190: Chapter 186: Setting Up a Stall 190: Chapter 186: Setting Up a Stall Under the guidance of two female receptionists, Chen Hai and Dong Dahai had just entered the exhibition hall.
Not far away, dressed in bright pink cheongsam, Yang Xi and Zhao Xiaoyan, who had apparently just sent off a group of guests, were heading right toward them.
“Chen Hai, you…” Upon seeing Chen Hai, Yang Xi’s face was filled with disbelief; she covered her small mouth, looking as if she was just about to exclaim in surprise.
“Sorry, Brother Dong, I ran into a friend.
I’ll go say hi to her!” Chen Hai apologized and informed Dong Dahai.
“Sure, go ahead.
I’ll wait for you here!” Dong Dahai nodded with a smile.
After getting his reply, Chen Hai walked straight toward Yang Xi and Zhao Xiaoyan.
“Wow, Senior Yang Xi, I never realized when you weren’t wearing a cheongsam that you had such a great figure…”
Stopping in front of the two women, Chen Hai looked Yang Xi up and down a few times, teasing her with a smile.
“That’s because in school, I was afraid you guys would drool over my figure, so I always covered up well!”
Yang Xi was always up for a joke.
Knowing Chen Hai was teasing her, she wasn’t upset at all; instead, she chuckled and responded.
“You rascal, weren’t you busy earning money with part-time jobs?
How come you’re here without a word?” She then rolled her eyes at him, obviously complaining.
Seeing Chen Hai here was quite a surprise for her.
As one of the receptionists here, she knew very well that the antique exchange at the Boyue Convention and Exhibition Center was not open to the general public.
Invitations here were hard to come by, and without a certain background, it was nearly impossible for someone to get one.
When Chen Hai had run into her at the bus stop that morning, he was talking about how he could barely afford even porridge and steamed buns!
And now, here he was, inside the Boyue Convention and Exhibition Center.
The situation was almost unbelievable; if it weren’t for the inappropriate time and place, Yang Xi would have liked to spray him directly in the face.
“Senior Yang Xi, didn’t you say that those who come to this exchange are either rich or noble?”
“Okay, I’ll come clean.
When I was little, my nickname was Chen Fugui.
Who else could fit your description of being rich or noble if not me?”
“You could learn a lot by sticking with an outstanding person like me…”
Instead of directly answering Yang Xi’s question, Chen Hai put on a serious face and teased her.
“Give me a break, Chen Hai!
You’re always tricking me!”
“You talk nonsense when I ask you a serious question!”
“And Chen Fugui?
Why don’t you just call yourself Chen Wangcai?” Yang Xi glared at Chen Hai fiercely, complaining in irritation.
“Alright, Senior Yang Xi, no more jokes!”
“I came here because a friend brought me.”
“This morning, I had no idea that the place my friend mentioned was going to be here, or else I would have told you right away!”
This time, Chen Hai didn’t continue to bluster, but instead started to speak the truth.
“Your friend must be quite capable to get invitations to this place!”
“Well, my friend deals in antiques and is well connected in the industry.
For him, getting invitations here is relatively easier!”
“No wonder!”
…
They had only chatted briefly when they heard the sound of a light cough nearby.
Not far away, a woman in her thirties, dressed in a black business suit, was looking directly at Chen Hai and Yang Xi.
“Chen Hai, your friend is still waiting for you over there.
You go ahead.”
“I need to get back to work too, or else they’ll think I’m slacking off and get upset with me!”
The woman in the business suit was likely in charge of managing Yang Xi and her fellow receptionists.
Seeing that she seemed a bit displeased, Yang Xi quickly ended the conversation and, after sticking her tongue out at Chen Hai, she walked briskly towards the exhibition hall entrance.
“Sorry, Brother Dong, to keep you waiting!”
“No problem.
I’m not in a rush.
Being young is great, isn’t it?
That girl was quite pretty.
Is she your girlfriend?”
“No, Brother Hou might have told you, I studied in the Capital City.
The girl just now was my classmate from the same department.
We have an okay relationship!”
…
Rejoining Dong Dahai, the two chatted as they walked towards the inside of the exhibition hall.
The Boyue Convention and Exhibition Center, with its large interior space, could conservatively be estimated to cover thousands of square meters, if not quite ten thousand.
In the middle of the exhibition hall, rows of glass display cases were set up.
These cases contained various antiques and art pieces, ranging from calligraphy and jade to bronze and porcelain items.
“These items are for an auction organized by the host.”
“During the three days of this exchange, each afternoon from two to four, parts of the collection in these display cases will be auctioned!”
“If someone is interested in an item in a display case, and that item is not part of the auction that day, they will have to come back to the exhibition the next day.”
“The host organizes the auction this way to better retain audience interest.”
