Sure enough, Zhang Yun'an soon heard a man's voice behind her, speaking in an extremely aggressive tone: "What's wrong with you? Are you blind when you walk? This is Jun porcelain from the Song Dynasty. Now that you've kicked it and broken it, you still want to run away? Looking at your clothes, you don't seem like someone without money. Hurry up and pay, or I won't let you go today!"
At this moment, an antique vendor in front of Zhang Yun'an also looked indignant. "I thought you were a cultured person since you were carrying brushes, ink, and rice paper. I didn't expect you to be a scoundrel who kicks over antiques at someone's stall and then tries to run away. Let me tell you, every trade has its rules. If we let you run away today, what will happen if others break or knock over things while shopping in the future? If everyone just walks away like you, how are people like us, who make a living selling antiques, supposed to survive?"
"You're saying I kicked and broke the Jun porcelain on his stall?" Zhang Yun'an realized belatedly that the unlucky person being talked about was actually her.
"If it wasn't you, then who was it? Don't try to play dumb and deny it. Both Boss Qian and I saw it with our own eyes. You can't deny it even if you try. Hurry up and pay him." As he spoke, the antique vendor in front of her walked over and blocked her path, as if afraid she would run away.
Zhang Yun'an looked down at the obviously expensive clothes she was wearing, the leather shoes on her feet, and the leather bag on her back—none of which were cheap. These had been bought for her by the original owner's mother-in-law.
Combined with the fact that the original owner looked exactly like her in her previous life, she seemed to understand something. It appeared she had been targeted as a fat sheep.
By now, many people who had been browsing nearby had heard the commotion and gathered to watch the spectacle. Wherever antiques were sold, such situations often occurred. Although everyone knew these antique vendors were scamming gullible buyers, the trade had its own rules. Even if it was a counterfeit worth only ten cents, once it was broken, the price would be entirely up to the vendor's conscience.
If someone was unwilling to accept it and tried to escalate the matter, given that antiques were still state-owned at the time, both the buyer and seller would suffer. So, as long as the antique vendor wasn't too excessive, those who were scammed usually had to accept their misfortune and pay up to settle the matter.
However, since Zhang Yun'an, with her attire and demeanor, clearly looked like a wealthy person, no one felt too much sympathy for her. But when Boss Qian demanded that Zhang Yun'an pay 500 yuan, everyone still thought this antique vendor was being too greedy.
Zhang Yun'an obviously also thought Boss Qian was out of his mind for money. She walked up to his stall, bent down to pick up a piece of broken porcelain, and calmly glanced at his smug face. "You're saying this broken bowl is worth 500 yuan?"
Seeing that Zhang Yun'an wasn't the least bit flustered, Boss Qian felt a bit guilty and raised his voice. "What broken bowl? If you don't know what you're talking about, don't spout nonsense. This is Jun porcelain from the Song Dynasty. Ask anyone you like—see if it's worth this price. If I hadn't bought it at this price myself and only asked you to cover the cost, if it were someone else, you'd be waiting to lose everything."
Before Zhang Yun'an could respond, someone interrupted. "You say it's Jun porcelain, so it's Jun porcelain? I think this bowl is worth 50 yuan at most. Don't think you can just name any price because it's broken. She's not someone you can afford to offend. If you don't want to be caught and fined, don't be so greedy."
She followed the sound of the voice and saw a young man in his early twenties, clutching a few counterfeit items, pushing his way through the crowd with difficulty as he spoke, eventually squeezing to her side. He even shot her a disdainful look, as if urging her to hurry up and pull out 50 yuan, pay, and leave.
If Zhang Yun’an hadn’t recognized this baby-faced young man, who practically radiated an aura of “I’m easy to fool, come scam me,” she would have assumed he was in cahoots with these antique dealers.
The antique dealer who had been helping Boss Qian swindle people spoke up: “Comrade Xiao Zhou, don’t stir up trouble here. No matter who she is, if she breaks something, she has to pay the price. That’s the rule in our line of work.”
The one referred to as Comrade Xiao Zhou was none other than the spendthrift Zhou Haiyang, whom Xu Yan had mentioned—the son of Lin Shaoxun’s aunt. He had been frequenting this place for a while and was notoriously easy to fool. Most of the regular antique dealers here knew this easy mark, aware that his family was wealthy and that he had two particularly formidable uncles and aunts.
However, when Boss Qian saw Zhou Haiyang, his earlier confidence vanished. Although he had intended to swindle Zhang Yun’an, it wasn’t actually her who had broken the item—it was a setup orchestrated by him and the antique dealer still blocking her path.
Even though the antique trade had its own rules—if you bought a fake, you accepted your loss, and if you broke something, you paid up no matter who you were—framing someone was a different matter. If things went wrong and they offended someone important, they could end up arrested, fined, and unable to ever operate here again.
Seeing that Zhou Haiyang intended to have Zhang Yun’an pay 50 yuan to settle the matter, Boss Qian decided to take the opportunity to back down gracefully, still making a clean profit of 49.9 yuan.
“Fine, since Comrade Xiao Zhou has spoken, I can’t refuse to give you this face. 50 it is. As for the loss, I hope you’ll come back and support my business more often in the future.”
Zhou Haiyang, pleased that his few words had saved his uncle’s family so much money, shot Zhang Yun’an another disdainful look, signaling her to hurry up and pay so they could leave.
Zhang Yun’an also gave a disdainful glance at this spendthrift, who was almost as notorious in the Lin Family as the original owner of her body. If he were her younger brother, he would have been beaten to death long ago. But since he was, in a way, helping her, she ignored him and reached out to pick up a bronze double-goat zun from Boss Qian’s stall. “May I ask, what era is this treasure from?”
