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“A thousand yuan is very expensive? Don’t you understand at all? Do you know this jade toad is made of top-quality material? If it were at someone else’s stall, it would go for at least two thousand yuan.”
The stall owner’s attitude was incredibly aggressive, assuming a take-it-or-leave-it stance.
Tang Feng immediately frowned, “Boss, what kind of attitude is that? I’m just haggling, is that really necessary?”
The stall owner snatched the jade toad from his hand and placed it back on the stall, “For those who can’t appreciate its value, that’s my attitude.”
“If you can’t afford it, then take a look at other stalls, I won’t see you out.”
Tang Feng knew he was using reverse psychology.
Young people care about saving face. Provoked like this, most would likely end up paying for the jade toad on the spot.
However, this played right into his own hands. Pretending to take the bait, he picked up the jade toad again and examined it for a moment, “Boss, a thousand it is, but if I’ve found a real bargain, you won’t ask for it back, right?”
A barely discernible smirk appeared on the stall owner’s face as he nodded immediately, “Of course, that’s the rule in the antiques market, clear-cut transactions.”
“If you find a bargain, I guarantee I won’t ask you for a penny more. But if you got it wrong, you also can’t come back to me for a refund. Got it?”
Tang Feng put on an enlightened expression, “Got it, let’s settle up then, I’ll pay with a card.”
The stall owner quickly pulled out a POS machine from a box beside him and entered the amount.
Tang Feng took out his bank card and swiped it.
When the thousand yuan was transferred, the stall owner nearly burst out laughing.
The jade toad had been given to him for free by a supplier when he was purchasing stock, without costing him a dime.
It had been sitting at his stall for nearly half a month without any interest from buyers.
Now, selling it to this fool for a thousand yuan felt like picking up money for nothing.
Seeing his smug look, Tang Feng considered how to get back at him.
His eyes darted around, and he took mental note before looking up at the stall owner, “Boss, I’ve changed my mind. I don’t want it anymore. Can I get my money back?”
The smile on the stall owner’s face vanished when he heard this; his expression immediately darkened, “I’ve already told you, clear-cut transactions, didn’t you hear me?”
Tang Feng put on an urgent look, wiping his brow, “I forgot just now, this money is for an emergency, I have a friend who was hit by a car and needs to pay the hospital fees urgently, or he might be in danger. Please refund me the money.”
Not a few antique enthusiasts from nearby stalls had gathered around, drawn by the commotion.
After hearing his explanation, several of them began to persuade the stall owner on his behalf.
“Boss, since he’s got an emergency, I think you should just give him his money back.”
“Yeah, this young guy looks like a student, he can’t have much money. Better to refund him.”
“According to the rules of the antiques market, the money definitely can’t be refunded. But this is his friend’s emergency funds after all, I think it’s a special case.”
“Right, it’s only a thousand yuan after all, not a huge sum, so just refund the kid’s money…”
Hearing what everyone said, the stall owner snorted coldly, “Easy for you to say when it’s not your money to be refunded, right?”
“I’ve already made it clear to him, clear-cut transactions, no takebacks, and he agreed to it himself.”
“An adult has to pay for his own actions.”
The crowd was momentarily left without a response.
After all, the stall owner had technically done nothing wrong.
The rules of the antique market are that once goods are sold, no matter what happens, you can’t come back for a reimbursement.
If he refunds the money, that’s out of kindness.
If he doesn’t, you could at most call him cold-hearted, but you couldn’t pick out any other fault.
A mocking look flashed in Tang Feng’s eyes as he stared directly at the stall owner, “Aren’t you being too heartless? You won’t even refund emergency funds?”
Still unmoved, the stall owner responded coldly, “Why should your friend’s death concern me?”
“This was a fair deal, I didn’t coerce you.”
“It doesn’t matter if it’s your own family dying, it has nothing to do with me.”
Hearing his categorical statement, Tang Feng couldn’t help but laugh.
The stall owner, seeing his laughter, felt a sudden shiver and an ominous premonition.
At the same time, a middle-aged man wearing a white coat, twisting a string of Black Qi Aloeswood beads in his hand, pushed through the crowd.
If an expert was there, they would immediately realize that the beads were of considerable value, worth at least two hundred thousand yuan.
“Mr. Ma.”
“Mr. Ma.”
“Mr. Ma, hello…”
Everyone at the scene greeted the man respectfully when they saw him.
The man referred to as “Mr. Ma” glanced inside and asked, “What happened here?”
Someone quickly briefed him on the whole story.
The man glanced at Tang Feng, shook his head with a smile.
This kind of newcomer being scammed wasn’t new to him; he had seen too many such cases and considered it a paid lesson.
Just as he was about to walk away.
Suddenly, he saw Tang Feng lift his hand and smash the jade toad on the ground.
“Bang!”
In an instant, the jade toad shattered into pieces, scattering everywhere.
The onlookers were taken aback.
“Isn’t this young man overreacting? Even if they won’t refund his money, there’s no need for such a fierce reaction, is there?”
“It’s strange indeed, he knew his friend urgently needed medical funds, yet he bought this jade toad? Now he’s impotently raging?”
“This young man is too impulsive. Even if you smash the jade toad, what problem will it solve?”
“Wait, what is that?”
As the crowd murmured amongst themselves, someone cried out in surprise.
Everyone looked down.
There, amidst the fragments of the toad, they saw a glint of gold, something akin to a lump of gold.
About the size of two thumbs put together.
“Is that… a nugget of gold?”
Immediately, someone with sharp eyes shouted out.
That shout caused a huge commotion.