Xu Qingqing was startled by the price. If the item were brand - new, it might be worth that much.
But this gramophone had been passed around God knows how many times. It looked shabby and needed her to refurbish it.
How could it be worth as much as 6,500 yuan!
"Boss, your price is way too high. This gramophone is definitely not worth 6,500 yuan. I'll take it for 2,000 yuan."
Xu Qingqing put away the smile on her face and tried to look cold, aiming to appear sharp so as to bargain better.
"Miss, how dare you make such a steep cut? Do you want me to suffer a huge loss?"
Hearing this, the boss mentally mocked Xu Qingqing for being so stingy despite being wealthy. Then he started to grumble about his hardships.
"Miss, I bought this gramophone from the countryside. The cost alone was 6,000 yuan, and with the shipping fees, I'm not even making any profit."
Xu Qingqing looked at the boss's twitching eyebrows and didn't need to guess to know that he was lying.
If the boss had really paid 6,000 yuan for it, he would probably sell it for 20,000 yuan.
"Boss, this trick won't work on me. I'm an archaeological expert in cultural relics. This gramophone isn't that old, and its design is just so - so."
Xu Qingqing said this against her will and patted the table where the gramophone was placed, not letting the boss see that she really wanted it.
"If I didn't want to buy it as a decoration for my home, you wouldn't be able to sell it even by the Chinese New Year. Who uses gramophones these days?"
The boss looked at Xu Qingqing suspiciously, noticing the slight look of disdain on her face. He was somewhat convinced by her words. Scratching his head, he took a step back.
"6,000 yuan. I won't sell it for any less."
Xu Qingqing knew that the boss definitely wouldn't sell it at the price she had mentioned earlier. Without responding, she continued to examine the gramophone.
Xu Qingqing felt for the brand name under the gramophone's horn.
Guangming Gramophone.
Xu Qingqing wasn't very sure about the age of modern appliances. She searched for "Guangming Gramophone" in the system and found out that the factory was established in the 30th year of the Republic of China and was even a joint - venture with the British.
This gramophone was from the Republic of China era, so it must have been used by a wealthy family.
After all, in those days, there were people freezing to death on the roadside and going hungry. Those who could afford a gramophone were definitely from a prominent family.
With such a long history, it was indeed worth collecting. If polished and sold, it could probably fetch 20,000 to 30,000 yuan just based on its age.
Her eyesight was really good. She had found a rare treasure.
Seeing that Xu Qingqing didn't respond and just kept examining the gramophone, the boss's heart raced. Worried that he couldn't sell it, he couldn't help but lower the price again.
"Alright, 5,500 yuan. Seeing that you're sincere, I'll sell it to you."
After observing the gramophone, Xu Qingqing averted her gaze and bargained again.
"4,500 yuan. This gramophone is too old. I'm not even sure if it will work after I buy it home."
"No..."
Hearing the boss say no, before he could finish his sentence, Xu Qingqing turned around and pulled Lu Chuanbai as if she was about to leave.
Seeing that Xu Qingqing was serious, the boss was worried that she really wouldn't buy it. He quickly stepped out of his booth and blocked Xu Qingqing and Lu Chuanbai's way, with a look of annoyance and helplessness on his face.
"Fine, 4,500 yuan it is. I'll sell it to you."
Anyway, he had bought it for 1,000 yuan, so he wouldn't lose money by selling it.
Xu Qingqing successfully bargained. When the gloomy - faced boss wasn't looking, she gave Lu Chuanbai a playful smile and secretly made a "V" sign.
Lu Chuanbai paid the money. Xu Qingqing and the boss carried the gramophone to the back of the booth. She asked the boss to keep it for her first and would pick it up after shopping.
While moving the things, Xu Qingqing also took a quick look at the other items in the boss's booth.
Apart from vases and ancient paintings, there were piles of coins. There were Yuan Shikai silver dollars as well as round coins with square holes in the middle, all jumbled together.
Bracelets of various muddy colors like red, green, and blue were stored in wooden boxes. They looked dusty and unappealing.
A few old men were gathered around the pile of coins, discussing their authenticity.
One of the old men pointed at a dirty Yuan Shikai silver dollar and joked with the boss.
"Boss, your fakes are so obvious. How could you be so lucky to collect so many Yuan Shikai silver dollars?"
Hearing this, the boss casually wiped the dust off the gramophone with a rag from his booth and patted his chest, looking righteous.
"Hey, these Yuan Shikai silver dollars were really collected by me. A young man sold them to me behind his grandma's back. He said his grandma used to be a well - bred young lady from a prominent family."
The old men all shook their heads and laughed at the boss.
"Boss, you must have been deceived. If his grandma was really from a prominent family, she would definitely have kept these silver dollars for herself. How could she have sold them?"
"Exactly. You must have spent a lot of money on these silver dollars. You'd better return them and get your money back."
"Don't let yourself be deceived in the long run!"
The boss didn't take it seriously. He waved his hand and continued to wipe the items in his booth with that dirty rag.
Xu Qingqing squinted her eyes at the more than a dozen Yuan Shikai silver dollars and bent down to pick up one for a closer look.
This coin must have endured a lot. The originally smooth front was filled with small stones, making it bumpy and uneven.
If it were made of iron or stainless steel, those small stones wouldn't have worn the coin like this. Only relatively softer silver would show such deep traces of time.
"Could this be real?" Xu Qingqing tapped the center of the coin. The sound was dull and heavy, indicating that it was solid rather than hollow.
The more Xu Qingqing looked at it, the more it seemed to be real. But since she didn't have the tools for appraisal at the moment, she could only activate the scanning function of the system.
The system scanned it twice and immediately identified it as a genuine product!
"Boss, how much did you pay for these coins?" Xu Qingqing raised her eyebrows and looked at the boss.
The boss didn't believe these coins were real, so he casually told Xu Qingqing the truth.
"50 yuan each. I bought 16 in total for 800 yuan. Do you want them? I'll sell them all to you for 1,000 yuan."
The boss looked at Xu Qingqing with a smile, thinking that her beautiful appearance was very similar to his favorite Hong Kong - drama actress.
Especially those peach - blossom eyes full of spring water, which made people can't help but get lost in them.
Lu Chuanbai didn't like the way the boss was looking at Xu Qingqing. He felt irritated and directly squatted beside Xu Qingqing, blocking most of her body.
The boss snorted at Lu Chuanbai's protective gesture and took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.
The boss thought Xu Qingqing wouldn't agree, but unexpectedly, Xu Qingqing counted out all 16 coins and nodded cheerfully: "Okay, I'll take them all."
"All of them?"