Hearing this, Boss Qian immediately adopted a protective stance. “Be careful with that! This is a Shang Dynasty bronze double-goat zun. If you break it again, even Comrade Xiao Zhou’s influence won’t be able to save you.”
“Really? If I’m not mistaken, there are only a handful of genuine Shang Dynasty bronze double-goat zuns in existence, and they’ve all been stolen by some scoundrels. If yours is genuine, then the cultural relics bureau should be inviting you for a serious talk.”
Boss Qian hadn’t expected Zhang Yun’an to not only have an unusual background but also be knowledgeable about antiques. However, he couldn’t admit to selling fakes in front of so many people—otherwise, how could he continue to operate here? Just as he was about to come up with an excuse, he saw Zhang Yun’an loosen her grip and drop the bronze double-goat zun onto the ground.
Her action startled the onlookers, but aside from Zhou Haiyang, everyone else grew intrigued, eager to see how this situation would ultimately unfold.
Boss Qian was about to start shouting again about compensation when he saw Zhang Yun'an pick up another Han Dynasty jade jue from his stall and ask him, "Would you like me to continue? If you're willing, I don't mind telling everyone the origins of the 'treasures' on your stall and the ones around you."
The antique dealers nearby, who had been thoroughly enjoying the spectacle, immediately darkened their expressions upon hearing Zhang Yun'an's words. They glared at Boss Qian, who had tried to swindle Zhang Yun'an, clearly blaming him for having no bottom line in his deceit. Now, not only had he provoked an expert, but he was also about to drag them down with him.
Seeing that Zhang Yun'an intended to involve other dealers, Boss Qian realized that if he couldn't resolve this matter properly today, not only would Zhang Yun'an's powerful backers not let him off, but even his fellow dealers wouldn't spare him. After all, these antique dealers, even if they had genuine items, would never display them at street stalls unless they themselves had been fooled.
There were hardly any genuine antiques on their stalls. If Zhang Yun'an continued exposing them, none of them would be able to continue their business.
Sweating profusely in panic, Boss Qian completely changed his previously arrogant attitude. "No need, no need. It was my ignorance and lack of discernment. I've made a grave mistake today. Please, take a look—if there's anything on my stall that catches your eye, feel free to take it."
The other antique dealers chimed in to support him, while the dealer who had helped Boss Qian swindle others didn't dare utter another word.
Seeing this, Zhang Yun'an didn't plan to press the matter further. She still wanted to sell calligraphy and paintings in this area, and offending these antique dealers too severely wouldn't do her any good. However, she was determined to make Boss Qian pay a price today to teach him a lesson and prevent him from using such deceitful methods in the future.
She glanced over the items on the stall and noticed two genuine pieces, though in her opinion, their value was limited.
Zhou Haiyang, who had been worrying all along about how much money this troublemaker Zhang Yun'an would make his uncle's family lose today, saw Boss Qian's sudden 180-degree change in attitude and couldn't help but take another look at Zhang Yun'an. Of course, he didn't believe Zhang Yun'an actually knew anything about antiques—he simply thought she had gotten lucky with her guesses and had intimidated Boss Qian with her fierce demeanor earlier.
Now, seeing Zhang Yun'an's gaze fall on two dull and inconspicuous little objects, looking as if she were frustrated by their lack of value, he reached out and picked up a large blue-and-white double-eared vase from the Kangxi era nearby. "Take this one."
With that, he shoved the vase into Zhang Yun'an's hands, afraid she would choose those "worthless" and unattractive items instead.
But Zhang Yun'an didn't even glance at the vase he considered beautiful and valuable. Instead, she bent down and picked up a deep blue lapis lazuli raw stone, about the size of an adult fist, from behind the vase he had just picked up. Then, she took the vase Zhou Haiyang was still trying to force into her hands, placed it back in its original spot, and walked off with the stone to find a place to set up her stall.
"You have no eye for quality! You don't want the good stuff—what do you want that unprocessed lapis lazuli raw stone for?" Zhou Haiyang glanced reluctantly at the vase, scolding Zhang Yun'an for her lack of discernment as he hurried after her.
The antique dealers nearby shook their heads upon hearing Zhou Haiyang's words, then said to Boss Qian, who had tried to swindle Zhang Yun'an, "Boss Qian, you really paid a heavy price today!"
Although Boss Qian's heart was also bleeding, compared to the two items Zhang Yun'an had first seen, in his view, those two were far more valuable than the piece of raw lapis lazuli she had taken.
He understood that today, Zhang Yun'an had actually left him some leeway. If she hadn't taken anything from his stall at all, that would have truly pushed him into a corner, because it would have proven that there wasn't a single genuine item on his stall. In that case, none of the regular bargain hunters present would dare to buy from his stall in the future.
But after today's incident, it would likely be much harder for him to swindle people in the future.
Thinking of this, Boss Qian felt frustrated and angry but had nowhere to vent, so he could only glare at the neighboring stall owner who had earlier encouraged him to cheat Zhang Yun'an.
That man had also noticed that Zhang Yun'an, whether in terms of her attire or her demeanor and bearing, seemed like a wealthy person. Moreover, she was wandering alone in the area, young and unfamiliar—likely a first-time visitor—which had given him the idea to team up with Boss Qian and cheat her out of some money.
Fortunately, Zhang Yun'an seemed to have forgotten about him earlier and hadn't taken anything from his stall as well. Now, seeing Boss Qian glare at him, he gave a guilty, dry laugh and said, "Old Qian, I'll treat you to a drink after we pack up."
Seeing him like this, Boss Qian couldn't say much more, but he planned to make him pay dearly for that drink after closing up.