Chapter 233: Chapter 233

Ever since Blue Moon Company introduced a new hand soap, it became an instant hit at the product launch conference, with orders pouring in like snowflakes.

To expand production capacity, after Lin Fan received the land reward from Shendiao Old Factory, he decided to build a new plant.

In recent days, the construction of the new plant has been proceeding rapidly.

Everything was going smoothly, as this piece of land was originally part of the government’s planned development, personally approved by the mayor to be allocated to Lin Fan for building a factory.

However, just now, Zhang Dafu received a notification that due to safety concerns at the new factory site, it was required to halt construction for rectification, otherwise it would be considered illegal construction.

This was undoubtedly a huge blow to the new plant. Once halted, it might never resume, turning into a nightmare for Blue Moon.

Zhang Dafu immediately called Lin Fan.

Lin Fan frowned and said, "Our construction site has safety hazards? Since when?"

Zhang Dafu said, "Someone did come for an inspection yesterday. I didn’t think it was a big deal, so I didn’t report it to you. After all, our site is very compliant and unafraid of checks. Who knew today would suddenly..."

Lin Fan said, "Do you guarantee there’s no problem with our site?"

Zhang Dafu said, "I dare to bet my life on it, boss. You have to trust me. Boss, I suspect we’re being targeted. What should we do now?"

Lin Fan’s gaze turned cold. He said, "I understand. Then let’s temporarily halt construction and cooperate with their requirements for rectification."

He hung up the phone.

Lin Fan coldly chuckled in his heart. He trusted Zhang Dafu; Zhang Dafu was more anxious about Blue Moon than he was, and would never do anything to harm the company.

The sudden notification to halt construction was quite suspicious.

Lin Fan had already thought of a person.

It was very likely that this guy was behind the scenes causing trouble.

As for Jia Zuozhen, Lin Fan really couldn’t do anything about him at the moment, after all, he had both wealth and power, while Lin Fan only had wealth, which was still not enough.

It seemed that having money wasn’t enough; some connections were also needed. Lin Fan began to ponder.

At this moment, a call came in. It was Liu Bing’er calling.

"Brother Lin, you’re coming to my grandfather’s birthday banquet tonight, right?" Liu Bing’er asked, seemingly wanting to confirm with Lin Fan.

Lin Fan laughed and said, "Yes, I was just planning to buy a birthday gift for the old gentleman. Your call came just in time; give me some advice. I really don’t know what to buy."

Liu Bing’er chuckled and said, "No need, Brother Lin, just your presence is enough. Grandpa was just talking about you, saying he hopes to see you tonight."

Lin Fan said, "How can I go empty-handed, that would be too rude."

Liu Bing’er thought for a while and said, "Then Brother Lin, you decide for yourself. Just buy a simple little gift; don’t spend too much, Grandpa doesn’t like overly expensive things."

Lin Fan said, "Okay, I understand."

Liu Bing’er laughed and said, "Then see you tonight."

At this moment, Lin Fan spotted a sign not far away with the three characters: Antique Street.

Lin Fan was delighted; for gifting an elder, antiques seemed the most suitable.

Lin Fan smiled and said, "See you tonight."

He hung up the phone and drove towards Antique Street...

This Antique Street was quite large, with various stalls displaying all kinds of antique items, paintings, vases, carvings...

They looked quite authentic.

However, Lin Fan had heard that most of the antiques seen on the street were fakes, with genuine ones being rarely seen.

If the gift for Elder Liu turned out to be a fake, wouldn’t that be insincere? Lin Fan also cared about his reputation.

"Handsome guy, see anything you like?"

At that moment, an uncle from a stall greeted Lin Fan.

Antique Street was bustling with people, most stalls had customers, but the uncle’s stall was somewhat deserted, probably because its location wasn’t prominent.

The uncle had to actively promote his goods.

Lin Fan, lacking any specific idea, walked over as the uncle greeted him.

The uncle warmly said, "Handsome guy, take a look at what you’d like. We have great stuff here."

