Apart from Gu Ning, Jia DaoZhang, Xiang Xu, Hong Jie onward, all the others in the team wrote down a search notice by hand, a dense row of names on the list.
After coming back, Zhang XiaoBai informed them that the base was so greedy and dark, posting a search notice was divided into the section. The free section was randomly pasted where another post could cover it up and it might be even torn away by others in just a short time. The paying section require them to submit a pound of supplies for each notice posted and after a month, they had to renew it by submitting supplies again.
There were only about five or six of them pasted on the paying section and it was highly visible so they choose to paste it there.
Zhang XiaoBai added: “However, there’s seem to be a bazaar over there. A lot of people were setting up stalls and it seem quite interesting. Since we are bored, why not let’s go out for a stroll and get familiar with the surrounding?”
Gu Ning noticed that everyone were very excited and the children all looked so eager to go out. It was just as well to go out and familiarise themselves with the place that they would be settling down so they all went out together.
The children cheered for a while as they went out, but when they got out, they couldn’t resist wandering around. After being scolded by Hong Jie, they followed the group closely and didn’t dare to wander around.
The survivors they saw on the way were generally dressed in shabby clothes and were not as clean as tidy as they were. Furthermore, Gu Ning and the rest faces were rosy and full of energy, not to mention the fact that there were 40 to 50 of them including the children, which made them very striking. At this point, the existence of special abilities users was no longer a secret, so the remaining survivors all guessed that the team must have special abilities users as they looked so different from them.
The so-called bazaar was a two hundred metre walk in the opposite direction from the management office to the flats.
Along the riverbank, there were many items placed on both sides by the survivors. It was bustling with people at the bazaar, but most of them were new survivors roaming around the base and only a few people were actually buying things. All kinds of things that were worth a lot of money before the apocalypse could only be exchanged for a mouthful of supplies right now.
Gu Ning’s group was just too attention-grabbing, and with the big bulging backpack which Shi Tou was carrying, the eyes of those survivors who had been too restless and lazy to sell suddenly lit up.
“Hey! Come and have a look! The latest fruit model phone! Charge it up and it will work! Bought it for over 8,000 yuan and it’s 90% new! How about a pound of supplies and I’ll even throw in a tablet free for you?!”
“Miss, take a look at this necklace of mine!” A woman crossed the stall and took Huang MengYao by the hand: “It’s a diamond, three carats! Really, take a closer look at the cut and the colour! I only want five pounds of supplies! It’s really a good deal! How’s that?”
Huang MengYao pulled her hand out and refused it outright.
The woman refused to stop but looking at Huang MengYao’s impatient expression, she didn’t dare to pull her again. However, she grabbed Gu Ning who seemed to be watching the scene: “Three pounds! Just three pounds alright?! Biscuits, bread, sausages or any food supplies! I’m telling you! I used to buy this necklace for over a million dollars! It’s real! Two pounds! Just two pounds of supplies and you can have the necklace!”
The others thought Gu Ning would surely just shrug it off and leave, but to their surprise, she took the diamond necklace from the woman’s hand and held it while commenting: “It looks quite pretty.”
The others almost fell in shock, silently sighing in their hearts that women were still women, after all, even Gu Ning couldn’t be exempted.
Fang Fa smiled and asked: “Do you like it?”
Instead, Gu Ning passed the diamond necklace to Fang Fa and said: “Can you tell if it’s real?”
“It’s real! Of course, it’s real!” Without waiting for Fang Fa to reply, the woman spoke excitedly: “I brought this when I got married, of course, it’s real!”
Fang Fa laughed bitterly: “I’m not a jewellery appraiser so I don’t know about that.”
Gao Yue, however, took the necklace from Fang Fa’s hand, pinched the diamond and put it in front of her eyes and examined it carefully for a while. Then glanced at the woman who was trying to sell the diamond necklace, and after seeing the half apprehension and reluctance in her eyes, Gao Yue informed Gu Ning: “It’s real, do you want to buy it?”
Gu Ning casually slipped the diamond necklace into her pocket and instructed without waiting for the woman to negotiate: “Shi Tou, give the supplies!”
