Chapter 376: The Scam

As the scroll slowly unfurled, rows of bold characters came into view. The handwriting was elegant and graceful. Although Lin Dong wasn’t very familiar with calligraphy, he could still tell that there was indeed a sense of refinement in it.
Yet… at the center of the painting was a break. Others might not notice it, but Lin Dong could see it clearly with just a glance.
“Shopkeeper Lin, Emperor Hongyun’s handwriting is worthy of the top room in Lin’s Inn, right?” Wang Zaixing stared intently at the back of the painting, as if trying to see Lin Dong’s expression through the thin paper. He was 99% sure that at that moment, Lin Dong’s head must be nodding nonstop like a chick pecking at grains.
Not everyone dared to question Emperor Hongyun’s authority.
Lin Dong simply put the painting down, glanced at the two guards behind Wang Zaixing, and remained silent, seemingly deep in thought.
“Is Shopkeeper Lin worried it might not be an authentic piece? There’s no need to worry. Below it are the authentication seals of master craftsmen from past dynasties. You can also have it appraised by someone else,” Wang Zaixing said casually. “If it is authentic, I wonder if you’d like it?”
“I do!” Lin Dong smiled. “If it’s genuine, why wouldn’t I want it?”
Wang Zaixing felt confident and began tapping his right index finger rhythmically on the table. Behind him, the two guards snapped their fingers—one on each side. An invisible metal thread shot out silently, flew over Wang Zaixing, and wrapped around half of the stone bench beneath Lin Dong without missing. The ends of the thread remained in the hands of the guards.
“Shopkeeper Lin is truly straightforward,” Wang Zaixing said with a smile. “According to our pawnshop’s rules, the highest price for a pawned item is 30% of its original value. For 500,000 taels of silver, the value should be no less than one million taels. If taken to the capital, given the style of this painting, its value could easily exceed two million taels. As long as you agree to a contract ensuring this painting will always hang in the top room, you can take it for 800,000 taels.”
“Not bad. The price is fair. I’ll take it,” Lin Dong nodded.
Wang Zaixing was surprised—Lin Dong’s willingness to agree exceeded his expectations. But this was even better; he had originally planned to haggle down to 600,000 taels. Without hesitation, he said, “Since Shopkeeper Lin is so decisive, why not find someone to appraise it right now?”
Lin Dong nodded and reached out to pick up the scroll again.

As Lin Dong’s hands touched the scroll, Wang Zaixing shuddered, his neck dropping slightly. The next moment, the two guards behind him surged with spiritual energy, suddenly pulling at the thin metal thread. With a snap, the stone bench beneath Lin Dong’s buttocks was cut in two. Lin Dong’s body tilted uncontrollably backward, his right hand reaching out instinctively to brace himself on the ground. Seizing the opportunity, as the painting on Lin Dong’s left hand kept changing position as his body leaned back until it was almost horizontal toward them, the two guards flicked their fingers, shooting pebbles the size of grains of rice at the scroll. In an instant, the two pebbles struck simultaneously, and after a faint thud, the painting split into two pieces. It all happened in the blink of an eye—by the time the painting was broken, Lin Dong’s right hand, stretched downward, hadn’t even touched the ground yet. “Oh my God! Wan Xuepiao, Wan Xuepiao…” As soon as Lin Dong’s right hand hit the ground, Wang Zaixing’s shrill screams, like those of someone mourning a loved one, filled the air. As expected! A cold smirk appeared on Lin Dong’s lips. The vice president of the Lingnan City Chamber of Commerce and one of the giants in the pawnbroking industry personally bringing such a precious painting to sell surely had ulterior motives. Pressing his right arm downward lightly, Lin Dong used the force to bounce back up, tossing the half of the painting from his left hand onto the ground. Wiping the dust off his right hand, he turned to see Wang Zaixing jumping around frantically, tears and snot streaming down his face as if he had encountered some heart-wrenching tragedy. “Oh my God! Wan Xuepiao… it’s broken! It’s really broken!” Wang Zaixing’s frantic movements suddenly stopped, then he closed his eyes and collapsed backward. “Boss!” The two guards stepped forward in time to catch Wang Zaixing as he fell, one slapping his face and the other pressing his philtrum. After a long while, Wang Zaixing slowly regained consciousness. “Wan… Wan Xuepiao…” A look of pain crossed his confused eyes. The next moment, he raised his right arm, palm outstretched toward the sky, as if trying to grasp something. With a gloomy expression, he wept softly, his voice choked, giving the impression that President Wang might faint again at any moment. “President Wang, are you okay?” Lin Dong asked calmly. “How could I be okay? How could I be okay?” Wang Zaixing screamed hysterically, his chest heaving violently, yet inside his heart, a bright flower was blooming endlessly. That foolish storekeeper Lin truly didn’t understand the wickedness of human hearts.

