60s: I have a store

Chapter 645 Exposed
After the waiter collected the money and tickets that Dapeng handed over, he went to the kitchen to place the order.

The old man picked up his teacup, gently blew away the foam, and looked at Li Youde and Dapeng. His tone was more serious than before: "Since you are so straightforward, I will not beat around the bush. The items I exchanged with you yesterday were just insignificant little things in the house."

"I have many more precious treasures, but I don't know if you have enough food?"

He said that on purpose, just to find out more about Li Youde and Dapeng.

After all, these are valuable items. He doesn't have much left at home, but his friend has a lot of treasures. As long as the food arrives, he can take it all.

Everyone needs food these days! Are we really going to take all this stuff and "perish together"?

Da Peng leaned forward slightly, a confident smile on his face, and said with great arrogance, "Sir, don't worry! As long as the treasures you have are genuine antiques and of good quality, whether they are porcelain vases, jade artifacts, or bronzes, we'll take as many as you have! We will definitely not let you suffer any losses!"

Knowing that Zhou Yimin would be there to back him up, he said this without any pressure whatsoever.

Having sold Zhou Yimin's goods on the black market for so long, I have a certain understanding of Zhou Yimin's capabilities.

Li Youde nodded in agreement, while taking out a small cloth bag from his pocket.

Inside was five jin of white flour that Zhou Yimin had prepared in advance, packed in a heavy cloth bag.

He handed the cloth bag to the old man and said with a smile, "Grandpa, this is the first time we've met here. I didn't bring anything nice with me. Please take this five jin of flour as a gift."

The old man paused for a moment, then reached out and took the cloth bag. He opened one corner of the bag, revealing snow-white flour.

This is genuine, high-quality white flour, not some inferior product mixed with other flours. He was suddenly jolted, and the way he looked at the two of them completely changed.

Yesterday, the two men handed over 70 jin of flour without batting an eye during the transaction; today, when they met, they casually gave each other 5 jin of flour as a gift.

When ordering, they directly ordered three roast ducks without even asking the price.

You have to understand that in those days, flour was more precious than silver dollars. Ordinary families couldn't even afford a few pounds of it in a year. Yet these two were giving away flour as if it were an ordinary item, which shows how wealthy they were.

The old man, who had initially harbored some tentative thoughts, completely let go of them. He carefully put away the cloth bag, his tone becoming more sincere: "Alright, as long as you have enough white flour, I have plenty of treasures here."

Li Youde and Dapeng exchanged a smile, knowing that the five catties of flour hadn't been given away for nothing.

As expected, following Zhou Yimin's method was simple; he didn't need to think at all, he just had to do it.

Moreover, the act of sending them flour not only dispelled the elderly person's concerns but also let them know their financial strength, which can be said to be a win-win situation.

Just as the two were about to ask more about the baby's details, they heard the waiter's voice behind them: "Gentlemen, your roast duck is here!"

Two waiters carried over three glistening roast ducks. The ducks had an enticing jujube-red skin and were still steaming. The aroma instantly filled the air, making one's mouth water.

The old man swallowed back what he was about to say, and smiled as he raised his hand: "Eat the roast duck first! Quanjude's roast duck doesn't taste good when it's cold!"

Li Youde and Dapeng couldn't resist the aroma of roast duck either, and immediately agreed.

The three of them disregarded their pride and began to feast.

The three roast ducks on the table were quickly devoured, and the lotus leaf pancakes and dipping sauce were almost gone as well.

At this moment, the old man waved, and the waiter came over after seeing him.

When Da Peng and Li Youde saw this scene, they knew that the old man in front of them had come to eat before, otherwise they wouldn't be so familiar with him.

The waiter came over to remove the empty plates and brought out a pot of fresh tea. Li Youde and Dapeng took a couple of sips of tea to suppress the greasiness in their mouths, but with their minds still on the treasure, they couldn't hold back any longer.

Dapeng spoke first, his tone tinged with urgency: "Grandpa, you just said you had some even rarer old objects. What exactly are they? Is it a porcelain vase like yesterday's, or something else?"

As he spoke, he secretly gave Li Youde a look, signaling him to help him strike up a conversation.

Li Youde immediately chimed in, "Yes! Grandpa, could you give us a hint so we can be prepared?"

The old man held his teacup, slowly blowing on the steam. His eyes swept over the two faces, but he didn't answer directly. Instead, he smiled and said, "What's the rush? Good things can't all be said at once. But don't worry, it's definitely better than the treasure we traded yesterday."

