Ye Tian had no interest in antiques, but since Lin Ziyi liked them, he accompanied her to take a look.
The cheapest items on this antique street were the miscellaneous stalls on the ground, filled with all sorts of clutter. The prices ranged from tens to hundreds, and with a bit of bargaining, one could even get items for a few dollars.
However, most of the items on these stalls were mass-produced by small workshops. The chance of finding a genuine antique here was slimmer than winning a million-dollar lottery.
Lin Ziyi was clearly aware of this, so she wasn't expecting to strike it rich. She just wanted to buy a few small trinkets she liked.
After browsing a few stalls without finding anything she fancied, Ye Tian suggested, "Ziyi, let's go into the shops. We might find something good there."
Lin Ziyi nodded, "Okay, that sounds good."
So, the two turned towards the antique shops lining the street. One shop was particularly large, with a ten-meter wide entrance and an antique-style wooden archway. Inside, the lights were brilliant.
As they walked in, a plump man with a ponytail and a short-sleeved shirt greeted them, "Handsome sir, beautiful lady, what can I get for you?"
Ye Tian replied, "Just looking around."
The owner chuckled, "You've come to the right place. This is an old establishment. My grandfather started this business, and it's been in my family for over eighty years. Back in the warlord era, my grandfather was one of the top figures in Beijing's antique scene, known as the 'King of Porcelain'."
Ye Tian asked, "King of Porcelain? Are your best items porcelain?"
The owner smiled, "Absolutely. Please, follow me."
He led Ye Tian and Lin Ziyi to a display shelf filled with exquisite and beautiful porcelain pieces. Intuitively, Ye Tian felt that most of these were genuine.
Furthermore, all the porcelain pieces were clearly priced, with some valued in the hundreds of thousands and others in the millions.
Lin Ziyi smiled, "They're quite beautiful. May I take a look?"
The owner beamed, "Feel free to pick them up, but be careful not to break them."
Lin Ziyi nodded and picked up a few pieces. They were all elegantly crafted and beautiful, but unfortunately, none were quite to her taste.
Suddenly, she noticed a pair of beautiful cups decorated with vibrant "doucai" (contrasting colors) motifs of roosters, which immediately caught her eye.
Lin Ziyi gently picked up one of the cups. Unbeknownst to her, the two cups were connected by a fine thread. Picking up either one would cause the other to fall.
"Crash!"
The cup fell from a height of over a meter onto the ground, shattering into pieces.
The owner cried out, "Oh no! Madam, please be careful! This is a Chenghua "doucai" chicken-head wine cup, worth hundreds of millions!"
Lin Ziyi was startled and said, "I didn't touch it."
The owner's face darkened. "Madam, you dropped the item. How can you say you didn't touch it? I saw it all!"
At some point, two tall men emerged from the back, their eyes cold as they stared at Ye Tian and Lin Ziyi.
Lin Ziyi looked at Ye Tian, and he immediately understood that she had been set up for a scam, and the perpetrators were extremely ruthless, intending to extort tens of millions.
He pulled Lin Ziyi behind him and said calmly, "No wonder your grandfather was the King of Porcelain; turns out he was the King of Scams."
The owner's expression turned icy. "Kid, you can eat anything, but you can't say anything! My chicken-head wine cup is worth over three hundred million. How do you plan to compensate me?"
This owner had been in the business for ten years. He only managed a few successful transactions each year, but each one was enough to sustain him for years!
Ye Tian nodded. "My girlfriend was careless and fell into your trap. I admit it. But let me warn you, my money isn't easy to take."
The owner sneered, "Then let me tell you, in this city of Sijiu, influential figures give me, Hong Ye, some respect. Take back your words; they're useless in front of me!"
Ye Tian retorted, "Let me tell you too, whatever amount you extort from me today, you'll have to pay me back double tomorrow. Not only will you pay me back, but you'll also have to kneel before me and beg for forgiveness."
The owner scoffed, "Are you dreaming?"
Ye Tian said, "I'm too lazy to argue with you. Tell me, how much do you want?"
The owner's original plan was to ask for a few million, and if the other party was truly penniless, he could even reduce the amount. However, Ye Tian's arrogance angered him. He sneered, "The "doucai" chicken-head wine cup is worth three hundred and fifty million. Not a single penny less!"