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Chapter 6
Seeing that they were about to jump up and break her security camera, Shen You activated the electric shock function worth five thousand yuan.
The next second, a bolt of electricity struck face-on.
Zhang Hu fell to the ground convulsing, and when the electric light dissipated, his face was blackened, and his topknot had become an explosion of hair.
The soldiers nearby stood frozen, their hands holding weapons trembling uncontrollably.
In the blink of an eye, the door vanished, and their leader’s head was still smoking.
Who would dare move now?
Zhang Hu was frightened this time too. He picked up his sword and, with his explosion-like hair, rushed out of the alley, mounted his horse, and fled the city overnight.
In the shop.
Shen You watched the people fleeing in panic from the security camera feed. The electric shock function was indeed useful. It was worth every penny!
She got up to close the door on this side of reality, then took out the incense burner and tea set she had acquired today.
They were seriously beautiful.
Being able to handle porcelain of this caliber would make people in antique circles envious for a long time.
She examined them repeatedly for over ten minutes.
These precious historical treasures were genuine, but she had only seen photos of real Ru kiln sky-blue glazed porcelain and never touched the actual items, so she wasn’t sure how big the difference might be.
Modern replicas’ specifications were one thing, but if the similarity was too high, then no matter how valuable, she couldn’t sell them.
As illegal dealing would lead to imprisonment.
She sighed softly and put the items away carefully.
The next day, she went out around nine for breakfast at a nearby shop.
She also sent photos of the furniture she had taken yesterday to Mr. Huo, the owner of Xingmao Garden, asking if he knew any interested buyers.
Old shops in the antique street had connections with collectors and wealthy patrons, and the owners themselves were often collectors.
So for quality items, if the price was right, they could be sold quickly.
Shen You planned to replace the furniture when renovating, but there was no need to use such fine pieces, hence converting them to cash made more sense.
She had specifically requested golden-thread nanmu wood because selling it wouldn’t easily cause trouble.
The market already had furniture made from centuries-old materials in ancient styles. Most importantly, with no foundation in the antique street, selling wooden furniture would help her avoid being taken advantage of.
However, she hadn’t expected that the crown prince of Great Qi would be able to obtain such excellent materials in just three days, exceeding her expectations.
Before she could finish her breakfast, Huo Zhiming called urgently.
“Ms. Shen, I have a client who likes golden-thread nanmu wood, but they have high quality standards. The photos don’t show the details clearly. Would it be alright if I came over to see the actual items?”
Shen You agreed, “Sure, I’ll be back at the shop in about fifteen minutes.”
She was confident in the quality of this furniture set.
The tabletop was made from a single piece of wood, not several pieces joined together, and featured standard mortise and tenon construction without a single nail. It definitely wasn’t subpar.
After finishing breakfast and returning to the shop, Huo Zhiming arrived shortly after.
Compared to Xingmao Garden, her shop resembled a waste collection site.
When Huo Zhiming saw the furniture set in the storeroom, placed on a mid-century terrazzo floor, his heart trembled.
How casual!
A place so run-down that even thieves wouldn’t bother with it, housed such fine furniture with just waste cardboard underneath?
This material, this craftsmanship, both of them were exceptional! And it was the rare thousand-year-old purple-gold wood.
In ancient times, only emperors could use it. The dragon throne was carved from this wood. It emitted a golden glow, had a natural fragrance, and repelled insects.
Golden-thread nanmu grew extremely slowly and had strict environmental requirements. Trees of advanced age had long been placed under protection.
Those still able to produce entire table surfaces were from private collections of old materials, and once used, there would be less remaining.
Huo Zhiming stared at the golden light emanating from the wood fibers on the table surface, unwilling to even blink.
Ms. Shen was dependable. When she had good items, she really contacted him first!
“I was planning to renovate and found this while clearing the storeroom. It was only yesterday, after dusting it off that I realized it was golden-thread nanmu wood.”
Hearing this, Huo Zhiming felt a numbness at the back of his head, with the words “envy” and “jealousy” circling in his mind.
“In all my years in this business, I’ve seen agarwood and huanghuali, but this is the first time I’ve handled golden-thread nanmu wood of such quality.”
Huo Zhiming’s voice grew excited.
“Smell this fragrance, so natural and subtle, and feel this texture. The fakes on the market can’t compare at all.”
The previous owner probably didn’t know either; otherwise, how could they leave tens of millions worth of furniture gathering dust in a storeroom while running the shop as if it were collecting scrap?
Sighing, Huo Zhiming took out his phone and went outside to make a call.
People in this business weren’t afraid of customers being poached, as genuine items were inherently scarce, and expensive pieces even rarer.
With quality items, information was shared. Middlemen could earn goodwill with major customers—a win-win situation.
After a while, Huo Zhiming returned to the shop and said to Shen You,
“I’ve spoken with several people who can afford this. Someone will come to see it this afternoon. Is that alright with you?”
“No problem.” Shen You smiled and poured Huo Zhiming a cup of tea. “The shop only has ordinary Longjing tea, I hope that’s acceptable.”
High-end deals in antique shops were typically accompanied by fine tea. Afraid he might misunderstand, she gestured toward the tea canisters on the shelf.
Huo Zhiming was silent for two seconds, then said sincerely, “I’ll send you a canister of pre-Qingming Longjing later.”
With others, he might suspect it was deliberate, but with Shen You, who kept tens of millions worth of items in a dilapidated storeroom, this tea was entirely fitting.
“Ms. Shen, did you find any other valuable items while clearing the storeroom?” Huo Zhiming probed.
“A few small things haven’t been sorted out yet.”
Shen You kept her answer vague, because she might need to use this excuse again in the future.
Huo Zhiming nodded, understanding that she wasn’t ready to sell anything else at the moment, and so didn’t pursue the topic further.
Around two in the afternoon, a discreet black business car stopped outside.
A man in his forties who was dressed casually stepped out from the back seat. There was nothing about his appearance that suggested that he was a wealthy figure.
“Mr. Huo, it’s been some time. I heard that there’s golden-thread nanmu wood for sale, so I made a special trip.”
“I know you’re busy, so I wouldn’t disturb you unless it was something exceptional.”
Huo Zhiming guaranteed confidently while leading the visitor inside and introducing Shen You.
After meeting, the three walked into the storeroom, and Mr. Zhou couldn’t take his eyes off the furniture set.
“Indeed, this is premium old material. The table and chairs are even made from the same piece!”
Huo Zhiming agreed, “If not for my relationship with Ms. Shen, someone else might have acquired it first.”
“Forty million. I can transfer it immediately. What do you say?” Mr. Zhou offered.
Before Shen You could respond, a voice suddenly came from outside.
“Forty million? That would barely buy the table.”
A slightly chubby man entered, his wild, uninhibited hairstyle immediately marking him as an artistic collector.
“Fifty million. Give it to me, and I can pay immediately as well.”
Shen You put down her trembling teacup, trying hard to steady her breathing.
This was her first time witnessing such aggressive bidding. This world clearly had many hidden wealthy individuals who spoke of tens of millions as casually as hundreds.
“Brother Zheng is here too. I’ll offer fifty-five million, after tax.”
Mr. Zhou quickly raised his bid, cursing Zheng Mingbo, a fellow member of the collectors’ association in his heart.
Ms. Shen looked young and had inherited the shop midway—she didn’t seem like an insider. The initial forty million offer was meant to test her bottom line, but this guy had immediately stepped on him to gain favor. To secure this furniture set, he was even willing to lose face!