Chapter 92

Chapter 92: Gu Ning Becomes a Rich Woman?

Except for Gu Ning, Jia Daozhang, Xiang Xu, and Hong Jie, everyone else in the team handwrote a missing person notice, with a long list of names densely packed in a row.

After returning, Zhang Xiaobai said that this base was too shady. Posting a missing person notice was divided into paid and free sections. The free section allowed random posting, but one notice would cover another, and the one you just posted would be torn off in no time. The paid section required half a catty of supplies for each notice, and it could only be posted for a month, after which you had to renew the fee.

Only about five or six notices were posted in the paid section, and theirs stood out quite prominently.

Zhang Xiaobai added, “But there’s a market over there, with many people setting up stalls. It looks quite interesting. Since we’re bored, why don’t we go out for a stroll and familiarize ourselves with the surroundings?”

Seeing that everyone else was eager, and the children were all looking forward to going out, Gu Ning thought it would be a good idea to get familiar with the place where they would be living. So, they all went out together.

The children cheered when they first stepped out, but once outside, they couldn’t help but wander around. After being scolded by Hong Jie, they stuck close to the group and didn’t dare to stray.

Along the way, most of the people they saw were shabbily dressed and listless, unlike their group, who were clean, neatly dressed, and full of energy. With the addition of children, their group of forty to fifty people was quite eye-catching. By now, the existence of people with special abilities was no longer a secret, so everyone speculated that this group must have special ability users, which made them stand out.

The so-called market was just 200 meters in the opposite direction from the Management Office towards the apartments.

Along the riverbank, people had set up various items haphazardly on both sides. It was bustling with people, but most were newcomers to the base, just there to look around, with few actual buyers. The items for sale were a mixed bag, with things that were once highly valuable before the apocalypse now only worth a bite to eat.

Gu Ning’s group was too conspicuous, especially with Shi Tou’s bulging backpack. The previously listless vendors suddenly perked up.

“Hey! Come take a look! The latest model smartphone! Just charge it and it works! Bought for over 8,000, 90% new! One catty of supplies, and I’ll throw in a tablet, how about it?!”

“Miss, take a look at this necklace!” A woman reached over the stall and grabbed Huang Mengyao: “Diamond, three carats! Really, take a close look at the cut and color! Just five catties of supplies! You won’t regret it! How about it?”

Huang Mengyao pulled her hand away and refused directly.

The woman, however, wasn’t ready to give up. Seeing Huang Mengyao’s impatience, she didn’t dare to grab her again but instead caught Gu Ning, who seemed to be just watching: “Three catties! Three catties, how about it?! Biscuits, bread, sausages, anything! I’m telling you, this necklace cost over a million before! Really! Two catties! Two catties of supplies, and this necklace is yours!”

Everyone thought Gu Ning would just walk away, but to their surprise, she took the diamond necklace from the woman and said, “It’s quite pretty.”

The others were almost shocked, silently marveling that even Gu Ning couldn’t resist the allure of jewelry.

Fang Fa, standing nearby, asked with a smile, “Do you like it?”

Gu Ning handed the diamond necklace to Fang Fa and asked, “Can you tell if it’s real?”

“It’s real! Of course, it’s real!” Before Fang Fa could speak, the woman excitedly said, “I bought this when I got married, of course, it’s real!”

Fang Fa smiled wryly, “I’m not a gemologist, I can’t tell.”

Gao Yue, however, took the necklace from Fang Fa, held the diamond up to her eyes, and examined it closely. After a few glances at the woman selling the necklace, noticing the mix of anxiety and reluctance in her eyes, she said to Gu Ning, “It’s real. Do you want to buy it?”

Gu Ning casually pocketed the diamond necklace and, before the woman could say anything, said, “Shi Tou, give her the supplies!”

The woman had been setting up here for several days without selling anything. She was about to lower her price to just one catty of supplies when, to her surprise, she made a sale! Overjoyed, she quickly packed the two catties of supplies into a prepared backpack, hugged it tightly, and ran off.

The vendors immediately became more enthusiastic, shouting even louder, with some even bringing their items directly to Gu Ning to sell.

The others were a bit overwhelmed, but Gu Ning was quite interested, looking left and right, actually searching for valuable items. High-end phones and various electronic products were clearly not her target. She silently estimated how much the diamond she just got could be worth, then converted it into supplies. The amount made her face unconsciously break into a smile.

This kind of business with a huge profit margin was really a great deal.

Just then, a somewhat skinny hand grabbed Gu Ning’s. She looked up to see an elderly man with graying hair staring intently at her: “Come with me, come with me.”

Gu Ning glanced at the small bag he was clutching tightly in his right hand, then at the anxious expression on the old man’s face. After a moment’s hesitation, she followed him to the far corner.

The old man finally let go of Gu Ning’s hand and tightly held the bag in his arms: “Young lady, I have something good here. Take a look and give me a price.” As he spoke, he partially unzipped the bag, revealing a bluish bowl-like object, then quickly zipped it back up: “How about it?”

Before Gu Ning could see what it was, she heard Jia Daozhang gasp beside her: “This… this is the Northern Song Dynasty Ru Kiln Celadon Glazed Hibiscus Washer?!”

Jia Daozhang had somehow appeared beside them. With sharp eyes, he recognized it immediately, even though Gu Ning hadn’t seen it clearly.

The old man was also surprised: “You recognize it?”

Jia Daozhang said, “I didn’t see it clearly at first glance. Can you take it out again for me to have a closer look?” As he spoke, his eyes were fixed on the old man’s bag, as if afraid the item inside would fly away.

The old man looked at Jia Daozhang suspiciously, then carefully unzipped the bag and took out the bluish bowl.

