Got It

The middle-aged man didn't look happy after hearing that. Instead, he said indignantly, "Hey, what's wrong with you? Even we farmers know there's a first-come, first-served order. How come you've got even less manners than us farmers?"

Chu Chen watched them act so enthusiastically and secretly laughed inwardly, but he kept a blank expression as he said, "Since this gentleman thinks it's a good item, I'll let you have it." With that, he showed no reaction at all, turned around, and left.

The two men were instantly dumbfounded. They looked at each other, completely unable to figure out what had happened. From Chu Chen's appearance earlier, hadn't he seemed to think this painted large dish was pretty good? How had a price of one hundred thousand scared him away? Had they quoted too much?

But now that things had reached this point, they were unwilling to give up. The middle-aged man reacted quickly and shouted angrily at the young man, "What's wrong with you? I was having a good talk with this little brother, and you just had to butt in. You said one hundred thousand—can you afford that? Can you immediately take out one hundred thousand? If you can, I'll sell it to you right now."

The young man obviously couldn't afford it, nor could he possibly produce that much money. So he put on an embarrassed expression and turned to leave.

"Boss! Big brother! Wait!"

The middle-aged man shouted and stopped Chu Chen some distance away, then pulled him back to the original spot. Perhaps because he was too anxious, he actually forgot the crucial detail and left the painted large dish right there. Seeing this, Chu Chen secretly laughed to himself.

It would be impossible to say Chu Chen hadn't been anxious just now. However, in order to seize control of the situation, he had no choice but to risk making a gamble. Fortunately, these two men were greedy enough to stop him. Otherwise, getting the item would have been much more troublesome.

After returning to the original spot, Chu Chen frowned and asked, "What happened? Why didn't you make the deal with that person just now? I can't afford one hundred thousand."

The middle-aged man was delighted inwardly. As long as Chu Chen was willing to pay, that was enough. So he said indignantly, "That man was just a swindler. How could someone like him possibly afford one hundred thousand? I still think you're more reliable, big brother."

Chu Chen gave a faint smile and said, "I do think this is a good item. But let alone one hundred thousand—even fifty thousand is too much for me. Let me ask you something: What do you think the item in your hands is called?"

"This? I don't know either. I only heard someone say it was something from the Song dynasty or whatever. But as for when the Song dynasty was, I really don't know." The middle-aged man answered in a rather simple-minded way.

"Exactly. Think about it. The Song dynasty was a thousand years ago, yet this painted large dish is still so new and complete. Over the past thousand years, it would be normal for it to get bumped and damaged. Not to mention all the wars. Do you think it could really be from the Song dynasty?" Chu Chen asked him in return.

The middle-aged man was stunned as well. That did make sense. If it hadn't looked new, how could he have bought it for two hundred yuan back then? It seemed this person wasn't so easy to fool after all. Still, as long as he believed it was an antique, he could make at least some money.

So he cautiously asked, "Then... big brother, are you saying this thing is only a few hundred years old?"

When he saw Chu Chen merely smile faintly, looking noncommittal, he hurriedly asked, "Big brother, how much can you pay?"

Chu Chen smiled and said, "Old brother, you should name the price. Otherwise, if I offer too little, neither of us will be happy."

"Then... thirty thousand?" The middle-aged man considered it for a while before asking cautiously.

In theory, being able to buy a genuine Ding ware piece like this for thirty thousand would already be an enormous bargain. However, Chu Chen didn't dare buy it at that price. If he agreed too readily, the middle-aged man might become suspicious. So he immediately shook his head and said:

"Old brother, you're not being very sincere. Thirty thousand is far too much. The most I can offer is five thousand."

When the middle-aged man heard that he was offering five thousand, he was fairly satisfied. But one had to start high and bargain down. After thinking it over, he pleaded, "Big brother, look at how my family's doing. Five thousand is really too little. Please add a bit more. Besides, you said this thing really is an antique, didn't you?"

"Ah, old brother, things really are difficult for you. How about this? I'll add another three thousand." As he spoke, Chu Chen showed a trace of sympathy on his face, as if he truly felt sorry for the middle-aged man's family.

"Big brother, could you add a little more? My family still owes several thousand yuan in debts. Once we repay them, there won't be much left. I'm not asking for too much—just fifteen thousand. What do you think?" The middle-aged man continued pleading, looking as if he was about to kneel.

Seeing this, Chu Chen put on an annoyed expression and said impatiently, "Hey, what's wrong with you? What does your family's debt have to do with our transaction? You can't expect me to pay money for nothing. How about this—twelve thousand. Are you selling or not? If not, I don't want it anymore!"

