Lin Yi had visited the Antique Market a few times before, but he'd always come with his dad to wander around the street stalls.
As for the shops, he hadn't set foot in any of them, since they didn't sell those cheap porcelain shards he was after.
But today, he didn't wander around the stalls; instead, he parked his bicycle right in front of the largest antique store, 'Xuanrui Studio'.
After all, the treasure in his backpack was worth 2.71 million! Those small street stalls outside could never afford it.
Stepping into Xuanrui Studio, Lin Yi couldn't help but pause in surprise, muttering to himself:
"Is this really an antique shop??"
The reason for his doubt was that the decor inside was completely different from the image of an antique shop in Lin Yi's mind.
It was resplendent with gold, shining brightly.
To Lin Yi, this place seemed more like a jewelry store.
"Hello sir, welcome to Xuanrui Studio. Is there anything you need?"
Upon seeing Lin Yi enter, a saleswoman dressed in a cheongsam with heavy makeup immediately approached with a professional smile.
However, upon seeing that Lin Yi was just a teenager, she lost a bit of interest, knowing that this was an antique shop where even the cheapest crafts cost thousands.
Nevertheless, her professionalism was quite good, and Lin Yi's handsome appearance made her choose to attend to him.
"Um, hello, may I ask if you take items here?"
Lin Yi glanced at the saleswoman and directly asked the question.
The cheongsam-clad saleswoman was daydreaming about the young man in front of her, 'If this little brother could help me clean the drains, it would be wonderful~'
Upon suddenly hearing Lin Yi's question, she showed no impatience, instead revealing what she thought was a charming smile:
"Haha, we do accept items, but since we're the most upscale antique shop, if your item isn't 'good', we won't take it."
Lin Yi nodded upon hearing this, missing the emphasis on 'good':
"Don't worry, it's definitely not an ordinary item. Take me to see your appraiser."
Having said that, Lin Yi took the lead and walked inside.
The saleswoman eyed Lin Yi's tall back, lightly licking her lips, and hurried to follow.
But before they could take a few steps, a middle-aged man with a belly, carrying a briefcase under his arm, approached the door.
Seeing the person, Lin Yi was taken aback. What a coincidence to run into this guy here.
But then he remembered hearing that the man's company was in this Antique City, raising the question: was he working here?
Sure enough, the next moment, the woman in the cheongsam answered Lin Yi's question:
"Hello, President Sun. Are you heading out?"
The man approaching was none other than Sun Zhi, whom Lin Yi had met earlier that morning—the 'capable' husband of one of his mother's colleagues.
Sun Zhi held his head high, exuding arrogance, without even glancing at Lin Yi, merely acknowledging the woman.
Lin Yi, seeing that Sun Zhi didn't notice him, was quite happy not to have to talk to this pretentious guy.
However, Sun Zhi took only a few steps before stopping and turning around to address the saleswoman:
"Oh, right, Xiao Wu, come to my office later; I have some instructions for you... Hey? The Lin family's boy? What are you doing here?"
As Sun Zhi turned around, he finally noticed Lin Yi beside the saleswoman, showing a look of confusion.
Seeing that he'd been spotted, Lin Yi couldn't ignore him, lest he be called rude, so he gave a greeting.
The saleswoman, seeing this, looked at the two of them in surprise and then explained:
"President Sun, so you know each other. This young man said he wants to sell something to us, and I'm about to take him to the appraisal room."
"Oh? Selling something? What are you selling? Don't tell me it's those useless porcelain shards your dad bought, because if so, there's no need to go; I assure you we won't take that stuff!"
Upon learning that Lin Yi came to sell something, Sun Zhi immediately donned a disdainful expression.
He was aware of Lin Yi's father's love for collecting worthless porcelain shards and knew they didn't have the spare money for buying antiques.
Thus, he didn't believe Lin Yi could have anything valuable to sell.
Faced with Sun Zhi's slightly mocking tone, Lin Yi simply ignored him. Instead, he took off his backpack and reached inside to pull out the porcelain cup wrapped in tissue paper.
Seeing this large wad of tissue paper, Sun Zhi immediately sneered disdainfully:
"What's this? Wrapped so tightly. Anyone would think it's some precious treasure."
"Hey, I'm telling you, kid, you've learned nothing. I told you this morning, if your grades aren't great, maybe stop going to school early, save your parents some money."
As Lin Yi unwrapped the tissue paper, Sun Zhi adopted a lecture-like tone, drawing the attention of several people around them.
Seeing this, Sun Zhi raised his voice even more:
"You'll find a job, save some money for a car, and it'll be easier to get a girlfriend. Though you can't afford a Porsche Cayenne like mine, a small Xiali is not a problem."
Especially when he mentioned the Porsche Cayenne, he emphasized the words, fearing no one heard.
To this, Lin Yi scoffed and couldn't fathom how such a person rose to the position of general manager.
Meanwhile, Lin Yi had already removed the tissue paper, revealing an ancient-looking blue and white porcelain cup to everyone's eyes.
Yet as Sun Zhi laid eyes on the cup, he couldn't help but burst out laughing:
"Hahaha, Lin Xiaozhi, this is really a 'treasure'! I'm saying this as your uncle, learn more knowledge, or you'll easily be deceived."
Furthermore, we're the most authoritative antique shop in the city. At least bring something respectable if you're trying to fool us. Do you know what the design of this cup you brought is modeled after?"
Clearly, with just a glance, Sun Zhi determined that what Lin Yi had brought was a fake. And this wasn't entirely because it was from Lin Yi.
Having been immersed in the antique industry for over a decade, although not a true expert, he was more knowledgeable than the average person.
Therefore, upon seeing Lin Yi take out this 'brand-new' blue and white porcelain cup, he instantly concluded it was a modern replica, recently made and without any antique treatment!
[To be continued...]