“Be careful, don’t break it!” The old man said warily.

Jia Daozhang also handled it with great care: “Don’t worry! I’d break before this thing does!”

Seeing the two of them so serious, Gu Ning’s curiosity was piqued, and she also looked curiously at the “bowl.” The color of the bowl was beautiful, with a pale green glaze, and the rim resembled six petals, looking smooth and ancient, very pleasing to the eye. Apart from its appearance, Gu Ning couldn’t tell much, but hearing Jia Daozhang name it as a Northern Song Dynasty antique, she was intrigued.

Jia Daozhang examined the bowl from all angles for a while, then flipped it over to look at the bottom. By then, others had gathered around curiously. The old man looked nervous, but seeing that the group included both old and young, none of whom looked particularly menacing, and with a potential buyer finally showing interest, he had no choice but to wait patiently for Jia Daozhang to finish his appraisal.

After nearly ten minutes, Jia Daozhang finally said to the old man in awe, “Where did you get this?”

The old man glared, snatched the Ru Kiln bowl back from Jia Daozhang—though carefully—and quickly returned it to the bag, saying, “Never mind how I got it. You’ve seen it, now let’s talk price.”

“Let’s talk, let’s talk!” Jia Daozhang said excitedly, “How much do you want for it?”

“I don’t want supplies,” the old man said.

Jia Daozhang was stunned, then looked at the old man in disbelief: “You’re not planning to give it to me, are you?! That’s too generous!”

The old man didn’t speak, but his expression showed some amazement at Jia Daozhang’s audacity.

Jia Daozhang coughed twice, then said, “Then what do you want? I’ll do my best to get it!”

The old man said, “Do you have crystal cores?”

Jia Daozhang was taken aback, then said, “At your age, crystal cores won’t help you develop special abilities. You’d be better off with more supplies.”

The old man held up two fingers to Jia Daozhang: “Two. The colored kind.”

Hearing the old man’s asking price, Jia Daozhang was also stunned. Crystal cores were hard to come by, and while the Ru Kiln was precious, it wasn’t of much value in the current times. Even with his thick skin, he couldn’t bring himself to ask Gu Ning for crystal cores to trade for the Ru Kiln.

Gu Ning, who had been silent until now, suddenly asked, “Is this thing very valuable?”

Jia Daozhang nodded emphatically, “Before the apocalypse, another Northern Song Dynasty Ru Kiln Celadon Glazed Hibiscus Washer sold for 200 million… not Korean won, not Japanese yen, but Chinese yuan!”

Gu Ning couldn’t help but gasp inwardly. Two hundred million?! What kind of concept was that?! 200,000,000?! Just the number of zeros was enough to make one dizzy! Suppressing her excitement, Gu Ning didn’t hesitate for a moment. She reached into her pocket, and two crystal cores appeared in her hand. She directly handed them to the old man, took the small bag, and said to the old man’s astonished gaze, “Deal.”

The old man carefully inspected the crystal cores in his hand, then looked at Gu Ning in disbelief. Although he knew the value of the Ru Kiln before the apocalypse, in these times, for many people, this Ru Kiln wasn’t even worth a loaf of bread. He had asked for two crystal cores, leaving some room for negotiation, but he never expected the blonde girl to hand over two crystal cores without a second thought.

This unexpected smoothness only made him happy for a moment. Then, with some reluctance, he looked at the small bag. After hesitating, he said to Jia Daozhang, “Sir, I can see you know your stuff. This thing won’t be wasted in your hands. It’s an old artifact, and if it weren’t for these times, I wouldn’t be trading it. Please take good care of it in the future.”

Jia Daozhang, who had been grinning from ear to ear, now looked serious upon hearing the old man’s earnest request: “Don’t worry, don’t worry!”

Then the old man tightly clutched the crystal cores and prepared to leave quickly.

“Wait!” Gu Ning suddenly called out to the old man.

The old man stopped but looked at them warily, as if worried they would renege on the deal and try to take back the crystal cores after getting the item.

Gu Ning gestured for him to look around at the hidden gazes. The old man then realized and looked troubled.

Third Brother also admired Gu Ning’s sharpness. If she hadn’t noticed, the old man might not have gotten far before being robbed, possibly even losing his life. He stepped forward and said to the old man, “Old man, we used to be soldiers. If you trust us, I can have someone escort you back to your place?”

The old man thought that if these people really wanted to cause him trouble, they wouldn’t wait until he got back to his place to rob him. Seeing the concerned looks on the young people’s faces, he felt a warmth in his heart and smiled at them for the first time: “Then… thank you.”

Finally, Third Brother sent Zhong Xu to escort the old man back.

Jia Daozhang looked longingly at the small bag in Gu Ning’s hand, almost drooling.

Seeing this, Gu Ning found it amusing and handed the bag to him, saying, “Here, satisfy your craving.”

Jia Daozhang quickly waved his hands: “No, no, you keep it, it’s safer. We’ll take a closer look when we get back, so we don’t accidentally break it. Are we done here? If so, let’s head back?!”

Gu Ning, having acquired two valuable items, was in high spirits but didn’t want to miss this golden opportunity. Pretending not to see Jia Daozhang’s anxiousness, she insisted on browsing for another half hour, exchanging supplies for several more valuable items before the group finally headed back.

On the way back, Gu Ning kept thinking about how to convert the items she had acquired into cash. She had gone from being penniless to a rich woman in an instant, and it all felt a bit unreal.

But she maintained a mysterious smile, which left everyone else stunned. They naturally didn’t know what Gu Ning was thinking, assuming she was just really fond of the diamond necklace.