Chapter 32

Today's Jubaizhai seemed particularly lively.

Chu Lao sent out invitations in his own name, and many people dared not refuse him. Although doing business was not Chu Lao's forte, he was a master in the field of antique appraisal, and he was also a well-known professor at Jiangning University. The social elites still had to give him some face.

Su Wen arrived at Jubaizhai and looked toward the entrance, where two people were whispering.

"What kind of old coin appraisal conference is Chu Lao holding, and he even had the nerve to invite us all? I wonder if he can come up with anything good."

"How could this old guy know anything about antiques? The Zhang Bufan he used to find was no good. Let me tell you a secret, Zhang Bufan even bought a lot of antiques from me to fill Jubaizhai."

"Is that true? Could it be Chu Lao's idea? I know Jubaizhai has always lacked inventory, and Wang Lin has already jumped ship. I heard he's already found a new storefront and will open tomorrow. Chu Lao will be in tears then, after all the hard work he put into training him, but he turned around and started his own business."

"Chu Lao is knowledgeable, but he's terrible at judging people. Jubaizhai's small fortune will eventually be squandered by him. What a misfortune for the family!"

"Squandered? Hehe, it doesn't matter. This old man doesn't even have a grandson, and his lineage will end with him."

"Are you two done talking? Can you shut up now?" Su Wen walked over directly. "Let me give you a piece of advice: don't talk behind people's backs. That's not a good habit. If you really can't stand Chu Lao, then face him directly. I'd even respect you more if you stabbed him in the back."

"What are you talking about?" Fang Qingming was furious. "I was talking with Brother Guo, and you have the nerve to interrupt? A kid like you, who hasn't even grown up, dares to criticize us? Are you tired of living? I'll have someone take care of you."

When Su Wen heard this, he grabbed Fang Qingming's neck with lightning speed and sneered, "Do you believe I can break your neck right now?"

Fang Qingming saw the murderous look in Su Wen's eyes and tried to pry Su Wen's hands off with both hands, but no matter how he moved, Su Wen's hands were like a vise, firmly clamping down on him. Wang Lin, who was standing nearby, was also terrified.

"Little... little brother, we were wrong, please let go," Guo Dongqing knew when to back down and immediately conceded.

Su Wen was unmoved and increased the pressure on his hands.

Fang Qingming felt his breathing becoming more and more difficult, and his face turned fearful. "It's my fault, let... let me go!"

Su Wen sneered, "Don't let me hear you say bad things about Chu Lao behind his back again, or you won't be so lucky next time."

Chu Lao seemed to sense something and hurried over. "Su Wen, let me introduce you. This is Fang Qingming from Qingming Antiques and Guo Dongqing from Guo Family Antiques. They are both veterans in this field. If you have any questions, you should ask them for advice."

Su Wen smiled slightly. "I understand, Chu Lao. In the future, I will seek advice from these two seniors more often."

Fang Qingming, seeing Su Wen's insincere smile, shivered involuntarily.

"Chu Lao, who is this young man?" Guo Dongqing asked, realizing he knew nothing about Su Wen. Although Su Wen had targeted Fang Qingming, the intimidating aura made him fear as well.

"He is Su Wen, our new employee at Jubaizhai," Chu Lao explained.

"An employee?" Fang Qingming and Guo Dongqing were stunned. They had thought Su Wen was some big shot. Thinking about this, their minds started to work, but with Chu Lao still there, they didn't dare to act. However, they remembered Su Wen's name well.

Chu Lao pulled Su Wen aside and whispered, "Fang Qingming and Wang Lin are Jubaizhai's biggest rivals. You need to be careful and not fall for their tricks."

"Don't worry, Chu Lao, I know what I'm doing."

Just as Su Wen finished speaking, there was a sudden sound of drums and gongs outside.

Looking in the distance, several lion dancers arrived at the entrance of Jubaizhai, followed by a red dragon.

Lion dancers, dragon dance?

Su Wen looked at Chu Lao. "Did you arrange this?"

"I didn't arrange this. This event was entirely planned by Yi Xue. She criticized my plan and left me no choice but to hand it all over to her. She said she would give me a surprise, but I didn't expect this." Chu Lao smiled bitterly, knowing Yi Xue's capabilities. Although he was still puzzled, he trusted her judgment.

On the second floor, many guests who had already arrived were also curious. In Jiangning, lion and dragon dances were not uncommon, but they had never appeared in front of an antique shop before. Many people were curious about what would happen next.

Soon, the answer came.

A man walked to the entrance of Jubaizhai and announced in a standard emcee voice, "Today is the 66th birthday of Mr. Chu, the owner of Jubaizhai. To celebrate, Jubaizhai has decided to give out money."

Give out money?

People passing by stopped, thinking this was a good opportunity to make some money.

