Infinite Puzzle City

Chapter 526: Shopping at the Ghost Market
As the night progressed and it got darker, the roadside stalls began to close one after another.

"Boss, three fried fruits."

"okay!"

The boss opened the oil pan and threw in three things that looked like candied haws.

"Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle..." As the oil pan sizzled, wisps of green smoke floated out of the pot.

Soon the three fried fruits were ready. Sprinkle them with sesame seeds and hand them to the three people in front of me.

"Try it, it's our authentic specialty."

Lao Ding gave a bunch of fruits to Xiao Ran and Xu Yan.

Xu Yan was a local so of course he had eaten this thing before. Xiao Ran picked it up and took a look. It looked like a candied haws-like fruit, but it was a bit like the fried sesame balls they had there, only a little smaller.

The fried glutinous rice ball on the outside has a burnt aroma. When you take a bite, the syrup and sesame seeds inside spread out, and the sweet taste spreads in your mouth instantly. The warmth is quite unique.

But for Xiao Ran, it was a bit too sweet.

"Brother Ding, how long do we have to wait here?" Xu Yan asked while eating. He took out his cell phone and saw that it was almost 12 o'clock in the evening.

"Why are you in such a hurry? It's still early. The market opens at dawn and closes at cockcrow. It may not be a good thing for us to come early. Wait a little longer. There are grilled lamb skewers over there. Let's eat and drink our fill before entering. I'll just tell you about the rules of the ghost market."

As Lao Ding said this, he led the two of them to the barbecue stall, ordered a few barbecues and three bottles of draft beer, and after sitting down, he asked, "Which of you has been to the ghost market?"

"I've been there and I know the rules well. You might want to explain it to me in detail so I don't remember it wrongly." Xiao Ran said.

These ghost markets can be found in many places, but Xiao Ran has never been there in real life.

But in the Dream Pool, I went there once with Mao Si.

In Meng Chi's era, the ghost market in Los Angeles was the most developed, tomb robbing was rife, and funerary objects could not be exposed to light and could only be sold if they were displayed in the dark.

After the sale, the buyer wanted to report it, but it was dark and he couldn’t see the other party’s face clearly, so calling the police was useless.

It's different now.

The ghost market in Los Angeles is long gone now.

Why? There are too many tourists, the little princesses, the little princes, the potatoes from the south, the eggplants from the north, they come to Los Angeles and go crazy until the early morning and don't go back. This business is not open to the public, so how can it be done?

As for what the ghost market in Chengdu is like, Xiao Ran has no idea.

But no matter what, the rules remain unchanged.

I only heard Lao Ding, Xiao Ran, and Xu Yan explain: "For things in this ghost market, one, don't ask where they come from. Two, don't light an open fire. Three, don't pursue old accounts. If you know the rules, then speak up. If you understand, then pretend to be confused. Even if it's a fake, you can't point it out in public, otherwise you'll get in trouble."

After Lao Ding finished speaking, he paused for a moment and then said, "Of course you are not the kind of people who are afraid of trouble, but this rule cannot be broken. After all, we are here to do business, and causing trouble will only do harm."

While waiting for the barbecue to be cooked, Lao Ding ate a few bites of barbecue, drank a few sips of draft beer, and pointed to the door of the ghost market in front: "Although this ghost market is large, there are some places that I can't enter. We can only walk around outside and try our luck."

"Is there any place you can't enter?"

Xu Yan’s eyes widened. Even though Lao Ding was a professional, a C-level professional Midas Touch, there were still places in reality that he couldn’t enter.

Old Ding rolled his eyes at Xu Yan and said, "Hey, what are you talking about? If I could get in, you would list me as a wanted criminal!"

Xu Yan suddenly burst into laughter and quickly picked up the beer to toast Lao Ding.

In fact, although Midas Touch dislikes dealing with companies the most, no matter whether they are beginners or professionals in this sequence, they are all the most disciplined people, and companies are actually very confident in them.

After all, they rely on their Midas touch to make money and do business. If they break the rules, they will end up ruining their own path.

Lao Ding is not a local, his territory is actually Guizhou.

I just came here not long ago, and I was called here by the company not long after I settled here.

He didn't want to get involved in such matters, but the temptation offered by the company was too great and Lao Ding couldn't refuse, otherwise he would have run away long ago.

Lao Ding explained the rules clearly, and the three of them ate all the barbecue. After they were full and satisfied, they set off towards the ghost market.

It is now 1 o'clock in the morning. Temporary lights have been erected on the two streets of the ghost market, and all kinds of strange things have been placed on various stalls.

The reason why this place is called a ghost market is that it is blessed by nature. The roads on both sides are very wide, but there are no lights. There is an alley running from east to west, with old commercial buildings on both sides, and it is completely dark.

Even though there are lights hanging on every stall, the lights are not bright at all. From a distance, they appear to be lit, but when you get closer, the lights are very grey and only the outline of things can be seen.

These lights are specially designed incandescent lamps, which have basically no lighting ability. They can only roughly cast a shadow for you. If you stare at the light, it is very dazzling.

The whole street is filled with these lights, but they can't even illuminate the road clearly.

"Watch your step, don't step on other people's firecrackers."

Lao Ding turned around and reminded him.

Some unscrupulous vendors deliberately place their products a little further out from their stalls, just to see if you'll be careful when walking and might accidentally step on them.

Hey, they're open.

The three of them walked inside. Lao Ding looked relaxed. He didn't act like he was here to help Xiao Ran with his money today. He just strolled around as usual.

