Chapter 82: Zhang Yun Appraises Treasures

Chapter 82: Chapter 82: Zhang Yun Appraises Treasures

Everyone greeted Zhang Yun enthusiastically. Some of the younger ones, like Zhang Long, even came over to cozy up to him.

At this moment, Zhang Yun didn’t put on any airs. Exchanging a pleasantry with one person and waving to another, he already exuded the veritable aura of a boss.

Zhang Youcai had already arranged for some men to set up a long, traditional table, having announced the rules to the crowd in advance. Seeing the four unfamiliar youths tailing Zhang Yun, Zhang Youcai chuckled. He thought the kid really knew how to put on a show and flex his status. He hadn’t even made a name for himself yet, but he was already giving off the vibe of a big boss.

"Zhang Yun, here is your seat!" Zhang Youcai ushered him to sit down. "Everyone, you can come up according to the line you formed earlier to have your treasures appraised!"

"Zhang Yun, are you really capable of appraising these things?"

"Haha, do you actually know how? You’re not just scamming people, are you?"

Quite a few people had brought items for appraisal, but just as many were purely there to watch the spectacle.

"Stop causing a ruckus!" Zhang Youcai glared at the crowd. "When Zhang Yun was in school, he studied under a famous master. He knows more about these things than all of you combined!"

Xu Jin and the rest of the "four great disciples" stood behind Zhang Yun. They didn’t know much about him to begin with, nor did they know where he had learned his miraculous Inner Power. In their previous analysis, they assumed it was a secret passed down through his family in this mountain village. Hearing Zhang Youcai’s introduction, it suddenly dawned on them—Zhang Yun must have studied under a famous master for a few years while attending university out of town! Inner Power, treasure appraisal... it seemed their master had truly learned from a supreme expert.

"Uncle Cai has already made the rules clear to everyone, right? Then let’s begin. We’ll try our best not to delay everyone’s afternoon work!" Zhang Yun tapped on the table, signaling the immediate start.

One of the aunties who had arrived earliest brought over a bronze pipe. She rattled off a whole bunch of history and stories, claiming it was from when her great-grandfather used to smoke opium.

The moment Zhang Yun took it in his hands, he immediately felt a wisp of Energy being absorbed. He then pretended to inspect it carefully. "Acceptable."

Zhang Youcai was waiting right beside him. Because Zhang Yun didn’t understand market prices, they had agreed the night before to use the landlord’s collection found in the ancestral tomb as a baseline. The items would be divided into several grades: average, acceptable, and excellent. Zhang Youcai would be the one to set the prices.

"One thousand. Are you selling or not?" He had arranged for two men to assist him; one was ready to register the items, while the other opened a bag, took out a stack of cash, and swiftly counted out a thousand.

"One thousand? Isn’t that too little? Add a bit more!" The auntie beamed with joy. She was actually quite satisfied that an old, dust-gathering pipe could be exchanged for a thousand, but it was only human nature to try and fight for a better deal. Who knew, maybe she could sell it for a few thousand?

Zhang Youcai furrowed his brows. "Old sister, this isn’t a vegetable market. Stop haggling!" He then announced loudly, "We are people who do big business, and everything is about efficiency. For example, if we were to strictly evaluate this, it might only be worth seven, eight, or nine hundred. We might sell it for more later, or we might not be able to sell it at all. But for the sake of efficiency, and because we won’t mistreat our own people, we set the price at one thousand flat!"

"Just add a little more, a bit more..."

"Next!" Zhang Youcai waved his hand.

"I’ll sell!" The auntie immediately snatched the thousand and walked away happily.

Watching this unfold, Zhang Yun felt fortunate to have Zhang Youcai as a partner. If it had been him, even if he could price the items, he might have easily caved and added another one or two hundred when faced with the villagers’ smiling pleas. And what if he encountered pitiful old men or women later? He might end up adding even more. Business was business, and charity was charity!

One thousand wasn’t a massive sum, but the item itself wasn’t anything magical, either. Seeing a stack of crisp red banknotes handed over so easily, and then looking at the heaps of cash Zhang Youcai’s men had prepared, the crowd grew excited.

