Divine Eye Appraisal: Starting with a Lucky Pickup of a Beautiful CEO's Family Heirloom

The next morning, as soon as Wen Zhaoye arrived at the entrance of Jianzhen Pavilion, he saw Sun Bo'an squatting on the steps, holding a kraft paper envelope in his hand.

"What's wrong?"

Sun Bo'an stood up and handed him the envelope: "A letter from the Provincial Antique Association, slipped under the door by the courier."

Wen Zhaoye took it, opened it, and found a formal letter with a gold-embossed cover and the official seal of the Provincial Antique Association.

"After careful consideration, it has been decided that you will attend a hearing in the provincial capital within fifteen working days to provide an explanation regarding the recent Yumantang incident and subsequent industry violations..."

Wen Zhaoye paused for a moment after reading this.

At the end of the letter, there was another line of text, in bold:

"If absent, you will be automatically removed from the list and permanently banned from engaging in antique appraisal business within the province."

Sun Bo'an took the letter, read it from beginning to end, and his expression grew increasingly grim.

"A trap," he said. "Of the five judges, three are Qian Bohong's students."

How did you know?

"I look at the list of judges from the provincial antique association every year." Sun Bo'an spread the letter out on the counter. "Of those three people, one is Wang Ming's apprentice, and the other two are Qian Bohong's most staunch supporters in the association."

Wen Zhaoye didn't speak, but stood in front of the counter and tapped the edge of the letter twice with his fingers.

Qin Fei walked in through the door, carrying a bag of oranges. She sat down on a chair by the door and peeled one.

"What's going on?"

"A letter has arrived from the provincial capital, asking us to attend a hearing."

"When?"

"Within fifteen working days." Qin Fei popped an orange into her mouth, chewed it a couple of times, and then asked, "Are you going or not?"

"Go," Wen Zhaoye said. "If we don't go, they'll have something to say."

Qin Fei nodded, threw the orange peel into the trash can, wiped her fingers clean, took a USB flash drive out of her pocket, and placed it on the counter.

"This is the account holder information for that account in the provincial capital."

"So fast?"

"The municipal bureau has a contact at a bank in the provincial capital. I asked someone to check," Qin Fei said. "The account holder's surname is Qian, and his full name is Qian Yunlai. He is Qian Bohong's cousin."

Wen Zhaoye picked up the USB drive and weighed it in his hand.

"Anything else?"

"Besides the 200,000 yuan from Bao Dequan, there are three other transfers from Lin's Cultural Media in the provincial capital."

"Lin's Cultural Media..." Wen Zhaoye repeated the company name, "The Lin family's?"

"Yes." Qin Fei peeled another orange. "Lin's Culture Media is a subsidiary of Lin's Group, and the legal representative is Lin Boyuan's nephew."

Wen Zhaoye carefully put the USB drive into the inner bag.

Thanks.

"Don't thank me." Qin Fei stood up, patted the orange pulp off her hands, and said, "Just don't get tricked when you go to the provincial capital."

Sun Bo'an stood behind the counter without saying a word, watching Wen Zhaoye put the USB drive away before finally speaking: "Boss Wen, how do you plan to deal with this?"

"Let's find out first," Wen Zhaoye said, "and see what Qian Bohong has been up to lately."

"I'll give it a try." Sun Bo'an picked up his phone, found a number, and dialed it. The phone rang three or four times before being answered.

"Old Li, it's me, Sun Bo'an."

"Any news from the provincial capital lately?"

"Help me find out something: has Qian Bohong seen anyone from the Lin family in the last two weeks?"

"Okay, let me know when you hear back."

After hanging up the phone, Sun Bo'an put his phone back in his pocket and said to Wen Zhaoye, "I have an old friend in the provincial capital. He used to work in the association and is now retired. He's well-informed."

"Wait for news."

The three remained silent for a while, and the only sound in the shop was Qin Fei peeling oranges.

Wen Zhaoye's phone vibrated. He looked down and saw it was an email notification.

The sender was the same anonymous email address. The subject line contained only one word: "Money".

He clicked on it and saw that the attachment was a new screenshot of the transaction history, with the caption: "This is the bill for the dinner he treated people to at a hotel in the provincial capital last month. There are three people on the judging panel list, and Bao Dequan gave each of them a piece of calligraphy or painting."

The attached image is a clear screenshot of the transaction history, listing three records:

Date: The 15th of last month

Location: Yuelai Restaurant, Provincial Capital

Expenses: 36,000

Note: The banquet was hosted by Wang Ming, Liu Jianguo, and Zhao Dezhu.

Below is a line of smaller print: "After the banquet, each of the three took away a piece of calligraphy or painting, from a famous gallery in the provincial capital, with an average price of six thousand."

