Lin Xiao scanned the code, made the payment, and picked up the newspaper from the ground. He then grabbed a few more stacks of newspapers from the side and stuffed them into the vase, pretending to wrap it up. Standing up, he walked out.
The viewers were now catching on.
"Wait, you bargained it down from 300,000 to 300?"
"This is ridiculously outrageous!"
"What was all that talk earlier? I didn't understand a word—can someone translate for me?"
"What's all this talk about 'body texture,' 'foot ring,' 'glaze surface'… What is all this?"
"No, host, do you really know anything about antiques?"
The viewers asked various questions, but Lin Xiao didn't respond. He walked a hundred meters, then stopped and removed all the newspapers from the vase.
It took him two minutes to pull out all the Guangming Daily editions, one complete page at a time.
He then walked to a nearby stall, placing the blue-and-white porcelain vase in front of the vendor, saying, "Boss, are you interested in buying this?"
The vendor glanced at it without moving, "Fake."
Lin Xiao smiled. "Of course it's fake. Even if it were real, you wouldn't be able to afford it. I can see that your stall has only small items, lacking variety. You need a big vase to make it look more substantial. How about I sell you this vase for 400?"
The vendor looked at his stall, noticing the lack of big items. After a moment, he replied, "400 is too expensive. Give me a discount."
"Alright, 350. And I'll deliver it right to your door. You won't even have to pay for shipping."
That made sense.
And for such a large vase, 350 wasn't too much.
"Alright, leave it here."
The vendor pulled out cash and handed it over.
Lin Xiao accepted the money and left. He wasn't in a hurry to find any more good deals—he wanted to sell the newspaper first.
Looking around, he quickly walked toward a store in front.
The viewers were stunned.
"Turned around and sold it for 350?"
"What kind of move is this?"
"Damn, is it really this easy to make money?"
"Though it's only 50 Yuan, this move from the host is really smooth!"
"I'm dumbfounded!"
"Wait, host, aren't you here to find good deals? What's this buying and reselling? What's going on?"
"Exactly! I came here to watch you find deals, not to watch you buy and resell for a profit!"
Lin Xiao smiled. "Isn't this still finding a good deal?"
He then waved the newspaper in his hand.
Viewers: ???
"What's this?"
"A newspaper?"
"This is a good deal?"
"Are you joking, host?"
The viewers were completely confused, wondering what Lin Xiao was talking about.
Lin Xiao slowed his pace, having already acquired his goods, and he wasn't in a rush. He explained, "That vase is fake, obviously. But there are still valuable things around, like this newspaper."
He unfolded the newspaper and asked, "Can you see anything?"
The viewers widened their eyes, scrutinizing the newspaper, trying not to miss any detail.
After looking at it for a while, they still couldn't find anything unusual.
"I can't see anything!"
"Host, stop teasing us, just tell us!"
"Isn't this just a newspaper?"
The viewers were completely baffled and increasingly curious.
But Lin Xiao wouldn't give them an answer right away. He built the suspense, and the viewers were growing impatient.
Finally, Lin Xiao closed the newspaper, revealing the front page. "It's the Guangming Daily first edition, out of print!"
With that statement, he stopped in front of a store—Treasure Pavilion!
The name itself was a bit old-fashioned.
A sign at the entrance read: "We buy, appraise, and sell antiques."
Just buying was fine.
With the door open, Lin Xiao stepped inside.
The store was not small, about two hundred square meters, with redwood display cabinets on either side. Each cabinet contained various antiques.
In the middle of the store, there was a tea table. A man in his forties, wearing loose white practice clothes and cloth shoes, sat with his leg crossed, casually scrolling through a video app on his phone.
Hearing the noise, he turned his head and smiled, greeting, "Welcome, feel free to browse."
After his greeting, he returned to watching the videos.
Lin Xiao approached and asked, "Do you have an appraiser here?"
The man didn't look up. "Yes, what do you need appraised?"
Lin Xiao didn't reply immediately but continued, "How much do you charge for appraisals?"
"It depends on the item. Porcelain is one price, jade another, and bronze is yet another..."
Lin Xiao nodded. "I have something valuable here. I need you to bring an appraiser to take a look. If the price is right, I'll sell it to you."
The man was a bit puzzled. "I remember this guy came in empty-handed. What's he trying to have appraised?"
He looked up at Lin Xiao, "What do you need appraised?"
Lin Xiao placed the newspaper on the table. "This."
The man didn't speak. He picked up the newspaper, unfolded it, unfolded it again, and again...
He thought he might have missed something and carefully inspected the paper multiple times. Finally, he looked at Lin Xiao, confused, "Where's the item?"
Lin Xiao raised his chin. "The newspaper."