Tomb raiding: Intercepting Yin Xinyue and building a family of immortals

Perhaps because they had retrieved the treasures from the tomb, everyone was much more relaxed.

The group traveled light and arrived at Changsha City before dark.

Su Chen rubbed his sore legs, thinking to himself that when he had money, he would definitely buy a car to get around. Otherwise, if he kept walking dozens of miles like this, he might die of exhaustion before his family prospered.

During the Republic of China era, cars were generally Ford Model T cars, also known as classic cars.

More than a decade ago, the Ford Motor Company in the United States began mass production of classic cars, and in the early years of the Ming Dynasty, they were brought to China by the American consul.

For the next decade or so, Ford classic cars were all the rage, appearing everywhere from Beijing and Shanghai to other major cities!

By 1934, Pujiang had nearly 10,000 classic Ford cars!

However, a classic car costs more than four thousand dollars.

With Su Chen's savings, he could only afford to buy a few car wheels.

"The goal of buying a car is still a long way off..."

Su Chen sighed and turned his head to see that, as always, hundreds of disaster victims were gathered at the foot of the city wall.

These disaster victims had lifeless eyes, filled with confusion.

No one knew when the disaster would end; they could only eat one meal a day and go hungry the next, numbly waiting for the city government to distribute porridge.

Moreover, it was the kind of plain white porridge that had sand in it and was thin and watery.

This time, Su Chen's team had more people, and almost everyone was carrying a weapon.

The disaster victims glanced at it briefly, then lazily lay back down.

If there's no food to eat, you can only move less and burn less energy.

After Su Chen led everyone into the city, he said, "Fourth Uncle, go and sell the ancient coins. I'll go find a buyer for the Blood Jade Cicada. Whether it's sold or not, we'll meet at the grain shop in an hour."

"it is good!"

Su Xiaotian and the others also wanted to follow Su Chen, but Su Chen ruthlessly suppressed them, and all of them were taken care of by their fourth uncle, Su Renzhao.

Su Chen himself, along with Black-backed Old Six, prepared to try their luck at the Huo family's shop.

Within Changsha City, there are several businesses that handle the inflow and outflow of antiques and cultural relics, but the Huo and Xie families are the largest in terms of business.

Locals say that all antiques and cultural relics go through these two companies.

Su Chen didn't want to beat around the bush, so he simply went directly to the shops under the Huo family's name.

Inside the Huo family's antique shop in the north of the city, two shop assistants were listlessly dozing off at the table!

This is the most common scene in the antique trade: three years without a single sale, then a single sale can sustain you for three years!

In the quaint shop, there is a display shelf against the wall.

Various kinds of porcelain were displayed on it...

Of course, they are mostly imitations.

The genuine items are mostly kept in warehouses and are rarely shown to people.

These imitations are poorly made; even Chinese people who don't know much about antiques can tell something is wrong.

Fortunately, the target customers for these products are not Chinese people, but foreigners.

Foreigners who come to Changsha and want to buy antiques are often tricked by the Huo family.

Upon hearing someone enter, the two shop assistants immediately flashed their formulaic, obsequious smiles.

However, Su Chen and the others, wearing tattered robes, sat back down dejectedly.

For Chinese people, especially poor people, it means there's not much to gain!

If you want to make money, you have to sell fake antiques to foreigners, especially Americans, where you can make a fortune!

Seeing the two men's nonchalant attitude, Black-backed Old Six's face darkened, and he tapped on the table.

"Didn't you see we have guests?"

"Go see for yourself, buy whatever you like."

Upon hearing this, Blackback Sixth Brother's breath caught in his throat!

If he had the money to buy antiques, would he have gone hungry for ten days?

Moreover, the antiques in the shop, whether they are porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, or jade, whether they are real or fake, each costs at least ten silver dollars, and some even cost hundreds of silver dollars.

He must have nothing better to do than waste his money.

Su Chen remained calm and composed, showing no anger at the waiter's neglect.

He said calmly, "Where is the shopkeeper?"

“If you have something to say, just tell me.” One of the older waiters glanced at Su Chen and then spoke.

"You can even make decisions about buying and selling top-quality blood jade?"

