People in the alley: A woman dressed as a man shouldn't be foolishly filial, Zhuang Chaoying

Having been in Changcheng for a week, Zhuang Chaoying has been quite busy these past few days.

During the day, Mr. and Mrs. Huang take their children out for a walk.

Zhuang Chaoying stayed home alone, writing her own science fiction novel.

In just one week, I used up two notebooks of manuscript paper.

Huang Ling also went out today, and Zhuang Chaoying put the full manuscript paper into her luggage bag.

During my last stroll, I happened to spot an antique shop.

He put on a thick cotton-padded coat and a scarf before going out.

Once on the street, I squeezed onto a bus, which slowly drove towards the antique shop.

The Lunar New Year is approaching, and the train is packed with passengers, each carrying New Year's goods such as chicken, fish, and meat. The various smells mingled together, some even pungent.

Zhuang Chaoying frowned.

Finally, they arrived at the station, and Zhuang Chaoying struggled to squeeze out of the crowd.

After straightening his clothes, which had become somewhat disheveled from being squeezed, he took a deep breath and strode towards the antique shop.

As soon as I entered the store, I saw the sales clerk behind the counter quickly stand up, her eyes scrutinizing me: "Comrade, what are you doing here?"

Zhuang Chaoying was slightly taken aback, then looked around.

The room was filled with all sorts of porcelain items, plates, bowls, bottles, and so on—a truly diverse collection.

Zhuang Chaoying smiled and said politely, "Hello comrade, I would like to buy two antique items."

Upon hearing this, the middle-aged saleswoman looked Zhuang Chaoying up and down with a hint of suspicion in her eyes: "Do you have foreign exchange certificates?"

Zhuang Chaoying subconsciously shook her head: "No!"

The sales clerk's expression immediately turned cold: "Comrade, we only accept foreign exchange certificates here. If you don't have any, please leave!"

Zhuang Chaoying was stunned. He really didn't know that you had to use foreign exchange certificates to buy things in antique shops during this period.

Damn it, what a terrible birth chart!

[System, is it really necessary to use foreign exchange certificates to buy things in antique shops during this period?]

Yes, host, we are currently in a period of foreign exchange earnings, and foreign exchange certificates are required.

Zhuang Chaoying sighed helplessly. Why hadn't she paid attention to the history of this period?

If I had known earlier, I wouldn't have been in such an embarrassing situation.

During this period of earning foreign exchange, are all the treasures of our motherland only available to foreigners through foreign exchange certificates?

For the next two days, Zhuang Chaoying came to the vicinity of the antique shop every day.

He found a corner not far away and quietly kept watch, his eyes fixed on the shop entrance, hoping that someone might come to sell old items at any time.

On the first day, he stood in the cold wind for a long time. People came and went around him, but none of them came to trade cultural relics.

The next day, the situation remained the same. One passerby even saw him standing there suspiciously and thought he was a speculator, so he almost reported him to the relevant authorities.

Finally, on the third day, after he finished lunch, he told Huang Ling that he was going to go for a walk today.

Huang Ling helped him tie his scarf as usual: "Come back soon!"

Zhuang Chaoying nodded.

I took the same familiar bus as before, and after a bumpy ride, I arrived at the entrance of the antique shop.

I found a spot to sit in the corner and kept my eyes fixed on the store entrance.

At this moment, a man and a woman slowly walked over, tightly holding a bundle in their arms.

Zhuang Chaoying's eyes lit up, and she walked over without hesitation. After looking around, she whispered, "Big brother, big sister, are you selling old items?"

The middle-aged couple stopped when they heard his voice and looked him up and down warily.

The man frowned: "Comrade, what do you do for a living?"

Zhuang Chaoying quickly put on a friendly smile, pulled the two of them aside, and patiently explained, "Big brother, big sister, I'm not a bad person. I just really like old things. But as you know, this antique shop won't let you buy anything without foreign exchange certificates. I had no choice but to squat at the door, hoping for an opportunity."

The two exchanged a glance, ignored Zhuang Chaoying, and walked straight into the antique shop.

Zhuang Chaoying sighed helplessly and peered inside through the glass.

A moment later, he returned to the corner and sat down.

About twenty minutes later, the middle-aged couple came out again, carrying their bundle, with a hint of disappointment on their faces.

Zhuang Chaoying immediately went to greet them again; it seemed the price offered by the antique shop hadn't satisfied them. "Brother, sister, may I take a look?"

The two whispered to each other for a while before the middle-aged man carefully opened a corner of the bundle, holding it with both hands. "Look, but don't touch it!"

Zhuang Chaoying stared at the items in the bundle.

Zhuang Chaoying silently asked the system in her mind.

[System, what year is this wooden box from? The grain looks beautiful. How much would you offer to buy it?]

[Late Qing Dynasty, Phoebe zhennan wood jewelry box from an old official's family, copper fittings intact, system buyback price 9,000 yuan]

Zhuang Chaoying swallowed hard, suppressing her excitement and trying to keep her voice steady. "Brother, how much did the antique shop pay you?"

The middle-aged man sighed helplessly, his face contorted with bitterness: "The craftsman inside looked at it and said our jewelry box can only be sold for eighty yuan. Not even enough to fill a tooth gap."

The middle-aged woman tugged at the man's clothes, creating some distance between herself and Zhuang Chaoying, and whispered in the man's ear, "I don't think this person is someone I can buy. If all else fails, let's try our luck again tonight. It's broad daylight, and I feel a little uneasy about it."

Upon hearing this, Zhuang Chaoying quickly offered, "I'll offer ninety yuan!"

Let's test the waters first and see how they react.

The middle-aged woman waved her hand without hesitation: "No way, my son is getting married, and the bride's family needs three turns and one sound (referring to a bicycle, a sewing machine, a radio, and a watch). Right now, all they need is a bicycle. This little bit of money isn't enough."

Zhuang Chaoying looked troubled, gritted her teeth, and said, "One hundred and twenty yuan is the highest price I can offer. You won't be able to sell it for that much anywhere else. I'm only offering this price because I really like this piece."

Upon hearing the price, the two went to the corner and discussed it for a while before slowly walking over. "One hundred and twenty yuan, no backing out, it's yours!"

Zhuang Chaoying was secretly pleased, but immediately became vigilant, glancing around: "Come a little closer, or if someone sees us, they'll report us for speculation and profiteering. These days, we have to be careful."

The three of them came to the wall. Zhuang Chaoying reached into her pocket, and with a thought, secretly took out 120 yuan from her system space. She then counted the money in front of them.

The middle-aged woman eagerly took the money, her fingers drooling as she carefully counted each bill. "That's right, it's one hundred and twenty yuan!"

The middle-aged woman breathed a sigh of relief.

Then, she handed the bundle over directly.

Zhuang Chaoying took the bundle, opened it, and after confirming that everything was correct, quickly put it into her cloth bag.

After the money and goods were settled, Zhuang Chaoying hurriedly walked directly towards the station.

Throughout the journey, I tried to keep my expression as natural as possible.

Walking to a relatively secluded corner, I couldn't wait to sell the jewelry box to the system. As the system notification sounded, the nine thousand coins were safely stored on the system's shelf.

Only now did he truly breathe a sigh of relief, raising his hand to wipe the fine beads of sweat from his forehead. This was truly the first time in his life that he had secretly bought something, and the feeling of trepidation made his heart almost jump out of his throat.

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