He only mentioned these three things casually, then stopped, took a sip of tea, and didn't want to continue.

Li Youde said, "It sounds like you really do have quite a few treasures, sir!"

The old man smiled but didn't reply, though his gaze inadvertently swept over the two people's movements.

Upon closer inspection, he noticed something amiss. During their conversation, Li Youde and Dapeng appeared to be talking to him.

But every now and then, he would subconsciously glance to the side and behind him, his eyes quickly scanning the area before looking away, as if he were checking something.

Once or twice might be a coincidence, but when it happened five or six times in a row, the old man became suspicious.

He calmly held his teacup, pretending to drink, but out of the corner of his eye, he glanced in the direction the two were looking.

In the corner diagonally behind, sat a young man in clean work clothes. In front of him was a small dish of side dishes and half a roast duck that he hadn't finished eating. He held chopsticks in his hand but didn't touch them much. Occasionally, he would glance over, but quickly look away.

The old man's heart skipped a beat. This young man looked unfamiliar, but he kept looking this way, while Li Youde and Dapeng kept glancing in his direction. Could it be that this young man was the real person in charge?

Are Li Youde and Dapeng just errand runners?
As soon as the idea popped into his head, the old man couldn't resist testing it out.

He put down his teacup, then suddenly changed the subject, looking at Li Youde and Dapeng, and said casually, "Why are you two always looking back?"

Upon hearing this, Li Youde and Dapeng both felt a chill run down their spines. They hadn't expected the old man to be so perceptive and to have seen through the clues.

The two men exchanged a glance, neither daring to reply, only managing two dry laughs: "Sir, you're joking. We weren't looking back at all."

The old man didn't let them off the hook, continuing to press them with a hint of inquiry in his eyes: "Really? But from what I've observed, you've looked back five or six times while answering my questions. One or two times might be a coincidence, but so many times, it's definitely not a coincidence."

As he spoke, he gently gestured with his chin in Zhou Yimin's direction, his eyes fixed on their reactions.

Li Youde and Dapeng were even more flustered, unsure how to answer and admit it!
They were afraid of exposing Zhou Yimin's arrangements, but if they didn't admit it, the old man would have already seen through their scheme, affecting subsequent transactions.

The two could only continue to laugh it off: "Sir, you really know how to joke. If we couldn't decide, we wouldn't have told you so much."

But their panic did not escape the old man's eyes; he was already seven or eight parts certain in his mind.

That young man must be connected to them, and he must be someone of high status.

The old man smiled and didn't press further. He simply picked up his teacup and said slowly, "That's true. There are a lot of people at Quanjude, so it's normal to mistake someone for someone else."

"However, I need to talk to someone who can actually make the decisions about this treasure. After all, it's valuable. Talking to a gofer might lead to a breakdown in the deal and just waste time." With that, he stood up and prepared to leave.

Upon seeing this scene, Li Youde and Dapeng immediately panicked.

"Sir, we're telling you the truth, but you don't believe us. If that's the case, there's nothing we can do." Li Youde had no choice but to try anything, even if it seemed hopeless.

"Sir, you need to think this through. There aren't many people like us who can produce this much flour. This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

Now it was the old man's turn to be dumbfounded; it was indeed just as Li Youde had said.

Otherwise, it wouldn't have been sitting on the black market for so long without selling anything.

Sitting down now is not an option, nor is leaving.

There are still quite a few of these things at home. Although seventy pounds of flour is enough to support the family's consumption for a period of time.

If we eat up the entire mountain, this little bit of food won't last long.

When Li Youde and Dapeng saw the old man start to hesitate, they knew there was hope.

Zhou Yimin, who was sitting to the side, wanted to give a thumbs up after hearing this; it seemed that Li Youde reacted quickly enough to come up with such a solution.

However, he also knew that if he didn't step in, it would be difficult to obtain the real treasure.

If Zhou Yimin were in this situation, he would also hold back a backup plan.

Although she didn't want to reveal herself, she still stood up and sat down in the empty seat next to Li Youde: "Sir, I'm sorry, I was sitting over there and didn't dare to come over and disturb you. Please forgive my intrusion."

The old man stared at Zhou Yimin for a few seconds, his gaze sweeping from Zhou's calm eyes to his composed demeanor, and the last bit of doubt in his heart was dispelled.

