"Young man, you have a good eye. This inkstone you're holding was used by the Tang Dynasty's Immortal of Poetry. Legend has it that he used this very inkstone for every poem and lyric he composed. If you like it, we can discuss the price."
"My dear lady, you truly possess discerning taste. This hairpin you've chosen was a favorite of Empress Aixinjueluo. I'd never normally part with it, but since you like it so much, I'll reluctantly let it go."
"And you, my elder brother..."
The old man was as smooth-tongued as ever, loudly extolling the virtues of his antiques to anyone who paused at his stall.
Every item, in his words, was a priceless treasure.
However, there's a saying: too much of a good thing is bad.
After being praised to the heavens as unparalleled and worth a king's ransom, those who had initially been interested in purchasing began to hesitate and observe from a distance.
After all, even the most foolish person knew that a stall in a flea market couldn't possibly hold so many priceless treasures.
If even one of the things the old man claimed was true, he'd be set for life.
Seeing his sales pitch backfiring and making people wary of his wares, the old man couldn't help but feel a mixture of amusement and frustration.
"Grandpa, how much for this jade pendant?"
Just as the old man thought he wouldn't sell a single item that morning, someone squatted down at his stall and picked up a jade pendant with a rather unique design.
The old man instinctively opened his mouth to launch into his usual sales pitch.
But remembering his recent misfire, he reined in his words.
He looked down at the person asking the price, a handsome young man with a sunny disposition. After a pause, he said, "How about this? Three hundred yuan, and you can have the pendant."
The old man quoted a price from his heart.
The young man hesitated. Just then,
"I'll take this jade pendant! Six hundred!"
A voice boomed from the side.
Both the old man and the young man turned to look. A man with an arrogant air, smoking a cigarette, stood beside them.
He was flanked by two men who looked like bodyguards.
"What are you looking at? Did you not hear our young master? We're offering double the price!"
This time, the man didn't need to speak. One of his bodyguards spoke up, his tone sharp.
Indeed, the subordinates reflected their master.
The man who had spoken earlier had a very arrogant tone and looked down on everyone.
His bodyguards, like dogs with their masters, were even more obnoxious.
"In this day and age, some people get a little money and forget who they are. They don't even understand basic etiquette, thinking a bit of cash makes them important?"
"You're absolutely right. Having money is indeed impressive. They speak with more authority than us."
"Exactly. I bet the old man will sell the jade pendant to this guy who just showed up."
"Well, in business, you sell to the highest bidder. And this old man is clearly greedy. What else can you expect?"
At this point, the onlookers who hadn't yet left the vicinity of the stall began to chime in.
In their eyes, the stall owner was a complete money-grubber, and someone offering a higher price would undoubtedly get the item.
"Uh, excuse me, sir. This jade pendant was seen by this young man first. Perhaps you could look at something else? I have plenty of good items on my stall."
To everyone's surprise, the old man did not sell the jade pendant to the later arrival.
A greedy person refusing money?
For a moment, everyone looked at the stall owner with disbelief, including the young man who had initially inquired about the price.
"Damn it! Old man, you've got some nerve! Our young master took a liking to your item, which is a compliment. Moreover, our young master offered double the price! I'm telling you, you'll sell it today whether you want to or not!"
The man and his two bodyguards were also taken aback by the old man's refusal.
After a moment of shock, one of the man's bodyguards pointed at the old man, his tone extremely arrogant.
The other bodyguard quickly crouched down and reached out to snatch the jade pendant from the young man's hand.
To openly resort to theft in broad daylight was truly outrageous.
However, the crowd stood by in silence.
Firstly, the man's arrogance suggested he had backing. Secondly, his two bodyguards were burly and looked menacing.
The people present were ordinary folks who didn't want any trouble.
"Oh ho, you're going to try and snatch it now? Who gave you the audacity?"
Just as the bodyguard's hand was about to grasp the pendant, his wrist was caught.
The one who grabbed him was the young man who had been squatting.
Seeing his wrist held, the bodyguard's eyes flashed fiercely as he shouted, "If you don't want trouble, get lost!"
As he shouted, the bodyguard violently yanked his hand, trying to break free from the young man's grip.
He gave no thought to whether he might use too much force and make the young man fall.
Huh?
The bodyguard attempting the snatch was confident in his strength, but he was surprised that even without using his full power, the force he exerted should have been more than this scrawny young man could handle.
Yet, the reality was that his wrist was still firmly held by the young man.
"Datou, what are you doing? Hurry up."
His companion behind him, thinking the bodyguard was hesitating, urged him on.
Feeling embarrassed by his companion's prompt, Datou decided to use all his might this time.
However, this time, the young man holding his wrist voluntarily let go. Datou's overexertion sent him stumbling backward and falling to the ground.
Hahaha.
The surrounding crowd erupted in laughter.
"Damn it, what's so funny?"
Datou felt humiliated by his fall.
But he immediately got up, glaring fiercely at those who had laughed at him and started cursing.
Under his glare, everyone fell silent and stifled their laughter.
"Kid, you're asking for it! You brought this upon yourself!"
Datou felt he had been played by the young man who was squatting.
Having lost face in front of his young master and his companion, he was eager to retaliate.
"Heh heh, you're quite amusing. You tried to snatch my stuff, and then you tripped and fell face-first like a dog, and now you're blaming me?"
The young man slowly stood up, looking at Datou with a helpless expression.
Datou's face flushed red at the mention of falling face-first. He then roared, "Go to hell!"
And lunged towards the young man.