Closer to Revealing My True Self
Chapter 109 - 98 Non-saleable Item_1

Chapter 109: Chapter 98 Non-saleable Item_1

Feng Yi felt his temper was really good these days, originally thinking of facing the national secondary protected animals with a bit more patience and care.

Otherwise, if he released the aura of a top predator in the food chain, those swans would probably all be frightened away.

Who knew these swans had set their sights on his backyard?

My backyard, the grass mat I sleep on, there’s no way I’m giving it up for those geese!

Not an inch!

Renovation!

It must be renovated!

Especially the backyard!

Otherwise, what to do if a few more swans fall in at the blink of an eye?

He couldn’t possibly stand guard here all day, serving those swans that might drop in at any moment!

Lucky them!

So when Feng Yi called the property management, his tone was quite firm. There must be a response!

Property management also had a headache after hearing about the matter; they were caught between two fires, unable to offend the property owners and yet had to follow the community’s orders.

After discussing, the property management decisively passed the buck to the community head.

The community head also felt embarrassed. Just a moment ago, he assured Feng Yi that such an incident would not happen again, as long as the drones flying around were cleaned up and those walking their pets in the community paid more attention. Whether it was the newly arrived swans or those already active nearby, none would be frightened.

If the swans were not startled, they wouldn’t fly all over the human habitation areas, and wouldn’t end up in Feng Yi’s yard.

Then, he was contradicted by the arrival of three new swans.

His assumed logic just didn’t hold up!

He couldn’t figure it out!

Why did those swans all love to fall into Feng Yi’s backyard?

Once they fell in, they couldn’t get out!

No, that’s not right! There must be some reason for this outcome!

Unable to figure out the reason, the community head went to consult with expert teams. Many experts from all over the country had already arrived in Rong City because of the small swans migrating south, and he had contacts with several of those teams.

But even for expert teams, it would take time to analyze and find the reason for this occurrence.

In the meantime, the community head asked Feng Yi to wait patiently for a while.

There was no other choice.

Renovation was impossible; it would cause too much disturbance, and all departments in Rong City were pleased to see swans passing through. Even if the swans were just stopping over, it proved that the living environment in Rong City had improved! It would also make the city more competitive in all kinds of city rankings!

But the emotions of the nearby residents still need to be calmed.

It was understandable that Feng Yi was emotional and had applied for renovation. However, if large-scale renovation couldn’t be done, at least the backyard issue could be addressed first.

Someone suggested putting up nets, but many questions, like the size of the mesh, the material to use, and how to weave it to minimize harm, couldn’t be solved in a short time.

Feng Yi, worried about the geese making a mess, suggested installing a transparent, electric, retractable awning.

However, all this needed to be discussed before making any decisions.

Feng Yi, accompanied by the rescue worker, went into the house and caught the three little swans. He didn’t stay long and drove to the city zone again.

He still needed to make money in the afternoon.

Using the address given by the client, Feng Yi found the store.

The store was located on a corner of the business street, not particularly large, but decorated with a unique sense of retro fashion.

After taking on this job, Feng Yi had also looked up information about the store.

The owner, a woman with the surname Yu, worked in her own company; opening this store was purely her hobby.

This sort of store was a luxury goods second-hand shop, also known in some places as a "vintage store". She herself had a collecting mania, and her store generally only accepted bags, watches, jewelry, etc., that were over twenty years old.

It was a kind of exploration, a nostalgic game of old-world fashion.

Feng Yi had some exposure to luxury brands in his previous part-time jobs and work, but he could not claim to understand them, let alone fashion.

However, he had heard people say that the top-brand classic styles displayed in these shops were truly significant pieces from their era and no longer in production.

Only after entering the store did Feng Yi understand what people meant by "fashion is a cycle".

Some classic styles from two or three decades ago were not much different from some of the new products now.

At least to Feng Yi, they seemed quite similar.

Feng Yi had no interest in these. If he were in the entertainment circle, he might have taken a closer look, but since he was not going down that path and he didn’t need them in everyday life, he paid them no attention.

After entering the store, Feng Yi went straight to the manager.

The manager had received information from the boss at noon, mentioning someone would come for authentication and included Feng Yi’s photo.

After confirming his identity, the manager led Feng Yi to a workshop at the back of the shop.

"Mr. Feng, please come in. The items that the boss mentioned needing authentication are displayed on this cabinet. Would you like to start authenticating now?"

Upon seeing Feng Yi’s photo, the manager had all sorts of speculations, as Feng Yi’s appearance didn’t seem like that of an appraiser. Seeing Feng Yi in person, the manager became even more doubtful.

Although their shop also had contracted appraisers, with both young and old masters, none of them, whether young or old, had the same aura of appraisal as Feng Yi did.

Feng Yi appeared more casual.

Of course, being capable of being a manager, he was not one to show emotions easily. Regardless of the skepticism in his mind, he remained very polite and courteous outwardly.

After all, Feng Yi was someone the boss had instructed to be received well. As for the authenticity of his appraiser status and his appraisal abilities, those would be proved by facts. Anything else, he would do as the boss directed.

"Let’s start now," Feng Yi took out gloves from his bag.

The store manager brought out a printed form. "The 37 items that need to be appraised are marked with numbers on this list. Would you like to follow these numbers? I can introduce them to you one by one."

"No need, just give me the form," Feng Yi said.

The store manager still wanted to say something, but the studio door was pushed open.

