Chapter 17: The Ninth Yang Wipes Away Dust

  I looked up and saw an old man wearing a Tang suit walking over, with a shiny forehead, not a single hair on it, but a lot of white whiskers. His square face was plump and smooth, without a single wrinkle, and had a greasy sheen to it. At first glance, he didn't look like someone who had suffered.

  "Mr. Lin, how did you come?", "Old Master Lin, hello." ...Among the crowd of onlookers, many people accompanied by smiles greeted the old man, it seems that this old man is a well-known figure in this area.

  An old man with the surname Lin, about seventy years old, came in and first gave a self-introduction to me and Jin Gang Cannon: "Old Lin from Jian Gu Zhai, may I ask if this duster belongs to you two brothers?" His eyes didn't leave the duster while speaking.

  "Yes, what can I do for you?" I replied politely.

  "Are you selling?" Lin Zhang asked straightforwardly.

  "Since you've brought it, you must be selling it. How much are you asking for?" I asked tentatively.

  The old man stretched out one hand.

  What's going on? I'm muttering to myself. This young thing doesn't even understand the rules of antique trading, let alone read gestures.

  Boss Lin saw I didn't react and changed his gesture, turning it into six.

  Oh~ So the hand gesture earlier meant five. I suddenly realized it. This old man is very cunning. He only said five, but whether it's fifty, five hundred, or fifty thousand depends on the seller's expected value. If I respond with "five hundred?" now, then it's over, he'll understand my expected value, haha, what a sly old fox!

  I saw through his intention and pretended to be foolish "Old man, what is this six? Is it six thousand or sixty thousand?"

  "Sixty thousand!" Lin Zhanggu said in a deep voice! As soon as Lin Zhanggu's words fell, the surroundings were in an uproar.

  "My goodness, my first thought was that I'm going to get rich. I turned around and looked at Jin Gang Cannon, who also happened to turn towards me. I furrowed my brow at him, signaling him to wait a bit."

  I turned around and smiled at Lin, shaking my head. The things that Jin Gang and I risked our lives to get from the ancient tomb were definitely not fakes. And the reason why we sat here for several hours without anyone asking about them was because there was no connoisseur, now that a connoisseur has arrived, I naturally want to show off a bit.

  Boss Lin also smiled and pinched his thumb, middle finger and index finger together with his right hand.

  "Seven hundred thousand." My heart skipped a beat, but I still didn't speak up, while Jin Gang cannon had already kicked me several times from behind without leaving any trace.

  Seeing me unresponsive, Lin Zhang's expression was one of great surprise "Young brother, may I take a closer look at the item?"

  Jin Gang cannon didn't wait for me to speak and handed over the duster. I turned around and glanced at him, this guy was staring straight at Lin Zhuanggui, not even looking at me.

  Lin took the duster and naturally wiped it a few times, swinging it back and forth. He sighed, returned the duster to Jin Gang Pao, and slowly turned around, as if he was about to leave.

  Jin Gang cannon kicked me again, I turned around and glared at him fiercely. If there weren't so many people around, I would have scolded him long ago. This guy saw that I was angry, waved his hand, meaning it's up to me.

  As expected, Lin Zhanggui turned around, but didn't leave. He hesitated for a moment, then suddenly turned back, his right hand clenched into a fist, and his expression became somewhat unnatural.

  "Wow, one hundred thousand!" The onlookers exclaimed in surprise!

  I'm so confident that he won't leave because of the old man's very natural and effortless movement when he picked up the duster earlier. This natural and effortless movement revealed his true intentions. You see, when I first picked up this duster, I completely misjudged its weight, so when I picked it up, my wrist would involuntarily use a bit of force to lift it. But when Lin Zhanggui picked up the duster, he didn't have any surprised or strained expression at all, which means he had already estimated the weight of this duster beforehand and was pretending to be unaware of it. I cursed him silently in my heart, feeling quite disgusted with his character.

  At this moment, the bald-headed man who was standing aside took off his sunglasses and sneered: "Long time no see, Boss Lin is getting better at doing business."

  "Hey, Director Yang, you're such a busy person, how did you end up strolling around here?" Lin Zhuang hastily made a bow to the bald-headed man. It was clear that this bald-headed man wasn't an ordinary person. At that time in society, there were only a handful of people who could be called "Director". Unlike now, where throwing a brick could kill several "Directors".

  "Heh heh, I'll take a look at my market and inform you, Boss Lin? If I didn't come here to hang out, how would I see you teasing young people?" It's clear that the bald man is still a bit upset about being ignored earlier, and he glares at Manager Lin with annoyance.

  "Heh heh, heh heh, I don't dare, I don't dare, it's just for you to see the joke, I'm not doing this for food and drink." Lin Zhanggui humbly smiled.

  Damn it, tens of thousands of people, just for a mouthful of food, you son of a bitch eat shark fin and bird's nest every day. I cursed in my heart.

