Zhang Bo grew up playing around Antique Street.
His family runs a shop here.
Under such influence, he gained a good understanding of antiques.
He could easily estimate the value of ceramics, ancient coins, bronze coins, and the like with just a glance.
The nickna "Little Listening Spring of Pan Garden" wasn’t just for show.
However, the Miele Pearl Jiang Tao brought today is one of those rare treasures, only found in one out of tens of thousands of coconut snails.
Besides, Zhang Bo’s family business isn’t in jewelry.
This ti, he bumped into a gap in his knowledge.
"Buddy, hold on a mont, let call my boss and ask."
"I’m not quite sure about this precious item of yours."
When Zhang Bo is uncertain about sothing, he still consults his old man, who goes fishing every day.
Even though the old man seldom cos to the store, he still has to approve anything over 100,000 before a purchase is made.
"Hey, Dad, can you check if we should take this and at what price?"
The video call connected, and a man wearing a green military coat and a Lei Feng hat, fishing on the ice, appeared on the phone screen.
The man, in his sixties, was Zhang Long, the owner of Boya Auction House.
"Whoa! A Fiery Fla Pearl, a rare sight! And it looks like a new one."
On the other end, Zhang Long recognized the Fiery Fla Pearl at a glance and was sure it was genuine.
He even noticed that the pearl was new.
Having spent decades in the auction business, if he didn’t have such sharp eyesight, it would have been for nothing.
Zhang Long asked, "How much is the custor asking for?"
Zhang Bo answered truthfully, "120,000."
"It’s a bit pricey; our profit margin is very low. We can offer at most 100,000. Ask if he’ll sell, if not, let him wait."
"Got it! You keep busy!"
Zhang Bo emphasized the word "busy."
Clearly, he was unhappy about his old man going fishing every day while he was tied to the store.
"Kid, how about I give you an extra 20,000 yuan allowance this month?"
"That’s a deal! Take your ti fishing, I’ll go attend to the custor."
Hearing he could get an additional 20,000 yuan for allowance this month, Zhang Bo felt much better, quite pleased!
After ending the call with his dad, Zhang Bo returned to Jiang Tao with the Miele Pearl.
"Brother, our boss said 100,000 is the best we can offer for your pearl."
"If you can accept this price, we can do the transaction hand-to-hand, cash settlent."
Zhang Bo’s expression was sincere.
Even if this deal didn’t go through, there might be opportunities for cooperation next ti.
In business, harmony is most precious, especially in the antique trade, old clients are crucial.
No exaggeration to say, 70% of the store’s annual profits co from repeat custors.
Develop a few more loyal clients, and you can have a stable inco each year.
"Sorry, 100,000 is too low, quite a difference."
Jiang Tao didn’t harbor any resentnt or bad mood from the failed deal and kept a gentle smile on his face.
Business is about mutual willingness; there’s no forcing in sales, even if the deal fails, integrity remains.
This Miele Pearl, according to the Intelligence System’s estimate, is valued at 120,000; Zhang Bo’s offer was 20,000 short.
Since Jiang Tao wasn’t in urgent need of money, he certainly wouldn’t part with it easily.
"Then bro, look around a bit more, perhaps you’ll find soone willing to pay more."
"If you don’t find any better offer, you’re welco to co back anyti."
Zhang Bo spoke as he handed the Miele Pearl back to Jiang Tao with a smile:
"I’ll give you a small box as a gift. A treasure pearl cos with a treasure box; it looks classier when you take it out."
After saying this, Zhang Bo turned to a wooden cabinet and took out a palm-sized small box, handing it to Jiang Tao.
Such jewelry boxes, Zhang Bo’s family buys in bulk for just three or four yuan each.
If he could win Jiang Tao’s favor and convert him into a returning custor, it could yield returns in the thousands or tens of thousands!
Previously, Jiang Tao sold a nice bill here which earned Zhang Bo’s family over 10,000 yuan in profit.
"Thanks, how much for this box, I’ll pay you via scan."
Jiang Tao took the jewelry box and pulled out his phone to pay.
"It’s just a small trinket, said it’s a gift for you; how could I take your money? Just an offering of friendship."
"In the future, if you have anything you want to sell, do rember to co here first, we’ll definitely offer the most sincere price."
Though young, Zhang Bo was quite adept in social matters, his few words leaving Jiang Tao with a great impression.
"Alright, thanks then."
Seeing the other party insisting on not accepting money, Jiang Tao didn’t insist further. He casually put the Miele Pearl into the jewelry box and turned to leave.
Zhang Bo suddenly called out, "Hey buddy, wait a minute...let’s exchange WeChat, so we can contact each other when needed in the future."
"Sure, I’ll scan yours."
More friends an more paths; Jiang Tao took out his phone and scanned Zhang Bo’s QR code, the two adding each other as friends.
After they added each other, Jiang Tao finally left, continuing to wander around Antique Street.
He also visited four other jewelry recycling vendors to inquire about the value.
The lowest offer from these four was 60,000, while the highest was 90,000.
After going around, Zhang Bo’s family’s 100,000 was actually the highest offer!
However, Jiang Tao didn’t hurry back to sell to Zhang Bo, deciding to wait a little longer.
This item doesn’t have a shelf life, nor does it spoil, so there’s no rush to sell it.
He wandered around Antique Street until midday.
Jiang Tao found a small restaurant nearby and ordered a dish of fried dough with at for a simple lunch.
After a hearty al, with no other pressing matters in the afternoon, he continued to wander around Antique Street until past 6 PM.
Today, he didn’t hurry to take the subway back to Xiaoshanhe.
Instead, he found a Han Ting Hotel near Antique Street to stay.
In the days leading up to New Year, he planned to stick around Antique Street, going head-to-head with the antique market.
He wanted to see if frequent visits could increase his chances of coming across valuable antique intelligence.
If he could, like in so online novels, find an overlooked antique worth hundreds of thousands or millions...
He could hit a windfall in one go!
After checking in, Jiang Tao ordered a dish of spicy chicken noodles from a delivery platform.
While waiting for his al, he headed to the bathroom for a relaxing hot shower.
The rental place he currently stayed at naturally didn’t have a bathroom, making bathing inconvenient.
In the sumr, he could go to a public water pool and clean himself up, but in winter, it was impossible.
There is a public bathhouse in Xiaoshanhe Village, which isn’t expensive, just 18 yuan, equipped with a shower and bath pool.
But according to Liu Zhiyuan, there were plenty of soap droppers in there, and that’s a dicey situation Jiang Tao didn’t dare to intrude.
It’s been about ten days since his last shower; after scrubbing, he felt lighter by a few pounds.
Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong——
During his shower, Jiang Tao’s phone placed on the bed flashed repeatedly, with several voice ssages from Zhang Bo coming in.
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