"If I'm not mistaken, this should be a blue-and-white porcelain piece from the Yuan Dynasty, and a royal imperial item at that. It's one of the most valuable treasures among blue-and-white porcelain, with a market price of at least five million," Sun Hao said.
The crowd below believed him without question.
Lei Ying appeared very pleased that Sun Hao praised his treasure so highly.
Jiang Yi let out a cold laugh.
He understood why Lei Ying and Sun Hao had become friends.
Lei Ying was an antique collector, and Sun Hao was an appraisal expert. It was easy for Sun Hao to build a good relationship with Lei Ying and become friends.
"President Lei's treasure has been appraised. Next, it's this gentleman's turn!"
Sun Hao looked at Jiang Yi.
Earlier, Lei Ying had said that Jiang Yi was his friend, so Sun Hao naturally did not dare to slight him.
Jiang Yi asked the stall owner to bring the ancient painting to the high platform.
Sun Hao began his appraisal.
"This treasure is truly rare, a masterpiece by Tang Bohu, one of the Four Talented Scholars of Jiangnan in the Tang Dynasty. It's worth at least three million," Sun Hao declared.
Jiang Yi let out a cold laugh.
The stall owner was dumbfounded.
The stall owner knew very well that the painting was a fake, but in Sun Hao's hands, it had become a priceless treasure worth three million.
"Mr. Sun, are you sure this isn't a fake?" Jiang Yi asked.
"Absolutely not a fake, I can guarantee it's genuine," Sun Hao said hastily.
Jiang Yi raised an eyebrow.
Sun Hao was indeed a con artist.
He had previously thought that Sun Hao, with his reputation as "Sun San Yan" (Sun Three Eyes), must have some skill, but he never expected him to be such a fraud.
The crowd below eagerly brought their treasures to the stage for Sun Hao's appraisal.
These were all antique enthusiasts, but many antiques they couldn't identify themselves, so they came to Sun Hao.
Three hours later, all the treasures had been appraised.
Most of the treasures were identified as fakes by Sun Hao and then destroyed in public. Sun Hao's actions did not draw any dissatisfaction from the crowd.
However, they didn't know that Sun Hao was a complete fraud.
Sun Hao couldn't discern genuine from fake at all.
Sun Hao judged based on who was in front of him, calling items genuine for the wealthy and influential, and fake for those without money or power.
"Everyone, today's appraisal fair has concluded. If you have any treasures to appraise in the future, you can find me privately," Sun Hao said.
The crowd thanked Sun Hao profusely.
"Mr. Sun, thank you so much. If you hadn't personally helped appraise them, I would have suffered greatly!"
"Mr. Sun, I don't know how to thank you!"
...
Sun Hao's face was filled with smugness.
The antique business was a murky world.
An item that was worthless junk could become a treasure if a renowned expert declared it priceless, instantly causing people to vie for it, paying exorbitant prices.
This was why appraisal experts were so sought after. Even a con artist like Sun Hao could thrive in the antique world.
"Wait a moment..."
Jiang Yi stood up from his chair and, in front of everyone, tore the ancient painting into pieces.
This action stunned everyone!
"Mr. Jiang, what is this..." Lei Ying asked, his face full of confusion.
"Sun Hao is a con artist!" Jiang Yi stated.
As soon as he said this, Sun Hao became displeased!
"Mr. Jiang, I respect you as President Lei's friend, and I believe I haven't wronged you in any way. Why are you slandering me like this?"
Sun Hao deliberately put on an innocent expression.
"You know in your heart whether you are a con artist or not!"
Jiang Yi finished speaking, then looked at the stall owner next to him and said, "You tell Mr. Sun, was this painting a fake or genuine, and how much is it worth!"
The stall owner looked helpless.
"This painting is a fake, worth nothing," the stall owner had to tell the truth.
"You're spouting nonsense!"
Sun Hao directly yelled at the stall owner, "Tell me, who told you to come and frame me?"
"I'm not framing you, I'm telling the truth. Mr. Jiang bought this painting from my stall just now," the stall owner quickly said.
"Explain in detail!" Jiang Yi instructed the stall owner.
The stall owner recounted the entire incident, from beginning to end.
Sun Hao's face turned extremely grim.
He finally understood that Jiang Yi had come specifically for him today.
The crowd below could no longer sit still!
Most of their treasures had been destroyed by Sun Hao.
Lei Ying's expression was the most unsightly.
For years, all his treasures had been appraised by Sun Hao. Many of them Sun Hao had declared fakes, and then, at a low price, Sun Hao had bought these so-called fakes.
Lei Ying had had his doubts before, but after learning of Sun Hao's reputation in the antique world, he hadn't paid much attention.
Now, Lei Ying understood that Sun Hao's approach and friendship with him were all about making money off him.
"Nonsense! Everyone knows my skills. If you call me a con artist, produce real evidence!" Sun Hao said angrily.
Sun Hao was still making a desperate struggle.
"Don't worry, the evidence will come soon!"
Jiang Yi smiled slightly. "You appraised everyone's treasures just now and called them fakes, and they were destroyed. Please retrieve the fragments of the destroyed treasures, and we'll find another appraisal master to examine them."
Upon hearing this, Sun Hao panicked.
Someone noticed Sun Hao's abnormality and rushed backstage.
They discovered that their treasures had not been destroyed but were all neatly placed backstage, being packaged by company employees.
This immediately exposed Sun Hao's lies.
Sun Hao's scam was very clever. He would call fakes genuine and genuine items fake, then pretend to destroy them, but in reality, he would secretly stash the genuine ones backstage.
Sun Hao held an appraisal fair once a year, but this single event was enough to earn him hundreds of millions.
Everyone present had been deceived by him! Sudan Fiction Network.
Lei Ying had been deceived the most severely.
"Sun Hao, I can't believe you even cheated me. Today, I will absolutely not let you off lightly!"
Lei Ying finished speaking and directly called the Jiangcheng Chamber of Commerce, ordering them to seal Sun Hao's appraisal company.
Before the Chamber of Commerce personnel arrived, the defrauded crowd had already begun smashing Sun Hao's company.
In less than an hour, Sun Hao's company was in ruins.
Everyone was furious, wishing they could beat Sun Hao to death.
At this point, Sun Hao was completely disgraced.
After venting their anger, the crowd gradually dispersed, but they had no intention of letting Sun Hao off.
"President Lei, you must stand up for us this time!"
"Sun Hao has cheated us out of many treasures over the years. He must return them to us."
...
The crowd asked Lei Ying to settle the matter.
"Everyone, please go back. I will definitely make Sun Hao return all the treasures he has scammed." Lei Ying said.
Hearing this, the crowd gradually dispersed.
When the Chamber of Commerce officials arrived, they dismissed all the company employees and then sealed Sun Hao's company.
Sun Hao was completely disgraced and had nowhere to turn.