abcnovels
Chapter 101
Chapter 101
Chapter 101
As soon as he heard the voice, Charlie turned around to look for its source.
He saw a young man wearing a white linen suit and a pair of black cloth shoes walking toward the stall. There were all sorts of bracelets on his hand, and as it was broad daylight and sunny, he was wearing an antique pair of gold-rimmed glasses with two round black lenses. The young man’s glasses looked like the type of glasses young children would wear during the Qing Dynasty in China.
About four to five bodyguards were walking behind the young man, and compared to the young master, the bodyguards looked more fierce and evil, driving everyone around to move away quickly in order to avoid causing any trouble at the scene.
“Oh, it’s Mr. Quinton!”
The owner of the stall widened his eyes and started smiling as soon as he saw the young man. After that, flattering words came out of his mouth as though he was a tap with running water flowing from it. “Mr. Quinton, why didn’t you tell me in advance that you were going to be coming today? I would have gone out and walked you in.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. I am just here to have a look around Antique Street today,” The young man replied as he waved his hand impatiently.
He strode forward before looking at the pebble in Charlie’s hand. He then raised his head and said, “Zachary, pack this pebble up for me. I am buying it. I want to buy a paperweight for my father’s desk, and this seems like the perfect fit.”
“This…” The owner of the stall looked at Charlie in embarrassment before he continued speaking. “Mr. Quinton, this is really unfortunate, but this brother has already bought the pebble. In fact, there is nothing special about this pebble. It has only ever been used as a paperweight and it does not hold any
significance at all. I have specially reserved some better and more precious antiques for you. What do you see in that worthless pebble, anyway? You deserve something that is more befitting of your status.”
Through this exchange, Charlie discovered that the name of the owner of the stall was Zachary. Also, it seemed as though he knew this young man very well.
Charlie was also very impressed with Zachary’s ability to talk.
He could come up with all sorts of stories without even blinking an eye.
Zachary quickly picked up one of the jade horses that was made out of hardened plastic before holding it out in front of the young man. “Mr. Quinton, this is the beloved item belonging to one of the late imperial concubines in the palace. As you can see, the jade is crystal clear, and this means that it is a good and expensive jade. So, I do not need to explain any further. Since we are already such close acquaintances, I will sell this jade horse to you at the same price you paid for the celadon cups yesterday! Just nine thousand dollars!”
Jacob was dumbfounded when he heard that the young man had purchased the same fake celadon cups as he had. The owner of the stall was already taking advantage of him when he had sold it to him for three hundred dollars, but Mr. Quinton had actually paid nine thousand dollars for it!
“Stop talking nonsense and get it done already!” Mr. Quinton was starting to lose his patience, and he kicked Zachary in the leg before saying arrogantly, “The only thing that I am interested in today is the pebble. Sell it to me, and I will give you twenty thousand dollars for it.”
Zachary was shocked when he heard the offer of twenty thousand dollars. Hence, he quickly turned around to face Charlie and said, “Brother, do you mind if I sell the pebble to Mr. Quinton instead?”
Charlie frowned as he replied coldly, “I have already bought this pebble, and I do not wish to transfer it to anyone else.”
“Who is asking you to transfer it? You have not even paid for the pebble! That pebble belongs to anyone who pays for it!” Mr. Quinton cut in impatiently as he took his wallet out from his pocket. Following that, he pulled out a stack of cash before waving it in front of Zachary’s face.
“Here, take this. This is definitely more than twenty thousand dollars. You can keep the change.”
Zachary’s eyes lit up as soon as he saw the stack of cash. He quickly took the money from Mr. Quinton before smiling at Charlie and saying, “Brother, I have a better offer for you. I can sell you the paperweight that was used by the king in the past. It is definitely better than this!”
Charlie smiled before replying, “Zachary, you know that you are not allowed to break the rules of trade, right? I bought this pebble first, and I am not interested in giving it up to someone else.”
Zachary had no other choice and was left helpless, seeing as Charlie refused to give up the pebble.
After all, according to the rules in an antique trade transaction, the antique would always belong to the first person he was serving if that person chose to purchase the item. If he broke that rule, he would not be able to continue setting up his stall on Antique Street.
Thus, Zachary turned around and lowered his head as he said, “Mr. Quinton, it seems as though there is nothing that we can do about the pebble. Regardless, it is just a useless paperweight. Why don’t I bring you something better from my house…”
Before he could finish his sentence, Mr. Quinton had already kicked Zachary in his waist as he started cursing at him. “When have you ever been so righteous?! I have already bought so many different antiques from you, yet now, you are actually turning your back on me because of a poor man?”
Mr. Quinton was glaring at Charlie as he spoke because he wanted to force him to hand over the pebble.
This was because he assumed that Charlie was not from a wealthy family based on his dressing, and so, he figured that Charlie did not have much authority or power.