Chapter 75

The rhythm of the morning workout was disrupted, and naturally, the afternoon nap was canceled.

After lifting weights for two hours, Su Xiaofan felt a bit sore all over and immediately went to the swimming pool, where he swam for an hour with great pleasure.

For dinner, it was naturally beef and roasted chicken. Now, Su Xiaofan no longer eats any staple foods; only meat can replenish the energy his body consumes.

After eating, he stepped on the scale and found that he had only gained two kilograms, weighing 112 kilograms. He wondered where the twenty to thirty pounds of beef he had just eaten had gone.

Scientific training has made Su Xiaofan's cultivation grow rapidly.

He wasn't sure if it was just his imagination, but Su Xiaofan felt that the speed of his evening cultivation had increased even more, and he had already opened more than two-thirds of the major meridians.

Su Xiaofan had a feeling that within five days at most, he would be able to open all the major meridians.

Su Xiaofan didn't call his master again; it wasn't respectful to frequently stimulate the old man.

The next day, Su Xiaofan went out again because he had made an appointment with Zhao Zhengshan to visit the antique market together.

As the capital of thirteen dynasties, Luochuan City naturally has more than one antique market.

Su Xiaofan and Zhao Zhengshan agreed to meet at an underground antique market.

Compared to where Su Xiaofan usually sets up his stall, there are fewer tourists here, and the local collectors prefer to come here for a stroll.

Some of the stalls are even set up by collectors themselves, so there are naturally more good items, and the chances of finding a bargain are greater.

"Hey, Xiao Su, are we still competing?"

At the entrance to the underground market, Zhao Zhengshan looked very pleased with himself, "This is my territory."

"Uncle Zhao, forget it, there's no one to be the referee today."

Su Xiaofan shook his head. He came out today for two reasons: one, to visit a market he doesn't often go to, and two, to find an opportunity to repay Zhao Zhengshan's favor.

"Cough, cough, we're not gambling, so it's fine if we don't compete."

Thinking about the time when Uncle Jing was the referee, Zhao Zhengshan immediately lost his desire to compete with Su Xiaofan.

Others casually picked up a couple of items and sold them for over ten million, and compared to Su Xiaofan, it felt like self-torture.

"Uncle Zhao, what kind of items are mainly sold in this market?"

As they walked into the underground market, Su Xiaofan remembered that he had only been here once before, and there were many antique shops, but not many stalls.

"There are more stalls selling stamps here, and also more selling calligraphy, paintings, and jade."

Zhao Zhengshan, with his experience, said, "This place is underground, so it's not affected by wind and rain, so there are more sellers of calligraphy and paintings."

"Xiao Su, let me tell you, someone once found a painting by Tang Bohu here, so this market is quite famous."

"Sure, I bet it's just another made-up story."

Su Xiaofan smiled but didn't say anything. There are too many stories in the antique market, and finding a Tang Bohu painting here would be more plausible thirty years ago.

"Hmm? Uncle Zhao, it seems that old currency collection is also a major focus here."

Entering the underground market, Su Xiaofan noticed many glass display cases showing various old RMB notes.

"Yes, these items can't be exposed to wind and rain, so they are all here."

Zhao Zhengshan nodded and greeted some stall owners familiarly, clearly a regular visitor.

"I'll just look at the stamps."

Su Xiaofan had no expertise in old currency but had collected stamps for a while in junior high school and had some knowledge of them.

"Xiao Su, you collect stamps too?"

Zhao Zhengshan looked at Su Xiaofan and said, "I have a whole sheet of monkey stamps. I'll show you later. Hehe, I also bought a 'Red China' stamp at an auction nine years ago."

"Oh? Uncle Zhao, you're a big player in stamps?"

"Monkey stamps are fine, but the 'Red China' stamp, you must show me someday."

Su Xiaofan was somewhat surprised by Zhao Zhengshan's words.

An 80s monkey stamp can now sell for over ten thousand yuan per sheet, and a complete sheet is worth over a million.

The 'Red China' stamp is even more valuable, as it was a misprint that was immediately recalled and destroyed after issuance, with only a few making it to the market.

Su Xiaofan later heard about the auction Zhao Zhengshan mentioned.

It was a spring auction by China Guardian Auctions, where a 'Red China' stamp sold for 7.5 million yuan.

