Chapter 8

It was a small seal, orange in color with a hint of milky white swirling around it. It was engraved with patterns around the edges, and at the top, a delicate and cute bird was carved.

But what was magical was that this small seal had a faint blue mist attached to it.

That was unusual.

After stabilizing herself, Zhu Suisui took a small stool from the side and sat down.

This meant she was going to haggle.

There were many unspoken rules in this antique market.

Zhu Suisui didn’t actually know much, but she was the freest person in the Lu family in her previous life. Lu’s old man also liked her, so she would often go to the Lu mansion to keep him company.

The old man was getting old and had already reached retirement age. When he had nothing to do at home, he loved to tinker with these things.

Of course, Lu’s old man wasn’t an expert in this field. He was a late bloomer. The reason why he became interested in these things was mainly because he had a friend named Mei. Old Master Mei was interested in these things when he was young and had done some research.

After the reform and opening up, he spent all his retirement money on these things.

Not only did he spend his own money, but he also brought Lu’s old man along.

Zhu Suisui spent a lot of time with Lu’s old man and naturally heard a lot. She had heard the rules so many times that her ears were calloused.

Old Master Mei had wanted to introduce her to the world of antiques, but Zhu Suisui was very frugal back then. She didn’t earn any money herself, so how could she afford to spend money on these things?

Zhu Suisui carefully examined the seal. There were two traditional Chinese characters carved on the bottom.

She couldn’t really tell if it was authentic or not, after all, she was an outsider. When Old Master Mei had talked about it, she had heard a bit about it.

But back then, she was completely focused on Lu Lanxu. She only cared about how to be a good Mrs. Lu and naturally didn’t pay much attention.

But it looked quite delicate and exquisite. If it was cleaned, it would have a unique charm.

After being reborn, Zhu Suisui was no longer the naive country girl she once was. She had developed a certain aesthetic.

She was more curious about why the seal had blue mist.

Earlier, she had seen the jade cup Lu Lanxu had given her, and it had red mist. What was the reason for this color change?

Zhu Suisui couldn’t figure it out for a moment, but she wanted to buy the seal.

She asked the price.

The vendor saw that she was beautiful and well-dressed. She looked like a newcomer who didn’t know much about antiques, so he had a different idea.

He said, “This is a Qing Dynasty seal. Five hundred yuan.”

Many people’s salaries were only thirty or forty yuan. Even someone like Lu Lanxu, who was at a high level, would need three months to afford this seal.

That was definitely a high price.

Although Zhu Suisui wasn’t an expert, she wasn’t stupid.

Moreover, she only had five hundred yuan in total. If she spent it all, she didn’t know if she could get it back anytime soon.

She pretended to be dismissive, “It’s covered in patina, and it’s been at the bottom of the stall. It must have been here for a long time. I can only give you two hundred yuan. Otherwise, forget it.”

The customer is always right.

The vendor was delighted when he heard this.

Although this thing was indeed a Qing Dynasty seal, there were many of them. When there were many of something, it became less rare. Antiques were all about rarity. The more unique something was, the higher the price it could fetch.

If someone who knew antiques saw this seal, they wouldn’t even look at it.

Even if they wanted to buy it, they would only pay a few dozen yuan. But the vendor felt that the price was too cheap. After all, it was a Qing Dynasty seal. Although he didn’t know its origin, it was an antique.

Because of this, he hadn’t been able to sell it.

It had been there for a while.

He didn’t expect to find a sucker today.

He was going to make a killing.

The vendor had to continue acting, feigning difficulty, “You, young lady, you’re trying to cut the price from five hundred to two hundred. You’re really ruthless! Let’s meet in the middle. Be sincere. How about three hundred and fifty?”

Was she being ruthless, or was the vendor being ruthless?

Zhu Suisui thought to herself.

She guessed that if she really wanted to buy this seal, she could still haggle. Otherwise, the vendor’s reaction would have been to chase her away, not to continue bargaining with her.

This meant that he could actually accept her price.

That meant the seal’s value was definitely not more than two hundred yuan.

But she had already quoted a price. If she cut it down further, it would be against the rules.

Zhu Suisui insisted, “Two hundred yuan. If you don’t want to sell, then forget it.”

Zhu Suisui felt that she had already lost money and couldn’t afford to lose any more. She stuck to two hundred yuan.

Seeing that the other party wouldn’t budge and was about to leave, the vendor quickly said, “Okay, okay. Since you’re my first customer today, I’ll sell it to you for two hundred yuan.”

The price of two hundred yuan was settled.

Seeing the vendor’s smile, Zhu Suisui didn’t care. She carefully put the seal away.

She didn’t plan to continue shopping.

It wasn’t early anymore. It would take some time to get to Lu’s mansion from here.

After all, this was in the third ring road area of the capital city, and it was a relatively remote place. Moreover, the most important thing was that this kind of antique stall wasn’t officially allowed. The Cultural Relics Bureau might come to check, so she had to be careful.

But she hadn’t taken a few steps when a voice came from behind her.

“I’ll give you five hundred for this seal. Will you sell it to me?”

Hearing this,

Zhu Suisui looked back in surprise.

In the setting sun, a stoic face appeared before her. The man was about six feet tall, dressed in a well-fitting suit. He was very handsome, with peach blossom eyes that were usually full of affection, but because his black eyes were devoid of emotion, he appeared a bit aloof.

At this moment, the man was looking at her with pursed lips.

Was he talking to her?

As if he had heard her thoughts, he spoke again, “Six hundred yuan.”

Zhu Suisui finally realized that the other party also liked this seal.

But she had just seen the blue mist on the seal and didn’t understand what it was, so she wouldn’t sell it.

She had a feeling.

This seal was worth a lot of money.

Zhu Suisui replied, “Sorry, I’m not selling.”

Hearing this, the cold man’s brows furrowed. He was as frugal with his words as with his money, “One thousand.”

Zhu Suisui thought this man was a bit strange. She had already said she wouldn’t sell it, but he kept bidding.

She refused again, “Even if you offer ten thousand, I won’t sell it. I have things to do, so I’m leaving.”

She didn’t care what the crazy man said anymore and left directly.

As soon as Zhu Suisui left, a girl of eighteen or nineteen ran over, pouting at the man, looking disgusted.

“Brother Ziqing, this place is so boring! It’s almost all late Qing Dynasty stuff, nothing of value. Let’s go. We still have to go to Uncle Lu’s house for dinner tonight.”

Then, she noticed that Yan Ziqing was looking into the distance. Naturally, she looked in the same direction, but she could only see a figure wrapped in a thick cotton coat.

“Brother Ziqing, what are you looking at?”

Yan Ziqing retracted his gaze and said indifferently, “Nothing.”