redd animal crossing doesnt even know if the art hes selling you is fake he literally just gets it from god knows where and is like “this looks sick” and then puts it on his boat
he doesn’t know what it’s called either. he’ll be like “check out this Proper Painting. This Fat Nuts Statue” and Blathers takes one look at it to tell you “that’s Michelangelo’s David. where did you get this”
He didn’t just allow the peasants to steal from it, he deliberately hired guards to protect the field, making it seem valuable and ordered them to be lax in their patrols, so the valuable crop seemed like easy pickings, and even ordered them to accept all bribes and let the peasants go should the guards accidentally catch someone in the act of stealing the potatoes.
He want out of his way to make the damn things seem like the most valuable, but easiest thing to get hold of, in the world.