Chapter 262: Buying Bracelets

Yun Jiao raised her paw in greeting to the old man.

"Sir, I’ve brought my parents to have you look at the bracelets."

Elder Xu, Ancient, Yun Linhe, and his wife all walked in.

Ancient squatted down and immediately started examining the two bracelets.

Seeing they were genuinely interested in buying, the old man immediately launched into an eloquent speech about the two bracelets.

The bracelets were real and could be considered antiques, so he spoke with complete confidence.

"This pair of bracelets was carved from a single piece of stone. They’re a matching pair—the color and pattern distribution are identical. They’re a family heirloom, passed down through generations. If we weren’t in desperate need of money right now, I’d want to pass this treasure on to the next generation."

As the old man spoke, his gaze on the pair of bracelets was filled with reluctance to part with them.

"Our family was once prominent. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have owned a pair of bracelets like this. But alas, times change..."

In this world, there are no truly eternally prominent families. Especially when faced with the chaos of war, families are uprooted and scattered. The heirlooms that are saved get divided among relatives, dwindling with each passing generation.

Now, out of their entire extended family, only he, his wife, and his son had settled down here.

He had only managed to save these bracelets by burying them underground when he saw the situation turning bad. Now that things had stabilized, antiques and the like were starting to see the light of day again. His eldest grandson was promising and a good student; he’d gotten into Qingbei University on his own merit last year. But the family didn’t have much money left, and this kind of investment was necessary to pave the way for his grandson.

’The bracelets are just things. Although it’s hard to part with them,’ the old man knew, ’a family can only prosper for generations if its descendants are successful.’

"These are certainly fine pieces."

Ancient nodded after finishing his examination.

’Not only is this a rare matching pair, but the material is excellent. The translucency and color are both top-grade. Most importantly, they’re genuine antiques.’

"This should be a carved bracelet from the Qing Dynasty. And the artisan who carved it was a true master."

"During the Qing Dynasty, green jadeite bracelets were actually more popular, but purple also symbolized nobility in ancient times, so it was a color favored privately by many aristocrats. For aesthetic appeal and to invite good fortune, some people liked to have auspicious animals, flowers, auspicious clouds, or inscriptions carved onto their bracelets. This pair is carved with cranes. Cranes symbolize fertility and longevity, as well as representing a noble character..."

Ancient explained a great deal, and Yun Jiao squatted beside him, listening intently.

’She also thought the two pretty birds on the bracelets were really beautiful.’

’So they were cranes.’

Of course, Ancient spoke to Yun Jiao in a low voice. The surrounding area was too noisy for anyone else to hear him clearly.

But Yun Jiao had sharp ears, so she heard everything perfectly.

Ancient patted Yun Jiao’s head. "Worth buying."

’One hundred thousand yuan... for this pair of bracelets, it really wasn’t too expensive.’

’If this little one hadn’t taken a fancy to them, I would have wanted to buy them for my own collection.’

’This little one has pretty good taste.’

’And good luck, too.’

Yun Jiao turned her head and looked at Yun Linhe with pleading eyes.

"Well, then... let’s buy them."

Yun Linhe’s heart ached. One hundred thousand yuan for these two bracelets. Just like that, one hundred thousand yuan was gone.

Wang Mei slapped Yun Linhe’s arm. "What are you dawdling for? Go transfer the money."

Yun Linhe was confused. "Honey, weren’t you just..."

Wang Mei rolled her eyes at him. "Weren’t I just what? Didn’t you hear Ancient say they’re real? So let’s buy them."

’Have to admit, those two little things are quite pretty.’

The old man hadn’t expected the deal to be sealed so easily.

However, the man who had been haggling the price down to eighty thousand yuan became even more eager to buy after seeing Ancient’s appraisal.

Ancient was very famous in the world of antiques, and the man had recognized him.

Now he deeply regretted not buying the bracelets sooner.

"Friend, when it comes to buying things, there’s a first-come, first-served principle, isn’t there? I’d like to buy these bracelets too."

No matter what, as long as he didn’t offend Ancient, he wanted to try and make a case for himself.

Yun Linhe retorted, "Weren’t you still haggling with him? You were at eighty thousand. We’re ready to pay one hundred thousand."

’He’s going to fight us even at one hundred thousand yuan?’

"I... I’m willing to pay one hundred thousand too."

Yun Linhe thought, ’If Jiaojiao didn’t really love them, and I couldn’t bear to disappoint her, I’d just let him have the bracelets.’

"How about this: I’ll offer one hundred and one thousand yuan. I’ve really taken a shine to these bracelets. I wonder if you’d be willing to part with them?"

Yun Linhe’s eyes went wide. ’Hey, buddy, why are you starting a bidding war!’

The old man selling the bracelets was the happiest of all.

Of course, he hoped his bracelets would sell for more money.

And it wasn’t just him bragging—these bracelets were definitely worth the price.

In the future, the price would only go up, not down!

"You... weren’t you unwilling to even pay eighty thousand before? Why are you raising the price now!"

The man chuckled. "For a beloved object, the highest bidder wins. Business is business."

Yun Linhe was furious. He grudgingly added another hundred yuan.

When the price reached one hundred and one thousand, five hundred yuan, the man, perhaps seeing that they were determined to get the bracelets and not wanting to offend Ancient, finally backed down with regret.

"I can give up on the bracelets. However, I was wondering if I might have the honor of asking Ancient to lend me his expert eye? My father at home loves vases, and his seventieth birthday is coming up. I’d like to buy a vase for him."

Ancient wasn’t angry about him bidding for the bracelets.

This sort of thing wasn’t uncommon in their line of work, and the man hadn’t been too unreasonable.

But Yun Linhe and his family were a bit unlucky, having to fork out an extra one thousand five hundred yuan.

Ancient asked, "You recognize me?"

"Ancient, you’re a master in this field. My dad is a huge fan of antiques and calligraphy, and I had the honor of seeing you once before."

Ancient nodded. "In that case, this old man will browse with you for a bit. It’s been a while since I’ve been here anyway."

Yun Jiao wanted to look around some more, too.

So, Yun Linhe took the old man who sold the bracelets to transfer the money, while Yun Jiao, her master, and Ancient started to wander through the Ghost Market.

The world of antiques is a treacherous one. With so many real and fake items mixed together, it’s easy to get scammed if you don’t know what you’re looking at.

Laymen can’t tell the difference at all.

Even the stall owners themselves might not know if the old bowls, porcelain plates, and vases they’ve collected are actually antiques.

It’s just that antiques sell for high prices. Acting on the principle of "sell one if you can," they call everything an antique whether they know for sure or not, on the off chance they can fool someone and make a quick buck.

Following Ancient as they strolled along, Yun Jiao also kept an eye out for anything she might like.

When she looked at things, she didn’t care if they were antiques or what their value was. The main thing was whether she liked them.

For example, there was a round, stubby Zisha teapot with a handle shaped like a little cat leaning down to drink.

The stall owner was hyping it up extravagantly, claiming it was from the Song Dynasty and used by aristocrats.

Ancient immediately pointed out several marks indicating it was a product of modern craftsmanship.

The stall owner immediately shrank back, dropping the price of the teapot from three thousand yuan to three hundred.

Ancient said, "Fifty. The only real thing about this teapot is the Zisha clay. The workmanship is decent, too. Otherwise, it wouldn’t even be worth fifty yuan."

The stall owner said, "Alright, alright. I’ve clearly run into an expert. Go on, take it."

Yun Jiao: ’...From three thousand to fifty? Was the price really that inflated?’