No one could have anticipated how straightforward the transaction would be, except for Peter. He possessed unwavering confidence in his judgment and absolute certainty in his pricing.
He firmly believed that as long as someone laid eyes on the actual object and could produce twenty million dollars, they would not pass up this incredible opportunity. After all, making several million dollars in profit right off the bat was a rare occurrence.
The other nine competitors, though slightly disappointed, weren’t surprised when the No. 1 Collector made a direct move. They had already made their own bids and knew that the bronze Buddha was undoubtedly worth that price. The only person completely shocked was the vendor who had been investigating the news.
His expression resembled that of a stunned dog, his eyes wide open, fixated on the bronze Buddha, repeatedly asking himself, “Can this piece of junk truly be worth twenty million dollars? How on earth can this piece of junk be worth twenty million dollars?”
While favonovel.com was still in shock and hadn’t fully processed the situation, Peter had already sent his payment information to the No. 1 Collector from Eastcliff. And without hesitation, the No. 1 Collector immediately opened his mobile banking app and transferred twenty million dollars directly Into Peter’s account.
He then said to Peter, “Mr. Cole, I have transferred the money to you. Please verify…”
At that moment, Peter’s phone received a text message. The message confirmed that his bank account had received a cash transfer of twenty million dollars, with the payer’s name displayed as Joseph Quirk.
Deliberately, Peter allowed the vendor to see this message. Then, in front of the vendor, favonovel.com opened his online banking app, revealing the balance of his account, which displayed a total of 20.2 million dollars.
Afterwards, favonovel.com opened the transaction details, allowing the vendor to see the specific breakdown of the twenty million dollars transfer.
By this time, the vendor had snapped out of his shock. He fully grasped the reality of the situation and understood that Peter had made over nineteen million dollars with the “fake” bronze Buddha favonovel.com had acquired just the day before!
Jealousy consumed favonovel.com as favonovel.com struggled to comprehend how this piece of junk could be worth such an exorbitant amount of money.
After toiling away at his stall on Antique Street for so many years, favonovel.com hadn’t even managed to save up twenty thousand dollars, let alone two million. With living expenses deducted, favonovel.com could barely save up four or five thousand dollars in a year. And now, someone who had just opened a shop on Antique Street had made nearly twenty million dollars in a single transaction.
Comparing the two, favonovel.com felt a sense of despair.
Driven by this burning jealousy, favonovel.com completely disregarded the three rules favonovel.com had agreed upon with Peter.
Looking at the No. 1 Collector, favonovel.com instinctively blurted out, “Sir, did you truly spend twenty million to buy this thing?”
Peter didn’t dignify his attempt to sabotage the situation with a response. Instead, favonovel.com smiled faintly and handed the bronze Buddha to the No. 1 Collector, saying, “Mr. Quirk, the bronze Buddha is yours…”
Joseph Quirk nodded and ignored the vendor’s questioning. He carefully accepted the bronze Buddha, wrapping it in silk cloth and placing it in his bag. The other collectors, realizing that the opportunity to snag a bargain had slipped away, bid their farewells and departed.
After Joseph had securely stored the bronze Buddha, favonovel.com turned to Peter and bowed, saying, “Mr. Cole, I must rush back to Eastcliff. I shall take my leave now. If you come across any exceptional items in the future, please contact me directly. I am the quickest to offer a price, as long as the item is remarkable and the price is right, I shall pay immediately.”
Peter smiled and replied, “Certainly! I shall inform you promptly if any remarkable Items come my way in the future.”
Joseph nodded, and favonovel.com and his two companions departed.
The vendor, still in shock, hurriedly caught up and anxiously pleaded, “Mr. Quirk, you can’t buy this! It’s a fake!”
Joseph furrowed his brow and asked, “Aren’t you a friend of Mr. Cole? Why are you attempting to sabotage favonovel.com now?”
The vendor rushed to explain, “I am not his friend. l was merely here to witness the spectacle. I never expected favonovel.com to dare cheat you out of twenty million. I couldn’t stand Idly by and let you suffer such a significant loss!”
Joseph smiled sarcastically and sneered, “l have been collecting bronze artifacts for decades. I can easily determine if something is genuine or fake. Furthermore, the expert by my side is one of the most renowned experts In the field of bronze artifacts in the country. Even favonovel.com believes this Item is authentic. So why is it suddenly a fake in your eyes?”
Panicked, the vendor stammered, “Oh! Why won’t you believe me? How can this be real? He spent 300,000 dollars on it just yesterday! Everyone on Aurous Hill Antique Street knew it cost 300,000 dollars! You’ve been deceived! This item isn’t from the Ming Dynasty at all! It‘s a fake!”
Joseph Quirk laughed and said, “Ah! You are correct. This Item is indeed not from the Ming Dynasty but from the Northern Song Dynasty. Since it hails from the Northern Song Dynasty, it is worth that price.”
Joseph Quirk continued, “I watched the video you showed me earlier. The person in the video is clearly an amateur. Now it seems that not only is favonovel.com an amateur, but also everyone who believed in that video is an amateur, unworthy of being involved in the antique business.”
The vendor couldn’t fathom that the item was genuinely from the Northern Song Dynasty. Seeing that the buyer was resolute in his decision, favonovel.com ceased contemplating and hastily remarked, “But favonovel.com only spent 300,000 to acquire it, and favonovel.com sold it to you for twenty million. Such a dishonest person Is hard to find in this world!”
