Chapter 61

Update Time: April 1, 2013

Every industry has its own set of rules, and in the antiques trade, there is an unwritten rule: items do not have a distinction between real and fake, only between new and old. If you think it's new, you don't have to buy it; if you think it's old and pay a high price for it, that's your choice. Transactions are based on experience and discernment. If you spend millions on a vase worth a few hundred dollars, it simply means your discernment is poor, and there is no fraud involved.

Therefore, there is an interesting term in the antiques industry called "being fooled."

Being fooled means being deceived, but in the antiques industry, it has become a specialized term. If you buy the wrong item, you are being fooled, and you can't blame anyone else.

As for the auction Meng Fei mentioned, where Zhang Yang would bid on antiques and Meng Fei would be responsible for finding buyers, it is almost an obvious trap. Auction houses only provide descriptions of the items; they do not guarantee their authenticity, and you must judge for yourself.

Meng Fei could easily place a fake item in the auction house and then inform Zhang Yang how popular the item is, saying that someone offered a high price but couldn't find it. You might spend 100,000 yuan to buy it, and he would sell it for 200,000 yuan.

Once Zhang Yang buys the item, the buyer would naturally disappear for various reasons.

As for buying items together, that is an even more obvious scam. The items are prepared in advance, and the buyers and sellers are fake. One valuable item could be enough to make you fall into the trap.

There are many more secrets in the auction industry that we haven't mentioned, but even these public pieces of information, which are just the tip of the iceberg in the antiques market, made Zhang Yang feel uneasy.

At first, Zhang Yang was afraid, but the more he read, the more relaxed he became, and a smile even appeared at the corner of his mouth.

There is actually such an industry where you can be cheated to the point of bleeding, and you have no recourse!

Interesting, just as Meng Fei said, this is an industry that relies on your eyes. If you are fooled, you can only swallow your anger and have no way to complain.

This industry suits me, but I need more accurate information. Currently, my eyes can only see pale yellow and red light. Do different eras have other colors representing them?

More importantly, I can only judge the approximate age of items. I still need to determine their value and whether they are worth buying. That is my weakness. After all, I know nothing about antiques!

As for learning related knowledge, Zhang Yang had never considered it. What a joke! With my special ability, why should I work hard to learn? I might as well become a junior apprentice and learn slowly! I don't want to become a master; my goal is to make money. Once I have money and power, I will find the opportunity to take revenge on those who have hurt me.

Now, it seems there is another way to teach those guys a lesson.

Zhang Yang looked outside; it was already dark. He then took out his phone and called Duan Fei.

"Hello, is this Director Duan?" Zhang Yang asked in a low voice.

"Yes, who is this?" Duan Fei was quite angry. He thought the foolish boy would come to him early, but he waited all day, and the guy never showed up. He didn't even call, which made Duan Fei's face gloomy all day.

"Director Duan, it's Xiao Zhang. I came to your store yesterday. Do you remember me?" Zhang Yang said.

Duan Fei's voice immediately became warm. "Xiao Zhang, why didn't you come? I waited for you all day."

"Sorry, Director Duan. After listening to you yesterday, I looked it up online and found out that there really is a gemstone gambling industry," Zhang Yang said.

Duan Fei was almost furious. Is this a joke? Do you think I'm a fraud?

"Of course, many people have become rich overnight through gemstone gambling. A piece of jadeite rough stone worth tens of thousands of yuan can multiply by tens or even hundreds of times if it contains jadeite. Xiao Zhang, the rough stones in our store are all imported from Myanmar. There is definitely jadeite inside. If you hit just one or two, you can become a millionaire. Then, your girlfriend won't have to watch those gold bars belong to others," Duan Fei said.

"I know, I know. So, I went gemstone gambling this morning," Zhang Yang said deliberately.

Duan Fei's voice suddenly became louder. "Gemstone gambling? Where did you go?"

"Lido Gemstone Company! Director Duan, I called you to thank you. I bought a piece of rough stone today and got jadeite. I sold it for 1.6 million yuan," Zhang Yang said.

Duan Fei was stunned. How much? 1.6 million yuan?

"Director Duan, Director Duan, are you still there?" Zhang Yang, hearing no response, raised his voice, guessing that Duan Fei was shocked.

"Yes, yes," Duan Fei replied, coming to his senses.

He didn't understand what Zhang Yang meant. Was he showing off to him?

"I thought, no matter what, my gemstone gambling was based on Director Duan's advice. So, I decided to go to your store tomorrow and pick a few stones. My luck is good right now, maybe I'll hit again," Zhang Yang said.

"Good, good, I'll wait for you," Duan Fei said.

After hanging up, Duan Fei no longer felt as smug as before. He had encouraged Zhang Yang to gamble on gemstones to sell the rough stones. However, he wasn't truly in the gemstone gambling industry. If others didn't hit, he could accept it, but hearing that Zhang Yang hit and sold it for 1.6 million yuan filled him with envy. Looking at the rough stones in the warehouse, he saw white banknotes.

If there was jadeite inside, and he could extract it, wouldn't he become rich? Why should he be a lackey for Xiao Fei? This thought, like a devil's temptation, appeared in Duan Fei's mind for the first time.

Soon, Duan Fei shook his head to calm down. What was he thinking? A few words from a foolish boy had shocked him? Besides, he didn't know if what Zhang Yang said was true. Lido Gemstone Company? What place was that? He needed to check if it was true.

Duan Fei didn't have many connections in the capital, but some employees in the store knew about Lido Gemstone Company, as it was the largest gemstone gambling company in the capital, and they paid attention to it to some extent.

It didn't take long for Duan Fei to confirm the news. A new player had bought a rough stone with a poor appearance at Lido Gemstone Company and unexpectedly opened a fist-sized piece of jadeite, selling it for several million yuan.

This is how the industry works; news spreads quickly. To stimulate new players, they often inflate the selling price by several times and spread the news.

After confirming the news, Duan Fei put down his phone and couldn't calm down for a long time.

Zhang Yang hung up the phone and smiled coldly. The first step to provoke him was successful.

The second step starts tomorrow.

"Brother Liang, it's Zhang Yang. How are you?" Zhang Yang called Liang Fat.

"It's you, Brother Zhang. I was just thinking of calling you. We should get together! That piece of rough stone you provided really helped me. To be honest, my store was running out of jadeite raw materials. Without suitable ones, I would have to buy them at a high price," Liang Fat said with a smile.

"Brother Liang, no need to be so polite. We both got what we wanted. I just want to ask, if I hit jadeite again, can I directly trade with you?" Zhang Yang said.

"Of course, I would be grateful to you, Brother," Liang Fat said.

He didn't take Zhang Yang's words seriously. Was gemstone gambling that easy? It was all about luck. Zhang Yang might not find another piece of jadeite in a year. Liang Fat knew too many examples like this.

"That's good. I'll call you when I hit jadeite again," Zhang Yang said with a smile.

Duan, I don't believe you can resist if I hit every time! Humph, with so many rough stones in your warehouse, watching others make hundreds of thousands or millions, can you control your desire? If you could, would you still try to take money from gamblers?

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