Anyone who can say these things is definitely an expert—no outsider could even fake it.

Moreover, he also knew this was precisely the biggest flaw of the plate: it was clearly an imitation of a Ming Yongle blue-and-white porcelain, but unfortunately, it had a flat base, making it not worth the trouble. With an ordinary person, he might have been able to bluff his way through, but facing the expert in front of him, the stall owner was clearly lacking in confidence.

Of course, he couldn’t just give up, and quickly came up with several reasons to continue, but Brian Carter picked up the porcelain plate, and before the other could stop him, pointed at the plate and said, “Brother, look here…”

The spot Brian Carter pointed to was exactly where the fake and the genuine parts of the plate joined.

“Ah…”

The honest-looking man was completely stunned, feeling even more awkward, and was filled with suspicion—this four-eyed guy isn’t just an expert, but his eyesight is ridiculously sharp, isn’t it? Is that even a pair of glasses on his nose, or is it a telescope or a microscope??

Now it was over—the other party not only pointed out the flaw in the plate’s shape, but also discovered the seam between the new and old porcelain. Anyone with half a brain would know this was a fake. He didn’t even know how to keep bluffing.

But he didn’t really mind, just grinned foolishly—so what if he’d been seen through? It wasn’t a big deal. A glint of clarity even flashed in his eyes. “So you’re an expert too, and a real one at that. Just forget everything I said earlier.”

“Although your plate is a bit new, the craftsmanship is quite nice. Brother, just name your price.” Brian Carter continued to smile.

“Alright, since you like it, I won’t say much. One price—500 yuan!” The man didn’t insist any further and immediately quoted a number.

At this number, Brian Carter couldn’t help but laugh, “Brother, do you really think this plate is worth 500? How about 200?”

Bargaining is an essential part of buying antiques. Even if you don’t care about the money, haggling is necessary to make the seller feel comfortable and to prevent any unexpected situations.

This is completely different from buying clothes or food.

Back when he used to follow William Brooks around, he’d encountered such situations. He once took a fancy to a piece of porcelain, and the seller asked for 700. Brian Carter agreed without even blinking, but as soon as he did, the seller immediately changed his mind.

If you accept the price without bargaining, doesn’t that mean the seller is losing out?

So when Brian Carter took out the money, the seller refused, saying, “Brother, you misheard. I said 700 US dollars just now…”

It sounds ridiculous, but this kind of thing would never happen when buying clothes or food, yet it’s not unusual in the antique business, because antiques are all about uniqueness.

If you try this when buying clothes, the customer will just walk away—what’s the difference where you buy them? But with antiques, if you believe a certain item is genuine, then it’s unique—only the seller has it. If you let the seller name any price without bargaining, he might start thinking the plate is a real treasure and raise the price, or worse, refuse to sell it at all. If it turns out to be genuine, you’d lose out big time.

Of course, this kind of thing rarely happens among acquaintances or at auctions, but it’s very common at small street stalls.

That’s why Brian Carter had to be patient and haggle. Even if the final deal was still at 500, as long as there was a bargaining process, the seller would feel he’d worked hard for the extra money and wouldn’t regret it, and would rarely change his mind and refuse to sell.

“No way, brother. Even though this plate is a bit new, it still took a lot of effort. If I sell it for 500, I’m not even covering my labor costs.” Seeing Brian Carter bargaining, the honest-looking man wasn’t surprised or upset at all, but immediately put on a bitter face and explained.

But in reality, he was still bluffing. The craftsmanship of this fake was decent, but it wasn’t made by him—the plate was already like this when he acquired it, all the work was done by someone else.

Brian Carter didn’t back down at all, continuing to haggle, until finally, after raising the price by ten or twenty each time and unable to push it any lower, he reluctantly took out 400 to pay.

After receiving the money, the honest-looking middle-aged man finally smiled, and Brian Carter nodded, carefully stood up with the porcelain plate in hand, and left. Only after he’d walked some distance did he start to get excited.

He finally got it. Although the whole plate was fake, the base was truly thrilling.

A complete porcelain tile from the First Tower Under Heaven?

Although he couldn’t be 100% sure, he was ninety percent confident it was real. Once he got home, he could use the yellow book to absorb 【cultural energy】 from this complete piece of porcelain.

How could he not look forward to that? How could he not be excited!

“Hey, isn’t that Brian Carter?” Just as Brian Carter was walking, a slightly surprised voice called out from behind.

He stopped and looked back, only to see a young man of about thirty, with a hint of handsomeness, dressed in a suit. In front of the young man was an elderly man walking with his hands behind his back, his wandering gaze scanning the stalls on both sides.

“So it’s Brother Lee.” Brian Carter immediately smiled. He knew the other man—they both mixed in the Xinchuan antique scene. However, this young man, Lee Grant, usually sought advice from William Brooks, and mostly treated Brian Carter as a junior.