Chapter 136: Testing the Wealth Aura

“Huh?” I looked at the owner with a completely bewildered expression.

He shook his head and said with a bitter smile, “After all, I’ve practiced calligraphy for so many years, and there have been moments of sudden inspiration or times when my emotions reached their peak.”

“But even in those rare, perfect states brought about by chance, the works I produce are still far inferior to those of my father and grandfather.”

“This is a fundamental gap in skill; it’s not something that can be made up for just by being in a good state.”

It seemed I had been too presumptuous just now, an amateur trying to comfort a professional.

Thinking about it, it made sense; even if your emotions reached a peak, you still needed the brush strength to match those emotions to pour them out effectively.

Otherwise, with so many people studying calligraphy, why were there only a handful of famous masters?

“Even these two scrolls I wrote for you cannot be considered works that truly reflect my usual standard,” the owner continued.

“If I were to write seriously, I would need to bathe, burn incense, and stay in a quiet study to adjust my state to its absolute best. Only after brewing my intent for a long time could I write them.”

“Usually, when customers make an appointment in advance, I can produce a calligraphy set that matches my true level. These two, however, are merely mediocre works.”

“If you are willing to wait, young lady, I can deliver a truly satisfying set to you in three days.”

It seemed my conversation with him had triggered the owner’s strange sense of professional pride.

He admitted that these two scrolls weren’t the best he could do and even expressed a willingness to scrap them and rewrite them without increasing the price.

In the owner’s eyes, I was someone who understood the craft.

To present a work of this level to a connoisseur—especially after boasting about his prices—was likely a point of shame for him.

But it was different for me.

I didn’t care about the artistic level of the calligraphy; I only cared about the practical effect.

Even if the effect wasn’t as strong as it could be if the owner gave it his absolute all, it was enough for my purposes.

“I won’t wait. These two will do just fine,” I said.

“Sigh, alright then. But since I’m handing over works of this quality, I’d be embarrassed to ask for more money. The hundred-thousand-yuan deposit is enough. You can take them,” the owner said with a sigh.

“That wouldn’t be right. We agreed on one hundred and eighty thousand. I won’t shortchange you on the final payment,” I replied.

This was a strange conversation: the owner wanted to waive the balance, while the customer insisted on paying in full.

“Truly, there’s no need. I feel ashamed receiving money for this kind of finished product. Besides, I’m not losing money. Let’s leave it at that.”

The owner handed me the calligraphy scrolls, which had already been placed in a gift box.

He seemed adamant about not taking the remaining eighty thousand yuan.

The owner wasn’t actually losing money, though.

If labor costs weren’t considered, the cost of the paper and ink was at most ten thousand yuan.

In reality, he hadn’t expended that much effort; the primary value came from the Dharma artifacts and his technique. Even at a hundred thousand, he was making a significant profit.

Then, a thought occurred to me.

The day before yesterday, Mo Qingyan had helped me modify the Pi Xiu auspicious object, giving it the effect of absorbing wealth aura.

Was the fact that the owner felt instinctively ashamed and reduced the price also a manifestation of that wealth aura?

After taking the scrolls, I hesitated for a moment and said, “Boss, actually, you don’t need to take it to heart so much. After all, life is long.”

“Just because you haven’t reached a higher realm now doesn’t mean you won’t progress later. Sooner or later, you’ll reach the level of your father and grandfather.”

“No… perhaps my direction was wrong from the very beginning,” the owner said indignantly.

“From the moment I started using money to measure what level of work I should produce, I was dead wrong. How could I ever climb to a higher realm with that mindset?”

‘Shoot, I’ve gone and let an amateur’s comment mess with a professional again.’

Not only had I failed to comfort the owner and put his mind at ease, but I had also caused him to fall into a strange, obsessive rabbit hole.

If he actually closed his shop because of this, I would truly be at fault.

With the owner’s ability, even if he couldn’t match his predecessors, his calligraphy had a genuine energy field.

There must be many regular customers who liked buying his work. If he closed up shop because of my nonsense, they would all be disappointed.

“Boss, you can’t say that. Business is business, and technique is technique. As long as you keep writing and practicing, and treat every piece of work with sincerity, you will surely continue to improve.”

“Your father and grandfather didn’t say they wouldn’t sell their calligraphy, did they?”

‘I have to find a way to fix this.’

“Uh, that is true. This calligraphy shop was opened by my father, and my grandfather made a living in the old days by copying books and writing letters for others,” the owner said, pausing as he realized.

“There you go, then. Boss, you’re being too impatient. Who can become a calligraphy master after just a few years? If it were that easy, wouldn’t such scrolls be everywhere?”

“Being too eager for success is also a sign of an unstable mindset,” I continued to talk nonsense.

“You have a point.” The owner nodded, seemingly having finally turned a corner from his obsession. At least he didn’t look as self-deprecating as before.

“Hahaha, then keep up the hard work, Boss. I’ll take my leave now. May your business prosper!”

As I spoke, I hurried out of the calligraphy shop with my scrolls.

Originally, I had wanted to ask the owner to copy a Buddhist scripture for me at the cheapest possible price to serve as a greeting gift for that old lady.

But seeing the state the owner was in, I was afraid that if I said anything more, he would start overthinking strange things again.

Was this truly the effect of the wealth aura, saving me eighty thousand yuan? Or was it just a coincidence?

‘I should test it out.’

I noticed that there was actually a street office on this Zhongzheng Street that offered appraisals and handled complaints about counterfeit goods.

So, I went back to that Feng Shui shop I had seen upon entering.

I casually bought a ten-thousand-yuan item that was claimed to be a Dharma artifact.

Turning around, I went straight to the street office for an appraisal.

The result was, without a doubt, a fake.

I had only bought it because I was certain it wasn’t a Dharma artifact.

An old man came out from the street office to take a look. He slapped the table in anger and told an administrator to take this and settle the score with the merchant.

Soon, the manager of that shop was brought to the street office, looking dejected and disheveled.

He tried to argue with the old man, and I sat in the next room eavesdropping.

According to his logic, if the nature of the item wasn’t explicitly labeled, it wasn’t a scam if the customer misjudged it.

However, the administrator who went to verify the claim confirmed that the auspicious object I bought was explicitly labeled as a Dharma artifact.

Even the packaging and instructions claimed it was a Dharma artifact and specified where to place it in a room to change one’s luck.

But the thing obviously lacked that function.

Now, the manager was left with no defense. He had been caught red-handed in a fraud.

The old man asked him if he wanted a private settlement or to handle it officially.

A private settlement meant the rule of “pay ten times the price for a fake,” while handling it officially meant revoking his business license for rectification.

Naturally, the owner could only choose a private settlement.

Soon, a hundred thousand yuan was transferred to the street office and then into my account.

The speed was so fast it hadn’t even taken half an hour from start to finish.

This meant I had entered this handicraft and antique street and walked away with a roll of calligraphy for free—actually, I had made a profit.

Now I was certain.

The effect of the Pi Xiu as an apotropaic object for absorbing wealth aura was truly effective.