Lin Xiao crouched down at a stall, casually picking up a porcelain bowl to examine.
Zhu Yulin remained quiet, simply watching from the side. His eyes gleamed with the thirst for knowledge as he silently observed Lin Xiao's movements.
Lin Xiao examined the bowl for a while before putting it down and picking up a porcelain jar.
The stall mostly displayed porcelain, along with a few bronze items.
The street bustled with people and chatter. Though it wasn't as crowded as Fuzimiao, the foot traffic was clearly higher than usual.
Just then, a man in his late twenties walked over, glanced at Zhu Yulin, and said, "Master Zhu, long time no see."
Zhu Yulin looked at him and gave a polite nod and smile. "Zhou Ming, here to hunt for antiques?"
Zhou Ming chuckled. "Yeah, I got inspired by that Lin guy. I'm not the only one—people who rarely show up have been flocking out lately. Who would've thought something like that could turn up at Fuzimiao? Tsk, a Yongle blue-and-white charger…"
He sighed, then added, "By the way, I heard that item was originally spotted by Master Zhu?"
Zhu Yulin's smile faltered—talk about touching a nerve.
Zhou Ming quickly realized his misstep and laughed awkwardly. "Hey, that's the nature of treasure hunting. Don't take it to heart."
He squatted down and scanned the stall. Spotting Zhu Yulin eyeing the jar in Lin Xiao's hands, he stared at it for a moment and remarked, "That jar's nothing special. Qing dynasty folk kiln stuff—not worth much."
Lin Xiao didn't even look at him, completely ignoring the comment.
Zhu Yulin frowned slightly. Zhou Ming had decent knowledge, but he was still too young.
In the antique world, there were unspoken rules—you don't comment on items someone else is currently examining.
Saying "it's worthless" while someone's still holding it? That's just ruining the seller's chances—and insulting the buyer's judgment, as if you're the only expert.
Zhu Yulin said nothing. He only knew Zhou Ming in passing.
The stall owner glanced at Zhou Ming but stayed quiet.
Lin Xiao returned the jar to the stall, scanned the other items, and his gaze settled on a porcelain bowl. He picked it up and studied it for a while, then placed it back down.
The moment he did, a hand reached out and grabbed it—Zhou Ming again.
Zhou Ming held the bowl, inspecting it from every angle, then asked, "Master Zhu, what do you think of this bowl?"
Master Zhu replied, "Looks like a Qing dynasty piece."
Zhou Ming gave him a thumbs-up. "Master Zhu's eye is as sharp as ever."
Without hesitation, he asked the seller, "How much for this bowl?"
"110,000 yuan," the vendor replied.
Zhou Ming frowned. "Come on, cut me a deal. That's too high."
The seller shook his head. "This one's a real find. 110k, firm."
Only then did Zhou Ming realize he'd shown too much interest. Picking up the item immediately after Lin Xiao had set it down and asking for the price made his intentions too obvious. There was no way the seller would lower the price now.
Normally, he could haggle a few thousand off something like this.
But with Master Zhu right beside him, he couldn't afford to put it back down—what if Zhu snatched it up?
After a moment's hesitation, Zhou Ming sighed internally.
Fine. Let it be pricey—this piece was worth it. Even at 110k, it was still a steal.
"Alright, 110 it is."
He pulled out his phone to pay.
Master Zhu looked surprised. It wasn't every day you saw someone spend 110,000 so readily on an antique.
He hadn't examined the bowl himself, but from a glance, he could confirm it was Qing-era. For more details—like which kiln or period—it would need closer inspection.
After the transaction, Zhou Ming finally let his guard down and burst out laughing.
"I heard that master who scored big at Fuzimiao snagged something Master Zhu missed. Funny, isn't it? Now this friend here missed a treasure too—and I got it."
Zhu Yulin's face darkened. One mention was enough, why keep bringing it up?
"What's his deal?"
"Sounds like he's saying Lin made a mistake."
"Is the item really that valuable?"
"If it were junk, would Lin have let it go?"
"It's probably worth something. But maybe not enough to catch Lin's interest anymore."
"Man's really feeling himself right now."
Zhou Ming's grin widened as he declared, "It's a Qianlong-era fencai chicken cup!"
"You know about the famous Chenghua doucai chicken cups, right, Master Zhu?"
"This one shares the same design—just from the Qianlong era, and done in fencai. It might not fetch Chenghua-level prices, but it's still worth over a million. Snagged it for 110k—talk about a huge win."
In great spirits, Zhou Ming continued, "In treasure hunting, you need more than sharp eyes—you need luck. First there was Fuzimiao, now Chaotiangong."
Zhu Yulin's expression soured. How many times was this guy going to bring that up?
"Pffff~"
Lin Xiao couldn't help but laugh aloud.
Zhou Ming turned. "What are you laughing at, friend?"
"Just thought of something funny."
"Heh." Zhou Ming assumed Lin was bitter about missing a big find and didn't take it seriously. Holding his precious new treasure, he said, "Master Zhu, I'll be off now. Tea's on me next time."
"Mhm." Zhu Yulin didn't want to engage further. Please—just leave and stop annoying me.