Zhan Huafeng sent someone to pick up Xue Chen, and after the two met, they took a car together and headed to Carl Smith's residence.

Glancing sideways at Xue Chen, who was sitting next to him, Zhan Huafeng thought for a moment. He had a great chat with Xue Chen yesterday, so he took advantage of the situation and invited Xue Chen to check on the transaction between him and Carl Smith, so as not to fall into the trap of the old fox Carl Smith.

.

After Xue Chen left, his confidant Zong Yu said that he trusted Xue Chen too much, saying that he was too young after all and might not really have such good eyesight.

He also thought about it afterward. Xue Chen was indeed young and it was easy for people to not completely trust him, but since the negotiation had been made, it was impossible to go back on it. He could only take it one step at a time.

The car drove all the way out of the city and stopped in front of an iron gate. Through the iron gate and fence, you could see that this was a large manor, surrounded by trees, with flat grass in the middle, and a three-story building.

A tall brown classical villa stands deep in the manor.

Someone came to open the door, and the Mercedes-Benz drove all the way to the open space dozens of meters in front of the villa. When he saw someone coming out of the villa to greet him, Xue Chen also got out of the car with Zhan Huafeng.

The visitor was a bearded white man, who looked to be about fifty years old. He was full of energy, with a ruddy face and a loud voice. He greeted Zhan Huafeng in English.

Since Xue Chen can even teach himself French successfully, English is no problem.

"Mr. Smith, nice to see you again."

"Me too. Dear guests, please come in quickly. I have asked my servants to prepare hot coffee."

Carl Smith led Xue Chen, Zhan Huafeng and Zong Yu towards the villa.

When they reached the door, a black security guard standing at the door opened the door. When several people walked in one after another, suddenly there was a beeping sound beside the door.

The black security guard looked at Zong Yu warily and said, "Sir, if you have a gun, please take it out. The rules of the villa prohibit anyone from holding a gun."

Just when Zong Yu frowned, Zhan Huafeng said: "Zong Yu, let him keep the gun."

Zong Yu looked a little unhappy and took out a black pistol from the lining pocket of his coat and handed it to the black security guard.

During this process, Carl Smith always smiled and said nothing.

Seeing this situation, Xue Chen was somewhat surprised. Only then did he realize more deeply that he was in the United States, which was very different from China. Guns were widely available here.

This time, several people walked into the villa smoothly, stepped on the wool carpet with a pattern of a two-masted warship, and sat on the magnificent sofa chairs in the living room.

The maid promptly brought freshly brewed hot coffee and poured a full cup for everyone.

Carl Smith leaned lazily on the sofa chair, wishing he could sink his whole body into it. He squinted his eyes and took a sip of coffee. He glanced at Xue Chen and said, "Mr. Zhan, who is this?"

Zhan Huafeng thought for a while and said: "This is a friend of mine from China. I heard that Mr. Smith has many collections, so I want to appreciate them."

Smith smiled and said without any concealment: "Yes, I have many, many treasures, half of which come from your Chinese country and are trophies obtained by my ancestors."

Hearing Carl Smith's arrogant words, Zhan Huafeng looked unmoved. On the contrary, he was worried that Xue Chen would be stimulated. He glanced out of the corner of his eye and saw that Xue Chen seemed to have heard nothing and was drinking contentedly.

coffee.

Although Xue Chen was also very angry about that period of history, he was not angry because of a few words of this person, and his temperament was not that immature.

He casually glanced at the living room and saw some artworks placed everywhere, including statues and porcelain. There were also several paintings hanging on the walls, both Chinese and Western. Because of the distance, he could not be completely sure of the authenticity.

, what is certain is that this Carl Smith indeed has a collection that is beyond the reach of ordinary people.

After drinking a cup of coffee, Zhan Huafeng proposed the agreed deal

Carl Smith shrugged his shoulders, stood up and said: "The coffee Mary brewed today was so delicious, I thought I would have another cup. Since Mr. Zhan wants to trade as soon as possible, then okay, follow me."

"

Carl Smith took the lead to go upstairs, followed by Xue Chen and the others.

When he walked to the corner of the second floor, Xue Chen noticed a pottery statue on the window sill, a boy beating a gou. He could tell at a glance that it should be an old object from the Tang Dynasty, and he couldn't help but shake his head.

Several people went all the way up to the third floor and arrived at a study room. In the middle of the study room was a large square table with some things placed on it.

Carl Smith walked to the square table and said to Zhan Huafeng with a kind smile: "Mr. Zhan, these are the five antiques I have prepared for you. You can choose from them. These are all my treasures. Most people will not give them a glance."

, and only with distinguished guests like Mr. Zhan can I agree to make a transaction."

