18: Chatting broke the defense

Time was still sufficient, and it was a bit cold in the middle of the night, so Ye Su didn't drive his electric scooter too fast.

Following the navigation, he arrived at Lichang Second Road just past 3:20 AM.

Ye Su circled around Lichang Second Road for another ten minutes or so before noticing that people were gradually setting up stalls on the street outside the old market.

"This must be the place."

After parking his electric scooter at the end of the street, Ye Su walked all the way to the other end, passing the stalls.

"Why isn't it here? Could it be that they haven't set up yet?"

Ye Su did see a few stalls selling miscellaneous books and magazines, but none of the books on any of the stalls lit up with the system's notification light.

Worried that the system might have glitched, Ye Su even made excuses to browse through a few book stalls, but he didn't find anyone selling a second-hand copy of Journey to the West.

"Sir, this should be the only dawn market location around Lichang Second Road, right?"

"That's right."

"Alright, thank you, sir."

"No problem."

The information couldn't be wrong, and he hadn't found the wrong place. The only explanation was that the stall owner hadn't arrived yet.

Since he had nothing better to do, and because Ye Su found this ghost market quite novel, he started wandering around on his own.

Looking around as he walked, Ye Su discovered that besides the middle-aged men and elderly gentlemen he had expected, there were also some homeless people in the city setting up stalls here.

Unlike the elderly gentlemen, the items on these homeless people's stalls were a hodgepodge of everything, likely scavenged from other places during the day.

After spreading everything out on a plastic sheet and putting up a sign that said [Everything Five Yuan], these homeless people would just lie down behind their stalls and go to sleep.

As the ghost market gradually became livelier and people started asking for prices at other stalls, Ye Su didn't see anyone patronizing these homeless people's businesses.

"They're here!"

While checking out the scene, Ye Su suddenly saw a familiar glow in the distance, slowly approaching the ghost market, before picking an empty spot in the distance to start setting up a stall.

Upon getting closer, Ye Su realized that the person who had laid out a red, blue, and white tarp and was setting out old books and magazines was an elderly man of about sixty.

It was clear that the old man was a veteran stall owner; he had everything set up in no time before unfolding a small stool.

Just as he sat down on the stool, the old man locked eyes with Ye Su, who was standing to the side: "Handsome guy, buying books?"

The people frequenting the market were basically middle-aged men; someone like Ye Su, a post-2000s generation, stood out quite a bit in the dawn market.

"Yeah, sir, I'm just looking to see if there's anything good to buy."

As the old man took books out of the cardboard box, Ye Su had actually already spotted the target of his trip: a copy of Journey to the West that looked quite old, with a cover made of cardboard.

"Sure, take a look around. If you see anything you like, I can give you a better price," the old man said, appearing quite talkative. "I rarely see a Handsome guy like you at the dawn market."

Ye Su pretended to browse the books while chatting with the old man: "I saw the dawn market online, so I came to check it out over the weekend."

"It's good to have young people like you joining in. Otherwise, with fewer and fewer people, who knows how long the Lichang Road dawn market will last. The other dawn market locations have been shut down one after another in recent years because of the lack of people."

It was clear that the old man had deep affection for the dawn market.

"If this kind of traditional culture disappears, it would truly be a pity."

As he spoke, Ye Su put down the copy of Water Margin in his hand and naturally picked up the Journey to the West next to it.

Opening the book, the pages inside had long since yellowed, and some parts inevitably showed signs of wear. Ye Su could guess that the book was older than he was without even looking at the copyright page.

"So, while the dawn market is still here and I can still set up, I come regularly to run the stall..."

In the course of their conversation, Ye Su learned that the old man usually ran a small second-hand bookstore of about ten square meters, and he only came to set up a stall when the Lichang Road dawn market opened late on Saturday nights.

"My daughter helps manage the rental income from those few apartments and two shops I have. I don't have much to do usually, so I just rely on these books to pass the time."

Uh...

No wonder they say that in Yangcheng, you can't tell at all who the rich people are.

Ye Su had thought this was an old man making a living by selling second-hand books, but it turned out he was an invisible wealthy man with a net worth in the tens of millions...

"Sir, I want this book, how much is it?"

He was afraid that if he kept chatting, his defenses would break, so he quickly handed the Journey to the West to the old man.

"If you want it, I'll give it to you for ten yuan."

"Alright, thank you, sir."

Although this copy of Journey to the West was worn, it was still relatively well-preserved. Plus, being an old vernacular edition from the last century, it should be worth something.

The reason the old man sold it to Ye Su for ten yuan, besides not being short of money, was probably also because Ye Su had kept him company earlier.

Without haggling, Ye Su took out ten yuan and handed it over. While putting the Journey to the West into his backpack, he chatted with the old man for a few more sentences before leaving.

With the item in hand, Ye Su felt relieved.

Since it was a rare opportunity to experience a dawn market, and he didn't know when this place might be shut down, Ye Su continued to browse the other stalls.

Besides various household goods, Ye Su also saw some stalls selling antiques of questionable authenticity. These stalls were occasionally visited by [Treasure Hunters] holding flashlights, trying their luck.

A middle-aged stall owner selling porcelain saw Ye Su approaching and immediately his eyes lit up like a hunter spotting prey. He stood up, picked up a bowl, and started enthusiastically pitching it:

"Handsome guy, interested in taking a look? This is late Qing Dynasty folk kiln porcelain. If you want it, you can take it for three thousand."

Late Qing Dynasty folk kiln porcelain?

Do you think I, dude, look like an idiot?

Ye Su waved his hands repeatedly: "No, thanks."

"Don't be in such a rush. Look at this craftsmanship; this is top-tier porcelain even among late Qing folk kiln pieces!"

The stall owner also enthusiastically shone his flashlight back and forth on the porcelain bowl so Ye Su could see it clearly: "Look at the translucency. To be preserved this completely, three thousand is definitely a bargain for you."

"Uh... buddy, the characters on the base are even straighter than the font on my phone..."

"Hey, don't look at the base. Look at the material, look at the glaze. This is clearly authentic at first glance!"

As he spoke, the stall owner was about to hand the porcelain bowl to Ye Su.

But Ye Su had been prepared. He raised his hands, stepped back, and left without looking back.

Ye Su didn't know if this bowl was from the late Qing Dynasty or not, but if anything happened to it after he took it, then it would definitely be from the late Qing Dynasty.

"Time to run, time to run."

After that scene with the stall owner, Ye Su had no mood to continue shopping. He went to the end of the street, got on his electric scooter, and found a hotel nearby.

It was already past four o'clock, so there was definitely no one else checking into the hotel's vacant rooms.

Ye Su haggled a bit and successfully rented a room for fifty yuan, which would allow him to stay until twelve o'clock.

After entering the room, following a tutorial he found online, he briefly checked that there were no hidden cameras in the room. Then, Ye Su took out the Journey to the West and began to look for where the stamp was hidden.

He first flipped through it several times. After confirming that the stamp was indeed not tucked between the pages, Ye Su set his target on the cover made of cardboard.

This was also the only place where a stamp could possibly be hidden without being discovered by the owner.