The next day was the weekend.
Jas Ye was dragged by his father-in-law, Christopher Xiao, to the antique street early in the morning.
Christopher was in high spirits. As soon as he got out of the car, he waved at Jas and said, "Co on, let show you what it ans to find a hidden gem."
With that, he strode towards the antique street.
Jas had no choice but to follow quickly, glancing around as he walked.
On weekends, the antique street was much more crowded than usual.
The antique and jade shops on both sides were already densely packed, and the street vendors who ca out on weekends made the whole street even more congested.
Many vendors simply laid a plastic sheet on the ground, displaying various antiques and jade items, welcoming custors on the spot.
Jas casually scanned the items and found that almost none of them were genuine. They were all fake goods ant to deceive outsiders and tourists.
Many tourists who bought the fakes were completely unaware, holding their imitation treasures with beaming smiles, thinking they had scored a great deal.
"Here it is!"
Christopher stopped in front of a makeshift stall, his face barely concealing his excitent.
Several tourists were picking through the antiques at the stall. Afraid of missing out, Christopher quickly squeezed into the crowd.
Jas took a glance at the stall. It was just a piece of oilcloth on the ground with a dozen or so mud-covered antiques: blue and white porcelain horses, copper coins from the Five Emperors, copper wine cups, blood jade bracelets, yellowed calligraphy and paintings...
The items were dazzling, but Jas could tell at a glance that they were all fakes.
The stall owner was a small, dark-skinned man wearing a blue coarse cloth shirt. His hair was greasy and ssy, and he had an honest and simple appearance, looking extrely dull.
"Look at this!" Christopher excitedly called out to Jas, pointing at a colorful, big-bellied, small-mouthed bottle. He lowered his voice and said, "This is the wine vessel that matches my two cups! If I buy it and complete the set, the price will double!"
Jas glanced at the wine vessel, weighed it in his hand, and then looked up at the owner.
"How much?"
The owner stared with bulging eyes and said dumbly, "My, my dad said, at least twenty thousand, not a penny less!"
Christopher almost burst out laughing and quickly said to Jas, "This owner doesn't know the value. Let's buy it quickly before soone else snatches it."
With that, he hurriedly took out his wallet.
At this mont, Jas swiftly pressed down on his hand and smiled, "Dad, this thing isn't worth twenty thousand. Let's not buy it."
"What?" Christopher was stunned. "Then... how much do you think it's worth?"
Jas held up his hand and waved it in front of the owner. "This much."
"Five thousand?" the owner asked, wide-eyed.
Jas shook his head. "No, fifty bucks."
The owner looked at Jas as if he were an alien, staring at him for a few seconds before suddenly shouting, "Do you know anything? This is an antique left by my grandpa, a genuine treasure. You city folks are too bullying."
Christopher also got anxious, pulling Jas aside. "Don't talk nonsense and ruin the deal."
Jas smiled, turned the bottle over, and brushed away the yellow mud on the bottom, pointing to a narrow gap. "Dad, look at this."
The gap was so small that an ordinary person wouldn't notice it unless pointed out. Inside the gap, there was a row of tiny English letters.
"Made in China."
Christopher was stunned, his mouth wide open, unable to react for a long ti.
Suddenly, he ca to his senses, his face turning red as he pointed at the owner and shouted.
"You, you swindler!"
Jas shook the wine vessel in front of the honest-looking owner and said, "Even the manufacturer didn't dare openly forge an antique and deliberately wrote this mark. You're quite clever, covering it with mud. One word, thirty bucks, take it or leave it."
"This..."
The owner was stunned for a mont, then the honest look on his face disappeared, and he slapped his forehead with a wry smile.
"Bosses, I left in a hurry today and brought the wrong bottle."
"Brought the wrong one?" Jas smiled, picked up a mud-covered snuff bottle, scraped the mud from the mouth, and held it up to the sunlight, saying seriously, "This one isn't wrong, it's made in Su City."
Inside the snuff bottle, there was a row of transparent small characters.
"Made by Su City Craft Factory."
"I can't read, who knows what this says." The owner, seeing he was exposed, didn't even want to do business anymore. He wrapped up the oilcloth with a wry smile and tried to slip away.
Christopher finally ca to his senses, furious, realizing he had been played for a fool.
He grabbed the owner and roared.
"You swindler, give my money back."
"What money? I've never seen you before." The owner struggled hard, and fake copper coins and jade horses kept falling from the oilcloth he was holding.
The jade horse didn't even break when it hit the ground, clearly made of hardened plastic.
"If you don't refund , I'll call the police!" Christopher shouted, his eyes wide with rage, almost bursting with anger.
During their tussle, an item suddenly fell from the owner's arms.
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As it fell, Jas's eyes narrowed, staring intently at the item on the ground.
It was a white pebble the size of a fist, looking exactly like the pebbles found on riverbanks, gray and dull.
But there was sothing different about this pebble; it had a few words carved into it—Peace and Prosperity!
The carving was crude, obviously done by hand.
Such carved stones were common in tourist areas and were worthless, no wonder the owner hadn't displayed it.
However, Jas quickly stepped forward, picked up the stone, and felt his blood suddenly boil.
Just now, he sensed a different kind of aura emanating from this antique!
It was more like an energy, a magnetic field, strongly attracting him.
Jas knew this must be the spiritual energy recorded in the Nine Mysterious Heavenly Scriptures!
Spiritual energy was a long-lost mysterious energy that could not only completely transform a person's physical condition but also be used for cultivation, producing many incredible effects!
Jas was overjoyed, nonchalantly weighing the pebble in his hand, and asked, "Is this yours?"
The owner was stunned for a mont, then instinctively nodded, "Yes."
"How much for this stone?"
Christopher was also surprised and asked, "Why are you buying this worthless stone? Don't you know this swindler sells only fakes?"
"It's just a stone. Buying it to ward off bad luck isn't a bad idea." Jas smiled.
The owner took the opportunity to break free from Christopher's grip, grinning at Jas. "You really want to buy it?"
Jas nodded. "Yes, really."
The owner imdiately perked up, speaking eloquently, "Brother, you have a good eye! Don't be fooled by the plain appearance of this pebble. It has an extraordinary origin. It was once a paperweight on Emperor Qianlong's desk..."
Jas didn't have ti for his long-winded story and impatiently interrupted.
"Cut the crap, get to the point!"
The owner laughed awkwardly. "Since you know your stuff, how about... twenty thousand!"
Jas sneered. "Are you crazy? One price, three hundred! If you don't sell, I'll call the police."
"Three hundred?" The owner sighed and laughed. "Brother, you know your stuff. Three hundred it is."
Jas smiled slightly, holding the stone in his hand.
Christopher was puzzled, not knowing why he bought such a worthless stone. Just as he was about to ask, a lazy voice ca from the side.
"Hey, this stone looks good. I'll take it!"
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