It was the third update. Once again, please send Recommendation Tickets.
On the street.
As Dong Xuebin pondered how to use back to make a killing at the Antique Market, he headed for the underpass to cross the road and return to the hospital from the other side.
The underpass was damp and carried a faint smell of urine. Numerous little stalls were crammed along both sides, selling phone charms, mini fans, and peelers. At the outermost steps were vendors selling cut pineapple chunks and ice cream wrapped in plastic foam. It was quite lively.
"Popsicles! One yuan each, two for one-fifty!" The Power of Time and Wealth 43
"Come take a look! These are the latest peelers, ten yuan each!"
Dong Xuebin lifted his foot to avoid the carrot peels scattered all over the ground. Just as he was about to check out some phone charms at a woman's stall, a familiar figure suddenly entered his view. It was the middle-aged man who had bumped into him earlier—Teacher Cheng, the coin appraisal expert.
Teacher Cheng slowly walked over to a stall selling rusty Ancient Coins, bent down, and intently rummaged through the copper coins piled atop a white cloth.
Enemies really did meet on narrow roads. Dong Xuebin's anger flared up again.
Not far away, Teacher Cheng casually asked, "How much are these?"
The stall owner was a listless young man in his twenties, smoking without even raising his head. "Five yuan each."
Teacher Cheng said, "That's a little expensive, isn't it?"
The young man said nothing and crushed out his cigarette butt.
Seeing this, Dong Xuebin could not help curling his lip. He had once gone with the owner of an antique shop to buy stock. Ancient Coins there were sold by the pound, working out to just a few jiao or a yuan apiece. There had been nothing worthwhile among them. The source this little stall used was probably even worse than the one Dong Xuebin had visited. Those sellers were all more cunning than the last; they definitely would not leave anything good behind for you.
And he called himself an expert? He came here to pick out coins?
Did he even know what he was doing?
As Dong Xuebin was thinking that, he caught Teacher Cheng freeze out of the corner of his eye. Huh? What was that about?
Teacher Cheng quickly grabbed eight or nine copper coins covered in verdigris from the pile, brought them close for a careful look, then clenched them tightly in his palm instead of putting them back.
He continued rummaging through the thousand-odd copper coins beneath them, rustling and clattering away. At last, he swallowed, spread the nine coins in his palm, and said without hesitation, "I'll take these nine first. Forty-five, right? Here's the money."
The previously listless young man perked up and smiled at him. "Right, four... Eh, you are?" He stared blankly for a moment, then slapped his forehead. "I've seen you before. You're that expert on TV who specializes in coin appraisals." His eyes immediately shifted as he looked at the nine copper coins in Teacher Cheng's hand. In the blink of an eye, he changed his tune. "Sorry, the five yuan I mentioned was for those ones. These few of yours... Hmm... five hundred each."
Teacher Cheng's face darkened. "What do you mean by that?"
The young man did not say anything. He only knew that anything an expert had his eye on could not be wrong. These coins might be worth a fortune.
Dong Xuebin immediately grinned. Served him right for getting stunned, huh?
But before Dong Xuebin could gloat for long, something that made his eyes nearly pop out happened.
Teacher Cheng sneered and nodded. "Five hundred? What an outrageous price."
The young man grinned and reached for the copper coins in Teacher Cheng's hand. "Forget it if you don't want them." The Power of Time and Wealth 43
"Wait." Frowning, Teacher Cheng tucked the coins into his pocket, took out his wallet without another word, and tossed him 4,500 yuan. "Is that enough this time?"
Dong Xuebin, the young man, and everyone around them who was watching the commotion were all stunned.
No one had expected Teacher Cheng to actually pay.
Anyone with a little knowledge knew that because there were simply too many old coins still in existence, most of them were not worth much even if they were ancient. A few jiao, a few yuan, maybe ten or twenty yuan at most. Yet Teacher Cheng had paid 4,500 yuan. Could this coin specialist really have misjudged them? Obviously not.
Had that Cheng guy picked up a bargain?
Damn, there could be good stuff even at a little street stall? That guy had stepped in dog shit, hadn't he?
Dong Xuebin gritted his teeth in envy, but then he suddenly froze. His mind heated up. "back back back!"
The scene before his eyes abruptly flashed.
"How much are these?" Teacher Cheng was squatting at the stall, asking.
The smoking young man did not raise his head. "Five yuan each."
Teacher Cheng said, "That's a little expensive, isn't it?"
The young man said nothing and crushed out his cigarette butt.
Dong Xuebin knew his chance to make money had come, and he shot forward. He remembered that Teacher Cheng seemed to have taken a few coins from the lower left corner just now. Eh, no, maybe it had been directly below. Uh, no, that was not right either. Teacher Cheng's hand had been stirring through the pile the whole time, so the positions were already a mess. Besides, Dong Xuebin had been too far away to see the inscriptions on the coins clearly. Wasn't that basically impossible to find? What should he do? What should he do? Had he wasted an opportunity for nothing?
Then, with a blink of his eyes, an idea came to Dong Xuebin. He ran to the stall and shouted, "Boss!"
The young man jumped. "...What is it? Buying coins?"
Teacher Cheng glanced up at Dong Xuebin, raised his eyebrows, then returned his attention to the pile of copper coins.
Seeing that his attempt to divert Teacher Cheng's attention had failed, Dong Xuebin hurriedly put on an extravagant act. He squatted down, squeezed Teacher Cheng aside, grabbed the white cloth beneath the coins with both hands, and directly bundled the entire pile up. "Boss, how many coins do you have in total? Thirteen hundred? Fourteen hundred? Let me weigh them first." The pile was pretty heavy, and difficult to hold.
Teacher Cheng said unhappily, "What's wrong with you? I'm picking through them right now."
Dong Xuebin sneered. "Heh, so what if you are? Have you paid for them?"
The young man asked in confusion, "Why are you weighing them? There are probably... probably thirteen or fourteen hundred. Hey, put them down first. Can't you see he hasn't finished picking yet?"
Dong Xuebin directly told the young man, "How about this? I can't be bothered to count exactly how many there are. I'll take all of them. How much?" The Power of Time and Wealth 43
The young man and Teacher Cheng both froze. "All of them?"
Dong Xuebin nodded seriously. "Yes. Name your price."
The young man said excitedly, "If you're really taking the whole lot, I'll give you a discount. Five yuan each—if there are thirteen hundred, that's 6,500. How about I make it an even 6,000?"
Dong Xuebin did not release the four corners of the cloth bundle. "Six thousand is too expensive. Four thousand sounds about right."
The young man said, "My purchase price was high, so I really can't go any lower. Hmm, forget it, forget it. Let's both take a step back. How about five thousand? I'll take a little loss. Small profits, quick turnover. Small profits, quick turnover."
"...Fine."
The young man beamed. After running this stall for a year, he had finally met a sucker.
Teacher Cheng mockingly glanced at Dong Xuebin, shook his head, stood up, and left. He thought, An outsider really is an outsider. He dared buy coins without even looking at them? Wasn't that insane?
Dong Xuebin did not have that much cash on him, so he and the young man carried the bag of coins to a nearby Industrial and Commercial Bank of China. He withdrew 5,000 yuan from the ATM and gave it to him. When he checked his account balance again, only a few hundred yuan remained. Still, Dong Xuebin was delighted as he hefted the coins with difficulty and hurried toward the hospital.
Haha!
So back could be used like this too!
Third update. Please send Recommendation Tickets.
...!!!
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