The stall owner's nervousness made Shen Qiang realize that the longevity lock must be something good; otherwise, the old guy wouldn't have pretended not to understand and pushed away the person who had looked at the longevity lock before, then turn around to buy it himself.

Feeling somewhat nervous as he looked at the longevity lock, Shen Qiang used the Observation Skill, and the moment the longevity lock magnified in his eyes, he immediately stopped the cultivation technique.

An image flashed in his mind.

Shen Qiang immediately understood that the longevity lock was made of Kunlun jade, also known as Nephrite jade.

It had been in existence for 223 years.

A simple reverse calculation pinpointed this to the late Qianlong period.

A Nephrite jade longevity lock with a silver chain from the late Qianlong period should not be very expensive though, despite knowing that the stall owner would surely profit from buying it, it was hard to say by how much.

Therefore, Shen Qiang decided not to intervene.

The stall owner then firmly claimed that the longevity lock was definitely Xiuyan jade, raving about its moisture level, fissures, luster, patina, and whatnot, so convincingly that the confused vendor sold the Nephrite jade longevity lock for twelve hundred yuan.

After that, he turned and walked away.

Seeing Shen Qiang following him with a grin, he frowned and said, "Why are you still following me? Are you thinking of buying a few more pots? I have some at my stall."

Shen Qiang laughed, "No, I just want to learn from your conning skills, how you bluffed a late Qianlong Nephrite jade longevity lock into being a Republic Era Xiuyan jade."

The stall owner was taken aback, sizing up Shen Qiang with astonishment, and then frowned, "Are you sure?"

Shen Qiang laughed, recalling the image that had appeared in his mind, and elaborated, "This longevity lock, is slightly convex on the front, shaped like a saddle, smooth on the back, with no decorations, symbolizing peace and safety, as big as the palm of a hand, worn by martial generals going into battle."

The stall owner looked at Shen Qiang in silence for a moment and said, "I'm suddenly wondering if your purchase of my pot last time was not just because of good luck."

"But I am indeed a novice, there's a lot I don't understand, so I hope for more guidance from my senior."

Looking at Shen Qiang's indifferent expression, the stall owner laughed, then after being silent for a moment, said, "My name is Sun Kaiping, I've been doing business here for nearly twenty years, they all call me Sun the Peddler, because I always like to sell fakes."

Raising the longevity lock in his hand and casually slipping it into his pocket, Sun Kaiping said, "This is how the antique market, the old goods market operates, it's a place where knowledge trumps everything."

"For those with the ability, this place is a heaven for making money; for those without, it's a hell that can bankrupt them."

Shen Qiang laughed, "I won't go bankrupt here."

Sun Kaiping frowned, shaking his head while walking away, "I thought the same, yet still sold you Nalan Xingde's ring for just three hundred yuan."

Shen Qiang laughed, "That's all in the past, I'll be coming here often in the future, please take good care of me."

Sun Kaiping's expression immediately darkened, "That was the best chance of my life, I've already been merciful by not taking drastic measures on you, so don't expect me to look after you."

Shen Qiang smiled, then said, "Don't speak so absolutely, if you come across an antique you can't authenticate, perhaps you might come to me for help, I could offer you some pointers."

"You're giving me pointers?" Sun Kaiping was a bit heated.

Just then, Boss Ma, who had bought the Warring States Jade Ring from him last time, walked over. Hearing the two's conversation, he chuckled, greeted Shen Qiang, and said, "Sun Kaizi, you shouldn't be so resentful. The fact that young Shen could pick out a great bargain from you already proves his eye power."

Sun Kaiping spoke with a cold face, "Boss Ma, there's no need for sarcastic remarks. Who doesn't get their shoes wet when always standing by the river? Have you never misjudged an item?"

Boss Ma laughed, ignoring Sun Kaiping, "Young Shen, the antique market is a ruthless place that devours people without spitting the bones. Confusing right with wrong, suppressing prices, and mixing fake with real is the basic compulsory course, believe me, every antique businessman could be caught and shot without trial, and there would be no miscarriages of justice."

Shen Qiang was amused by this and said, "Then I'll have to ask for Boss Ma's guidance in the future."

Boss Ma laughed, "Certainly, certainly. You and I hit it off as soon as we met, becoming friends despite the years. That finger ring you got last time, I really like it. Let's talk about it, you give it to me, and we become friends."

Upon hearing this, Shen Qiang's eyes crinkled with laughter, "Boss Ma and I also hit it off at first sight. If someone else wanted to buy it, I definitely wouldn't sell it. But since you like it so much, I'll let it go for a friendly price of 30 million."

At these words, Boss Ma's smile vanished.

Meanwhile, Sun Kaiping, who was standing to the side, suddenly said, "Shen Qiang, you just mentioned if there's anything I'm unsure about, I could ask for your guidance. How about this?"

"Let's compare our eye power. If you lose, you sell me Nalan Xingde's finger ring for one million. If you win, I'll acknowledge you have a place in this antique market, and I won't compete with you for any items you're interested in."

Seeing Shen Qiang looking at him in surprise,

Sun Kaiping raised his eyebrows, "You're new here, you might not understand what 'harmony brings wealth' means. There are approximately three hundred professional antique dealers who are active in this old market all year round."

Taking out the longevity lock he bought earlier from his pocket, Sun Kaiping said, "I could tell it was Nephrite Jade, you could tell, others could too."

"If everyone swarms to buy it, jacking up the price, the end result would be that nobody could buy it, or if someone did, there'd be no profit to speak of."

"So, you might notice that in this market, even if over a dozen merchants are interested in an item, none of them would make an offer before the seller lets go of it."

"The reason is that they have gained recognition, and other merchants, no matter how much they like it, will only wait for him to buy it before dealing with him privately."

"But if they do not recognize you, they won't mind doing those things, hiking up prices, hustling for the item, competing, anything could happen."

Looking at Shen Qiang, Sun Kaiping continued, "Assuming you really come here every day, and you have the people skills, then roughly in six months to a year, the merchants who are in this market all year round might recognize you."

"But if you're willing to take this bet with me, I'll ask the well-respected Old Master Meng and fellow colleagues in the market to witness the bet. If you win, you will gain their recognition."

"You won't get competition over the items in your hands, and you'll get to see some of the great items in the merchants' hands more often."

Shen Qiang laughed, turned to Boss Ma, "Is this true?"

Boss Ma laughed, "Pretty much. Betting on eye power with him could indeed get all the merchants in the market to know you. But the precondition is you can't lose too badly. If you're really lacking in eye power and they think you're a fool, then you'll see countless fakes presented before you when you come here in the future."

Hearing this, Shen Qiang looked at Sun Kaiping with a smile and said, "Alright, I accept this wager."

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