My name is Chen Mu. I'm just an ordinary small shop owner. Right after graduating from university, I inherited the family's antique shop. The money I earn is just enough to support myself and pay the utilities.
My family runs a big business, but I never consider myself a rich second - generation. The antique business is extremely risky, not to mention that my ancestors were tomb - raiders.
Now, the family business seems to be booming, but who doesn't know what Old Chen the Weirdo did back then?
My great - grandfather made his fortune from tomb - raiding, and so did several generations of the Chen family before him. They were all experts in tomb - raiding.
With the gradual development of the reform, people of these generations gradually shifted to legitimate business. Due to the large influence of the family, they gradually became the leaders in the industry.
Growing up in such a family, it was natural for me to choose the history department when I entered university.
When I graduated from university, some people advised me that instead of being a researcher writing reports in a research institute every day, I should go back home and inherit the family business.
At first, I didn't agree. I was even a bit defiant. But after working for others for a few years, I obediently returned home and took over the old shop left by my grandfather. I became a small antique shop owner.
As the owner of this small antique shop, I was sitting across from a fat guy.
The fat guy was wearing a pair of gaudy shorts. He was sitting with his legs crossed, looking dejected.
This guy was none other than my childhood buddy, Fatty Zhou.
If Fatty Zhou didn't speak, he actually looked rather honest. But once he opened his mouth, his lewd nature was immediately exposed, and his stupid - guy aura was on full display.
"Brother, I've been really scammed this time. You must help me."
The fat guy leaned over to me. As soon as he opened his mouth, a strong northeastern accent came out.
I rubbed my head. I was really headache.
The fat guy had just returned from the Northeast. This time he came specifically to ask me for help. If he hadn't come to visit me, I wouldn't have known that he had spent millions on such a broken thing.
Don't get me wrong. "Broken thing" really means what it says.
I looked at Fatty Zhou helplessly. A week ago, this guy bought a damaged bottle. Originally, there was just a small chip on the jade bottle, so it was quite a bargain for millions.
But before he could take it to a professional appraiser, the jade bottle that he had bought just a few days ago shattered into pieces.
Whether it was because Fatty Zhou didn't handle the subsequent maintenance properly or he was simply scammed, there are rules in the antique business. Even if you're sure you've been scammed, once the deal is done, there's no refund.
If you make a wrong judgment, you just make a wrong judgment. It's useless for him to come to me for justice.
Our family's antique business does dominate the entire southern region, but it's just the family's facade. My grandfather, as the president of the antique association, has always been a behind - the - scenes big shot.
For a situation like his where he was scammed out of millions... and it happened in the Northeast, how can we intervene? There's nothing we can do.
I patted the fat guy on the shoulder and said helplessly, "Brother, you know the rules. For something like this, I don't even need to talk to my family. They'll definitely refuse. What's the use of me pleading for you?"
Fatty Zhou has grown up with me since childhood. He's also somewhat involved in the antique business, so he knows the rules.
So I don't quite understand what he's asking me to help with.
"Millions! You know, I come from a small family. This much money is most of my savings. I can't just let it go like this."
Fatty Zhou's family is a well - known nouveau riche in the Northeast. As my childhood friend, his family shouldn't be short of money.
When he was in his teens, his nouveau - riche father asked him to take the college entrance exam with me to fulfill his father's dream of having an intellectual son.
Who would have thought that this guy had never liked studying since childhood. He had been rebellious for more than a decade and still didn't calm down. Before the college entrance exam, he had a big fight with his father, ran away from home, and secretly went into business.
Uncle Fat is also a tough guy. He's as weird as his son. He froze Fatty Zhou's piggy bank for so many years and wasn't even in a hurry to get his son back.
Fatty Zhou has never had to worry about food and clothing since childhood. It's quite remarkable that he was able to save up these millions in the past few years.
I gave him a sympathetic look, shook my head, and tentatively asked, "How about just taking this opportunity to go home and apologize to Uncle?"
As soon as the fat guy heard this, he plopped down on the rickety wooden chair and acted like a rascal. "No way. I'll never go back. If you don't help me this time, I'm not leaving."
After all, we've been buddies since childhood. Even though we haven't seen each other for so many years, I can't just stand by and watch him in trouble.
I picked up the wooden box that was supposed to contain the fragments of the priceless bottle, opened it, and examined it carefully.
The bottle wasn't very big. The jade fragments were all in a white - green color, and the patterns on them were quite strange, with a kind of exotic style.
I've dealt with so many antiques, but this is the first time I've seen such a pattern. But it's not surprising. Chinese culture is so extensive and profound, and there are so many periods with vague historical records.
Strange, I frowned and murmured in confusion, "Your bottle is actually not fake."
The thing is definitely broken, but it's not a fake or a counterfeit as I had imagined. At a glance, you could tell that the jade was of high quality and had some age.
Hearing me say this, the fat guy became even more proud.
The fat guy took out his phone, rummaged through it, and then showed me a picture of what the bottle originally looked like.
It seems that this guy had also picked the item based on the pictures before the auction.
The picture was taken very clearly. It showed the bottle from multiple angles before it shattered into pieces.
I zoomed in on every corner of the picture and squinted my eyes. The fat guy was right. If the bottle was in this state when he first bought it, then his millions were not wasted.
I compared the picture with the patterns on the actual fragments and sighed silently.
"This bottle has definitely been tampered with."
If I'm not mistaken, the bottle was originally in fragments and was then spliced together again. The time it shattered in the fat guy's hands was the second time.
The antique is a real one, but it didn't meet a good restorer.
If it had met a real restoration master, a treasure like this wouldn't have cracked to such an extent.
I carefully placed the bottle fragments into a brocade box lined with velvet cloth and put it under the counter.
Hearing this, the fat guy immediately leaned over excitedly. "Brother, does this mean you've agreed to help?"
I nodded. "We can ask Uncle Second about this bottle."
It's impossible to find the guy who scammed the fat guy. So much time has passed, and he has traveled across most of China to come to Changsha to find me. We have to solve the problem with this bottle first.