Chapter 134: Willow Tree Night Market! Unknown Gemstone
Just as she expected, when her grandmother returned with a huge pile of spicy strips and desserts, Gu Shengsheng was making instant noodles.
She casually asked, "Grandma, are the layouts of the apartments around here all pretty much the same? Are the first-aid kits all kept in the same spot?"
Her grandmother immediately knew it was her time to shine.
"They are," she said.
"These first-aid kits were all bought in bulk for the complex when we first moved in. They’re quite handy, and they fit perfectly into the drawer under the TV stand in every apartment."
"Why the sudden question?" Her grandmother handed her a pack of spicy strips. "Here, have some!"
Gu Shengsheng took it.
’In that case, was I just overthinking things?’
She then put the matter out of her mind and started looking up information on local markets.
Because of her recent viral fame online, there were too many people seeking appraisals during the day. Pan Garden, in particular, was completely out of the question.
It was so crowded you could barely move, and there were hardly any good items left.
Seeing her frustration, her grandmother said, "If you can’t go during the day, then go at night."
"Tonight, Linnin and I are going to a nightclub, and you can go to the night market. I think I saw one over there, the Willow Tree Night Market, it should be. They sell all those little trinkets too."
"We can all get a ride together. We’ll drop you off, then head to the club. And when you’re done, you can even pick us up on your way back. That way, Linnin and I can really let loose and drink."
"...That’s true," Gu Shengsheng agreed with a nod.
The grandmother-granddaughter duo was notoriously unreliable, a fact Gu Shengsheng had long since gotten used to.
She’d heard of the Willow Tree Night Market; it was a massive flea market that sold a little bit of everything.
The main reason the night market existed was that after the city inspectors clocked out for the evening, there was no one around to regulate it. As a result, many vendors without business licenses would bring their best wares over.
It was difficult to get a business license to sell high-value items like cultural artifacts during the day, so vendors would secretly set up their stalls at night.
Alternatively, some were collectors who, having bought something they didn’t particularly like, would bring it to the market to sell or trade.
However, not many people knew about it.
It wasn’t very crowded, as most office workers needed to rest in the evenings. On weekends, they’d browse Pan Garden instead.
So for now, the Willow Tree Night Market wasn’t too crowded. Her grandmother and Linnin only knew about it because they often passed it on their way to the club.
Gu Shengsheng didn’t do much to get ready.
She ate snacks and instant noodles with her grandmother, and then Lu Linlin showed up.
"I knew you two wouldn’t be eating well at home," she said, "so Sister Yang Jiao and I had a feast before coming."
"Let’s go! Club time! Sister-in-law, are you coming?"
"Mhm, I’m going to the night market. You guys go to the club."
"Seriously? Even Sister Yang Jiao is going to the club, and later Jin Ran and a few of the other guys are coming. It won’t be as fun if you’re not there! A lot of them are my brother’s old friends."
Gu Shengsheng nodded. "It’s fine. Your brother is gone. I have no reason to cross paths with them. Making money is more important."
’Nothing could stand in the way of her making money!’
Some people are love-brained; she’s money-brained.
Her motto: If it’s not about making money, don’t bother asking.
She remembered that before she transmigrated, she had also worked a grueling 996 schedule, always the queen of the rat race, chasing overtime pay. In hindsight, it made sense that she had inexplicably died from overwork and transmigrated.
What could she do? It was a painful pleasure.
After Gu Shengsheng arrived at the Willow Tree Night Market, Yang Jiao had wanted to tag along to see what it was all about, but Linnin dragged her off to the club instead.
"My sister-in-law is right there with us; you can talk to her anytime. She’s going to be livestreaming, so you can just watch that."
Gu Shengsheng nodded. "That’s true. It probably wouldn’t be good if your family saw you on my stream."
Yang Jiao sighed. "...Alright. Shengsheng, be careful out there by yourself tonight. If anything happens, call the police or us immediately."
"Okay."
With that, Gu Shengsheng headed into the night market.
It was around 10 p.m., and many of the surrounding street stalls were just starting to come to life.
Some people who had been strolling around as customers would suddenly pull out a stool and set up a stall of their own.
Fewer people, more freedom. You could sell whatever you wanted.
’How interesting.’
Gu Shengsheng had just been planning to browse the stalls casually when she immediately spotted the vendor who had sold her all those authentic items before.
She remembered the Three-zone Jade Disc. The owner had asked for 480,000 yuan, and Gu Shengsheng had given him 500,000 to seal the deal.
He was also the one who had delivered it to her house, packed in a large feed sack.
’An honest and trustworthy vendor, indeed.’
He called out to her from a distance. "Miss Gu! Long time no see! Wow, I can’t believe you come here too."
Gu Shengsheng nodded. "Why aren’t you setting up your stall at Pan Garden anymore?"
"The stall fees there are too expensive now. I couldn’t afford it. I can just browse around casually over here."
"Especially after selling those things to you, I feel like my name got out. A lot of people have been looking for me, but I don’t have any good stock left."
Gu Shengsheng glanced at the pile of items in front of him. They all looked like things he’d picked up secondhand from the market—nothing of any real value.
"That source you had back home dried up?" she asked.
’Last time, he had top-tier goods from a tomb raid!’
He scratched his head, embarrassed. "Haven’t managed to dig anything up recently."
"But Miss Gu, I’ll be here for the next few days. You should check out the stalls at the far end of the market. That’s where the collectors come to sell their own things. This section is just us small-timers trying to make a small profit. Nothing really good here."
Gu Shengsheng had noticed that herself. Walking through this section, she hadn’t seen a single thing of quality.
She nodded, and as she was about to leave, he added with sincere earnestness, "Wait for me. The next time I get my hands on something good, I’ll sell it to you. Miss Gu, I’ll message you on WeChat."
"Alright. And send a picture, too."
"You got it!"
With that, Gu Shengsheng started her livestream.
"Hey everyone," she said into her phone. "Today we’re at the Willow Tree market, checking out the night scene."
The viewers in her chat immediately piped up:
"No way, I just got online and the streamer is live! Oh my god, this is my lucky day!"
"The Willow Tree market? Never heard of it. Streamer, why aren’t you at Pan Garden? They have a night market there, too."
"Streamer, streamer, what treasures are you going to hunt for today?"
[User has sent Allure the World x1]
[User has sent Dragon Soars the Seas x1]
"..."
Gu Shengsheng replied, "I don’t know yet. Just browsing for now. I’ll know what I want to buy when I see it."
Just then, a girl at a simple-looking stall up ahead called out to her.
"Streamer!"
"I was just watching your stream and realized you were right near me. Holy crap, I looked up and there you were!"
She was thrilled and turned to Gu Shengsheng’s stream. "Fam, I can confirm with my own eyes, the streamer is seriously gorgeous! Like, unbelievably beautiful."
"Streamer, why don’t you come take a look at my stall?"
Gu Shengsheng saw she had an orange gemstone ring and a bracelet on display.
"Are these your own?" she asked.
"Yes, I’m a bit tight on cash lately. I found this gemstone myself. It’s really amazing—warm in the winter and cool in the summer. I had it set into this ring, which cost over a hundred thousand, and the bracelet is jadeite I bought for five hundred thousand."
Gu Shengsheng picked up the ring, her expression darkening slightly.