58: Chapter 57 A Birthday Gift Worth 500 Yuan
[Antique market where the counterfeit rate hits 95%; probability of outsiders getting scammed: 100%]
[Probability of an expert with the ability to distinguish real from fake finding a bargain: 70%; probability of finding a bargain when able to read hidden intelligence: 100%]
Lin Feng lit a cigarette, secretly delighted.
He had been worrying about not having a suitable birthday gift, and just happened to pass by Antique Street when he saw this intelligence.
Xu Luo and Liu Yan did not know what Lin Feng intended to do.
"Are you going to the banquet venue yourselves, or are you waiting for me to take you there?"
"Lin Feng, why did you come to the antique market?"
Xu Luo looked completely puzzled; this place was just a black-hearted market designed to scam tourists.
"Picking out a congratulatory gift; I can't go empty-handed, can I?"
"Lin Feng, you're crazy. Wang Jun's grandfather was the founder of Wansheng Real Estate back in the day; his connections and prestige are very high."
"So what? When I come to buy a gift, I certainly have to base it on my own financial strength."
Yanyan pulled Xu Luo and said excitedly, "Lin Feng must have his reasons for doing this. What if he understands antiques?"
"Yanyan, when did you start taking his side?"
Liu Yan blushed and defended herself, "I'm just speaking based on the facts. Besides, Lin Feng is my client. I have no choice; I still want him to throw me some business."
"You brat, you haven't fallen for him, have you?"
"Stop, stop, stop. You two grandmothers, that's enough. I only have one hour. If you want to go, go ahead."
This constitution that attracts bees and butterflies is just too heaven-defying.
These days, some die of drought while others drown in excess.
"Luoluo, this guy is not bad. If you don't put in the effort, I won't be polite."
"Hey, you dead girl, he has other women."
"I don't care..."
...
Lin Feng felt his legs go a bit soft. It looked like he really needed to get a gym membership and start training another day.
Otherwise, the little blue pill would have to be arranged sooner or later.
There was a large antique market in Shen City, and this street was more like a tourist attraction.
An old street in the antique style, with various antique shops located on both sides of the street.
The 200-meter-long old street had about 30 shops, all of which dealt in antiques and collectibles.
"Sir, picking out a gift for your girlfriend? Everything here is authentic old items; feel free to look around."
"A 20-year-old established brand, all are genuine products. Sir, would you like to come into the shop and take a look?"
"A family business, honest and fair, becoming rich overnight is not a dream."
"Sir, what kind of items do you need? You can come in and take a look."
Business on this street was very desolate; seeing Lin Feng was like hungry wolves seeing meat.
[Top-tier unscrupulous merchant, counterfeit rate of items in the shop: 100%]
[Black-hearted merchant, counterfeit rate: 100%]
[Unscrupulous merchant, counterfeit rate: 100%. If you touch an item and don't buy it, some thugs will intervene to have a chat with you about life.]
[100% of the counterfeits come from handicraft factories, less than a week out of the factory, profit margin 10000%]
[The boss's nickname is Chen the Skin-Flayer; the rate of genuine items in the shop: 0]
After ten minutes or so, Lin Feng walked to the end of the old street and found that all the shops were black-hearted merchants who would eat you without spitting out the bones.
This was also why Lin Feng hadn't come to the antique market to find bargains after his rebirth.
Just having a Golden Finger wasn't enough; you needed to have real goods to find a bargain.
Liu Yan and Xu Luo followed behind Lin Feng, very quietly, surprisingly not opening their mouths to urge him.
At this moment, at the end of the street, there was a very small shop without a sign, and the interior was only about 10 square meters.
The boss was leaning on a reclining chair, closing his eyes to rest.
The door was piled high with all kinds of bottles and jars.
Suddenly, Lin Feng saw a gourd-shaped object lying in the corner, pitch black and very inconspicuous.
[Qing Yongzheng Official Kiln Famille Rose Gourd Vase. Surface defect 1: The entire body is covered in black-grey patina. The black patina from smoke and soil has covered almost half of the patterns; the stall owner thought it was dirty goods, couldn't be bothered to clean it, and tossed it in the corner of the stall.]
[Surface defect 2: A "crack" at the bottom. There is a dark line about 3cm long near the foot; the stall owner concluded it was "damaged" and believed it had no collection value—but the protagonist's system prompt: that was just a kiln ash indentation from when it entered the kiln, not a crack, and it could be wiped clean with clear water.]
[The stall owner is a layman who deals in furniture. This batch of items was miscellaneous goods collected in bulk from an old house being demolished. He doesn't understand Famille Rose at all and only thinks, "Small bottle, cracked, worthless."]
[Stall owner's ideal price: 500. Real value: 1.5-2 million.]
A series of intelligence reports made Lin Feng's heart beat faster. Perhaps this was the only genuine item left in the market, discovered by him.
"What is this guy doing?"
"How would I know? Don't make noise, don't disturb him."
Xu Luo glanced at Liu Yan, and a trace of crisis appeared in her eyes.
Based on her understanding of her best friend, she definitely had a strong interest in Lin Feng.
"Boss, how much for this gourd?"
"Gourd? 1000. It's from the Ming Dynasty."
"Ming Dynasty stuff, and you're selling it for 1000? Wouldn't you lose a fortune?"
"I do business just to pass the time and relieve boredom; I'm not short on money."
Lin Feng showed disdain, shook his head, and said, "It's pitch black, 1000 is too expensive."
He stood up and pretended to leave, and the boss jumped up from the reclining chair as if he had been injected with chicken blood.
"Sir, please stay. I think we hit it off well. How about 800?"
"500. If you sell, you sell; if not, forget it."
"Wait, I'll sell, I'll sell."
The boss was overjoyed. This street was notoriously black-hearted, and no customers came anymore.
It was hard to come by such a sucker; 500 was pure profit.
"Help me find a better-looking bag; I'm giving it as a birthday gift to an elder."
"Alrighty..."
Five minutes later, Lin Feng counted out 500 yuan in cash and handed it to the boss, then left the street with the gift bag.
At the entrance of the old street, Lin Feng planned to hail a taxi to the hotel.
Riding the little donkey with two beauties was too conspicuous.
Not every rich second-generation kid was a normal person like Wang Jun; what if he ran into some of Xu Luo or Liu Yan's admirers?
And if they just happened to be the silly sons of landlords, that would purely be asking for trouble.
"Lin Feng, not riding the little donkey anymore?"
"You two beautiful women, it's not appropriate to ride the little donkey."
"Lin Feng, you wouldn't be afraid of being too flashy and getting into trouble, would you?"
"Luoluo, saying that about Lin Feng is too disheartening. I think he's just being chivalrous."
"Yanyan, you..."
Xu Luo was speechless; how was this still a best friend? It was practically a plastic sisterhood.
"Luoluo, don't be angry, I'm just joking. But Lin Feng, are you really going to take a 500-yuan bottle to give as a gift?"
Xu Luo came back to her senses, her expression suddenly becoming tense.
"Although Wang Jun isn't a playboy and his personality is okay, if you take this thing to give as a gift, isn't it too rash?"
"It's fine, it's the thought that counts."
...
A taxi stopped in front of the three of them, and Lin Feng sat in the passenger seat.
The two of them got into the back seat.
"Driver, go to the InterContinental Hotel."
The driver was about 40 years old. Upon hearing this, he glanced at Lin Feng, then looked in the rearview mirror and sighed, "Young man, you're in good shape, but you still need to exercise restraint."