149: That's called acting.

Upon hearing that Ye Su really wanted to buy, the vendor's face changed instantly, and he immediately stood up with enthusiasm, appearing like a completely different person from the sarcastic guy he was just a second ago:

"Handsome guy, you really have a great eye! You picked out the treasure of my stall in one go!"

The vendor then picked up the wooden seated statue and introduced it with great flair:

"This is a Song Dynasty wooden lacquer-gilt seated statue of Sakyamuni. Look at this carving, this lacquer finish, and the majesty of the Buddha's face—every bit of it is the pinnacle of the craftsmanship of that time!"

Hm?

Wasn't it supposed to be a wooden seated statue from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty, and the vendor just didn't know its value, mistaking it for the mid-Qing period?

How did it suddenly jump all the way to the Song Dynasty now?

"I'm not bragging!"

The vendor didn't know that his true colors had already been seen through, and he was still passionately introducing the [treasure of the stall]:

"It's rare to find a Song Dynasty Sakyamuni seated statue preserved this well on the market today! If the process wasn't so troublesome and didn't require a deposit, I would have put it up for auction at Poly Auction! Handsome guy, let me tell you, if you buy this thousand-year-old Buddha statue back, it's not just for collection; it can also ensure the safety of your home and ward off evil spirits for your family!"

The more the vendor talked, the more mystical it sounded. If he kept going, he would soon be describing the Buddha statue as a [Supreme Imperial Weapon]. Ye Su had to wave his hand to interrupt his performance:

"That's enough."

Being interrupted by Ye Su, the vendor realized his performance was a bit too much and reined it in:

"I was originally planning to sell it for 400,000, but since you're interested in this Buddha statue, and 400,000 doesn't sound very auspicious..."

The vendor's face twisted into a conflicted expression, as if he were constipated, before he made a painful decision: "Seeing that you have a connection with the Buddha statue, you can take it for 388,000!"

Tsk tsk tsk—Ye Su clicked his tongue inwardly. Those young idols really should come visit antique stalls when they have free time to learn what real acting is.

If not for the intelligence that provided the information about this Buddha statue, Ye Su would have been moved by the vendor's passionate performance just now and would have turned around for him.

"Forget about the Song Dynasty. This Buddha statue uses the 'filling color and then adding gold-traced outlining' technique, which is clearly the 'carved-filling' craft prevalent in the Qing Dynasty. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Song Dynasty, right?"

The vendor had already brewed up his emotions internally, ready to continue his performance after Ye Su countered, but Ye Su's words exposed the true era of the Buddha statue, shoving all his subsequent lines back down his throat.

"Ah—"

The plot's direction had exceeded his expectations too much, and the vendor's brain temporarily short-circuited, leaving him only able to let out an [Ah].

Fortunately, the vendor was an old hand. Even after his lie was exposed by Ye Su, he didn't feel embarrassed, and instead, he broke into a flattering smile:

"So this is a Qing Dynasty Buddha statue? Then I must have misjudged it. It really takes someone like you, Handsome guy, to help identify the era of this Buddha statue."

Ye Su was able to name the [filling color first, then adding gold-traced outlining] technique and use it to determine that the Buddha statue was from the mid-Qing period. Since this matched his own assessment, the vendor didn't intend to continue with meaningless sophistry and quickly began to flatter Ye Su to avoid losing the deal.

Just based on the boss's speed of changing his face, Ye Su knew he could never make a living in this line of work like him.

"Boss, give me a price. If it's reasonable, I'll help you make your first sale."

"Handsome guy, let your uncle tell you something from the bottom of his heart. Although I misjudged the era, the quality is right here; you can't fake that, right?"

Ye Su really couldn't stand the drama-addicted boss and waved his hand to interrupt again: "Just tell me straight, how much?"

"Since you say it's mid-Qing, I'll give you a 50% discount. 200,000, let's consider it making a friend!"

The vendor reached out his right hand toward Ye Su with lightning speed, wanting to seal the deal immediately.

Ye Su was expressionless. He stared at the outstretched right hand and then at the vendor: "Give me a proper price, or I'm really leaving."

The [confused sudden hammer-drop strategy] failed to work, and the vendor had to awkwardly retract his right hand: "Then you give me a price."

"You want me to name a price, right?" Ye Su smiled slightly and, imitating the vendor, extended his right hand: "One price, 100,000. Let's consider it making a friend."

"No, no! 100,000 definitely won't do!" The vendor's reaction was as dramatic as if Ye Su were about to roast him over a fire, and he hurriedly waved his hands at Ye Su.

"We both know the truth, so let's just be straightforward." Ye Su had figured out that this vendor's business style was [exaggerated], and if he kept entangled, it would only be endless:

"For such a large mid-Qing wooden Buddha statue, even if it goes to an auction house, at most it will sell for a little over 100,000. You still have to wait for the auction schedule and then have them deduct a commission. If I buy it, I'll have to hold onto it for a while too. Let's both take a step back: 110,000, and I'll take it right now. Is this price fair enough?"

"110,000..." Ye Su had laid it all out, and the vendor stopped showing off his acting skills, falling into distress.

His psychological price was 120,000, which still had a slight gap from the 110,000 Ye Su offered.

After agonizing for a while, the vendor made up his mind: "I'll also take a step back: 115,000. How about that? If you aren't satisfied with this price, then we'll just have to wait for next time."

Ye Su observed the vendor's reaction and determined that this was indeed his bottom line, with no room left to bargain: "Fine, 115,000 it is. Help me wrap it up."

"Okay." The vendor took out some newspapers, wrapped the Buddha statue inside and out with several layers, put it into a bag, and placed it back on the stall.

Ye Su also transferred 115,000 to the vendor via bank transfer, and both parties successfully reached the deal.

[Ding!] Just as Ye Su confirmed the transfer, the system's notification sound rang out.

[Congratulations to the Host for purchasing the target item, [Ming Dynasty Wanli Period · Jingzuo Wooden Lacquer-Gilt Sakyamuni Seated Statue], gaining four points of [Strength] prompt. Do you wish to claim it?]

"Yes!" He silently recited in his mind, and the familiar feeling of strength improvement from yesterday morning descended again. This time, Ye Su truly felt that his strength had indeed increased a little.

"Handsome guy, is there anything else you like? I can give you a discount."

"No need, wait for next time." Ye Su picked up the packed Buddha statue and left stall B-21.

With two increases in the [Strength] attribute, Ye Su didn't feel that the sixty-to-seventy-centimeter-tall wooden carving he was holding was very heavy.

The vendors at the neighboring stalls saw their peer at stall B-21 land a big deal early in the morning and cast envious glances toward him.

The vendor at stall B-21 saw the payment notification on his phone, and his mouth grinned almost to the back of his head. Although he failed to bamboozle the Handsome guy into believing the Buddha statue was from the Song Dynasty, making a huge profit of hundreds of thousands, he had bought the Buddha statue for 80,000 yesterday and sold it early this morning, earning 35,000 in the process. It could be considered that he had good financial luck these past two days.

After picking up the Buddha statue, Ye Su left the Guangchang Ceramic Jade Stone Craft Market without stopping, ignoring the eager gazes cast from other stalls.