Wei, whose eyes shone with predatory hunger—he had already resolved to buy the Guanyin statue and sell it at auction for a tidy profit of several hundred thousand.

“Mr. Zhang, all our prices at Agarwood Pavilion are fixed. If you think the Guanyin is too expensive, perhaps you’d like to look at something else,” Manager Wang said politely.

“No need for that. When you find something you love, money is no object. The jade Guanyin may be pricey, but I just happen to like it. I’ll take it at the marked price—three hundred thousand,” Zhang Wei declared grandly, his voice rising in excitement and drawing the attention of several other customers.

“Are you sure you don’t want to think it over, Mr. Zhang?” Manager Wang wiped sweat from his brow, forcing a bitter smile as he racked his brain for a way to persuade Zhang Wei to give up the Guanyin.

“Manager Wang, what’s with all the hesitation? Are you unwilling to sell it to me, or are you worried I can’t afford it?” Zhang Wei suddenly called out loudly, once again drawing the gaze of everyone around. Several customers put down the antiques they were holding and looked over curiously.

“Manager Wang, what’s going on here? My friend wants to buy your item—why do you seem so reluctant?” Fatty Zhou, hearing Zhang Wei’s voice, put down what he was doing and came over to join them.

Seeing Zhou come to back him up, Zhang Wei gave a barely perceptible, satisfied smile. The reason he’d spoken so loudly just now was to guard against Manager Wang raising the price or refusing to sell; by attracting everyone’s attention, he left Wang no room to backtrack in public.

“Of course I’m willing! I’ll have my assistant pack it up for you right away,” Manager Wang replied, wearing a smile more bitter than tears as he called his assistant over. For the sake of Agarwood Pavilion’s reputation, even a loss of hundreds of thousands had to be swallowed.

“Brother, you sure go all in—first time here and you buy a three-hundred-thousand-yuan antique! That’s bolder than I’ve ever been,” Fatty Zhou exclaimed, clicking his tongue in amazement as he glanced at the price tag on the Guanyin.

Though Zhou was wealthy, his finances were tightly controlled by Wu Qian, who firmly believed that ‘men with money go bad.’ She kept his spending in check, leaving him little opportunity to splurge in antique shops.

“Heh, don’t give me too much credit, Brother Zhou. I don’t know a thing about collecting—just buying what I like for fun,” Zhang Wei replied humbly.

“You’re right, that’s what we’re here for—to have a little fun! Come, let me show you the pieces I picked out—maybe you can give me your opinion and help me make a choice,” Zhou said, clapping Zhang Wei on the shoulder and leading him over to where he’d been selecting antiques, looking confident and pleased.