The most valuable item on his stall was a Jade Toad from the Roman Empire period, but judging by its color and texture, it was worth no more than $100, 000.
As for the item emitting a strong green glow that Leo noticed, Branson hadn’t taken it out and it was still piled together with other objects. Clearly, he didn’t know its true value.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have priced everything at $200, 000 for a package deal.
“Boss, this Jade Toad is quite nice,” Leo pretended to be attracted to the Jade Toad.
“You have a good eye. This Jade Toad is my prized possession. It’s the first day I’ve taken it out, and you happened to come across it,” Branson said with a smile. “It’s from the Roman Empire period. Take a look!”
Leo took it and examined it, then asked, “Not bad. How much?”
“$200, 000 for everything,” Branson said enticingly.
“That’s not reasonable. Apart from this Jade Toad, there’s nothing else valuable on your stall. $200, 000 is too much,” Leo said, frowning.
“You’re not being fair. Although I have many replicas here, many are made by renowned artists and are definitely worth the money. You won’t lose out,” Branson pretended to be displeased.
“$100, 000 for the Jade Toad alone. Forget the rest,” Leo said, playing hard to get.
“No way,” Branson quickly refused. “Boss, to be honest, my wife is divorcing me, and I need to go home urgently. That’s why I’m selling everything together. Please do me a favor and take it all.”
He was counting on selling the Jade Toad to offload everything else. If he sold the Jade Toad alone, the rest would be stuck with him.
Leo put on a troubled expression and said, “Alright… I’ll take everything for $200, 000…”
“This pig is nice; I’ll take it!” Before Leo could finish speaking, a loud voice came from behind.
Leo turned around to see two men in suits approaching. One was a young man about his age with a fair complexion and an air of arrogance, suggesting he came from a good background.
Beside him was a man in his thirties with small eyes and a shrewd look, holding a paper fan that he kept waving.
Leo glanced at the paper fan and was taken aback. The fan was no ordinary item; no wonder he was using it in such cold weather.
It was a gilded paper fan with beautiful and vivid scenery painted on it, clearly made by a master artist from at least the Ming Dynasty.
This indicated that the small-eyed man was also knowledgeable about antique collections.
The two men walked up to the stall, and the young man picked up the Jade Toad, nodding approvingly. “Not bad.”
“Mr. Rios, although this pig is nice, the price isn’t right,” the small-eyed man glanced at the sign on Branson’s cart and reminded him.
“Boss, my $200, 000 isn’t just for the pig; it’s for all my antiques and paintings,” Branson quickly explained, pointing to the items on his stall and in his cart.
“Just $200, 000? No problem. I like it,” Mr. Rios said, satisfied with the Jade Pig in his hand.
He bought it purely for show-off purposes. The Jade Pig was small enough to hold in his hand and easy to carry around as a status symbol.
Leo became anxious upon hearing this and quickly said, “Excuse me, young master. I already agreed with the boss to buy these items.”
“Kid, are you tired of living? How dare you compete with Mr. Rios?” The small-eyed man glared at Leo. “Can you even afford $200, 000?”
“Exactly! Agreed? I didn’t hear that. Did you pay?” Branson immediately objected before Mr. Rios could speak.
“Look at you! Bargaining over $100, 000 for the pig and haggling like that. You don’t seem to have much money. Look at this young master; he knows quality and understands that my stuff is worth more than $200, 000!”
After criticizing Leo, Branson turned to flatter Mr. Rios. “Mr. Rios, if possible, could you add another $10, 000 or $20, 000? Help me out.”
Clearly, Branson had realized that Mr. Rios was no ordinary person and wanted to squeeze more money out of him by belittling Leo.
Leo felt a sharp pain in his chest from anger. Just moments ago, when he was the only customer, Branson had been all smiles. Now that Mr. Rios had arrived, he didn’t even regard Leo as a person!
Initially, Leo had thought that if he found something valuable among the junk, he might give Branson an extra million or two.
Now, even if he found something priceless among the junk, Branson wouldn’t get a penny!
“You’re right; selling things requires knowing who to sell them to. Selling to a beggar would be an insult to these items,” Mr. Rios said disdainfully as he glanced at Leo. “$250, 000 for everything!”
“Oh my! Thank you so much! You’re truly an expert! Such a good person!” Branson expressed his gratitude profusely.
“I’ll offer $300, 000,” Leo said coldly.
Branson hesitated for a moment before turning apologetically to Mr. Rios. “Young master, you see… this…”
“$400, 000!” Mr. Rios glared angrily at Leo and raised the bid without hesitation.
“$500, 000!” Leo didn’t blink an eye.
“$600…”
“Young master, stop! We can’t raise it any further!”
Before Mr. Rios could finish his sentence, the small-eyed man stopped him.
If they kept raising the bid like this, they would incur a huge loss. Even if they had money to burn, this wasn’t how to spend it.
After carefully examining Branson’s items earlier, the small-eyed man realized there wasn’t anything valuable except for the Jade Toad. Everything else combined wouldn’t fetch more than $10, 000.
Turning to Leo, he cursed angrily, “Kid, how dare you compete with Mr. Rios? Are you tired of living?”
From Leo’s accent earlier, he had deduced that Leo wasn’t a local and thus felt emboldened.
“Ha! I’m paying for these items fair and square. If you have the guts to keep raising the bid, I’ll always outbid you by $10, 000. Today, I’m determined to get this Jade Toad!” Leo declared boldly.
“You think you can just buy it?” The small-eyed man sneered before turning to Branson. “Does he dare buy it? Do you dare sell it?”
His voice carried an implicit threat.
Having mingled in the antique world for years and dealt with all sorts of people, Branson could easily catch the underlying meaning in the small-eyed man’s words.