doubt

Li Ling splashed the remaining water in the cup onto the street. Watching Yang Bo's departing back, he was filled with confusion. How could Yang Bo be involved with someone who came to sell antiques?

Back in the store, Jia Huairen saw Li Ling lost in thought and asked with a smile, "What's wrong? Who were you talking to just now?"

"Oh, it was Yang Bo," Li Ling explained, and couldn't help adding, "Uncle, isn't it strange? I just saw Yang Bo chatting with the con - artist who came to sell ancient paintings and left our store just now."

Jia Huairen smiled and said, "So what?"

Then, Jia Huairen's expression suddenly changed. He exclaimed, "What did you say? Yang Bo? Is it Yang Bo from Good De Zhai? Is he with that con - artist?"

Li Ling's heart skipped a beat. "Yes, it's Yang Bo from Good De Zhai. They were talking."

Jia Huairen looked solemn and said angrily, "That Guo Baba! How dare he try to deceive me! He really thinks that such a flawed scheme can fool me?"

"Humph! Guo Baba, I'll make you pay!" Jia Huairen muttered to himself for a while and then said to Li Ling, "Don't mention this to Yang Bo. Stay away from him in the future. Don't get cheated without even knowing it."

Li Ling also realized the implications. Thinking that his uncle might be deceived by Yang Bo and his boss, he was filled with anger. How could I have regarded you as a friend in vain!

Yang Bo, of course, knew nothing about these issues. He took the middle - aged man to the bank, simply drafted a transfer contract, signed it, and transferred 50,000 yuan to the other party. The deal was done.

Holding the long red box and sitting in the bank's service hall, Yang Bo felt a sense of relief, but also a heavy burden. The 50,000 yuan he had just spent was gone in an instant. Fortunately, he hadn't called his family. The brocade box in his arms made him feel at ease. He just hoped that this painting would bring him good luck.

Now that he had the ancient painting, the next problem was how to sell it. Good De Zhai and Bo Gu Zhai were the first to be excluded. There were many other antique shops nearby, but few were truly reliable. Early this morning, when he followed Deputy Curator Qu to Bo Gu Zhai, he was almost deceived by Jia Huairen and the others. Even acquaintances could act like this, let alone those ruthless people!

After thinking for a while, Yang Bo decided to try the store where he sold the fish - basket - shaped zun earlier this morning. After all, he had established a professional image there, and he thought Boss Liu wouldn't go too far.

The sign of "Ji Ya Tang" had elegant calligraphy. When Yang Bo walked in, there was no one else in the store. Boss Liu was sitting in the hall drinking tea, and the clerk was dozing off on the table.

Seeing Yang Bo come in, Boss Liu was first surprised and then smiled. Anyone who could bring business was a god of wealth. "Oh, Xiao Yang, do you have something good?"

Yang Bo nodded and put the box down. "Take a look first, and then we'll talk."

"Okay," Boss Liu said with a smile, and then told the clerk, "The tea in the teapot is too weak. Go make a pot of good tea."

The clerk gave Yang Bo a strange look, wondering why the boss treated this young man with such respect.

Yang Bo himself smiled. It turned out that the rules in each store were quite similar. There was a distinction between ordinary tea - pouring and serving good tea.

Although Boss Liu had bought a genuine item from Yang Bo before, he clearly didn't dare to be careless this time. He opened the box, took out the painting scroll, and spread a piece of cloth on the table before placing the scroll on it and slowly unrolling it. As soon as the painting was in sight, a sense of clean and serene Zen - like atmosphere hit him, and he couldn't help but praise it.

Yang Bo sat by, sipping the tea carefully. When he came in the early morning, he was too nervous to enjoy the tea. Now that he had a plan in mind, he looked at the store's decorations while sipping the tea, feeling a different state of mind.

In the past, Yang Bo had also carefully observed the customers who came to sell antiques. Their identities varied, and their behaviors differed. When farmers brought items, they were mostly nervous, looking around with unfocused eyes. When cunning con - artists came in, they were calm, chatting with a smile, making it hard to detect, but their sly merchant - like demeanor was unmistakable. And then there were collectors, who had the most refined demeanor. Whenever they spoke, they could render Guo Baba speechless. Of course, they were in the minority.

Yang Bo had once fantasized about his own identity, imagining himself as a collector, holding precious antiques like bronze, jade, calligraphy, paintings, and curios. He thought that when he spoke, even if not extremely brilliant, he could still make people admire him. Thinking about it now, it seemed a bit ridiculous. How could he achieve this without hard study?

While he was reminiscing, Boss Liu came back and sat down. "Xiao Yang, you're quite efficient. Didn't you just get this ancient painting this noon?"

Boss Liu obviously regarded Yang Bo as one of those second - hand antique dealers. Yang Bo smiled and didn't deny it. "Kun Can, whose courtesy name is Jieqiu and art name is Shixi, is one of the Four Eminent Monks of the early Qing Dynasty. This painting has a stable composition, is complex and meticulous. The scenery doesn't rely on novelty to impress but shows depth in the ordinary, and the brushwork is extraordinary."

Seeing that Yang Bo only talked about the painting and nothing else, Boss Liu naturally didn't want to say more but was secretly amazed, wondering which family had trained such an unusual person. "Indeed. Kun Can learned from Huang Gongwang and Wang Meng, and is particularly close to Wang Meng. His paintings have a tight composition, vigorous brushwork, and he especially likes to use dry brushes with little ink, applying layers of texture strokes, heavy but not rigid, lush but not congested, good at depicting ordinary scenes with hidden depth."

Yang Bo smiled and took a small sip of tea. The clear tea flowed smoothly down his throat, leaving a fragrant aftertaste on his tongue.

Boss Liu became more cautious. "Xiao Yang, you should know that this painting is not like the previous fish - basket - shaped zun. We don't do underhanded things here. There are many shops on this street, and many antiques are well - known, and we all know a little about each other."

Yang Bo didn't understand the meaning at first. After a moment's thought, he realized that the other party suspected him of being a thief.

Not revealing his identity had led to the other party's wild speculations, which made Yang Bo feel helpless. But he couldn't reveal his identity. Could he tell the other party that he was just a clerk in an antique shop? If so, could he still treat the other party as an equal? The mystery of the identity he had painstakingly created would disappear, and the loss would be great. After all, if the other party didn't know his identity, they wouldn't dare to offer a low price easily.

"Don't worry, Boss Liu. I never do underhanded things, and the items I have come from proper sources. I come to you again and again because you offer reasonable prices," Yang Bo explained.