After all, Zhou Yimin could have easily stepped in, as he was already being manipulated by Li Youde.

The old man smiled, his tone gentler than before: "Young man, you're quite composed. I knew you were special, and I was right."

Zhou Yimin didn't beat around the bush and went straight to the point: "Grandpa, you're really amazing. I didn't expect you to see through it so quickly. You know, it took us a lot of time to come up with this method."

The old man was very happy to receive Zhou Yimin's compliment: "Don't mention it, I was almost fooled by you guys too."

When Li Youde and Dapeng saw Zhou Yimin arrive, they instantly breathed a sigh of relief, and their tense shoulders relaxed.

Da Peng quickly poured Zhou Yimin a cup of tea: "Yimin, you're finally here. We were almost at our breaking point just now."

Li Youde nodded in agreement: "It's more appropriate for you to talk to the old man. We're not good with words and can't explain things clearly."

Zhou Yimin went straight to the point: "Sir, we really want the treasure you have. Why don't you name your price?"

The old man watched the interaction between the three, a hint of approval flashing in his eyes. He picked up his teacup and gently clinked it against Zhou Yimin's cup: "Good! Just for your straightforwardness, let's have a good chat today."

Zhou Yimin picked up his teacup, took a sip, and said with a firm look in his eyes, "Don't worry, sir, I'm sure I'm sincere. Grain, coupons, money—as long as your treasure is genuine, we can discuss anything you want."

Hearing Zhou Yimin say this, the old man's smile became even more genuine.

He leaned forward slightly and lowered his voice, as if afraid of being overheard by those around him: "I can produce a Kangxi blue and white porcelain bowl and an old pocket watch right now."

Upon hearing this, Zhou Yimin was not particularly interested in the old pocket watch, but he was quite intrigued by the Kangxi blue and white porcelain bowl. These would be rare treasures in later generations.

"Sir, what are the prices for these two items?"

After thinking for a moment, the old man stated his conditions: "For these two items, I want 120 catties of wheat flour and 10 catties of corn flour. If you think it's acceptable, you can trade whenever you want."

Zhou Yimin quickly calculated in his mind that the Kangxi blue and white porcelain bowl alone was worth more than 120 catties of flour, plus an old pocket watch that could keep time. The price was very reasonable and completely within his expectations.

Without the slightest hesitation, he immediately nodded: "Sir, I agree to this condition. I'll add two more pounds of pork for you."

Upon hearing this, the old man's eyes widened immediately. He had thought Zhou Yimin would try to bargain, but to his surprise, Zhou Yimin agreed immediately and even added two more pounds of meat.

"Young man, are you telling the truth?"

Seeing the old man's eagerness, Li Youde and Dapeng assumed that meat wouldn't appeal to him, but they were surprised to find that it was.

Zhou Yimin replied with a smile, "Uncle, I certainly wouldn't joke about something like this."

The old man was very satisfied with Zhou Yimin's performance and then said, "Then let's add another piece of calligraphy and painting by Zhu Yunming. Do you have any ideas?"

Zhou Yimin was a little excited: "Grandpa, I didn't expect you to even have Zhu Zhishan's calligraphy and paintings."

Even Li Youde and Dapeng, who knew nothing about antiques, had heard of Zhu Zhishan's name.

It's easy to imagine just how famous Zhu Zhishan was.

The old man waved his hand: "No need to get so excited, are you interested?"

Although asking would be pointless, seeing Zhou Yimin's reaction, it was clear that he definitely wanted it.

Zhou Yimin quickly replied, "Sir, of course I'm interested. May I ask what the price is?"

He was prepared to buy anything that wasn't too outrageous, knowing that the price would have increased many times over decades later.

The old man thought about it for a moment. If Zhou Yimin hadn't been so generous in giving him two pounds of meat, he wouldn't have been willing to take out such a treasured item.

"One hundred catties of wheat flour?"

Li Youde and Dapeng were shocked when they heard the price. A painting or calligraphy piece cost 100 jin of flour. Flour was only two or three yuan a day at the time, and it wasn't always available.

If we convert it like this, wouldn't it cost two or three hundred yuan?

That's basically the salary of an average worker for a whole year.

When Zhou Yimin heard the price, he almost burst out laughing. He thought it was going to be very expensive, since he owned a shop and flour only cost a few cents per pound.

But she still pretended to be hesitant: "Fine! What can I do when I like it?"

(End of this chapter)