Chapter 1

### Chapter 1: The Down-and-Out Youth

The scorching summer sun enveloped the ancient city of Quancheng, and the sweltering heat of July made the antique market in the city center even more stifling. Although the Daming Lake to the north and the Baotu Spring to the west provided some relief from the heat, they could not entirely dispel the summer's intensity. Despite this, people were not willing to waste a rare weekend at home. Going out to enjoy themselves became the most popular and economical choice.

Especially the antique market, with its ancient charm and beautiful scenery, and its proximity to the city's most famous attractions, Daming Lake and Baotu Spring, became the top choice for tourists.

The year 2000 was the last year of China's entry into the new century. The rapid economic development of the country had also rapidly filled people's wallets. As a result, the number of wealthy people increased, and naturally, the number of people interested in collecting antiques also grew.

As the saying goes, "In troubled times, gold is valued; in peaceful times, antiques are treasured." This was true both in ancient and modern times.

Consequently, the number of people who enjoyed browsing antique markets and looking for treasures also increased. Moreover, since it was the weekend, after a week of hard work, most people chose to go out and relax. Therefore, places like the antique market were particularly bustling today.

Liu Dong, of course, would not miss such a big day. So, he brought the wooden carvings he had prepared for over a week and set up a stall on the street outside the antique market.

It wasn't that he didn't want to go inside the antique market, where the location was better, there were more people, and the prices could be higher. It was the 1,000 yuan monthly stall fee that forced him to abandon his somewhat extravagant idea.

Here, there were many small vendors in similar situations, so the street outside the antique market was no less lively than the inside. However, Liu Dong was well aware that the items sold here generally didn't fetch high prices. Unless he encountered a clueless foreigner or a rich young man who didn't care about money, which were rare occurrences.

"Are these all carved by you, young man?"

Just as Liu Dong was sitting on a small stool, engrossed in a book titled "Jade Carving Techniques" published by the People's Education Press, a somewhat aged voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.

Putting down the book, Liu Dong looked up and saw an elderly man in his sixties standing before him. The man wore a white short-sleeved shirt, had a thin face with black-rimmed glasses, and exuded a scholarly air. The pen in his shirt pocket led Liu Dong to guess that he was likely a recently retired teacher.

"Yes, they are all carved by me!" Liu Dong, out of respect for the elderly, and sensing the man's refined demeanor, replied.

"Remarkable! To have such skill at your young age is quite impressive!" the old man praised.

"Do you also know about carving, sir?" Liu Dong asked with a smile.

Hearing this, a look of reminiscence flashed in the old man's eyes, but he quickly waved it off and smiled, "I learned a bit when I was young, but I gave it up later due to some circumstances, so I can't really claim to be an expert!" He paused, then pointed to one of the carvings and asked, "How much is this 'Pine and Crane for Longevity'?"

Liu Dong looked down and smiled, "Sir, you say you don't know much. This 'Pine and Crane for Longevity' took the longest time to carve, and the material is high-quality red pine. Since you're my first customer today, I won't charge you too much. You can take it for 300 yuan."

After hearing this, the old man didn't respond immediately. Instead, he squatted down, picked up the wooden carving, which was no more than a foot tall and depicted two differently shaped cranes and a gnarled pine branch, and examined it for a moment before nodding slowly, "It's a good piece, but the price is a bit high. How about 260 yuan?"

"Alright, sir! Since you seem to know your stuff and you're my first customer today, 260 yuan it is. Here, let me wrap it for you!" Liu Dong agreed after a moment's thought.

The cost of this wooden carving was just the few dozen yuan he spent on the red pine wood. The rest was profit, a result of Liu Dong's years of experience in wood carving. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to sell it for this price.

As the old man left with the red, intricately packaged box, Liu Dong put the 260 yuan into his pocket. Although he didn't earn much, a good start was still a good start.

As the sun rose higher, the crowd on the street grew larger. Over an hour passed, and Liu Dong sold a few more wooden carvings, but they were all small items worth a hundred yuan or so, so he didn't make much money.

