Volume 1 Chapter 22: Three-Legged Furnace

  Liu Yi Yang, Zhao Lei and a girl named Wang Xiao Li were divided into one group.

  They are the seventh group, if there is a discovery that they themselves are not sure about, they can ask Gu Jiyan for help to identify it. If Gu Jiyan also thinks it's right, then they can buy it themselves or let Gu Jiyan decide whether the club should spend money to buy it. The club has its own small museum, and at that time, the purchased items can be put in there to enrich the collection.

  If Gu Jiyue couldn't see it clearly and felt that this thing was very good and didn't want to give up, he would call Ren Lijuan and Hai Dong over together to discuss it, which was their double insurance.

  Among these insurance circles, Liang Liqiang is obviously the last person with authority.

  Of course, if something is not right, Gu Ji-yue will not notify anyone. At that time, just tell them directly and go see other things. The purpose of today's activity is to enhance everyone's practical ability. It's more fun with many people than alone.

  More than 200 people, all young, rushed into the antique city at once.

  So many people coming in also made the market much more lively. The two leaders from the Youth League saw this scene and smiled on their faces.

  It's still good to be in the student era, such activities can only be done more purely by students. If it were a unit or other company, some people would cheat for honor, such as arranging to entrust and selling things at low prices, or bribing experts and other cheating behaviors.

  These students wouldn't do such a thing, not because they don't understand it, but for them doing so would completely lose its meaning. This time there was no prize money for winning, and once discovered, their school would never be able to hold its head up again.

  This time, everyone is fighting with their true abilities.

  The Coastal Antique City is very large, with three horizontal and three vertical main streets, and two large shed markets.

  The location of Bin Hai Square is on the East Street, which is not wide and has small shops on both sides. However, it's close to the First Big Shed Market, where there are many vendors selling antiques at stalls underneath, commonly known as "small vendors".

  This time's activity, the items for participation have strict price regulations, so the big shed market became the students' favorite. The students of Bin Hai School basically all ran to there, and Zhao Lei, the group leader of Liu Yi Yang's group, also didn't think much and chose here first.

  Things in the street stall area are cheap, buy accurately, buy genuinely, and have a great chance of being selected to earn points.

  Liu Yi Yang didn't have any opinion on where to go, he was a newcomer himself and hadn't thought of making any moves this time. In his view, he was just following along for the ride.

  He came to steal some sauce and coincidentally stole some spiritual energy, this was his goal.

  There were many people in the street vendor area, scattered into small groups of three or five after they dispersed. Many stalls had customers, and although business was usually slow on hot afternoons, these students somehow made the market very lively, with people asking prices everywhere.

  "Zhao Lei, what do you think of this?"

  Next to a small stall, three people were squatting there, looking at some things laid out on the ground.

  Most of the things displayed on the ground were bronze and jade, which looked like they had been coated with a layer of grime, making them look old. However, Liu Yi Yang was well aware that there couldn't be many genuine antiques among them, and even if there were, they wouldn't be worth much. The antique market's street stalls had always been like this, preying on people who liked to get a good deal and foreigners. As for the other items, if someone knew what they were looking at, they would only sell them for the price of a handicraft, making just enough to cover their costs.

  After watching for a while, Zhao Lei slightly shook his head and didn't speak, then led Liu Yiyang to walk aside.

  When Wang Xiaoli asked the question, Liu Yi Yang had already focused his mind on the small stall. Soon, several small jade instruments emitted a faint aura, which disappeared after just one burst.

  Looking at the thin transparent halo on several small jade utensils, Liu Yi Yang nodded slightly.

  This shows that the situation of the stall and what he understood is indeed the same, there are only a few genuine items on the stall, but they are not valuable, this is also the current state of the flea market.

  To put it bluntly, apart from a few old brands in Xuan Ya Zhai, all the other shops in the antique city have more or less fake products, which is also the reason why they can't be compared with Xuan Ya Zhai.

  Zhao Lei's eyesight is still good, the bronze ware that Wang Xiaoli thought was genuine was vetoed by him first, and he didn't even ask the company's advisory team to come over and help with the appraisal.

  After turning several stalls, Zhao Lei still didn't make a move, but the others in the group kept making phone calls. Gu Jiyue and another deputy general manager, Hai Dong, were completely busy, and even Ren Lijuan was running around non-stop.

  The activity is proceeding with great enthusiasm, and soon all the students have come to like this kind of activity.

  Browsing the market and treasure hunting were already their favorite things to do, now with the added element of competition, it has further boosted their enthusiasm. By relying on their own eyesight to find real treasures, not only are they thrilled but also turn it into school achievements, becoming a source of pride and glory for themselves, just thinking about it makes them very happy.

  Everyone is working hard to use their knowledge and abilities to select the real treasures for themselves and add glory to the school.

  "Xiao Li, Yi Yang, what do you think of this?"

  After wandering for over twenty minutes, Zhao Lei finally took the initiative to ask at a stall under a big shed.

  He inquired about it, proving he had a good eye for this thing, and it was also his first favorite item.

  What Zhao Lei referred to is also a bronze ware, a bronze three-legged stove with full copper rust. The three-legged stove was very common in ancient times. Judging from its appearance, it looks like a three-legged stove of the Warring States period.