Su Xiaofan never expected that this stamp would end up in Zhao Zhengshan's hands, which is the ultimate goal of all stamp collectors.

"Brother Zhao, you're here. Come and look at my stamps; I've recently acquired quite a few."

"Old Zhao, come, come, I have a Mei Lanfang miniature sheet. Are you interested?"

As soon as they entered the stamp area, Su Xiaofan could feel Zhao Zhengshan's popularity. Everyone who saw him greeted him.

Zhao Zhengshan, who didn't act like a billionaire, had no airs. He greeted people as he walked, even accepting a cigarette from someone and putting it behind his ear.

"This isn't the 'Drunken Concubine' stamp issued in 1962; it's a later commemorative stamp, not valuable."

Zhao Zhengshan took a stamp from someone, glanced at it, and handed it back.

The person didn't get angry and laughed, "Old Zhao, you make it sound so rare. If I had the 'Drunken Concubine' stamp, I would have sold it long ago, not kept it here."

"Have you acquired any new stamps recently? Show me."

Zhao Zhengshan took two stools from the stall and handed one to Su Xiaofan, saying, "This is Old Zhang, who has been collecting stamps for over thirty years. I've bought a lot from him."

"Uncle Zhang, hello. I'm Su Xiaofan, here to learn from Uncle Zhao."

Su Xiaofan quickly greeted him. He was well-known in his own antique market, but here he was a complete novice.

"Heh, there aren't many young people collecting stamps these days."

Old Zhang smiled at Su Xiaofan and then took out a stack of about seven or eight stamp albums from a box and placed them in front of Zhao Zhengshan.

"It's getting harder to acquire them. These few albums were collected from the west side of the city."

"The old man in that family used to collect stamps and passed away a few days ago. His descendants found these albums and sold them to me."

Old Zhang lamented the difficulty of doing business.

Indeed, stamps are mostly a memory of the generation born before the 1980s.

Those born in the 1980s and later grew up with telephones and mobile phones, and many have never even seen a stamp.

Su Xiaofan, because his father collected stamps when he was young, had a few stamp albums at home and developed an interest in stamps during his school years, but later gave it up.

"When our generation gets old, there won't be many people collecting stamps anymore."

Zhao Zhengshan was also somewhat nostalgic as he flipped through the albums.

Su Xiaofan, with nothing else to do, also picked up a few albums.

Most of the stamps in the albums were used, with only a few commemorative stamps being new.

Although they were well-preserved, Su Xiaofan could tell that the stamps weren't very valuable, and the collectors of the past weren't very well-off.

"Old Zhang, these albums are quite ordinary, with no valuable stamps."

Su Xiaofan could see what was in the albums, and Zhao Zhengshan, of course, could too, shaking his head as he flipped through them.

"They're from an ordinary family, so what valuable stamps could they have? Look and see if there's anything you want; I'll give you a good price."

Old Zhang knew what was in the albums.

However, nowadays, many stamp collectors are not just after high-value stamps, as those are very rare.

Many collectors now enjoy supplementing their collections with items they don't have, at reasonable prices, and finding the joy of collecting.

"I already have most of what's in these albums."

Zhao Zhengshan shook his head and swapped albums with Su Xiaofan.

[Repair Value: 46 points!]

[Blue Military Stamp: Damaged, can be repaired! Deduct 1 repair point!]

As Su Xiaofan was looking through an album, the repair value information suddenly appeared in his mind.

"Hmm? Blue Military Stamp, how is that possible?"

Su Xiaofan looked at the album in his hand and began to search through it page by page.

Having collected stamps before and paid attention to them in the antique market, Su Xiaofan naturally knew the value of the Blue Military Stamp.

The Blue Military Stamp was issued in the 1950s for military use. At the time, there were also Yellow and Purple Military Stamps.

Due to various reasons, these military stamps were recalled and destroyed shortly after issuance.

The Blue Military Stamp, being the last to be printed, was never even distributed, making it extremely rare.

Therefore, the Blue Military Stamp is the most valuable, with one selling for 800,000 yuan in the 1990s.

A few years ago, another Blue Military Stamp appeared at an auction and sold for 3.2 million yuan, second only to the 'Red China' stamp.

"Not there?"

After flipping through the album, Su Xiaofan didn't find the Blue Military Stamp and was a bit puzzled.

