Chapter 196: Chapter 196 This First Floor is Not So Good_1

“Alright, let’s go to Zangyu Tower,” Xu Fan stated from the front row.

Xu Fan questioned himself, knowing he wasn’t lucky enough to stumble upon treasures at random stalls, and thus he decisively chose to visit the largest shop in Yulou Ancient Town without hesitation.

The location of Zangyu Tower was easy to find; it sat at the very center of Yulou Ancient Town. It was an archaic-style building that bore the distinctive flavor of the Great Tang period in Yan Country. The entire building was constructed with ancient tenon and mortise joints, with three floors that each spanned over five hundred square meters. Even without entering, one could sense the store’s profound strength just by looking at its exterior.

Moreover, according to Xu Fan’s investigation, there was an enormous underground chamber beneath Zangyu Tower, surrounded by walls made from steel plates several dozens of centimeters thick. Given such stringent security measures, one could only imagine the value of the items stored within.

Xu Fan parked the car in the parking spot of Zangyu Tower, noticing that Mo Luo Dan was sitting in the vehicle, meditating with his eyes closed. Consequently, he did not disturb him but called upon Zhao Dong to alight from the car along with him.

Zhao Dong had told Xu Fan that Zangyu Tower wasn’t just the strongest antique shop in Yulou Ancient Town when it came to having a collection but also specialized in jade. Whether it was jadeite from Myanmar, Mutton Fat Jade from Hetian in Tianshan Province, or green jade from Sichuan and Shu, one could find the best of each here.

Yulou Ancient Town had gained its reputation precisely through jade transactions, and Zangyu Tower was the largest shop in the town.

This time, Xu Fan’s desire was to acquire ancient jade, meaning jade that had either been passed down from antiquity or unearthed from the ground.

Modern production lines generally involve machinery, producing jade artifacts that lack any semblance of spirit. Only the works carefully handcrafted by ancient artisans possessed the ability to absorb Spiritual Energy. This type of jade was perfect for crafting Magical Treasures.

Xu Fan, accompanied by Zhao Zheng, nonchalantly walked into Zangyu Tower. Just across the threshold, they were greeted by an antique screen. Made of extremely precious sandalwood, it exuded a subtle pleasing fragrance. With just a glance, one could tell the screen’s history surely exceeded 800 years.

On this screen was a Jiangnan Scenery Painting, exquisitely wrought out of the finest Jiangnan silk. The depicted characters and cityscapes seemed so vivid that it looked as if they might leap out of the painting at any moment. Xu Fan also noticed that the architectural styles in the painting’s depiction of numerous Jiangnan scenes bore an 80% resemblance to those of Yulou Ancient Town.

It seemed that the designer of this ancient town had drawn much inspiration from this painting.

The overall decor of Zangyu Tower was consistent, inside and out—a rich Yan Country ambiance prevailed. On every wall hung paintings and calligraphy that at first sight guaranteed their extraordinary nature. Instead of cement columns typical of new constructions, all pillars within the hall were thick Nanmu wood, each wide enough to embrace.

Though not the most expensive golden-thread Nanmu, even ordinary Nanmu was beyond what an average shop could afford.

The staff members, all donning traditional Han attire, were both young and beautiful. Walking into this store felt like stepping back hundreds of years in time.

This time of day was not particularly busy in the store, with only a few customers scattered about. The elegantly dressed female attendants noticed Xu Fan, and one petite, frail woman in Han dress approached with a nod and a bow reminiscent of ancient customs, smiling and saying, “Welcome to Zangyu Tower, honored guest. I am Ruyi, a guide at this establishment. Are you here to view treasures or to have them appraised?”

“I’m here to look around. Since this place is called Zangyu Tower, I presume there are lots of jade artifacts? Please, take me there,” Xu Fan replied indifferently.

At that moment, Zhao Dong, as a local influencer, also spoke up, “Is Manager Fang around? I am Manager Zhao from Yulou Management Company. This gentleman is a distinguished guest of Yulou Ancient Town; make sure he’s not neglected.”

“Certainly, sir. I’ll call Manager Fang over right away,” the Han-dressed young woman said to Zhao Dong with a faint smile.

“No need to call him just yet. I’m going to take a look around first, see if anything catches my eye,” Xu Fan told Zhao Dong.

“Alright, let’s not call for Manager Fang just yet. We’ll have a look around ourselves first,” Zhao Dong quickly instructed the Han-dressed girl upon hearing Xu Fan’s words.

“Sure, please follow me. Our collection of jade wares at Zangyu Tower is the most extensive. Feel free to browse first, and if you find something you like, I can call Manager Fang over to introduce the pieces to you,” the Han-dressed girl said sweetly to Xu Fan.

From the previous two sentences, she had already discerned that Xu Fan was the boss and Zhao Dong was merely accompanying him, so she began to walk and concurrently introduce the several key sectors of Zangyu Tower to Xu Fan.

Zangyu Tower’s areas were divided by price. Most items on the first floor were priced under one hundred thousand yuan. Items on the second floor ranged from one hundred thousand to one million yuan, while those on the third floor were rarely seen by customers because everything there was priced over one million yuan.

The most expensive antique ever sold by Zangyu Tower was the third floor’s star artifact, which fetched a hefty ninety million yuan price tag.

Thus, only individuals with substantial wealth could ascend to the third floor of Zangyu Tower.

Following the Han-dressed guide, Xu Fan leisurely toured the first floor. Using his Spiritual Energy to scrutinize the goods, he found that among the hundreds of items on the first floor, not a single one met his standards. In other words, all jade artifacts displayed on the first floor were unsuitable for crafting Magical Treasures. Even if used for crafting, they would at best yield worthless trinkets with no significant utility.

After making a round, Xu Fan shook his head in disappointment and said, “The items here are quite ordinary, aren’t they? Is this really the best jade trading spot in Zhonghai City?”

A middle-aged man wearing expensive attire nearby, upon hearing Xu Fan’s words, revealed a mocking smile.

What did he mean by ‘the items here are quite ordinary’? It was probably because this plebian saw that the items were too expensive and he couldn’t afford them, so he was saying this deliberately, he thought.

Dressed in an Armani suit and shopping for a jade bracelet with his mistress, the man was at the most affordable section of Zangyu Tower. Even the larger jade pieces on the first floor cost over ten or twenty thousand yuan, with the average price hovering around fifty thousand yuan.

Xu Fan, a young man dressed in what was clearly bargain-basement street market clothing and who looked like a recent college graduate with a monthly salary probably not even reaching five thousand yuan, dared to critique the items in Zangyu Tower. He wasn’t concerned about his words coming back to haunt him.

As for Xu Fan, he paid little attention to the middle-aged man’s scorn. Xu Fan’s strength no longer required him to prove himself by slapping down such inconsequential figures.