Lee Grant’s eyesight and vision were not as good as William Brooks’s—he was even more than a notch below—but he was still stronger than Brian Carter.

In the past, he often frequented the Brooks family, just to learn more from William Brooks, but William Brooks never thought much of his character, so their relationship was mostly polite. Later, when William Brooks got into trouble, this person indeed acted decisively and never set foot in the Brooks household again!

Not only did Brian Carter not have any fondness for Lee Grant, he even felt a faint dislike. But you don’t hit a smiling face, so Brian Carter still greeted him with a smile. After all, after William Brooks’s incident, how many people besides Lee Grant never set foot in the Brooks household again? If Brian Carter were to blame everyone for this, then he’d be the one with a problem.

“This is Old Bennett. Old Bennett, this young man is Brian Carter.”

With a smile, Brian Carter listened as Lee Grant introduced the two of them.

“Old Bennett.” He greeted politely. Brian Carter had never heard the name before, but just based on the man’s age, he was worthy of respect.

“Mm.” Old Bennett gave a slight nod to Brian Carter, glancing at him before looking away.

“Brian Carter, looks like you’ve had a good haul today.” As Old Bennett nodded, Lee Grant turned his gaze back to Brian Carter, staring straight at the porcelain plate in his hand.

With one look, Lee Grant was a bit surprised. At first glance, the plate really looked like a treasure, very much in the style of Ming dynasty blue-and-white porcelain. If it really was Ming blue-and-white, it would be quite valuable. At this moment, Lee Grant was genuinely tempted and wanted to take it and play with it for a while.

With these words, Brian Carter’s mind also stirred. He picked up the plate and handed it over. “Then I’ll trouble you, Brother Lee, to take a look for me. I’m not quite sure about this piece myself.”

He was ninety percent sure about the authenticity of the base, but he still couldn’t be absolutely certain. Besides, while this plate was a good item, it wasn’t priceless—nowhere near the level of the porcelain piece that landed William Brooks in prison—so he didn’t mind revealing it.

After all, if you don’t have the ability to protect a priceless item, exposing it is asking for trouble; it’s extremely unwise. But if you treat something worth a hundred or two hundred thousand like a thief, afraid anyone will find out, that’s just ridiculous.

Taking the plate, Lee Grant examined it carefully—much more thoroughly than Brian Carter had at first. But after just a few minutes, the excitement and anticipation on Lee Grant’s face suddenly turned to disappointment. He shook his head helplessly and sighed, “Brian Reed, you’ve been fooled.”

He finally confirmed that the whole plate was in the style of Ming Yongle porcelain, but the base was a bit odd.

Because of the odd base, he paid special attention to the connection between the base and the rest of the plate, and finally discovered a trace of disguise.

If it were just a single crack, it wouldn’t matter, but the key was that the crack formed an almost perfect square. Once you connected the lines, it was easy to see that the base had been reattached.

Having seen through the signs of forgery, Lee Grant couldn’t help but feel disappointed.

But deep down, he also felt a bit schadenfreude. This Brian Carter got fooled? Even the personal disciple taught by William Brooks is no better than this.

Although Brian Carter hadn’t said anything, since he bought it, he must not have noticed the crack at the time. Otherwise, why would he deliberately buy such a thing? For its looks? That excuse might fool others, but Lee Grant had known Brian Carter for quite some time and knew he was long past the age of buying things just for their looks.

Besides, even he was almost fooled by the forgery on this plate, so he didn’t believe Brian Carter could have spotted the flaw.

Chapter 010: Blue-and-White Floor Tile

Amid his schadenfreude, Lee Grant stood even more firmly, waiting for Brian Carter to come over and humbly ask for his guidance.

Yes, the other party had finally gotten his hands on a treasure, only for Lee Grant to easily see through it as a modern piece. Wouldn’t Brian Carter be shocked and come to him for help?

At this moment, he felt a surge of satisfaction. In the past, when he sought help from William Brooks, the latter never made things difficult for him, but William Brooks always refused to take him as a disciple, instead pouring all his knowledge into Brian Carter, a complete novice. This had always been a thorn in his heart.

Now, look—your William Brooks’s personal disciple is still as green as ever, getting fooled and having to ask him for advice.

And William Brooks himself had been sent straight to prison.

Thirty years on the east bank, thirty years on the west—the wheel of fortune had truly turned, and Lee Grant was secretly delighted.

“Fooled?”

While Lee Grant stood there arrogantly, holding the plate and waiting for someone to come ask for his guidance so he could show off his passion and pride, Brian Carter was momentarily stunned.

But in the next instant, he understood Lee Grant’s thinking. The other party must have thought he hadn’t seen through the signs of forgery and had bought a fake plate.

This struck Brian Carter as a bit funny. He had only bought the base in the first place, and had thought Lee Grant might be able to see where the base came from. Who would have thought that as soon as Lee Grant saw the signs of forgery, he lost all interest in the base and immediately declared that Brian Carter had been fooled?

“Young man, it’s okay to be fooled. The key is to be diligent and eager to learn.”