Chapter Four Losses

Qin Feng was well aware of what was happening. With someone like Huang Dachuan, even though Miss Lin currently carried a high status, he was just waiting to stall things until she left. Afterwards, he would be even less inclined to deal with the matter. This plan was not made lightly; if he wanted to make money, he needed some capital. At the moment, he was nearly penniless, so he had no choice but to take advantage of Huang Dachuan this once.

He also wanted to make this "skinflint" regret his actions!

"Alright!"

"Your previous wages amount to two thousand seven hundred."

With gritted teeth, Huang Dachuan agreed, reminding Qin Feng of his salary. After all, with Miss Lin standing there, it wasn’t proper to keep delaying. Besides, he knew full well that Qin Feng couldn’t get anything valuable from his shop. Most of the items marked at thousands of yuan were worth only a few dozen, just repackaged to look expensive. So what if Qin Feng took one? In his heart, he thought Qin Feng had lost his wits from desperation, resorting to such means out of fear he wouldn’t get his money. If the item was only worth a few dozen yuan, what did it matter if he took it?

Qin Feng nodded, said nothing more, and walked over to the area with items worth thousands. He scanned the shelves and, appearing nonchalant, picked a jade Guanyin figurine marked at two thousand yuan. But he knew very well that this figurine had cost him only a few dozen yuan, bought from a rural family. It was a complete fake, not even real jade—worthless.

"Take it and leave," Huang Dachuan said coldly, still displeased. This brat had cost him so much money, and now had the nerve to take something from him—unforgivable!

"The receipt?" Qin Feng prompted, extending his hand. No matter what, he wanted the transaction finalized, lest Huang Dachuan shamelessly go back on his word. He was certainly capable of such a thing.

Impatiently, Huang Dachuan said, "I'll give you the receipt. Now get out!"

He was barely restraining himself from cursing outright.

Lin Wanting could tell that Qin Feng was leveraging her presence to pressure Huang Dachuan. Given that Qin Feng had just helped her appraise an item, she didn't mind letting him borrow her influence. With the matter settled, Lin Wanting was preparing to leave.

At that moment, Qin Feng approached her and spoke again.

"Miss Lin, I see you have quite an interest in antiques. I wonder, do you have any thoughts on golden Buddhas?"

Lin Wanting looked at Qin Feng with surprise, not really understanding his meaning. She had no real interest in antiques; if not for her grandfather, she would never have come into contact with such things in her life. Yet Qin Feng’s actions intrigued her—she was curious to see what he would do next.

"A golden Buddha? Hahaha! Qin Feng, have you lost your mind? Where would you get a golden Buddha?" Before Lin Wanting could reply, Huang Dachuan couldn’t help but mock. "If you had anything valuable, would your girlfriend have left you for someone else?"

At these words, Qin Feng’s eyes turned as sharp as blades. The affair between Li Pengcheng and that woman had only occurred thirty minutes ago and hadn't spread—how did Huang Dachuan know? Suddenly, all of Huang Dachuan’s pettiness, today’s hostility, and his insistence that Qin Feng resign, made sense. It must be connected to his good friend!

"What are you looking at? Am I wrong?" Huang Dachuan realized he’d said too much, but figured that even if Qin Feng knew about his connection to Li Pengcheng, what could he do? He had lost everything and couldn’t hurt him now.

"I didn’t have anything before, but I just bought this jade Guanyin. Now I do," Qin Feng replied calmly, playing with the figurine.

"Qin Feng, have you lost your mind? Or are you obsessed with getting rich? That’s a jade Guanyin, not a golden Buddha!" Huang Dachuan's ridicule grew louder.

Lin Wanting, after a moment’s thought, glanced at Chen Songbai, who frowned and shook his head. He couldn’t see anything special about the jade Guanyin.

Since even Chen Songbai denied it, Lin Wanting was about to leave—she had plenty to do. But recalling Qin Feng’s earlier performance, she found herself staying, almost against her will, and said slowly, "If there really is a golden Buddha inside, I’ll pay double the market price for it."

Lin Wanting and Chen Songbai both watched Qin Feng, faintly sensing that this young man might actually be able to pull it off.

Huang Dachuan, however, merely sneered, his lips curling with derision. Qin Feng must be mad. If there was anything hidden in that figurine, would he not have noticed?

Without hesitation, Qin Feng brought the jade Guanyin down hard against the floor.

Crack!

The jade figurine shattered instantly, fragments scattering across the ground. Inside was an irregular piece of green stone, as if someone had forcibly embedded it within the figurine.

Seeing this, a glint of disappointment flashed in Lin Wanting’s eyes—miracles truly were not so easily found.

"Well, Qin Feng, what do you have to say now? You call a worthless rock a golden Buddha?" Huang Dachuan jumped in eagerly, unable to contain his ridicule. He was in a foul mood, and mocking Qin Feng was the only thing that made him feel better.

Qin Feng, unperturbed, took up the stone and struck it against the ground once more.

Crack!

The stone broke open, revealing a glint of gold from one corner. Gradually, a tiny golden Buddha statue appeared before everyone’s eyes.

The statue was only two or three centimeters tall—exquisitely small—but the powerful sense of history it exuded demanded a reevaluation from all present.

"How... how is this possible?" Huang Dachuan was dumbstruck. He’d examined all the items in his shop, even had them appraised—there was no way anything valuable had been overlooked! Even if the statue was not an antique, the gold alone would be worth tens of thousands, maybe over a hundred thousand! All of it was his money!

"This is a golden Buddha from the Tang dynasty, depicted in the Dhyana Mudra. At market price, it should be worth about two million," Qin Feng said casually, casting a sidelong glance at Huang Dachuan. The statue was indeed deeply hidden, but his X-ray vision had seen right through it.

It was as if Huang Dachuan had been struck by lightning. Two million? He’d just given away two million like that? In disbelief, he looked to Chen Songbai, hoping the expert would refute it.

Lin Wanting, seeing the golden Buddha, already believed it was genuine, but to be thorough, she signaled for Chen Songbai to examine it.

After a careful inspection, Chen Songbai finally nodded. "It is indeed a golden Buddha from the Tang dynasty, depicted in the Dhyana Mudra."

Huang Dachuan was utterly stunned—two million! That was his two million!

"Good, I’ll buy it. Send me your bank account number, and I’ll transfer four million to you," Lin Wanting said, looking at him with keen interest. "Let’s exchange contact information as well, shall we?"

She already felt a desire to recruit talent. All signs indicated that this young man’s skill in appraising antiques was at least equal to, if not greater than, Master Chen’s!

Qin Feng naturally agreed.

Soon after, Qin Feng received notification of a four million yuan transfer to his bank account.

Staring at his account balance, he felt lightheaded—four million, a number he’d never dared to dream of, had come to him so easily!