abcnovels
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Chapter 58
Douglas had no intention to do such a thing, but Lily was overpowering his decision and he had no choice but to compromise to her shenanigans.
However, the attendees were not surprised at all. When she announced how much each gift was worth, they could judge how well or bad their old classmates were doing after graduation. After all, comparison and jealousy were human nature.
Then, Lily started the announcement.
“Thank you, Jack Brown, for your one thousand dollars!”
“Thank you, Bella Walsh, for the pair of gold ingots!”
“Thank you, Ola Rivers, for the beautiful vase!”
“Thank you, Clinton Tucker, for your ten thousand dollars!”
The first few gifts, whether money or physical items, were mostly worth around one thousand dollars. Suddenly, when it came to Clinton, his ten thousand dollar monetary gift sent a shock wave across the restaurant.
Ten thousand dollars was a big amount for the opening ceremony!
Many people looked at Clinton with amazement and praised his generosity.
Clinton had a layer of smugness on his face. It seemed that he had easily become the icon of admiration among his old classmates.
Then, Lily continued, “Thank you, Charlie and Claire, for the old painting!”
Sinister laughter echoed across the main hall upon her announcement!
Old painting? Was it even worth a hundred dollars?
Those two were a little too stingy, weren’t they? Douglas had prepared such a lavish banquet for the opening ceremony as well as the class reunion that cost a few hundred dollars per person, how dare they come with an old painting? How could they be so shameless?
Clinton started sneering. “Charlie, you can afford a BMW 520 and its modification, why are you giving such a tattered thing on your old pal’s opening day?”
Charlie smiled faintly. “You don’t even know its origin, why do you say it is tattered?”
“Don’t think I don’t know what you’re thinking about. You’ve bought the fake and nasty stuff to pass off as good stuff so we can’t figure out how much it costs!”
Then, he continued in an interrogative tone, “Honestly, how much did that old painting cost you? One hundred? Or eighty dollars?”
The faint smile remained on Charlie’s face. “The painting is more valuable than the total amount of all the gifts today!”
“Hahahaha!” Clinton laughed wickedly. “Did you rehearse the bragging part before you came here? I gave them ten thousand dollars and we have about twenty-something classmates here. If each of them has given Douglas one thousand dollars, it would add up to twenty-something thousand dollars. Do you mean to say that the painting is worth more than thirty thousand?”
“More than that.”
“Hahaha!”
Suddenly, thunderous laughter amplified inside the restaurant.
All of them thought that Charlie was too ignorant and pompous!
How dare he boast about the price of that and what’s more, in front of everyone? An ancient painting that was worth tens of thousands of dollars? Was he trying to fool them all?
Lily, who was standing on the stage, was annoyed and agitated by Charlie’s reaction. She curiously asked, “Mr. Charlie, I wonder whose painting you’ve given us that is so worthy?”
Charlie answered in a monotonous voice, “A painter from the Dutch Golden Age, not very famous.”
Lily chuckled and said, “Oh, what a coincidence. My father is a renowned cultural relic appraiser, his name is Lawson Lewis, who knows his antique very well. I believe you have heard of his name before.”
Loreen exclaimed in surprise, “Lawson Lewis? The Lawson Lewis, the antique expert? I remember him, I saw him on TV! He’s your father?”
Lily smiled. “Yes, he is my father. He’s upstairs right now. Why don’t I ask him to come down and appraise this ancient painting that Charlie has given us?”
Clinton stood up and uttered loudly, “Yes, please! Lily, please invite your father down and get him to help us identify the painting. If the value of that painting really exceeds the amount of all the gifts today, I, Clinton Tucker, will eat this table right away!”