chance encounter

The two chatted for a while. Seeing that there was not much to gain, Yang Bo turned and left.

Li Ling watched Yang Bo's departing figure, lost in thought. They had become friends due to their similar age, and Li Ling was willing to be close to Yang Bo because of his kind - hearted nature. However, recently, Yang Bo had become increasingly mysterious, to the point where Li Ling couldn't understand him.

Back at Bogu Hall, Li Ling told Jia Huairen about meeting Yang Bo today and concluded, "I feel like I can't figure out Da Bo more and more."

Jia Huairen looked at Li Ling. Remembering the somewhat stubborn young man from before, and not wanting his nephew to have contact with Yang Bo, he asked, "Did your friend tell you that he bought a Qing Dynasty Yongzheng - style Jun - glaze fish - basket - shaped zun two days ago?"

Li Ling was taken aback and shook his head with a smile, "His skills are just so - so. He's not much better than me. I'm afraid it's fake."

"No, it's genuine. I saw it with my own eyes at the last ghost market," Jia Huairen said, watching Li Ling's expression. When he saw Li Ling finally show a reaction, he smiled and said, "Look, you think highly of him, but he doesn't regard you as a true friend. Otherwise, why wouldn't he share such a good find with you, his good friend?"

Li Ling sat there without speaking, his expression changing. Although he had a feeling that the friendship between them had been weakening rapidly recently, he still hadn't expected it to happen so quickly.

"Li Ling, don't be easily deceived by others. Don't trust any outsider easily. Remember, testing jade requires three days of burning, and discerning wood takes seven years. As the saying goes, distance tests a horse's strength, and time reveals a person's heart," Jia Huairen said with a laugh. "You may not believe me now, but this is based on our decades of experience."

Li Ling sat there blankly, not knowing what to think.

After a while, Jia Huairen casually asked, "I remember you said before that someone in Yang Bo's family is ill and he's in need of money, right?"

Li Ling nodded numbly, "It's his father. He has liver cancer and needs a large amount of medical expenses."

"Oh, I see," Jia Huairen nodded and continued, "In that case, I remember him showing up at our door a few days ago with that swindler. I'm thinking that maybe it wasn't Guo Baba who was behind it. Maybe Yang Bo planned it all by himself."

"No, he wouldn't do that," Li Ling argued.

"Don't rush to explain. After all, you can't know what's in someone's heart," Jia Huairen sighed.

"You're tired. Go back and rest early tonight. I have some things to discuss with others here," Jia Huairen said.

Li Ling, his mind full of questions, nodded and left, not sure if he had even heard Jia Huairen.

Jia Huairen watched Li Ling leave and sighed softly. "It's not my fault. That kid just doesn't know what's good for him."

Yang Bo returned to the store, tidied up a little, had dinner, and his eyelids started to feel heavy.

After reading for a while, unable to stay awake any longer, he went to bed early.

When he got up again in the early morning, Yang Bo was hesitant. There were many items in the small - scale ghost market, but good ones were scarce. Yesterday, he had walked around a lot but hadn't found a single genuine item, which made him feel frustrated.

However, for the sake of 850,000 yuan, he quickly got up. This was also an opportunity. Maybe if he seized it, he could collect the money sooner.

The last time he sold the "Rain Washing Mountain Roots" painting, he got 350,000 yuan. He transferred 200,000 yuan home, leaving him with 150,000 yuan. Yesterday, he sold the early - Shang - Dynasty bronze String - Patterned Jue for 25,000 yuan. So now he had about 175,000 yuan. There was still a large gap.

Entering the ghost market again, it was noisy with stalls everywhere and various items cluttered around.

Having learned from yesterday's experience, Yang Bo didn't have the patience and meticulousness he had before when looking at items. In the small - scale ghost market, most of the people who came to trade were small vendors and shopkeepers around Jinling. Their requirements for items were not high, and even their standards for fake - item craftsmanship were much lower. As a result, most of the items were crudely made, with very few genuine ones, or possibly none at all.

After looking for a while without finding any item worthy of attention, Yang Bo frowned but continued to look patiently.

"Hi, brother. Do you want to come and have a look at my stuff?" Yang Bo was concentrating on looking when he suddenly heard someone calling from behind.

He turned around and saw a man in his thirties with shifty eyes. The man raised his eyebrows and whispered, "Brother, I have some good stuff. Are you interested?"

Yang Bo didn't reply immediately. This was the first time he had encountered such a situation, but he had heard of it. The man was a middleman, trying to pull people in to act as intermediaries for a commission. This kind of situation occurred because some items were illegal or could cause trouble even if just placed on a stall.

"Where?" Yang Bo asked.

"It's not far. Don't worry. I, Li Er, have been around these streets for a long time. I have a reputation. I won't cheat you," the man said with a smile.

"You Li Er may not cheat people by force, but you never show mercy when overcharging customers!" The stall owner next to them seemed to have heard their conversation and said coldly, "Li Er, you're crossing the line. This is my stall, and you're soliciting customers in front of my stall. Are you not giving me any respect?"

"Brother Zhang, I'm really sorry. I didn't mean it. Have a cigarette," Li Er said with a constant smile, not taking it seriously, and threw a cigarette over.

Seeing this situation, Yang Bo couldn't help frowning. These two seemed a bit deliberate.

This might be a trap! Yang Bo realized that even if the stall owner Zhang was generous, he would still be unhappy about this kind of business - stealing. And Li Er was soliciting customers right in front of the stall instead of in an open area, clearly wanting the stall owner to be a witness for him.

Moreover, if this business became widely known, wouldn't it be asking for trouble?

Although suspecting that the other party was setting a trap, Yang Bo thought about it and still decided to go. After all, there were really no good items in this small - scale ghost market, and staying would just be a waste of time. It was better to go and have a look. Even if it was a dangerous place, if he could gain something, it would be worth it.

Of course, the reason Yang Bo was willing to follow was that he didn't have much money on him, only 5,000 yuan. Presumably, the other party couldn't cheat him out of much.

"Okay, Boss Li, lead the way," Yang Bo said.

"Okay, straightforward," Li Er grinned, showing two rows of white teeth.