I randomly picked a small shop on the street, happily ate a bowl of knife-cut noodles, and then drove to Zhongsi Temple.
Zhongsi is not as famous as Panyuan, nor is it as large.
I quickly scanned the screen, but couldn't find a single one.
Zuo Ling wasn't disappointed; energy crystals weren't exactly common, so it was normal not to find any.
She was a stranger, so the shopkeeper couldn't possibly show her all their inventory. It was only natural that she didn't find anything.
I rushed to the antique market near Baoshan, arriving at 4 p.m.
Business is slow, and many vendors are preparing to close up shop.
Zuo Ling strode towards the area where the street stalls were clustered, turned to an inconspicuous corner, and her gaze was firmly drawn to the things on the ground.
The stall owner was a woman around fifty years old with dark skin. Her stall was small, with all her goods displayed on a piece of cloth about one square meter in size.
What caught Zuo Ling's eye was a fist-sized, orange-red jade stone. The jade stone had a mottled color and poor transparency.
Seeing that Zuo Ling was interested in her goods, the woman quickly tried to sell them to her:
“Young lady, looking at the goods? You have a good eye. This stone is one of my family’s most prized possessions. No wonder you took a liking to it right away.”
She has limited funds, so the goods she can get are all the ones that others have rejected.
If the goods are bad, the business will be bad, and this vicious cycle will continue, making the business worse and worse.
We've finally found a tender little lamb from another dimension; we mustn't scare it away.
Zuo Ling: "..."
Merchants' words are deceitful; only fools believe them.
Weighing the jade in his hand, he said, "Give me a fair price for this one."
"Honest, definitely honest. You can ask around, everyone says Zhang Xiuying is the most honest person."
The woman spoke without hesitation, drawing sidelong glances from the crowd.
The vendors nearby glanced at Zuo Ling with ambiguous expressions. A silly girl had come along. Everyone in Baoshan Market knew that Zhang Xiuying's goods were the worst.
"5,000, that's the lowest I can go. Look at the color and the size. If it weren't for the slightly lower water content, I definitely wouldn't sell it for less than 50,000."
Zuo Ling doesn't understand jade, or things like its translucency, let alone anything else.
For her, jade is divided into two types: energy crystals and other jade.
She can awaken spatial abilities and has a natural affinity with energy crystals. It is through this innate affinity that she can distinguish energy crystals from other jade stones.
Ignoring Zhang Xiuying's nonsensical ramblings, Zuo Ling went straight for the kill:
"800."
Zhang Xiuying: "..."
The bored stall owners found it amusing; Zhang Xiuying wanted to kill the little lamb, but ended up being killed by the little lamb instead.
"Girl, you're trying to kill me! How can you haggle like that?"
Zuo Ling was impatient with her arguing, "I'll only add 100, or forget it."
After saying that, he turned around and made a move to leave.
If it weren't for the size of the jade piece, she would have offered 500.
"Hey, hey, hey, 900 it is, I'll just consider it a loss to gain publicity."
Zuo Ling didn't waste any time with her. Zhang Xiuying hadn't made any money for a week and wanted to start a business to change her luck, so she quickly agreed.
When Zuo Ling put the jade into her bag, Zhang Xiuying had a look on her face that said, "I've really lost out."
The purchase price is 500, and the selling price is 900, making a profit of 400. After deducting the stall fee, the profit is not much, at most breaking even.
Seeing that Zhang Xiuying was able to sell her goods, the surrounding vendors became much more enthusiastic towards Zuo Ling, greeting her warmly.
"Miss, I'm almost done, come and take a look."
"Girl, come and take a look at my goods. They're much better than Zhang Xiuying's."
Zhang Xiuying refused to accept this:
"Fatty Li, what are you saying? Believe me or not, I'll tear your mouth apart."
Fatty Li grinned wickedly:
"Come on, brother, my mouth just needs your short, chubby hands to warm it up."
The crowd burst into laughter.
They've been running stalls together for years, and they're used to making a ruckus, so no one's really angry.
The market atmosphere is much more lively than when Zuo Ling first arrived.
Zuo Ling looked down and carefully browsed the goods, oblivious to what everyone was saying.
We stopped when we reached the third to last shop.
My heart is pounding, I keep exclaiming "Wow!", I'm blessed with good fortune! I'm blessed with good fortune! I'm going to get rich! I'm going to get rich!
He didn't reveal a single detail on his face.
The stall owner was a quiet middle-aged man. While everyone else was laughing and joking, he continued reading his book, completely unaffected.
A quick glance at the cover reveals that the author, whose work is titled "Appreciation of Antiques," is a scholar.
His stall was much larger than the surrounding vendors' stalls, measuring 10 square meters on each side.
Zuo Ling carefully selected five energy crystals of varying sizes.
All of them combined are not as big as Zhang Xiuying's piece, but their quality is much better.
"Boss, I'll take all of these. What's the price?"
The middle-aged man looked up from his book, paused for a few seconds on the jade, and spoke softly:
5,000.
Zuo Ling: "..."
So, the middle-aged people all saw her buying goods at Zhang Xiuying's stall earlier.
I thought he was a scholar who was oblivious to the world around him, but it turns out he was a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Zuo Ling looked constipated, while the middle-aged man was in a great mood and joked:
"Girl, think it over before you bargain. If you bargain like you did before, you won't be able to take it."
3,000.
Of course you have to bargain. Who buys things at a street stall without haggling?
Zuo Ling, upholding the fine tradition of diligence and thrift, cut the price by almost half.
The middle-aged man picked up the jade that Zuo Ling wanted to buy, weighed it in his hand, and smiled:
"Not bad, about what I expected. But you have to tell me, what do these pieces have in common with the jade at Zhang Xiuying's stall?"
Zuo Ling was startled; her pupils contracted slightly, and her hands unconsciously tightened.
Did I run into a big shot as soon as I came out of the mountains?
The middle-aged man's smile deepened:
"I was right, you didn't just go on a shopping spree aimlessly, you came with a purpose. Tell me, what do they have in common?"
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