In early 2000, if there were still trains, the fastest trip from Shanghai to Ningdu would take more than three hours. When the three of them arrived at Ningdu, it was almost twelve o'clock. Because they were worried about Dong Dechang, they went straight to Ningdu without even bothering to eat.
Dong Dechang's home, but Dong Dechang was not at home. The three of them put down their gifts and went to the Ningdu pawn shop, only to find that the door of the pawn shop was locked and there was a sign hanging on the door that read: Interior decoration.
Something happened. This was Yu Fei's first thought. You must know that reputation is very important for a pawn shop. It is easy to lose the trust of customers if it closes down like this.
Dong Dechang's first and second apprentices were both out of town, and only Wenxuan was in Ningdu. But when Dong Ziyun called Wenxuan again, she still couldn't get through to this bastard.
Don't worry, I'll ask Brother Qi. Their store is not far from the pawn shop, maybe he knows something. Yu Fei has forgotten to call Qi Yue from the moment he got off the plane.
The phone rang twice and was connected.
Yu Fei, your call has finally been connected. Before Yu Fei could speak, Qi Yue spoke first.
What's wrong, Brother Qi, has something happened? Yu Fei's heart skipped a beat. Qi Yue is a very steady person, and what makes him so anxious and angry must be that something big has happened.
I've called you several times but can't get through. Let's not talk about this for now. Is Ms. Dong with you? You should come to the Provincial People's Hospital first. Many things can't be explained clearly on the phone, and Qi Yue didn't elaborate.
Said. But Dong Ziyun was mentioned. Obviously this matter must be related to Dong Dechang.
Yu Fei and Leng Yufei looked at each other and saw the worry in each other's eyes.
When the three of them rushed to the People's Hospital, Qi Yue was already waiting in front of the door. As expected, it was Dong Dechang who was hospitalized. On the way to the ward, Qi Yue briefly introduced the whole story to Yu Fei.
What happened was that when Yu Fei and others left Lhasa for the Mount Everest base camp, because the signal was too weak, the phone could not get through, so Qi Yue was unable to contact Yu Fei in time.
A few months ago, a Hengxing Pawn Shop opened a few hundred meters away from the Ningdu Pawn Shop. The owner is a middle-aged man named Han, but it is said that he has a Japanese background. Because the relationship between China and Japan has been good and bad.
Badly, in order not to be affected by the relationship between the two countries, many Japanese investors choose this method of backdooring to invest in China.
The predecessor of the pawn shop was the pawn shop, which sprouted in the Han Dynasty, emerged in the Southern and Northern Dynasties, and reached its peak in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. At the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Republic of China, due to frequent changes in political power, social unrest, severe warlord separatism, and the intervention of foreign financial institutions, pawnshops
Pawn shops gradually declined. In the early days of the founding of the People's Republic of China, pawn shops were gradually transformed into small-amount pledged loan offices under the leadership of the People's Bank of China, and pawn shops were completely banned as a loan sharking and exploitation industry. Until the late 1980s, due to the reform of the economic system, pawn shops disappeared
It took more than thirty years for pawn shops to begin to recover.
By the late 1990s, pawn shops were developing rapidly in economically developed coastal areas, so the establishment of Hengxing Pawn Shop did not attract Uncle Dong's attention. On the day Hengxing opened, Ningdu Pawn Shop even sent a flower basket to congratulate it.
The establishment of Hengxing did not seem to affect the business of Ningdu Pawn Shop. On the contrary, in the period after the establishment of Hengxing, the business of Ningdu Pawn Shop became better. The number of people who came to pawn was 20% more than before, and
Most of the items pawned were valuable jewelry and antiques, and the period was particularly short.
Just when Dong Dechang thought Hengxing would not pose much of a threat to Ningdu Pawn Shop, something happened
The first to attack was Guanglong Auction House, which cooperated with Ningdu Pawn House. Insiders of the auction house broke the news: Ningdu Pawn House passed the fake ones off as genuine, passed on the losses, and made huge profits. Among them was the Yongxuan blue and white porcelain that Dong Dechang personally authenticated.
The main purpose of cooperation between pawn houses and auction houses is to deal with absolute pawning. The so-called absolute pawning refers to the pawned property that the pawnee neither redeems nor renews when the pawning period or renewal period expires. According to the provisions of the Pawn Management Measures, the pawned property If the estimated amount is more than 30,000 yuan, it can be handled in accordance with the relevant provisions of my country's Guarantee Law, or the pawn house can entrust an auction house to conduct a public auction after the two parties agree in advance. The property shall be returned to the pawnbroker, and the shortfall shall be claimed from the pawnbroker; if the estimated value of the pawned property is less than 30,000 yuan, the pawnbroker may sell it off or discount it at a discount, and shall be responsible for any losses or losses.
