I Treat You as My Sister, But You Want to be My Wife?!

25: Chapter 25 Master Appraisal_1 25: Chapter 25 Master Appraisal_1 Editor: Henyee Translations “Even if you’re really busy, there’s always time for tea, so let’s have a few cups before we go,” Mr.

Han sat down and asked, “By the way, Mr.

Shen, where did you get this painting?

Did you find a bargain in the antique street?”
In his opinion, Shen Dong must not have paid a high price for it.

Given Shen Dong’s discerning eye, the odds were high that he picked it up for a steal.

And the likely place for such a find was the antique street.

“Hehe, I got it at an antique appraisal event, bought it from one of the folk antique collectors,” Shen Dong chuckled.

“You went to the antique appraisal event?” Mr.

Han knew of the event; it was quite popular.

“Took a stroll there, and just happened to see this painting, so I bought it,” Shen Dong nodded.

“Mr.

Shen, how much did you pay for it?” Mr.

Han asked with curiosity.

After asking, he realized it might be a sensitive question and added, “If it’s inconvenient to say, that’s fine too.”
Some antique collectors don’t like to reveal the bargain prices they’ve paid.

“There’s nothing inconvenient about it, I paid five hundred thousand for it,” Shen Dong said with a smile.

“What!

You got it for five hundred thousand!” Mr.

Han exclaimed in shock.

If the painting were authentic, it would be worth at least twenty million.

Shen Dong really stumbled upon a huge bargain.

“Mr.

Han, I was just lucky, it’s nothing to make a fuss over,” Shen Dong said with a faint smile.

“Mr.

Shen, this isn’t luck, it’s definitely your skill,” Mr.

Han disagreed with Shen Dong’s statement.

Without the skill, even if a bargain was right in front of someone, they wouldn’t be able to recognize it.

After chatting for a while and the tea becoming weak, they left.

The tea session cost Shen Dong eight thousand yuan.

Seeing Shen Dong pick up the bill, Mr.

Han was once again astonished.

It seemed that Shen Dong was even more extraordinary than he had thought.

An ordinary person simply couldn’t afford to spend eight thousand yuan on tea.

Mr.

Han took Shen Dong to a Mercedes and headed towards Jiecheng Auction.

Half an hour later, they arrived at Jiecheng Auction.

Bringing Shen Dong into the auction house’s reception room, they were served with fine tea, and then he said, “Mr.

Shen, please take a seat.

I’ll ask our auction house’s appraisal master to come and evaluate your painting.”
“Alright,” Shen Dong nodded.

Mr.

Han nodded and left.

Soon enough, he brought over two elderly gentlemen dressed in Tang suits.

The two elders also carried instruments used for appraising calligraphy and paintings.

“Mr.

Shen, these are two of our master appraisers from Jiecheng Auction in An City, Master Wan and Master Gu,” Mr.

Han introduced.

These two masters were giants in the world of antique appraisal.

Even the general manager at the headquarters would treat these masters with great respect.

For the auction being held by the An City branch of Jiecheng Auction, the headquarters sent these two masters to supervise, to prevent any mistakes and avoid embarrassments.

“Good day to you both, masters,” Shen Dong stood up to greet them.

For masters like them, Shen Dong had great respect.

Of course, an ‘expert’ like Zhao Anhua was no master.

He was the dross of the antique appraisal industry.

It was because of such bad seeds that people often lost faith in experts.

“Hmm,” the two masters merely nodded indifferently.

“Mr.

Shen, please hand over your painting to the masters for appraisal,” Mr.

Han gestured.

“Please, masters,” Shen Dong gave the painting to one of the masters.

Immediately, the two masters placed the painting on a nearby table and began their appraisal.

A few minutes later, the appraisal was complete.

“It’s indeed authentic,” the two masters concluded.

“Thank you both,” Shen Dong saw the masters out, then returned and sat down opposite Shen Dong, “Mr.

Shen, now that we’ve confirmed the painting is authentic, let’s put it up for auction tonight.”
“Alright,” Shen Dong nodded.

“Wait here for a moment, I’ll have someone draft the contract,” Han Deming got up and left.

A little over ten minutes later, Han Deming returned with two copies of the contract.

The contents of the contract essentially stated that Shen Dong would hand ‘The Beacon Fire Map’ over to Jiecheng Auction for auction, as well as the commission to be collected from the sale.

It also covered the payment delivery and a series of other matters.

“Mr.

Shen, take a look.

If there are no objections, you can sign the contract,” Han Deming placed the contract in front of Shen Dong.

“Alright,” Shen Dong nodded and began to review the contract.

Though he wasn’t a legal professional, he could still discern whether there was any trickery involved in such a contract.

This was a standard consignment contract, any traps would have been obvious at first glance.

After reviewing and finding no issues, Shen Dong signed the contract.

Han Deming, on his part, also signed and stamped it with the company’s official seal.

Then, he handed one copy to Shen Dong and kept one for himself.

“Mr.

Shen, dinner time is approaching, I’d like to invite you to eat with me.

Then we can return to the auction house, and you can see what price your work fetches.

How about it?” Han Deming extended the invitation.

“Sure,” Shen Dong had never attended an auction and saw this as a great opportunity to gain some experience.

The two left the auction house and found a high-end restaurant nearby for dinner.

Earlier, Shen Dong had treated Han Deming to tea, which cost over eight thousand yuan.

Han Deming’s invitation to dinner for Shen Dong couldn’t fall short in comparison.

After three rounds of drinks and tasting five flavors of dishes.

“Mr.

Shen, which master of treasure appraisal are you the disciple of?” Han Deming brought up the old topic, wanting to inquire about Shen Dong’s background.

He always felt that Shen Dong’s background was not so simple.

If not a disciple of a master of treasure appraisal, then he must have come from a family with deep knowledge of antiques; otherwise, it was impossible for him to recognize at a glance that the teapot he carried was from the Ming Dynasty Jiajing Period.

“Mr.

Han, I honestly am not the disciple of any master of treasure appraisal, nor do I have any profound family heritage in this field,” Shen Dong defended with an amused smile.

“Really?” Han Deming was still somewhat incredulous.

“Really.

I just spent a lot of time on the antique street and developed a special feeling for antiques.

I can distinguish the authentic from the fake more easily than most people,” Shen Dong fibbed.

“Alright, I’ll take your word for it.

Your talent is truly incredible.

Just off this ability alone, you’re ahead of eighty percent of the population,” Han Deming expressed with admiration.

“Mr.

Han is too kind,” Shen Dong humbly replied.

“Mr.

Shen, would you be interested in joining our auction house as a treasure appraiser?

I guarantee your remuneration will be satisfactory,” Han Deming spun an idea with a twinkle in his eye.

Since Shen Dong had such keen eyesight, it would be good to have him in the company.

“Thank you, Mr.

Han, but I have no such intentions at the moment,” Shen Dong declined, shaking his head.

If it had been before, he might have accepted.

After all, an invitation like this would certainly come with a salary far higher than what he earned at the fund company.

However, now he was a man with a system, and he didn’t know how long he would even continue to work at the fund company.

The likelihood was that it wouldn’t be much longer.

On the other hand, without the system, he wouldn’t have the skills of a master of treasure appraisal, nor the chance to meet Han Deming.

“That’s a shame.

If you change your mind in the future, feel free to call me anytime,” Han Deming said regretfully.

“I will,” Shen Dong nodded.

After dinner, the two returned to the auction house.