Tang Ao quickly made up his mind: buy the plate and leave. That Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet was incredibly adorable, and if Zhou Qiao'er saw it, she would probably love it. The longer they stayed, the more dangerous it would become!
With this in mind, Tang Ao immediately pointed to the two white jade plates at the top of the stall:
"Boss, how much for these plates?"
To Tang Ao's surprise, the stall owner shook his head without hesitation:
"Not for sale, no matter the price. These plates are my family heirlooms!"
Tang Ao frowned, sensing that something was off. "Huh? If they're family heirlooms, why are you displaying them like this? If they were truly that important, shouldn't you at least have put them in a glass case?"
The stall owner, upon hearing this, suddenly put on a deeply sorrowful expression. "These plates aren't just plates. They represent my father who raised me!"
"When my father was eight years old, he died trying to snatch these plates back from criminals. Whenever I see these plates, I feel like my father is still with me!"
Tang Ao stared intently at the stall owner, clearly not buying it.
"Your dad died when he was eight? So, were you born from a rock?"
The stall owner was speechless for a moment, unable to respond.
[This story is clearly made up!]
[Trying to scam me, huh? I see through your little trick!]
"Who said it was my real dad? I was talking about my godfather!" The stall owner's eyes darted around as he quickly covered the loophole in his story and continued, "But I can tell you really like these plates. Even though they represent my dearest family, how about this: add a little more money, and I'll sell them to you for 8,000 yuan!"
"You think I'm stupid..."
Tang Ao began to pull Zhou Qiao'er away, but to his surprise, Zhou Qiao'er suddenly spoke up, "Fine, 8,000 it is!"
The stall owner, who had been prepared to negotiate further, was overjoyed. Without wasting any time, he quickly packed up the plates and handed them over to Zhou Qiao'er in less than ten seconds. "Will you be paying by card, Alipay, or cash?"
Tang Ao stared at Zhou Qiao'er for a long time, trying to understand.
[It must be because my acting was too good. Zhou Qiao'er must have thought I really liked those plates, so she bought them so decisively.]
[Well, it's fine. A little money isn't a big deal. As long as she doesn't buy that Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet, there won't be any real problems.]
Just as Tang Ao was feeling relieved, he noticed that Zhou Qiao'er wasn't paying yet. Instead, her eyes lit up as she pointed at something on the stall, her excitement clear. "Wow, this thing is so cute! It looks so delicate!"
Her finger was pointing straight at the crucial item—the Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet!!!
The stall owner, holding the POS machine, was sweating internally.
The plates? He had hundreds more of those in his warehouse!
Each one cost him about five yuan to make!
Selling the two plates to Zhou Qiao'er for 8,000 yuan was more profitable than robbery!
As an experienced vendor, he could easily tell that Tang Ao wasn't interested in anything at his stall. Tang Ao seemed quite reluctant about the 8,000 yuan price for the plates.
The key to this deal lay with the woman, Zhou Qiao'er!
With a smile, the stall owner carefully picked up the Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet and placed it in Zhou Qiao'er's hands:
"You've got a great eye! Look at the intricate carvings and the quality of the material. This is at least from the Pre-Ming Dynasty. It's priceless, a true rare treasure!"
The stall owner spoke with absolute confidence, making it sound completely believable.
Anyone who knew better could tell he was just trying to scam them, but Tang Ao, deep down, knew that everything the stall owner said was true!
Not only was it true, but he had also severely underestimated its value!
This Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet was from hundreds of years before the Ming Dynasty, over 2,000 years old!
It was truly a priceless treasure!
Seeing how mesmerized Zhou Qiao'er was by the Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet, Tang Ao quickly spoke up, "This thing doesn't look Pre-Ming to me. It looks more like it's from the day before yesterday. If it's thousands of years old, how come there's no patina on it?"
The stall owner's face stiffened. He realized he had made a mistake. His previous boast was a common sales tactic. No matter what item Zhou Qiao'er showed interest in, he would claim it was from the Pre-Ming era to boost its perceived value.
In reality, most of the items at his stall...
Had just come off the production line a couple of days ago. The two plates, for example, were brand new!
As for the Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet, he had picked it up from an old lady during a countryside buying spree for only 20 yuan.
And as Tang Ao had pointed out, the teapot pet had no patina at all, not even a speck of dust despite being around for so long. The stall owner had tried various methods to make it look older, but every attempt had failed.
Panicking, the stall owner realized he was about to lose a huge deal. The plates alone had earned him a net profit of 7,900 yuan, which was equivalent to his usual earnings over an entire month!
He couldn't let this slip away!
Gritting his teeth, the stall owner quickly wrapped up the Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet as well and said, "How about this? Since we're friends here, and you've already shown interest in the plates, I'll throw in the Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet as a gift! It's a genuine treasure. I swear, no matter how long you keep it in your display case, it won't collect any dust!"
"I'll take it!"
Before Tang Ao could stop her, Zhou Qiao'er had already handed over her card. The stall owner, fearing they might change their minds, swiftly completed the transaction and handed over the goods. "As you know, in this business, once a deal is done, there are no refunds!"
Zhou Qiao'er was overjoyed, while the stall owner, watching her leave, jumped up in excitement. He quickly pulled out his phone and snapped a picture of Tang Ao and Zhou Qiao'er's backs, sending it to the vendor group chat for Antique Street:
"These two are rich fools who love teapot pets. Get ready to rip them off!"
The buyer thought they had struck gold.
The seller thought they had made a killing.
Only Tang Ao was left to mourn in silence...
Staring at the Nine-Tailed Fox teapot pet in Zhou Qiao'er's hands, Tang Ao felt a deep sadness. Human emotions truly don't connect. As vendors all around shouted to attract their attention, Tang Ao only found the noise irritating.
"Qiao'er, we've bought enough things. Why don't we head out now?"
"Let's stay a bit longer. It's still early!"
Zhou Qiao'er clung tightly to Tang Ao's hand, and no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't pull away.
[A woman's shopping instinct is terrifying.]
[I don't know what's going on with Zhou Qiao'er today. She's been incredibly lucky. By all rights, she should have lost a fortune, yet she's scored two massive deals. Is this what they call a lucky streak? I'm so jealous...]
[Oh no, is that the Pearl Jade White Tiger!? Let's get out of here before Zhou Qiao'er sees it...]
"Boss, how much for that jade tiger?"
"3,000 yuan. I have a pair of them. If you want both, I'll give them to you together!"
"I'll take them!"
Tang Ao was completely dumbfounded as he watched Zhou Qiao'er hold both the Pearl Jade White Tiger and the Pearl Jade White Lion.
What kind of divine luck was this!?
She had just bought both for 3,000 yuan!?
That Pearl Jade White Lion was a massive treasure, one that even the protagonist Ye Chen hadn't managed to find. And now, Zhou Qiao'er had bought both for just 3,000 yuan!
When did Zhou Qiao'er develop such a good eye for treasures?
As Zhou Qiao'er accumulated more and more precious teapot pets, Tang Ao was almost on the verge of collapse.
After circling around Antique Street, Zhou Qiao'er had managed to scoop up all five teapot pets and a teapot, the very items Ye Chen would have used to win over the Li family elder!
Just as Zhou Qiao'er and Tang Ao were about to leave, amidst the warm farewells from the stall owners, they reached the entrance of Antique Street, where an old man with a white beard suddenly blocked their way.
Tang Ao's heart soared with joy!