The emcee pointed to the distance, and soon a large, specially made barrel was pushed over. The barrel had only one lid, and no one could see what was inside, only that one hand could be inserted. The crowd didn't know what was going on, but more and more people gathered.

"Listen up, there are 66,666 coins inside, ranging from one cent to one yuan. You might think that even if they were all one yuan, it would only be about 70,000 yuan. But if you think that, you're wrong. Among these coins, there are 666 old coins, some of which are worth thousands of yuan each. If someone gets lucky and grabs a dozen old coins, they could easily make tens of thousands of yuan."

"What, grab with hands?"

"Really let people grab money?"

"Are you crazy? This must be worth nearly a million yuan!"

"Everyone, please be quiet, and listen to me. It's Mr. Chu's birthday, and Jubaizhai wants to celebrate. Even if you don't grab an old coin, you can still grab a dozen yuan. This is just the first round of our money-giving activity. The second round involves 6,666 antiques displayed on the first floor of Jubaizhai. One-tenth of them are genuine, and each genuine piece is worth at least 10,000 yuan, with the most valuable estimated at one million yuan. We are selling each piece for 1,000 yuan, and there will be experts to authenticate them. If it's genuine, you can choose to sell it back to Jubaizhai."

"One-tenth genuine?"

"I've seen other antique stalls before, and they were all fake. I didn't expect Jubaizhai to be so generous, putting one-tenth genuine items in!"

"Exactly, and there's even a one-million-yuan piece. If you get lucky and buy it, you'll be rich."

"Do you think the second round is the end? I'll tell you, it's not. Our boss has announced that anyone who gives one yuan as a birthday gift to the boss today can receive a free Jubaizhai treasure card. This is a one-time card, and its main functions are: first, a free antique appraisal; second, a 66% discount on purchases from Jubaizhai."

The crowd was stunned.

Free appraisal?

66% discount?

Is this guy crazy?

Chu Lao was also stunned. "Yi Xue, this girl, is really out of control. We were supposed to have an old coin appraisal, but it turned into a birthday celebration?"

"Chu Lao, is today really your birthday?" Su Wen clearly didn't believe it. How could it be so coincidental?

"To be honest, I don't even know when I was born," Chu Lao said awkwardly.

"Damn, this is a money-making scheme!" Su Wen couldn't help but say.

"Money-making scheme?" Chu Lao was puzzled.

"Chu Lao, do you really think there are 666 old coins inside? Even if there are, I guarantee they're not valuable. But just this gimmick is enough for today. As for the antiques inside, I've seen them. If there are 6,666 pieces, then one-tenth are genuine, but if you count, there are at least ten thousand pieces. All the genuine, replica, and junk items from your warehouse have been brought out. This is a clearance sale!"

"Clearance sale?"

"Absolutely a clearance sale. By the end of today's event, all the worthless items in Jubaizhai will be sold out. You'll only make a profit, and you'll also gain a reputation as a generous person. Not to mention, the Jubaizhai treasure card is a scam. The free appraisal will likely result in the items being sold back to Jubaizhai if they're genuine, and if they're fake, it's none of our business. The 66% discount is also a trick. The price of antiques is always uncertain, and we can price a 50,000-yuan item at 100,000 yuan. Even with a 66% discount, we'll still make a profit. This will also build our reputation, ensuring Jubaizhai can survive until the end of the year."

Chu Lao was stunned. "Yi Xue spent a day planning this, and it can help Jubaizhai survive until the end of the year?"

"Exactly, your granddaughter is a genius. No ordinary antique shop would dare to do this," Su Wen couldn't help but say.

Looking in the distance, the place for grabbing money had already gathered hundreds of people. People were constantly grabbing money, and occasionally, someone would shout that they had grabbed an old coin, making the crowd even more excited. The people maintaining order were shouting, "Each person can only grab once, and then move on quickly!"

It's crazy, completely crazy!

Looking inside the first floor, the 6,666 antiques were surrounded by people.

"I bet this one is genuine, the one worth a million yuan!"

"This one is!"

"Idiot, it's definitely this one."

A group of people who knew nothing about antiques watched as someone occasionally bought a genuine item, thinking the next lucky one would be them.

"I want this one, this one!"

"Damn, I saw this one first, get lost!"

"Move aside, I want all of these. One-tenth are genuine, so if I buy ten, even if only one is genuine, I'll still make a profit, hahaha!"

Many people thought this was a brilliant strategy.

Chu Lao looked at Su Wen. "Will Yi Xue really put a one-million-yuan item inside?"

"It might be there, but the person who buys it will be someone she arranged, or she might bring a genuine item and claim it was selected from inside. No one would be foolish enough to give away a million yuan for free," Su Wen told Chu Lao.

Chu Lao sighed. "This Yi Xue, she's turned a good antique shop into a big sale."

But it was clear that Chu Lao was very happy.