Today, as counterfeiting technology becomes increasingly sophisticated, it is inevitable to say that pawn shop appraisers make mistakes in appraisals, but it is impossible to say that Ningdu Pawn House and Guanglong Auction House cooperated to pass off fakes as genuine. Although this is also an unspoken rule in the industry, for some individuals
The counterfeit items received by the pawn shop were auctioned off by the auction house at the price of the genuine item, and the profits were divided between the pawn house and the auction house. What's more, among the items listed as pawns was a Yongxuan blue and white porcelain vase that Dong Dechang personally identified.
As the chief appraiser of a pawn shop, Dong Dechang rarely appraises pawned items in person now. When it comes to the Yongxuan blue and white porcelain vase, Dong Dechang still has an impression. Because the pawned item is particularly valuable, Dong Dechang personally appraised it. The porcelain vase was originally a pair.
, but only one was left, and its value was greatly reduced. Dong Dechang felt regretful for a while. As soon as he bought it, Dong Dechang saw that this Yongxuan blue and white porcelain vase was an item that opened the door, and he felt relieved. What he didn't expect was that,
Now the auction house actually says that this Yongxuan blue and white porcelain vase is fake.
After being widely publicized by the media, one stone stirred up a thousand waves, and Ningdu Pawn Shop was suddenly pushed to the forefront.
It can be said that those who broke the news like Guanglong Auction House have broken the rules, but the auction house stands on the moral high ground and no one can say anything.
Ningdu Pawn Shop flatly denied Guanglong's accusations. Dong Dechang even accepted an interview with the media to accuse this kind of rumor-mongering that ignored the facts. Although there was a tacit understanding between the pawn shop and the auction house, Dong Dechang never did this. First, because he valued
The reputation of the pawn shop; secondly, because of his strength in appraisal. Dong Dechang rarely paid attention to the appraisal of antiques, so there was no need to pass on the losses of the pawn shop through this tacit understanding.
In the face of Dong Dechang's doubts, the auction house actually produced evidence. Among the ten new auction items recently sent to the auction house by the Ningdu Pawn Shop, four of them were confirmed to be fakes by carbon 14 identification.
Xuan blue and white porcelain vase. This not only hit the pawn shop in Ningdu, but even Dong Dechang's authority and character were questioned.
Dong Dechang has been famous in Ningdu's collecting circles for decades, and may lose his fame in one day.
Logically speaking, it is not a big deal to identify and drill holes. No one is a god, and no one can guarantee that there will be no drill holes in his life. However, if he gets a hole drilled in his life, he will not admit that he is unlucky, but will give the loss expert to ordinary collectors. This kind of behavior seems
It's so bad. The loss of millions is nothing to Ningdu Pawn Shop, but what is more serious is the loss of reputation. Even people who have bought things in the pawn area of Ningdu Pawn Shop are looking for professional institutions to check the things they bought.
Carry out testing and identification.
Many people have jumped out and said that they bought fake goods at Ningdu Pawn Shop. Most of these people are speculators. Some people have been clearly told that they are not genuine when they bought things at pawn shops, and now they also say that they have been pawned.
Cheated; some have never even bought anything at Ningdu Pawn Shop, and now they are clamoring about how much loss and harm they have suffered.
Some people even pointed the finger at Dong Dechang, saying that he was using his influence in the collection industry to make profits. This was a very ugly thing to say, and there were all sorts of evil-minded people out there.
Wherever Dong Dechang had gone before, he had not been sought after, but he could not stand this moment. He was so angry that he spurted out a mouthful of blood and was sent to the Provincial People's Hospital.
As a result, the Ningdu pawn shop closed down. Dong Dechang, as the chief appraiser of the pawn shop, was naturally to blame. No one paid attention to him while he was in the hospital. Qi Yue, who heard the news, came to the hospital to take care of Yu Fei because of his relationship.
It would be understandable if the investors of the pawn shop were resentful, but as Uncle Dong's apprentice, Wenxuan didn't even show up, which seemed too unkind.
Everything has been normal up to this point. Although it was the pawn shop that broke the news first, Ningdu Pawn Shop did accept some fakes. No one can blame it.
But what happened next made the whole thing smell like a conspiracy.