Chapter 150: [150] You might not know his identity yet, right?_1
 

Tang Feng burst into laughter when he heard the stall owner’s words.

“Boss, do you think I’m a fool to be deceived? One piece of Zhang Daqian’s calligraphy is worth a hundred thousand? If you have any, I’ll take them all. I’ll offer you five hundred thousand for each piece, how about that?”

“You…”

The stall owner was immediately choked with anger and abandoned all pretense of dignity, threatening at once, “Kid, I advise you to be sensible, otherwise, do you think you can leave the antique market today?”

As he spoke, four or five burly men squeezed out from the crowd.

Each one was big and burly with a menacing look on their faces.

Tang Feng carefully rolled up Zhang Daqian’s calligraphy and looked at the stall owner sidelong, “What? Are you switching from temptation to intimidation now?”

He was only a step away from the stall owner, and was one hundred percent confident that he could subdue him the moment things turned physical.

Before the stall owner could respond, the surrounding crowd couldn’t stand by any longer.

“What’s with this stall owner? Getting jealous because someone got a good deal? Are you planning to break the rules?”

“Yeah, according to the rules of the antiques trade, the deal is done once money exchanges hands. You’ve received the money and now you want to back out of the deal?”

“Don’t worry, young man, we stand by you. If anyone dares to break the rules of the antiques market, we won’t agree to it.”

“Right, we can’t allow such a harmful character to exist…”

Seeing the crowd’s indignation, the stall owner’s heart began to sink.

If he really sent people to rob Tang Feng, he certainly wouldn’t be able to continue in the antique market.

Yet the thought of missing out on a masterpiece worth millions was too much to bear.

He started to secretly weigh the pros and cons in his heart.

At this point, someone else spoke up.

“Mr. Wei, perhaps you are unaware of his identity. He is the appraiser from Ya Garden.”

“Right, the owner of Ya Garden is none other than Mr. Qin Yanan. Are you sure you want to make an enemy of them?”

“Moreover, I’ve heard that this young man has taken Zhang Jicheng as his teacher. You’d better think carefully about the consequences.”

“Considering Mr. Zhang’s influence in the antiques circle, do you still want to make a living in the antiques market…”

Hearing the discussion, the stall owner’s face underwent a drastic change, and he looked at Tang Feng in astonishment.

He initially thought that Tang Feng was just an ordinary hobbyist whom he could easily manipulate.

Now, realizing that Tang Feng was someone of significance, he knew he stood no chance today.

“Haha, I was just joking with this young man. I, Wei Jie, always uphold the principle of ‘trust’ in my business, and I would never go back on my word,” he declared, his murderous look replaced by a smile, then he cupped his hands towards Tang Feng, “Congratulations, young man. To think you’ve spotted such an incredible deal. Truly, the young are to be feared.”

Although everyone knew his words were insincere, at least he backed down.

Tang Feng didn’t bother with him anymore but bowed to the people around him, “Thank you all for your righteous support. Tang Feng is truly grateful.”

Seeing his sense of propriety, the crowd was all the more convinced of his competence.

“Master Tang, are you selling this piece of calligraphy? I’m willing to pay one million for it.”

“That’s Zhang Daqian’s work, and you think you can get it for one million? I’ll offer one million two hundred thousand.”

“I’ll offer one million three hundred thousand…”

A bunch of people began to bid against each other.

Tang Feng raised his hand to stop them, “I’m not planning to sell this piece of calligraphy for the time being. However, we have plenty of good items at Ya Garden, and you’re welcome to visit if you have time.”

“Sure, with an appraiser like Master Tang at Ya Garden, the items must be trustworthy.”

“Ya Garden’s location isn’t the best, and I usually can’t be bothered to take the extra steps, but for Master Tang’s sake, I’ll go have a look.”

“I’m actually looking for some birthday presents for my father-in-law; it’s a good time to check out Ya Garden.”

“Master Tang, if we mention your name when we go, can we get a discount…”

The crowd buzzed with discussion, following Tang Feng towards Ya Garden.

Some were genuinely interested in scouring treasures, but most were there for the excitement.

At least forty or fifty people joined the impressive procession towards Ya Garden.

The stall owners on the antique street watched their customers being drawn away by Tang Feng, feeling somewhat sour.

But who could blame them when someone with such sharp eyes spotted such a tremendous bargain in front of everyone?

Customers vote with their feet, naturally gravitating toward where they feel confident.

Across from Ya Garden, Mr. Pei Tianyuan, the owner of Shengdingxuan Antique Shop, was just seeing a customer out when he spotted Tang Feng leading a large crowd in his direction and was taken aback.

What’s happening?

Could it be that this Mr. Tang had a falling out with Qin Yanan and was bringing people to seek revenge?

It didn’t seem likely.

As he tried to make sense of the situation, Tang Feng had already approached and gave him a cheery greeting, “Good morning, Mr. Pei.”

“Good morning, Master Tang,” Mr. Pei briskly returned the greeting and then pointed to the crowd, “Master Tang, what’s going on here?”

Tang Feng waved it off casually, “Nothing much. These are all friends from the antique world who’ve heard about the quality of our goods at Ya Garden and have come by reputation.”

After saying that, he continued leading the crowd toward Ya Garden without further small talk.

Mr. Pei was shocked.

Their Shengdingxuan did good business, but they had never seen so many customers at once.

Where on earth had this young man drawn such a huge following?

He had already witnessed Tang Feng’s talents when he snagged a major deal on a stamp at his shop.

And now he was drawing so many customers to Ya Garden.

He was truly a combination of talent and popularity.

If he could recruit such a talent under his own banner, wouldn’t that be an unbeatable advantage?

Indeed, it seemed like a good idea to have a chat with Tang Feng and see if he was interested in switching sides.

…

Unbeknownst to Tang Feng, he had already become the apple of Mr. Pei’s eye.

As he brought the customers into Ya Garden, the staff inside, busy with their work, were startled, thinking they were troublemakers.

When they recognized the leader as Tang Feng, they felt a bit more at ease.

Zhang Jicheng also received the news and hurried out from the inner hall, “Feng, what… is happening?”

He looked at his prized apprentice with bewilderment.

Unsure of what performance he had staged.