The viewers were furious when they saw the scene unfold.
"Can they really force someone to sell?"
"Damn, this is basically robbery, right?"
"What's that thing the teenager is holding?"
"Looks like a Yuan Shikai silver dollar."
"Probably the real deal!"
"Take the 'probably' out, it's definitely real! Damn, Boss Lin, hurry up and buy it, you'll make a fortune!"
"Shit, why am I not there? This is the perfect opportunity to pick up a good deal!"
"Those old coins are probably from that kid's family. The vendor is such a scumbag!"
Lin Xiao smiled as he watched their righteous anger, waiting for them to calm down. Then he said, "Do you remember what I told you earlier?"
"What did you say?"
"What did Boss Lin say?"
The crowd was puzzled.
Lin Xiao said, "I told you, this industry is full of schemes. Picking up a good deal is not easy."
"Did you all see what just happened between the teenager and the vendor? That's also a common trick in the antique market."
"A trick?"
"What do you mean?"
"I don't understand, Boss Lin, explain it to us."
Lin Xiao explained, "To put it simply, the teenager and the vendor are in cahoots. They were putting on a show."
"Let me ask you this: if you were here and saw that scene, what would your first reaction be? Wouldn't you think the silver dollar the teenager was holding was real? Wouldn't you want to buy it? If you had those thoughts, then you just walked right into their trap."
The crowd froze for a moment.
Then they immediately understood!
"Damn, it was an act?"
"A script?"
"Damn, it's fake?"
"Wow, I really didn't see that coming. The teenager's acting was top-notch! I really couldn't tell he was pretending."
"The vendor's acting was even better! I wanted to knock him out just from watching through the screen!"
"Boss Lin, are you sure you're not mistaken? What if it wasn't an act?"
"Not an act?" Lin Xiao scoffed, "Let me ask you, if you were that teenager, and someone tried to force you to sell, what would your first reaction be?"
"Get it back!"
"Call the cops!"
Once he said that, no one needed further explanation. They understood.
"Yeah, if it was a robbery, you'd have to get it back."
"Even if you couldn't get it back, you'd have to call the cops."
"But this teenager just walked away. That's completely illogical."
Lin Xiao looked in the direction the teenager had gone. An old man was following him.
He shook his head, "Someone already took the bait."
"Damn, this is infuriating!"
"The antique market is really deep as hell."
"I've learned something, learned something."
"Boss Lin, aren't you going to step in and help him out?"
"Help him out?" Lin Xiao shook his head, "Why would I help? I've got enough to do."
"If you've chosen to come to the antique market to pick up good deals, then you have to be prepared to pay the tuition."
"Besides, cutting off someone's livelihood is like killing their parents. They're just putting on a show. It's not illegal. You took it seriously, so who can you blame?"
"That makes sense."
"Yeah, but it's still frustrating to watch."
"I came here full of confidence, but now I feel like if I tried picking up good deals, I'd probably go bankrupt."
Lin Xiao didn't focus on them anymore and continued to stroll around.
After walking for a while, he stopped once more.
About five meters away, at a nearby stall, there were two men: an elderly man in his fifties and a man in his thirties.
The old man took a cloth out of his pocket, which was wrapped around several silver dollars.
The man next to him picked up each coin, examined them one by one, and then said, "How much?"
The old man said, "5,000 Yuan each, if you want them, you have to buy all of them."
"Seven of them, 35,000?"
The man hesitated for two seconds and said, "Give me a discount and I'll take them."
The old man shook his head, "No, it's 35,000, not a penny less."
The man frowned and said, "30,000, will you sell?"
"Not selling!"
"Then forget it."
The man walked off without another word.
Several other vendors nearby saw this and sneered, but didn't say anything.
"Really? Playing tricks on me now?"
"Are there so many actors in this place?"
"Someone should teach these young actors how it's done! This is real acting!"
"In just a short while, I've encountered two scripts. This is crazy."
"Is this considered fraud?"
"It's mutual consent, so it's nothing. No one would even pay attention if you called the police."
"If you're not greedy, you won't get into trouble. Everyone wants something for nothing, but there's no such thing as free lunch."
Lin Xiao didn't laugh, though. He was only five meters away.
When the man had picked up the Yuan Shikai coin, Lin Xiao had noticed too.
The color, the texture, it seemed somewhat real.
But to know for sure, he had to handle the coin himself.
Thinking this, Lin Xiao walked over.
The vendor at the side sneered and muttered to himself, "Here comes another fool."
Lin Xiao heard but didn't care.
Whether he was a fool or not, that remained to be seen.