Seeing that the twenty or so wooden carvings he had displayed were running low, Liu Dong took out another dozen from the wooden box on his left and set them out. As the surroundings became increasingly noisy, making it impossible to concentrate on reading, Liu Dong took out his carving knife from the box and began working on a half-finished wooden carving, about eight or nine centimeters long, which vaguely resembled a reclining Buddha. Soon, a thick layer of wood shavings accumulated on the ground.

"Wow, honey! What cute wooden carvings! Xiao Yanzi, Zhiwei, Jin Suo, Er Kang, I want them! Buy them for me!" At that moment, a woman's voice, loud enough to make one's skin crawl, startled Liu Dong, who was immersed in his carving.

Putting down his work, Liu Dong looked up and couldn't help but be drawn to the man standing beside him. The man was short and plump, wearing a red short-sleeved shirt and a floral skirt, with several large gold rings on his hands and a gold chain around his neck. His nose was always pointed upwards, exuding the air of a nouveau riche.

Of course, Liu Dong had no connection with this man, but to him, he was a prime target.

Years of experience outside his village had taught Liu Dong that, especially for nouveau riche who had money and were accompanied by a woman, he could make a month's worth of money in one go, as long as nothing unexpected happened.

"Sure, darling! Whatever you like, I'll buy for you!" The man said with a proud smile, then, as if to show off, he hugged the woman tightly with his left arm and planted a heavy kiss on her heavily made-up face.

While public displays of affection on the street were not common in China, Liu Dong wasn't particularly surprised. Although the woman was indeed beautiful, her fox-like charm wasn't his type. So, after a few initial glances, he focused his attention on the man, who could bring him profit.

"How much are these wooden carvings? We'll take them all!" The man said to Liu Dong in a somewhat domineering tone.

"Thank you for your patronage, sir! Five thousand yuan!" Liu Dong stood up and replied with a sly smile.

"Five thousand? Are you robbing me? A few wooden carvings are worth five thousand yuan? Do you take me for a fool?" The man's face turned from surprise to anger.

"I do take you for a fool!" Although Liu Dong thought this, he couldn't say it out loud. "Sir, I'm not overcharging you. These are genuine hand-carved wooden carvings, a traditional craft passed down through generations. In modern terms, they are intangible cultural heritage. Besides, the red wood I used for these carvings costs several hundred yuan just for the material! If you think it's too expensive, look at the stall to the east. They are all machine-made, twenty yuan each. You can buy them there if you prefer."

Since leaving his village and coming to Quancheng, Liu Dong had been working in the antique market for three years.

While he wasn't as shrewd as the old hands who had spent half their lives there, he had developed a keen eye for people and an ability to read customers' minds.

In this case, if it were just the man who wanted to buy the carvings, Liu Dong would have immediately lowered the price. However, with the woman, who was clearly a mistress or some other dubious character, by his side, Liu Dong was determined not to budge on the price.

Liu Dong knew very well that for such nouveau riche, especially when accompanied by a woman they liked, the most important thing was to save face.

"Honey, buy them for me! I want them!" The woman's eyes lit up, and she wrapped her arms around the man, pressing her ample chest against him and pouting in a coquettish manner.

For her, attaching herself to this man was all about living a wealthy life without worrying about money. When shopping, she always chose what she liked, regardless of the price. In fact, the more expensive the item, the happier she was.

Sure enough, as Liu Dong had expected, the man's hesitation vanished as soon as the woman pouted.

"Five thousand it is! I have plenty of money. Wrap them up for me!"

"Sure thing, sir! Please wait a moment!" Seeing the big deal come to fruition, Liu Dong couldn't help but smile. These five wooden carvings were made from scrap wood from a furniture factory. The material cost was only a few yuan, so the five thousand yuan was almost pure profit!

As he watched the newly issued, bright red hundred-yuan bills fill his pocket, Liu Dong decided to carve more of these trendy wooden carvings when he returned.

In fact, the inspiration for these carvings came from the popular TV drama "My Fair Princess" (《还珠格格》), which had been a hit in recent years. He had made them to test the market, but he hadn't expected to sell them all at a high price today. This was a pleasant surprise for Liu Dong.