Chapter 39

Suxiaofan somewhat disappointedly withdrew his gaze. If Tong Dongjie, this big tycoon, didn't make a move, it would be very difficult to sell this Song Dynasty pen washer today.

"Such a rare item, don't you, Xiaofan, consider keeping it for your own collection?"

Everyone present could see Suxiaofan's intention, and Zhao Zhengshan was particularly puzzled.

Zhao Zhengshan had never sold any of the items he had picked up over the years, keeping them all on the antique shelves at home as his trophies.

"Uncle Zhao, my dad is different from your dad."

Suxiaofan smiled, making a joke. Although his dad wasn't as much of a burden lately, his financial situation wasn't enough to allow him to collect antiques like Zhao Zhengshan.

"Xiaofan, do you really want to sell it?"

Jingshizhen looked at the lucky young man, Suxiaofan, and it had been many years since he had seen someone pick up such a big bargain.

"Uncle Jing, I'm in the antique business. Why keep it if I'm not going to sell it?"

Suxiaofan nodded and said, "I'm still young and not at the age where I can enjoy my collection every day. Selling these items might help me find even better ones."

"You have a point. Only those with a solid foundation like Zhengshan can afford to keep everything."

Jingshizhen nodded and said to Suxiaofan, "Items appraised by my Jingxin Hall have a special connection. If you really want to sell, I can give you three options."

"Uncle Jing, please go on, I'm listening." Suxiaofan immediately smiled, knowing that Uncle Jing was helping him.

"The first option is that you pay 500,000, and I'll give you an appraisal certificate. You can take this Song Dynasty pen washer to an auction house and have them auction it."

Jingshizhen raised a finger. He wasn't trying to take advantage of Suxiaofan; the fee was based on the item's value, and 500,000 was actually a discount for Suxiaofan.

Moreover, an appraisal certificate from Jingshizhen was a golden seal, ensuring a smooth process at the auction house.

"Uncle Jing, what's the second option?"

Suxiaofan shook his head. He had no connections in the antique business and didn't know anyone at the auction houses. If he got scammed, he would lose everything.

"The second option is to entrust this Song Dynasty pen washer to Jingxin Hall for auction."

Jingshizhen glanced at his phone and said, "It's July now, and the Hong Kong autumn auction is two months away. I'll have the auction house promote this item, and it should fetch a good price.

However, Jingxin Hall will take 40% of the auction price, and you will bear the auction house's commission and the seller's taxes..."

"Uncle Jing, what's the approximate percentage for the commission and taxes?" Suxiaofan asked, as he knew nothing about this.

"Normally, auction houses charge 5% to 10% commission. With Jingxin Hall, it's about 2% to 3%."

Jingshizhen said, "The tax is your personal income tax, which is about 20% after deductions."

"Damn, that's a lot." Suxiaofan started calculating.

Even if the pen washer fetched 20 million, after giving 40% to Jingxin Hall, 12 million would remain. After deducting about 22% for commission and taxes, he would end up with about 9 million, less than half of the auction price.

"Let me tell you the third option."

Seeing Suxiaofan's reluctance, Jingshizhen didn't wait for him to ask and said, "You can sell the pen washer directly to Jingxin Hall."

"Does Jingxin Hall collect antiques?" Suxiaofan realized he had said something stupid as soon as the words left his mouth.

"How fresh! If Jingxin Hall didn't collect antiques, where would they get them from?"

Jingshizhen laughed, "There aren't many surviving Ding porcelain items. This pen washer might fetch a higher price. I won't take advantage of you. If you sell it to Jingxin Hall, you'll get 12 million, and we'll cover the taxes."

"Sold!"

After a brief hesitation, Suxiaofan agreed. Without the right connections, the effort and risk of selling it himself might not yield as high a price as Jingshizhen offered.

"You're making nearly 20 million in a day. Be careful with your mindset."

Jingshizhen advised Suxiaofan. If it were Zhao Zhengshan, he wouldn't have said this, as 10 million wasn't a big number for Zhao Zhengshan.

But Suxiaofan was different. He was just a small vendor, and at his young age, sudden wealth might not be a good thing.

"I understand, Uncle Jing. Don't worry."

Suxiaofan nodded. He was a person with strong self-control and a low profile, and he wouldn't show off just because he had money.

After earning over 10 million, Suxiaofan also fully understood the significance of the restoration value. With the restoration value, making money wasn't a big deal for him.

Using the restoration value to repair antiques was incredibly cost-effective. Suxiaofan used only two points of restoration value to earn 16 million, and he realized he had underestimated the value of the restoration points.

Of course, Suxiaofan didn't plan to act again soon. Picking up bargains once or twice could be considered luck, but consistently finding bargains would definitely be a problem.

