9 Chapter9-Oops, the streamer scored another bargain
Daniel went back to the stall where he had bought the fake Night Pearl and asked for a bag to put the book in.
Everyone around had seen him buy the book, including the stall owner.
They all thought that Daniel was a fool with too much money.
The stall owner's eyes sparkled mischievously, and he asked with a grin, "Boss, I've got plenty of other good stuff here. Wanna take a look?"
With that, he rummaged through a big suitcase behind him and pulled out a worn-out, string-bound ancient book.
Daniel took a look at it. Honestly, the book looked like a genuine old item, just like the Qi Origin.
Its pages were also yellowed and blackened, felt a bit coarse, and carried a damp smell.
To any normal person, it would certainly appear much older than the Qi Origin.
But Daniel had the Omniscient Appraisal System.
The data appeared in his mind instantly.
[Item]: Hamlet
[Age]: Modern
[Condition]: Worn
[Details]: A modern paper imitation of a classic manuscript. It has a bit of collector's value, but not much.
[Rating]: Good for decoration, no other value.
[Market Price]: 500
[Buyback Price]: 100
So, it was worth 500 StellarCoin.
Perhaps because it was a handwritten copy and the craftsmanship was indeed good, Daniel thought to himself.
Benjamin Taylor also came over curiously and took a peek.
However, he lost interest quickly.
"What do you think?" he asked.
Daniel shook his head. "If you really want an evaluation, it's a modern craftsmanship piece."
Benjamin Taylor looked surprised. "You figured it out?"
Daniel nodded. "The craftsmanship is good, but it can't change the feel of the paper. Only modern paper mills can produce such fine paper."
This time, Benjamin Taylor was truly surprised.
When Daniel bought the book with the incomprehensible text, he thought Daniel didn't know much about appraisal.
Now it seemed that Daniel was actually quite adept.
Appraising calligraphy and paintings was always tricky, as the presentation of the paper varied depending on how it was preserved.
Even though he knew this Hamlet was a fake, he had noticed it from other aspects; he hadn't found any problems with the paper yet.
Daniel was able to discern the fineness of the paper in such a short time, which was absolutely amazing.
Not just anyone could do that.
Benjamin Taylor's perception of Daniel grew quite a bit more serious.
Daniel held up the book and signaled the stall owner, "How much?"
The stall owner showed five fingers, "Flat rate, fifty grand."
Daniel put the book down and walked away.
His actions were as smooth as a cloud floating in the sky, not wasting any time.
Seeing this, the stall owner quickly got up and grabbed Daniel's arm. "Hey buddy, you got something against me?" he asked, staring at Daniel.
Daniel shook his head, "Not at all."
The owner seemed helpless. "You buy other people's stuff decisively, why are you like this with me?"
"Am I not being decisive?"
"You..."
Daniel's reply caught the stall owner off guard.
He was indeed being decisive, just decisively walking away!
The stall owner really couldn't deal with Daniel, so he could only plead, "Young man, that's not how you buy things."
"If you've taken a liking to it, bargain for it, even if it's half the price, who knows, I might just agree."
Heh, let me haggle and I might just cut into your major arteries.
Daniel chuckled inside, still maintaining a poker face on the outside. "It was you who said it."
The owner hurriedly said, "Alright, I was wrong, okay? Please, give me a counteroffer, I'll sell you the book!"
Daniel pretended to be very hesitant, then finally spat out a price, "Two hundred."
At this, the stall owner was dumbfounded.
I asked you to haggle, not to slaughter me, this is even more painful than getting my privates chopped off.
But this price, well, it's not unacceptable.
It could be a bit higher though.
After a moment of internal struggle, the stall owner said sternly, "Three fifty, final offer, take it and it's yours."
Before he could finish, several banknotes were stuffed into his hand.
Daniel paid, grabbed the book, and left.
Benjamin Taylor followed behind, unable to stop laughing.
This young man, he was a master haggler.
If he ever took a fancy to anything in the future, he must bring this kid along to do the haggling for him.
In the live stream, the audience was also amused.
