112: Chapter 112 Chickens Fighting Each Other

In this world, career-oriented women are a minority after all. Most prefer to call up a few besties, go on a shopping spree, and then have afternoon tea. Who wouldn't want to be a quiet, beautiful woman?

At least, An Xiaonuan did.

But at the thought that if she were like that, the burden of a family... no, as only children, it should be said the burden of three small families and one big family would all fall on Chen Sheng's shoulders.

That was something she was unwilling to let happen.

Pulling her drifting thoughts back, An Xiaonuan said seemingly casually, "Talk to me again once you've earned a million."

With a million, they could establish a warm little home in a place like Shu City and leave an education fund for their soon-to-be-born child.

By then, with a car, a house, and both of them working, a simple life of three meals a day would be happiness.

On the other side, after receiving An Xiaonuan's seemingly promising answer, Chen Sheng just muttered to himself, repeating, "A million!"

This wish didn't seem so far away.

After dropping An Xiaonuan off at her office building and watching her run inside, Chen Sheng opened his system panel.

host: Chen Sheng

Level: 1

Level-up EXP: 72/100

Unread Intelligence: 3

Following his usual routine, he rubbed his hands together until they were hot before tapping on the unread intelligence with his finger.

[Today's Intelligence 1: Yesterday, the resident of Unit 3, Building 23, Apartment 1010 in Jingyang District, Deyang City, received smokeless coal sent from their hometown. Hidden within this coal is an unnoticed piece of blood amber, with a market price of 30,000 to 50,000 yuan.]

[Note: This intelligence is valid until 12:13 on the 7th. It will automatically expire after that time.]

blood amber?

What on earth is that?

Encountering a blind spot in his knowledge, Chen Sheng instinctively pulled out his phone, opened the browser, and decisively typed in the words "blood amber."

After some searching, Chen Sheng came to a sudden realization. It turned out that blood amber is a category of amber, named for its red or brownish-red color.

Due to its rarity, its value per gram far exceeds that of gold.

The open-pit coal mines in Fushun, Northeast China, are one of the important production areas for this precious gemstone.

As for why coal from the Northeast would appear in the western city of Deyang, near Shu City, Chen Sheng, being a local of Deyang, understood why.

This involved the Third Front Construction back in the day. At that time, a large group of older worker brothers from the Northeast came to Deyang from thousands of miles away with their dreams. They took root in Deyang and helped establish heavy industry groups that are now famous nationwide and even worldwide.

Although these older worker brothers settled in Deyang, who didn't have a few distant relatives?

Of course, this was all Chen Sheng's personal speculation. He would have to go and investigate on-site to know the specifics.

Moving his gaze down, he continued to read the second piece of intelligence.

[Daily Intelligence 2: Today, at a stall in front of Babao Pavilion in the Songxianqiao Antique Market, there is a zhong kui marrying off his sister huabiao with the Five Toxics on the back, a charm coin, with a market price of 50,000 to 80,000 yuan.]

[Note: This intelligence is valid until 10:38 on the 4th. It will automatically expire after that time.]

What 'Zhong Kui marrying off his sister, Five Toxics on the back' charm coin?

What kind of things are these?

As the saying goes, when in doubt, ask Baidu. Once again hitting a blind spot, Chen Sheng didn't hesitate to pick up his phone and open the browser.

After a search, Chen Sheng could only say his brain had been forcibly stuffed with some strange knowledge.

But...

"This thing can actually be called money?" Looking at the overly abstract object in the photo, Chen Sheng fell into deep self-doubt. "Sure enough! The antique industry really isn't for ordinary people."

His eyes quickly moved down, locking onto today's final piece of intelligence.

[Today's Intelligence 3: At 8 PM tonight, in the night market street near the University of Technology on Erxian Bridge Road and Shanban Bridge Road, among a stall selling second-hand CDs, an early signed album by Jay Chou was misplaced inside a copy of hoh xil. This signed album currently has a market reference price of 5,000 to 20,000 yuan.]

[Note 1: This intelligence is temporarily valid for one month.]

"What?" Seeing the one-month validity, Chen Sheng's brain went into a freeze.

Recovering after a while, Chen Sheng couldn't help but complain, "What year is it? Still selling CDs? If you don't lose money, who will?"

He probably understood the key point. Nowadays, ordinary people rarely even use USB drives. They use apps to listen to music directly. Who would still use things like VCDs and DVDs, which young people today consider ancient artifacts?

