Li Mo sat in the leisure area, slowly stirring the coffee and feeling relaxed listening to the melodious classical music.
"You put a lot of sugar in it. Is this coffee still interesting to drink?"
"I'm drinking sugar tea, not coffee." Li Mo glanced at the beautiful woman next to him and said strangely, "We have been together for a few days, and you still refuse to tell me your real names? "
"We are on a mission, not just for fun. Just like you, we want to keep it secret. I used to have a codename of May, you can call me that. The big guy next to you is codenamed Dashan, and the guy opposite is codenamed Thorn. Head, go back to the room with the codename Xingkong."
"Okay, I didn't ask."
Li Mo smiled, these people must have used pseudonyms when going abroad, just like himself. The only difference is that they know their true identity, but he does not know their true identity.
"Coffee with sugar is still delicious, don't you want to try it?"
Wu Yue drank pure water. She took a sip and asked, "Mr. Qin, did you spend half a million dollars just for that dragon-patterned jar from Xuande of the Ming Dynasty?"
"I'm a serious businessman. I have one or two hundred chain stores of green and healthy specialty snacks. I really think their candies are delicious. Besides, you know that Ming and Xuande cloisonne dragon-patterned lid jar How much is it worth?"
The three security guards looked at him seriously.
"It is conservatively estimated that if it is auctioned in China, it will not be less than 200 million."
The three people looked at each other in silence.
Steven walked over with an ugly face and said sheepishly: "Mr. Qin, I'm so sorry. I didn't know that Franke would follow you all the way. He was just outside the hotel and wanted to see you because he worked with us before. Two years have passed, so I..."
"Let him come over."
"Okay, thank you Mr. Qin."
In May, the three security guards, Dashan and Ji Tou, consciously took a leisure seat next to them. Franke still maintained his elegant demeanor. He walked up to Li Mo and saluted like a gentleman and said, "Mr. Qin, I take the liberty of I’m disturbing you again.”
"Anyway, I have too much free time. You are here to chat with me and sit down wherever you want." Li Mo said casually, and then ordered him a cup of coffee. "What can I do for Mr. Franke?"
"Then I'll tell you directly, I want to buy a porcelain container filled with candy from Mr. Qin."
This is too direct.
Li Mo glanced at him, leaned back on the chair and said with a smile: "I know which one you want to buy, tell me, how much can you bid?"
Franke thought for a moment, then raised four fingers: "Thirty million US dollars."
"If that piece of porcelain is in your hands, how much will it cost you to sell it?" Li Mo asked in an understatement.
Only then did Franke realize that this young man from China was definitely not that easy to deal with.
"I can find a very powerful buyer for Mr. Qin. The US$30,000 is just my valuation, and the actual transaction price may be higher than what I paid."
Li Mo said strangely: "Don't you want to buy it yourself?"
Franke choked on his words and coughed twice before saying awkwardly: "I need a few days to raise funds. If I find you a capable seller, I can hand over the money and deliver the goods tomorrow. "
Li Mo shook his head, picked up the coffee cup and drank.
"Mr. Qin not interested?"
"It's not that I'm not interested, I'm just not interested in you. If I want to take action, Steven can handle everything for me. I'm not familiar with you, so why would I leave the good thing of making money to you."
Li Mo felt that what he had said was harsh enough, and thought that Franka would give up and retreat, but to his surprise, the American man did not feel embarrassed at all. Instead, he smiled and said, "Steven is just an ordinary artist." As an antique trader, he only relies on the platform. But I am different. I know many powerful sellers, many businessmen who specialize in antique business, and even many dealers on the black market. As long as Mr. Qin has money, and I can help you a lot if you're willing to spend money, but Steven can only
I'll give you a start. "
Li Mo put away the smile on his face, looked at Franke calmly, and then said: "Always let me see what you are capable of. Money is not an issue for me."
"Mr. Qin is also a cheerful person. Let me tell you straight. There are many underground forces in the United States. They have many things in their hands that cannot be seen in the light, but they want to get those things out and exchange them for real money, so they There is an intermediary who specializes in this kind of work. Fortunately, I have such an identity, I know how to appraise, and I know the funder."
Li Mo didn't agree immediately. He was silent for a while before asking, "Tell me, what did you find there before?"
"Sixteenth-century Nepalese gilt bronze Parava masks, Chinese Tang Dynasty bronze mirrors with gold backs and flower-and-bird patterns, Chinese turquoise bronzes from the Warring States Period, Italian fifteenth-century lion helmets, Egyptian Pharaoh gold masks, and some European Renaissance The oil paintings and stone sculptures from the period, and of course the most numerous antiques from China, especially various antique porcelains.”
Li Mo glanced at Steven standing next to him, and he actually nodded, which meant that what this American guy said was true. It was hard to tell that he was actually an all-rounder.
If that's the case, this guy should be very rich. Why did he have a fight with that American aunt when he was in a small town?
Something seemed to be wrong. Li Mo thought about something in his mind and asked, "Mr. Franke, with all due respect, are you short of money?"
The eyes of the people around him all focused on Franke. It was only at this moment that Franke showed embarrassment. He said with evasive eyes, "Mr. Qin, I'm going bankrupt. I need money."
"With your ability, how could you possibly go bankrupt?"
Franke smiled bitterly, sighed and said, "In your words, I made a mistake on an antique and basically spent all my money to buy a fake."
Li Mo couldn't help but curiously asked: "With your abilities, you should be worth a lot of money. What kind of counterfeit did you stumble on?"
"This has nothing to hide. It is an ancient painting from China, "Spring Outing" by the famous Sui Dynasty painter Zhan Ziqian."
"You mean "Spring Outing" by Zhan Ziqian of the Sui Dynasty?"
Li Mo thought he heard wrongly. This American guy was so unlucky that he stumbled on that ancient painting.
"Mr. Qin also knows about this painting?"
How could Li Mo not know that Zhan Ziqian's "Spring Outing" is the oldest surviving painting in the world, and it is also Zhan Ziqian's only masterpiece handed down from generation to generation. However, that priceless and rare national treasure is now collected in the Palace Museum. .
I don't know if it was the master of forgery who created a fake, which suddenly drove the American antique appraisal expert in front of me to the point of bankruptcy.
"Mr. Franke guessed it right. I once saw the original "Spring Outing" by Zhan Ziqian in the National Palace Museum in Kyoto."
Li Mo wanted to laugh a little, but felt that it was a bit unkind, so he could only pick up the cup and take two sips of the sweet coffee.
"Hey, when I was about to put it up for auction, several other experts from the auction house jointly identified it as a fake, because the biggest irrefutable proof is that the original is collected in the National Palace Museum."
Franke was listless when he said this, and seemed to have a death wish.
"Franke, I'm very interested in the fake "Spring Outing" you bought. I want to see how good that ancient painting is at replicating the real thing. In fact, if it can be fake, I think that painting is also good. It’s amazing. If you hold it in your hands and pass it on to future generations for two hundred years, it will be a famous painting that imitates the past.”
What Li Mo said was not comforting words, but he really meant it. Just like the high-imitation porcelain made in China, if it is officially restored and imitated through technical techniques, it will still be priceless ancient porcelain in a museum for hundreds of years.
"Mr. Qin is really interested?"
Franke became energetic. Anyway, the painting was useless in his hands, but he hoped to make a small profit from this young rich man from China.
"Bring it over and let me take a look before making a decision."
"Okay, I'll deliver it tomorrow."
