NCCnovel Chapter 537: Pawnshop No. 4
Chapter 537: Pawnshop No. 4
In the morning, Ye Shuqin got up early, pushed open the shop door, and slowly opened the No. 4 pawnshop.
Zhang Lei was still fast asleep. The window was gently pushed open, and Ye Shuhua, with light and playful steps, quietly walked to Zhang Lei's bedside and gently nudged him as he slept.
"Honey, get up quickly, the sun's already high in the sky."
Zhang Lei slowly rubbed his sleepy eyes, looked at Ye Shuhua, and smiled: "Come on, give me a kiss."
Ye Shuhua immediately reached out and pushed him away, her eyes smiling but her tone crisp: "Get up and brush your teeth and wash your face, don't be lazy."
After quickly washing up, Zhang Lei sat down at the dining table, which had already been prepared. Just as he picked up his chopsticks, a transparent virtual screen suddenly appeared before his eyes, automatically displaying the day's news headlines and real-time weather forecasts.
The screen scrolled rapidly with messages: a technology company's seventh-generation smart robot has officially entered mass production, with a single unit priced at $300,000; a wealthy businessman's son lost control during a high-altitude car race at night and crashed into the sky control tower... such trivial and boring news was utterly uninteresting to read.
With a casual wave of his hand, Zhang Lei caused the floating transparent image to vanish instantly.
After Ye Shuqi finished cleaning up all the dishes and chores, she accompanied Zhang Lei to Pawnshop No. 4. Upon entering the shop, they saw the Ye sisters, Ye Shuqin and Ye Shuhua, meticulously wiping the counter and tidying up the items displayed inside.
Zhang Lei waved his hand casually and said helplessly, "Aren't you two tired? You have to wipe the items on the counter repeatedly every day."
Ye Shuqin stopped what she was doing, turned to look at him, and said seriously, "Our family relies on this pawnshop for a living. If the shop is messy and doesn't look clean at all, how can we expect to have any customers?"
Ye Shuhua chimed in, wryly complaining, "Yeah, boss. Only ten people have come into the shop this month. Nine of them glanced at us and left. The only one who came in was asking for directions. If this keeps up, we'll be starving sooner or later."
After hearing these words, Zhang Lei couldn't help but chuckle softly.
Ye Shuqi, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but tease, "Honey, how dare you laugh? If you hadn't insisted on opening this strangely styled old pawnshop, our family wouldn't be without any stable income."
Zhang Lei looked at his three wives and calmly smiled to reassure them, "Alright, alright, it's just that we haven't had any business for the time being. It's not that our goods are bad, it's just that most people don't know their value. Every single item in my pawnshop is a genuine rare treasure."
Ye Shuqin shook her head helplessly and chuckled: "You dare to sell an ordinary old porcelain jar for a million US dollars? Most tourists come to buy souvenirs, not to spend exorbitant prices to collect antique treasures."
"It's worth the price. I can't just sell it at a loss and let outsiders profit from it." Zhang Lei waved his hand calmly. "No rush. There will always be a discerning person who appreciates its value. We'll just wait patiently."
Looking at his lazy and Zen-like appearance, Ye Shuhua handed him an antique palm-leaf fan: "Then you can stay in the shop and wait patiently. The three of us sisters are planning to go out later to buy some new clothes at Sky Mall."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Lei immediately pulled out $100,000 in cash from his pocket and handed it over: "Go if you want. I'll keep an eye on the shop, so you can have a great time."
He then lazily reclined in an old-fashioned rocking chair, watching the three sisters board a hovercar. The vehicle soared into the sky, entered a high-altitude track, and sped towards the women's goods street in Sky City.
Today's era has long since ushered in a new age of explosive technological advancement. The ground is no longer the only area for human activity; high-altitude air routes and deep-sea bases are already widespread, many of the wealthiest individuals have moved to the moon to settle down, and major powers have even developed light-speed warships to venture into the depths of space and explore unknown territories.