That woman had been trying to sell her necklace for days and hadn’t sold it yet. Just now she was about to change her mind and sell it for only a pound of supplies but to her surprise, they actually bought it! She was overjoyed to have a small pile of two pounds of supplies. She looked around warily then quickly packed those supplies in her backpack she had prepared and then scurried away with them in her arms.
Those survivors who were selling items were at once abuzz, shouting even more vigorously and some even came over directly to sell their items.
While everyone else was a bit overwhelmed, Gu Ning was interested and glanced around looking for something valuable unlike those high-end mobile phones and various electronic products which obviously were not her target. She silently estimated in her mind how much the diamond she had just bought could be pawned for, then converted it to supplies, and the calculated value brought an involuntary smile to her face.
This was indeed a very good deal.
At that moment, a wrinkled hand grabbed Gu Ning’s arm and when Gu Ning looked up, an old man with white hair was staring at her closely: “You come with me, follow me.”
Gu Ning glanced down at the small bag he was holding tightly in his right hand, then at his eager looking expression. She hesitated for a moment before following the old man to the far corner.
Only then did the old man let go of Gu Ning’s arm, and then clasped his hands tightly around the object in his hand: “Lady, I have a good item here, take a look and name me a price.” As he said that, he unzipped half of the small bag in his arms, revealing the object inside. Gu Ning only saw a greenish bowl-like object and that old man quickly pulled the zip up: “How is it?”
Before Gu Ning could see clearly what it was, she heard the voice of Jia DaoZhang drawing a cold breath next to her: “This… is this that Northern Song Dynasty Ru-Kiln Celadon Sunflower Wash1?!”
Gu Ning had no idea when did Jia DaoZhang stood beside her, but his eyes were so sharp that before she could even see what it was, he had already called out the name of it.
The old man was also a bit surprised: “You recognise it?”
However, Jia DaoZhang replied: “I didn’t see it clearly at first glance, so take this out again and let me take a closer look.” As he spoke, he stared at the old man’s bag without blinking, as if he was afraid that the object inside would fly away.
The old man looked at Jia DaoZhang for a few moments in disbelief, then unzipped the bag and carefully took out the green bowl.
“Be careful, don’t break it!” The old man said with a wary look at Jia DaoZhang.
Jia DaoZhang also held it cautiously and replied: “Don’t worry! I won’t break this even if I’m broken.”
Seeing the solemnity of the two men, Gu Ning was also piqued and looked at the “bowl” with curiosity. The bowl was of a very pleasing colour, with a pale green glaze and the opening looked like six flower petals, making it look warm and ancient which was very pleasing to the eye. It was just that Gu Ning couldn’t tell anything apart from the shape, but hearing Jia DaoZhang calling out the name of the object in one breath, it seem to be an antique from the Northern Song Dynasty.
Jia DaoZhang held the bowl in hand for a long time, checking it left and right, and then turned it over to look at the bottom. Meanwhile, the others were curious and all gathered around. The old man’s expression was tensed but seeing that the others, both young and old, did not look like any vicious people. Moreover, since he had finally met someone who knew about it, the old man had no choice but to calmly wait for Jia DaoZhang to finish his appraisal.
Jia DaoZhang examined it for nearly ten minutes before he asked the old man in shock: “Where did you get this?”
The old man glared and snatched away the Ru-Kiln directly from his hand. Although he snatched it away, it was carefully snatched and then carefully placed back into his bag before answering: “Why do you care about how I got it. You’ve already appraised the goods, so now it’s time to talk about the price.”
“Sure sure sure, speak!” Jia DaoZhang replied excitedly: “How much supplies do you want before you are willing to give this to me?”
“I don’t want supplies.” The old man replied.
Jia DaoZhang choked then stared at the old man with incredulous eyes and asked: “You aren’t planning to give it to me for free, are you? That, that’s too much for a gift!”
The old man didn’t say anything, but his expression was in awe at Jia DaoZhang’s shamelessness.
Jia DaoZhang coughed dryly before asking again: “Then tell me, what you want? Although I’m poor I will definitely think of a way!”
The old man replied: “Do you have crystal cores?”
Jia DaoZhang froze then negotiated again: “You’re already so old, you can’t develop your powers even if you ate the crystal cores. It’s better to exchange it for more supplies.”
The old man held out two fingers to Jia DaoZhang and gestured: “Two. Those that have colour.”
