85: Antique Market

[Ding!]

[Daily Intelligence (Level 2): At stall C-13 in the Guangchang Ceramic Jade Stone Craft Market, a mid-Qing dynasty huanghuali square box is for sale. The box is secured by a late-Qing three-color copper mechanical lock, and the key is lost. Inside the box is a Republic of China era jade saddle ring. The jade is old-pit glass species, and the color reaches [Zhengyang Green].

Because the stall owner cannot open the mechanical lock and fears that forcing it open would damage the lock, he is selling the entire square box as a "blind box." However, the owner's asking price has been too high, so it has remained unsold.

Note: The mid-Qing dynasty huanghuali handled square box is valued at 20,000. The late-Qing three-color copper mechanical lock, due to the missing key, is valued at 8,000. The Republic of China era jade saddle ring is valued at 110,000.]

Well, another blind box.

Ye Su discovered that the "blind box" trend had really blown from action figures and toys into every industry.

"The square box and mechanical lock that can be seen on the surface are already worth twenty-eight thousand. Even without knowing there's a saddle ring inside, the owner's asking price shouldn't be too low."

The system specifically hinted that because the owner's asking price was too high, this square box had remained unsold.

Since the intelligence only refreshed now, it also meant the owner had finally recognized reality and intended to lower his psychological price point to sell this square box.

"Guangchang Ceramic Jade Stone Craft Market, the 'Panjiayuan' of Guangzhou, huh."

Ye Su checked the address with a navigation app and found that the Guangchang Ceramic Jade Stone Craft Market was in the market plaza further inside the Lichang Road "Ghost Market" where he had previously picked up the [british penny black] stamp.

"The total value of the three items is 138,000. I'll strive to get the antique box for half the price."

Ye Su believed the owner wasn't a fool who would think a 20,000-yuan square box contained nothing but cheap goods.

Any normal person would think the item inside the box was more valuable than the box itself.

"It must be that the owner's asking price was too high, and others felt the owner was setting a trap, which is why the antique box hasn't been sold yet."

Having figured this out, Ye Su began to plan how to haggle with the owner to avoid failing due to lack of eloquence or experience.

...

Business didn't start that early at the Guangchang Ceramic Jade Stone Craft Market, and Ye Su didn't want to squeeze into the morning rush hour with office workers.

On Monday morning, after finishing his first class, Ye Su hailed a taxi and arrived at the Guangchang Ceramic Jade Stone Craft Market.

The market was divided into two floors. In addition to hundreds of fixed stalls, there were many temporary street stalls.

It was just past nine o'clock, and the stalls were opening one after another. The owners were starting to get busy; some were just setting up, while others had already arranged their goods neatly and were starting their day's business.

"Stall C-13..."

Following the intelligence hint, Ye Su began searching for his target within the market.

The busy stall owners noticed Ye Su, a young and unfamiliar face, but none actively tried to solicit him. They just watched Ye Su, waiting for him to take the initiative to ask.

Ye Su pretended to stroll around, stopping occasionally to inspect a stall before continuing forward.

Before long, Ye Su saw the location of Stall C-13.

The owner was a man in his fifties with a receding hairline. He had just opened the stall and was placing goods on the table one by one.

While he was looking down to arrange things, a few strands of carefully groomed hair on his forehead slid down due to gravity, and he patiently brushed them back into place.

The system's glowing hint was still in the storage box next to the stall. Ye Su was afraid of being too deliberate, which might make the owner think he was easy to fool and lead to an arbitrary price quote later.

So, after confirming the location of Stall C-13, Ye Su walked past the stall as if nothing was wrong, continuing to watch the bustle like an ordinary customer at various stalls.

After walking around again, estimating that the owner's stall was mostly set up, Ye Su circled back to the front of Stall C-13.

Sure enough, he saw the most conspicuous item on the stall, placed on a stand to be elevated: an antique box with a primitive design, about ten centimeters wide, locked by a three-color lock, emitting a faint light.

"Handsome guy, take a look around."

Seeing Ye Su pause in front of the stall, the owner, who had just finished working, immediately greeted Ye Su with enthusiasm.

No matter how you looked at it, this young man didn't seem like someone who played with antiques.

This person was either here to watch the fun or one of those "fish" who followed the news of others picking up treasures and dove in, hoping to strike it rich.

"Hmm."

Ye Su responded to the owner while his right hand lightly brushed the items on the stall, finally locking onto the square box.

"Boss, why is this box locked?"

Seeing Ye Su was interested in this square box, a flash of joy crossed the owner's eyes.

"Because there is no key, I can't open this antique lock."

"Can't open it?" Ye Su feigned surprise: "Then why are you still bringing it out to sell?"

"Even if it can't be opened, it can still be sold." The owner began to entice him: "Give it a light shake and see if there's anything inside."

Ye Su picked up the square box and shook it lightly back and forth. He could indeed feel a slight vibration from inside, although there must have been padding inside, so the vibration wasn't very obvious.

"It seems like there is something inside."

"Right!"

Ye Su put the square box back in its place: "So what if there's something inside?"

"Handsome guy, look at this box." The owner picked up the square box and displayed it to Ye Su from all angles:

"This is an antique box from the Qing Dynasty. Look at this carving, and look at the texture and patina. Back in the Qing Dynasty, this was an item used only in the homes of high-ranking officials!"

"Boss, isn't that getting a bit too mysterious?" Ye Su exposed him on the spot: "Isn't this just a huanghuali square box? The era should be mid-Qing, and the workmanship is indeed decent, but how can you claim it flowed out of a high-ranking official's home?"

Hearing Ye Su expose the material and age of the box in just a few sentences, the owner's heart jolted, and he looked at Ye Su again.

So, he was an expert too.

The owner had originally thought a young man who didn't understand anything had arrived, and he could take the opportunity to sell this square box and slaughter him in the process.

Now it seemed his Ruyi Abacus had failed.

"Handsome guy, good eye. You saw through the tricks of this box so quickly."

The owner wasn't embarrassed by his earlier boasting about it being an official's item and enthusiastically gave Ye Su a thumbs up.

Although this young man was knowledgeable, making it impossible to inflate the price of the square box, at the same time, such a knowledgeable young man was more likely to buy the "blind box."

The owner now just wanted to sell the square box as soon as possible.

Last week, he didn't know what kind of spell he was under. Tempted by that buyer, he had muddledly spent a high price to buy this square box, dreaming of opening a treasure and striking it rich overnight.

After returning home and calming down, the owner realized something was wrong, believing he had been set up.

He wanted to open the square box, but the mechanical lock didn't have a key, and he couldn't open it. Even if he were lucky enough to open it, he didn't know how to lock it again.

Of course, the owner was most worried that after opening it, there would really be nothing inside the square box.