Chapter 204: More Money Than Sense

Chapter 204: Chapter 204: More Money Than Sense

"Chu Zhong...yang?" Zhang Yun was a little surprised.

The old man in the Tang suit smiled. "That’s right, I am Chu Zhongyang." At the very least, this young man knew his name.

"Why aren’t you called Chu Zhongtian?"

"Chu Zhongtian? What do you mean?" Chu Zhongyang paused, taken aback.

Zhang Yun knew that if the Chinese characters for Chu Zhongtian were written vertically, they could be misread as a crude joke. Seeing that the old man didn’t catch the reference, he felt it inappropriate to tease a senior. "It’s nothing. Please, go on."

Chu Zhongyang scanned the surroundings. Seeing everyone looking eager, waiting for him to use his professional expertise to put the seller in his place, he smugly reached out and took the Bronze Venerable.

"First, we must understand that historically, due to the limitations of craftsmanship, different eras produced different items. The closer we get to modern times, the more precise and advanced things become. It’s just like how early humans could only carve rough lines on rocks, whereas now we have ultra-high-definition photos. Returning to this Bronze Venerable..."

Once the old man started talking, he spoke with great assurance. Although he couldn’t help but sound a bit pedantic, it genuinely felt like he was giving a lecture. However, because he was an expert from the National Museum, it was a rare opportunity for everyone to hear him speak. Regardless of whether it was boring, they all listened attentively.

Zhang Yun, however, could tell that Chu Zhongyang didn’t even need to think about this information; he was just spouting it off the top of his head. His real purpose was likely the same as Zhang Yun’s earlier—stalling for time!

While Zhang Yun stalled to absorb Energy, the old man was doing it to appraise the item. This kind of knowledge required deep research and wasn’t something people could grasp just by hearing it once. Zhang Yun found himself utterly lost, and the others were in a similar boat. Everyone’s main focus was simply waiting for him to reveal the appraisal results!

"...Therefore, this cannot be a relic from the Ming Dynasty. It was made just a few years ago. I won’t rule out the possibility that it was recently unearthed, but it’s highly likely it was buried beforehand to fake the appearance of an antiquity."

Hearing Chu Zhongyang’s verdict, the boss’s face turned ashen. If it had been an ordinary customer, he could have scolded them for being a competitor trying to sabotage his business. But this was a named expert who had stated his credentials; he was truly just exposing a fake in passing. He deeply regretted his actions. If he had known better, he wouldn’t have bragged so much, which perhaps wouldn’t have drawn the old expert’s attention.

"Young man! Keep your eyes peeled," a bystander called out. "Youths coming to Liu Family Cave should be here to learn. Don’t think you can just casually score a bargain."

"You should thank Expert Chu today," another chimed in. "He saved you 88,888 yuan."

Zhang Yun smiled and shook his head. "Thank you, Expert Chu, for the free lesson. I’m not a professional, but I’m rather stubborn, so I’ll stick to my own judgment. Don’t be in such a rush to boo me, I’m not just being obstinate... Boss! I’ll buy this."

The crowd was in an uproar. How was this not being obstinate? This was fighting a losing battle to the bitter end!

"Spending nearly 100,000 yuan just to save face, does your family know about this?"

"Money doesn’t grow on trees! It’s normal to have limited knowledge, but insisting on buying it even after knowing the truth is just plain stupid!"

"Still buying it after the scam was exposed, you wouldn’t happen to be a shill, would you?"

Zhang Yun spoke earnestly, "If I hadn’t opened my mouth, Expert Chu probably wouldn’t have said anything either. With an expert’s verdict, the boss won’t be able to sell this item anymore. I have to take responsibility for my words. Even though I don’t particularly like it, it’s worth this price."

"Idiot!"

"The buyer is never as smart as the seller! Is he actually trying to show loyalty to a crooked merchant? He must be out of his mind!"

"Tsk, tsk, look at you all. They might just be in cahoots, passing the item from the left hand to the right, and then turning around to scam another buyer later."

The boss looked a bit embarrassed. "Young man, you don’t have to buy it. The expert has spoken; it’s definitely a fake. I made an error in judgment and got duped myself. Thank you for your kindness."

"I’m not joking, I’m buying it. I’ll transfer the money to you!" Zhang Yun insisted.

