Chapter 115: Reverse Bargaining
The man in the Tang suit continued to frown and said, “You keep scamming people like this, and one day, someone with a bad temper is going to smash your store. Then you’ll know what regret feels like.”
The shop owner remained defiant. “I’m not scamming anyone! That birdcage may be rusty, but it’s an antique. Who knows, she might flip it for millions, and I’d be the one who got shortchanged.”
The man in the Tang suit burst into laughter. “An antique? Keep dreaming! Do you think I don’t know that you secretly went to the antique market to ask around? The dealers wouldn’t even take it—they said it’s worthless!”
The shop owner, caught in his lie, stiffened but still insisted, “That’s because they don’t recognize its value! The guy who sold me this birdcage had the surname Aisin Gioro. He said his ancestors were nobles, direct descendants of the Qianlong Emperor’s younger brother. This birdcage has to be authentic!”
The man in the Tang suit had had enough. He flicked his sleeve dismissively. “I must really be bored to be standing here listening to your nonsense.”
With that, he strolled away with a smirk.
Instead of lingering at the pet market, Xu Youyou instructed Xu Fang to drive her back to the hotel.
Her bodyguards and Xu Fang found it strange that she came all the way to the capital only to visit a pet market instead of famous landmarks. But none of them questioned her decision—after all, Xu Youyou hated people who talked too much.
Once back at the hotel, she immediately locked herself in her suite.
“Is there something special about this birdcage?” she asked the system.
The system replied, “Clean it.”
Xu Youyou opened her suitcase. Alongside her daily essentials, she had brought a set of artifact restoration tools, including a professional soft-bristle brush.
Rather than handing it to someone else, she personally dipped the brush in water and carefully began scrubbing the birdcage.
It seemed the birdcage had been treated with some kind of protective material. Though it appeared rusted, the so-called rust was actually a specialized coating.
It was precisely because of this protective layer that the birdcage had remained intact all these years.
After two hours of meticulous cleaning, the true appearance of the birdcage finally emerged.
“This is…” Xu Youyou’s eyes widened in disbelief.
It was a cloisonné enamel birdcage.
Now that the grime was gone, the once dull and aged birdcage gleamed with a deep golden sheen. The enamel colors were vivid, the filigree work exquisite, and the gilding radiant—anyone could tell this was no ordinary item.
But what stood out the most was the inscription that had been revealed beneath the protective layer: “Made during the Qianlong reign of the Great Qing Dynasty.”
“How is it that no one ever thought to clean this birdcage?” Xu Youyou asked the system.
Even if it had a protective coating, it wasn’t impossible to remove. If anyone had taken the time to clean it, they would have immediately realized its worth.
[Host, remember this: The world is just one big, slapdash theater production.]
Xu Youyou was speechless. She couldn’t help but think of all those absurd news headlines—like people spending 200,000 yuan to forge 170,000 in counterfeit bills or couples getting into brawls over how to split imaginary lottery winnings.
A priceless birdcage ending up in a random pet shop no longer seemed so unbelievable.
She snapped a picture of the birdcage and sent it to Lu Jingyao.
In a conference room at a tech company in the capital, Lu Jingyao sat in the audience, frowning at the young man presenting a PowerPoint on stage.
His schedule in the capital was already tight, and he had carved out time to evaluate this newly founded company. But instead of sending an experienced executive, they had sent a rookie. The tedious presentation was making Lu Jingyao restless.
Hearing his phone chime, he glanced at the screen and saw a message from Xu Youyou. Instantly, his mood improved.
It was a picture of a cloisonné enamel birdcage.
“Did you just hit the jackpot?” Lu Jingyao asked.
Xu Youyou’s reply was filled with excitement: “Ding ding ding! You got it right! I spent a total of 40,000 yuan. There’s an inscription on the bottom that says ‘Made during the Qianlong reign.’ I haven’t had an expert authenticate it yet, but I’m pretty sure it’s real. Don’t you think this was an amazing deal?”
Seeing her send such a long message in one go, Lu Jingyao knew she was thrilled. He played along.
“Perfect timing. My dad has a mynah bird. Want to sell it?”
Xu Youyou’s reply was simple: “Yes.”
“I’ll offer 50 million yuan,” Lu Jingyao said.
Xu Youyou stared at the number and couldn’t help but admire Lu Jingyao’s generosity.
Antique birdcages rarely appeared on the market, but there had been a similar one auctioned in Hong Kong years ago. That one also dated back to the Qianlong era and had sold for 10 million yuan.
Yet Lu Jingyao had instantly offered five times that amount.
“That’s too high. It’s not worth that much,” Xu Youyou replied.
She sent him the news article about the Hong Kong auction. “Just give me 10 million.”
But Lu Jingyao had his own bargaining logic: “That was ten years ago. Inflation is crazy. There’s no way we should use their prices. Trust me, I think it’s worth 50 million.”
Xu Youyou sighed. She had no idea how to deal with someone who insisted on raising the price instead of lowering it.
“Fine, let’s meet in the middle—15 million.”
Lu Jingyao countered, “If we’re meeting in the middle, then the average between 10 million and 50 million is 30 million. That’s the fair price.”
Xu Youyou: …
“Bro, I only spent 40,000 on the whole purchase,” she grumbled, but internally, she was starting to wonder:
If Lu Jingyao always negotiated like this, how on earth did the Lu Corporation make its fortune?
Ever since Lu Jingyao took over, the company’s market value had skyrocketed year after year. He had even been ranked the wealthiest person in the country for three consecutive years.
Some netizens had joked that the only reason he hadn’t been on the rich list before was that he had only taken full control of the Lu Corporation three years ago.
At that moment, Lu Jingyao was still trying to persuade her. “Sure, you only spent a few tens of thousands, but the effort you put into restoring it is priceless.”
Xu Youyou thought about how she had spent two hours scrubbing and suddenly felt that Lu Jingyao’s reasoning made sense.
Lu Jingyao, sensing her wavering, confidently asked, “Admit it, I have a point, don’t I?”
Xu Youyou sent him a picture—a filthy blackened brush head covered in grime.
Lu Jingyao hadn’t expected that she had personally restored the birdcage. “In that case, I really think you underpriced it. Your time is valuable. At least 100 million.”
