Seeing his great affair ruined, a flash of anger crossed the man's face. He looked coldly at Feng Zheng and said, "You're going to compensate? Fine, then take out seventy million based on your word. Not a penny less today."
Feng Zheng's face changed. "Didn't we just say sixty million!" Zhang Yu, unable to stand it, retorted angrily, "Friend, you can't just make up prices. We all heard sixty million just now."
The man swept a dismissive glance at Zhang Yu. "Who's friends with people like you, still wearing all those no-name brands. You look good, but you probably just came from the countryside."
The man's subsequent words were clearly aimed at Xiao Lan. Xiao Lan's eyes immediately turned red, and she lowered her head, hiding behind Zhang Yu. Zhang Yu immediately cursed at the man, "Watch your mouth. You think you're qualified to judge my friends!"
The man scoffed, "You don't even understand antiques, you probably just rely on your parents' money to try and make a name for yourself. See if you're still so tough when you talk!"
Yes, he could tell Feng Zheng and Zhang Yu were second-generation rich. Feng Zheng's watch alone was worth at least a million. It was precisely because he saw they were second-generation rich that his contempt deepened.
It was clear he harbored deep prejudice against the wealthy heirs.
Zhang Yu was also enraged and immediately said, "So what if it's seventy million! Xiao Feng, let's split it in half. We'll pay him back tonight, don't let some people think too highly of themselves!"
A cold glint flashed in the man's eyes. He changed his tune again, "Oh really? Then how about eighty million tonight? As long as you can produce eighty million, I'll admit I misjudged."
It went up to eighty million again...
Ya Lili couldn't help but say, "Sir, even if this is an antique, you can't just name any price you want."
Seeing Ya Lili speak, the man restrained his emotions somewhat and said, "Miss, you may not know, but antiques inherently have valuations but no fixed prices. If you find a buyer who truly likes it, someone would pay two hundred million. I'm asking for eighty million, which is actually quite low. Ask your friends if you don't believe me."
The man said this while smiling at Li Chonglou. In his eyes, among the people present, only Li Chonglou was pleasant to look at besides Ya Lili.
If Li Chonglou hadn't spoken up earlier to confirm, he wouldn't have had such control over them now.
At this moment, Ya Lili and the others looked at Li Chonglou.
"This is indeed how it is in the antique world, but the value of a treasure usually fluctuates around its appraisal. What he just said is a very rare, extreme example."
Although he was refuted, the man didn't seem angry at all. Instead, he generously admitted, "This friend is right, but right now, whatever I say goes. If you don't believe me, you can get professionals to appraise it, but I warn you, it might even be more expensive!"
The man said this with a smug smile, clearly confident he had them cornered, and indeed he had such confidence.
Having been in the business for over ten years, in terms of antiques, Feng Zheng and the other novices were like primary school students in front of him, easily manipulated. Now he could say seventy million or eighty million, and in the next minute, even if he said ninety million, he was confident they would obediently pay up.
In fact, in his mind, he had already set the true asking price at over a hundred million. It was rare to encounter wealthy novices; wouldn't it be a disservice to himself not to take them for a substantial sum?
However, he overlooked one crucial thing from beginning to end: Li Chonglou was their friend.
So when all of them turned pale and looked at a loss, Li Chonglou changed the subject and said, "However, all of this is predicated on whether your jade pendant is truly worth that much..."
The man was stunned. "What do you mean? Didn't you just authenticate my jade pendant as being worth sixty million?" Li Chonglou looked at him calmly. "Are you mistaken? I never said your jade pendant was worth sixty million. I merely said that a private seal jade pendant from the Eastern Han Dynasty is worth that much."
The man's gaze towards Li Chonglou showed displeasure for the first time. "Are you playing with me?"
Li Chonglou looked confused. "I'm just stating the facts, when was I playing with you?"
"Mine is from the Eastern Han period..." The man suddenly realized as he spoke, and his face instantly turned ugly. "You mean my jade pendant is fake? Not from the Eastern Han Dynasty?"
Li Chonglou smiled. "At least you have some brains and can understand human language. Otherwise, I wouldn't know how to communicate with you." At this moment, the man finally realized that Li Chonglou wasn't on his side, and his expression became even more unpleasant.
"I thought at least one person here wasn't a bumpkin, but it seems I was wrong. Birds of a feather flock together. Naturally, the same kind of people associate with each other."
The man's face darkened. With his words, he insulted everyone present. Feng Zheng, who had been arrogant earlier, had lost his spirit after the recent blow. He just gloomily lowered his head, not daring to retort.
Li Chonglou silently observed Feng Zheng's reaction. In fact, he could have exposed the man much earlier, but he delayed speaking, waiting for Feng Zheng's reaction.
It is difficult for a person to change because of a single word or some words, but personal setbacks can. Such experiences leave indelible memories.
Therefore, Feng Zheng's current defeated state was exactly what Li Chonglou wanted to see. He no longer held back and directly said to the man, "Stop with the nonsense. Your jade pendant is just a replica. Xiao Feng, give him two thousand, and let's go. We still have the second half of the night."
"Hahahahaha! Two thousand yuan!" The man suddenly burst into laughter. Then, with a cold expression, he picked up his phone and dialed the police. "You won't leave without paying at least a hundred million!" He decided that regardless of any beautiful women, he would make these bumpkins pay a heavy price!
Seeing the man about to call the police, Feng Zheng panicked. If it were eighty million, he and Zhang Yu could have managed to scrape it together privately. But if the police were involved, it would easily alert their families, and then it wouldn't just be about paying money.
"Friend, don't call the police yet. Let's settle this privately. Eighty million, just eighty million. Give me some time to gather it!"
Seeing Feng Zheng yield, the man, still angered by Li Chonglou, sneered, "Eighty million? Are you deaf? I told you, without a hundred million, none of you are leaving tonight."
A hundred million. Zhang Yu and Feng Zheng's faces turned completely pale. Ya Lili staggered back a few steps, feeling that tonight's events were all her fault.
Even though she was the innocent party.
Li Chonglou couldn't help but shake his head at their reactions. He understood that they had misunderstood his intentions, thinking he had said the jade pendant was fake to help them escape.
Coupled with the man's confident assertion, the three of them were clearly being led astray.