“Shopkeeper Lin, you’re really too careless! This is a painting worth millions—it’s an original by Emperor Hongyun. What a sin, what a sin…”
With the help of two guards, Wang Zaixing’s trembling body finally straightened. His expression, filled with despair and sorrow, froze the moment he saw Lin Dong’s face, and the words on his lips got stuck in his throat, unable to be spoken.
A smile?
Was he stunned? Or trying to deny it?
Wang Zaixing’s expression quickly reverted to despair and sorrow. As a top-level swindler who would spend hundreds of thousands of taels of silver on his schemes, his greatest preparation before acting was to thoroughly study the personality of his target, anticipate possible outcomes, fill in the gaps, and come up with solutions for various situations.
Whether Lin Dong was stunned or trying to deny it, it was already within his expectations, and he had already thought of countermeasures.
If he was stunned, a few kind words would do—telling this Shopkeeper Lin that there were still ways to minimize losses would surely lead to a compromise. If he tried to deny it, the two guards were no pushovers… Wang Zaixing believed this Shopkeeper Lin was definitely not the kind to stubbornly refuse to admit fault even when at a disadvantage. He had drawn this conclusion from Lin Dong’s actions since the opening of Lin’s Inn in Lingnan City.
Kind to others, bold in love and hate—once someone bullied them, they would fight desperately to get revenge. Such a person would surely not deny their mistakes.
Otherwise, given the relationship between Lin’s Inn and the Hua family, Wang Zaixing wouldn’t have considered Lin Dong a target. If he really got involved with the Hua family, though Wang Zaixing wasn’t afraid, he would never deliberately provoke them—not for hundreds of thousands of taels of silver!
He believed that even if Lin Dong’s smile meant he wanted to deny it, it was just a momentary impulse, a human instinct. Once he sobered up, he would surely choose to take responsibility.
Watching Wang Zaixing still acting, Lin Dong’s smile grew even gentler. Initially, he had been thinking about how much effort it would take to convince this influential President Wang to spare time to help design and decorate Lin’s Inn while managing both the pawnshop and the merchant association.
Now… there was basically no need to think about it. This President Wang had offered a highly feasible option with little cost at all.
“Shopkeeper Lin, how could you be so careless!” Wang Zaixing lamented bitterly. He broke free from the two guards, staggered over to the broken stone bench, and with trembling hands, picked up the broken painting, placing it carefully on the table.
Tears streamed down his face again, uncontrollably.

At the entrance of the inn, Ma Chun stepped in quickly. Seeing the situation, he was stunned and couldn’t figure out what had happened.
“Owner, President Wang, what’s going on?”
“Manager Ma!” Wang Zaixing looked at Ma Chun with tears streaming down his face. After hesitating for a moment, he let out a deep sigh, and silent tears flowed once again.
Ma Chun had spent several years in the streets and was quite experienced and ruthless. But since becoming the manager of Lin’s Inn, his abilities had improved dramatically, his aggressive nature had subsided, and his heart had become much softer. Therefore, seeing Wang Zaixing in such a pitiful state, his heart ached. “President Wang, what exactly happened?”
“Manager Ma, your owner… sigh…” With another deep sigh, Wang Zaixing finally explained the whole situation to Ma Chun in detail.
Ma Chun frowned slightly and glanced at Lin Dong. Seeing the faint smile on his face, something stirred in his heart.
All pity gone, Ma Chun looked at Wang Zaixing again and smiled back, his heart now completely clear. With the owner’s abilities, he couldn’t even protect a painting—what a ridiculous joke in the world. Even if such an impossible thing really happened, the owner would never adopt such an indifferent attitude. Not to mention 800,000 taels of silver—even 8 million taels, he would find a way to raise it.
Seeing that Ma Chun had the same expression as Lin Dong, Wang Zaixing felt a chill. It was understandable if only one of them acted that way, but both acting the same way was eerily strange.
“Owner Lin, the painting is already broken. Even if it’s glued back together, its value will probably be halved, or even less.” According to the original plan, they should have continued acting for a while until Lin Dong calmed down completely and firmly believed in his own heartache before taking action. Now, with a chill running down his back, Wang Zaixing didn’t want to delay any longer. With tears in his eyes, he said, “It was Owner Lin who made the mistake. Whether it’s paying compensation or buying it at the previously agreed price, Owner Lin will have to give me an explanation.”
Wang Zaixing stopped acting and wanted to assess how well his performance had been scored. Naturally, it wasn’t over yet. Lin Dong waved his hand and said, “Ma Chun, go call Young Master Hua over.”
“Young Master Hua?” Ma Chun was startled, then suddenly understood. After nodding, he ran toward the kitchen.
Wang Zaixing’s heart skipped a beat. He shouted sharply, “Owner Lin, what are you trying to do?”
“Nothing. You brought a broken painting to Lin’s Inn to cheat us out of money, thinking that Lin’s Inn lacks proper maintenance!” Lin Dong said casually. “You should have checked first the relationship between Lin’s Inn and the Hua family.”

“Do you think you can avoid responsibility just because of your relationship with the Hua family?” Wang Zaixing was shocked. Had he misjudged this Manager Lin’s character?
Lin Dong sat down casually on the intact stone bench and said calmly, “Without any evidence, you accuse me of damaging the paintings, while I accuse you of setting a trap to steal money! Let’s just settle it by force—whichever side is stronger will have the last word. If you can defeat Young Master Hua, I won’t take the paintings. I’ll pay you 800,000 taels of silver, not a penny less. If you can’t, don’t blame me for forcing you to pay 800,000 taels as compensation for false accusations.”
“Manager Lin, you won’t go back on your word, will you?”
Wang Zaixing suddenly laughed, a laugh that was extremely arrogant and presumptuous. This laugh didn’t match his age or his reputation as a gentle-looking man. The two guards beside him, who had remained expressionless throughout, also started to sneer.