Translator: Zayn_
“Don’t look at me. Uncle Jing didn’t want me to say it.”
Seeing Su Xiaofan’s eyes, Zheng Dagang knew what he was thinking. Jing Shizhen was a god-like figure in the antique market, and he had never been close to outsiders because he felt uncomfortable.
“You brat, I asked you to do business with me, but you’re not willing. Then don’t use my name.”
Jing Shizhen looked at Zheng Dagang and scolded him with a smile. He poured a cup of tea for the two of them and said, “I got this Pu’er from the deep mountains of Yunnan Province. That place is inaccessible. This tea is the spirit of heaven and earth. It’s rare. You two have a taste.”
“Brother Jing, you’re really giving this kid face.” Uncle Yuan didn’t ask Jing Shizhen to pour him tea. Instead, he picked up the tea bowl and poured himself a cup.
“Good tea.”
Su Xiaofan downed the cup of tea and felt a honey-like taste between his lips and teeth. The fragrance penetrated his heart and made him feel much clearer. Although Su Xiaofan did not know how to taste tea, he knew it was extraordinary.
“This is made from the most tender tea essence. It has an orchid fragrance when it’s soaked.” Jing Shizhen smiled. the ancients said that the fragrance of nine flowers of fragrant orchid, round like the moon in the three autumns. This is the kind of orchid PU ‘er tea.
“It’s not bad. This tea can relieve summer heat. I actually don’t feel hot after drinking it.” Zheng Dagang chuckled.
“You’re so uncouth. I don’t know how someone like your father could have such an unrefined son like you.”
Jing Shizhen looked at Zheng Dagang in annoyance. His old friend was a learned man who was proficient in the four Arts. He was also an elegant man, but his son was ignorant and incompetent. Not only did he drop out of school early, but he was also unwilling to do a proper business with Jing Shizhen. He insisted on setting up a stall in the market. Jing Shizhen didn’t know what to say about him.
“Uncle Jing, I’m your colleague. You can’t say that about me.”
When Zheng Dagang heard this, he cried out in grievance, “It’s not like you don’t know that I liked to practice martial arts when I was young, but my father insisted that I learn literature. I wasn’t interested, so in the end, I couldn’t do well in literature or martial arts. Is this my fault?”
Su Xiaofan knew about Zheng Dagang’s hobby. Although he was only ten years older than Su Xiaofan, Zheng Dagang’s generation had watched him grow up. He liked to fight and brawl when he was in school, and Zheng Dagang had really practiced it before. Three or five people were no match for him.
“You started practicing martial arts too late. You were already a teenager and you still wanted to master it? And what the hell were you practicing?”
Jing Shizhen shook his head, “You won’t be able to master those lousy moves in the martial arts world no matter how much you practice. What’s the point of practicing martial arts in this society? What a brave and ruthless fighter!”
“Uncle Jing, you’re right. Practicing martial arts now is just a way to keep fit.”
It was rare that Zheng Dagang didn’t argue, because Jing Shizhen was right. In today’s society, if you were to raise your voice, you could scare people to death. If you dared to make a move, others would step on the ground, and you wouldn’t be able to afford it even if your family had a mine.
“Tell me, why did you come to me this time?” Jing Shizhen smiled and looked at Zheng Dagang. “You usually avoid me when you see me. Don’t say that you miss me. Do you want me to teach you a lesson for no reason?”
“Hehe, Uncle Jing, I’ve brought Xiaofan here to broaden his horizons.
Zheng Dagang said with a flattering smile, “Who doesn’t know that Uncle Jing is second to none in the antique industry in China? The things in your warehouse are not worse than those in the museum. Let my brother have a look today.”
“Showing off?”
Jing Shizhen put down the teacup in his hand. Although he only said two words, the temperature in the outer hall seemed to drop by several degrees. It was only now that Su Xiaofan saw the aura of an important figure like Jing Shizhen.
“How could I?”
Zheng Dagang was shocked and quickly said, “I’m planning to do a magical artifact business with Xiaofan, but there are only a few real magical artifacts in the market except for yours. I’m just bringing Xiaofan here to broaden his horizons.”
“You call that a magic artifact business?” Jing Shizhen snorted coldly, but his expression softened.
“How many times have I told you that magical artifacts are different from ordinary antiques? if you don’t know anything, don’t mess around.”
“If you really meet a buyer who needs it but doesn’t know the trade, you can just sell a fake magical artifact to them. That’s going to kill you, do you understand?”
Jing Shizhen shook his head and helplessly said, “In the magic artifact business, the scariest thing is a seller like you who doesn’t know anything. If you meet a buyer who doesn’t know anything, if you all gather together, something will definitely happen.”
