Chapter 29

Yang Kang sized him up for a moment. This fatty really had a good build, with a thick and fleshy body—indeed, he was very well-built. He also felt that Guo Youde's father had given him the wrong name; he should have been called Guo Yourou (Guo the Meaty).

Sitting on the ground, Yang Kang leaned against the bridge railing. His gaze moved from the fatty's body of flesh to the bowl of medicine beside him. In fact, it wasn't a bowl but a small incense burner.

The more he looked at the incense burner, the more he felt something was off. Curiosity got the better of him, and he couldn't resist reaching out to touch it. Indeed, when his fingers touched the incense burner, a spiritual aura spread out. This thing—if his judgment was correct—should be a Xuande furnace, and it was a rare one with an ancient black lacquer finish.

On the surface, it looked black and dirty, like a piece of scrap metal, but it was actually a treasure.

Of course, Yang Kang could also confirm that this was definitely not a genuine Xuande furnace from the Ming Dynasty. It was likely a replica from the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China era. Genuine Xuande furnaces from the Ming Dynasty were almost non-existent in the market, but if a replica was well-made and had fine craftsmanship, it could still be quite valuable.

In recent days, due to his inability to find a job, Yang Kang had considered the idea of using the Taiyin Treasure Mirror to look for bargains in the antique market, hoping to make some money to deal with his current predicament.

Unfortunately, in this era of widespread collecting, the chances of finding a bargain were very low. While there were genuine items in the antique market, their prices were exorbitant, far beyond what he could afford. However, he had gained some understanding of the Taiyin Treasure Mirror. The intensity of the spiritual aura it emitted was based on the value of the item.

From the not-so-intense spiritual aura of the incense burner, Yang Kang could deduce that this Xuande furnace was likely a replica from the late Qing Dynasty or early Republic of China era, and its market value wouldn't be too high.

"Hey, fatty!" Yang Kang called out.

"Hmm?" Guo Fatty asked hurriedly, "What's wrong? Still in pain?"

Yang Kang shook his head. He was no longer in much pain. He pointed at the Xuande furnace and said, "Do you want to sell this thing?"

"What?" Guo Fatty asked, puzzled, "You want my medicine?"

"No, I mean this incense burner," Yang Kang said.

"An incense burner? Isn't this a spittoon?" Guo Fatty frowned, "What do you want this junk for?"

"I kind of like it!" Yang Kang smiled, "It looks quite interesting. How about ten thousand yuan? Will you sell it to me?"

Although he felt that ten thousand yuan for a Xuande furnace was a bit unfair, all his savings added up to just over ten thousand yuan. He couldn't afford to offer a higher price.

"Is this thing worth ten thousand yuan?" Guo Fatty looked at Yang Kang as if he were an idiot, shook his head, and seemed to be at a loss. Then, he took out a few items from the Xuande furnace, which included two small bottles and a small roll of medical gauze.

After that, he directly handed the Xuande furnace to Yang Kang and said, "Little Prince, I find your tastes quite unique. Why do you like this scrap metal?"

"Let's see if there's an ATM nearby. I'll get the money for you," Yang Kang said, delighted. Although this Xuande furnace was a replica, he could resell it for at least a few tens of thousands of yuan, which would help him deal with his current jobless and nearly starving situation.

"No money, I'll just give it to you to play with," Guo Fatty shook his head, "This thing isn't worth much. If you give me money, I won't sell it."

"But... how can I accept that?" Yang Kang frowned.

"See, you didn't ask for compensation even after I hit you. So, if you like this scrap metal, I'll just give it to you to play with. I picked it up from the trash two years ago for a few cents. If you give me ten thousand yuan, you'd be insulting me."

Hearing this, Yang Kang didn't insist on giving him money and said, "If that's the case, then forget it. I won't give you money."

"Okay, no need to give me money," Guo Fatty smiled, looking honest.

"Boss... no, Little Prince, where do you live? I'll take you back," Guo Fatty helped him stand up and asked.

"I live on Antique Street, not far from here. Do you know it?" Yang Kang didn't refuse his kindness. He tried walking a few steps with his right foot, feeling that it was okay, though still a bit painful.

"I know, I'm familiar with this area!" Guo Fatty said with a smile. He picked up his clothes from the ground, draped them over his shoulder, and then, bare-chested, helped Yang Kang onto his electric scooter to take him back to Antique Street.

Yang Kang had never ridden an electric scooter before, finding it very novel. He held the Xuande furnace in one hand and touched here and there with the other.

"My little prince, sit still, don't move around. What if you fall again?" Guo Fatty hurriedly said.

"Why did you crash into me just now?" Yang Kang was puzzled.

"I... the brakes... weren't very good..." Guo Fatty admitted honestly.

"Your brakes are bad, and you still dared to... ride it?" Yang Kang was too curious and quickly held onto the scooter's handlebars, not daring to move.

"Not bad, just not very good," Guo Fatty corrected.

"What's the difference?" Yang Kang asked, dissatisfied.

"Bad means completely bad. Not very good means it's occasionally good," Guo Fatty explained, "See, it's working fine now."

"Alright, just take me back quickly. I won't ride your scooter again," Yang Kang shook his head, "You should get your scooter fixed. It's dangerous."

"I'll fix it after I take you back. Next time you ride, you won't have to worry," Guo Fatty smiled.

"Okay, okay!" Yang Kang nodded repeatedly, "Fix it quickly."

Since Antique Street wasn't far, they arrived soon. Guo Fatty helped him down and only left after seeing him into Ruyi Workshop. Yang Kang went upstairs, took a shower, and changed his clothes, cleaning up his disheveled appearance. While showering, he saw the rambling clematis jade pendant hanging around his neck and couldn't help but hold it, feeling puzzled again. Where did Guo Fatty get such things?

The quality of this jade pendant was so good that he couldn't stop admiring it after just one look. Could he find such good things by collecting scrap? Maybe he should try it and see if he could find antiques?

After showering, he went downstairs and sat at his desk, looking at the Xuande furnace with an ancient black lacquer finish on the desk. He had already seen the "Made in the Xuande Year of the Ming Dynasty" inscription on the bottom of the incense burner while on the scooter. However, items inscribed with "Xuande Year of the Ming Dynasty" were not necessarily from that period.

The color was an antique black lacquer, simple and heavy, without any patterns, but it still looked very exquisite. He tapped it with his finger, and the sound was clear and resonant, indicating that the copper quality was good.

He was short of money and couldn't find a job. The only way was to sell this Xuande furnace, but the question was, who should he sell it to?

After considering for half an hour, Yang Kang decided to contact Zhou Bomin. He took out his phone and called Zhou Bomin.

"Uncle Zhou, hello," Yang Kang said.

"Ah Kang, how have you been?" Zhou Bomin asked with a smile, "What brings you to call Uncle Zhou?"

"Um!" Yang Kang hurriedly said, "Uncle Zhou, you like collecting, right?"

"Hehe, who in our line of work doesn't like to collect a few things?" Zhou Bomin laughed heartily, "What's up?"

"I have a Xuande furnace and want to sell it. Are you interested, Uncle Zhou?" Yang Kang hesitated for a moment before saying.

(A new week has started, please support with recommendations, thank you!)

[Page Break AD Start]

[Page Break AD End]