Chapter 25: Picking Up A Small Leak

  Gu Jiyue rushed over as soon as she received the call, but on the way, she happened to meet another group who pulled her over to help them look at something, which delayed her for a bit.

  Zhao Lei and Wang Xiaoli hurriedly walked out, Liu Yi Yang also followed.

  "Ji Yue, you've finally arrived! Come quickly and help me take a look at this mirror, I really like it!"

  Wang Xiaoli grasped Gu Jiyue's arm, excitedly saying that she and Gu Jiyue had a good relationship in the past, and Gu Jiyue had helped her many times before. She admired Gu Jiyue's abilities, and with Gu Jiyue by her side, she felt like she had a backbone.

  "Good!"

  Gu Jiyue nodded slightly, and Liu Yiyang discovered that this beautiful girl had a lot of sparkling sweat beads on her forehead, and the expert team estimated that she had not been idle all along.

  Wang Xiaoli pulled Gu Jiyue directly to the counter of the copper mirror cabinet, pointing at the black copper mirror inside and saying: "Jiyue, take a look, it's this one. It looks very much like it's from the Tang Dynasty. Zhao Lei said it didn't look like it, that it was a later imitation. We don't know what specific time period it's an imitation of, so we've asked you to come and take a look!"

  It was still that copper mirror. Liu Yi Yang had seen this mirror before. Zhao Lei's guess was correct, and this was indeed not the real Tang Mirror.

  The real Tang mirror is exquisite and majestic, but this copper mirror does not have this feature, nor is it a new imitation. The spiritual energy emanating from the copper mirror earlier has already proven this point.

  Judging from the thickness of the transparent light circle around the bronze mirror, Liu Yi Yang guessed that this was an imitation product of the Jin and Song dynasties. The Tang mirror is very famous, and later generations have always admired the Tang mirror, so there are many imitations. These imitations are not counterfeit products, but rather things made by people who liked the style of the Tang mirror at the time.

  It's just like many modern people like Qinghua, so many kilns have produced large bottles and jars in the style of Ming and Qing dynasties. These reproductions are not counterfeit products, they have obvious modern characteristics, and are modern handicrafts.

  This mirror is an ancient 'crafts', people at that time liked Tang mirrors and specially imitated them for home use.

  "The mirror is good, it's a Jin Dynasty imitation of a Tang Dynasty mirror, how much does it cost?"

  Gu Jiyue looked at it carefully for a while before speaking in a low voice, Liu Yiyang raised his head and glanced at her with a hint of admiration.

  This beautiful girl, the department flower of their clinical medicine department, actually has her own real abilities. He guessed that this copper mirror was a replica from the Jin Song period because of the transparent light circle around the copper mirror, and its thickness is similar to the ancient artifacts he had maintained during the Jin Song period.

  But Gu Jiyue was able to see through all of this with just one glance.

  "He wants five thousand!"

  Wang Xiaoli hastily replied, and the shop owner was also on the side at this time, paying attention to them.

  This afternoon, the school had an activity where students who liked collecting things came to participate. He also knew some of them, and it wasn't just Liu Yiyang's group that had been coming and going for a long time. They had already inquired about each other, so they weren't particularly surprised that they could tell this was a Jin Dynasty bronze mirror, after all, they were all connoisseurs.

  He is concerned about whether this deal can be made.

  "Five thousand is too expensive, three thousand is about right, don't buy if it's more than three thousand!"

  Gu Jiyue immediately shook her head. Wang Xiaoli was very convinced of her and directly used this sentence to haggle with the store owner, indicating that she would not buy it if it exceeded 3,000.

  The boss disagreed, the opening price of 5,000 yuan for this mirror is not high. The main reason is that Tang mirrors are a niche category and there aren't many people who like them yet. There aren't any truly good Tang mirrors circulating on the market either, even if they do exist, they're mostly those with poor quality. High-quality Tang mirrors are very valuable and wouldn't be found in small shops like theirs.

  Besides, this mirror is not a real Tang Dynasty mirror, but only an imitation from the Jin Dynasty later on. So, there are even fewer people who want this kind of mirror. This copper mirror has been with him for almost half a year, otherwise he wouldn't have offered a price of 5,000. When the mirror first arrived in his hands, his asking price was 8,000. After half a year, it had dropped by nearly half. Unexpectedly, this newly arrived beautiful young girl was so ruthless, and as soon as she came, she cut him down by 2,000.

  The shop owner hurriedly haggled with Wang Xiaoli, but Wang Xiaoli didn't budge, saying that if they wouldn't sell for 3,000, she would leave immediately.

  The shop owner actively reduced it to 4,000 yuan. Seeing that Wang Xiaoli still disagreed and wanted to leave, he could only grit his teeth and agree in the end.

  At a price of three thousand, he doesn't make much money, but he also doesn't lose. Selling this item can at least recover some funds and not worry about selling it out and pressing the funds for a long time.

  The copper mirror is still too niche, I believe the owner of this store will no longer sell such things in the future.

  She bought the mirror at a price of 3,000 yuan and Wang Xiaoli immediately showed a happy smile. She was not stupid, she knew that this price was absolutely the lowest, it was hard to make the boss feel painful, and it was all thanks to Gu Jiayue's help!

  Wang Xiaoli brought cash, did not swipe a card, and directly paid for the goods and receipt.

  This time the shop owner seemed to be very stingy, only giving Wang Xiaoli a ordinary small box, also worth three thousand yuan, Liu Yiyang's box was much more exquisite than Wang Xiaoli's.

