Upon completing the task, Song Yun left the City God Temple with a contented heart.
Now, even if he closed all his companies, the money on his books was more than enough for him to squander for dozens of lifetimes. To exchange such a trivial amount of money for such a useful function was a real bargain!
Having left the City God Temple, Song Yun hummed a tune, looking at the so-called antiques on the street stalls outside. Geez, most of the stuff these people were selling was just produced last week, and the price out of their mouths was in the thousands or even tens of thousands—a real lucrative business!
Just as he was planning to visit Liyu Pavilion first to see how his jade was progressing, he encountered a middle-aged man dressed like a migrant worker in front of him. The man was carefully peddling a wrapped item in silk, presenting it to everyone he met.
"My man, isn't your scam a bit too low-level? How is it that after so many years, this trick hasn't gone out of style?"
"Yeah, you're really taking people for fools!"
"Are you going to say that the item is a family heirloom, or you just dug it up from a construction site? Please, if you're going to lie, at least come up with a better story!"
The migrant worker was at a loss due to the few harsh words from the crowd, his face covered in dry wrinkles blushing with shame.
"This thing is really handed down from my ancestors! I'm not lying to you!"
"Sure, sure! Your ancestors must have been rich to know what this item in your hands would be worth if it were real. It could fetch millions!"
"Ah? Is this porcelain really so valuable?"
Passersby chuckled and answered, "This is a great treasure; you should keep it as a family heirloom!"
"I don't want to sell the things left by my ancestors... but I have no choice! My child's mother is still in the hospital waiting for the money to save her life!"
"Make up more stories, go ahead! Let me tell you, it's because of people like you that others look down on the antiques circle!"
"Yeah, get lost, or I'll beat you up!"
The migrant worker didn't understand why the people around him were so hostile. He squatted down in the corner with his head low, wrapping the porcelain and hugging it in his arms, his eyes filled with despair.
Just when the migrant worker thought he was going to return fruitlessly, a distinguished young man approached him.
"Big brother, may I have a look at the item?"
The migrant worker slightly lifted his eyes, smiled bitterly, and said, "Boss, you can look, but I'm honestly not a swindler. This treasure is really handed down from my ancestors!"
Pretending to be nonchalant, he squatted next to Song Yun and asked, "Little brother, may I take a look at this item?"
"I haven't finished looking at it."
Song Yun didn't even glance at him. In the antiques circle, there was an unwritten rule: when someone is examining an item, others must not interfere. If he let the other person look at it, that meant the right of first purchase would shift to him.
The sleazy middle-aged man wasn't angry; instead, the gleam in his eyes grew stronger. Since childhood, influenced by his father, he had a natural love for antiques. After growing up and encountering several strokes of luck at stalls, he opened an antique shop at the great City God Temple with the treasures he'd found.
In this business, it's often said that you may not open for three years, but once you do, you're set for the next three. Plus, he had some dirty tricks up his sleeve to acquire genuine antiques, so over the years, he had amassed quite a fortune.
Today, he had only planned to check on his store, but he never expected to find supreme Yuan Dynasty porcelain in such an out-of-the-way place!
This must be destiny calling him to strike it rich!
The middle-aged man didn't take Song Yun seriously. What could a young guy have in terms of money? At worst, he thought he could just drive up the price later, flip the item, and become a billionaire himself!
"Big brother, how much are you looking to sell this treasure for?"
"500,000! Not a penny less, or I'm not selling!"
"Hmm, I heard earlier that your wife is sick, and this is emergency money, right?"
Upon hearing Song Yun's words, the construction worker's face fell; he thought Song Yun was using it to negotiate a lower price!
"Mind your own business about what I plan to do with it. Even if I blow it on booze and women, it's none of your concern!"
"No, you've got me wrong. I have some connections at the Huachuang Private Hospital in Magic Capital. If it really is about your wife being sick, I can help you with that. We can talk about the price of this piece after."
Song Yun honestly loved the porcelain. Having survived a millennium and still in such immaculate condition, no price would be too high.
"Boss, are you serious?"
The construction worker's eyes lit up when he heard this; he too wanted his wife to receive the best treatment. But being low in status and without money, he could only bear seeing her suffer in a district-level hospital.
"Buddy, Huachuang Private Hospital—you know, the top medical facility in Magic Capital! Do you think this young guy could really know such powerful people?"
The middle-aged man kept undermining the construction worker, "Besides, even if he gets you in, just the initial check-ups will cost hundreds of thousands. How long could your porcelain possibly support that?"