The shopkeeper pointed to a corner filled with old coins and said with a smile, "I've got so copper coins here. Little girl, take a look and tell which ones you like. Since you're such a cute kid, I'll give you a discount."
Zhouzhou looked at him naively, "Really? Thank you, Uncle! But you have to give a good deal!"
"Of course, of course," the shopkeeper agreed, nodding. He thought to himself that those coins were practically worthless and hadn't sold in months. He might as well sell them to this simple-looking girl.
Zhouzhou approached the pile of copper coins, sifted through them with her chubby little hands, and wrinkled her nose in disgust. She then ran back to Mu Xuan, clutching his leg. "Brother, these are too dirty. I don't want them."
Mu Xuan, ever the doting brother, imdiately agreed. "Alright, let's keep looking."
Seeing this, the shopkeeper quickly called out, "Wait, wait, little girl, you don't understand. These aren't dirty; they're ancient, filled with historical value."
He certainly had a way with words.
Zhouzhou puffed her cheeks and said, "Uncle, are you trying to trick ? I'm telling you, I've been to kindergarten! I'm educated!"
The shopkeeper chuckled, convinced she was just a naive child. He took a rag and wiped off the coins before handing them to her.
"How about this, I'll give you a good price since I'm in a hurry to close up shop. One thousand yuan for the lot."
This rchant was quite the swindler, clearly basing his price on the one thousand yuan he overheard them ntion.
Zhouzhou's chubby finger extended, "Ten yuan! Take it or leave it."
The shopkeeper's eye twitched. "Little girl, if you haggle like this everywhere, you're bound to get into trouble, you know?"
Zhouzhou seed frightened by his words and quickly ran to Mu Xuan, clutching his leg and pretending to sob. "Brother, he's scary! Protect ! He wants to hit !"
Mu Xuan consoled her, shooting the shopkeeper a disapproving look. "Sir, there's no need to scare my sister. We're just here to do business."
Yun You nodded in agreent. "Yeah, if you scare her again, I'll teach you a lesson."
He rolled up his sleeves, shaking his fists threateningly.
The shopkeeper quickly apologized, "Alright, alright. I'll give you a better deal. Eight hundred yuan."
"One hundred yuan," Mu Xuan said calmly, stroking Zhouzhou's chubby hand.
"Six hundred. Any less and I can't sell them."
"Two hundred. If not, we'll just look elsewhere." Mu Xuan maintained his indifferent tone, as if the coins held no interest for him.
Seeing them about to leave, the shopkeeper hurriedly agreed, "Fine, two hundred. I'm practically giving them away."
He feigned a pained expression, but inwardly, he was already planning where to have dinner that night. Any profit was better than none, and he thought he was making a good deal.
He bagged up the coins and handed them over. Mu Xuan casually passed the bag to Zhouzhou as if it were a toy.
Once they were around the corner, Zhouzhou eagerly took out the coins, her eyes shining with delight.
"Are these really treasures?" Yun You asked, curious.
Zhouzhou nodded vigorously. "They're glowing with gold!"
She picked out three coins and smiled happily.
Mu Xuan examined one of the coins closely, his expression shifting from indifference to surprise. "Wanli Tongbao?"
Upon closer inspection, he confird it was indeed a rare Wanli Tongbao coin, worth over ten thousand yuan. Though not the most valuable, it was certainly a good find considering their minimal investnt.
Zhouzhou's eyes widened in astonishnt, and she excitedly showed him the rest of the coins. Aside from the three Zhouzhou had picked, the others were ordinary, worth about twenty or thirty yuan each.
The remaining two rare ones were a Malan Coin and a Yongzheng Tongbao, each valued at around ten thousand yuan.
All together, their haul was worth about thirty thousand yuan.
Zhouzhou jumped for joy. "We struck it rich!"
Seeing her so thrilled, Ye Lingfeng couldn't help but smile. He lightly flicked her hair adorned with a small good luck charm and asked, "Do you like this place I chose for you?"
"Yes, yes!" Zhouzhou nodded eagerly, grabbing his hand. "Sharp Tongue Uncle, let's find more treasures!"
Determined to reclaim her lost treasures, she scanned the market with renewed enthusiasm.
Ye Lingfeng, holding her tiny hand, followed closely. Zhouzhou ticulously searched for items with a golden glow.
Although most were fakes, she was thrilled when she finally spotted a faint golden light in a corner.
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she hesitated. The vendor there looked shrewd and tough, with thin cheeks and narrow eyes.
He seed the type to easily recognize genuine treasures and would likely refuse to sell or hike up the price.
What to do? She pondered, chubby fingers tapping her chin. Finding no solution, she ran to Mu Xuan and whispered her plan.
Mu Xuan nodded, rubbing his chin as he glanced at Yun You, who was curiously looking around. A mischievous gleam appeared in his eyes.
"Third Senior Brother, why don't you go with Zhouzhou to buy sothing?" Mu Xuan suggested.
"Why ?" Yun You asked, puzzled.
"Because you're Zhouzhou's favorite Third Senior Brother. She wants you to go with her," Mu Xuan replied smoothly.
Zhouzhou quickly nodded, grabbing Yun You's hand. "Yes, Third Senior Brother, co with ."
"Pretty please?" Zhouzhou pleaded, swaying his hand.
Yun You, unaware of Zhouzhou's real opinion of him, was flattered. He puffed out his chest. "Alright, I'll get us the best deal!"
"Yay!" Zhouzhou cheered, happily dragging him along.
Ye Lingfeng was about to follow, but Mu Xuan stopped him. "Let them handle this."
"Why?" Ye Lingfeng asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Zhouzhou said the vendor looks hard to fool. If we go, he'll likely raise the price. We need soone who looks less savvy," Mu Xuan explained.
Ye Lingfeng gave him a sideways glance. "Are you saying Zhouzhou looks stupid?"
"No, Zhouzhou is just pretending to be naive, but she's actually very clever."
"So Yun You is pretending too?"
"No," Mu Xuan said nonchalantly, brushing off his sleeve. "He really is that clueless."
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