Since the advent of the anti-gravity sky car decades ago, global technology has experienced an explosive leap forward. In just a few decades, the sky, land, and deep sea have all been thoroughly developed and utilized by mankind.
There are only a handful of old shops like No. 4 Pawnshop that stick to the retro style and sell antique items in the whole city. Most of them are only kept by people who are nostalgic.
Zhang Lei covered his face with a palm-leaf fan, and the fully automatic rocking chair swayed gently. The warmth made him feel sleepy, and before long, he was drowsy.
Just as I was about to fall asleep, two urgent shouts suddenly rang out: "Boss! Boss!"
Zhang Lei slowly lifted the palm-leaf fan, opened his eyes, looked at a young couple at the shop entrance, stretched, and said lazily, "What would you two like to see? Would you like me to introduce you to the shop's collection?"
The young man in the crowd spoke first, his expression carrying a hint of arrogance: "Boss, my name is Qingtian, and this is my girlfriend, Yu'er. You should have heard of our Qingtian and Yutian duo, right?"
Zhang Lei was momentarily stunned when he heard the strange and tacky name of the group.
Qingtian mistakenly thought that their fame had intimidated the other party, and turned to Yu'er beside her with a smug smile, saying, "I told you we were famous, people hear about us wherever we go."
To everyone's surprise, Zhang Lei simply waved his palm-leaf fan and uttered three words: "Never heard of it."
Qingtian's face instantly turned ashen, her chest filled with rage, and she felt an immediate urge to start a fight.
Yu'er quickly reached out and pulled the furious Qingtian back, gently advising, "Don't be impulsive, we're here to buy things, don't cause trouble."
Qingtian, her face full of impatience, growled, "We've been to several old shops, and all to no avail. How could we possibly find those century-old items in such a remote little shop?"
Yu'er smiled gently: "Since we're already here, we should give it a try. This shop has an antique feel to it; maybe it really does have what we're looking for."
The two men were whispering and chatting at the entrance, blocking the pawnshop door.
Zhang Lei frowned impatiently and urged, "Are you going to buy anything or not? If not, don't block the store entrance and interfere with my business."
Qingtian immediately retorted, "Boss, how can you treat customers and do business like this? Looking at your deserted appearance, you probably don't even get a single customer all day."
Fearing a conflict between the two, Yu'er quickly apologized, "Boss, I'm so sorry. He's impulsive and impatient. Please don't take it to heart."
Seeing that the girl was sensible and reasonable, Zhang Lei didn't bother arguing with Qingtian and calmly said, "Just tell me what you want. Or you can browse the shelves yourself; each item has a price tag."
The two then entered the store and looked around at the various items on the shelves.
On a sunny day, someone casually glanced at an inconspicuous black piece of iron. Upon seeing the price tag, their eyes widened in shock: "Boss, this is blatant robbery! A mere scrap of iron, and you dare price it at 100,000?"
Zhang Lei was too lazy to argue and said in a flat tone, "This is a meteorite iron stone that fell from outer space. The price is 100,000, which is the lowest possible price. You get what you pay for."
Qingtian reached out and picked up the meteorite fragment. It was incredibly heavy in her hand, and she almost couldn't hold it. Only then did her expression change slightly.
On the other side, Yu'er browsed carefully for a long time before finally asking, "Boss, do you have any old currency issued by Australia a hundred years ago?"
Zhang Lei raised an eyebrow slightly: "What's the point of having such outdated currency?"
"A friend of mine is a passionate collector of ancient coins and specifically asked me to help him find them," Yu'er replied truthfully.
"Wait a moment, let me look for it for you."
Zhang Lei got up and went into the inner room. He quickly brought out an old wooden box that had been sealed for a long time. When the lid was opened, the box was filled with old coins from all over the world, of various kinds and from a long time ago.
Yu'er was shocked and asked in surprise, "Boss, are all of these your collection?"
"I guess so. I've been hoarding them for years, and they've just been sitting idle," Zhang Lei replied casually.