Chapter 38: I Didn’t Say 400,000

Driving the boss’s car out alone on his third day of work—Lin Jian was probably the only one who would dare to do such a thing.

However, he had no time to dwell on that. He was genuinely worried that Old Cat would show up at the Agricultural Bank District to exact revenge. Naturally, he wasn’t afraid for himself. Old Cat could never get close to him. Even if the man had a gun, he wouldn’t necessarily be able to do anything!

A handgun’s effective range was fifty meters. If Old Cat wanted to kill him, he wouldn’t shoot from fifty or even thirty meters away. He would definitely aim for a close-range shot; otherwise, the gun’s accuracy would be unreliable. Therefore, as long as Old Cat dared to step within a thirty-meter radius, Lin Jian was confident he could counterattack and ensure the man never returned.

He slowly drove the car to his apartment building, parked, and cut the engine. But instead of getting out, he released his Thought, enveloping a thirty-meter radius.

"Nothing!"

He quickly confirmed there was no sign of Old Cat nearby. Not in the stairwell, and not upstairs in his own home. Old Cat was not within thirty meters.

Of course, the situation was still unclear. If he were Old Cat, he wouldn’t rush to seek revenge. Instead, he would find a place to lay low or immediately leave Jiang City, waiting for a future opportunity to strike back! Seeking revenge right now was undoubtedly a death wish. He didn’t believe the chubby Old Cat was brainless.

Still, he didn’t dare lower his guard. Whatever he could think of, Old Cat could probably think of too. Just when you assumed he wouldn’t retaliate, he might do exactly that. If that happened, it would be too late for regrets.

"Yeah, I need to move to a new place as soon as possible," he murmured.

Lin Jian had already planned to buy an apartment yesterday, but after today’s incident with Old Cat, he was even more eager to move Lin Jing out early. They could no longer live here; his enemies knew exactly where he stayed.

He still had 500,000 yuan on hand, which was more than enough for a down payment. As for turning down the free apartment from Green City Real Estate, he felt no regret whatsoever. He never wanted a handout in the first place. Besides, with his Thought and Invisibility, would he ever be short on money for a house? Wealth would come rolling in eventually. His current difficulties were merely temporary. Before long, he firmly believed, things would only get better.

However, he didn’t choose Green City Real Estate this time. Instead, he went to a residential area called Donghu Imperial Garden. It was also located near East Lake and featured lake-view apartments, though housing prices weren’t as high as Green City’s, nor was the developer as high-end. Still, the environment and amenities were vastly superior to the dilapidated Agricultural Bank District.

At eleven o’clock that morning, Lin Jian arrived at the Donghu Imperial Garden sales office. He picked out a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment measuring over eighty square meters. It was fully furnished and move-in ready. Naturally, he paid a down payment of nearly 300,000 yuan, which left him with a monthly mortgage of just over 5,000 yuan.

After spending the 300,000 yuan, he went straight to buy a bed, sofa, and other necessities without wasting a moment. He returned to the Wudaokou furniture mall, and after finishing his shopping, he took a detour to the Wudaokou flea market! He wanted to get rid of the lidded tea bowl and see how much it could sell for.

The flea market street was lined with various antique shops, each bearing signs that read "Consignment" or "Buying at High Prices." Carrying the box, he casually strolled into one of the larger stores.

There were a few customers inside, but the shop was very quiet. There were no clerks or assistants. Only the shop owner was present, sitting in his executive chair reading a book. The customers browsed on their own while the owner offered no introductions.

The shop was quite spacious, with various types of porcelain, calligraphy, and paintings filling the walls on both sides. When Lin Jian walked in, the owner merely nodded, looking quite arrogant.

Lin Jian scratched his head, placed his box on the owner’s desk, and asked, "Boss, could you help me appraise how much this little teacup is worth?"

"Oh?"

Hearing that Lin Jian was there to sell something, the owner put down his book and looked him up and down a few times. However, he didn’t rush to handle the item. Instead, he asked curiously, "Teacup?"

"It’s an ancient lidded tea bowl. Should be from around the Ming Dynasty, I think?"