“Uncle Jing, as the saying goes, if you believe it, you have it. If you don’t believe it, you have nothing.”
Zheng Dagang carefully looked at Jing Shizhen’s face and said in a low voice, “Isn’t this thing supposed to fool people? even if you have a real magic artifact, there are no ghosts in the world to catch. That’s why it’s the same whether it’s real or fake.”
“You know nothing.”
This time, Jing Shizhen was really angered by Zheng Dagang. “You’re ignorant and incompetent. What do you know? Are magic artifacts only used to catch ghosts?”
“What else can a magic artifact do if it can’t catch ghosts?”
Zheng Dagang wasn’t afraid. Jing Shizhen had watched him grow up since he was young, and he was used to being a bear. This was just a small scene.
“Magical artifacts can be used for geomancy, seeking good fortune and avoiding evil, guarding houses and blocking evil.”
Jing Shizhen pointed at Zheng Dagang and said, “Can those crafts that don’t have any magical power do this? If it’s really bought by someone who needs it, aren’t you scamming them?”
“I didn’t care about you in the past because there wasn’t much evil Qi in the city. The people who bought your things were just trying to feel at ease. But in the future…”
Jing Shizhen suddenly stopped talking and thought for a while before continuing, “You can continue your business in the future, but don’t brag about how powerful your magic artifacts are. Just sell them as crafts. If someone really wants to buy magic artifacts and can afford them, you can bring them to my shop. I’ll give you a commission if you sell them.”
“Ah? Uncle Jing, I… I’m going to create a magical artifact business with Xiaofan.”
Zheng Dagang was stunned. He hadn’t even established a team with Su Xiaofan, and his magical artifact business was going to be ruined by Uncle Jing.
“You call that a magic artifact business?” Jing Shizhen said resentfully, “It’s just that you haven’t met someone who knows the industry. If you met someone who knows the industry and likes to be calculative, he can smash your stall. There’s no room for discussion on this matter. You must listen to me.”
“Then … Then what about Xiaofan?”
Zheng Dagang was a little dumbfounded. He knew that since Jing Shizhen had said such words, his magical weapon business would really be unable to continue. As long as Jing Shizhen said in the market that all the magical weapons he sold were fake, he would probably not be able to survive in the antique market.
“I’m still doing what I used to do. Do you think that the people from the bronze village would go hungry?”
Jing Shizhen glared at Zheng Dagang, pondered for a moment, and said, “If you meet any big customers, you can bring them to me. I’ll give you 20% of the profits after the deal is made. Old Yuan, you should record this down.”
“Yes, brother Jing. They’ll get 20% of the profit from the clients they bring.” Shopkeeper Yuan, who had been silent the entire time, nodded in response.
“That’s fine!” Hearing Jing Shizhen’s words, Zheng Dagang agreed immediately. Everyone knew that the Jingxin Hall’s brand was real. If he and Su Xiaofan could really bring customers over, the transaction rate was still very high.
More importantly, the items in Jingxin Hall were generally very expensive. 30,000 to 50,000 Yuan was a small business, and 300,000 to 500,000 Yuan was very common.
Luochuan’s Jingxin Hall’s annual business was estimated to be in the hundreds of millions. If they could get 20% of the profit, it would be a lot. Of course, the premise was that the two brothers could get customers.
“Come on, Xiaofan, it seems like our magical artifact business is over.”
Zheng Dagang looked at Su Xiaofan, a little embarrassed. He was the one who had suggested it, but it had ended with him before the business was even opened.
“It’s fine, Brother Gang. You know that I’m not short of money now.”
Su Xiaofan laughed and turned to Jing Shizhen, saying seriously, “Uncle Jing, I’m very interested in magic artifacts. I wonder if you can let me see them today?”
“You want to see a magic artifact? Your bronze weapon village actually has it. ”
“Our Su village has magical artifacts?”
Su Xiaofan was taken aback, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. Before the system that could repair his body appeared in his mind, he hadn’t paid much attention to magical artifacts. Even now, he still thought that magical artifacts were just expensive antiques.
“Why am I telling you this?”
Jing Shizhen pushed his glasses and stood up. “I don’t have many spiritual artifacts in my shop, only two. Since you want to see them, I’ll show them to you.”
“Only two?”
Su Xiaofan stood up as well, but he was a little surprised that there were only two Dharma artifacts in such a large hall.
“What do you think a magic artifact is?”
Jing Shizhen was amused by Su Xiaofan’s expression. “There are less than ten Dharma artifacts in all the branches of Jingxin Hall in the country. Do you think two here is too little?”