Wen Zhaoye turned his phone screen towards Sun Bo'an: "Are these three names people from the judging panel?"

Sun Bo'an leaned closer to take a look, his expression changing: "Wang Ming, the association's vice-chairman, is the person who handled the Warring States jade disc case. Liu Jianguo, an association director, is Qian Bohong's crony. Zhao Dezhu, the association's financial director, is also one of Qian Bohong's men."

"All correct." Wen Zhaoye put his phone away, glanced at Qin Fei, and asked, "Can you find information on these three people?"

"Yes, we can," Qin Fei said, "but we'll have to wait two days."

"No rush," Wen Zhaoye said. "There are still fifteen working days left for the hearing, that should be enough."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a loudspeaker blared from the doorway.

The three looked up and saw Yu Tinglan's car parked in front of Jianzhen Pavilion. The car window was rolled down, revealing a delicate face.

"Mr. Wen, do you have a moment?"

Wen Zhaoye walked out, stood beside the car, bent down, and asked, "President Yu, what's the matter?"

Yu Tinglan glanced at him and said, "I have people in the provincial capital. If you need witnesses on the day of the hearing, let me know in advance."

"witness?"

"That's right," Yu Tinglan said. "In the provincial antique association, not everyone listens to Qian Bohong. There are a few senior directors who don't have a good relationship with him."

"Are they willing to testify?"

"That depends on what evidence you can provide," Yu Tinglan said. "If you have solid proof, I can help you make the connection."

Wen Zhaoye thought for a moment and said, "Okay, we'll talk about it later."

Yu Tinglan nodded, rolled up the car window, and the car slowly drove away.

Wen Zhaoye stood at the door, watching the black Audi disappear around the street corner, then turned and went back into the store.

Qin Fei had finished her third orange, leaned back in her chair, and looked at him, saying, "You have good connections; you even have people in the provincial capital." "It's all thanks to friends."

"Friends?" Qin Fei smiled. "You've only known Yu Tinglan for a short time, and you're already friends?"

"We haven't known each other for long, but he's reliable," Wen Zhaoye said. "Like you, we haven't known each other for very long either, and you're pretty reliable too, aren't you?"

Qin Fei paused for a moment, then smiled: "Okay, you know how to talk."

She stood up, patted her pants, and said, "I'll go check the information on those three people. I'll give you the results in two or three days."

"it is good."

Qin Fei walked to the door, glanced back, and asked, "By the way, have you checked on that anonymous sender?"

"I didn't check," Wen Zhaoye said. "It wouldn't have mattered; he used an encrypted email address, so we couldn't find it."

"Then how do you know he's not trying to scam you?"

"I verified every piece of information he gave me, and they all matched up," Wen Zhaoye said. "Besides, if he wanted to scam me, he wouldn't have given me so much solid evidence."

"Alright," Qin Fei said. "Be careful." After she left, the shop became quiet.

Sun Bo'an sat behind the counter, holding the letter from the provincial antique association in his hand, looking at it again and again.

"Boss Wen, when are you planning to go?"

"Tomorrow," Wen Zhaoye said, "Let's go early and find out the situation as soon as possible."

"Then I'll go with you."

"You?" Wen Zhaoye glanced at him. "Are you physically capable of handling this?"

"I'm in good health," Sun Bo'an said. "I know a few old acquaintances in the provincial capital who can help you get information."

"Okay," Wen Zhaoye said. "Then let's set off first thing tomorrow morning."

Sun Bo'an nodded, folded the letter, and put it back in the envelope.

"By the way, have things been arranged for your grandmother?"

"It's all arranged. Caregiver Sister Zhang will stay at home for the next few days to take care of her."

"That's fine then."

Sun Bo'an stood up, picked up his reading glasses and wiped them, then said, "Boss Wen, this trip to the provincial capital might encounter a lot of trouble."

"I know."

"Qian Bohong has been operating in the provincial capital for more than 20 years. He has extensive connections and ruthless methods."

"I'm not bad either," Wen Zhaoye said. "I have connections, evidence, and solid proof."

Sun Bo'an looked at him for a while, then said, "Okay, as long as you know what you're doing."

He walked to the door, then turned back and said, "I'll be waiting for you at the entrance of Jianzhen Pavilion at seven o'clock tomorrow morning." "Okay."

After Sun Bo'an left, Wen Zhaoye stood alone behind the counter and read the letter from the provincial antique association again.

He remembered the last sentence of the letter: "If absent, you will be automatically expelled and permanently banned from engaging in antique appraisal business within the province."

He smiled, folded the letter, and put it in his pocket.

A blacklist? A trap?

Then go ahead.