Twenty minutes later, an ice berry pink Porsche parked in the parking lot in front of Premium Auction.
A young man and woman got out of the car.
It was none other than Qin Chuan and Dongfang Yiren.
"Over there is the biggest antique street in East Sea Province, where occasionally someone might find a rare treasure by chance."
Dongfang Yiren pointed towards the street across from Premium Auction and said, "There’s still some time before the auction starts. How about we take a walk? Maybe you’ll find what you need."
Qin Chuan nodded in agreement, and after crossing the street, they arrived at the antique street.
After arriving at antique street, Dongfang Yiren remarked, "There seem to be more people today than usual."
Qin Chuan said, "It’s probably related to the auction at Premium Auction later."
On both sides of the street, every few steps there was a small stall, all crowded with people trying to find a bargain.
The two had almost reached the end of the street and hadn’t found a single natural treasure.
"The natural treasures you need are all valuable rarities. It’s very unlikely to come across them in a place like this, so don’t be too disappointed."
Dongfang Yiren was afraid that Qin Chuan would be disappointed for not finding what he needed and was just offering comfort when she saw Qin Chuan squatting in front of a small stall.
Qin Chuan pointed at a small wooden tile in the corner and asked, "Boss, how much for this wooden tile?"
The wooden tile was palm-sized, pitch black as if charred, and did not look at all like a valuable item.
The vendor’s eyes lit up immediately, and he quickly said with a smile, "Young man, you’ve got a good eye! You’ve taken a liking to the best treasure I have here."
Qin Chuan asked calmly, "Do you know what this wooden tile is?"
The vendor shook his head and said with a smile, "Although I don’t know what it is, I can be sure that it’s definitely a treasure!"
While speaking, the vendor picked up a small hammer and smashed it down hard on the wooden tile.
To Dongfang Yiren’s surprise, the wooden tile didn’t have a single scratch.
The vendor laughed and said, "This wooden tile is really durable, not even a hammer can harm it; it must be a treasure."
"If you like it, young man, give me this amount, and you can take it away."
With that, the vendor held up five fingers.
Dongfang Yiren tried to ask, "Five hundred?"
The vendor shook his head and said, "Fifty thousand!"
"What?"
Dongfang Yiren’s eyes widened, and she retorted angrily, "Fifty thousand for a piece of scrap wood? Are you trying to rob us?"
After speaking, she pulled Qin Chuan, getting ready to leave, while saying, "Qin Chuan, he’s obviously ripping you off because he thinks you’re an easy mark. Let’s go."
Seeing this, the vendor immediately became anxious and hurriedly said, "Don’t rush off! Isn’t a deal about negotiating the price? I am asking for fifty thousand, but you can counteroffer!"
Dongfang Yiren was clearly very angry at the vendor’s outrageous price and pulled Qin Chuan, saying, "Qin Chuan, let’s go!"
Qin Chuan didn’t leave but instead looked at the vendor and said, "Ten thousand, I’ll take it!"
The vendor immediately put on a troubled expression and said, "Young man, you’re cutting the price too fiercely; that’s far below my cost."
A charred wooden tile being priced so high immediately attracted many onlookers.
"This vendor is really greedy, asking such a high price for a piece of rotten wood."
"A piece of rotten wood that I wouldn’t even take for free, and here this young man is foolishly ready to spend so much money."
"The items on antique street are generally not valuable; usually, buyers start the bidding at a few hundred. This young man is actually offering ten thousand to buy such a piece of rotten wood; who else would the vendor rip off if not him?"
...
The people around were whispering, each of them looking at Qin Chuan as if he were a fool.
Dongfang Yiren was looking anxious, repeatedly trying to persuade Qin Chuan against buying the piece of wood.
The vendor, pretending to be very distressed, said, "How about we meet in the middle, thirty thousand, and it’s yours!"
Qin Chuan nodded, took out his phone, and got ready to scan the QR code.
