Chapter Thirty-Nine: The Shopkeeper's Trickery

choose whichever you want at the moment."Lu Xuejiao, with the shrewdness typical of a Shanghai auntie, immediately asked: "So that means none of the houses here have sold"Hearing this, the saleswoman...The next morning, Ye Bufan went to the restaurant to have breakfast with his mother and then went out to buy cinnabar yellow paper and other things, preparing to make some talismans.

It's not easy to buy these things in the city nowadays. He went to several stores, and finally got everything he needed at a calligraphy and painting store.

After stepping out, he saw crowds surging across the street and unknowingly arrived at Ju Ba Yuan, the largest antique market in Jiangnan City.

To deal with the evil creatures in the Worldly Paradise community, relying solely on the power of the talismans I've made is insufficient. It would be ideal if I could find a suitable magic weapon.

But now that it's a technological society, monks are becoming increasingly rare, and magical artifacts are even more rare.

Since he had already come to the Treasure Pavilion, he decided to go in and try his luck. If he could find one or two magic artifacts, it would be best.

With this in mind, he skipped merrily towards the antique street.

As the saying goes, "In times of chaos, gold prospers; in prosperous times, antiques flourish." In recent years, China's antique market has been exceptionally hot. Many people enjoy visiting it in their spare time, hoping to stumble upon a bargain.

However, in recent years, TV stations have been launching appraisal programs one after another. Many people are eager to bring out even their grandfather's urine pot for appraisal, hoping to find out if there are treasures hidden in their homes.

In this situation, it's nearly impossible to find any bargains.

Entering the antique street, Ye Bufan and his family walked from one shop to another. His way of identifying antiques was simple: he just needed to glance at them with his divine sense and he could see everything clearly.

Antique items that have truly been passed down through the generations all possess a certain level of spiritual energy. The more abundant the spiritual energy, the more ancient the item is.

Although the antique industry is rife with fakes, this kind of spirit being is absolutely something that no one could counterfeit. Its authentication method is even more accurate than carbon-14 dating.

But the antique street was too deep, he walked half a street, and most of what he saw were fakes. Although he saw a few genuine items, they were all exorbitantly priced, far exceeding their actual value.

He entered another shop, browsed around, and was just about to leave when a middle-aged man rushed in from outside, holding a scroll in his hand.

This person was wearing glasses, looking like a cultured intellectual. However, their face was currently contorted with anger.

Originally, Ye Bufan didn't care about these things and had no interest in watching the commotion. However, when he saw the painting scroll held in the middle-aged man's hand, he immediately stopped in his tracks.

That painting emanated a strong aura and was incredibly rich in detail, it was clearly no ordinary piece of art.

"Boss, that's too much! Why did you replace the painting I bought"

A middle-aged man slapped the scroll in his hand onto the counter with a thud and shouted angrily at the shopkeeper.

The boss was a young man in his thirties, thin and wiry, like a dried-up monkey. He perversely liked to wear an oversized Tang suit, which looked rather incongruous.

His eyes were small and darted about restlessly, clearly the look of a cunning merchant.

He saw the middle-aged man and his expression changed slightly, then he said: "Brother, what do you mean by that"

"What are you saying I just bought Ji Xiaolan's calligraphy from you for 5,000 yuan. How come it changed when I got back You must have swapped it with something else!"

The middle-aged man said with anger on his face.

The shop owner gave a cold smile. "You can eat whatever you want, but you can't speak carelessly. There are so many stores in Ju Bao Yuan, who knows where you bought this from."

The middle-aged man shouted angrily, "Trying to deny it, are you I remember clearly that I bought it from your house and from your hands."

The shopkeeper said coldly, "So what if you bought it from my shop We have a rule on our antique street: once sold, no returns."

"You blame others when it was your own fault."

A middle-aged man said, “If I made a mistake, it's my fault. But this is clearly your fault. I clearly liked Ji Xiaolan's handwriting, but after returning home, it became Yan Zhenqing's. What do you say about that”

The shopkeeper said faintly, "I have so many customers every day, who could remember what painting you bought"

Besides, Yan Zhenqing was a renowned calligrapher during the Tang Dynasty. He lived long before Ji Xiaolan, and his calligraphy is far more valuable than Ji Xiaolan's. You're already taking advantage! What else do you want

The middle-aged man was shaking with anger. He shouted, "But this painting is clearly fake! I spent 5,000 yuan on it, it's not even worth 500!"

The shopkeeper said, "It's all agreed upon: whether you buy the real or fake depends on your own two eyes. If you didn't look carefully, who can you blame"

The middle-aged man said angrily, "You...you're being unreasonable! I must get my money back for this painting today, or else I won't let you off the hook."

Ye Bufan had already seen through the situation. It was very clear that the shop owner first used a genuine painting to lure the middle-aged man, then played a trick of switching paintings, selling a fake for 5000 yuan.

The shopkeeper said impatiently, "You're really a nuisance. That's it, I'll give you back at most 500 yuan. If you agree, take it and leave. If not, sue me if you want to."

After he finished speaking, he pulled out five hundred dollar bills and slapped them on the counter.

"No, I clearly spent 5000 yuan. If you don't refund me, I'll call the police."

"Calling the police You think that's going to scare me" The shopkeeper sneered. "What are you going to tell them That you spent 5,000 yuan on a genuine work by Ji Xiaolan Do you really think the police would believe that"

Even 5,000 yuan wants to buy Ji Xiaolan's calligraphy. Who do you think you are Just walking around the antique street can pick up a bargain

If this were truly a genuine work by Ji Xiaolan, you wouldn't be able to buy it for 500,000! What are you thinking

"I..."

The middle-aged man's face was flushed and red, he thought for a moment but then let out a sigh of defeat. Indeed, that was the case. Even if he reported it to the police, it would be hard to explain.

Unable to do anything about it, he could only accept his fate. He had been too greedy for money; there was no way a 5,000 yuan painting could possibly be a genuine work by Ji Xiaolan.

"What bad luck!"

After finishing his sentence, he was about to go and grab the five bills from the counter. Every little bit saved was a win; it was better than having that fake painting sitting there on his hands.

At this moment, Ye Bufan said, "Big brother, could you lend me a look at this painting I've always wanted a work by Yan Zhenqing. If possible, I'd like to buy it from you."

"Look if you want, but let me tell you first, it's a fake."

The middle-aged man spoke, handing over the scroll in his hand.

Ye Bufan took the scroll and slowly unfurled it. There were two lines of large characters written on it: "Live simply to keep your mind clear, and be tranquil to achieve greatness." Below the text was a seal bearing the name Yan Zhenqing.

However, the overall workmanship of this painting is quite rough. Even someone who isn't particularly knowledgeable can see that it's a fake.

The shopkeeper, seeing that Ye Bufan wanted to buy calligraphy, said, "Young brother, I have many works by Yan Zhenqing in my shop. Any one you choose would be better than this."

"No, I want this one."

"Ye Bufan said, taking out 5000 yuan and handing it to the middle-aged man, "Brother, I'll take this painting. Here are 5000 yuan for you."

Just now, he had seen the mystery of this painting. It was worth more than 100 pieces of five thousand yuan. He originally wanted to give the middle-aged man more money, but he was afraid of making things worse, so he thought it was better to forget it.

After all, antiques have their own rules. If he didn't do it himself, he could only take the 500 yuan, and the loss would be even greater.ful and elegant like this is rare even in the beauty-filled capital city.Sipu Dianmo's face flushed, but she didn't explain. She just secretly glanced at Ye Bufan beside her."Here ladies, I think this...