40: Today's intelligence update!

Chen Kai impatiently waved his hand, picked up the disc he had just thrown back from the small stall, and asked, 'How much for all three of these?'

'The two small ones are fifty each. This black disc is so big, a hundred isn't too much, right? This Old Man has to make a living too.'

Chen Kai sneered disdainfully, 'Then forget it. Trying to fleece me like a sheep?'

'Hey?! No, no, no! The price isn't set in stone! Name your price, and I'll see if it works.'

'Fifty for all three discs. Take it or leave it.'

'Fine, sold! I haven't made a sale yet today, so consider this my opening deal—selling at a loss to you.'

The Old Man put on a pained expression and reluctantly waved his hand.

Inside, he was already chuckling to himself. He had bought a big bag for five bucks and was now selling three discs for fifty.

He would have accepted thirty for these three. The cost was only ten to twenty cents per disc—a hundredfold profit in one go.

Chen Kai was taken aback and pulled out a green fifty-yuan bill from his pocket.

Well! Clearly, he had overpriced it and paid too much.

Even if he had offered twenty or thirty, the Old Man would have sold it. The haggling back and forth was just part of the game. He didn't care about the extra twenty or thirty, but he was more afraid of drawing attention to that Jay Chou vinyl record.

It was too conspicuous. Flipping it could still net over ten thousand, so he didn't bother haggling over a few dozen bucks.

'Deal!'

The Old Man held the green bill under a flashlight to check it, confirmed it was genuine, and pocketed the money with a smile. 'Come back next time you need anything. This Old Man only sells genuine, quality goods!'

Chen Kai nodded perfunctorily, cradled the vinyl record, and walked around in a circle.

At a spot where the Old Man couldn't see him, he crossed the street and arrived in front of Yunshang Pavilion.

Even though the transaction was settled, it was better to avoid trouble. Staying low-key and taking a detour was always the safer option.

He pushed the door open and entered Yunshang Pavilion, finding Zheng Liu Chang fiddling with a phone stand, even going so far as to set up a professional fill light.

'Wow, so professional.'

Chen Kai teased with a laugh. This kid was really taking this livestreaming thing seriously.

'Of course! Don't even mention it—last night alone, I gained twenty-five hundred followers and made three hundred bucks. Pretty awesome, right?'

Zheng Liu Chang sidled up with a cheeky grin, then suddenly noticed the disc in Chen Kai's hand and scratched his head in confusion.

'You bought that from the stall across the street? Didn't I tell you? That place is a minefield. You didn't get ripped off too badly, did you?'

'If you did, I'll take you to that Old Man right now. None of the stall owners on this street are good people—from eighty-year-old grandpas and grandmas down to five-year-old rascals. Even a dog passing by would get scammed.'

'Truly punching the nursing home in the south and kicking the kindergarten in the north. When I first started working at Yunshang Pavilion, that Old Man across the street scammed me out of two hundred bucks.'

Zheng Liu Chang spoke with shame, looking indignant and clenching his fist like a sandbag.

'Alright, alright, sit down first. Let me show you something. Are you interested?'

Chen Kai patted his shoulder, walked two steps mysteriously, and sat down at the table.

Zheng Liu Chang followed him, completely baffled. 'Brother, you didn't actually Score a Bargain at that stall, did you?'

'If you can Score a Bargain on this street, I think you should switch careers and get into antiques. Finding a bargain in the hands of these sharp operators is as hard as me sending Qin Shi Huang fifty bucks and actually not getting scammed.'

Zheng Liu Chang sat down at the table, half-convinced and half-skeptical, watching as Chen Kai mysteriously pulled a black vinyl record from the plastic bag he was carrying.

'What's this?'

Chen Kai smiled mysteriously and placed the vinyl record on the turntable.

'I think I've Scored a Bargain. Jay Chou's 'fantasy' album on vinyl, 98% new. Are you interested?'

'What? Really? It's not a bootleg, is it? Let me see.'

Zheng Liu Chang picked up the vinyl record from the turntable, half-convinced and half-skeptical, examining it from all angles.

He didn't really believe there were any bargains to be found at the stalls across the street. Those Old Men sold low-quality goods at high prices, scamming one person at a time, with no returns or refunds.

Even if they got their hands on something good, they'd keep it for themselves or sell it to other antique shops. They'd never sell it at their own stalls.

He examined the record from top to bottom and found nothing wrong with it! All the signs pointed to it being genuine.

Even the anti-counterfeit label on Jay Chou's record was there.

'Holy shit! Brother, your luck is insane! You actually found a genuine item among all the fakes at that stall across the street? How much did you pay for it?'

'Vinyl record prices aren't as high as they used to be. He didn't sell it to you at a premium, did he?'

Chen Kai flashed an enigmatic smile, calmly raised a hand, spread his five fingers, and made a 'five' gesture.

Zheng Liu Chang hesitated for two seconds after seeing the gesture, then sighed.

'How much? Fifty thousand? Then you got totally ripped off. Vinyl record prices have plummeted. A year ago, it might have actually sold for fifty thousand.'

'But if that shabby stall actually had something genuine, that's already aconscience. Good eye, I guess. Losing some money is fine—at least it's not a fake.'

'I can take it off your hands for thirteen thousand. A loss of over thirty thousand, but it's okay. No one can guarantee they'll always make money from bargains.'

Zheng Liu Chang kept comforting him, planning to take out his phone to transfer the money and console Chen Kai.

'I didn't pay fifty thousand for it. I paid fifty.'

Chen Kai chuckled, showing a slightly smug expression.

'Fifty? Yuan?'

'What else? Did you think I meant fifty thousand?'

'Holy shit! Brother! You actually Scored a Bargain from that Old Man? That's insane!'

'Fifty bucks is a steal! A clean profit of thirteen thousand!'

Zheng Liu Chang immediately jumped up excitedly from his chair, staring at him in disbelief.

Even he, a professional, had lost two hundred there, but Chen Kai had actually scored a huge bargain.

Chen Kai grinned, opened his phone, and received the thirteen thousand transfer.

Another ten thousand plus in hand. Now he had nearly thirty thousand in liquid funds. Once he made money from the Stocks next Tuesday, he'd be soaring.

'Brother, this isn't just luck, is it? When did you become so sharp-eyed?'

'How about... you go to the jade exhibition for our boss? I'll ask the boss for an extra ticket. I can't tell good jade from bad, but you probably can, right?'

Zheng Liu Chang spoke as if questioning his own existence.

Once might be luck, but twice or three times was definitely not just luck.

Chen Kai quickly shook his head. 'No, jade is out of my league. I don't have the eye for it.'

'Alright... Well, I'm going to start my livestream now. I won't keep you.'

Zheng Liu Chang quickly checked the time. If he didn't start streaming soon, he'd miss the Appraisal segment and jump straight into the leg-appreciation segment.

'Alright, I'm off.'

Chen Kai waved his hand, casually tossed the other two discs from the bag into the trash, walked out of the shop, and hopped onto his little electric donkey.

By the time he got home, it was already past eleven o'clock.

After washing up, the time struck exactly midnight.

[Ding!]

[Today's Intelligence Refresh!]