Xiao Ran stared at the strange things on the stall, aiming to find utensils.

The so-called utensils are complicated. To put it simply, they are washbasins. However, stainless steel ones are not acceptable. Not to mention bronze ones, they are at least from the Qing Dynasty.

"Boss, does this thing have a remote control?"

At this time, Lao Ding squatted down and stared at the stall in front of him. Xiao Ran and Xu Yan glanced at him and immediately lost their temper. There were a bunch of messy things on the stall, but they were obviously modern products, such as telescopes, cameras, and toy cars.

What Lao Ding was referring to was a toy car. The oncoming plastic feel made Xiao Ran and Xu Yan confused as to why he was asking about this thing.

The boss frowned when he heard this, rummaged through the pile of things in front of him, and shook his head, saying, "There's no remote control, so it's like this when I put it away."

"This thing should have a special remote control. It won't work without a remote control. This thing can't be matched."

Old Ding sighed with regret, a look of regret on his face, and said bitterly: "How many leaves?"

The black market doesn’t talk about money, it talks about leaves.

One leaf is one hundred.

The boss picked up the toy car, looked at it, and after estimating for a while, he said, "Eight."

"Two. This thing is made in Germany. If you have a remote control, you can sell ten. And there is obviously something wrong with the hydraulic rod here. If you take it apart and the things inside break, it will be garbage. Look at this..."

Lao Ding put the item in front of the boss and analyzed its value clearly. In the end, the boss had no choice but to give the three to Lao Ding after bargaining.

Lao Ding put the things into the bag, got up and left.

"Brother Ding, you're also going to keep this broken toy?"

Xu Yan couldn't help but ask.

"A broken toy?" Old Ding curled his lips. "You know nothing. This truck model is a genuine high-end product. It costs 20,000 yuan, and you may not be able to buy it."

"Twenty thousand?? This piece of junk??"

Xu Yan's eyes widened. He couldn't believe that this shabby toy car could be sold for 20,000 yuan? ?

"Otherwise, you can check it yourself."

Lao Ding casually took out his mobile phone and typed in the model number of the toy. When Xu Yan saw it after clicking it, he couldn't help but rub his teeth.

"That's nothing. Look, this is a crane model I bought last month for 8,000 yuan. I fixed it and sold it for 45,000 yuan."

Lao Ding opened the photo. It was a simulated hydraulic crane. The crane arm was about three meters long and looked quite large.

But this price really shocked Xu Yan and Xiao Ran.

A toy car is almost worth the price of a Wuling Hongguang.

"You two country bumpkins, do you really think that the only valuable things are those antiques?

Come on, what era is it now? Do you still want to pick up antique bargains? ?
Nowadays, if you have a urinal of unknown age at home, you have to go to the live broadcast room to identify whether it is an antique. How can you get a bargain? "

Old Ding said to the two of them with a look of disdain.

Xiao Ran was speechless when he heard this, thinking: "No wonder the Midas Touch is called a garbage man, and he is even panning for gold in the garbage dump."

Xiao Ran's inner expectations were instantly dashed.

Just as Lao Ding said, in this day and age, wanting to pick up antiques is pure wishful thinking.

I did pick one up last time, but that was pure luck. The ghost market right now is the most realistic scene.

Xiao Ran sighed, followed Lao Ding with a nonchalant look on his face, looking left and right, just thinking he was just strolling around here.

This ghost market has everything, except electronic waste, there are other things, such as some records, camcorders, cameras, some tools from the Republic of China period, oil lamps, and people selling jade scraps, which are the small pieces left after taking out bracelets.

These messy things may seem insignificant, but in fact...

Well, not worth mentioning.

Some of the things looked old. Xiao Ran took a look back and saw that they were made last week.

There are also some things whose value Xiao Ran cannot understand. The things inside are real, but Xiao Ran really doesn’t understand the value of these things, such as the porcelain pieces on the stall.

They were all in bits and pieces, not a single one was complete. Some were just half the size of a palm, and the stall owner asked for 30,000 yuan.

During this time, Lao Ding took out some other things. These things were not expensive, only about ten or twenty yuan.

In Lao Ding's words, this thing is not valuable, but after disassembling it, the parts inside are very valuable and can be worth several hundred dollars.

In fact, for a C-level professional like Lao Ding who simply wants to make money, it is very easy.

But Lao Ding is more willing to enjoy the convenience brought by this job and the joy of digging out gold from the garbage dump every time.

Perhaps this is the secret of his becoming a C-level Midas Touch. After all, happiness is their motivation for doing this job.

The three of them strolled around the whole night. Apart from Old Ding who was very happy with his great harvest, Xiao Ran and Xu Yan were both very proud of themselves the whole time. By the time it was almost dawn, the people at the ghost market had already packed up their stalls and left.

Xiao Ran was unwilling to give up, so he turned around again, but in the end he found nothing.

"There's nothing you can do about this. It depends on luck. But the things on the black market are different every day. You have to be patient. There will always be someone who can find some antiques." (Antiques are antiques of unknown origin.)
Old Ding advised with a smile.

Xiao Ran was helpless when he heard this: "If we just wait like this, who knows how long we'll have to wait."

The three of them walked forward while talking, but as they walked, they stopped at the same time, turned their heads to look at the intersection, only to find that a layer of white mist had appeared in front of them at some point, and the mist covered the street.

Seeing this, the three of them were stunned for a moment, and they couldn't help but look at each other. Then they heard Lao Ding swearing, "Damn it, it's really a ghost, how did we end up in the maze city while walking!"

(End of this chapter)