One divination a day, a trainee celestial master

The next morning, Jiang Shou carefully hid the bracelet and silver coins on his body, then rode his sputtering, dilapidated three-wheeled motorcycle straight to the antique street in Qiyun County.

The antique street in the county town wasn't in the bustling downtown area, but rather in an old alley in the south of the town. The alley entrance was narrow, and tricycles weren't allowed to drive in at all. Jiang Shou parked his tricycle at the intersection, slung his bag over his shoulder, and strolled in.

Underfoot were uneven bluestone slabs, and on both sides were rows of old wooden shops. Some shops had Bagua mirrors hanging at their entrances, while others had dusty stone lions. In addition to the proper shops, the street was also crowded with street vendors.

"Look, look! A newly unearthed Tang Dynasty tri-colored pottery piece!"

"Xuande incense burners from the Ming Dynasty, don't miss them!" The vendors' shouts rose and fell, and the air was filled with the smells of cheap incense sticks and musty old books, mixed with the aroma of fried dough sticks and soy milk wafting from the breakfast stalls at the alley entrance.

Jiang Shou munched on the fried dough sticks he had just bought as he strolled along the street stalls.

Jiang Shou strolled leisurely among the stalls, squatted down and rummaged through a pile of copper coins, then picked up a dark "Han Dynasty bronze mirror" and looked at it. With his current eyesight, he could easily see the injection molding seam on the back.

He gently placed the bronze mirror back in its original position and looked up at the stall owner.

The stall owner was a dark-skinned, thin middle-aged man who was staring at him intently, ready to offer a price at any moment.

Jiang Shouchong nodded, stood up, and walked forward with his bag on his back.

A mocking laugh, deliberately meant to provoke, came from behind.

He didn't turn around. He was a novice, but he wasn't a sucker. Besides, he hadn't come here specifically to buy anything.

As Jiang Shou passed a stall, he stopped. The stall owner was a thin old man, and next to him stood a cardboard sign that read "Old Hu's Antiques" in crooked handwriting. The stall was haphazardly piled with rusty copper coins, jade pendants with broken corners, and an old compass whose pointer wouldn't even turn.

At that moment, Lao Hu was arguing with a heavily pregnant customer.

The customer, carrying a small, rusty, broken pot, was spitting as he spoke: "Old Hu, you old bastard, you're not being fair!"

Last month I bought that Eastern Zhou dynasty porcelain piece from you. You said it was a newly unearthed treasure and charged me 800 yuan! I went back and had someone check it out, and good heavens, when I turned it over, the bottom was marked "Microwave Safe!"

Old Hu didn't even lift his eyelids, twirling two walnuts in his hand, and said slowly, "Brother, the rule in the antique business is that once you buy something, you don't buy it anymore. If you get ripped off, you pay your tuition. Besides, I said 'Eastern Zhou' at the time, which is correct. It was just fired last month by the Da Zhou Porcelain Factory in the east, so it's called Eastern Zhou for short."

The stall owner pointed to the broken iron kettle in the man's hand, "Do you still want this? You're a regular customer this time, so I'll give you a discount and sell it to you for 7 yuan. Let me tell you, this came from the Qing Dynasty palace..."

The customer rolled his eyes: "Stop talking nonsense! This piece of junk kettle is worth a maximum of 150 yuan today! I won't buy it for a penny more!"

"One hundred and fifty it is." The stall owner nodded, "Come scan the code."

Jiang Shou, listening nearby, almost spat out his soy milk. The waters of this antique street were indeed deeper than the fishpond his family had contracted!

He didn't dare linger at the street stall. He stuffed the last bite of the fried dough stick into his mouth and headed straight for the most impressive-looking shop in the center of the street—[Old Wei's Antiques].

Several porcelain vases were displayed in the shop window at the entrance. They were in excellent condition and the lighting was very sophisticated, clearly arranged by someone who knew their stuff.

Jiang Shou stood in front of the shop window for two seconds, took a deep breath, and pulled his backpack strap up a little.

Pushing open the glass door, a blast of cool air, carrying the scent of sandalwood, hit me. The owner, Lao Wei, a plump man in his fifties, was wearing reading glasses and leisurely sipping his gongfu tea behind the tea tray.

