Chapter 93: The Seal
Xu Youyou sat in the car, staring at the pitch-black sky, yawning one after another.
Ever since she became rich, her sleep schedule had been regular, and it was rare for her to be up at three in the morning.
“Boss, if you’re tired, just take a nap. I’ll wake you up when we arrive,” said Xu Fang, the driver, in a gentle voice.
Xu Youyou shook her head and rubbed her face hard. “It’s fine. Even if I tried to sleep now, I wouldn’t be able to.”
The car cruised steadily through the silent city streets. The surroundings were so quiet it felt like an uninhabited zone.
Xu Youyou was now paying the price for her impulsiveness, rushing to catch the opening of the antique morning market.
The antique morning market, also known as the “Ghost Market,” opened at four in the morning and closed before noon. Clearly, antique lovers weren’t few in number—at 4 AM, the place was already bustling with people.
As soon as she stepped inside, Xu Youyou couldn’t help but frown. The overwhelming smell of smoke was unbearable. Xu Fang immediately took out a mask from her bag and handed it to her.
“Beauty, if I didn’t know how ugly I was, I’d think you were following me around,” a man with triangular eyes joked with a grin.
Xu Youyou hadn’t expected to run into him here again so soon after entering.
She glanced at his stall—compared to the items he sold on Antique Street, the quality had noticeably improved. The obviously fake goods were gone, leaving behind pieces that at least looked legitimate. If someone with less experience came across them, they might really be fooled.
At that moment, a young man in his early twenties was squatting beside the triangular-eyed man’s stall, holding a white square plate.
The stall owner, now engaged in a potential sale, ignored Xu Youyou and turned to the young man, saying, “You’ve got a good eye. You can tell this is a Ding Kiln plate.”
Xu Youyou casually glanced over just as the young man flipped the plate over, revealing a slightly sloppy “官” (official) character on the back.
The young man scrutinized the plate for a long time, then pulled out his phone to compare images. After some hesitation, he asked, “How much?”
“A million,” the stall owner blurted out.
The young man looked conflicted. “That’s too expensive. Can you go lower?”
“You’re obviously knowledgeable and can see that this is genuine. At this price, it’s not expensive,” the stall owner replied.
The young man gritted his teeth. “Five hundred thousand. I’ll take it for five hundred thousand.”
After some bargaining, the deal was finally sealed at six hundred and fifty thousand.
Once the young man left, Xu Youyou finally spoke. “Boss, with skills like yours, why bother setting up a stall on Antique Street? It’s exhausting dealing with the elements.”
The stall owner chuckled awkwardly. “Beauty, let’s not say things we all know but don’t say out loud. We old-timers have been at this for decades, mostly just making up for the tuition fees we paid early on. Newcomers have to pay their dues too, right?”
Xu Youyou had just watched the whole scene unfold. The young man’s clothes and accessories marked him as a wealthy heir, and his car keys alone hinted at a vehicle worth over a million.
He could afford it.
Otherwise, she would have stepped in to stop the transaction.
The stall owner, seemingly testing her, asked, “Beauty, what did you see about that Ding Kiln plate?”
Xu Youyou casually replied, “Half real, half fake. The base is from the Ding Kiln, but the rest… well, it’s open to interpretation.”
The stall owner burst into laughter and gave her a thumbs-up. “Sharp eyes.”
That so-called Ding Kiln plate did indeed have an authentic base, but the rest was reconstructed around a fragment of the original. Such a piece, at best, was worth only a few thousand.
Xu Youyou commented, “You really need a black heart to be in this business.”
The stall owner smiled. “Beauty, the antique trade has always been like this. Once you buy, there’s no refund. It’s all about eyesight—if yours is good, you strike it rich; if not…”
He suddenly stopped mid-sentence, his eyes widening.
“Beauty, a few days ago, you bought a blue-and-white plate from me. With your keen eye, there’s no way you got ripped off. Thinking back now, that plate probably had something special about it. Could you give me a straight answer so I can die in peace?”
Xu Youyou replied, “That plate may be new, but it was indeed an official kiln piece from the Guangxu era. However, Guangxu porcelain isn’t worth much—I resold it for just thirty thousand.”
Hearing this, the stall owner smacked his thigh hard. “Damn it, I lost big again! Thirty thousand, just like that!”
Xu Youyou was about to leave when the stall owner suddenly called out, “Wait!”
She turned back, puzzled.
Lowering his voice, the stall owner asked, “I remember our first meeting—you bought a doucai cup from me and then bought another just like it from that little yellow-haired kid. I know where my goods come from, but recently, I saw news of a doucai cup selling for an astronomical price at an auction in Shanghai… Tell me, was it the one from the yellow-haired kid?”
Xu Youyou didn’t expect him to be so sharp, but she wasn’t about to confirm anything. Smiling, she replied, “You sure have a wild imagination. If I had really scored such a treasure, why would I still be hanging around your stall?”
The stall owner laughed along with her, but whether he believed her or not was another matter.
Xu Youyou continued browsing. She was great at evaluating porcelain, spotting the real deal in an instant, but when it came to other antiques, she was utterly clueless.
She didn’t waste money on things she didn’t understand. After circling the entire market, she did find some genuine high-quality porcelain—but at equally genuine high prices, leaving little room for bargain hunting.
[Treasure-Hunting Mission Activated. Please proceed to the target location.]
Xu Youyou’s eyes lit up, and she immediately headed toward the designated spot with empty hands.
“Handsome, this brush washer has been in my family for generations. I’ll sell it to you for five hundred thousand—not expensive at all.”
The stall she arrived at was cluttered with all sorts of antiques: copper coins, porcelain, seals, books… practically every category was covered. The stall owner was eagerly trying to sell a black brush washer.
The potential buyer was a middle-aged man in his thirties, carefully inspecting the brush washer with a conflicted expression.
Xu Youyou took a casual glance but couldn’t make out much. Fortunately, the system’s guidance wasn’t pointing at the brush washer, and she silently sighed in relief.
She squatted down and began browsing through a pile of seals like any other casual customer.
All the seals were haphazardly dumped into a large, grimy iron box. If not for the system’s prompt, Xu Youyou wouldn’t have even touched them.
She picked one up, examined it, then set it down to inspect another, maintaining the appearance of a leisurely shopper. The stall owner didn’t pay her much attention, only occasionally glancing over.
After selecting four seals and holding them in her hand for closer examination, Xu Youyou finally asked, “How much for these?”