A fashionably dressed lady with delicate makeup strutted in, her high heels clicking on the floor with a tap, tap, tap.

The newcomer walked up to Feng Yi and the store manager and took off her sunglasses, "Have you started yet?"

The store manager replied, "Not yet, we’re just about to start."

"Oh, then I’ve arrived just in time." The newcomer looked at Feng Yi and extended her hand, "Yu Qiao."

"Feng Yi."

Feng Yi shook her hand and continued putting on his gloves.

Yu Qiao scanned Feng Yi’s face and revealed a smile, "You’re quite straightforward. I’ve heard Lu Yue talk about you and thought you would quote directly 300,000. I actually feel like I’ve got a bargain with your quote."

Feng Yi understood. No wonder Boss Yu agreed so readily; probably, after hearing from Lu Yue about the price he usually quoted for jobs, she thought he would directly quote 10,000 per piece, and with a discount on over 30 items, rounding it to 300,000 seemed possible.

But among these 30-plus items, there were too many small ones with low collectible attributes; quoting too high seemed a bit like ripping people off.

However, Feng Yi didn’t explain further and just smiled while putting on his gloves.

The store manager, who had stood quietly beside them, had twitched violently at the mention of a "300,000 quote." The appraisers they hired in their store couldn’t reach that price at all. Why could Feng Yi quote so high?

Though he didn’t know the actual price for inviting Feng Yi to appraise, even if it was less than 300,000, it wouldn’t be much less – probably around 100,000 to 200,000.

But that price was also very high!

Averaged out, each item was several thousand yuan, and the small items in the display case were newly priced at only a few thousand yuan each.

Why bother?

The store manager looked at Boss Yu’s smiling face and then at Feng Yi, feeling like he had uncovered the truth.

The old man’s intent is not in the wine?

As for Feng Yi, he didn’t care what others thought. Standing in front of the display case with the list in hand, he scanned through the items, feigned a closer look, and picked out two pendants.

He didn’t know whether the metal parts of these two pendants were genuine, but the leather parts definitely weren’t.

Which top brand dares to use real snakeskin these days?

Yu Qiao, who had been watching nonchalantly, saw Feng Yi actually pick out two items, and her expression changed.

Remembering Lu Yue’s reminder, although she did not time it precisely, she estimated that it took less than a minute for Feng Yi to look through the items in the display cabinet and pick out these two pieces.

Less than a minute, 200,000...

Yu Qiao initially felt she got the better deal, but now, it was a bit painful.

However, he really did pick out something, which she hadn’t expected.

All the items in the display case were personally collected by her, and she believed she hadn’t acquired any fakes. She hadn’t expected this...

Yu Qiao’s face grew increasingly unpleasant as she looked at the two pendants that Feng Yi had picked out.

She didn’t doubt that Feng Yi was fooling anyone with these two items. Being invited by Qianli Group for appraisals meant he definitely had real skills.

Since he had singled them out, there must be problems with these two.

If she was going to collect, she couldn’t hold onto problematic items. She needed to deal with such matters quickly and earn some favor with the United Insurance Bureau; otherwise, if things dragged on, they’d become messy and indefensible.

Yu Qiao tossed the two pendants over to the store manager, "Have someone verify these."

The store manager’s mind was still in a daze. The scene before him didn’t match what he expected. Is that it? Was it all over that easily?

Receiving the pendants passed by the boss, the store manager understood what Yu Qiao meant.

To have a professional authenticate meant using professional reagent kits and equipment to test them, and surely the cost of identifying this kind of synthetic imitation leather was going to be higher.

Yu Qiao couldn’t afford to chat with Feng Yi any longer; she had to figure out how the previous owners had acquired these two items, whether it was intentional or unintentional.

Though only two inconspicuous pendants were involved, some matters simply could not be touched! She would not take the fall for others!

Having received his fee for the order, Feng Yi prepared to leave. The community administrator of the Yue Xiu district sent him another message, wanting to discuss matters concerning his backyard.

Walking from the back workshop to the store, now that his work was done, Feng Yi was also interested in viewing the items in the store.

And indeed, he discovered something that piqued his interest.

"Can I see this Copper Coin pendant?" Feng Yi pointed at a coin-like accessory placed inside one of the cabinets.

The coin was round, and the side facing up bore the pattern of the Chinese zodiac - a form of zodiac-themed commemorative money. However, it was different from the piece of zodiac-themed money Feng Yi was wearing.

Feng Yi felt that this piece of zodiac-themed money in the counter had some connection with the one he was wearing.

The staff member handed over the zodiac-themed money pendant to Feng Yi, "This accessory is from a designer’s own brand, with an embroidered logo on it. It’s a pity that the brand collapsed during an unusual climate period."

"How much is this?" Feng Yi didn’t see a price tag.

The staff member smiled, "Sorry, this is not for sale."

Feng Yi glanced aside and saw a large "not for sale" sign.

Yu Qiao had just made a phone call, and she walked out with a gloomy face, seemingly suppressing anger. She saw Feng Yi standing by the counter, "What? Did you find something you like?"

The staff member briefly explained to Yu Qiao what had just happened.

"The items in the not-for-sale showcase are all unique and collectible pieces in the world. I paid a high price for them when I acquired them. I generally don’t sell these items, but you did me a big favor today. If you want it, I can make an exception and sell it to you," Yu Qiao said.

"How much?" Feng Yi asked.

"One price, 500 thousand!"