"What treasure?" Tang Xinyu's eyes immediately lit up, her mouth opening adorably, making her very charming.
Li Yang smiled, saying no more, and led her to a small stall.
Before he could speak, the stall owner, in his early sixties, immediately stood up and greeted them enthusiastically, "Yo, handsome guy and beautiful lady, you have excellent taste! Everything here at Huang Laosan's is absolutely top-notch."
"Which piece do you like? I'll give you a fair price."
"Is that so?" Li Yang glanced at him. Usually, only prices with very low profit margins, or even at a loss, were called fair prices.
But most of the time, people just said it, and taking it seriously would make you a sucker.
"Then this large golden Buddha."
"Oh my, handsome guy, you have sharp eyes." Huang Laosan's compliments flowed effortlessly. Giving a thumbs-up, he said, "To be honest, this large golden Buddha was personally brought by me from an ancient temple in the Western Regions. Look, it's as big as three heads and incredibly heavy. It took a tremendous effort to transport such a treasure to Jiangcheng. This treasure, it made us..."
"That's enough, boss. We're in a hurry. Just give me a price. I can listen to the story later," Li Yang waved his hand.
His three years immersed in the world of gambling stones had made him very clear that whether it was gambling stones or antiques, people loved to tell stories.
The ultimate goal was the same as streamers today. No matter how much effort they put into singing, dancing, or practicing calligraphy, in the end, it all came down to one thing: selling products!
Huang Laosan chuckled, "Handsome guy, you're a man of few words, so I won't beat around the bush. One price, five million."
"That's good." Li Yang nodded and turned to leave.
Huh?
Huang Laosan, hearing him say it was good, was about to take out his card machine to fleece the rich customer. Seeing him turn and walk away, he was stunned on the spot.
"No, wait, handsome guy, why are you leaving?"
"The price isn't right, so of course I'm leaving." Li Yang glanced at him, then said to Tang Xinyu, "Aren't you coming?"
"Wait! Handsome guy, let's talk nicely. There's a rule in the antique circle called 'cutting three knives.' No matter what price I quote, you should haggle a few times. If it's still not right, then you can leave," Huang Laosan quickly jogged over to stop him.
Li Yang glanced at him, "Alright then. My price is also one price: five thousand yuan."
"What! Five thousand? Are you sure that's yuan and not ten thousand yuan?" Huang Laosan's face immediately changed. He said with a mournful tone, "Handsome guy, with one cut from you, even the Dragon Slaying Saber would be cut in half. Isn't that too ruthless?"
"If you don't sell, then fine. It's too heavy for me to move," Li Yang turned to leave again.
Seeing that he was serious about leaving, Huang Laosan anxiously said, "Wait! Ten thousand, ten thousand and it's a deal."
"You should at least give me some compensation for my trouble, right?"
"Miss Tang, you're the one paying. What do you think?" Li Yang turned to look at Tang Xinyu.
Tang Xinyu, being smart and quick-witted, understood his meaning. She smiled and said, "It's just something worth ten thousand yuan. Don't make it difficult for the boss. That's it, Boss Huang, swipe the card."
"Oh my, beautiful lady, you truly have a heart of a Bodhisattva!" Huang Laosan was overjoyed. He quickly took out his card machine and processed the payment with two beeps.
"Where is your car? I'll help you load it."
"My car is right..."
Just as Tang Xinyu was about to raise her hand, Li Yang shook his head at her and said, "No need. I'll carry this myself."
"Handsome guy, you're not kidding, are you? This treasure weighs over a hundred pounds!" Huang Laosan said in surprise.
The next moment, his eyeballs almost popped out.
He saw Li Yang walk up to the large golden Buddha, pick it up with his hands, and then lift it onto his shoulder.
Single-shoulder carry!
"Good heavens!"
Huang Laosan immediately exclaimed. Many people around also widened their eyes. "My goodness, this young man looks quite refined, but he has such incredible strength."
"Awesome!"
"Amazing, with this strength, it's no wonder the beautiful lady is by his side. I have to admit defeat."
"You'd better be speaking respectfully."
"Where's your car?" Li Yang asked.
"Oh, it's over there."
Tang Xinyu snapped back to reality and quickly led him towards her car. "That wine-red Porsche Phantom is it."
"Okay." Li Yang slowly placed the item into the car.
Tang Xinyu picked up a bottle of water, unscrewed it, and handed it to him. "You've worked hard. Have some water."
"Thank you." Li Yang tilted his head and took a drink, finishing half the bottle.
Tang Xinyu then said curiously, "Li Yang, you said this is a treasure. What exactly is it?"
"There are too many people here. Let's drive further away and talk," Li Yang glanced around and said.
Tang Xinyu nodded and said, "Okay, get in the car."
The sports car didn't have much capacity, but having a beauty like Tang Xinyu in it immediately showcased her taste.
Her beautiful, smooth, long legs, slightly angled and placed together, were simply a tempting work of art.
Li Yang glanced at them, his heart involuntarily pounding. Truly a pair of beautiful legs.
"Is it okay here?" Tang Xinyu asked after driving the car to a deserted spot.
Li Yang nodded and then punched the belly of the large golden Buddha a few times, startling her.
"What are you doing?"
"There's something inside this golden Buddha. I need to break it open to get it out," Li Yang said.
Tang Xinyu was surprised, "What's hidden inside? Do you need a hammer?"
"No need. When this was made, the craftsman intentionally left a weak point," Li Yang said as he broke it open with a punch.
He reached inside and pulled out something wrapped in fine silk.
Ancient Chinese silk weaving, fabric, and craftsmanship had reached an extremely high level. High-quality pieces could remain undecayed for hundreds, even thousands, of years.
The silk on the item before them still felt very smooth to the touch.
Tang Xinyu's beautiful eyes widened, "There really is something!"
"Quick, open it and see what it is!"
As the silk slipped away, the wrapped item revealed its true form. It was a golden Buddha three times smaller than the large golden Buddha. However, its craftsmanship was extremely exquisite, and the carving was excellent. The compassion and solemnity of the Buddha were depicted vividly. On its back, there was a line of gilded clerical script.
"Ming Yongle third year, Luoyang what temple, Zen Master Wuren prayed for blessings and consecration, why what, the writing is unclear," Tang Xinyu stared at the inscription and said slowly.
Li Yang smiled, "Being able to see these is enough to prove one thing: this is a golden Buddha from the Yongle Emperor's period, and it was consecrated by a Zen master."
"According to market value, it's worth at least twenty million. It's also rare and has significant room for appreciation."
"Really?" Tang Xinyu happily hugged the golden Buddha. Now the family crisis could be resolved. "That's great."
"Alright, Miss Tang, we're even now," Li Yang smiled and reached for the car door.
Tang Xinyu quickly grabbed his hand, "Wait."