Chapter 94: Wu Rangzhi
At this moment, the transaction of the middle-aged man was also nearing its end. After a back-and-forth bargaining session, they settled on a final price of 120,000.
Only then did the stall owner have time to turn his attention to the four seals that Xu Youyou had selected.
“Miss, since it’s your first time here, I’ll give you a fair price. All of them together, 500,000.”
Hearing this, Xu Youyou couldn’t help but laugh. “Why do you always say 500,000 to everyone?”
The stall owner looked a little embarrassed. He pointed at the pile of seals and said, “You can tell if they’re genuine just by looking at the material. Look at these, each one is top quality. Anyone who knows their stuff would understand.”
He seemed to be saying something, yet at the same time, saying nothing.
Xu Youyou casually picked up a white jade seal and asked, “How much for this one?”
The stall owner’s eyes flickered, and he quickly quoted, “This one alone, 400,000.”
It was clear that he priced them based on the material. Xu Youyou then asked about the prices of the other three.
“150,000, 50,000, 20,000. If you buy them separately, it’ll be more expensive. But if you take all four together, just 500,000. These seals are rare antiques that I painstakingly collected. I guarantee their authenticity.”
Hearing this, Xu Youyou felt a strange sense of déjà vu. It seemed like every vendor she encountered claimed “guaranteed authenticity.” Coincidentally, the seal she was supposed to pick up for her system’s task was the cheapest one.
“That’s really expensive,” Xu Youyou said.
Although she was dressed in the simplest sportswear today, without even carrying a purse, she had a middle-aged woman beside her who looked eager to please, and behind her stood four tall men in casual clothes, who unmistakably looked like bodyguards.
The stall owner looked at Xu Youyou’s young age and assumed she was some wealthy heiress, whimsically visiting the antique market for fun. He felt like he had spotted an easy target.
“I’ll take a small loss. How about 490,000 for all of them?” the stall owner offered.
Xu Youyou furrowed her brows, picking up one seal and then another, seemingly struggling to choose. After a long hesitation, she reluctantly put the other seals down, keeping only the one she had originally targeted.
It was a six-sided seal, with inscriptions on every face. The body was a translucent yellow color. Xu Youyou wasn’t very knowledgeable about seals, but it looked like Qingtian stone to her. The surface was covered in red ink residue, giving it a dirty appearance.
Holding the seal in her hand, she feigned ignorance and said, “This one is interesting. There are words on every side, but I don’t know what they mean. I’ll just take this one. Give me a good price.”
The stall owner, seeing her entourage of four bodyguards yet her choice of the cheapest seal, couldn’t help but say, “Miss, I have great items here. If you miss this chance, there won’t be another. I’ll lower the price—how about all four for 450,000?”
Xu Youyou shook her head and sighed. “My family limits my spending. I can only spend 500,000 a day, and I’ve already made an appointment with a sales associate to look at handbags.”
A daily spending limit of 500,000? The stall owner had never heard such an absurd concept in Mandarin. He thought to himself that rich families really spoiled their kids too much—something he personally could never relate to.
He still tried to persuade her: “Handbags won’t hold value like antiques…”
But before he could finish, Xu Youyou cut him off: “Handbags are way prettier than antiques. Why do I need something that holds value? Actually, maybe I don’t want this anymore; it doesn’t seem all that special after all.”
Seeing that his potential sale was slipping away, the stall owner quickly pretended to be heartbroken. “Fine, fine, I won’t argue. I’ll take a loss. This seal—18,000! That’s my lowest price!”
Xu Youyou, still acting like a spoiled rich girl, exclaimed, “You lowered it by 2,000! I bargained off a tenth of the price!”
As she left with the seal in hand, the stall owner grinned from ear to ear. He had originally bought this seal for just 200 yuan—flipping it for over 18,000 was a massive win!
[Congratulations, Host! You have completed the treasure-hunting task. You have been awarded: Beginner Seal Identification Skill.]
Xu Youyou had initially planned to just pocket the seal, but after receiving the system’s reward, she immediately found a spot to sit in the antique market and carefully examined it.
The seal had six sides, each inscribed with different phrases:
“Zuo Wo Chun Feng” (Sit with the Spring Breeze)
“Feng Xi Zhi Yu” (Beyond the Imperial Edict)
“Chu Ke” (Chu Guest)
“Chu Wan Nong” (Chu Orchid Farmer)
“Cao Mu You Ben Xin” (Plants Have Their True Nature)
“Za Pei Yi Zeng Zhi” (Miscellaneous Trinkets as Gifts)
Just then, a voice spoke up: “Miss, may I take a look at your seal?”
Xu Youyou turned to see a man in his sixties, wearing silver-rimmed glasses. His eyes were sharp, his posture upright, and he exuded an aura of scholarship—he looked like a university professor.
Behind him stood a young man in his early twenties, wearing trendy clothes and a thick gold chain around his neck.
Xu Youyou, though guarded by four bodyguards, didn’t sense any malice from the elderly man. Seeing his genuine admiration for the seal, she handed it over.
The old man carefully examined it for a full fifteen minutes.
The young man behind him grew impatient. “Grandpa, if you really like it, let’s just buy it and take it home to study. Don’t worry, your grandson has plenty of money.”
Xu Youyou raised an eyebrow. Another nouveau riche?
The old man was indeed reluctant to put the seal down.
“It’s too expensive… forget it,” he finally sighed.
The young man disagreed. “How expensive could it be? Miss, name your price.”
Xu Youyou shook her head. “I haven’t decided if I want to sell it yet.”
The young man frowned. “It’s just a seal. How much could it possibly be worth? I’ll give you 100,000.”
Both Xu Youyou and the old man turned to look at him.
Sensing something was off, the young man hesitated. “What? Is 100,000 too little?”
Xu Youyou sighed. “A little too little.”
The old man also nodded. “I’ve always told your parents that you need to read more books, but you never listen.”
The young man scratched his nose. “What’s the point of reading books? Do they have gold in them? I run an international trading business and make over a million a month. Isn’t that enough? Even college graduates line up to work for me.”
Xu Youyou smirked and complimented, “For someone your age, making that much is impressive.”
The young man puffed up with pride.
But the old man instantly crushed his confidence: “This one seal is worth at least six months of your earnings.”
The young man was dumbfounded. “Just a seal? That expensive? Are you messing with me?”
Xu Youyou patiently explained, “The value of antiques lies in how ordinary things from the past, through time and rarity, become precious treasures.”
The young man nodded hesitantly. “But not all antiques are valuable, right? A random bowl from a villager’s house can’t be worth millions.”
The old man, still reluctant to part with the seal, handed it back to Xu Youyou. With a sigh, he said, “Miss, you clearly know your antiques. Why don’t you explain to my ignorant grandson who made this seal?”
Xu Youyou smiled and said, “This is the work of Wu Rangzhi.”