  It can also be seen that this price is really not a satisfactory price for the boss.

  Wang Xiaoli didn't mind these small issues at all, and walked out of the store with Gu Jiyuan, while Zhao Lei and Liu Yiyang followed behind, with Zhao Lei seeming a bit anxious.

  In the afternoon they bought three things, but he didn't get any. With limited time about to end, it's very likely that he will gain nothing today.

  "Xiao Li, congratulations, you've picked up a small leak!"

  As soon as they left the store, Gu Jiyue excitedly hugged Wang Xiaoli and said with a smile.

  "Ji Yue, what did you say? What's this about a small leak?" Wang Xiaoli asked hastily, looking somewhat bewildered.

  "Ji Yue, isn't this a mirror from the Jin Dynasty, a genuine Tang mirror?"

  Zhao Lei also crawled over from behind, with a look of surprise on his face, and asked even more anxiously.

  Gu Jiyue was slightly stunned, then smiled again and said: "This is not a Tang mirror, but a Jin Dynasty imitation of a Tang copper mirror. I said it's a small leak because the market value of this mirror can indeed be worth 5,000. The price of 3,000 is not high!"

  After Gu Jiyue explained, Zhao Lei was visibly disappointed, he had just thought wrongly.

  After Gu Jiyue came over, he found that the shop owner's expression was filled with a hint of longing and anxiety. The business of buying and selling antiques wasn't so simple; often it was a battle between the seller and buyer, but usually the buyer ended up losing out.

  There's a saying that goes, "Three years without opening, and when you do open, you'll eat for three years." This refers to antique shops. This idiom can give you an idea of just how high the profits are in antique shops. Of course, this is just an exaggeration - today's market would never be so extreme.

  But many times it is indeed the case, when an antique shop encounters a customer who truly likes a particular treasure, they will greatly raise the price. True liking means wanting it, and wanting it very much. People like this usually have one characteristic: they don't care about money when it comes to things they truly like. Even if they clearly know they are being ripped off, they will use the word "like" to comfort themselves. Liu Yi Yang is most clear about such matters, as their own shop has experienced it more than once.

  Gu Ji Yue keenly discovered the shop owner's desire to sell out and utilized his desire, pressing the price down to the lowest.

  In the end, Gu Jiyue won out, and Wang Xiaoli bought her beloved bronze mirror at the lowest price.

  "This saves me 2,000 yuan, thank you Jiyue, I'll treat you to dinner next time!" Wang Xiaoli also understood and said with a smile.

  Gu Jiye smiled and shook her head: "No need to treat me to dinner, this piece will definitely earn points. I'll discuss with the president whether we can make your piece today's treasure!"

  "Really?"

  This time it was Wang Xiaoli and Zhao Yue who shouted in unison.

  Zhao Lei's greatest wish was to help Ren Lijuan earn points, but he couldn't find the right thing. Wang Xiaoli found it too, and the three of them formed a small group, which also helped him fulfill a small wish.

  Ji Yu nodded slightly, Wang Xiaoli and Zhao Lei were both very happy, laughing non-stop.

  "What did you all buy today? Can I take a look?"

  Gu Ji-yue pointed to Wang Xiao-li and Liu Yi-yang's hands, both of whom were now holding bags. Wang Xiao-li had two bags, one containing a newly purchased copper mirror, the other a previously bought dressing box.

  Liu Yi Yang's was the jade pendant from before.

  Wang Xiaoli and Liu Yi Yang did not object, took out the exquisite box from the bag, opened it to let Gu Jiyue see what was inside.

  Wang Xiaoli's is a dressing box, very small, it's a small wooden box for putting rouge and powder in the Qing Dynasty. The outer edge of the box has a layer of small transparent carvings, unfortunately the carving work is quite ordinary, and there are no patterns or characters.

  This small vanity box is very ordinary and naturally not expensive. After learning that Wang Xiaoli bought it for 800, Gu Jiyue just nodded and didn't say a word.

  She turned her head and took another look at the jade ring on Liu Yiyang's hand, when Zhao Lei said it was bought for 3,000 yuan, she shook her head unnaturally.

  She had a deep impression of Liu Yi Yang, and it was she who personally assessed him when he joined the company. This activity was also strongly recommended by her, which allowed Liu Yi Yang to join in.

  That day, Liu Yi Yang's evaluation of the three pieces of Qinghua porcelain was extremely standard, which made her feel amazed. She just didn't expect that Liu Yi Yang would spend a lot of money to buy such a piece of jade, and in her opinion, this jade pendant wasn't worth 3,000 yuan either.

  After a glance, Gu Jiyue's eyebrows suddenly jumped, carefully took out the jade pendant and examined it closely.

  The more she looked, the greater the change in her expression on her face, and there was also a thick surprise in her eyes.

  "Liu, Liu classmate, can we take this jade pendant to show President Ren?"

  After a while, Gu Jiyue finally raised her head and whispered a sentence, her face still filled with shock, as if she had seen something incredible.

  "Please let the company president see if there's no problem, it's just that I still have to go do a part-time job later and time is running out!"

  Liu Yi Yang thought for a moment and then nodded slightly. He wasn't making excuses, he really didn't have much time. If his workplace, Xuan Ya Zhai, wasn't nearby, he might have already bid farewell.

  "It's okay, it won't take long, hurry up and follow me!"

  Gu Jiyue hastily shook her head, carefully putting the jade pendant back in the box. She quickly took out her phone and dialed a number, while calling out to Liu Yiyang and the others, telling them to follow closely behind her.