Chapter 80

The old goods market of Hai City is located in the old district of the city. This area is home to the old residents of Hai City, and it is the only area in the city center where there are still traditional houses.

"What is Wu Di Qian (Five Emperors' Coins)?" Old Ye asked as they walked.

"You, who are in the feng shui and divination industry, don't even know what Five Emperors' Coins are?"

"What is it? I have no idea what Five Emperors' Coins are. By the way, I'm not ashamed to ask: What are Five Emperors' Coins?"

"Ha ha, since you ask, Five Emperors' Coins refer to the coins issued by the five prosperous emperors of the Qing Dynasty. These five emperors are Shunzhi, Kangxi, Yongzheng, Qianlong, and Jiaqing. Because their reigns were prosperous, the people believe that the coins from each of their reigns, when strung together, have the power to ward off evil, protect against villains, and bring good fortune. In fact, Five Emperors' Coins not only have these effects but also have a strong positive energy. They are coins from prosperous times and have been touched by thousands of people, so they carry immense human energy. After being arranged in a specific formation, Five Emperors' Coins can use this human energy to summon spirits."

Old Ye nodded as he listened to Tang Zhendong's explanation. "So that's what Five Emperors' Coins are for. By the way, who told you this? I didn't know."

"Of course, it was you, my master, who taught me. Did you forget?"

Old Ye laughed heartily, and the two of them had just entered the antique street alley.

Nowadays, it's an era of nationwide collecting. Everyone, whether human or not, likes to collect something. As the saying goes: antiques in prosperous times, gold in turbulent times. The more prosperous the times, the more valuable antiques become, especially with the popularity of TV shows about collecting and appraising antiques, which clearly shows the trend.

Hai City is a new city, which means it has only developed in the past hundred years. Although the city existed three hundred years ago, it was just a small fishing village, so it's hard to connect it with any dynasty.

Without a connection to any dynasty, it means there are no prominent figures from the old generations, and thus, there are no antiques from the local area.

Why are antiques so popular in the Central Plains? Because the Central Plains is the cradle of the Chinese nation, and this cradle has nurtured many civilizations and buried many emperors and generals, which is why there are so many antiques in the Central Plains.

The antique market in Hai City was originally called the old goods market. Of course, there are still many old goods for sale there. However, with the development of the city, the very old goods have been phased out, and the old goods here are mainly old furniture and other old items. This old goods market is actually the cultural market of Hai City, and it is also called the antique market.

Tang Zhendong and Old Ye entered the antique market, which was truly deserted. There were more vendors than strollers. It was not a weekend, and if it were, it would be crowded with people, all hoping to find a good deal.

But think about it, if everyone could find a good deal, wouldn't the sellers all go bankrupt?

From Nanjing to Beijing, the buyers are never as shrewd as the sellers.

In the antique world, there is a saying: "Three years without business, one business to last three years," which shows the huge profit. This kind of business, where one deal can make a fortune, attracts many people.

This has led to the many shops on the antique street, which is the true reason why it is called the antique street.

However, Tang Zhendong definitely wouldn't go to these shops. The shopkeepers are all very shrewd, and the threshold is extremely high. Trying to find a good item from them is like looking for a needle in a haystack.

Moreover, Tang Zhendong was only looking for Five Emperors' Coins today.

Nowadays, Five Emperors' Coins are everywhere, but Tang Zhendong didn't dare to let Old Ye buy them himself because Old Ye couldn't tell the real ones from the fakes. Most of the Five Emperors' Coins on the market are fake. Of course, there are real ones, but you need a very good eye to distinguish them.

A string of fake Five Emperors' Coins, which look the same as the real ones, costs only 5 to 10 yuan per string. However, a string of average-quality Five Emperors' Coins costs at least 200 to 300 yuan. The price difference is huge, and the most common scenario is that a 4 to 5 yuan fake Five Emperors' Coin is sold for 200 to 300 yuan, which is a huge profit.

However, after walking halfway down the antique street, Tang Zhendong and Old Ye didn't see anyone selling coins, at least not the vendors.

Near the exit, there was a person with a pile of coins in front of him, ranging from the knife coins of the Warring States period to the modern Yuan Shikai coins, all kinds of coins were available.

"Do you have Five Emperors' Coins?" Tang Zhendong asked the young man in front of him.

"Yes, yes. Do you want real ones or fakes? Real ones cost 500 yuan per string, and fakes cost 5 yuan each. You can pick from the ones on the ground." The young man pointed to the pile of coins on the ground.

"Let me see the real ones."

The young man pulled out two strings of Five Emperors' Coins from his bag, both strung with red ropes and adorned with red Chinese knots.

"Any more?"

The young man pulled out three more strings from his bag. "I only have five strings in total."

"Too expensive. I just need them for decoration. It's not worth it. What's the lowest price per string?"

"If you want all of them, the lowest price is 450 yuan. Not a penny less."

Tang Zhendong handed the two strings of expensive Five Emperors' Coins back to the young man. "Let me take a look." Then, Tang Zhendong picked up a few more coins from the pile.

"Are these all 5 yuan each?"

"Yes, all of them."

"Alright," Tang Zhendong picked out more than thirty Five Emperors' Coins from the pile.

"I want these! How much is it?"

"1, 2, 3, ..., a total of 38 coins. 5 yuan each, so 190 yuan. I'll give you a discount to 180 yuan." The young man, who was clearly experienced in such transactions, calculated the price quickly and even provided a plastic bag to pack the coins for Tang Zhendong.

Tang Zhendong took out the money and paid.

"Come back when you have time." The coin vendor waved goodbye to Tang Zhendong even after he had walked a long distance.

......

"Why do you only pick the cheap ones? Will they work?" Old Ye, although he didn't understand, had a card with 200,000 yuan given by Qian Wenchang in his pocket, feeling very wealthy. Recently, Old Ye and Tang Zhendong's business had been thriving, and their income was substantial. Old Ye understood the principle that you get what you pay for, and he was afraid of offending a big benefactor like Qian Wenchang. The 200,000 yuan was just for the materials, and after the task was completed, Qian Wenchang, being a man of his word, would pay them no less than seven figures.

However, this had a prerequisite: they had to cure Qian Wenmei's illness. If they couldn't cure her, tricking him into paying would be futile, as Qian Wenchang was not a fool.

Tang Zhendong insisted on using Five Emperors' Coins that had been touched by thousands of people, which definitely couldn't be fakes. Fake coins wouldn't have been touched by so many people, and thus, wouldn't have enough human energy to be effective.

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