  Unfortunately, this stove is not complete, otherwise it would not be thrown here.

  "It looks pretty good, this patina, the rust is very realistic, especially these rust marks, one layer on top of another, it should be real!"

  Wang Xiaoli took a closer look and nodded first. Based on her experience, it looked like the real thing no matter how she looked at it.

  "Yi Yang, what do you think?" Seeing Wang Xiao Li's approval, Zhao Wei asked Liu Yi Yang again.

  He is not a dictatorial team leader, willing to ask for opinions from other members within the group, which is very good, so that everyone can learn something when discussing together.

  Liu Yi Yang was looking at something else, and all the way he had been constantly absorbing the red spiritual energy. Although many things did not emit spiritual energy or emitted very little, but accumulated over time, he already felt that his spirit was quite good, and even the scorching heat outside seemed to have alleviated a lot.

  Liu Yi Yang, who was asked, hastily turned his head and looked carefully for a while before nodding in agreement: "I think it's not bad either!"

  He's telling the truth, this stove is no fake, it's a genuine Warring States three-legged furnace.

  Under his focus, a wisp of purple spiritual energy emerged from the bronze furnace. The appearance of spiritual energy proved that it was definitely not fake, but unfortunately, there was very little spiritual energy and it disappeared in just a few seconds.

  Through these days of observation and comparison, Liu Yiyang found that the color of the spiritual energy is not fixed and unchanged. Whether it was Tang Song or Ming Qing, the spiritual energy displayed was red, only during the Han Dynasty would there be changes.

  During the Eastern Han period, everything was also red, only the color was a bit deeper. By the Western Han period, many things had spiritual energy that emerged in purple, with different colors, but when they entered Liu Yi Yang's forehead, the feeling was the same, and the emerging spiritual energy was more or less the same, with high-value ones having more and low-value ones having fewer.

  Why is it like this, he still hasn't figured out the reason until now.

  "Boss, how much is this three-legged stove?"

  Having received Liu Yi Yang's affirmation, Zhao Lei's smile grew even brighter. He turned his head and quietly asked the stall owner who had been observing them.

  So many students rushed in, which had already startled the vendors here. After asking each other, they soon knew that it was a collection activity organized by several schools' antique clubs. They were very supportive of such activities, absolutely supportive.

  These students with a collecting hobby are different from those who just come to join in the fun and browse around. They have a certain purchasing power and like this kind of thing, so it's very likely that they will make a successful transaction. When Zhao Lei asked the price, the vendor smiled and stretched out his palm.

  "Good eyes, little brother! This is a genuine Warring States period bronze tripod, what a treasure! Bronze artifacts were not valued in the past, but now the market is just starting to heat up. If you buy it back, it will appreciate greatly in value soon. And this one isn't expensive, this price is okay!"

  The vendor smiled and stretched out a palm in front of Zhao Wei, shaking it back and forth.

  "Five hundred?" Zhao Lei furrowed his brow and asked in a low voice.

  "Little brother, what joke are you playing? How can the things from the Warring States period be worth only 500? At least it's 5,000. If this furnace doesn't have any flaws, people would fight to get it for 50,000!"

  The vendor shook his head immediately, and Liu Yi Yang also shook his head beside him.

  This Warring States three-legged furnace is missing a lot, two rings are gone, and the mouth of the furnace still has obvious scars. Selling such a furnace for 5,000 yuan is a bit expensive, but it's impossible to sell it for 500 yuan, which would be a loss. The normal value of this kind of furnace is around 3,000 yuan.

  Liu Yi Yang has maintained many bronze artifacts and has a certain understanding of their value.

  "Five thousand is too expensive!"

  Zhao Lei's eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and he looked at the three-legged stove with some regret. He and Liu Yi Yang thought similarly, that this stove was worth only a little over 3,000 yuan. If it could be bought for less than 2,000 yuan, it would be absolutely fine. Not only could they make a small profit, but also represent their school in the final evaluation and compete for an honor.

  Five thousand yuan is even higher than its real market value. He definitely won't want it, let alone that five thousand yuan is still a considerable amount of money for him.

  "How much do you want?"

  The vendor stared intently at Zhao Wei, nowadays business is not easy to do, he would sell anything that can make money, and he was also good at reading people, seeing that the young students in front of him really wanted to buy this thing.

  "Fifteen hundred!"

  After hesitating for a moment, Zhao Lei finally quoted a price, and with one slash, he cut off three thousand five. Liu Yi Yang raised his head in surprise, looking at Zhao Lei, not expecting this refined young man to be so ruthless when haggling over prices.

  "Fifteen hundred, absolutely impossible! You can't find a Warring States furnace like this for fifteen hundred anywhere. Little brother, I think you really like this thing. One price, three thousand five. If you want it, take it away. If not, I'll keep it!"

  The vendor's voice rose a few more decibels, and the price drop was quite drastic, from 5,000 to 3,500, which is equivalent to a 30% discount, making it 70% off.

  However, this price is really too high. The market price of this stove is just that much, unless the vendor is in urgent need of money and wants to sell it at a loss, otherwise it's hard to lower the price further.