Mysterious iron sheet

He suddenly spotted something familiar at a stall, something he had forgotten about for a very, very long time.

Zhao Dongchuan calmly looked at the adjacent stalls, occasionally communicating with the vendors, spending a few yuan to buy some trinkets, and then slowly approached the stall.

Before long, he arrived at the stall where he had made his discovery.

The vendor was quite old and seemed a bit inarticulate, just silently watching Zhao Dongchuan browse his stall.

Since Zhao Dongchuan had also browsed other stalls and bought some things earlier, the vendor didn't find it strange.

"Boss, how much is this thing?" Zhao Dongchuan asked, picking up a small cup.

Because the lighting wasn't very bright, Zhao Dongchuan intended to pick it up and examine it.

"Kid, hold it carefully!"

The vendor said ominously.

"Uh, I'll be careful!" Zhao Dongchuan said, then pretended to examine it.

The vendor saw the way he handled it, without any technique, and knew that this was an amateur.

He made a mental note, but he remained calm, preparing to find an opportunity to trick him.

Don't let his silence and honest appearance fool you; he wouldn't be soft-hearted when it came to digging a pit.

"This chicken-cup, it's a good item. This is a chicken-cup from the Chenghua period, an imperial wine vessel. Kid, you can't afford this!"

The vendor used a low, deep tone to challenge Zhao Dongchuan.

Although Zhao Dongchuan's intention was not for this item, he still had to cooperate with the vendor and play along; otherwise, how would he get a chance to look at the item he actually wanted to see?

"Boss, don't try to provoke me. I'm not falling for that!"

"Besides, I don't care what kind of cup this is. It's just a small cup, how much can it be worth?"

"Chicken-cups from the Chenghua period are extremely rare. This item is quite valuable! Don't even speak unless you have this amount!" he said, extending a finger with a chuckle.

Zhao Dongchuan knew from this gesture that he was being scammed, trying to gauge his psychological price. That one finger could mean one hundred, one thousand, or even ten thousand, depending on how you interpreted it.

He naturally wouldn't aim high.

"Ten yuan? This broken cup can't be worth that much, who are you trying to trick…" Zhao Dongchuan said unceremoniously.

"Hey, who told you it's ten yuan? Kid, don't even touch this cup for less than a thousand!" he said, telling Zhao Dongchuan to put the cup down.

He naturally wouldn't fall for it.

"Boss, your price is too outrageous. I don't have that much money to waste. I'll look at something else!"

Then, he continued to casually rummage through the stall.

Finally, Zhao Dongchuan picked out a small string of beads, a small jade pendant, and a small iron piece, and asked the vendor, "Boss, how much are these trinkets?"

"I'll tell you upfront, if you quote a crazy price again, I'm leaving! I'll go look at other stalls!" Zhao Dongchuan added.

The vendor saw that this kid was completely an amateur, didn't understand anything, and wasn't falling into his trap. He was already a bit anxious, though his face remained calm. He was also a little afraid that the "cooked duck would fly away!"

So he straightforwardly quoted a price of 100 yuan.

"Three items for 10 yuan!"

"At least 90!"

"13 yuan, no more…"

After a back and forth with the vendor, Zhao Dongchuan finally said, "Stop all that talk. 30 yuan. My monthly salary is only that much. Sell it if you want, if not, I'll go to another stall… It's not like I haven't bought from other places…"

The vendor was actually overjoyed inside. The string of beads was just made of ordinary walnut wood, the jade pendant was just ordinary Hetian jade, and as for the iron piece, he didn't even know where he'd dug it up. It had a lot of rust, probably a part from a door.

All these items combined were actually worth less than 5 yuan!

The vendor showed a wry smile, saying somewhat bitterly, "Kid, I haven't even made my first sale yet. Forget it, today, I'll make a good connection with you, little brother. Thirty it is, I'll sell it to you…"

Hahaha, I, with tears in my eyes, made a profit of 25 yuan… The vendor laughed inwardly.

Zhao Dongchuan was not stupid, of course. He didn't quite understand the jade pendant and the string of beads, but that iron piece…

The material of that iron piece was exactly the same as the iron piece that Tian Er from Shuangshui Village had dug up and that he had stored in his space.

He had a suspicion in his heart, suppressing his inner excitement… Zhao Dongchuan, with a hesitant expression, pulled out thirty slightly worn yuan from his pocket.

The vendor quickly snatched it, afraid the kid would change his mind.

"Kid, take these items. We're even now, hey…"

"Oh, and once the transaction is done, and you leave this stall, I won't acknowledge anything, alright…"

The vendor stopped pretending, afraid that a naive person like Zhao Dongchuan would go back, realize he was scammed, and come back for a refund, so he naturally cut off any possibility.

Looking at the vendor's smug expression, Zhao Dongchuan felt disdain internally.

However, he didn't show it, nodded, took the items, and left, blending into the crowd.

You might profit, but I will never lose!

Zhao Dongchuan put the items into his bag, which was actually storing them in his space.

There were people coming and going here, certainly many pickpockets, and he didn't want to cause any extra trouble.

He planned to go back and find a safe place to study them slowly.

So Zhao Dongchuan continued to browse with the crowd.

This black market truly had a lot of people. Many came with money to buy fine grains, eggs, pork, and other daily necessities like meat, eggs, and milk. Everyone's household ration was limited, no more was available, so many people with money who wanted to eat something good would come here to look around.

But why were some people selling "toys"?

Zhao Dongchuan passed a stall where the vendor was a burly, strong man, also masked, and appearing to be dozing off.

On the stall, there were several clearly wooden carved guns: pistols, rifles, different styles, several types displayed.

This piqued his curiosity; this black market really sold everything!!

He observed for a while and noticed that no one came forward to inquire. The vendor wasn't in a hurry, just closing his eyes and dozing.

Zhao Dongchuan had no qualms. Driven by curiosity, he walked directly to the stall and looked at the "toy guns."

"Boss, do these toy guns have any special features?" Zhao Dongchuan asked, puzzled.

The vendor didn't even open his eyes, as if he was asleep, and completely ignored him.

This made Zhao Dongchuan feel a bit awkward…

Were bosses this arrogant now, ignoring business when it came to them?

Zhao Dongchuan patiently squatted down, picked up a roughly carved pistol, and asked, "How much is this pistol?"

The vendor opened his eyes, sized up Zhao Dongchuan, and didn't speak for a long time. Just as Zhao Dongchuan was feeling bored and about to get up and leave, the vendor suddenly blurted out, "This one is 50 yuan!"