Part 3
Thus, Louis spent nearly all his savings investing in this Majapahit Dynasty flower vase. That afternoon, he took the flower vase and its certificate to a somewhat small antique shop in Shiray City. He planned to resell the vase.
Louis wasn't greedy, either. The vase was worth Rp 1,000,000,000, and he would have been satisfied if he could sell it for half that price.
Unexpectedly, after running around to numerous shops, he discovered that not a single person was willing to pay more than Rp 10,000,000.
Louis was completely confused. He asked one of the owners,
"Regardless, this is a flower vase made by a famous artisan of the Majapahit Dynasty. It does have a defect, but after being appraised by the national appraisal authority, it's still valued at Rp 1,000,000,000. Why are you only willing to pay Rp 10,000,000?"
The owner smiled sarcastically and said, "I don't know which artisan you're talking about. Your certificate is authentic, and this flower vase really is a Majapahit artifact. To be honest, I wouldn't even be willing to pay ten million rupiah for it. Because once I bought it, I wouldn't be able to sell it either. Besides, is your certificate even genuine? Don't blame me for being suspicious. Plenty of people sell fakes in the antique world."
"But this flower vase really is worth Rp 1,000,000,000!"
"What reason do I have to believe you?"
"I have a certificate!"
"What reason do I have to believe your certificate?"
"You!"
"Besides, where did you buy this flower vase? You want to rely on reselling antiques to make money. Looks like you've chosen the wrong path. How about this? I don't want you to lose too much, either. What if I offer Rp 6,000,000 for your flower vase? No other shop will give you a price that high."
Seeing the antique-shop owner's crafty expression, Louis could tell that the man was deliberately driving down the price to make the flower vase seem worthless. That way, he could buy it at a low price and make even more money later.
But Louis knew the vase's true value. He would rather never sell it than sell this treasure for a low price.
Several days later, Louis once again asked his company for leave. He searched for a way to sell the Majapahit Dynasty flower vase.
Whether at an antique shop, through an online auction, or to a private buyer, not a single person was willing to offer a high price.
But it wasn't as though Louis had no income. After being busy for several days, he learned one thing: antique trading didn't rely solely on a magical ability. He could see an item's value, but ordinary people couldn't.
He was just a poor man with no power or influence. Who would believe what he said? He did have the ability to see the value of that artifact, and he wanted to resell antiques for a profit. But it seemed impossible to do that in the short term.
He had to build up his reputation in the industry so people would believe him.
But before that, he had to think of another way to make money. But what could he do?
Louis suddenly remembered that when he bought the flower vase, the shop assistant had said, "But stones can't be sold. There's no jade inside them anyway, right?"
Louis slapped his thigh. Of course!
Jade gambling!