Zhan Huafeng said thank you politely and hummed in his heart. He knew very well what Carl Smith was like. He liked money. As long as there was a buyer who was willing to pay the right price, he would be willing to sell. In these years,

I'm afraid there are dozens of antiques for sale.

Of course, as far as he knew, at least 60% of the buyers were fooled and bought fakes, so he would not be deceived by Carl Smith's smile.

Xue Chen accompanied Zhan Huafeng to the square table, and saw only five antiques placed on it. After a quick glance, he found two calligraphy and painting works, one piece of porcelain, a piece of jade, and an inkstone.

Carl Smith clasped his hands on his chest and said with a smile: "Mr. Zhan, please choose as you like. Don't worry, we are old friends. I will definitely give you a very low price."

After smiling and nodding at Karl, Zhan Huafeng also admired the five antiques placed on the table. He noticed the piece of porcelain at first sight and took it carefully in his hand.

Carl Smith praised: "Oh, Mr. Zhan, you really have a good eye. This is the exquisite porcelain of your country from the Qing Dynasty, blue and white porcelain."

"Blue and white porcelain..." Zhan Huafeng nodded and looked at the blue plum blossom pattern painted on the porcelain. He naturally knew about blue and white porcelain and felt that it was indeed quite beautiful.

Xue Chen only glanced at the blue and white porcelain celestial sphere vase, then shook his head slightly, indicating to Zhan Huafeng that this was a fake.

When Zhan Huafeng saw that Xue Chen thought it was a fake, he was stunned for a moment and then put down the blue and white porcelain in his hand.

"Mr. Zhan?" Carl Smith was a little surprised when he saw Zhan Huafeng put down the bottle with an unhappy expression. He glanced at Xue Chen again. He had also noticed that Xue Chen shook his head just now, and he also realized that Xue Chen was the person Zhan Huafeng asked for appraisal.

.

Although Zhan Huafeng is not an antique maker, he does have some understanding of this industry. He did not directly say that it was a fake, but said that he did not like it very much.

Carl Smith pursed his lips and said with a sincere and serious expression: "Mr. Zhan, I think you should think about it carefully. Look, this bottle is so beautiful. Do you think it is fake?"

Zhan Huafeng remained silent.

"Sir, do you think it is fake?" Carl Smith pointed the finger at Xue Chen, looking a little unhappy, "I think you are wrong to think so, and you have misled Mr. Zhan and made him miss something.

Good stuff, you know!”

Seeing that this white man with a big beard had come up with a fake to fool people, and now he even slapped him down, saying that he had made a mistake, Xue Chen couldn't help but look back coldly, and said unceremoniously in fluent English: "This Tianqiu bottle is fake

The technology is not very sophisticated, and a very common counterfeiting technique is used, which is decals. All the plum blossoms on the bottle are exactly the same. If you don’t believe it, you can use a ruler to measure it. Although it looks neat and beautiful at first glance,

After looking at it for a long time, you will feel that it is dull and has no artistry."

Hearing this, Zhan Huafeng looked at the Heavenly Sphere Vase again. Sure enough, the bottle that seemed quite beautiful just now felt ordinary. The famous plum blossoms on it were like a puddle of stagnant water, very dull and lacking a lot of beauty.

Thinking that the first thing he picked up was a fake, Zhan Huafeng said with some displeasure: "Mr. Smith, please give me an explanation, how can there be a fake in this?!"

Zhan Huafeng's question did not make Carl Smith panic. On the contrary, his face also showed a distressed look, and he said with a sad look: "Mr. Zhan, please don't be angry. This is not my fault, because this piece of porcelain

I acquired it half a year ago. Speaking of which, I am also a victim and lost a lot of money to Franklin!"

Looking at the bearded white man who wanted to shed tears, Xue Chen also admired this man's acting skills and rhetoric, but when he thought about this man selling fakes countless times, he understood. It was probably not the first time he had faced this kind of thing.

The situation is already familiar.

Zhan Huafeng was angry, but he had already prepared in his heart, knowing that Carl Smith, an old fox, would definitely come up with fakes, so when he heard his words again, he didn't say anything more.

He also felt in his heart that he was right to invite Xue Chen. It was not easy to see that the blue and white porcelain was a fake so easily.

After putting down the counterfeit blue and white porcelain celestial sphere bottle, Zhan Huafeng fell in love with the slightly orange inkstone again. He took it in his hand and felt that the inkstone was very heavy. When he took a closer look, he saw that the edge of the inkstone was carved with a head tilted upward.

The head of the Eastern Dragon, even every scale is clearly visible, I thought:

"Uncle Chai is a scholar. He sees calligraphy written with calligraphy many times. It would be nice to give him an inkstone as a gift. What's even better is that Uncle Chai's zodiac sign is dragon, so he should like it very much..." But Xue Chen on the side

One sentence interrupted his thinking.
Chapter completed!