"Could there be a hidden compartment?" Looking at the old album, Su Xiaofan had a thought.

"Uncle Zhao, this album has many stamps I'm missing. Can you help me negotiate the price?"

Su Xiaofan nudged Zhao Zhengshan, seeing that the owner was talking to someone else and not paying attention, and said in a low voice, "I'm not familiar here, and you have more influence."

Zhao Zhengshan took the album from Su Xiaofan, patted it, and said, "Old Zhang, how much for this album? There are a few I'm missing. If the price is right, I'll take it!"

"Let me see." Old Zhang took the album and flipped through it.

"Three thousand!"

Old Zhang said, "There are seven stamps worth two to three hundred each, and a dozen more worth about six hundred in total. The rest I'll throw in. How about that?"

"Fair enough."

Zhao Zhengshan glanced at Su Xiaofan and said, "Three thousand it is. I'll take it. I'll transfer the money to you."

Old Zhang's price wasn't high, and Zhao Zhengshan felt there wasn't much room for negotiation, so he bought it outright. If Su Xiaofan didn't want it, he would keep it himself.

"See you later, Old Zhang. I'll go look around. Call me if you get any good stamps."

After paying, Zhao Zhengshan took the album and walked a few stalls before handing it to Su Xiaofan, "Xiao Su, here you go. The price is fair."

[Blue Military Stamp, damaged, can be repaired!]

[Need to deduct 1 repair point. Repair?]

"Repair!" Su Xiaofan took the album and gave the repair command.

[Repaired. Remaining repair value: 45 points!]

"Uncle Zhao, something seems off with this album."

Su Xiaofan carefully flipped through the album, examining each page closely.

When he reached the third page, a smile appeared on his face.

"What's wrong with it?"

Zhao Zhengshan dismissed it, "Old albums are like this. They're a bit worn out. If you don't like it, you can buy a new one to replace it."

"Uncle Zhao, let's go back to the car and talk."

Su Xiaofan pulled Zhao Zhengshan back.

"Hey, we just started looking around."

Zhao Zhengshan shook off Su Xiaofan's hand and suddenly paused, "Xiao Su, did you... find a bargain?"

"Yeah, I'm not sure what it is yet."

Su Xiaofan nodded slightly and lowered his voice, "But it's hidden in a compartment, so it must be something good."

"A compartment?"

Zhao Zhengshan was taken aback and didn't need Su Xiaofan to pull him; he ran to the elevator leading to the ground floor.

"This... it really is a compartment, very well-made, hard to spot."

A few minutes later, the two were sitting in Su Xiaofan's car. Zhao Zhengshan had found a flashlight and was examining the third page of the album.

"Do you have a blade?" Zhao Zhengshan asked.

"No, I'm not a pickpocket. Why would I carry one?"

"Let's go to my place!"

Zhao Zhengshan was practically bursting with excitement. Regardless of who the item belonged to, they had found a bargain today.

Zhao Zhengshan lived in a quiet villa in the city, a benefit of being a second-generation rich kid.

Only a live-in maid was at home. Zhao Zhengshan took Su Xiaofan straight to the second floor, where his workshop was.

Despite his lack of appraisal skills, Zhao Zhengshan was very skilled at delicate work.

Zhao Zhengshan filled a bowl with water, wet the edges of the page, and then carefully separated it with a blade.

"Uncle Zhao, you're good at this."

Zhao Zhengshan's smooth actions were a pleasure to watch. Su Xiaofan would have just torn it.

"Shh, don't talk."

Zhao Zhengshan was very tense, holding his breath as he carefully extracted a plastic sheet from the compartment, which contained a blue stamp.

"This... this is a Blue Military Stamp!!!"

When he saw the stamp clearly, Zhao Zhengshan's voice rose in excitement.

"Mr. Zhao, is there something wrong?" The maid's voice came from downstairs.

"No, no, Aunt Sun, go about your business."

Zhao Zhengshan took a few deep breaths to calm down and held the stamp up to the window, looking at it with a fascinated expression.

"Xiao Su, the condition is amazing. I've never seen a stamp from so long ago in such good condition!"

"Of course, I used some repair value. How could it not be in good condition?"

Su Xiaofan muttered to himself but also leaned in to examine it.

It was an unused Blue Military Stamp. The damage that was