"Sorry."

"Sorry."

For a long streak afterward, none of the items contained any Energy. They were likely just things from twenty or thirty years ago. Zhang Youcai unceremoniously rejected them one by one!

"Hey! Are you guys playing favorites? Why are you rejecting all of ours?"

"If you say this isn’t worth money, then it’s not worth money? You barely even looked at it! How can you dismiss it with just one word?"

"Zhang Yun, do you have a problem with us? Did we offend you?"

Those who were rejected began to sarcastically voice their displeasure.

Zhang Yun was just about to speak when Zhang Youcai patted him on the shoulder. "I’ll handle this." He stepped up. "Did you guys not hear me explain the rules earlier? Do I need to waste time and repeat them? You ask why? Because of Zhang Yun’s sharp eye, and because we’re the bosses buying the goods!"

"So what if you’re the boss? I’m not selling anymore!"

"Listen up, everyone! Doing business has always been a two-way street. We won’t haggle like we’re at a vegetable market, but the core principle is the same. You don’t have to sell your vegetables to me, and I don’t have to buy your vegetables. If taking a look means a transaction is mandatory, then this is pointless!"

Having been a boss for many years, Zhang Youcai spoke with an imposing presence. Because Zhang Yun was young, the villagers felt comfortable mouthing off to him, but they didn’t dare act out of line against Zhang Youcai.

Right then, Zhang Ronghui appeared next to the table. "Zhang Yun and Youcai are trying to help everyone out. But don’t you guys think about taking advantage of them! Only bring out real antiques. For it to count as an antique, it has to be at least older than the oldest living person in your family!"

The crowd erupted into laughter.

"I’ll take the liberty to say this: there’s an old saying that even if a deal falls through, goodwill remains! Whether we’re from the same village or folks from the neighboring areas, we’re all neighbors. Let’s not ruin the harmony!"

"The village chief speaks with great wisdom!" Zhang Youcai immediately took the lead in applauding.

Seeing Zhang Ronghui look his way, Zhang Yun offered him a smile. This guy was actually doing them a solid as a favor for last night’s transaction. Zhang Ronghui had probably realized from the first few appraisals that he hadn’t been taken advantage of the night before.

Things went much smoother after that. Whether they were from this village or others, those who knew their items weren’t old enough didn’t bother bringing them out to embarrass themselves. As for those who had found things in their old houses but couldn’t verify the age, they still brought them to Zhang Yun for appraisal.

Average items went for five hundred, acceptable ones for one thousand, and excellent ones for three thousand! However, even after appraising dozens of items, they hadn’t encountered many excellent ones. Zhang Yun, on the other hand, was quite satisfied. Although the individual mass of the objects wasn’t large, the sheer quantity made up for it. By appraising so many items in one concentrated session, he was still able to absorb a considerable amount of Energy.

"Excellent."

Zhang Yun absorbed a tiny bit of Energy from these Copper Cymbals. It was considered an antique, but according to their standards, it would only warrant a five-hundred purchase price. However, this was brought over by Aunt Jiujin. Labeling it "excellent" was naturally a subtle way of taking care of Sister-in-law Xiuqin.

Aunt Jiu was thrilled. They didn’t have any major sources of income and couldn’t handle heavy farm work. Three thousand was a massive windfall for them.

"This belonged to an old Daoist from our village who used to perform rituals all over the surrounding areas. This thing might not be incredibly old, but it should still count as an antique, right?" An unassuming old farmer from the neighboring Wa Village placed a copper bell in front of Zhang Yun.

Zhang Yun was only responsible for the appraisal. He didn’t need to care whether it actually belonged to an old Daoist or why it was in the farmer’s hands.

"Master, have some tea." Although Fu Yudie was a girl who practiced Sanda, she was quite attentive. Without money to pay for tuition, she made sure to act more dutifully. She helped her master by serving tea and pouring water, and even borrowed a fan to cool him off.

Zhang Yun brought the tea to his lips with one hand and picked up the copper bell with the other. Suddenly, it felt as though he had been struck by a bolt of lightning!