"Alright, let's go through the procedures. I'll transfer the money after the contract is signed."

Jingshizhen said to Suxiaofan and Zhao Zhengshan, "I have other matters to discuss, so I won't keep you two."

Suxiaofan and Zhao Zhengshan nodded. Tong Dongjie had been waiting for a long time, clearly with something to ask Uncle Jing.

Although Jingshizhen didn't accompany them, he called in the head of the Beijing Jingxin Hall to handle the procedures for Suxiaofan, while he went into the inner room with Tong Dongjie.

The head of the Beijing Jingxin Hall, Mr. Liu, was a former expert from the New Palace Museum, recruited by Jingshizhen with a high salary. He was familiar with Zhao Zhengshan.

Mr. Liu, who had been in the outer hall, didn't know about Suxiaofan's lucky find. After hearing Zhao Zhengshan's story, he was also surprised. Without Zhao Zhengshan's testimony, he wouldn't have believed it.

Compared to the huanghuali pen holder, the procedures for the Ding porcelain pen washer were more complicated. Suxiaofan had to sign a disclaimer and other documents, and it took about an hour to complete the contract.

Looking at the bank notification on his phone, Suxiaofan felt a bit dazed.

He earned more in a day than his father had in ten years. Maybe he should persuade his father to stop going out to sea. Now he could support his family.

"Mr. Liu, has Jingxin Hall received any good items recently?"

Seeing Suxiaofan finish the procedures, Zhao Zhengshan chatted with Mr. Liu, "You know I rarely come to Beijing. Show me something good."

"There are a few good items, but they were all acquired by Uncle Jing."

Hearing Mr. Liu call Jingshizhen "Uncle Jing," Suxiaofan realized that it wasn't just a term used by younger people.

Peers of similar age also called him "Uncle Jing," recognizing his status in the antique business. Only those who had followed Jingshizhen from the early days, like the Fuxing Hall's Mr. Yuan, called him "Brother Jing."

"My father is about to turn 75, and I want to find a good item to celebrate his birthday."

After finishing with Suxiaofan, Zhao Zhengshan revealed his purpose. The competition with Suxiaofan was just a side matter. Otherwise, he could have found experts in the antique market.

"Oh, that's a happy event. What do you plan to give?"

Mr. Liu knew about Zhao Hengjian, a prominent billionaire in China, who wouldn't be impressed by ordinary items.

"For a birthday, I want something with good symbolism. What does Jingxin Hall have?"

Zhao Zhengshan shook his head. His father was very picky, and at his age and wealth, he wouldn't judge items by their price but by whether he liked them.

"There are many good items, but it depends on what you want." Mr. Liu shook his head and said, "I haven't checked the inventory recently. Some items were just placed in the warehouse a few days ago. Shall I check for you?"

Although he was the head of the Beijing Jingxin Hall, Mr. Liu often did the work of a deputy manager because Jingshizhen spent most of his time in Beijing.

"Mr. Liu, can we go to the warehouse to take a look?" Zhao Zhengshan said, "We know that Jingxin Hall's best items are stored in Beijing. Let us see them."

In other cities, Jingxin Hall's antiques were stored in bank vaults.

But Beijing was different. The Jingxin Hall was located in a bustling area with excellent security.

With a large number of visitors every day, it was inconvenient to store items in the bank, so the antiques were kept in the store.

"Mr. Zhao, that's against the rules. I don't have the authority to let you into the warehouse."

Mr. Liu shook his head. Only he and Jingshizhen could enter the warehouse. Even Jingxin Hall employees couldn't enter without his permission.

"Zhengshan, you're still here?"

As Mr. Liu and Zhao Zhengshan were talking, Jingshizhen and Tong Dongjie came out of the inner room.

"Uncle Jing, Mr. Zhao's father is about to have a birthday, and Mr. Zhao wants to see the warehouse. I told him it's against the rules."

Mr. Liu quickly explained Zhao Zhengshan's request.

"Zhengshan, that is against the rules."

Jingshizhen looked at Zhao Zhengshan.

"Uncle Jing, do you not trust me? I just want to see."

Zhao Zhengshan said.

"Xiaotong, go back first. I'll contact you about your matter."

Jingshizhen didn't answer Zhao Zhengshan but instructed Tong Dongjie.

"Thank you, Uncle Jing. I'll wait for your call. Xiaofan, here's my card. Let's stay in touch."

Tong Dongjie quickly agreed and left, but before leaving, he gave Suxiaofan his business card.

"You can enter the warehouse, but you must buy an item worth at least 10 million."

After Tong Dongjie left, Jingshizhen turned to Zhao Zhengshan, "If you go in empty-handed and leave empty-handed, I can't let you in. Since I set the rules, if you buy something, it won't be against the rules."