The Fantastic Little Farmer

Chapter 205: Chapter 205: I’m Most Familiar With This Antique

Chu Zhongyang’s old face instantly flushed crimson.

”You, you... I, I...”

Seeing how the old man bristled with indignant embarrassment after being exposed, Zhang Yun scoffed. ”Don’t get so worked up. At your age, if you drop dead from a stroke, they’ll blame me for angering you to death.”

”Sigh...” Chu Zhongyang let out a long breath. ”I’ll go with you right now to explain things to that stall owner and publicly apologize to him and everyone else!”

”There’s no need,” Zhang Yun sneered.

Chu Zhongyang said solemnly, ”When I offered to buy it for fifty thousand earlier, I thought you didn’t actually like it and only paid for it so the owner wouldn’t lose money. I caused this mess. Even if I don’t care for the item, I should be the one to deal with it.”

His expression grew complicated. ”But since you think I’m still trying to score a cheap deal... then I’ll buy it for one hundred thousand! Or you name a price. I only just saw it and haven’t examined it properly. I never planned to buy it, so I have no idea how much it’s actually worth.”

Zhang Yun suddenly couldn’t figure out what kind of person this old man was. However, anyone who could set up a stall here definitely had good taste and Experience. The stall owner had only asked for eighty-eight thousand, fully expecting the price to be haggled down by half. So, even if this item had a decent market value, it was probably only worth around one hundred thousand, right?

”You want to buy it back? Two hundred thousand!”

Chu Zhongyang hesitated briefly before nodding. ”Alright. Even if it’s not worth that much, my old face and my shame combined make up the difference. Two hundred thousand it is. I accept!”

He immediately asked for Zhang Yun’s bank account details, prepared to exchange the money for the item right then and there.

”Hold on a second!” Zhang Yun quickly called a halt. ”Let’s change locations. If the onlookers from earlier see us doing this, they’ll think I’m your shill—that you used your status as an expert to suppress the price, and I pretended to be a good Samaritan to buy it cheap.”

”That... Fine, let’s go somewhere else. I was invited here to appraise a treasure. You have a sharp eye, my young friend. Care to join me and take a look?” Chu Zhongyang invited.

Zhang Yun hadn’t been able to absorb Energy from the large stores for free, which was why he had been lingering around the street stalls. Whoever invited Chu Zhongyang had to be from a large store, and the item needing appraisal was undoubtedly something good!

”My skills are lacking. I’ll just tag along to broaden my horizons.”

”After you!”

Chu Zhongyang led the way to Gilded Hall, commonly known as the Liu Family’s Old Store. Rumor had it that the Liu Family Cave market had originally expanded outward around this very shop.

Once they were inside the VIP room in the back, Chu Zhongyang transferred the two hundred thousand to Zhang Yun and bought the Bronze Venerable. Perhaps he would immediately turn around and sell it to Gilded Hall. Bolstered by his status and reputation, Gilded Hall definitely wouldn’t offer anything less than two hundred thousand, and they could package it nicely to sell for a premium.

”This is Elder Liu, Liu Jiachang, the current head of the century-old Gilded Hall.” Chu Zhongyang introduced their host for the day to Zhang Yun. ”And this is my new young friend, Zhang Yun.”

”Make yourself at home. Any friend of Old Chu is a friend of mine. Just call me Old Liu, or Uncle Liu is fine too,” Liu Jiachang greeted cheerfully.

Zhang Yun didn’t take it to heart. Businessmen were the best at spewing pleasantries. On the very first meeting, they could act as warm and enthusiastic as a blood brother, but if you didn’t have the status, they might not even recognize you the next day.

The two older men must have met frequently, as they didn’t waste time catching up. With Zhang Yun, an unfamiliar newcomer, present, they refrained from delving into deeper personal matters and quickly got down to business.

Liu Jiachang arranged for someone to bring the items over.

”Help me take a look at these, old brother.” He first opened two exquisite boxes. ”I just received these. They’re said to have quite the background, but I can’t quite see through them.”

