Liu Tianjing was dazzled by the antiques on display and the peddlers' exaggerated boasts about their wares. Unable to make a choice, she found an excuse to slip away.
"Grandpa... I've got a stomachache. Wait for me a moment. I need to go to the toilet."
With that, Liu Tianjing took off. Liu Chengcheng, who had been sent to help her win the championship, chased after her. "Let me see if Miss Liu is okay."
"Hey..." Before Old Liu could finish his words, the two had disappeared from sight.
Hiding in the toilet, Liu Tianjing checked every cubicle to make sure there was no one around. Then she looked nervously at Liu Chengcheng. "What should I do? How can I get the antique you've prepared for me?"
Her grandpa was sticking to her like glue.
Liu Chengcheng's face was equally solemn. Her mind raced. "The plan has changed. Now we can only ask our people to plant the antique in one of the stalls."
"Okay. Then quickly arrange it." Hope flared up again in Liu Tianjing's heart.
Liu Chengcheng immediately called the guy who was supposed to deliver the antique on the street. "Dazhuang, find a way to plant the antique in a stall right away and wait for the client to come and buy it..."
On the other end of the phone, Dazhuang, with a backpack on his back, looked instantly grim upon hearing Liu Chengcheng's last - minute order.
"It's impossible. All these stall owners have signed contracts!"
"If they're caught helping someone cheat, they'll be expelled and never allowed to sell antiques again. No one wants to take such a risk for a little money."
Liu Tianjing's heart felt like the electrocardiogram of a dying patient, going up and down. She couldn't help but clutch her wallet tightly and gritted her teeth. "I'll pay more. As long as you can arrange this for me, I'll add another 50,000 yuan in labor fees!"
No matter what, she just had to save her reputation!
Besides, she could always get the money back from her grandpa later.
Hearing the offer of more money, Dazhuang hesitated for a moment. "Okay then! I'll give it a try. But if it doesn't work, I can't do anything about it."
Dazhuang hung up the phone and carried his backpack in search of a suitable stall owner. He saw a stall owner drinking from a cup and got an idea.
Dazhuang quietly sneaked behind the unlucky stall owner. When the stall owner left his stall to solicit customers on the street, Dazhuang took out a small medicine packet from his pocket and spiked the stall owner's cup.
The unsuspecting stall owner had been soliciting customers for a long time. His throat was dry and thirsty, so he picked up the cup and drank all the water in it.
Before long, the stall owner felt his stomach growling. The urge to go to the toilet became stronger and stronger.
Seeing the big beads of sweat on the stall owner's forehead, Dazhuang pretended to be a customer and went over to show concern. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." The stall owner clutched his stomach, groaning inwardly. This was definitely a sign of diarrhea!
Today was the once - a - year treasure - hunting competition. He couldn't just give up this chance to sell things.
But there was nothing he could do. The urge to relieve himself was getting stronger and stronger. To avoid embarrassing himself in public, the stall owner's face turned red from holding it in. He pleaded with Dazhuang.
"Please help me watch the stall. I'll be back soon. Make sure to stop any customers!"
With that, the stall owner ran off.
This was exactly what Dazhuang wanted. He sat down on the stall owner's chair, took out the genuine vase and gold bracelet from his bag, and put them on the stall. Then he called Liu Chengcheng.
"I'm all set. Come and find me."
The laxative he gave the stall owner was a strong - acting one. There was no way the stall owner would come out of the toilet in less than half an hour!
After receiving the message, Liu Chengcheng told Liu Tianjing Dazhuang's appearance. "He's all muscle, wearing a short - sleeved shirt, and has a black lotus tattoo on his left arm."
Liu Tianjing nodded, memorizing every word. "Please stall my grandpa for a while. Once I find Dazhuang, I'll send you my location. Then you can bring my grandpa over."
"Okay."
Liu Chengcheng left the toilet first to find Old Liu and led him away.
"Your granddaughter said she's not feeling well in the stomach and needs to rest in the lounge. She'll come to you when she feels better. Let's go treasure - hunting together for now."
"Liu Tianjing is not feeling well?"
Hearing that his granddaughter was unwell, Old Liu had no more interest in treasure - hunting. He wanted to go and see his granddaughter.
"I'm not treasure - hunting anymore. I'm going to see my granddaughter."
"No." Liu Chengcheng blocked Old Liu's way and said with a smile.
"Mr. Liu, if you don't go treasure - hunting, your granddaughter will definitely feel guilty. She's not seriously ill. She'll be here after a while."
"Come with me for now!"
There was an unyielding tone in Liu Chengcheng's voice. She grabbed Old Liu's other arm and dragged him away.
Only after her grandpa was taken away by Liu Chengcheng did Liu Tianjing sneak out of the toilet.
It was already 11 a.m. The treasure - hunting competition had a break from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. In order to find another favorite treasure before the lunch break, Xu Qingqing and Father Lu quickened their pace and continued strolling forward. After walking for a while, that strong sense of intuition returned.
Xu Qingqing stopped in her tracks. Relying on her intuition, she stopped in front of a messy stall.
There was everything on this stall. Not only were there porcelain items, but there were also quite a few wooden products. It was like a grocery store, with even things like spittoons and wooden foot - washing basins on display, things that were hardly presentable.
"Uncle Lu, let's take a look at this stall."
Father Lu frowned when he saw the messy stall. He wouldn't even take a second look at a place like this, even if they were giving things away for free. But since Xu Qingqing wanted to look, there must be something special about it.
"Okay."
Xu Qingqing and Father Lu walked over together.
Xu Qingqing casually picked up a few beads placed at the front and played with them in her hand, but her eyes were fixed on the wooden screen behind the stall owner.
The wood of this screen was painted with a shiny layer of paint, but it couldn't hide the rough workmanship. Stubborn wooden thorns stuck out everywhere.
Judging from the color of the wood, it should be poplar.
The partitions on the screen were not cloth - woven patterns, but a dirty and greasy painting hanging on a frame, barely making up something called a screen.
"What would you two like to look at? How about buying a foot - washing basin? This foot - washing basin is made of good wood. Soaking your feet in it every night can help get rid of dampness."
Like other peddlers, the boss picked up the wooden foot - washing basin beside him and boasted.
Xu Qingqing ignored the boss's words and used the system to scan the painting on the screen.
"System. Please scan the painting on this screen."
"Received. Scanning now."
"Scanning information is as follows: This painting was painted by the Qing - dynasty painter Shen Qingxiu, about 150 years ago."
"Shen Qingxiu's painting?"
Xu Qingqing blinked her eyes and thought for a while before she remembered the relevant information about this painter.
Shen Qingxiu was a relatively niche painter. Since all his paintings were about cat scenes, he was later known as the "King of Cats".