CHAPTER 42: CHAPTER 42 TRUE OR FALSE TREASURE APPRAISAL

Beautiful women have always had grudges against each other in their past lives! The degree of hatred is directly proportional to the difference in their levels of beauty!

But obviously, Qian Shuangyu could only be considered beautiful, whereas this woman, she was absolutely stunning.

The hatred is longer than the sky!

Qian Shuangyu’s complexion turned a shade uglier in an instant, and as she glanced at the corner of her eye, she became even paler, because all those clothes were Western luxury brands!

Where did this woman come from!

Zhou Ran and the other assistants were all stunned.

However, amidst their stupefaction, Sui Yi saw Elder Tang and others respectfully greeting an elder beside this woman.

Chairman, this was their title for him.

He was the top figure of the Nanxun Chamber of Commerce—many people called him Elder De.

This Cloud Dragon Residence belonged to his enterprise, and this gathering was probably initiated by him as well.

Seeing the other party, Sui Yi subconsciously furrowed her brows and shifted her body closer to the wall, avoiding the sweeping gaze that spanned across the room.

"Elder De, who is this lady..." someone asked in astonishment.

Men, by nature, pay extra attention to beautiful women, and for a woman with such a strong presence, seemingly with the aura of a leader, they all simultaneously speculated about her business background, or perhaps, which famous lady she might be.

Elder De’s mouth curved into a kind smile as he introduced her: "This is my honored guest, Ms. Tang Hanyan, she’s an industry insider from the provincial city. She’s here today to bring her daughter to enjoy the festivities..."

Although Elder De said this, everyone still picked up an unusual message from the words "provincial city" and "industry insider," guessing that anyone Elder De from the Jiangnan Region calls an honored guest couldn’t possibly be ordinary.

Tang Hanyan had already nodded at these people, greeting them with official-like language. It seemed she was quite familiar with them; her words were neither distant nor overly warm, just casually composed. But within a few sentences, she had greatly endeared herself to people like Chairman Quan.

She’s no ordinary woman~~~

Of course, Elder De also mentioned her daughter, and now she was smiling softly, stepping aside to reveal the slender figure standing behind her.

Zhou Ran and Quan Ling’s eyes both lit up!

Such a beautiful girl!

Yhan Qingwu, that was her name.

The discerning eyes of several bosses caught, in an instant, the composure Yhan Qingwu exhibited when she looked at them, a natural extension of her mother’s grace.

"Jiangnan’s misty rain is home to Yhan Qingwu, a lovely name~~ I didn’t expect Ms. Tang’s daughter to have grown so much. Yet, you look very young~~!!"

Amidst the light-hearted banter, Yhan Qingwu’s face wore a calm expression as she stood to the side, with a nearly 30-something collar beauty whispering to her.

Leaning against the wall, Sui Yi quietly observed the group, surprised yet not showing it on her face, while also glancing at Elder Tang, who had been quiet and silent since earlier.

"I bet Yhan Qingwu’s family background must be excellent... Only people born into such circumstances could have such an air about them, you can tell they’re wealthy... Look at Yu Quan edging closer... haha, he might even be thinking about an alliance through marriage~~"

Zhou Ran said to Sui Yi, with great envy and seemingly with a hint of insinuation.

Sui Yi just smiled faintly, not saying a word. Her assistant A, standing not far from her, heard this conversation and glanced at Sui Yi before smirking dismissively.

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It was clear that Elder De was the controlling axis; upon his arrival, he took the seat of honor. Once seated, he took everything in at a glance, a flash in his eye as he moved the green jade thumb ring on his thumb and said, "As we all agreed, the appraisal challenge will judge superiority by who has the highest number of accurate evaluations, and as per the tradition, the person with the worst result must offer their item to the winner. If they are unwilling to give the item, they must offer half of the item’s actual value in cash. If the item is fake, then they must pay as if it were genuine... Does anyone object?"

Of course, they all said no.

They were business people, wealthy and proud, none willing to concede they might be the weakest link.

Hearing the rules, Tang Hanyan obviously showed some interest, and even Yhan Qingwu revealed a smile.

"Let’s begin..."

Elder Tang and the rest stood up, heading towards a row of tables covered with red cloth, on which various items were placed, including everything from the Hat Tilt Collection to a Western dagger, a rusty Tang Knife, a painting, an ash clay jar, a snuff bottle, and celadon.

These items neatly corresponded to Yu Quan, Elder Lin, Elder Han, Boss Wang, Boss Qian, and Boss Quan, fitting their usual collecting preferences.

They also shared the provenance of their items.

"You’ve seen my item; it’s the ’Hat Tilt Collection’ by Nalan Xingde. As for its origin, I bought it from someone a few days ago for 300,000 yuan! Ha!" said Elder Tang.

"That Western dagger of mine was a gift from a business partner; he said he bought it in Germany, claimed it was passed down from a major in Hitler’s army..." Yu Quan, who was considering lighting up a cigarette, put the thought away upon noticing the many women present.

