Of course, unlike the usual scenes where street vendors are loudly hawking their wares, here, although the crowd is dense and there are many vendors, there is hardly any shouting. Many vendors simply sit silently in front of their own stalls, and even when someone comes up to look at their goods, they say nothing.

On Antique Street, what matters is the thrill of treasure hunting. So-called treasure hunting depends on your eye for value, because ninety percent of the items on the entire street are fakes or modern crafts.

Most of the people passing by are tourists, many just there for the excitement, and the vendors can easily tell who is genuinely looking to find something valuable.

Many people have seen TV shows or novels depicting vendors on Antique Street loudly hawking their goods, but that's not the reality. On Antique Street, vendors only speak up in one situation: when someone asks about the price.

Asking the price means you’re interested in the item.

Of course, these vendors have no choice. In the past, they did call out to sell their goods, but in the information age, all the tricks of Antique Street are well known. The old routine of picking up a random chamber pot and boasting it was used by Empress Dowager Cixi just doesn’t work anymore.

Brian Carter finally stopped in front of a stall selling ancient coins.

Squatting down, Brian Carter sifted through the ancient coins with his fingers for a moment, then picked out five coins and set them aside, asking, “How much for these five?”

The vendor, a middle-aged man, twitched at the corner of his mouth when he saw the five coins Brian Carter had picked out, because he knew his pile of over a hundred coins very well—there were no more than ten real ones, and he had even marked those ten.

But now, Brian Carter had picked out five real coins in one go, which left the middle-aged man feeling a bit frustrated.

“Young man, you seem to know your stuff. You’ve got a sharp eye for your age. These are the Small Five Emperor Coins. If you want just one, it’s eight hundred each, but a set is five thousand.”

Those unfamiliar with antiques might think the vendor’s math is off, but anyone who knows antiques understands that the value of a complete set is much higher than that of individual, incomplete pieces.

It’s like a set of ancient Yixing teaware: a single teapot might be worth a hundred thousand, but if you add a few matching teacups, the price doubles.

What’s more, a set of Five Emperor Coins has other uses!

“Sell in pairs, not singles; sell in pairs, make more gains.” That’s a popular saying in the antique market.

“Alright.”

Brian Carter nodded, opened the cloth bag on his back, and counted out five thousand in cash for the middle-aged man.

Many people might wonder—aren’t vendors in the antique market notorious for outrageous prices? Why was this vendor’s price so fair?

To put it simply, it was because Brian Carter’s earlier move had impressed the vendor. To be able to pick out five genuine coins from over a hundred fakes, he was clearly an expert. There’s no point quoting a fake price to an expert; it’s better to just give the market price and make the sale.

With the Five Emperor Coins in hand, Brian Carter smiled. For others, buying the Five Emperor Coins might be for coin collecting, but for him, he had another use in mind.

“Looks like there really are some good things in this antique market. I should look around some more.”

Brian Carter muttered to himself, smiling. Although these were just the Small Five Emperor Coins and not the Large Five Emperor Coins, it was still no easy task to find a complete set of Small Five Emperor Coins.

“Stop! Don’t run!”

Just as Brian Carter finished putting away the Small Five Emperor Coins, a shout came from behind him. Turning around, he saw a middle-aged man running in a panic with a little girl in his arms, with several police officers chasing after them.

“Human trafficker?”

At that moment, the thought immediately flashed through Brian Carter’s mind. Instinctively, he stuck out his right foot, tripping the middle-aged man.

Because of the momentum, the man couldn’t stop himself and fell forward, and the little girl in his arms was thrown out. Just as she was about to hit the ground, a pair of thin hands caught her.

Naturally, it was Brian Carter who caught the little girl, while the middle-aged man fell to the ground and was pinned down by the police officers who had been chasing him.

“It’s alright now, you’re safe.”

Seeing the little girl’s pale face, Brian Carter tried to comfort her. However, to his surprise, the little girl glared at him angrily.

“You’re a bad man! You bullied my daddy!”

The little girl struggled desperately to break free from Brian Carter’s arms. Helpless, Brian Carter had no choice but to set her down. Watching her run toward the middle-aged man who had been caught by the police, he frowned.

Clearly, this wasn’t the human trafficking incident he had imagined. The little girl was the middle-aged man’s daughter. He just didn’t know why the police were arresting him.

A thief? A robbery?

Brian Carter shook his head, dismissing that guess. If it were theft or robbery, he wouldn’t have brought his daughter along. The most likely explanation was that he was a fugitive.

“Daddy! Daddy! Let go of my daddy!”

The little girl tried desperately to get to her father, but the police officers held her back.

“My daddy didn’t steal anything! He’s not a thief! You’re wrongfully accusing my daddy!”