Dongfang Yiren immediately panicked, quickly stopping Qin Chuan and said indignantly, "Have you lost your mind? Spending thirty thousand on such a piece of scrap wood?"
"With that," he took Qin Chuan’s hand, ready to leave, and said to the owner, "I’m sorry, we won’t be taking it."
The owner suddenly became anxious and quickly said, "Don’t go, we can still talk about the price!"
This wooden plaque was something he had acquired for a hundred bucks, and after trying to sell it for over a year, it had attracted no interest.
Finally having found someone interested, how could he let the opportunity slip?
The owner hurriedly said, "Ten thousand! No, five thousand! Five thousand, and it’s yours!"
"Done, it’s a deal!"
Qin Chuan immediately took out his phone and transferred five thousand.
"Congratulations, young man, on acquiring a treasure!"
As soon as the owner heard the notification sound of the payment received, fearful Qin Chuan would change his mind, he quickly stuffed the wooden plaque into Qin Chuan’s hand, his face beaming with joy.
Dongfang Yiren was fuming; while five thousand wasn’t much to her, she didn’t want to see Qin Chuan get taken for a fool.
The people around looked at Qin Chuan with mocking faces.
"He really is a fool, spending five thousand on a piece of charred wood."
"So stupid, and he dares to come to Antique Street to hunt for bargains?"
"Are there many suckers like him? If so, I might as well set up a stall on Antique Street and sell charred wood."
"Hahahaha..."
The crowd erupted into raucous laughter.
Qin Chuan ignored the crowd’s scorn and suddenly grasped the wooden plaque tightly, squeezing it forcefully.
"Crack!"
The wooden plaque emitted a crisp sound and unexpectedly shattered into pieces.
The onlookers were stunned. The wood that had just been purchased for five thousand pieces had been crushed just like that?
Could it be that the young man realized he had been ripped off and, in a fit of rage, had crushed the wooden plaque?
The stall owner’s complexion changed dramatically, and he hastily said, "Young man, once an item leaves this stall, there are absolutely no refunds or exchanges!"
Suddenly, a rich aroma wafted over.
"What is this scent? It smells so good!"
"I smell it too!"
"The fragrance seems to be coming from that young man’s hand."
In an instant, everyone’s gaze focused intently on Qin Chuan’s palm.
In his palm, Quin Chuan was holding a small piece of wood the size of a car key, from amongst several charred pieces.
The small wood was very beautiful, with some lightning-shaped black patterns on it.
The strange aroma filling the air was emanating from this small piece of wood.
"Thunderstruck Wood!"
Suddenly, someone exclaimed.
Staring intensely at the wood in Qin Chuan’s hand, he excitedly said, "Thunderstruck Wood refers to ordinary growing trees that have been struck by lightning during a storm, said to have effects like dispelling wind and toxins, removing dampness and relieving pain, and promoting blood circulation to remove stasis."
"Besides, according to folklore, Thunderstruck Wood is feared by ghosts and is used as a charm against evil."
"The Thunderstruck Wood in this young man’s hand is the extremely rare Qi’nan Thunderstruck Wood. The fact that it can emit such a rich fragrance speaks to its high quality."
"Ordinary Qi’nan Agarwood has a market price of one hundred thousand per gram, but this young man’s Qi’nan Thunderstruck Wood, at one million per gram, would not be expensive."
The crowd was utterly shocked by his words.
Unable to help themselves, someone said, "That piece of Qi’nan Thunderstruck Wood in the young man’s hand should weigh about fifty grams, right? Doesn’t that mean that such a small piece of wood is worth fifty million?"
"This..."
The stall owner stood frozen on the spot, having thought that making five thousand was already a huge profit, only to realize the trinket’s true value was fifty million!
With that thought, a fierce look flashed in his eyes, and he stared at Qin Chuan, saying, "Young man, you’ve had a good look, now can you give me back my Qi’nan Thunderstruck Wood?"