My Left Eye Can See Through Everything - Chapter 69 - The Monkey Stamp

“Hmm, you bought so many things?”

Zhou Yang noticed the two women carrying bags upon bags and quickly stepped forward to help.

He glanced at the contents briefly-mostly women’s clothes and shoes. Judging by the selection, it seemed most of the items were for Zhou Yao and their mother.

“Brother, when are you heading back to Jinling?”

Zhou Yang’s brow furrowed instantly.

“Yaoyao, I’ve only been back for a few hours, and you’re already hoping I’ll leave?”

Zhou Yao realized her words had come off poorly and hurried to explain.

“No, no, you misunderstood! What I meant was, I’d like to go with you and spend some time there.”

“Summer vacation’s only halfway through, and there’s still over a month before school starts, so…”

Zhou Yang was initially tempted to agree, but then he remembered Fang Jie and some other matters he needed to handle. He decided to decline.

“Not this year. Maybe during the New Year or next summer vacation, you and Mom can come over.”

“Lanyan, how are you finding things here? The conditions aren’t as good as in the city.”

The first part of Zhou Yang’s response was directed at Zhou Yao, while the latter was aimed at Ji Lanyan.

“It’s alright! Honestly, it’s cooler here than in the city, and the air is much fresher.”

Ji Lanyan’s words were sincere. In terms of comfort, the countryside did have its advantages over urban living.

“Zhou Yang, where’s your mother?”

It wasn’t until then that Ji Lanyan noticed Da Juping wasn’t at home.

“She’s out running an errand. I asked her to spread the word about something.”

Zhou Yang proceeded to briefly explain his idea and its purpose.

“Is that even possible?”

“Zhou Yang, have you lost your mind?”

Ji Lanyan teased, but Zhou Yang merely shrugged. The whole plan was a spur-of-the-moment idea anyway. Whether it worked or not wasn’t a big concern.

The countryside at night was vastly different from the city. While urban areas were brightly lit, rural nights were much darker. Though there were lights, the houses were spread out and much shorter, leaving large stretches of pitch-black darkness once you stepped outside.

Dinner was usually just reheated leftovers from lunch. Anything uneaten had to be thrown away due to the summer heat-and with no refrigerator in the house, there was no way to store food.

After dinner, the family chatted briefly before washing up and heading to bed. Zhou Yao and Ji Lanyan shared a room, while Zhou Yang had one to himself.

The night passed uneventfully, but early the next morning, Zhou Yang was rudely awakened by Ji Lanyan.

“Zhou Yang, Auntie says you need to get up. Someone’s here to sell something!”

“Get up quickly and take a look; the courtyard’s full of people.”

Zhou Yang immediately understood what was happening and sprang out of bed, tossing aside his thin blanket. And then…

Well, let’s just say that Zhou Yang, being a young man-and a particularly innocent one at that-was experiencing the typical “morning salute.”

Unfortunately, Ji Lanyan was standing right by the bed, giving her a front-row view of the situation.

“Ugh, you pervert!”

Ji Lanyan spat, her cheeks flushing as she turned away. Zhou Yang, realizing what had just happened, scrambled to grab a pair of pants and put them on.

Thus began his morning in a cloud of awkward tension.

When Zhou Yang finally made his way downstairs, he saw several women chatting with his mother, Da Juping. As soon as they noticed him, their faces lit up with warm smiles.

Zhou Yang greeted everyone briefly and, after understanding their intentions, began inspecting the so-called antiques.

To put it bluntly, some of the items were indeed old, but none of them were worth much.

This was entirely expected. Take a bowl from the Qing Dynasty, for example. If it came from an Imperial Kiln, it could be worth millions. But if it was from a common civilian kiln, especially a very ordinary one, it might only be worth a few yuan, maybe a few dozen at most.

It’s like the bowls you can buy at the market today for two yuan each. Even if you kept one for a thousand years, it would still be worth two yuan. Without provenance or historical significance, it simply holds no value.

Just as Zhou Yang was beginning to think his buying plan was a bust, a pile of items caught his attention.

It was a bag filled with various types of vouchers and tickets-grain coupons, cloth coupons, stamps, and even treasury bonds.

The moment Zhou Yang activated his appraisal skill, his eyes lit up.

These grain coupons, cloth coupons, and treasury bonds were all part of a modern category of collectibles. Their value as collectibles was immense, with significant potential for appreciation. They were rare treasures.

But what thrilled Zhou Yang the most was a single stamp.

[Item Name: 1980 Monkey Stamp, Rare Treasure]

[Item Description: The 1980 Monkey Stamp is the first zodiac stamp issued in China.]

[Item Value: 1.2 million!]

Zhou Yang could barely keep himself from drooling. This tiny stamp was worth a staggering 1.2 million.

“Yang Zi, are you interested in buying these?”

As Zhou Yang stood there in a daze, the owner of the stamp, Aunt Song, spoke up.

“Yes, absolutely!”

“Aunt Song, how much are you looking to sell these for?”

Aunt Song hadn’t expected Zhou Yang to be interested in what she considered a pile of junk. She held up one hand.

“Five hundred? Sure, I’ll take them for five hundred!”

Without hesitation, Zhou Yang pulled five crisp red bills from his pocket and handed them to Aunt Song.

Aunt Song was momentarily stunned, then her face lit up with joy. These items had been left behind by her father-in-law and had been sitting in a drawer, taking up space. She never imagined they could fetch five hundred yuan today.

The best part? She had actually meant fifty, not five hundred. But as the villagers had said, Zhou Yang was doing well for himself now-rich and a little foolish with his money.

Of course, the happiest person was Zhou Yang. For just five hundred yuan, he had scored a Monkey Stamp-a once-in-a-lifetime find.

Even setting aside the stamp’s value, the grain coupons and cloth coupons alone were worth more than five hundred.

The reason Zhou Yang only offered five hundred was a matter of principle. In this kind of transaction, you couldn’t offer too much. If he had offered five thousand, Aunt Song might have hesitated to sell.

People aren’t stupid. If the price is close to or slightly above their expectations, they’ll be happy to sell. But if you offer a price that’s several times higher than what they imagined, it could backfire.

“Everyone, I’m interested in anything unusual or old. If I like it, I’ll pay a higher price. Please help spread the word.”

“I’ll be home all day today. As long as it’s an old item, I’ll take it, no matter what it is.”

Zhou Yang was employing a classic strategy known as “spending a fortune to buy a horse’s bones.” By setting an example with Aunt Song, he created a buzz.

Sure enough, the other villagers, inspired by Aunt Song’s success, began scouring their homes for items.

At first, many of them didn’t believe Zhou Yang. But now that someone had profited, they were motivated.

For the villagers left behind in the countryside, five hundred yuan was a significant amount. Most of them either had elderly parents or young children to care for, or other reasons that prevented them from leaving home to work.

So, any opportunity to earn money was a big deal.

“Zhou Yang, is this really valuable?”

After the villagers had left, Ji Lanyan took the bag from Zhou Yang’s hands, flipping through its contents as she asked.