The Rogue Villager Chen Erbao

Baldy and Shorty were filled with a mix of regret and excitement.

'Just digging up a little something is worth tens of thousands... and there's so much stuff here...'

Their eyes lit up, and they quickly tried to persuade him, "Please don't, sir! Tens of thousands is still money! Take another look..."

Chen Erbao shook his head. "To be honest, it's not that I'm short on cash, but an item worth a few tens of thousands just isn't worth the trouble. If I brought this back for my collection, my friends would make me a laughingstock... Do you have anything else? I can take another look, and if I find something suitable, I'll buy a few pieces to take home."

Just as Chen Erbao had guessed, the two weren't very sharp. The moment they saw him hesitate, Shorty immediately opened the surrounding wooden crates. "Sir, take your time looking. All this stuff was... acquired together. It can't all have been damaged by the shock. Pick whichever one you like, and we'll make a deal!"

Baldy had wanted to stop him, but seeing that Shorty had already opened the crates, he opened his mouth to speak, but ultimately said nothing.

Chen Erbao's eyes lit up as he held up a magnifying glass and examined the items one by one.

Meanwhile, Baldy and Shorty stood to the side, showering Chen Erbao with praise.

"Look at that! Now *that's* what you call a master. The technique, the sharp eye!"

"See? That's what I call professional!"

"..."

Lin Rui stood to the side, saying nothing.

Although she didn't know what game Chen Erbao was playing, she could tell from the way the two men spoke that they weren't very bright...

'I think I've even figured out what they do for a living.'

'Even though I don't know his goal, all I have to do is stay quiet and follow his lead!'

Chen Erbao circled the crates, giving everything a quick scan, and felt a pang of disappointment.

'The items in this room were all freshly unearthed. Maybe there were some genuinely valuable antiques among them, but what the hell did that matter? I'm not an antique dealer. What would I do with all this junk?'

Chen Erbao leaned over an exquisite bronze censer, pretending to examine it while he thought to himself.

'If I ask for the strand of beads in the courtyard directly, these two will definitely realize it's valuable. They'll probably jack up the price on the spot.'

'But if...'

His gaze fell upon a porcelain vase in the corner.

"Gentlemen, I've looked over everything. None of it is even as valuable as that cracked vase from before. Each piece is probably worth somewhere between a few thousand and a few tens of thousands, at best."

Baldy's heart sank when he heard this.

'All that work, and it turns out this stuff isn't even worth that much!'

Shorty, however, was thrilled.

'There are more than a dozen items in here! At a few tens of thousands each, that adds up to several hundred thousand!'

'If I'd stayed back at the electronics factory tightening screws, I'd never have earned this much in my entire life!'

'Following the boss really is the way to go!'

He exchanged a look with Baldy.

Baldy stepped forward, his voice sycophantic. "Sir, you're a master with a discerning eye and great talent. Since you're already here, why not just take all of it? In our hands, their cultural value is wasted. Only in your possession can they truly be appreciated!"

Chen Erbao shot him a surprised look upon hearing this.

'I'm surprised this meathead can string together such a cultured sentence!'

'Must've had a few days of schooling!'

Chen Erbao's expression hardened. "It's all a bunch of worthless junk. What use would I have for all of it? It would just clutter up my house!"

Baldy looked embarrassed, at a loss for words.

Seeing his partner falter, Shorty chimed in with a fawning smile. "Sir, you could just pick a couple of pieces that catch your eye. That way, this trip won't be a total waste!"

Chen Erbao feigned hesitation, glancing back and forth between the wooden crates with a conflicted expression.

Secretly, however, he gave Lin Rui a look.

Lin Rui knew it was her cue to play her part. She stepped forward and whined playfully, "Brother Er Bao, we came all this way, and my feet are killing me! Why don't we just buy a couple of things?"

The moment Baldy and Shorty heard Lin Rui, their hearts filled with gratitude.

'What a good person!'

'Pretty people really are as kind as they are beautiful!'

Chen Erbao sighed and waved his hand dismissively. "Fine, fine. Since we're already here, I'll just pick two things. This porcelain vase, and that censer with the decent craftsmanship. I'll take them. One hundred thousand. How about it?"

Baldy's heart leaped when he heard the offer of one hundred thousand, but then he hesitated.

The two of them were complete amateurs with no idea what this junk was really worth. They had come to the antique market just to try their luck, and renting this courtyard alone had already cost them a small fortune.

'If I could just get a little more...'

That's what Baldy was thinking, but Shorty felt differently.

'That's a hundred thousand yuan!'

'How many screws would I have to tighten for that? How many times would I have to get chewed out by the supervisor to earn that much money!'

Afraid Chen Erbao would go back on his word, he quickly nodded. "Thank you, sir! Should we pack them up for you?"

Baldy had wanted to ask for more, but seeing that Shorty had already accepted, he could only shoot him a glare and reluctantly agree.

Chen Erbao nodded. "Pack them up. I'll have someone come by to pick them up later."

"You got it!"

Chen Erbao took Lin Rui's hand and walked toward the entrance.

Shorty and Baldy quickly closed the lids and moved the crates into the courtyard.

Chen Erbao stood to the side, watching them work. But he was secretly circulating his Spiritual Power, focusing his Divine Sense into a thin thread as his lips quivered almost imperceptibly.

A voice that only Lin Rui could hear sounded in her mind.

"On the shelf to the far left, there's a strand of grayish-white beads. Just say they caught your eye and ask them for it."

Lin Rui froze when the voice suddenly echoed in her mind. Realizing it was Chen Erbao, she turned to look at him in utter disbelief.

Chen Erbao's expression was unchanged. He stood with his arms crossed, casually surveying his surroundings, and continued transmitting his voice to her, "We can talk about everything else later. For now, just get the beads."

As expected of a top student from Binhai University, Lin Rui's composure was impressive.

'Transmitting thoughts with Divine Thought is beyond my comprehension, but since Chen Erbao told me to do it, I'll just follow his instructions.'

Putting on a curious expression, she began to wander along the wooden shelves, looking at one thing and then touching another.

Baldy noticed her and was about to warn her to be careful not to break anything. But then he remembered that it was thanks to her that Chen Erbao had agreed to the purchase in the first place. After a moment's thought—using what little brainpower he had—he decided to let it go.

'Besides, these little trinkets in the yard probably aren't worth much anyway. Whatever!'

'Our original plan was just to set up a stall and sell them for a few dozen yuan a piece anyway.'

The two men had just finished tying up the crates and were about to speak when they heard Lin Rui pointing to the wooden shelf in the corner. She said to Chen Erbao in a pleading, playful tone, "Brother Er Bao, I want that strand of beads!"

All three of them froze, turning to look in her direction.

Chen Erbao walked over to Lin Rui's side, glanced down, and frowned. "What's so great about this strand of beads? It's all dingy and gray. If you want something, I'll take you to Patek Philippe later and buy you a necklace or bracelet worth hundreds of thousands. Wouldn't that be better than this?"

But Lin Rui was having none of it. She tugged on Chen Erbao's sleeve, shaking it back and forth. "No, no... I just... I have a good feeling about these beads. We can just wash them when we get home. Please buy them for me..."

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