The sales of the luxury cars finally had a prospect, and Feng Yu felt a heavy burden lifted from his heart. Wu Zhigang and others had been conducting market research and found that Soviet-produced agricultural machinery and its parts were very popular domestically, with durability surpassing those from the island nation, though they were a bit expensive. Especially the harvesters and tractors, which were very useful but almost impossible to buy.
In the next six months, Feng Yu planned to focus on these. Longjiang was a major agricultural province, with vast plains that could not be cultivated solely by livestock. However, he was unsure how much it would cost to bring these items into the country.
On Sunday, Fu Guangzheng brought two experts in car inspection to Feng Yu's company.
Li Shiqiang and one of the experts exchanged glances and were both stunned. It turned out that this expert was the one who had inspected the used cars for Taihua Company.
Feng Yu did not hide anything from Fu Guangzheng and directly told him. There were still dozens of cars to be sold to Fu Guangzheng, and he did not want Fu Guangzheng to think that Taihua Company was up to something.
Fu Guangzheng smiled and said it didn't matter. He already knew that the expert had inspected the used cars for Taihua Company and deliberately brought him today to see if Taihua Company would try to cheat. Since it was out in the open, it meant that they had no intention of cheating, and the credibility of Taihua Company in his eyes increased even more.
The inspection went smoothly, and all the cars were checked in the morning. The main focus was on the engine, chassis, brakes, and throttle, while other aspects were less important.
The inspection results were very satisfactory to Fu Guangzheng, and he decided to buy all eighteen cars. After deducting transportation costs, he could make at least 50,000 yuan per car, and with good operations, even more.
Everyone returned to Taihua Company's warehouse to sign the contract. Feng Yu handed the prepared contract to Fu Guangzheng, who read it carefully and signed his name.
The payment would be transferred to Taihua Company's account the next day, and Fu Guangzheng would load the cars after the funds were received. The necessary procedures for transportation were already in place, and they could be completed within an hour in the afternoon.
Putting away the contract, Feng Yu politely said, "Mr. Fu, would you like to have a cup of tea before you leave?"
To his surprise, Fu Guangzheng turned and sat down, saying he had been thirsty for a while. Feng Yu called someone to make tea and apologized for the poor hospitality.
It was all Feng Yu's fault; these young men were all trained by him. A big company should be proud, but Feng Yu would never admit that!
Fu Guangzheng took a sip of tea and frowned slightly. The tea was mediocre, not a high-quality one. He didn't want to drink it but couldn't just take a sip and put it down, so he held the cup. However, he stayed not for the tea.
He seemed to glance casually and saw a three-legged incense burner in the corner. He casually said to Feng Yu, "Why do you have this thing in your office, Mr. Feng? It doesn't seem to match your tidy office."
Feng Yu looked at the incense burner, which he had bought for 300,000 yuan from Wang Cui. He originally wanted to use it as a flower pot, but since the office was in the warehouse with no sunlight, he eventually forgot about it.
"Ah, it's just an incense burner. I bought it from a friend and had nowhere to put it, so I just left it there."
Bought from a friend? Could he know it was an antique? If so, he wouldn't casually ask for it. But why put it in the corner? Could it be a fake?
Fu Guangzheng had a quirk, or rather, a common quirk in his line of work. If an antique was in front of him and he didn't examine it closely or play with it, he wouldn't be able to sleep at night!
"I like incense burners and have a hobby of collecting them. Could Mr. Feng let me take a look?"
Someone collects incense burners? Feng Yu looked at Fu Guangzheng in surprise. This was a rather peculiar hobby, and he didn't seem to be religious.
"Sure, if you like it, go ahead."
Feng Yu picked up the incense burner and placed it on the table with a thud.
The ash inside the incense burner hadn't been cleaned, and when it was placed down, some ash floated up.
Feng Yu stepped back and waved his hand in front of him, while Fu Guangzheng moved his chair back and put down his teacup, which was now covered in ash and undrinkable. However, Fu Guangzheng's eyes never left the incense burner.
Hmm? Feng Yu looked at Fu Guangzheng curiously. Why did he take out a pair of white gloves and put them on? This scene seemed familiar.
Feng Yu suddenly remembered a TV show he had seen in the future, called "Treasure Appraisal," where the experts wore white gloves when examining antiques.
Seeing Fu Guangzheng carefully wiping the surface of the incense burner and recalling his words and expression, Feng Yu had a bold guess.
Fu Guangzheng had a slight obsession with cleanliness. If the incense burner was clean, he wouldn't have worn gloves. But since it was so dirty, he didn't want to get his hands dirty, so he had to wear gloves.
He thought his performance was good, and collecting incense burners was a great reason. There were countless people with strange collecting hobbies, so Feng Yu shouldn't be suspicious.
Feng Yu had left the incense burner in the corner, clearly not caring much about it. He either bought it as a regular incense burner or thought it was a fake.
But looking at the shape of the incense burner, it very much resembled a Xuande furnace. The Xuande furnace was made during the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty, with only 3,000 in total. Many were later destroyed or lost, making them increasingly valuable. If this was genuine, it would be worth a lot of money.
Fu Guangzheng only wanted to clean a small area to check the material and color, make a rough judgment, and then buy it at a very low price. If the negotiation went well, Feng Yu should give it to him directly.
But he didn't expect that wearing gloves made Feng Yu suspicious about the incense burner being a treasure.
Fu Guangzheng shook his head and seemed to place the incense burner on the table casually, but it only made a faint sound. He had placed it very carefully. He had already seen enough, though not in great detail, to determine that the incense burner had a 50% chance of being a Xuande furnace and a 50% chance of being a modern replica.
But whether it was genuine or a replica, it still had high value. If he encountered someone who didn't know much, he could sell it at the price of a genuine one.
"This incense burner is new to me. Could Mr. Feng part with it?" Fu Guangzheng said, placing 100 Hong Kong dollars on the table.
Feng Yu was now certain that the incense burner was an antique; otherwise, why would Fu Guangzheng want it so dirty?
Feng Yu's lips curled into a mocking smile, "Mr. Fu, are you joking? I bought this incense burner for hundreds of thousands of yuan from a friend, and you offer me 100 Hong Kong dollars?"
Fu Guangzheng's smile froze. Hundreds of thousands of yuan? Did Feng Yu know it was a Xuande furnace?
Impossible, who would leave a treasure worth hundreds of thousands of yuan in the corner? He must be bluffing!
"Did I hear you right? Hundreds of thousands of yuan? This is only worth a few dozen yuan at most."
"Is that so? If it's only worth a few dozen yuan, Mr. Fu, why don't you sell it to me? How many do you have, I'll take them all. Let's be straightforward, Mr. Fu, you can see that this is an antique, right?"
PS: There are different accounts of the number of Xuande furnaces, some say 3,000, others say 5,000. Qing Dynasty replicas can be very convincing, and even experts are unsure. Some say there are fewer than 100 genuine Xuande furnaces left. This is not deeply explored here. Additionally, thank you to the donations from "Escaping Rat" and "Brother Dajiang." If you have any recommendation tickets, please give them to Lao Si.