Everyone’s attention was on Lin Ao, and Li Chonglou’s footsteps were so light that no one noticed him.
He didn’t reveal himself, standing quietly behind the crowd watching the scene.
“What? Is your boss a coward?” Lin Ao’s expression was arrogant, pointing at Wang Jingwu with a sneer, “Afraid to show yourself?”
“Isn’t this supposed to be an antique-themed hotel? You broke two of my rare pieces, how are you going to resolve this?”
“You broke the items. If I don’t get an explanation today, I’ll smash your hotel!”
Wang Jingwu’s head was covered in sweat. He bowed and scraped, his voice trembling, “Young Master Lin, I am damned.”
“I shouldn’t have touched your things. You are magnanimous, please spare me.”
“Two items worth ten million. Even killing me couldn’t compensate for that.”
By the end, his voice was choked with sobs.
He was just too curious.
His uncle wasn’t around, and Li Chonglou had gone out of town. When someone brought antiques, he couldn’t resist stepping forward to join the fun.
With only half-baked knowledge and no understanding of the rules, he dared to take the items directly from someone’s hands.
He didn’t know if his hand slipped or what happened, but as soon as he touched them, they fell to the ground.
In his nervousness, he stumbled and knocked over the items on the table, breaking them as well.
Lin Ao demanded ten million from him.
He still hadn’t dared to call his uncle.
“I’ll give you a suggestion. You’re just the hotel’s lobby manager!” Lin Ao’s eyes flashed with malice, and his sneer deepened, “Call your boss. According to the law, you’re only liable for 10% of the responsibility.”
“I might even consider taking pity on you and not holding you accountable.”
He had come specifically to cause trouble today.
He heard that Li Chonglou had taken over the Desheng Hotel and was planning some antique-themed hotel, displaying acquired antiques.
He was still holding a grudge about being embarrassed last time, and since Li Chonglou was not in Qin Zhou, he decided to cause a scene.
Li Chonglou, that reckless brat, though capable, had offended him and his master. If he didn’t teach him a lesson, did he really think Qin Zhou had become his territory?
It just so happened that Wang Jingwu, that know-it-all who only knew a little, liked to show off.
If not him, then whom should he use?
Ten million. The hotel wouldn’t be worth that much even if sold!
Today, this hotel was destined to change its name.
Li Chonglou was still too inexperienced to contend with him.
*Crack!*
As soon as he finished speaking, Wang Jingwu slapped himself hard across the face, the force leaving a bright red imprint.
“Young Master Lin, this is my fault. You can punish me however you wish. I will serve you like a牛马.”
Saying this, he fell to his knees before Lin Ao.
Wang Jingwu was also a rascal. Although he liked to act tough, his IQ wasn’t low.
As soon as Lin Ao spoke, he realized he was being used.
What about letting him off and only going after the hotel? It was all a ploy to target the hotel.
If his uncle were to be notified of this matter, the consequences would be unimaginable.
The hotel, already on the verge of bankruptcy, couldn’t withstand such turmoil.
Although he was frivolous and dissolute, his entire family relied on his uncle. If his uncle fell, what would happen to his parents?
He understood the gravity of the situation.
“Who do you think you are? Can you bear the responsibility?” Lin Ao kicked Wang Jingwu, who had fallen over, to the ground and threatened, “Either call the police, and you’ll not only have to pay but also go to jail.”
“Or find your boss. My patience is limited!”
Watching Wang Jingwu sprawled on the ground, the surrounding service staff all looked on with pity, yet no one dared to step forward and intervene.
Although Manager Wang was unreliable, he was usually quite generous.
He treated the service staff well.
At this moment, he was truly pitiful.
“Lin Ao, it’s only been a few days, and your courage has grown quite a bit.” Just then, Li Chonglou’s calm voice rang out from behind the crowd, “I am the boss.”
Hearing this, Lin Ao’s expression froze. He turned abruptly and growled through gritted teeth, “Li Chonglou!”
Seeing Li Chonglou emerge from the crowd, the sneer on his face instantly vanished, his face flushing and paling.
Didn’t they say Li Chonglou was not in Qin Zhou?
Why did he suddenly return?
Even Wang Jingwu’s scalp tingled, and his heart trembled.
His relationship with Li Chonglou was not good, and he had offended him before. He had been living in fear during this period, worried about being targeted, but Wang Jingwu didn’t believe Li Chonglou was that magnanimous.
He didn’t trouble him before because he hadn’t found a suitable opportunity.
Today, he was completely finished.
Li Chonglou walked into the crowd, not even glancing at Wang Jingwu, his eyes fixed on the two piles of shattered porcelain on the ground.
He said coldly, “Two broken imitation kiln-fired red glazed Gallon vases, and you dare to extort ten million from me.”
“Blackmail and extortion. I don’t think you’re brave enough.”
“Did Lu Weishen give you the courage, or are you just blind?”
The reason he didn’t reveal himself immediately was not to watch the show, but to examine the pile of porcelain shards.
With his current eyesight, there was no difference between seeing them from seven or eight meters away and seeing them up close.
Red glazed porcelain flourished during the Ming Xuande period, with Kangxi imitations being quite typical.
Due to historical factors, the shapes of Qing imitations were not as delicate as the genuine articles.
However, during the Republic of China period, with cultural openness and the flourishing of various schools of thought, foreigners also set their sights on Chinese porcelain.
A large number of imitations of official kilns began to appear.
These were direct imitations of genuine Ming Xuande pieces.
With advancements in craftsmanship and driven by profit, the imitations became increasingly lifelike.
They even fooled many connoisseurs.
These two pieces of kiln-fired red glaze were indeed enough to be mistaken for the real thing, but to true connoisseurs, their true nature was still revealed.
“What did you say?” Lin Ao suddenly stood up. “You blind fool, these two kiln-fired red glazed pieces are treasures that my master has collected for many years. How dare you say they are imitations and accuse me of blackmail? What do you think you are?”
He had absolute faith in Lu Weishen’s discernment.
Naturally, he couldn’t believe Li Chonglou’s words.
Moreover, he had studied for many years and was particularly skilled in porcelain. To him, these two items were flawless.
They couldn’t be Republic of China imitations.
Li Chonglou was probably trying to bluff him!
Last time, the Jade Tablet incident had caused him a great deal of frustration, and he hadn’t slept well for days.
If he didn’t get revenge today, how could he maintain his standing in Qin Zhou?
“It seems you don’t even realize you’re just a pawn.” Li Chonglou said unhurriedly, walking up to Lin Ao and picking up a bottom shard, he slowly said, “Genuine Xuande pieces have a rich and plump glaze. The mouth of the vase has cloud patterns formed by high-temperature drips.”
“The body of the vase is consistent from top to bottom, light and appropriately thin.”
“Especially the green moss dots in the豇豆红 glaze, which no one could imitate except Xuande.”
“Your master didn’t teach you this, did he?”
“Take a look at the six characters ‘大明宣德年制’ again.”
“Although deliberately imitated, they still cannot hide the traces of hard-pen calligraphy. The imitator was skilled in using pens but negligent with a brush.”
“The six-character three-line regular script at the base has excessive brushstrokes and insufficient depth.”
“With your discernment, it’s hard to see these differences, but your master would never fail to notice!”
“To have you bring imitation products to extort us at Desheng, besides wanting you to go to jail, I can’t think of any other possibility.”
These words made Lin Ao’s expression contort and his eyes widen in disbelief.
He muttered frantically, “No… impossible, Master wouldn’t harm me.”
“You’re talking nonsense!”