ITBBS Chapter 18

Qian Hongfei also knew the old warehouse. It had been abandoned for several years. He nodded and said, “Alright. We’ll meet there directly in an hour.”

“Remember, only bring two people. If you bring more, the deal is off.” Then Shen Yao turned and walked out of the courtyard.

Qian Hongfei stood in the courtyard, only looking away after Shen Yao had completely walked out.

When Shen Yao stepped out of the black market compound, she saw the old man waiting to make his transaction and the middle-aged man not far away. She walked over to them and said to the middle-aged man first, “Give me the address. I’ll come over later.”

The middle-aged man knew the two still needed to trade, so he nodded and said, “Alright. I’ll go to his place first. He lives at No. 5 Lane, East Cheng Street.” He then left.

Shen Yao memorized the address. The black market transaction was in an hour, so she still had time.

She looked at the old man. She felt that his temperament was somewhat unfathomable, but she sensed no malice from him.

“Grandpa, sorry to keep you waiting. Do you have baskets for carrying the grain?”

Zheng Yaozu looked at the young girl before him. Although her disguise was successful, it couldn’t fool his eyes.

“Little girl, just follow me. I don’t have baskets that big. Here, take this package. It’s too heavy for these old bones of mine to carry.”

After saying that, he stuffed the bundle directly into Shen Yao’s hands and quickly walked toward the street on the left.

Shen Yao was speechless. She had disguised herself many times, yet this old man had seen through her at a single glance.

He was no honest person. He was clearly a cunning old fox.

He said he couldn’t carry the bundle. If he really couldn’t, how did he get it to the black market in the first place?

Besides, stuffing such a large bundle of antiques into her hands like that, wasn’t he afraid she would just run off with it without giving him any grain?

Shen Yao watched the old man walk into the distance, stopped grumbling, and quickly followed. She trailed him through two streets before reaching their destination.

“This is it. Come in, girl.”

Zheng Yaozu opened the door. Without looking back, he clasped his hands behind his back and entered the courtyard.

Shen Yao silently cursed the old fox. He truly was a hidden master!

Fortunately, she had put plenty of grain into her basket before going to the black market tonight. Otherwise, she wouldn’t have enough to trade with him.

She had to be careful around this old fox. One wrong move and she might be caught.

She then followed him into the courtyard and set her basket on the ground.

“Grandpa, thirty jin each of rice and white flour, two jin each of cooking oil and pork. I’ll also throw in an old duck for you. That ends our trade.”

With that, Shen Yao picked up her basket and prepared to leave. She didn’t want to spend any more time with this old man, as she sensed he was hiding something very deep.

Seeing the girl turn to leave, Zheng Yaozu called out to her angrily, “I say, you little girl, what’s the hurry? I’m not going to eat you. I have more good things here. Don’t you want them?”

Zheng Yaozu thought to himself that this little girl, though very young, had quite a temper. But he liked her.

“I say, old fox, why aren’t you pretending anymore? Back at the black market, you acted all honest, but the most cunning one is you.”

Shen Yao directly exposed him. This old man was too cunning. He actually used antiques to lure her in. And damn it, she really wanted them.

Zheng Yaozu found the girl’s personality more and more likable. She might make a good granddaughter. He decided not to tease her further.

He chuckled and said, “You certainly have a temper, girl. Come find me tomorrow. I won’t shortchange you on the goods. Alright, off you go.”

“Oh, I see!”

Shen Yao nodded in response and quickly walked out of the courtyard.

Then she hurried to East Cheng Street.

Looking at the dilapidated alley before her, Shen Yao couldn’t imagine how bad the person’s situation must be to live in such a run-down place.

Old Chen had been standing there waiting. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Shen Yao approaching. He had been afraid this sister wouldn’t come.

“Sister, you’re here! This is the place. Come in.”

Shen Yao nodded at him and followed Old Chen into a shabby house. It was dark, cramped, and smelled musty.

Old Chen brought out his friend Luo Yunguo. He said to Shen Yao, “Sister, this is the owner who wants to trade.”

Shen Yao gave the man a quick glance. He was extremely thin and seemed a bit dejected. “Comrade, I hear you have things to trade. How do you want to do it?”

Luo Yunguo looked at Shen Yao, still disguised as a peasant woman, and then replied, “I have seven chests in total. They contain jewelry, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings. The asking price is 3,000 yuan.”

Luo Yunguo sighed inwardly. If he hadn’t secretly hidden some things away, that woman would have scammed him out of every last penny.

He was now preparing to go to Hong Kong. He couldn’t take these things with him, and keeping them would only make others covet them. It would be better to sell them and carry more money on him.

Shen Yao thought the other party would only have a few items to sell. She didn’t expect him to have several large chests.

It seemed her luck was quite good today. Good things were flocking to her doorstep.

But since they had come to her, there was no way she would let them pass.

“I’ll need to see the items first. If they’re fine, we can make the deal.”

“Young lady, follow me.”

Led by Luo Yunguo, Shen Yao entered a tiny storage room. He triggered a mechanism to open a cellar, and the two of them descended.

Luo Yunguo opened the several chests and pointed, saying, “Young lady, this is it. The quality is good. These are all treasures I secretly hid away in the past. So three thousand yuan is definitely worth it.”

Looking at the contents of the seven chests, Shen Yao was astonished inside. There were two chests of jade and pearl jewelry, three chests of porcelain, and two chests of calligraphy and paintings. Just as he had said, they were all treasures.

She had some doubts. Why would he want to sell all these treasures?

“Comrade, are you sure you won’t regret giving up all these treasures?”

Luo Yunguo understood her concern. A long-lost smile appeared on his face.

“Don’t worry. I don’t want any of them. Keeping them would only make others covet them. Rather than letting someone else profit from them, it’s better to sell them and be done with it.”

“Comrade, I don’t want to take advantage of you. I’ll give you three gold bars in exchange.”

Shen Yao took three gold bars from her basket and handed them to him. Although she loved money, she wasn’t the type to take advantage of others.

Luo Yunguo didn’t expect this young lady to be so honest. But his goods were worth it, so he didn’t hesitate.

“Alright. I’ll ask Old Chen to help carry the things out.”

Together, they moved the chests onto a handcart, and the three of them walked toward the alley entrance.

After unloading the chests onto the ground, Shen Yao waited until they had walked far away before storing everything into her space.

Then using her wind ability, she headed towards the abandoned warehouse.