“Boss, I think I might have grabbed the wrong wine bottle when I hurried out of the house today.”
“So, you brought the wrong bottle?” Charlie replied with a smile, lifting another wine bottle that was caked in mud. He wiped it clean with his hand and held it up to the sunlight for a closer look. “What about this one? It appears to be from Suzhou.”
Indeed, a row of small characters was etched beneath the bottle.
“Made by Suzhou Craft Factory.”
“I can’t read it; I’m illiterate,” the stall owner smirked in response. He then rubbed the sole of his foot against the oil paper, indicating hisck of interest in conducting any business.<h3 style="background-color:DodgerBlue">
This infuriated Jacob, who felt cheated.
Seizing the stall owner by the arm, he shouted, “You liar! Give me back my money!”
“What money? I’ve never seen you before!” the stall owner retorted, struggling to break free. In the chaos, a disy of fake coins and jade horses tumbled to the ground.
However, when one of the jade horses hit the ground, it didn’t shatter at all! It appeared to be made of some type of hardened stic.
“If you don’t return my money, I’ll call the police!” Jacob yelled, his anger boiling over.
As they continued to grapple, something slipped from the stall owner’s sleeve.
Charlie frowned upon seeing the object that had fallen.
It turned out to be a fist-sized white pebble, looking like an ordinary stone one might find by a river or beach.
Yet, there was a notable difference: a few words were crudely carved into the pebble—“Peace and Wealth!”
The lettering was rough, making it clear that it had been manually inscribed.
Such engraved pebbles weremon throughout the city, and they typically held no value, which exined why the stall owner hadn’t disyed it among his other wares.
Charlie approached the pebble and picked it up. Upon contact, he felt a surge of energy coursing through him.
A unique aura emanated from this stone! It felt more like an energetic force, pulling Charlie in with an irresistible maism.
He recognized this as the spiritual energy referred to as reiki, a mystical force that had been lost to time. While it might not physically transform someone, it could yield remarkable effects on the human body.
Excited, Charlie weighed the pebble in his hand and then turned to the stall owner, asking calmly, “Does this belong to you?”
The stall owner looked taken aback but nodded slightly.
“How much for this?”
Jacob, equally surprised, interjected, “Why would you buy that useless pebble? Don’t you know all his goods are fake?”
“It’s just a pebble; buying it might help ward off some negative energy,” Charlie replied with a smile.
Seizing the moment, the stall owner managed to wriggle free from Jacob’s grasp and sneered at Charlie. “Are you genuinely interested in buying the pebble?”
“Yes, I’d like to purchase it,” Charlie confirmed.
Instantly, the stall owner perked up. “Ah, brother, you have an eye for treasures! This may look like an ordinary pebble, but it has quite the extraordinary backstory. It once served as a paperweight in a wealthy lord’s study…”
Charlie, growing impatient, interrupted, “I don’t have time for stories. Just tell me the price.”
The stall owner grinned and replied, “Given your exceptional taste, I’ll let it go for… twenty thousand dors!”
Charlie shot him a disdainful look. “Are you out of your mind? I’ll give you three hundred dors for it. If you refuse, I’ll call the police for selling imitation goods!”
“Three hundred dors?” the owner asked, feigning surprise. “Since you clearly understand the value of antiques, I’ll ept your offer.”<fndf37> Fresh chapters posted on FιndNovel</fndf37>
Charlie smiled and tightened his grip on the pebble.
Meanwhile, Jacob was perplexed, unable to fathom why Charlie would want to buy a seemingly worthless pebble. Just as he was about to voice his confusion, another voice chimed in from behind him.
“That pebble looks perfect! I want to buy it!”