Hearing this, the owner immediately chuckled and shook his head. "You’re not from our line of work, are you, young man?"

"You could tell, Boss?" Lin Jian asked with a grin.

The owner smiled but didn’t explain. Instead, he gestured for Lin Jian to open the box himself, showing no intention of touching it directly. Lin Jian thought to himself that the man was putting on quite the airs. But since he knew nothing about the antique trade and was here to sell, he had no choice but to open the box, take out the lidded tea bowl, and place it on the desk.

At this, the few customers in the shop also gathered around. They were quite curious. They usually only saw antique appraisals on television—watching the host Wang Gang smash something with a hammer, declaring, "Fake! Worthless!" Now, it was happening live right in front of them, so naturally, they were intrigued by this fascinating process.

"Hm?"

Just as Lin Jian brought out the lidded tea bowl, the owner suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise. He picked up his glasses from the desk, put them on, and then pulled a pair of white cotton gloves from a drawer and slipped them on as well. It was obvious he was a professional at first glance, unlike an unrefined amateur like Lin Jian.

The owner picked up the lidded tea bowl, rotating it gently. After scrutinizing every detail, he flipped it over to examine the bottom. It bore the inscription "Xuande Year System," though the characters were written in traditional script.

The owner continued his careful examination, pulling out a magnifying glass. He studied it from the lid to the bowl and down to the saucer for about ten minutes! During this time, no one uttered a word.

Ten minutes later, the owner set the lidded tea bowl down, took off his glasses and gloves, and pondered for a moment. "Are you looking to consign this, or sell it outright?"

"Sell it outright." Lin Jian smiled. "Name your price, Boss!"

The owner didn’t answer directly, but countered with another question. "Where did you get this lidded tea bowl?"

"I picked it up last night for 4,000 yuan, just diagonally across from your shop," Lin Jian said, pointing outside.

The owner’s mouth twitched as he wondered if it was true that this kid had actually managed to score something like this. "It’s hard for me to just throw out a price for this. What’s your target figure?"

"I have no idea. I’ve never dabbled in this stuff before. You’re my first stop. Give me a quote, and if it’s reasonable, I won’t bother going to another shop!"

"Well..."

The owner trailed off, hesitating as if he found it difficult to name a price. Lin Jian didn’t rush him; he simply waited in silence.

After mulling it over for a long while, the owner finally held up four fingers. "How about this price?"

"Forty thousand?!" Before Lin Jian could even speak, the onlookers gasped in shock. He bought it for 4,000 last night and could sell it for 40,000 today? That was a tenfold profit!

Lin Jian, however, furrowed his brows. The Golden Lion Paperweight he saw last night was worth eighty to a hundred thousand. The Spiritual Qi on this lidded tea bowl was far denser than what was on that paperweight, so its price shouldn’t be any lower, right? Therefore, 40,000 yuan was definitely an underbid. The owner was trying to take advantage of his ignorance and score a massive bargain!

Lin Jian wasn’t stupid at all. He smiled and shook his head. "Boss, I think I’ll go check out another shop. A classmate of mine has an uncle surnamed Zhong. I’ll go ask him about it."

Lin Jian had heard that the old man with Shen Ke last night was surnamed Zhong, so he deliberately dropped Elder Zhong’s name!

Sure enough, the moment he heard the mention of an uncle surnamed Zhong, the owner hurriedly reached out his hand. "Don’t be so hasty, young man. I never said forty thousand, did I? They were the ones who said forty thousand!" the shop owner said with a chuckle.

"What?"

Hearing the owner’s words, the onlookers were completely dumbfounded. Did that mean this thing was worth 400,000? No way! A hundredfold profit?!

But Lin Jian still didn’t stop. He placed the cup back into the box and said, "I’ll still go ask around. When buying things, you shop around to compare. Selling things should be the same, right? I need to get a few more quotes."

"Young man, wait, don’t rush! I didn’t say it was 400,000 either!" the owner said frantically.

GASPS!

As soon as those words fell, a stunned silence swept across the entire room. Even Lin Jian froze!