The Feeling of Opening a Treasure Chest

"Fine, one thousand it is. I'll count myself unlucky!" Yu Lao San said through gritted teeth. Things had reached this point; if he did not get out fast, the situation could become uncontrollable.

"One thousand yuan is for buying this wooden box and the broken porcelain, not compensation from me! Let me make this clear again: I didn't hit you. You dropped the things yourself." Chen Mo said. He would never take the blame for breaking the items. Things had to be stated clearly and handled decisively.

"Fine! Whatever you say. Hand over the money!" Yu Lao San said. He actually admired Chen Mo's thoughts a little. Even now, Chen Mo had not let his guard down and kept emphasizing the details. He was extremely cautious. Sigh! Youngsters these days are getting harder and harder to fool. Damn information explosion—it was nothing like more than ten years ago, when people were so simple and innocent!

At this point, anyone among the onlookers who still did not understand would be wasting their talent for watching drama. They had not expected this staged accident scheme to end in such an anticlimactic fashion. Their interest in the spectacle faded, and they all despised Yu Lao San's group. They can't even scam people properly. What a waste of expressions! With no more show to watch, the crowd gradually dispersed.

Chen Mo took out one thousand yuan and handed it to Yu Lao San. Then he picked up the wooden box and all the porcelain from the ground, placed the broken shards inside the box, and turned to leave.

Yu Lao San and his group found it boring as well and could only leave with the money. They had not made much today, but one thousand yuan was still money.

The market staff exchanged glances. Since the matter had already ended, there was nothing they could say to Chen Mo. They could only watch him leave, while the leader stared at Chen Mo's back with a grim expression.

Before Chen Mo had gone far, someone called out behind him, "Little Brother, how about selling me the wooden box in your hands?"

Chen Mo turned around and saw an old man and a young girl. The old man had snow-white hair and the healthy complexion of a crane-haired elder. But when Chen Mo took a closer look at the young girl beside him, he had not expected to find such a beautiful young girl here. She had bright eyes and white teeth, spiritual and elegant features, and was beautiful and moving. Her floral dress exposed her slender, fair legs, making his heart beat faster. He had only glanced at her briefly before, but now that he looked properly, he was truly dazzled.

"Hey! Where are you looking? My grandfather is talking to you!" The young girl rolled her white eyes and secretly spat in her heart. This fellow is a hooligan too!

"Hm? Sorry, what did you say?" Chen Mo Came Back to Senses, immediately feeling a little embarrassed. He had not expected that even as a First layer of Qi Refining Cultivation of Immortality practitioner, he still could not resist beautiful things.

"Would Little Brother be willing to sell me the wooden box in his hands?" The old man smiled, not minding it. Who had not admired beauty in their youth? Besides, there was no lustful color in this young man's eyes, only an appreciation for beautiful things. There was nothing to care about.

"The wooden box?" Chen Mo asked somewhat uncertainly.

"That's right, the wooden box!" the old man said calmly.

"How much are you offering?" Chen Mo asked.

"How about two thousand yuan?" the old man said.

Chen Mo shook his head.

"Three thousand yuan, then!" the old man continued, though his brows had already begun to furrow.

Chen Mo still shook his head. "The price is too low. I'm not selling."

"Hey! You're going too far! You won't sell a wooden box for three thousand yuan? We kindly tried to help you just now, but I didn't expect you to be this kind of person! Grandfather, let's go." The young girl grabbed the old man and tried to pull him away.

But the old man waved his hand, signaling her to wait. He turned to Chen Mo and said, "youngster, I don't know whether you noticed, but the wooden box in your hand is only made of Chicken-wing wood. Three thousand yuan is already a very high price. If I hadn't thought it might be from the Republic of China era, I wouldn't have offered that much. You should think it over."

Although the old man wanted to buy the wooden box, he did not want to be a sucker. Three thousand yuan for such a box was already a high price, and he had begun to dislike this youngster somewhat. Yet after decades of life's ups and downs and having seen all kinds of people, he did not show his displeasure on his face.

Still, he plainly stated his judgment of the wooden box because he wanted to see what choice this youngster would make. He had already offered a high price. If Chen Mo still wanted more, he would turn and leave. It was not as if he absolutely had to buy the box; he was merely delighted by the find.

Chen Mo smiled, gaining a new respect for the old man. Most people would never have told him what kind of wood the box was made from if he refused to sell. Chen Mo now had a different impression of the old man. He was a decent elder with a calm temperament who valued mutual respect. Chen Mo also fully understood the meaning behind his words and regarded him even more highly.