Chu Zhongyang took one look and immediately asked, ”Xiaozhang, what do you think?”

Zhang Yun felt rather speechless at that moment. He thought, ”How do I see them? I see them with my eyes...”

He was far too familiar with these two items!

A Compass and a copper bell... It couldn’t be that much of a coincidence, could it?

He had handed everything over for Zhang Youcai to handle, and Zhang Yun hadn’t had the time to check on them over the past few days. But out of all the items he had acquired, these two had given him the most Energy, fetched the highest asking prices, and left the deepest impression on him.

He picked them up for a brief inspection. Sure enough, there was a familiar sensation, but they no longer contained any Energy.

”These likely came from an old Daoist in the countryside.”

”A Daoist?” Chu Zhongyang paused in surprise. This Compass should have belonged to a Feng Shui Master, shouldn’t it?

Liu Jiachang humbly asked for guidance. ”Why do you say that?”

”Some old Daoists in the countryside are different from orthodox Cultivators of the Daoist School. In reality, they handle all sorts of unorthodox practices related to folk beliefs and superstitions. They read feng shui, appraise burial sites, calculate auspicious dates, perform funeral rites, and even do exorcisms and soul-calling rituals...”

Zhang Yun watched the two old men listen attentively, unsure if they were just putting on an act.

”Returning to this set, they should belong to the same person. However, the set isn’t complete. There might be other pieces out there, or perhaps these were the only ones recovered. Based on my observation—or rather, my intuition—they aren’t that old. They might only date back a few decades, but their original owner must have possessed a considerable level of cultivation.”

Liu Jiachang didn’t express an opinion after hearing this, looking toward Chu Zhongyang instead.

Chu Zhongyang had already examined the items. ”Xiaozhang and I have a similar feeling. In terms of age, these two items are likely only a few decades old. This falls within my area of expertise. As for whether the owner had any cultivation, that sort of metaphysical matter is outside my field of research.”

After listening to Chu Zhongyang’s relatively conservative assessment, Liu Jiachang laughed. ”Xiaozhang is indeed highly skilled. I didn’t mention the origins of these items, yet you managed to provide an almost identical analysis just from a simple appraisal! The information we received when acquiring them matches exactly with what Xiaozhang said.”

”I brought these out on a whim, and you brought Xiaozhang here unannounced. Otherwise, people would actually think we’re a couple of shills working in tandem.” Liu Jiachang’s attitude toward Zhang Yun shifted from polite courtesy to genuine appreciation.

Chu Zhongyang was equally surprised. Had he not witnessed Zhang Yun’s abilities firsthand, he would have genuinely suspected the young man of being a plant arranged by Liu Jiachang.

”These were just an appetizer. They aren’t important. This is the real item I wanted you to take a look at!”

Liu Jiachang opened a large box, then unsealed a smaller box inside, which contained yet another box protected by a glass cover.

”A Seal?” Chu Zhongyang was somewhat surprised.

Liu Jiachang said seriously, ”It’s not convenient for me to disclose the exact origins. I can only reveal that it was recently unearthed. Its history likely spans over three thousand years. You’re the expert—help me verify if it’s genuine!”

Hearing this, both Chu Zhongyang and Zhang Yun guessed that these undisclosed origins either stemmed from an archaeological site or tomb raiding. The three-thousand-year timeframe was tied to that excavation site.

If it was unearthed from a three-thousand-year-old Ancient Tomb, it was highly unlikely that it had been planted there by later generations. It was at least three thousand years old; what he wanted to know was whether its history stretched back even further!

Chu Zhongyang lifted the glass cover, put on a pair of gloves, and then carefully picked it up. He scrutinized it closely, occasionally using a magnifying glass he had prepared.

”Xiaozhang, have a look.”

Zhang Yun didn’t put on gloves and took it directly from him. Liu Jiachang opened his mouth to say something but didn’t stop him, though he looked somewhat displeased.