Yang Chen sat in the passenger seat of Li Yu's BMW, as Li Yu personally drove towards the old city.
"Ms. Qiao, who is she?"
"Her husband, Mr. Qiao, is an old client of our bank. He used to acquire many antiques from us. However, his company seems to be facing some difficulties recently and needs to liquidate some of his collectibles..."
Yang Chen mused that if he could help Li Yu retain this old client, it would be a testament to his own abilities. With his position secured, he could earn more in the appraisal business, and perhaps forging a connection with the Qiao family would open more doors for him to attend high-class auctions...
At this moment, Li Yu's expression changed drastically, and she cried out in alarm.
"This is bad!"
"What's wrong?"
"I don't know if Zhang Chi sold a fake to Ms. Qiao before. What if he did..."
"You're afraid it would be awkward if I appraised a fake later, and it turned out to have been sold by our firm, right?"
"Exactly!"
"You don't need to worry about that. As long as it was sold by our firm within the last three years, I remember it all. If we discover a fake later, and it was sold by us to Ms. Qiao, we'll buy it back at the original price."
Li Yu asked with some doubt, "You remember all the antiques our company has sold in the past three years?"
"Of course."
"Your intelligence... I'm sorry, I didn't mean it that way, I meant to say..."
"It's alright."
Yang Chen said with a faint smile, "I had my head injured three years ago, which made me a bit slow to react, but my memory is fine."
Yang Chen deliberately said this to subtly influence Li Yu, making her gradually see him as a normal person. After all, he couldn't pretend to be a fool forever.
"So that's how it is. Then I'm relieved."
...
Half an hour later, Li Yu drove to an old residence in the old city. After pressing the doorbell, a noblewoman in her forties opened the door.
"Ms. Qiao, hello."
"You're here."
Ms. Qiao looked at Yang Chen with a hint of suspicion. Yang Chen took the opportunity to discreetly observe Ms. Qiao. She was well-maintained, looking like a woman in her early thirties. However, her complexion was a bit pale, and her dark circles made her appear somewhat weary.
Li Yu quickly introduced, "This is the new manager of our firm, Yang Chen."
"Oh, I see... Please come in."
The two followed Ms. Qiao into the hall. The center had been cleared, and over ten antiques were placed on the carpet: ceramics, bronzeware, jade carvings, ivory relief sculptures... everything imaginable.
"Ms. Qiao, these items..."
"These are all for auction. Could you appraise them for me?"
Yang Chen and Li Yu exchanged glances. They had initially thought Ms. Qiao was only selling one or two items, but unexpectedly, the quantity was so large.
"Yang Chen, please appraise them."
Li Yu looked at Yang Chen and deliberately said in a loud voice, "Ms. Qiao is an old client of ours. With so many items for sale this time, we could even hold a dedicated auction. You don't need to intentionally undervalue them; just price them according to market rates."
"Yes!"
Yang Chen responded, then said to Ms. Qiao, "Madam, may I borrow some ink and brush? I will list the price for each item."
"Certainly."
A servant quickly brought paper and pen. Yang Chen first picked up a palm-sized golden Buddha statue. After examining it carefully for a while, he put it down, picked up the pen, and said aloud while writing, "Ms. Qiao, this is a Maitreya Buddha gold figure from the mid-Ming Dynasty, with an opening that is quite evident. It weighs sixteen jin and stands thirteen inches tall... As is well known, a Buddha statue exceeding a chi is a treasured heirloom. This Buddha is cast from pure gold, which is rarely seen. I propose a starting bid of three million. Do you have any objections?"
These items were originally her family's. Ms. Qiao, while not an expert in antiques, had some understanding. Hearing Yang Chen describe the characteristics of the Buddha statue with such accuracy, she believed he was likely correct and nodded, saying, "No objections. We'll go with your price."
Yang Chen recorded it, then picked up a well-preserved folding fan, with iron ribs and silk fabric, adorned with a crude ink painting. "This iron-ribbed fan is from the late Qing Dynasty. Its condition is quite good, but the painting is too pedestrian... I'll set the starting bid at ten thousand. What do you think?"
"As you say."
"This is a piece of Warring States period Hetian jade with an intricate dragon pattern... The starting bid is three hundred thousand..."
"This is a late Qing Dynasty snuff bottle..."
"..."
Yang Chen appraised and priced all fifteen antiques in one go, finally stating, "Ms. Qiao, all fifteen items are genuine. Based on the starting bids, their estimated value is thirty million."
Ms. Qiao's brows furrowed, and she shook her head, "Only thirty million? That's too little!"
Li Yu smiled from the side, "Ms. Qiao, this is just the starting bid. With a little skillful handling from our firm, there should be about a 20% increase in value."
Her words were subtle. "Skillful handling" implied arranging for someone to bid up the price, stimulating buyers to offer higher amounts, a common practice in auction houses.
"Then the maximum would be forty million, which is still far from enough. And that's before deducting the auction house's 10% commission, which makes it even less!"
"This..."
Li Yu appeared troubled. "Ms. Qiao, you are an old client of our firm. A 10% commission rate is already the lowest in the industry..."
"I'm not saying your commission is too high."
Ms. Qiao waved her hand to interrupt, "Ms. Li, I'm not afraid you'll laugh at me. I'll be frank with you. My husband enjoys collecting, and he cherishes these items even more than I do. If it weren't for the company's financial crisis, he would never agree to auction them. Could you see if there's any way to sell them for a better price?"
Li Yu looked even more troubled and turned to Yang Chen.
"Ms. Li, I've priced them as you instructed. These items themselves are not masterpieces and lack significant selling points. Even if we increase our promotional efforts, it might not make much difference..."
As Yang Chen spoke, his gaze inadvertently fell upon a blue and white porcelain vase on a display shelf in the corner. His eyes lit up, and he asked, "Ms. Qiao, may I ask a tangential question? Approximately how much capital does Mr. Qiao need for this turnaround?"
"One hundred million."
Ms. Qiao said with a wry smile, "I understand. These items are originally worth thirty million. It's too much to ask you to sell them for a hundred million... Never mind, just do your best to sell them for a good price."
"No... that's not it."
Yang Chen pointed to the blue and white porcelain vase on the display shelf and smiled, "Ms. Qiao, you are reluctant to part with this vase, aren't you? I am confident I can help you raise one hundred million!"