Ling Zhenfei knew that things couldn't go on like this, even if he had video evidence, it wouldn't do, because the impact was too negative.
Ling Zhenfei bent down to the elderly man and said, "Don't worry, sir. I heard everything you said just now. Your item is indeed a treasure, and if you wish to auction it, we'll take it."
The old man imdiately quieted down and asked, "What did you say, you'll take this item?"
Not only was the old man surprised, but also Su Xi and the auctioneer Old Zhang were very shocked, their mouths agape. They didn't understand what Ling Zhenfei was up to.
Ling Zhenfei tried to help the old man to his feet and said, "Yes, our auction house can certainly auction it for you. We're such a large auction house; there's nothing we can't auction. We didn't let you auction earlier because we were afraid it wouldn't be good for you to sell a family heirloom."
"Nothing wrong with that, when are you going to pay ?" The elderly man was no longer confused and imdiately started asking for money.
Ling Zhenfei laughed and said, "Old gentleman, you're mistaken. We're not a pawnshop. We need to package your vase and sell it through bidding. For example, you just said your vase is worth a billion, maybe soone might offer two billion."
"Really, is it truly worth that much?" the elderly man asked incredulously.
Ling Zhenfei nodded with certainty and said, "Of course, didn't you see what you have? It's Yuan Blue and White. Just an ordinary Yuan Blue and White teacup could be worth several hundred million, not to ntion your large vase. If it's really Yuan Blue and White, conservatively estimated, it's worth one billion five."
"Haha, are you serious? That's wonderful, I'm rich, I'm rich," the old man muttered, seemingly too elated to know what to do.
Ling Zhenfei said, "Of course." After that, he turned to Old Zhang and said, "Old Zhang, for such a fine piece of Yuan Blue and White, we must keep it. Take the elder to pay the fee."
Old Zhang was a bit stunned, "Pay the fee, oh right, the fee. Co with to pay the fee, old gentleman."
The old man was taken aback and hurriedly said, "Young man, I ca here to auction, why should I pay a fee?"
Ling Zhenfei said with a serious face, "How co you don't know, old gentleman? When our auction house appraises items worth hundreds of millions, we always charge one percent of the item's value as a deposit before the auction. Rest assured, this money will be returned to you imdiately at the ti of auction."
"What's one percent?" the old man asked, not quite understanding.
Ling Zhenfei winked at Su Xi and said, "Manager Su, can you calculate it? How much is one percent of ten billion as a deposit?"
By now, Su Xi had understood what Ling Zhenfei was trying to do and quickly said, "Oh, let calculate it. One percent of fifteen billion is one hundred fifty million. May I ask, sir, if you will use Alipay, WeChat, or card to pay?"
The old man's face turned pale and he stamred, "You, you can't be playing . Where do I co up with one hundred fifty million?"
"Old gentleman, look at what you're saying. We're not asking you for money; this one hundred fifty million is a deposit, which will be returned to you on the day of the auction," Su Xi said with conviction.
"Yes, old gentleman, you mustn't worry about this one hundred fifty million. Just think, if you don't pay this deposit, you can't auction off the fifteen billion. Wouldn't that be missing out over nothing? Better to pay the money," Zhenfei said earnestly, even making himself feel as though he and Su Xi were like a pyramid sche organization brainwashing the old man, a truly comical situation.
"No, I can't afford to play with one hundred fifty million. Can I sell the vase for less? I won't auction it for fifteen billion. How about nine hundred ninety-nine million, just shy of a billion?" the elderly man said, ready to bargain.
At this point, Su Xi had already been led by Ling Zhenfei to say, "Old sir, what do you think our auction house is for? We specialize in getting you a good price. Not to ntion such fine Yuan Dynasty Blue and White Porcelain, if I don't get you one thousand five billion for it, I might as well write my na Su Xi backwards."
"Exactly, old man, hurry up and pay the money, this is a good deal," the people around also said to the old man with a smile.
The old man hugged his vase and said, "I have no money, I have no money. I don't want to auction it anymore."
As he spoke, the old man took his vase and started to leave, but he was blocked by Ling Zhenfei, "Old sir, why do you want to leave? Such a fine item, it would be a pity not to auction it."
"No more auction, no more auction, I said I'm not auctioning it," after saying this, the old man hugged his vase and ran past Ling Zhenfei towards the outside.
The turmoil had finally been resolved. It seed like just a farce, but in the midst of the dia whirlwind of Dragon Tiger Storm, such public scrutiny could not be endured.
The water that bears the boat is the sa that swallows it up. The spread on the internet could make Dragon Tiger Storm a hot topic, but it could also shatter it instantly.
The hall had once again returned to normal, and Su Xi looked at Ling Zhenfei with admiration, "Divine Doctor Ling, you are truly remarkable, you resolved this incident so easily."
Ling Zhenfei shook his head, "This matter won't be resolved so easily. Take a look online; I expect the video from tonight should be out."
Su Xi was startled, "Are you saying that this incident was deliberately targeted at us?"
Ling Zhenfei nodded, "Whether it was intentional or not, we'll know after having a look."
Su Xi quickly checked her phone while Ling Zhenfei looked at Bai Ling and said, "How did it go? Got it all recorded, right? Very exciting. Even I wanted to laugh. How could this old man be so funny?"
"Saved it already, right? It might co in handy," Ling Zhenfei reminded Bai Ling.
Suddenly, Su Xi burst out angrily, "Who did this? They actually sared Dragon Tiger Storm like this."
"What happened? What's going on?" Bai Ling asked quickly.
"Soone uploaded the incident that happened just now online, but they only released the video of the old man crying and shouting on the ground. They're saying that Dragon Tiger Storm looks down on farrs and hits people. The speculation has already started to flare up online."
In fact, Ling Zhenfei didn't need to guess to know what had happened. It was just as he had thought; this incident was surely a sche by Zongheng International. It seems Wei Bingzhong was not giving up his crooked ways, having co up with such a despicable tactic.
With a laugh, Bai Ling waved her cell phone and said, "No worries, it's a good thing I got everything recorded just now. We'll counter them by posting it online."
Bai Ling was about to post the video online with her phone but was stopped by Ling Zhenfei.
"Don't post it just yet. I must say this is another good opportunity for us to stir up so buzz. Let's let this fernt a bit more before we release it; that way, it'll have the best effect."
After thinking for a mont, Bai Ling realized, "You're so impressive now, thinking through this so thoroughly. Even I'm starting to admire you."
The issue was considered resolved, and the three of them returned to the office to discuss the auction. At the sa ti, Ling Zhenfei took the opportunity to select from the many contributions that had been sent over this period.
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