Chapter Eleven: Striking It Rich

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Cheng Ziqiu followed her gaze and nearly burst out laughing.
“Boss Chen, you actually dare to touch that thing?”
“The antiquing technique is so crude—it’s obviously a modern craft. At best, it’s worth a few hundred bucks.”
“Really?”
Chen Churan looked surprised.
“But the seller said it’s from the Qing Dynasty…”
“Qing Dynasty? More like a clearance sale!”
Cheng Ziqiu mercilessly exposed the seller’s lie.
“This is a common trick from these sellers, designed to scam amateurs like you.”
He pointed to the base of the jade Buddha and explained,
“Look at the carving on this base—rough and clumsy, with stiff lines. Where’s the finesse of Qing Dynasty jade? And the patina—too even, clearly artificial.”
Chen Churan was stunned, her admiration for Cheng Ziqiu growing.
For the next while, Cheng Ziqiu guided Chen Churan through the market.
He pointed at a scroll on a stall, supposedly penned by Emperor Qianlong himself, and winked at Chen Churan.
“See this? Guaranteed to be written by Qianlong in a dream. Nowadays, it’d be worth a fortune!”
Chen Churan’s eyes widened in curiosity.
“Really? The Qianlong Emperor can still write in dreams?”
Cheng Ziqiu chuckled.
“Of course! This is called ‘high imitation.’ Everyone in the trade knows. Look at the paper, the ink, the handwriting—it all screams ‘new,’ fresher than my newborn nephew.”
Lowering his voice, he said mysteriously,
“The antique business is deep and murky. Some sellers hire accomplices to act out scenes, pushing prices up, inflating junk to sky-high prices. If you believe that, you’re setting yourself up to be fleeced!”
“My goodness, the antique market is really treacherous!”
Chen Churan sighed.
“Master Cheng, you know so much! I should do a livestream here someday to expose these scams!”
Cheng Ziqiu smiled.
“Livestream? If you dared, those sellers would have you running for your life by the next day.”
As they spoke, Cheng Ziqiu’s eyes suddenly fixed on a shabby stall in the corner.
The stall was rundown, displaying rusty bronze ware and broken porcelain missing limbs.
The owner, a squinty-eyed old man, was dozing in a rocking chair.
Cheng Ziqiu’s gaze locked onto a dusty wooden box in the corner.
The box looked plain, even worn, but Cheng Ziqiu felt an inexplicable pull.
In his past life, he had raided countless tombs, honing an eye that could instantly discern the authenticity and value of antiques.
This box gave him a strong feeling—there was something valuable inside!
“Boss Chen, look at that wooden box over there.”
Cheng Ziqiu nodded toward the corner.
Chen Churan followed his gaze, puzzled.
“That one? That old wooden box? Master Cheng, you can’t be serious about that thing, right?”
Cheng Ziqiu smiled mysteriously.
“Heh, Boss Chen, you don’t understand. The less conspicuous a place looks, the more likely it hides treasure.”

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With that, he approached the stall and casually picked up a heavily rusted incense burner, feigning surprise.
“Hey, boss, this incense burner’s not bad!”
“Look at the patina, the patterns—definitely a Ming Dynasty Xuande censer! If it went to auction, it could fetch millions!”
The squinty-eyed old man was roused from his nap, rubbing his bleary eyes.
He glanced at the incense burner in Cheng Ziqiu’s hand and sneered.
“Kid, your eye’s off.”
Cheng Ziqiu immediately put on an excited act.
“Boss, don’t fool me! This is a genuine Xuande censer! How about I offer ten thousand yuan—will you sell?”
The old man’s eyes lit up.
He’d bought this rusty burner for a few yuan; selling it for ten thousand would be a huge profit!
“You really want it?”
The old man asked tentatively.
“Of course! But…”
Cheng Ziqiu dragged out the word, pointing at the wooden box in the corner.
“Boss, I’ll add five hundred more if you throw in that box. Deal?”
The old man squinted and rolled his eyes.
Trash bought for a few yuan, flipping for over ten grand—this was a surefire profit!
“Deal!”
The old man agreed instantly, so enthusiastically that anyone would think he was losing out.
“Kid, you’re straightforward! I like dealing with folks like you!”
Cheng Ziqiu chuckled inwardly; the old man really thought he’d struck gold.
“Boss Chen, pay up.”
Chen Churan was baffled, still processing what had just happened.
She pointed at the battered wooden box, stammering,
“Master Cheng, this… this thing really worth fifteen thousand? I think that old man’s a fraud!”
Cheng Ziqiu winked mysteriously.
“I know what I’m doing.”
Though skeptical, Chen Churan obediently paid.
For her, fifteen thousand wasn’t much—just consultation fees for Cheng Ziqiu.
The old man took the money, grinning with eyes nearly closed.
“Little miss, want anything else? I’m in a good mood today, I’ll give you a discount!”
He rubbed his hands, his greedy eyes scanning Chen Churan, making her queasy.
Cheng Ziqiu quickly wrapped an arm around her, blocking the old man’s gaze.
“That’s enough for today, old man. Next time I’ll come back if there’s anything good.”
With that, Cheng Ziqiu picked up the wooden box and pulled Chen Churan away.
“Hey, kid, don’t go! I still have…”
The old man’s voice faded behind them, but Cheng Ziqiu ignored it completely.
Once outside the antique market, Chen Churan couldn’t hold back any longer.

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“Master Cheng, you really spent twenty thousand on a rusty incense burner and a broken wooden box?”
Cheng Ziqiu smiled mysteriously.
“Boss Chen, just wait and see.”
They walked into a quiet alley outside the market.
Chen Churan crossed her arms, eyeing the wooden box in Cheng Ziqiu’s hands with suspicion.
“Master Cheng, do you really think there’s something good inside that broken box?”
Cheng Ziqiu grinned, stroking an imaginary beard on his chin as if deep in thought.
“Boss Chen, you don’t know. This box looks ordinary but holds great secrets.”
He paused, deliberately teasing her curiosity.
“It’s a variation of a Lu Ban lock—most people can’t open it.”
Chen Churan rolled her eyes, thinking,
Lu Ban lock? Who even plays with those anymore?
Could it be that this Cheng guy really got conned by that old man?
The more she thought about it, the more suspicious she became and bluntly said,
“Master Cheng, stop beating around the bush. How do you open this box? If you can’t, I’m going back to confront that old man!”
Cheng Ziqiu chuckled, said nothing, and deftly manipulated the box’s edges with his fingers.
With a faint “click,” the box surprisingly opened!
Chen Churan’s eyes widened in disbelief.
This… this is incredible!
She leaned in and saw inside a piece of crystal-clear ancient jade, glowing with a gentle luster.
“Well, Boss Chen, I wasn’t lying, was I?”
Cheng Ziqiu raised an eyebrow proudly, as if waiting for praise.
Chen Churan stared at the jade, stunned into silence.
This jade… its quality…
Though not a professional antique appraiser, she had seen plenty of fine pieces.
This was undoubtedly a priceless treasure!
“This… this is…”
Chen Churan stammered with excitement.
“Could this be the legendary Hetian jade nodule?”
“Not just that!”
A gleam flashed in Cheng Ziqiu’s eyes, and his lips curled into a slight smile.
“This is Tang Dynasty Hetian jade nodule—top of the top!”
Chen Churan stared at Cheng Ziqiu in disbelief before bursting out a curse.
“Holy shit?!”