"Deal!"
Upon hearing Chen Yiyang's offer, the person opposite agreed without hesitation.
"You just mentioned the rules in the antique world; when a buyer names a price, they intend to buy. I'll sell you the watch case for two thousand."
This stall owner shook a fan with a smug expression.
He thought Chen Yiyang had offered too high. After all, this watch case didn't look particularly special, and he might have sold it for two hundred if someone offered.
"Could this be too expensive?" Xu Xiaosheng, standing nearby, also thought the price was a bit outrageous.
If it were an old, complete pocket watch, buying it for two thousand might be okay.
But just for a watch case, no matter how you look at it, two thousand seems unjustifiable, especially since the case's material didn't look like anything precious, with its dull color.
In this antique trade market, where items often start from the Tang and Song dynasties, a watch case like this indeed looks inconspicuous and worthless.
"I'm buying it, and the money's transferred to you. That settles our matter," Chen Yiyang took out his phone and transferred the money, then gestured for Xu Xiaosheng to take the watch case.
"You're a man of action," the stall owner nodded approvingly.
Everyone assumed Chen Yiyang spent so much money on this inconspicuous watch case to avoid future trouble with the stall owner, so no one discussed whether the watch case was worth two thousand anymore.
"Let's go." Chen Yiyang tugged on Xu Xiaosheng's shirt, signaling him to follow him away from there.
In fact, stall number 269 was already one of the last few stalls in this antique market.
The two didn't walk far before they left the market through the south gate.
Standing by a street with slightly fewer people, Xu Xiaosheng carefully held the pocket watch case in his hand, then looked at Chen Yiyang and said, "Thanks for the gift, today was really a hassle for you. I'll treat you to dinner tonight."
"Wait a minute," Chen Yiyang immediately interrupted Xu Xiaosheng.
With a bewildered look from Xu Xiaosheng, Chen Yiyang reached out and took the pocket watch case from his hand.
"I need to clarify the ownership of this item," Chen Yiyang said, holding the watch case and looking at Xu Xiaosheng, "I let you choose it, but I paid for it, so it remains mine, and I am not gifting it to you."
"Oh," Xu Xiaosheng was stunned.
"Any objections?"
"None," Xu Xiaosheng quickly shook his head.
"That's good," Chen Yiyang pulled out a small bag and placed the watch case inside, then kept it close to him.
The pocket watch case was from an 1890 limited edition Patek Philippe pocket watch.
The case measured 49mm in diameter and was made of 18k rose gold. Although the dial was missing, the dial's material was enamel and couldn't compare to the case.
The so-called rose gold is a man-made alloy used in luxury goods, composed of seventy-five percent gold and twenty-five percent copper, resulting in a rose color.
Just the pure rose gold case alone, if we calculate the gold's worth, it already exceeds two thousand.
Not to mention, in the hands of an expert, this case could easily be restored into a complete antique pocket watch.
Though it might not have a market domestically, abroad, it's very sellable. Just find a sizable pawn shop, and the selling price starts at seventy thousand US dollars.
So unless Xu Xiaosheng was made of gold, he couldn't bear to give this case to her.
Watching Chen Yiyang take the case away,
Xu Xiaosheng couldn't shake the feeling of having misunderstood something, but she couldn't figure out what exactly.
So she softly asked, "Um, should I still treat you to dinner?"
"That's definitely on," Chen Yiyang agreed.
If it weren't for helping this young lady out of trouble today, he might have bought the case for just a few hundred.
Given the circumstances, recouping with a meal was indeed necessary.
"Oh," Xu Xiaosheng, momentarily at a loss for words, then the two stood by the roadside for several more minutes.
Finally, Xu Xiaosheng spoke again, "Have you been to the Great Tang Never Night City in West Capital? I want to check it out tonight, and if you have time, we could eat there."
"Great," Chen Yiyang agreed.
Since train tickets were unavailable tonight, he decided they might as well enjoy the evening, returning to Jin City the next day.
Because a ride-share previously took over an hour to arrive, Chen Yiyang opted this time to directly hail a taxi by the road.
Too close, no.
Too late, no.
Too crowded, no.
Not on the way, no.
No charge, no.
Changing shifts, no.
After several drivers refused upon hearing the destination,
Chen Yiyang finally pulled out his phone and called for a ride-share.
Slow it is, but at least they do come.
Fortunately, this time went relatively smoothly, and the driver arrived within ten minutes.
"Here for a trip to our area?" This time, the ride-share driver was quite chatty, starting the conversation right as they boarded.
Mainly because, without chatting, the slow traffic would only amplify his frustration.
"Yes, to check out the Never Night City," Chen Yiyang replied.
"Our Never Night City is indeed well-built, beautiful and it protects the ancient ruins," the driver boasted with pride.
"But I heard the Never Night City is newly built. How does it protect ruins?" Xu Xiaosheng asked curiously.
