Chapter 16: Young Man, Wait a Moment

Oh! Here comes a wealthy young lady—looks like today’s business is about to pick up! The vendor carefully sized up Su Qingsnow in her elegant attire, a beaming smile spreading across his face as he mused to himself.

Moments later, he suddenly raised his thumb, grinning broadly as he said, “Miss, you have an excellent eye. You walked up and immediately chose this treasure—this is a family heirloom, incredibly valuable.”

“Is that so? I suppose my luck is quite good, then.”

Su Qingsnow’s smile grew even brighter. She tucked a lock of hair behind her ear and turned to Lin Feng. “Lin Feng, what do you think of this jade pendant?”

Lin Feng only smiled, saying nothing. He took the jade pendant, examined it carefully, then looked up at the stall owner and asked, “Boss, if this is a family heirloom, why are you selling it?”

“Ah, it’s because my family desperately needs money. If my daughter weren’t ill, I would never part with such a precious keepsake,” the vendor replied, making a show of helplessness. “If you’re sincerely interested, I can give you a good price—just five hundred thousand, and it’s yours.”

“Half a million?” Lin Feng shook his head, signaling that the price was too high.

Su Qingsnow’s beautiful eyes sparkled. She examined the jade more closely, then looked up at the vendor’s earnest expression and said frankly, “I really like this piece, but the price is a bit steep. Would you take three hundred and fifty thousand?”

“Miss, selling it to you for half a million is already a bargain. I really am only selling because I urgently need money. If you want it, the lowest I can accept is four hundred and eighty thousand—no less,” the vendor explained quickly, seeing hope for a sale.

“I see…” Su Qingsnow hesitated, genuinely fond of the jade pendant.

“Qingsnow, perhaps we should look at something else. This piece isn’t suitable as a gift,” Lin Feng suddenly interrupted her thoughts.

“Huh? Why?” Su Qingsnow looked at him in surprise, puzzled.

The smile vanished from the vendor’s face. He had believed he was about to clinch the deal.

Lin Feng spoke without hesitation, “The jade you’re looking at is a fake. It’s a modern replica and not worth anywhere near that price.”

“What? It’s fake?”

Su Qingsnow glanced at the sign beside the stall that read, “Tenfold compensation for fakes,” and fell silent.

At this, the vendor’s expression turned fierce. He slammed the counter and glared at Lin Feng. “Kid, are you here to ruin my business? Everything I sell is genuine, how dare you accuse me of selling fakes? I’ve been in this business on this street for over a decade—no one has ever caused trouble here. If you don’t know what you’re talking about, just keep your mouth shut.”

“Sir, don’t be angry. My friend didn’t mean it like that,” Su Qingsnow quickly tried to smooth things over.

But Lin Feng remained unmoved. “His items really are fake. I’m just telling the truth. In fact, about eighty percent of the items on this stall are counterfeit. If he’s serious about that tenfold compensation, he couldn’t possibly pay it.”

“What? Eighty percent are fake?” Su Qingsnow was even more astonished. But seeing Lin Feng’s firm expression, she realized he wasn’t joking. He wouldn’t say such things without confidence.

“Kid, you’re asking for trouble. I ought to teach you a lesson and show you how things work around here!” The vendor’s fury boiled over, his face twisted with rage as he rolled up his sleeves, ready to act.

Just then, Lin Feng’s gaze swept over another antique on the stall. He quickly stopped the vendor, smiling. “Wait, boss. If you’re willing to give me that bronze wine vessel along with the jade pendant, I might consider buying it.”

“Which wine vessel?” The vendor followed Lin Feng’s pointing finger and saw a battered bronze piece at his feet. He’d picked it up for thirty yuan in the countryside; it was worth next to nothing.

The vendor’s anger faded, and he glanced at Lin Feng with disdain. Sneering, he said, “No problem. You can have that thing, but the jade pendant is four hundred and eighty thousand—not a cent less.”

“Qingsnow, pay him,” Lin Feng said without hesitation, turning to Su Qingsnow.

“All right.” Still shaken, Su Qingsnow nodded like a pecking chick and quickly took out her phone to pay.

As far as she was concerned, it was better to avoid further trouble—four hundred and eighty thousand was nothing to her. Once she’d paid, Lin Feng picked up the two antiques with a satisfied smile and said, “Boss, could you write me a note? Just to confirm that once the bronze wine vessel is given away, there’s no taking it back.”

“What? A note? Kid, in this business we don’t write notes. My word is my bond—take it, and even if you begged me to take it back, I wouldn’t. That’s enough, isn’t it?” The vendor looked down on him, thinking to himself that in all his years, he’d never met such a fool.

Lin Feng nodded, said nothing more, and packed up the items. He left with Su Qingsnow.

As they walked away, the vendor looked at the money on his phone, then at their retreating figures, secretly delighted. These two idiots, he thought. Thank goodness I scared that kid off, or I might have lost the sale.

“Lin Feng, you really scared me back there. I thought you were about to start a fight again. Let’s hurry and find something else,” Su Qingsnow said as they walked away, her heart finally settling.

But Lin Feng took her hand and smiled. “No need. We already have the perfect gift for Uncle—it’s right here.”

“What?” Su Qingsnow watched as he held up the rusty bronze piece, dumbfounded. “This thing is in such poor shape. How could you give it as a gift?”

“That’s where you’re mistaken. This bronze piece is actually…”

“Young man, wait a moment.” Just as Lin Feng was about to explain, a voice called out behind them.

They turned to see an elderly man in a traditional robe, white-bearded and smiling warmly as he approached. “Young man, I saw you buy a bronze vessel just now. May I take a look?”

“And you are…?” Lin Feng did not recognize the old gentleman and eyed him warily.

Before the elder could reply, Su Qingsnow suddenly recognized him and leaned in to whisper, “Lin Feng, this is the famous Master Tang of the antiques world—President of the Jiang City Antiques Association. I see him on TV all the time.”

“What? He’s Master Tang?” Lin Feng was stunned.