Chapter Eleven: Haggling

  "How much is this?"

  Zhao Rui pointed at the Jingyu and asked a sentence with an expressionless face.

  Those shop assistants glanced over and seemed too lazy to answer his question.

  Just then a voice came from the staircase: "This jade pendant is indeed a treasure with great origins."

  Zhao Rui lifted his head and looked in the direction of the sound, only to see a man in his sixties, thin and gaunt, walking down the narrow stairs and slowly making his way towards him.

  The old man had a goatee, and his face always wore an enigmatic smile, but those triangular eyes made the smile seem somewhat treacherous.

  Zhao Rui saw that several shop assistants were very respectful to this old man, so he knew that the old man was Wu Liang, the boss of Jibao Zhai.

  "What's going on? What's the story?" Sun Xiaolan leaned in close to Zhao Rui, looking at the jade pendant with some curiosity before asking.

  "This jade pendant was unearthed from a Tang Dynasty imperial tomb over a hundred years ago by a notorious grave robber. It's said to have been an ornament of Emperor Taizong of Tang, given to his own brother! Later it fell into the hands of an old professor. As soon as I saw this jade pendant, I knew it was a treasure and wanted to buy it, but no matter what, the owner wouldn't sell. In the end, after much effort and many twists and turns, I finally managed to get my hands on it at a high price - it wasn't easy!"

  Wu Liang was talking endlessly about the origin of the jade tablet, but in fact, everything he said was nonsense, not a single true word.

  This thing was bought from a tomb raider at a low price, and he knew it wouldn't be a treasure, but thought it might be a piece of jade, which could sell for some money. However, after buying it back and taking a closer look, it turned out that the luster was dull and it didn't have the hardness of jade material at all, it's just a fake, can't sell for a good price.

  Wu Liang knew that this time, he had misjudged it, but he was not willing to give up the jade pendant just like that. So, he put it on the counter, hoping that one day he could sell it at a suitable price.

  It's been a whole year since this was released, and nobody has paid attention to it.

  Antique dealers are all good at making up stories. With just one piece of Sibe goods, they can casually give it a legendary origin that is so rich in color that people are stunned and obediently take out their money.

  Wu Liang has been in this line for twenty years and is naturally a seasoned veteran.

  Sun Xiaolan had little social experience, and after being deceived by him, she was already moved. A pair of bright and beautiful eyes stared straight at the jade pendant, shining brightly.

  However, Zhao Rui was clearer than anyone else about the origin of this piece of jade, and he naturally wouldn't believe a word Wu Liang said.

  "How much does this jade pendant cost?" He was unmoved by Wu Liang's eloquent words and kept his eyes fixed on the core issue.

  Wu Liang's eyes rolled around Zhao Rui's face a few times, then showed a painful expression: "This thing is expensive, but since you're a connoisseur, I'll give it to you for cheaper, three thousand yuan."

  "Three thousand?"

  Zhao Rui barely controlled his facial expression, preventing himself from bursting out laughing.

  This Wu Liang obviously didn't know the value of the terrestrial jade essence and said so much, but actually selling it for only 3,000 yuan is really too cheap!

  However, he still plans to haggle over the price. If he agrees immediately, Wu Liang might think that the Earth Heart Jade is a treasure and raise the price. Moreover, his total savings in the bank are only over 30,000 yuan, which also includes his tuition fees and living expenses for the next two years. For him, 3,000 yuan is also a large sum of money, so it's best to save as much as possible.

  "It's too expensive! I'll buy it for 1,500!"

  "1,500! You're not trying to buy something on purpose, are you? The cost price isn't even this high! I'm not going to sell it to you at a loss, am I?" Wu Liang seemed a bit agitated.

  "Then give me a bottom price!" Zhao Rui said.

  "Twenty-five hundred! Can't go any lower!"

  "Two thousand at most two thousand!" Zhao Rui waved his hand, his tone firm and resolute.

  Wu Liang pretended to consider it for a moment, then let out a sigh: "Alright, two thousand it is, I'll sell it to you."

  Zhao Rui could no longer suppress the joy in his heart, and a smile involuntarily appeared on his face. He hastily went to a nearby ATM and withdrew 2,000 yuan.

  Probably due to being overly excited, the demonic energy inside couldn't be controlled and drifted out, staining the newly taken money.

  Wu Liang looked at him with a slightly puzzled expression, turned his eyes around, and suddenly changed his tone: "No way! This price is too low, I need to think about it again. Hmm... this thing is a treasure after all, five thousand, at least it should be worth five thousand."

  5,000! It was 2,000 just now, and it doubled in the blink of an eye!

  Zhao Rui was furious in his heart, he knew that Wu Liang had already seen that he was very interested in the terrestrial jade essence, so he raised the price.

  "It was just 2,000 yuan a moment ago! How did it suddenly become 5,000 yuan!" Sun Xiaolan also started shouting on the side, her pretty face full of discontent.

  Wu Liang smiled and said: "I made a mistake just now, I thought you were referring to the jade pendant next to it, that one can be sold to you for 2,000, this one is at least 5,000, not a single cent less!"

  Zhao Rui gave him a cold glance, the fire in his heart growing bigger and bigger. Compared to the preciousness of the Earth Heart Jade Essence, 5,000 wasn't much, but if he took out 5,000, Wu Liang would probably raise the price even higher, with insatiable greed, he would never be able to keep up with the rising prices.

  "If you don't sell it, I won't buy it! 5,000 yuan, let's see who's stupid enough to buy this thing back!"

  Zhao Rui coldly threw down a sentence and turned around to leave, without even looking back.

  He had made up his mind, absolutely cannot agree to this price, not to mention he didn't have that much money, even if he did, he still couldn't agree. The more he compromised, the more the merchant thought it was a treasure, and the less willing he was to let go.

  No big deal, come over tonight and rob the store directly!

  Zhao Rui thought fiercely in his heart. Dealing with this kind of swindler, there's no need to show mercy.

  Just as Zhao Rui and Sun Xiaolan were about to walk far away, Wu Liang finally became anxious. He originally just wanted to take advantage of the situation to make a profit, but unexpectedly things backfired, and he ended up driving them away. If he missed this opportunity, who knows when he would be able to sell this broken thing again.

  "Wait! Come back! Come back!"

  Zhao Rui stopped in his tracks and turned back. He saw Wu Liang frantically waving his hand: "At the price you said! I'll sell it to you!"

  "Don't buy from him, Xiao Rui, let's go somewhere else." Sun Xiaolan was extremely disgusted with Wu Liang's duplicitous behavior and didn't want to deal with him anymore.

  "The problem is that it can't be sold elsewhere!" Zhao Rui suppressed the anger in his heart and walked towards Wu Liang.

  He entered the Jibaozhai again, and Wu Liang had already taken out the Dixin Yu Jing from the counter and held it in his hands.

  "A bit more, a bit more, two thousand is really too little, I'm losing money!"

  "It's two thousand." Zhao Rui took out the money and said firmly, "If not, forget it."

  "Alright, alright, I'll sell it!" Wu Liang snatched the money over, put it in his bag, and then stuffed the Jīnxīn Yùjīng into Zhao Rui's hands. "This treasure is yours now. Young brother, you've really made a huge profit this time... if you were to go to another store, no one would sell it to you, but my store is willing to take the loss..."

  Zhao Rui sneered and didn't bother listening to his nonsense, pulling Sun Xiaolan as they walked out.

  As soon as they stepped out of the store, Wu Liang's face changed, and a sarcastic smile appeared on his face.

  "Spent 2000 bucks on a worthless piece of junk, what a couple of idiots."