  "Boss Lin, these two are my esteemed guests. Give them a fair price for their goods." Baldy said as he pulled out a pack of cigarettes, took out three and handed one to me and one to Jin Gangpao, taking one himself. Someone nearby helped him light it up, and he nodded at the person with a hint of a smile on his face.

  I took out a lighter and lit it up, taking a puff. It was really good! The flavor was mellow and smooth. I looked at the cigarette butt and found it was "Da Zhonghua".

  "Director Yang, you've spoken, I don't dare to tell lies in front of you. Actually, not long after these two young brothers arrived, I saw that their items were all genuine treasures. The worst one was the broken male night-blooming cereus, but even that couldn't have been formed in just 180 years. At least it must be three to five hundred years old."

  What is Ye Jiao Teng? My brain quickly turned around and oh, it's that He Shou Wu.

  "Mr. Lin, just give us a straight answer about how much it's worth, don't beat around the bush, we still have to go eat dinner." Bald-headed Yang looked at his watch, lifting up his wrist.

  "Director Yang, to be honest with you, I don't have the qualifications to touch anything these two young brothers have except for the Night Blooming Jasmine that I bought." Lin Zhuang said with a dejected expression.

  "Oh? What does this mean? Tell me more." Yang was getting interested.

  "Director Yang, although you are the general manager of our Sanhuai market, you have never been interested in antiques. Unlike us small people, who spend all day thinking about these useless things." Lin Zhuanggui regretted his earlier failure to recognize a great opportunity and tried to flatter him.

  "Let's get down to business, Mr. Lin." The bald man interrupted him.

  "I'm just a humble person, but based on my observation, these few items from the two young brothers are at least from the Sui and Tang dynasties. Items from that period are extremely rare due to the continuous wars, and the carvings are very unique, so it's easy to distinguish between genuine and fake." Lin Zhang's words were like shooting stars.

  "Although those items are precious, they can still be found and have a price. In fact, among these items, the most valuable one is this duster. If I'm not mistaken, this duster should be a magical tool of a Taoist master. The handle is made of Kunlun Jiuyang Song wood, which only grows in limited quantities on the south slope of Mount Kunlun, the sacred place of the Dragon Vein. By the Song dynasty, it was already extremely rare. I attended an auction at the Jiahong Auction House in Hong Kong in the 1980s, and they sold a small piece of Jiuyang Song wood, said to be obtained by a tomb raider from the grave of a Sui dynasty empress. It's said that Jiuyang Song can ward off all evils, so the bidding was very fierce, and in the end, it sold for 12 million yuan, which caused quite a stir at the time..."

  People are lucky, lies have people to help you make up for it. I just said that I am a Taoist from Kunlun Mountain, and Lin Zhanggu immediately confirmed my lie from the side. I secretly laughed in my heart. However, why does the word Jiuyang Song sound so familiar?

  Just as Lin Zhang was speaking with great enthusiasm, Yang suddenly interjected, "How do you know that the wooden duster these two young brothers are holding is definitely made of the wood you mentioned?"

  "Since General Yang is interested, how dare I hide it? It's said that the Kunlun Jiuyang Song is as hard and heavy as gold, but it doesn't sink in water!" Lin Zhuanggui said with a straight face.

  "Water's coming! Water's coming!" The vendor next to me, holding a big ceramic jar, shouted while running. Damn, you're quite agile.

  As he ran closer, I took a peek and found that there were still several goldfish swimming inside, it turned out to be an aquarium.

  "Borrow." Lin Zhang stretched out his hand and took the duster back from Jin Gangpao, and with a flick of his wrist, threw it into the porcelain vase.

  "Hey, be gentle, you'll break it and have to pay for it!" I muttered to myself.

  Only to see the floating dust sink directly to the bottom of the water, Lin Zhang's face was shocked. If he had lost his eyes in front of so many people, where would he put his face? Just as the crowd burst into laughter, the handle of the duster slowly stood up in the water, and the few goldfish in the water seemed to have encountered a nemesis, frantically avoiding swimming towards the wall of the vase.

  "The dust is too heavy, haha, indeed it's the Kunlun Jiuyang Song" Lin Zhang rubbed his mustache, very self-satisfied. Although it was no longer possible to pick up the leak, but being able to show off one's broad knowledge in front of so many people, Lin Zhang was still very pleased with himself.

  "Two young brothers, it's about time, let's go." Yang reminded.

  I raised my hand to look at the watch, it was almost six o'clock, so I urged Jinggaocao to pack up his things and leave behind a disappointed Lin Zhanggu and the onlookers, getting into Yang's BMW.

  Jin Gang Pao, this guy's anxiety was relieved and he was in a great mood. After getting on the bus, he pressed his palms together and said "Amitabha" to everyone. Damn it, monks don't say that, I'd like to kick this fat-headed fool down.