"Then... all right, big brother. You can pay immediately, right?" The middle-aged man pretended to hesitate before agreeing, then asked uneasily.

Chu Chen patted his leather bag and said confidently, "Of course. I've got the money on me. But before we make the deal, we need to draw up a simple agreement, so there won't be any disputes later."

"Aiya, city people really do think things through." The middle-aged man gave Chu Chen a thumbs-up as he spoke, but inwardly he was irritated. Why bother making an agreement? Just take out the money already. He's so young—how can he be this troublesome?

Afterward, Chu Chen quickly wrote up an agreement. However, he still wrote that the item was from the Song dynasty. The man merely skimmed it before signing his name. Of course, Chu Chen had no idea whether it was real or fake.

In fact, he had left himself an opening. Someone with so little education had actually written such beautiful characters—it was hard not to become suspicious. But Chu Chen merely laughed inwardly and didn't expose him.

After signing the agreement, the two exchanged money and goods. When the man saw Chu Chen pull out a thick stack of cash from his leather bag—and there seemed to be even more inside, taken out after yesterday's transaction—he felt both greedy and annoyed. If he had known this man had so much money, why hadn't he asked for more when setting the price earlier?

However, he didn't dare rob Chu Chen. Compared with Chu Chen's strong, sturdy build, he simply couldn't beat him.

After the transaction was complete, Chu Chen said, "Old brother, since your family is in such a difficult situation, why don't you leave me your address? I have a friend who's a reporter. One day, I can ask him to interview your family. Then he might be able to help you raise some donations and find a better hospital for your wife and children. What do you think?"

After hearing this, the middle-aged man shook his head repeatedly and said gratefully, "Big brother, thank you for your kindness. My father taught me from childhood that I must be self-reliant. Now that I have this much money, my family can get by."

Afterward, the middle-aged man thanked Chu Chen profusely before turning around and hurrying away.

After getting some distance from Chu Chen, the middle-aged man immediately broke into a run. When he reached a secluded place, the young man wearing glasses from earlier was already waiting there. As soon as he saw him, he went up and asked, "Brother, how did it go? Did it work?"

The middle-aged man panted while speaking smugly. "Of course it did. Don't you know who I am? With all my years of experience as an extra, something like this was a piece of cake."

"Ha, Brother, how much did we make this time?" the young man asked impatiently.

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. The moment he did, the middle-aged man flew into a rage, slapped him several times on the head, and shouted, "Do you know that because of your immature performance, we only made a little over ten thousand? Couldn't you have quoted a lower price? You started with one hundred thousand—how could the other guy not run away?"

The young man said aggrievedly, "Brother, this is our first time. We had no experience."

"Hmph. If this hadn't been your first time, I would've broken your legs."

After cursing him, the middle-aged man took out the money and said happily, "This business really is profitable. We bought the thing for two hundred yuan and turned around and sold it for twelve thousand. It feels incredible. We need to study this carefully and strive to make a name for ourselves in this trade."

Watching the middle-aged man revel in his ambitions, the young man beside him nodded repeatedly with an ingratiating smile. If they knew that a Northern Song dynasty Ding ware porcelain piece worth at least a million had slipped right through their hands, who knew what expressions they would have?

Chu Chen was undoubtedly in extremely high spirits. Finding a genuine treasure while taking a risk like this was something he had never even heard of. However, now wasn't the time to admire it properly. He bought several newspapers by the roadside, carefully wrapped the item, and took it straight home. Only afterward did he turn back toward the antique street.

In the afternoon, because of the hot weather, there were far fewer people on the antique street. As he walked along, he found that only a few stalls were doing decent business.

When he returned to his spot, he happened to see Zhou Wenping completing a transaction. So he smiled and asked, "Brother Zhou, how's business this afternoon?"

"Not bad. It's a little worse than this morning, but it's passable. Here, I sold one of your moonflasks for you." Zhou Wenping answered with a smile before taking out five hundred yuan and handing it to him.

"Oh, I didn't expect business to come in even while I was gone. But I've got good news for you too. After hearing it, Brother Zhou, you'll have to treat me to dinner today."

Zhou Wenping smiled. "What good news? And why do I have to treat you? Could it be that the house you mentioned this morning has already been settled?"

"Hey, what's a house compared to this? What I'm about to tell you is much more important than a house."

Chu Chen's words aroused Zhou Wenping's curiosity. He cursed jokingly, "You brat, if you've got something to say, say it quickly. You keep springing surprises on me—I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Haha, Brother Zhou, then you'd better protect your heart." After joking, Chu Chen briefly told him that Zhao Qirui had agreed to help him register for a household account.