"Boss, do you buy old items?" Jiang Shou stepped forward and placed his backpack on the glass counter.

Old Wei looked up and sized Jiang Shou up and down. Seeing the young man dressed in an ordinary T-shirt and jeans, he didn't seem like someone who could produce anything of value, but he still nodded politely: "I'll take it. Young man, what do you have? Let me see."

Jiang Shou unzipped his backpack and carefully placed the plastic bag on the coffee table, unwrapping it layer by layer. The first thing revealed were the eight Yuan Shikai silver dollars.

Old Wei picked up a coin, put on a magnifying glass, carefully examined the patterns on both sides, then blew on it with his fingertips and listened to the sound.

"The silver is real." Old Wei put down the magnifying glass and pursed his lips. "But the condition is terrible. Look at the edges, how badly worn they are. These few even have corrosion pits from soil erosion. These kinds of common coins are worth about a hundred yuan each. Eight coins, I'll give you eight hundred."

Jiang Shou considered it for a moment and figured eight hundred yuan wasn't a small amount, so he nodded.

Then, he pushed the roll of grain coupons over.

Old Wei didn't even glance at it, and waved his hand dismissively: "Our shop doesn't accept these. Go out and turn left, walk to the end of the street and there's a stamp and coin market; they specialize in buying old notes there."

Jiang Shou was not disappointed. He put away the grain coupons, took a deep breath, and untied the heavy little cloth bag, revealing the gold-wrapped jade bracelet inside.

The moment the bracelet appeared, Old Wei's previously nonchalant expression changed instantly. His eyes lit up, he sat up straight, carefully picked up the bracelet, held it up to the lamp, and then used a powerful flashlight to illuminate the inner jadeite.

He stared at it for a full five minutes. Old Wei took off his glasses, rubbed his eyes, and looked up at Jiang Shou, his tone noticeably more serious than before: "Young man, are these items belonging to an elderly person in your family?"

Jiang Shou nodded calmly: "It's an heirloom. It's been stored in the cellar for many years."

Old Wei turned the bracelet over again, examined the gold-plated lines on the inner wall against the light, gently ran his thumbnail along the inner edge of the jade, and listened carefully. His series of movements were fluid and effortless, clearly those of a seasoned veteran with decades of experience.

Jiang Shou stood on the opposite side, trying his best to maintain a calm demeanor as if he were used to big scenes.

Old Wei held the bracelet and pondered for a moment: "To be honest, the jadeite inside this bracelet is of average quality. It's not very translucent and has a grayish base, so it's not exactly high-quality material. But the gold thread edging is definitely the work of an old craftsman who has been around for many years. It's hard to find these days. What's most remarkable is that it's well-preserved, without any chips or scratches."

Old Wei did the math in his head for a moment, then held up two fingers: "Twenty thousand. Including the eight hundred silver dollars, that's a total of twenty thousand eight hundred. You absolutely won't find another place like this on this street."

"Twenty...twenty thousand?!" Jiang Shou swallowed hard, his heart pounding like a broken drum in his chest. He had thought he'd only get five or six thousand at most, but Old Wei was asking for twenty thousand!

But he remembered not to show weakness, so he clenched his teeth and forcibly suppressed the urge to laugh wildly.

He deliberately frowned, feigning hesitation and a hint of pain in his eyes. After a dozen seconds of silence, just as Lao Wei was about to raise the price, he sighed reluctantly, "Alright, I just need the money urgently. Twenty thousand it is, deal."

"Great!" Old Wei, afraid he might change his mind, immediately took out his phone. "Young man, scan the code or transfer the card?"

"Alipay will do." Jiang Shou took out his phone.

"Alipay payment received, 20,800 yuan." Hearing the crisp electronic female voice coming from the phone, Jiang Shou felt that this was simply the most beautiful music in the world.

He forced himself to remain calm, thanked Old Wei, slung his backpack over his shoulder, and turned to leave the antique shop.

The moment Jiang Shou stepped out of the store and turned the corner, his true colors were revealed. He excitedly jumped up and down twice, then pinched his thigh hard, wincing in pain, before he was sure he wasn't dreaming.

He pulled out the Suihan Token that he kept close to his body and kissed it hard.

"Holy crap! Twenty thousand yuan! Suihanling is awesome! The founder is awesome!!"