Chapter 42

41, Glazed Red Plum Vase. __1

Translator: 549690339

Lin Mo felt that Zhang Guilin resembled those old revolutionary soldiers in

classic movies and TV dramas.

Though her words were firm, he also inexplicably felt a warmth from her.

With no other choice, Lin Mo didn’t delay any further and smiled as he nodded in agreement, “Alright, Aunt Zhang, what’s your phone number? I’ll call you.” Zhang Guilin gave him a string of numbers: “My name is Zhang Guilin, just call me Aunt Zhang. What’s your name, young man?”

Lin Mo dialed the number, and after her phone rang, he said, ‘’Aunt Zhang, this is my number. My name is Lin Mo; you can call me Lin or Mo.”

After saving the number, they chatted casually for a bit.

It must be said,

listening to such a high-quality retired cadre speak was truly a pleasure.

It wasn’t so much refreshing as it was an elevating experience for his life, very comfortable.

Lin Mo glanced at the time and said with a smile, “Aunt Zhang, it’s getting late, I really can’t keep chatting with you. I’ve got some things to take care of and need to rush over.”

“When I have the chance, I’ll come specifically to visit you.”

Zhang Guilin nodded, “You young people are always busy; it’s good to be busy.

Remember to come and visit this old woman often.”

“No problem, please don’t see me out. Go take a rest.”

After saying goodbye, Lin Mo left the living room and headed downstairs.

He had to rush to the Yiyi Auction; there was an antique worth 300,000 that he needed to intercept.

It would be too late if he was any later.

Even though he already had over a million in savings, he certainly wouldn’t pass up this chance to make money.

Who would ever think they had too much money?

What Lin Mo didn’t notice was that Zhang Guilin stood by the window, silently watching him leave the neighborhood until he vanished from her sight.

“He’s a good kid, very much like Zheng when he was young.”

“I wonder if Feng still has a suitable position available. I’ll call tonight to ask. If it’s a good fit, I’ll introduce him. It’s certainly better than carrying loads up buildings…”

After leaving Zhang Guilin’s neighborhood, Lin Mo hurried non-stop to the entrance of the Yiyi Auction.

As the weather grew colder, the battery life of his electric bike decreased

significantly.

“Time to change the battery, and if I keep running around, I’ll need my own

car.”

“It’s not a good idea always being left stranded on the road.”

Lin Mo found a place to quickly charge his electric bike: one yuan for ten minutes of charging. He put in six yuan, planning to charge for a full hour.

“I still have to go to Mingyuan Lake later; I don’t know if the electric bike will last until I get home.”

“Never mind that now, the antique seller should be about to arrive. Let’s see KI

can run into him.”

“If I can meet him, I’ll focus on earning this money first!”

Lin Mo stood at the entrance of the Yiyi Auction House, checking the time. It

was almost 9 in the morning.

There weren’t many people coming and going around him, and it wasn’t clear

who might be the one selling the antique.

Lin Mo only knew the seller’s name was Wang Erbo, but he had no idea what he looked like or how tall he was.

He could only rely on his own eyes to discern.

Right at 9 o’clock, Lin Mo noticed that a few people alighted from the bus at a stop not far away, among them a man in his fifties dressed simply, clutching a black backpack tightly and looking flustered.

“There’s no escape, it must be him.”

Lin Mo stood at the entrance of Yiyi Auction, took out a cigarette he had bought earlier, lit it, and pretended to smoke casually by the door.

The man quickly walked over, and upon seeing Lin Mo, he looked around before asking in not-so-fluent Mandarin, “Brother… is this Yiyi Auction House?” Lin Mo was thinking about how to strike up a conversation with the man when he took the initiative to speak. He nodded and replied, “Ah… yes, that’s right, this is the place. What do you want to do?”

Wang Erbo didn’t say straight away what he was there for but instead asked back, “I heard they buy old things here, do they give fair prices?”

Lin Mo took out a cigarette and handed it over, responding, “They do buy, but they don’t offer high prices. I also deal in antiques. What are you looking to sell? I can take a look for you.”

“That would be great!” Wang Erbo took the cigarette, placed it on his ear without smoking it, and nervously glanced around before cautiously taking . something out of his backpack: “Can you help me see how much this is worth.

What he took out was the Glazed Red Plum Vase mentioned in the system intelligence, with a shallow foot and sand bottom, a bell-shaped cover, delicate glaze quality, less than ideal red glaze color, kiln-transformed to black, and decorated with seven sets of patterns, very beautiful.

At first glance, it looked as good as new.

If It weren’t for the system’s valuation, Lin Mo would definitely have thought

the item was brand new at first sight.

“Glazed Red Plum Vase, huh?”

Lin Mo bent over and carefully examined the piece before saying, “It’s in pretty good condition, just a pity that a piece here is chipped off, it’s slightly damaged. Such a pity, truly a pity.”

Before coming. Wang Erbo had actually searched online for the vase he held, and hearing Lin Mo utter ‘Glazed Red Plum Vase,’ he instantly recognized Lin Mo’s level of expertise.

Anxiously, he asked, “Could you please help me out, how much is my vase worth?”

“First put your vase away.” Lin Mo was not in a hurry and waited until the other person had packed it back into his backpack before saying, “The piece is nice, but it’s not very old, probably an item from the late Qing period at most, and it’s also damaged.”

“If you are willing to sell it, I can offer you… urn, about 50,000.”

Lin Mo knew that Wang Erbo’s expected price was 100,000, but as an old saying

goes,

Rough and fine winnowing baskets, who in the world doesn’t want to make a profit?

If he could acquire it for 50,000, he could net an additional 50,000 in profit, so why not?

Moreover, starting with an offer of 50.000, there was room for negotiation. If he had started by saying he could take it for 100,000, who knows, the other party might have raised the price even more.

Once the price increases from the ground up, then it becomes a problem!

“50,000…”

Hearing this price, Wang Erbo looked hesitant and waved his hand, saying, “Brother, that’s too low. I’ve looked it up online, this vase can sell for at least 150,000,1 can’t sell it for your price!”

“150 000 is right,” Lin Mo affirmed his point first, to steady him, then continued, “But that’s for a complete piece. Yours has a chip missing, and even though it’s small, you should also know the principle that antiques are most susceptible to damage, right?”

“Plus, I’m not desperate to buy your vase. I happened upon it by chance. How about this, you name a price, and if it’s reasonable, I’ll take it.

Wang Erbo fell into thought again, struggling for a moment before saying, “120,000! And I want the money right away. If you can pay, I’ll sell, otherwise forget it, I’m going to try the auction house!”

Hmm?

From the tone of voice…

he seemed to be someone eager to sell immediately?

[New book seeking recommendation ticket, monthly ticket]