Su Chen smiled dismissively and took out the Blood Jade Cicada from his pocket.

The two men were initially nonchalant, but when they saw the Blood Jade Cicada in Su Chen's hand, their expressions immediately changed, and their eyes seemed glued to the Blood Jade Cicada, unable to look away.

The older man exclaimed in surprise, then quickly put on a fawning smile.

"Oh dear, sir, please don't be angry. It was my fault for being so tactless. Please wait here, I'll go and call the manager over right away!"

The clerks who work in antique shops year-round usually have a good eye for appraising treasures.

Although I can't guarantee it's absolutely correct, I could still tell the extraordinary nature of this ancient jade by looking through the seemingly flowing red threads inside the blood jade cicada!

The older waiter hurriedly went to the backyard to call the manager, while another waiter diligently served tea to Su Chen and Black-backed Old Six.

Su Chen wasn't in a hurry, so he leisurely sat down at the table and started drinking the hot tea provided by the antique shop.

Just as he finished his tea, the waiter who had left earlier returned with several other people.

The waiter nodded, bowed, and introduced with a smile, "Sir, this is our manager."

Su Chen turned his head and saw the antique shop owner wearing a black and white top hat, a white robe, and a dark blue jacket over his upper body.

As for the woman accompanying him, she was about twenty years old and wore light makeup.

She had two thin, glistening lips that looked incredibly luscious.

Her European-style courtly voluminous curly hair was tied into a single braid and casually fell over her right shoulder, making her look both playful and elegant.

She was wearing an electric blue satin knee-length cheongsam with a rounded collar that was only half an inch high.

The cheongsam hugs the curves of the body, highlighting the wearer's shapely figure.

In short, she is a charming woman with a touch of mystery.

Moreover, judging from the shopkeeper's attitude as she walked, Su Chen suspected that this woman's status was higher than everyone else in the shop.

really!

Su Chen had just made a mental guess when he saw the antique shop owner bow slightly and say cautiously, "Boss, would you like to come?"

"No, I'm just here to join in the fun and take a look. Manager Wang, you can make the decision yourself."

The woman replied and casually sat down opposite Su Chen.

A pair of watery eyes, with a half-smile, scrutinized Su Chen.

Su Chen wasn't intimidated and openly let the woman see it. He took out the Blood Jade Cicada, placed it on the table, and said, "Shopkeeper, this is a top-quality Blood Jade Cicada. Name your price."

The shopkeeper's eyes widened when he saw the blood jade cicada on the table.

He quickly stepped forward, carefully picked up the blood jade cicada, and examined it from all angles.

After a long while, the shopkeeper reluctantly put down the blood jade cicada, and then said sincerely, "Young brother, this jade cicada is indeed a good thing, but its origin is not good, so it won't fetch a good price. My shop can only offer a maximum of two hundred silver dollars!"

Jade cicada, also known as mouth-held cicada.

This means that a jade cicada is placed in the mouth of the deceased during burial, symbolizing rebirth and the cycle of life!

If the jade cicada had blood staining, its value would be even higher; the one Su Chen had could sell for over a thousand silver dollars.

But just as the shopkeeper said, these are funerary objects, and they have a bad origin and are shrouded in taboo. They are expensive but not easy to sell, and it is normal for the goods to be stuck for one or two years.

Offering two hundred is still considered reasonable.

If you encounter a dishonest antique dealer, they might try to sell you for fifty or a hundred dollars.

"Two hundred silver dollars..."

Su Chen had two hundred yuan lying in his space, so he wanted to refuse.

But right now!

The woman, who had been drinking tea in silence, suddenly said, "Guests are guests, and we're all fellow farmers here, so let's double the price."

Upon hearing this, the shopkeeper quickly nodded in agreement.

The woman stood up, picked up her handbag from the table, and walked gracefully towards the door.

Just as she was about to walk out of the shop, she suddenly turned back and looked at Su Chen and the black-backed old man, saying, "Next time you come to sell funerary objects, remember to wash off the smell of dirt on your body, otherwise you'll get into trouble, and don't blame the Huo family for not reminding you."

The Huo family?

Su Chen was stunned for a moment, and then he heard a system notification in his mind!

[Congratulations to the host...]