Land Speculation chapter 2

From then on, John actively befriended Tom. He often invited Tom to his home, showing him his collection, hoping to get some more benefits from this wealthy young man. Tom, on the other hand, seemed to gradually develop an interest in collecting. Every time John showed him an item, Tom would praise it and gently stroke it, looking extremely fond of it. At such moments, John would be so proud that he could hardly contain himself. He couldn’t help but tell Tom how he had “scoured the countryside” to find these treasures. One day, John finally showed Tom his most precious possession, the gold – inlaid copper incense burner. Tom exclaimed in admiration, “You found such a valuable thing while scouring the countryside?” John grinned and said, “To be honest, I bought it from an old lady in a small town in Texas. Guess how much I paid? Only $3,000! That’s the charm of scouring the countryside!”

As time went by, their friendship grew deeper. One day, when Tom came to John’s house, he brought a Ming – style blue – and – white porcelain pot with a dragon pattern and asked John to appraise it. Tom said a little sheepishly, “Actually, this porcelain pot is a copy from the 18th – century. I bought it from an antique dealer in London when I went there for a business trip. I really liked it at that time and had some money on me, so I spent $30,000 on it. But since it’s not an authentic piece, I’ve never had the nerve to show it to anyone, let alone mention it to you, sir. Now that we’re familiar with each other, I think it’s okay to ask you to take a look.”

John took the porcelain pot from Tom and examined it carefully. The more he looked, the more he realized that this pot was actually an authentic Ming – era item, a precious ritual vessel not recorded in official archives, worth at least $10 million! His heart was pounding with excitement. After repeated inspections, he was sure that both Tom and the British antique dealer had misjudged it.

Seeing John’s intense concentration, Tom seemed even more embarrassed and said, “I’m really sorry. My thing can’t compare with your gold – inlaid copper incense burner!”

Looking at Tom’s envious expression, John came up with a brilliant idea. He smiled at Tom and said, “Young man, don’t underestimate this porcelain pot. Although it’s a copy, the craftsmanship is so excellent that it can almost pass for the real thing. I think it’s worth at least $800,000.”

“Really? Can it be worth that much?” Tom could hardly believe his ears.

John nodded affirmatively. “As far as I know, the number of such high – quality copies in existence is very rare. So, it’s only a matter of time before its value increases. Maybe in a few years, it will be worth as much as your gold – inlaid copper incense burner.”

“Really?” Coming from John, this statement made Tom extremely excited. “Then I’ll exchange this porcelain pot for your incense burner!”

Hearing this, John’s heart started to race. He frowned and paced back and forth in the living room. Tom immediately regretted what he had said and stuck out his tongue, saying, “I’m sorry, sir. I was just joking. Please don’t take it seriously…”

“No, no, no!” John stopped. “I… can consider exchanging it with you.”

“What did you say?” Tom asked in disbelief. “Sir, I was just joking. I never really meant to exchange it with you!”

John thought for a moment and said, “For me, the incense burner is a precious treasure. For you, this porcelain pot is also a precious one. Although my collection is diverse, deep down, I actually prefer collecting porcelain because I think porcelain best reflects the extremely delicate craftsmanship of our culture. Just look at this high – quality copy; it’s so realistic. So, I’m willing to make the exchange.”

The unexpected result made Tom incredibly happy. However, he was still a bit worried. “Sir, are you really sure you want to make the exchange?”

“Of course it’s true! Collecting is all about doing what you like and having fun!”

So, Tom happily left with the gold – inlaid copper incense burner. John was just as happy as Tom because he knew very well that he had exchanged the incense burner for an authentic Ming – era porcelain pot.

Strangely enough, after that, Tom never visited John’s house again. At first, John thought Tom was avoiding him in case he changed his mind. But when he called and no one answered, he felt very puzzled. One day, the mailman brought a letter. John took it and saw that it was from Tom. As he opened the letter, he muttered, “This guy. Why can’t he just say it on the phone? He has to make it so complicated.”

When he read the letter, John’s face turned ashen!

Tom wrote in the letter: “John, I’m writing to tell you that my name isn’t really Tom, and the story I told you was false. You told me that you bought the gold – inlaid copper incense burner from an old lady in Texas for only $3,000. Do you know that the old lady you mentioned is my grandmother! At that time, you saw that there was only my grandmother at home, and you cheated her out of our family heirloom. I’ve heard from my grandfather how you did it. My grandfather got sick because of this and passed away six months later. My grandmother has been feeling guilty about it ever since…”

“Now, I’ve taken back what belongs to our family. I don’t think it’s too much to ask. As for why I paid you so much for the jade token, you should understand now. As for the blue – and – white porcelain pot, you can soak it in a basin of water, and you’ll know what it really is. Whether you want to keep it or not is, of course, up to you. Maybe you’ll wonder how I found you. I don’t think it’s necessary to go into details here. Just let me tell you that I majored in archaeology in college, and in my spare time, I was the president of our school’s drama club…”

John read the letter with hatred. He dejectedly took out the porcelain pot he had exchanged for the incense burner from the cabinet and stared at it blankly for a long time. Then, reluctantly, he went into the kitchen and carefully immersed the porcelain pot in water. To his horror, he saw that the bottom of the pot started to fade gradually after coming into contact with water, and finally, the so – called porcelain piece peeled off…

“How is this possible? How could this happen…” John collapsed on the floor, shouting and cursing in despair.