Jia DaoZhang was stunned when he heard the old man exchange request. The crystal cores were not that easy to come by, and although the Ru-Kiln was precious, it was not of much value to him now. Thus, even if he had the cheek to ask Gu Ning for the crystal cores, he would be embarrassed to exchange them for the Ru-Kiln.
Gu Ning, who had not said anything, suddenly interrupted: “Is it worth a lot of money?”
Jia DaoZhang nodded affirmatively and explained: “Before the apocalypse, another Northern Song Dynasty Ru-Kiln Celadon Sunflower Wash fetched for at least 200 million …… not Korean Won nor Japanese Yen but is RMB!”
Gu Ning also couldn’t help but draw a cold breath in her heart, 200 million? What is that concept? 200,000,000? Even the zeros at the end would make one dizzy! Gu Ning suppressed the excitement in her heart, and without the slightest hesitation, she instantly took out two crystal cores from her pocket. Then directly shoved the crystal cores into the old man’s hand and under the dismayed look of the old man, she snatched the small bag before agreeing: “It’s a deal.”
The old man carefully examined the crystal core in his hand, then looked at Gu Ning with a bit of disbelief. Although he knew how much this Ru-Kiln was worth before the apocalypse but right now, for many people, this Ru-Kiln was not even comparable to a loaf of bread. Previously he asked for two crystal cores was to leave them the room for bargaining but he didn’t expect this girl with blonde hair to give two to him without negotiating.
This unexpected smoothness only pleased him for a moment and then he stared at that little bag with some reluctance. After a moment of hesitation, the old man said to Jia DaoZhang: “This gentleman. I see that you know what you’re talking about, and it’s not a waste if it falls into your hands. It’s an old piece and if it weren’t for the current world, I wouldn’t have taken it out for anything. Thus, I’ll like to ask you to take good care of it in the future.”
Jia DaoZhang’s mouth was already grinning behind his ears, but when he heard such a solemn explanation from the old man, he couldn’t help but said: “Don’t worry, rest assured!”
Then the old man clutched the crystal cores tightly and prepared to leave in a hurry.
“Please wait!” Gu Ning suddenly called out to the old man.
Although the old man stopped, he looked at them with a wary face, as if he was worried that they would go back on their word to rob his crystal cores after they had gotten the item.
Gu Ning gestured to him to look around at those veiled gazes and it suddenly dawned on the old man and he seem embarrassed.
Brother San also exclaimed with relief at Gu Ning’s sharp perceptiveness. If she hadn’t noticed, the old man wouldn’t have gotten very far before he was robbed and in serious cases, it might even danger his life. Then Brother San stepped forward and asked the old man: “Grandpa, we used to be soldiers. If you trust us, I’ll have someone to send you back to your place?”
The old man thought that if these few people really wanted to find trouble with him, he was already a damn elderly and they didn’t have to wait until they got him back to his residence before robbing him. Seeing that the young men were all looking at him with concern, he was touched and for the first time, he gave them a genuine smile; “Then….. I’ll trouble you all.”
In the end, Brother San sent Zhong Xu to send the old man back.
Jia DaoZhang salivated as he stared at the small bag in Gu Ning’s hand and almost drooled.
Gu Ning was amused to see him like this, and then tried passing him the small bag and said: “For you to relieve your hunger for the moment.”
However, Jia DaoZhang was busy waving his hand: “No, no, no. It’s safer for you to keep it. Lend it to me after we have returned. Be careful, don’t break it accidentally. Have you finished shopping? Let’s go back if we’re done?!”
Gu Ning received two wonderful items and was in a good mood but refused to let go of such a good opportunity to make a fortune. Pretending not to see Jia DaoZhang’s anxious look, she insisted on shopping for half an hour and exchanged the supplies for a few more very valuable objects before the group returned to their home.
When Gu Ning was on her way back, she was thinking about how to cash in on the few things she had exchanged. In one fell swoop, Gu Ning had turned from a poor man to a rich woman, and it still felt a bit surreal.
Yet a mysterious smile kept hanging on her face which stunned everyone. The others naturally didn’t know what was in Gu Ning’s mind and all thought that Gu Ning must have really liked the diamond necklace a lot.
Northern Song Dynasty Ru Yao Celadon Sunflower Wash.