The driver waved his hand and said something quite reasonable.
"Apart from the Never Night City, that whole area is full of ancient relics. Since everyone heads there, the surrounding areas get protected."
"That's true."
"Plus, that Never Night City is so well-built. Even Li Shimin would be moved to tears from one end of the street to the other. Now that's Great Tang."
"The premise being he could actually catch a cab to Never Night City," Chen Yiyang thought of today's cab-hailing experience and couldn't help but remark.
"We got no choice in this place. I mean, you start digging a road to improve traffic, but one dig and you unearth a whole tomb cluster, and then you're gonna have to seal off a big area. The more you fix, the more it jams."
"I heard that here, if you discover a big tomb cluster, you report it, but for smaller ones, you just bury them on the spot, is that true?"
"Of course, otherwise where do all these antiques come from? One shovel goes in, digs out a small tomb. The antique dealers come overnight to collect the stuff, then the boss gives out hush money, and by the next morning it's all covered up."
"It's illegal to buy antiques like this," Xu Xiaosheng tugged at Chen Yiyang's clothes, seemingly worried about his wild ideas.
"I'm a decent person, what are you thinking?" Chen Yiyang couldn't resist tapping Xu Xiaosheng on the head.
After a long traffic jam, they finally reached their destination.
"Finally not jammed anymore." The two of them got out of the car and walked into the Never Night City.
Then they realized, the cars might not be jammed, but the people sure were.
The crowd barely moved, and communication was practically shouted.
Here they were, just to suffer.
So with intense hunger, Chen Yiyang pulled Xu Xiaosheng to the nearest restaurant.
No matter what, filling the stomach came first.
Then they spent over two hundred and ate till they were half full.
Living in Chang'an is no easy task.
The cost of living is too high.
Fortunately, the place was indeed nice.
The lighting effects were excellent, truly deserving of its nickname, Great Tang Lighting City.
The performances were free, and quite enjoyable.
There were many girls in Hanfu, and many of them were pretty.
Chen Yiyang was even pulled by Xu Xiaosheng to shake hands with the Never Night City's "bopper girl".
It's just unfortunate she only shook hands with girls, when it was Chen Yiyang's turn, she just tapped his palm with a fan.
There was a "bopper guy" in dragon robe willing to shake hands with guys, but Chen Yiyang wasn't interested.
The two played wildly until late at night before finding a place to sit and rest.
Totally unable to stay up, Xu Xiaosheng completely gave up on controlling her body, leaning against Chen Yiyang for a rest.
Chen Yiyang casually chatted with her.
"On site with your mentor, do you just authenticate various antiques all day?"
"No way, if anything's dug up, I wouldn't even get a look. Our job is to sift through dirt."
"Sift dirt?" Chen Yiyang asked curiously.
"Like just taking a sieve layer by layer to ensure there's nothing in the soil. Then every day it's just work sifting dirt until night, then sleep and get up to sift again."
"Sounds like mixing concrete at a construction site," Xu Xiaosheng joked.
Then he looked down, finding Xu Xiaosheng had already fallen asleep leaning against him.
He wanted to take off his coat to cover her, but upon doing so realized it was a bit chilly, so he put it back on.
Instead, he took out his phone and started watching videos.
By midnight, today's bargain news came in.
Today's scoop, former toilet paper: West Capital City, Great Tang Never Night City, Souvenir Street, shop #7, a Ming Dynasty makeup box with several sheets of Great Ming Treasure Notes hidden inside the layers. Successfully buy under two thousand Yuan for a bargain.
"Great Ming Treasure Notes?" Chen Yiyang perked up at today's scoop.
He searched about the infamous yet short-lived Great Ming Treasure Notes.
Found that despite their unpopularity in history, well-preserved Great Ming Treasure Notes are worth quite a bit in modern times.
One can't help but find this somewhat ironic.
Chen Yiyang checked that the Souvenir Street was about a kilometer away from here, and since the main customers are tourists, the shops close very late. If he went now, they should still be open.
So Chen Yiyang patted Xu Xiaosheng's face, "Wake up."
"Going back?" Xu Xiaosheng groggily rubbed her eyes.
"Yeah, but before going back, I need to buy something at Souvenir Street."
"Oh." Xu Xiaosheng got up, stumbling as she followed behind Chen Yiyang.
Chen Yiyang thought if this girl fell on flat ground, should he take her to the hospital, or continue to the bargain?
So he simply crouched down and said to Xu Xiaosheng, "I'll give you a piggyback, let's get there quicker."
"Okay." Deep down, Xu Xiaosheng might have felt a bit embarrassed but being this tired, she couldn't care much.
She immediately lay on Chen Yiyang's back.
"Are you up?"
"I'm up."
"So light?" Chen Yiyang stood up, carrying the almost weightless Xu Xiaosheng as he walked towards the destination along the less crowded pedestrian street.