He originally came to Liu Family Cave just to freeload some Energy, but he was still a bit thin-skinned. He could let it slide for average items, but after leeching off such a top-tier piece, he genuinely felt bad not giving something in return.

If Chu Zhongyang had also confirmed it was from the Ming Dynasty, the item’s value would be established. Zhang Yun wouldn’t need to buy it himself; someone else would snatch it up, and the boss wouldn’t lose out. Now that Chu Zhongyang had exposed it as a fake, it clearly wouldn’t sell. Thus, Zhang Yun insisted on buying it.

While Zhang Yun was speaking, Chu Zhongyang carefully observed the item again for a while.

"Alright! Since you’re being such a stand-up guy, I won’t make a profit off you. I bought this thing for 50,000 yuan, so I’ll sell it to you at cost!"

Transferring the payment, packing up the item... the onlookers watched coldly. Half of them thought Zhang Yun was an idiot, while the other half believed he was a shill.

Right now, a mere 50,000 yuan meant nothing to Zhang Yun. Not to mention the huge deal he made today, just the Ancient Artifacts he had collected were worth more than that. While waiting for it to be packed, he inconspicuously touched a few other items on the stall, but unfortunately, none of them contained any Energy.

After picking up the Bronze Venerable, Zhang Yun moved on to other stalls. The stall owners were all exceptionally enthusiastic. Those nearby had seen what happened, and the news quickly spread to those further away. Everyone now knew who Zhang Yun was.

To put it nicely, he was an honest man who showed loyalty to a stranger.

To put it bluntly, he was a fat sheep with more money than sense!

Everyone wanted to push their wares onto him, and Zhang Yun welcomed all comers. He lightly brushed his hands over some items, while picking up others to pretend to appraise them. His obvious lack of knowledge only solidified his image as a fat sheep in their eyes!

Unfortunately for them, they were bound to be disappointed. Although Zhang Yun examined the items with great enthusiasm, he didn’t buy a single thing, leaving all their efforts in vain.

After visiting several stalls, Zhang Yun managed to absorb another wave of Energy. However, these amounts were quite small; combined, they didn’t even amount to a fraction of what the Bronze Venerable had provided.

"Young friend, please wait a moment!"

Hearing a familiar voice, Zhang Yun stopped and looked over. It was none other than Chu Zhongyang.

"Expert Chu, have you been following me?" Zhang Yun chuckled. "My professional knowledge is far inferior to yours. I wouldn’t dare judge your appraisal, nor did I mean to challenge you with my money..."

He casually swung the Bronze Venerable in his hand and shrugged. "To each their own, I suppose. I genuinely feel that buying it for a few tens of thousands isn’t a loss."

They didn’t know each other. If the old man really had an overwhelming sense of justice, he would have tried to stop him from buying it on the spot. Approaching him now probably meant he was still brooding over feeling challenged by Zhang Yun’s money, right?

Chu Zhongyang, however, let out a bitter laugh. "I am ashamed, truly ashamed! The less you take it to heart and the more you explain yourself, the more ashamed my old face feels!"

Zhang Yun started to sense the underlying meaning.

"Earlier, I was careless and made an error in judgment... After seeing how earnestly you insisted, I took a closer look. You were right," Chu Zhongyang said, his face full of shame. "But my pride wouldn’t allow me to lose face and apologize in public..."

"It’s fine. As everyone says, making a mistake is perfectly normal. You don’t need to apologize to me, Expert Chu." Zhang Yun smiled. This proved that using Spiritual Qi to appraise antiques was indeed a viable method.

"I must apologize. Furthermore, I want to give you 50,000 yuan to buy it off you. Otherwise, my conscience won’t be at peace..."

"Wait a minute!" Zhang Yun immediately interrupted. "I only managed to buy it for 50,000 because you, an expert, ruined the boss’s credibility and caused him to drop the price for me. And now you want to buy it for 50,000? No one tries to score a cheap deal like this!"

Zhang Yun looked him up and down, feeling quite disappointed. "It seems you didn’t make an error in judgment after all. You intentionally made it sound worthless so you could arrange for someone to buy it at a low price later! You didn’t come to me because of a guilty conscience; you just couldn’t stomach the fact that I snatched up the bargain before you did!"