The owner of Yaqiu's eyes turned icy, and not only did his demeanor stabilize, but he also calmly said, "What are you implying? That sellers of fakes have a keen insight for counterfeit goods? Then you let us choose? Are you implying we are the sellers of fakes?"

The elderly man smiled, "It gives you a fair chance to prove your prior suspicions. You came here with the intention to declare that Xiduobao sells fake items and to ruin their business, didn't you? Now the opportunity has arrived. Make sure to seize it."

The eldest son of the Ancient Moon Pavilion's owner coldly glanced at the elderly man, then scoffed and pointed with his finger at the many treasures displayed on the first floor of Xiduobao, saying heavily, "The best and most expensive items are usually the most attractive, hence they are difficult to fake because many people come into the store and pay attention to the best items."

"And the cheapest, baseline items will also attract many people's attention, so if there were fake goods in Xiduobao, it would definitely not be the most expensive item, nor would it be the cheapest. It would more likely be one of those that are moderately unassuming and don't attract much attention."

Pointing at an antique that wasn't surrounded by many people, the eldest son of the Ancient Moon Pavilion's owner confidently said, "Based on the placement and the degree to which it goes unnoticed, I think this Ink Painting Wood Pattern Brush Holder is very likely a fake."

The elderly man looked at Shen Qiang.

At that moment, a slight smile appeared on Shen Qiang's lips. In fact, the first thing Shen Qiang did after getting the Ink Painting Wood Pattern Brush Holder from Bianyi's safe was to scrutinize it closely using the Observation Skill.

It was porcelain.

It was artistically superb, which is why Shen Qiang once thought it might be a fine modern craft.

However, it was indeed an authentic ancient antique.

Not only was it produced during the Yong Zheng era of the Qing Dynasty, but it was also made for the imperial court.

The reason few people paid attention to it was simply that its colors were not vibrant, and it was just a brush holder. Now that the eldest son of Ancient Moon Pavilion had chosen this item for appraisal, he was essentially advertising it.

Seeing that the eldest son of Ancient Moon Pavilion had chosen an item.

The owner of Yaqiu unhesitatingly pointed at the Honeycomb Beads displayed on the side.

Afterward, the two of them and the appraisers behind them discussed it and then selected the Fencai Bat Peach Pattern Olive Bottle that Shen Qiang had brought back from Shanghai.

Once they made their selections, numerous appraisers began their on-site appraisals.

Upon learning about the situation, the many onlookers who originally weren't planning to enter the store began frantically buying tickets.

They wanted to enter the store.

This caused a smile to appear on the corner of Bianyi's mouth.

By then, the appraisers had quickly come up with some of the answers.

The first was about the Honeycomb Beads—definitely genuine antiques, one hundred and eight knots of uniform amber honeycomb, with colors and sizes perfectly matched. They were absolutely super finest items seldom seen in this world. Having seen them, numerous appraisers unanimously stated that the 1.08 billion yuan price set by Xiduobao for these beads was too low. Once you remove the zero in the middle, it would be about right.

This news made the many curio enthusiasts stuck outside jostle and crane their necks in agitation, jumping around in a frenzy. But with the store at full capacity, they could only listen from outside.

Next up with an appraisal result was the Fencai Bat Peach Pattern Olive Bottle.

All the appraisers agreed unanimously that this was also genuine. Not only that, because of its rarity and colorful, auspicious design symbolizing fortune and longevity, the appraisers also unanimously believed that Xiduobao's pricing for this Fencai Bat Peach Pattern Olive Bottle was too low.

According to normal market conditions, the value of this Fencai Bat Peach Pattern Olive Bottle should be at least around 1 billion yuan.

This news exhilarated everyone.

Shen Qiang became increasingly curious about Duobao.

When it came to the appraisal of the third item, the ink-painted landscape wood-grain brush pot, it wasn't as easy to conclude as with the previous two.

After waiting for nearly fifteen minutes, numerous appraisers were still gathered around the ink-painted landscape wood-grain brush pot, yet they didn't announce the result.

This made the expressions of the eldest son of the Ancient Moon Pavilion's owner and the owner of Yaqv become noticeably better.

Smugly glancing at Shen Qiang, the eldest son of the Ancient Moon Pavilion owner said with a beaming smile, "With so many masters still unable to determine the result, it seems I've caught you."

Shen Qiang laughed, "You should worry about your own shop. My eye for detail is beyond your imagination. If there are fakes in your store, you are going to cry very soon."

Yaqv's owner chuckled and said, "Young man, you seem quite confident. But there's an old saying, 'One takes on the attributes of one's associates.' Sun Kaiping and Boss Ma are notorious for dealing in fakes. Since you are close with them, we can't trust that you wouldn't sell fakes too."

"Bullshit logic," Shen Qiang replied indifferently and raised his eyebrows. "If there's a murderer among my classmates, are you going to execute everyone in the school? Just because we have contact, we are familiar, does that mean we all do the same thing?"

The owner of the Ancient Moon Pavilion, with a smug arch of his eyebrows, said, "Shen Qiang, don't play tough with me. Such a prolonged appraisal has already proved something. So, think about how you're going to handle your pile of junk. How about I take your crappy shop off your hands for ten million?"

"Why offer that much?" Yaqv's owner laughed. "If you ask me, they're worth at most two million, and he should still be begging me to take them."

The two of them talked and laughed, looking very pleased with themselves.

Shen Qiang said casually, "I already mentioned, since both of you chose my store's opening day to come and cause trouble, there will be no Yaqv and Ancient Moon Pavilion on this street if there is Duobao—I'll make sure of it."

"Hehe," the eldest son of the Ancient Moon Pavilion's owner sneered, "You're about to go under, yet you're still talking tough. Once the appraisal results are out, your crappy shop is history."

Yaqv's owner also smiled, "This kid still dreams his fakes will pass inspection—it's useless. With so many experts, it's impossible for any fake to go undetected."

He had hardly finished speaking.

When the news came that the experts had reached a conclusion.

The eyes of Ancient Moon Pavilion's eldest son and Yaqv's owner immediately lit up.

Yaqv's owner took a step forward with heightened excitement, raising his voice and asked expectantly, "So, how is it? It's a fake, right?"

The eldest son of the Ancient Moon Pavilion's owner declared assertively, "Do we even need to ask? It must be fake!"

Upon hearing this, an elder slightly smiled and said, "I'm afraid I have to disappoint you. This ink-painted landscape wood-grain brush pot is not only genuine but also a top-tier artwork fully qualified to be in a museum."

As soon as these words came out.

The eldest son of the Ancient Moon Pavilion's owner and Yaqv's owner were immediately stunned.

"That's impossible! The ink-painted landscape wood-grain brush pot—with its clear colors and stunning depiction—is definitely beyond the skills of an ordinary craftsman. So it must be fake," they protested.

Seeing the expectant looks in their eyes.

An appraiser from Ancient Moon Pavilion sighed and said, "I'm sorry, boss, you're wrong. This ink-painted landscape wood-grain brush pot is genuine."

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