Seeing Chen Hai seemed curious about the items in the display cases, Dong Dahai quickly explained to him.
“Businesspeople today are as cunning as ghosts!” Indifferently, Chen Hai chuckled.
After a brief pause, he continued, “Brother Dong, are those empty display cabinets around the exhibition hall the private booths specially set up by the organizers?”
Having no money on him and absolutely no intention to buy anything at this exchange meeting, Chen Hai’s gaze wandered swiftly around the exhibition hall.
Each set, consisting of an empty display cabinet about one and a half meters long paired with a chair, was placed at regular intervals around the hall.
Many empty display cabinets were already occupied.
In the middle of the exhibition hall, the items being auctioned by the organizers could only be viewed, not bought.
Speaking of popularity, those private booths around seemed to be even busier than the central area of the hall.
“Mr.
Chen, you’re right, those empty display cabinets are indeed private booths set up by the organizers!”
“If you want to sell something, just find a spot, sit down, and place the items you want to sell inside the glass cabinet.”
“If the items don’t sell, the organizers won’t charge any fee.
Only upon a successful transaction will they take a ten percent cut as a booth fee!”
Dong Dahai nodded and explained to Chen Hai.
Those of us dealing in antiques and curios, especially the experienced ones, always have a few valuable items on hand.
Many people who come to the Boyue Convention and Exhibition Center for the antique exchange not only buy but also sell!
The organizers provide these private booths to facilitate everyone and attract more visitors!
Of course, the “visitors” they refer to aren’t ordinary people.
These are visitors who are genuinely interested in antiques and curios, with a significant chance of making transactions in the exhibition hall.
After all, dealing with antiques and curios often involves tens of thousands, and ordinary people simply can’t afford it.
If they don’t set a threshold and just let everyone in, the abundance of people could lead to chaos and become uncontrollable.
What’s more, those truly interested in antiques might be deterred by such disarray and choose not to enter at all.
“Brother Dong, I’ll go over there to set up a booth to sell talismans.
Please go ahead with your matters; don’t worry about me!”
Pointing towards the relatively quiet southeast area of the exhibition hall, Chen Hai spoke with a smile.
Having brought him here, Dong Dahai had already done him a great favor.
He certainly couldn’t expect him to stay by his side all the time!
“Alright, Mr.
Chen, then I’ll excuse myself for a while!”
“I’ve also brought a few items in my bag to explore around, and later, I’ll set up a booth myself.”
“See if I can sell those items at a good price!”
Nodding his head, Dong Dahai spoke.
He had his own agenda in coming to this meeting at the exhibition hall, and bringing Chen Hai was just a convenient addition.
The primary reason he was so polite in front of Chen Hai was because of something Hou Donggui had said.
“Your vase is in celeste glaze, the style is from the Qianlong Year.
A genuine Qianlong Imperial Porcelain Vase should have a rich and pure glaze, which doesn’t quite match the tone on your vase…”
“The genuine Xuande Stove was forged millions of times; your item is plainly cast from molten iron…”
“This item is nice, Enamel from the Kangxi period and in good condition, worthy of collecting…”
…
After Dong Dahai left to attend to his matters, Chen Hai leisurely walked towards the southeast area of the exhibition hall.
Along the way, nearly all conversations reaching his ears were related to antiques and curios.
In this respect, Chen Hai was a complete novice.
When others mentioned specialized terms from within the industry, he was utterly confused and couldn’t understand.
Only when the discussions were more straightforward could he grasp what others were talking about!
In the southeast area of the exhibition hall, numerous empty display cabinets were still unoccupied.
Not bothering to choose carefully, he randomly picked a spot, sat down behind a display cabinet, opened it, and directly placed two talismans he had brought with him inside.
He had indeed managed to successfully draw only one Danghui Talisman.
But the success rate for drawing the lower-level Corpse Transformation Talisman was now quite high.
When he drew Corpse Transformation Talismans, he could generally succeed with one out of every two or three attempts.
However, such talismans were just ordinary talismans with nothing extraordinary, mostly used for destroying evidence on a corpse.
He had as many as a dozen Corpse Transformation Talismans in his possession.
Had he not lost the sense of achievement in drawing them and grown too lazy to draw more, he likely would have had far more than just a dozen.
Initially, he had not intended to sell the Corpse Transformation Talisman.
But considering that having just one Danghui Talisman in the large display cabinet seemed somewhat lacking, he had added a Corpse Transformation Talisman to fill it up.
Whether his talismans would find knowledgeable buyers at this antique exchange was something Chen Hai was entirely unsure of.
His presence here at the booth was merely to try his luck.
After placing the two talismans in the display cabinet, he sat cross-legged on the chair, eyes on his nose and nose on his heart, and entered directly into cultivation.