Lin Fan glanced over the stall, his eyes landing on a stone. This stone had a warm hue and appeared quite ancient.

"What is this and how much is it?" Lin Fan asked.

The uncle said, "Handsome guy, you have a good eye. This is a top-quality jade stone, priced at one million."

Lin Fan put the stone down.

The uncle quickly said, "If it’s too expensive, feel free to negotiate a price!"

Lin Fan shook his head, "Never mind, it’s not that it’s too expensive, it’s too cheap."

Indeed, a one million gift felt a bit too low to give. Just the other day, he easily bought an entire luxury street for over a billion.

The uncle broke into a cold sweat.

First time meeting someone who finds it cheap. Couldn’t tell this guy in bargain clothes might be rich?

Thinking about it, the uncle was delighted. He loved rich people—they were often foolish with money and easy to deceive. In the antiques business, the main trick was to fleece the wealthy.

If there weren’t so many fools, how else would the antiques business thrive!

The uncle regretted not asking for a higher price. If Lin Fan thought one million was cheap, would asking for ten million still seem cheap to him?

He might have even bought it!

The uncle felt regret, but luckily he still had a chance.

The uncle quickly said, "Handsome guy, you’ve got exquisite taste, I could tell at a glance. A noble person like you should buy antiques befitting your status. By the way, I have a top-quality jade piece here, please hold on."

The uncle started rummaging through his goods.

Lin Fan continued to browse. Suddenly, something caught his attention.

The uncle searched for a moment and took out a wooden box. Upon opening it, a greenish stone, about the size of a fist, lay inside.

The uncle smiled and said, "Handsome guy, how about this jade? It’s the treasure of my booth—ah, I apologize, my stall’s treasure."

Lin Fan looked at it and asked, "How much?"

The uncle held up a single finger, "Fixed price, one million!"

This time, the uncle learned from the previous experience and asked for a higher price.

He realized Lin Fan was a rich man. What do rich people like most? Correct, face. So rich people dislike cheap things. The more expensive, the more they like it.

When rich people buy antiques, they aren’t buying the item itself; they’re buying the price. The more expensive it is, the prouder they feel.

So, even if this jade was worth only one million, asking for a hundred million wouldn’t be wrong. Maybe a foolish wealthy sucker would buy it, feeling extremely proud himself.

The uncle had been in the antique business for years and considered himself skilled in understanding the psyche of wealthy people. He only quoted one million initially because Lin Fan’s attire tricked him into thinking he was poor.

Once he knew Lin Fan was rich, the scheming naturally began.

Lin Fan, maintaining a calm expression, pointed to a nearby pile of jade bracelets, "How about these jade bracelets?"

The uncle said, "These are affordable items, 100 each, not suitable for someone of your status. Still, take a look at this jade piece."

Indeed, those jade bracelets were mass-produced fakes apparent even to fools, the uncle didn’t even bother trying to trick Lin Fan with them.

However, Lin Fan picked one from the pile and said, "I’ll take this one."

Then, Lin Fan pulled out a hundred-dollar bill and handed it to the uncle.

The uncle was a bit bewildered: wasn’t Lin Fan just saying things were too cheap, yet he bought a bracelet for only 100?

Having bought the bracelet, Lin Fan stood up, patted himself off, and prepared to leave.

"Handsome guy, about the jade..." the uncle said, unwilling to give up.

Lin Fan chuckled, "This so-called jade for one million is the same type as that one from just before for one million; it’s just been doctored. Uncle, you might have been scammed."

With that, Lin Fan shook his head and turned to leave.

Leaving the uncle in shock, damn, had he met an expert in treasure appraisal?

In truth, Lin Fan had top insight, and he simply saw through the uncle’s tricks, avoiding the con.

He was wealthy, but the uncle assumed he was foolish with money, wanting to scam his cash—it was wishful thinking.

As for that mere 100-yuan jade bracelet, it indeed was interesting...