Closing the system panel, Chen Sheng checked the time and quickly entered 'Songxianqiao Antique Market' into the navigation. Following the GPS, he floored it and drove straight to the market.

After parking, Chen Sheng jogged into the Songxianqiao Antique Market. It was out of necessity—who told An Xiaonuan to sleep in this morning?

Following the navigation to the entrance of Babao Pavilion... no, it should be said that from afar, Chen Sheng noticed several people gathered around the stall in front of Babao Pavilion. Among them was an elderly man wearing a wine-red Tang suit who looked quite imposing, repeatedly examining an item.

One look and you could tell this old man was no ordinary person.

To make matters worse, as Chen Sheng approached, he discovered that what the old man was holding was exactly the 'Zhong Kui marrying off his sister' charm coin mentioned in the intelligence.

Don't ask how he knew.

The answer was that the strange shape of the charm coin in the old man's hand was not just similar to the pictures he found online—it was identical.

"It's over!" Chen Sheng groaned inwardly. Despite his rush, he was still a step too late.

The old man held the charm coin and examined it for a good while before speaking to the stall owner, "Boss Qi, what's the word on this?"

The stall owner glanced at the coin in the old man's hand and said slowly, "This is an obvious Qing Dynasty antique, a waist plaque worn by generals. I went through a lot of trouble to acquire this. Since you're a regular customer, I'll give it to you for this much."

The stall owner held up two fingers to the old man.

"Two hundred?" the old man offered.

The stall owner curled his lip in annoyance. "What are you thinking? I paid more than two hundred just to get it. If you want it, take it for two thousand."

"Boss Qi, you said yourself I'm a regular. You're charging me two thousand for this?" With a look of displeasure, the old man tossed the charm coin back onto the stall, clapped his hands, and stood up. "Look at the pattern on this yourself. I've never seen any general from any dynasty in the books wearing something like this."

"Qing Dynasty? If you'd said Zhou Dynasty—as in made last week—that would be more like it."

"I just thought the pattern was weird and wanted to take it back to study. I'll take it for two hundred."

"What?" Seeing his treasure belittled as worthless, the stall owner was instantly displeased. "Take out your magnifying glass and look closely. This color, this patina—and you're telling me it's from last week? Are you kidding me!"

"Two thousand, take it or leave it. There will always be someone who knows its value."

The stall owner tried his best to glare with eyes as wide as copper bells, staring at the old man with full momentum.

Even though it was just something he'd picked up from the countryside for ten yuan, considering the labor costs, the most he'd allow was a fifty percent cut. A 'broken bone' price was absolutely out of the question.

Despite his imposing manner, the stall owner was constantly urging in his heart, "Counter-offer already! If you counter, I'll sell!"

To his surprise, the old man pointed at an ancient coin next to the charm coin and said stubbornly, "Hmph! I'm not buying it then. I want that Qianyuan Heavy Treasure instead."

Chen Sheng: "..."

Listening to their conversation, his brain was a bit confused again.

They put on quite a show, acting like masters, but after all that, it turned out to be just two amateurs clashing.

Chen Sheng was certain that neither the stall owner nor the old man had recognized that 'Zhong Kui marrying off his sister' charm coin.

So...

A startling realization made Chen Sheng's gaze toward the old man suddenly turn a bit strange.

National Treasure Gang!

The old man was definitely a member of the 'National Treasure Gang,' likely a veteran one at that.

The old man picked up the 'Qianyuan Heavy Treasure' he'd mentioned and waved it at the stall owner. "This one. I have a bit of a connection with it. I'll take it back to study."

To his surprise, the stall owner laughed, mocking him inwardly, "Nice try, kid. Playing the 'feint to the east while attacking the west' trick on me? You think I don't read novels?"

In appraisal or 'picking up leaks' novels, the protagonist often uses a feint, making the stall owner think they're interested in one 'treasure' while secretly snatching away another real treasure.

Sorry! Although his role was just a stall owner in a protagonist's background, he was a stall owner who kept up with the times and was diligent in learning. If you wanted to use him as a background character, not even Jesus... no, not even the Heavenly Emperor himself could do it.

The stall owner smiled and held up five fingers to the old man, baring his yellowed teeth from years of smoking. "This clearly authentic Qianyuan Heavy Treasure is 5,000 yuan."

The old man's eyes widened instantly upon hearing this. "I say, Boss Qi, even a lion doesn't open its mouth as wide as you, does it?"

...