"Holy cow! From fifty grand to three fifty?"
"I almost took that book as real just now, it seems this antique market is not a place for ordinary people."
"The waters run deep in this antique market."
"Streamer's skills are definitely beyond our comparison."
"With his haggling skills, he's definitely a master at scoring bargains, I'm starting to believe that the streamer wasn't paid by the market to act."
Daniel and Benjamin Taylor continued to wander around.
After a while, he stopped.
Benjamin Taylor turned around, somewhat puzzled, "Spotted something else?"
He looked at the stalls on both sides, which were displaying things like coins and other items.
Does this kid have interest in these things as well? He doesn't have any knowledge in this area, so he won't be much help. Daniel squatted down at a stall on the right, reached out and picked up a silver coin.
[Item]: 0.25 StellarCoin.
[Age]: 2005.
[Condition]: Good.
[Details]: StellarCoin issued in 2005.
[Assessment]: Even a hobo would feel it's too little.
[Market Price]: 0.25
[Buyback Price]: 0.05
Well, damn.
The system even offers a reduced price for cash buyback.
Daniel was both amused and annoyed.
But it wasn't this coin that attracted him.
What really made him stop to look was another coin next to this one.
Almost identical to the one in his hand, but the price given by the system was vastly different.
[Item]: 0.25
StellarCoin.
[Age]: 2005.
[Condition]: Good.
[Details]: StellarCoin issued in 2005. This coin lacks the letter "T", making it a very special misprinted coin.
[Assessment]: Has certain collectible value.
[Market Price]: 1500
[Buyback Price]: 1000
That's the one!
The letters on the coin are tiny and crammed, a dense circle of them, and under normal circumstances, few people would look closely.
That's probably why the stall owner didn't notice it was a misprinted coin.
Luckily, he ran into it.
Daniel suppressed the joy in his heart and didn't reach out to take it.
He asked casually, "How many coins in this pile, and how much for them?"
The stall owner looked Daniel over and replied, "There are fifteen coins in this pile. Ten coins each, or all for twenty percent off."
So, fifteen coins for a total of 120 coins.
Not exactly expensive.
But selling a 0.25 coin for ten coins each?
Coins from '05 just started being withdrawn and buybacked, they're not exactly vintage.
That's not just ripping off, that's downright swindling.
Without hesitation, Daniel countered, "Fifteen coins, I'll take them all."
The stall owner widened his eyes, replying in a cold voice, "Do you think these are cabbages?"
Take it or leave it.
Daniel got up and started to walk away.
Do you really think you're going to pass these worthless coins down as family heirlooms?
Sure enough, Daniel had barely taken two steps when the coin seller called him back.
"Twenty coins!"
"For twenty, you can take them all!"
This trick never fails.
Daniel turned back, looking at the stall owner with a grin.
He pulled out twenty coins, gathered all the coins into his pocket.
Not far from the stall, Benjamin Taylor couldn't help but ask, "Daniel, why did you buy these coins? These coins could be found in any convenience store."
Daniel looked at Benjamin Taylor, picked out the misprinted coin from the bunch and handed it over, "Take a look at this coin."
Benjamin Taylor held the coin in his hand, flipping it over carefully.
After a moment, he asked with a puzzled face, "Is there something special about it?"
"Absolutely!" Daniel took out a regular coin and pointed out the difference. "Look here."
Benjamin Taylor squinted, and the viewers in the live stream were also observing through the camera.
"Holy cow, it's a misprinted coin!"
"No wonder! I thought the streamer was stupid to pay a high price for coins without appreciation."
"So, we're the stupid ones, huh."
"Does anyone know how much this thing is worth?"
"I looked it up, there is indeed a similar misprinted coin, sold for 1500 StellarCoins on the market."
"What?! 1500! If we convert it to our C-coin, it's almost 10,000 coins!"
"Twenty coins turned into 10,000? A 500 times profit?"
"Dang it, the streamer found another bargain!"
Benjamin Taylor also looked at Daniel incredulously.
This kid actually knows about coin collecting?!