So he said to the old man, "Would the two of you like to have a cup of tea with me?"

When the old man heard Chen Mo's invitation, he knew Chen Mo had something inconvenient to discuss here and was using tea as an excuse. He smiled and said, "All right."

He wanted to see what this young man had to say. Chen Mo's handling of the scam had been somewhat immature, but he had remained remarkably composed. Such a temperament was extremely rare for someone his age. If Chen Mo had not made that impression on him today, and if the old man had not been interested in the wooden box, he would never have approached him for a chat.

Although the young girl pouted, seeing that her grandfather was in high spirits, she snorted twice and followed. In her heart, she had cursed Chen Mo a hundred times over. If he doesn't say anything worthwhile later, I'll make this stinking hooligan learn how formidable I am. Hmph! I'll draw circles and curse you!

There was a tea house inside the market, decorated in an antique style that was pleasing to the eye. Quite a few people were drinking tea inside. Tea houses were generally places for heart-to-heart talks and chatting, so the layout had some clever touches. Though everyone sat in the main hall, each tea table was screened from view, and conversations were relatively private.

The attendants in the tea room were all beauties wearing Qipaos, their graceful figures enough to stir anyone's impulses. But Chen Mo had not invited the old man for tea because he was distracted by women; he had another purpose. So he booked a Private tea room, ordered tea and snacks, and had the attendant wait outside. This made the old man's granddaughter view him somewhat more favorably. She had not expected that although this fellow's mind was somewhat bad, his character was not too bad.

If she could hear what Chen Mo was thinking, she definitely would not have described his character as decent. This fellow never got up early without profit. How could he pay attention to anything else when there was money to be made? He would absolutely earn money first, then look at girls. This had much to do with his family's poor financial situation. If he had not studied well and worked as a migrant worker to earn money over the past few years, he might not even have been able to continue his education. So making money ranked highly in his heart.

Although he was now a Cultivation of Immortality practitioner, he had never thought of relying on that status for anything. In his heart, cultivation was merely a means to strengthen his body, extend his lifespan, and enhance his abilities. He did not consider Cultivation of Immortality practitioners especially noble.

When Yu Lao San had staged the fake accident against him earlier, Chen Mo had used his Spiritual Sense to inspect the wooden box and discovered that there was more to it than met the eye. Something was hidden inside. He had been stunned, wondering whether fake accident scammers had become so sophisticated that they were now trying a scam within a scam. But the development of events exceeded his expectations. Yu Lao San had not cared about the wooden box at all, so Chen Mo understood that Yu Lao San did not know about the hidden item. He had merely bought the box casually and put porcelain inside it as a tool for the fake accident.

However, even though he knew there was something inside the wooden box, he was not sure whether it had any value. What if it was just some cheap junk? Wouldn't he have set himself up? Although his Spiritual Sense showed a long object, he was no antique collector. He could only spend one thousand yuan to buy it. If he got fooled, then so be it.

But when the old man wanted to buy the wooden box and said it was an artifact from the Republic of China era, Chen Mo was delighted. He did not know what Chicken-wing wood was, nor did he know what was inside the box. But if the box itself was from the Republic of China era, then the item hidden inside might be valuable. At the very least, it proved that the thing inside was an old item from that period. It gave him the feeling of opening a treasure chest!

His major was biology. If someone asked what kind of plant Chicken-wing wood came from, where it grew, what family it belonged to, and so on, he could answer without hesitation. But if asked whether the wooden box was made of Chicken-wing wood or whether it was a Republic of China era item, he was completely lost. He could only understand that the box was made from Chicken-wing wood. As for the rest of the information—heh, he knew nothing!

Moreover, Chen Mo saw that the old man's bearing was restrained, his white hair and youthful complexion gave him an extraordinary air, and he did not seem like an ordinary person. So Chen Mo planned to take out the item inside, see what it was worth, and then sell it to the old man. Perhaps he would have his startup capital. Although he did not understand antiques, he had watched many Treasure appraisal shows and had some basic knowledge.

Besides, even if the old man did not buy it, he could still serve as a witness. Anyone who could tell at a glance what kind of wood the wooden box was made from had sharp eyesight and was no ordinary old man. He definitely knew his way around antiques. That was why Chen Mo had invited the old man to open the treasure chest with him.