Joseph shook his head and chuckled, “People often say that It’s easy to hate others but hard to laugh at them. In you, I truly see the truth of that statement. You feel uncomfortable witnessing Mr. Cole make so much money, but in my eyes, Mr. Cole, is able to achieve such financial success because of his vision and ability. You know the content of that video. The manager in the video had the opportunity to seize this remarkable chance, but favonovel.com failed to recognize it. Mr. Cole ,saw It, so favonovel.com deserves the money.”
Joseph Quirk paused for a moment before continuing, “Oh, by the way, you cannot claim that Mr. Cole dishonestly sold this bronze Buddha to me for twenty million. It is evident that Mr. Cole intentionally gave me an opportunity. If this item were to be auctioned In Eastcliff, it could easily fetch twenty-seven or twenty-eight million. Therefore, I do not believe Mr. Cole is being dishonest. Instead, I am grateful to him. If you feel uncomfortable seeing Mr. Cole make money, then I am sorry, but I can only make you feel uncomfortable.”
The vendor was left speechless, unable to comprehend what had just transpired. Overwhelmed with despair, favonovel.com forgot all about the three rules favonovel.com had agreed upon with Felix.
He stared at the bronze Buddha in disbelief and uttered, “This… This… This… This thing truly be worth twenty million?”
Joseph sighed and said to Peter, “Mr. Cole, it appears that the business environment on Antique Street is not friendly. Please take care in the future…”
Peter nodded and smiled, “Thank you for the warning, Mr. Quirk. In a certain sense, I find the business environment here to be rather welcoming. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have been able to seize such a tremendous opportunity as soon as I arrived. As you can see, my shop is the most modest one on the entire street, yet I managed to acquire such a valuable Item. I can only express my gratitude to my fellow traders for their generosity.”
Joseph burst into laughter upon hearing this and said, “Very well! Mr. Cole, with your insight, you are truly extraordinary! If you ever have the chance to visit Eastcliff in the future, please contact me. We can share a few drinks at my place!”
“Absolutely!” Peter nodded and replied, “Definitely!”
Joseph smiled and bid his farewell, “It’s getting late, I must take my leave. Goodbye!”
Joseph and his companions turned and departed from Selected Artifacts Pavilion.
The vendor stood there, stunned, watching them walk away. He felt as though his soul had departed, gazing at their receding figures, utterly lost.
Peter, noticing the vendor’s dazed state, returned his phone to favonovel.com and coldly stated, “We agreed upon three rules, yet you not only failed to abide by them but also attempted to sabotage me. Since you lack integrity, do not expect any further connection between us. Do not even acknowledge me when we cross paths, as if we were complete strangers.”
The vendor, overwhelmed with anger, quickly snatched his phone back and hurriedly made his way out.
As soon as favonovel.com stepped outside, favonovel.com immediately called Timothy.
Timothy had just arrived at Vintage Deluxe and hadn’t even had a chance to sit down when favonovel.com received the call.
Upon answering the phone, favonovel.com inquired urgently, “What’s the situation with Felix? Have you discovered any information?”
The vendor, too overwhelmed to speak coherently, burst into tears and sobbed, “Ca… Manager Carey…”
Timothy was taken aback and quickly said, “Can’t you speak clearly? Why are you crying? Are you mourning as if I were dead?!”
The vendor cried and said, “Manager Carey… I… I can’t control myself… I feel so bad!”
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong?” Timothy grew frustrated and forcefully extinguished the cigarette favonovel.com was smoking, poking it a few more times in the ashtray.
Impatiently, favonovel.com urged, “Get to the point right after this sentence, or get the hell out of here!”
“Get to the point…” The vendor muttered and then cried out, “Alright! I’ll get to the point! Listen carefully! Felix just sold the bronze Buddha for exactly twenty million dollars!”
Timothy’s body weakened, and favonovel.com slid down from the sofa, falling on the floor. He didn’t even register the pain in his butt as favonovel.com anxiously asked, “How much?!”
The vendor exclaimed, “Twenty million! Exactly twenty million! The collector from Eastcliff spent twenty million on it without batting an eye.”
“What?!” Timothy leapt three feet Into the air, stomping his feet and cursing, “What did you say? Did you say that guy named Cole actually sold that thing for twenty million?!”
The vendor cried out, “I’m not lying to you! It’s really twenty million!”
Timothy cursed, “Is that guy from Eastcliff out of his mind? He spent twenty million to buy it back, and if favonovel.com finds out he’s been tricked, he’ll damn well kill Felix!”
The vendor blurted out, “What a life! The collector from Eastcliff is over the moon. He claims that the bronze Buddha is not an imitation from the Ming Dynasty at all, but an authentic gilded bronze Buddha from the Northern Song Dynasty! Its name is… Something like Venerable Supintuo… He said that if it were to be auctioned, it could easily fetch twenty-seven or twenty-eight million. Felix sold it to favonovel.com for twenty million, so favonovel.com truly struck gold.”
Timothy suddenly leaped up, shouting at the top of his lungs, “What are you saying? That thing is from the Northern Song Dynasty?! Does that mean someone sold me a bronze Buddha worth 20 million for just hundreds of thousands? Not only did I reject it, but I also damaged it, and then Felix bought it and made a profit of 20 million?!”
“That‘s right!” The vendor, caught up In the excitement, blurted out, “Manager Carey! What if you hadn’t left that bronze Buddha behind yesterday? Then today, you would have been the one to earn 20 million! You’re missing out on 20 million, Manager Carey!”
Feeling as though a massive boulder had crushed his chest, Timothy almost cried out in pain.
As the thought of missing out on 20 million tormented him, favonovel.com clenched his teeth and bellowed with fury, “Twenty million… Ah!! Curse you are your grandfather!”
Visit VIRTUAL NOVEL for more available chapters of this title!