Boss Qian and Boss Quan gave similar responses, both claiming their snuff bottle and celadon were scavenged from antique markets.

Everyone had a story and insisted their items were genuine!

The group took turns examining the items, and out of respect for the esteemed guest Tang Hanyan, Elder De also invited her and the others to have a look, including Quan Ling and Qian Shuangyu...

"Elder De, aren’t you participating?" Tang Hanyan asked as she was examining the Western dagger, seemingly echoing Sui Yi’s earlier comment.

On hearing this, Boss Quan also repeated the sentiment, "Exactly, Chairman, you orchestrated this event, it seems lacking if you don’t participate~~"

Elder De had previously agreed not to intervene in the Classical Chinese Conference, and now they were suggesting he join in for a bit of fun in the spirit of currying favor. These people were quite shrewd.

"Me?... I’m getting old, my eyesight isn’t what it used to be~~ I can’t keep up..."

Everyone naturally had a rebuttal...

"But I actually would like to have a young person help me out..."

Huh?

A few bosses’ eyes lit up, especially Quan Ling and Qian Shuangyu, their expressions gleaming as they both turned to look at Elder De.

After all, both of them had walked this path, set to inherit their family businesses, otherwise they wouldn’t have been brought along to gain experience and build up their social networks.

Being valued by Elder De, the benefits didn’t need to be spelled out.

So, when Elder De’s gaze came their way, both of them stood up straighter...

"Heh, miss, I actually think Elder De might let you do it~~" The white-collar beauty next to Yhan Qingwu hooked her lip and chuckled softly.

Yhan Qingwu’s eyebrows knitted slightly, and after only a moment’s thought, she shook her head, "It won’t be me, but Sister Li can call me by my name, no need to be so formal..."

Li Ling just smiled at this.

She worked for Tang Hanyan and was quite self-aware. A person of Yhan Qingwu’s background wouldn’t allow someone like her as a friend.

But she felt the pressure too.

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"It’ll be you!" Elder De’s finger pointed to someone.

Zhou Ran’s eyes shone; he could hardly believe it, his heart swelling with elation. Did Elder De value me?

If that were the case, then...

But quickly, he realized Elder De’s gaze wasn’t on him.

He instinctively turned his head and saw the person leaning against the wall in the corner.

There were actually two people leaning there.

A man and a woman, both quite young.

Ah A tilted his head towards Sui Yi, arching an eyebrow lightly.

"It’s not me..." he said.

Sui Yi frowned slightly, stood straight, thought for a moment, then stepped out from the corner, allowing the three people seated in front to see her.

"Ah, it’s you!" But it was not the surprised Yhan Qingwu who spoke out, but Li Ling beside her.

Tang Hanyan glanced over...

Li Ling shivered and explained to Tang Hanyan, "I know this young lady from the bus, she helped me once..."

Sui Yi remembered Li Ling too and nodded slightly to her, internally sighing that she had met more "acquaintances" today than she expected.

"Heh, is she working under you now, Shopkeeper Tang?" Elder De asked Elder Tang.

Elder Tang nodded, saying, "This girl does have some talent, but she’s never been interested in this area, doesn’t know much about it, I’m afraid she might embarrass Elder De..."

He had not anticipated Sui Yi would unexpectedly be involved in this matter, which was not a good thing, because Sui Yi didn’t understand the business at all. Going up there, wouldn’t it be embarrassing?

If it had been before, it would have been fine, but he intended to train her to join the industry. Who knew how this embarrassment would affect her? Anyway, among this group, it was a loss of face!

He would not allow such a thing to happen!

"No matter... Let her play for fun, and if she wins, the reward remains the same, consider it as representing me..."

In the end, Elder De looked towards Sui Yi, stroking his beard and smiling, "What do you think?"

Ni Ma, this couldn’t be happening! Sui Yi, had you offended Elder De? Why was he pushing you onto a path of doom?

Elder Tang desperately signaled Sui Yi with his eyes~~~

Sui Yi saw it, paused, and responded.

"It would be an honor for Sui Yi," she said.

Upon hearing this, Elder De laughed. The other bosses snickered, some noncommittally, while Qian Shuangyu didn’t bother to hide his laughter...

Clearly, in this business, novices were subject to contempt.

Elder Tang was at a loss again~, deflating there. As Sui Yi approached, he whispered with a bit of urgency, "Didn’t I signal you with my eyes? Why did you still agree? Don’t tell me you didn’t see me..."

"A signal?" Sui Yi glanced at him, her expression calm as she asked, "I thought you had a twitch in your eye, you always do that..."

"..." Elder Tang glared at Sui Yi, but then he heard laughter nearby.

Turning his head, he saw Yhan Qingwu standing there.

His expression froze. He looked at her for a moment, then stormed off in a huff...

There was an air of fleeing the scene.