The old man walked into the antique shop and looked around curiously. The old windows, cheap iron shelves, and the "antiques" placed almost randomly almost perfectly reflected the positioning of this shop:
In the entire store, except for the money collected, everything is real.
But even so, this old gentleman, whose attire did not look like that of an ordinary citizen in the downtown area, was still looking at the things in the store with great interest. He finally turned his gaze when Duncan's voice came from the direction of the counter.
"It's an interesting statement," the old man laughed, "Take away what is meant to be... Putting aside the things, this is a beautiful sentence in itself."
"In fact, it's not enough to just have fate, you also need money," Duncan smiled back, "Luckily, the things here are not expensive - is there anything you want?"
"Um... I'm not here to buy anything," the old man opened his mouth, "Actually..."
Before he could finish his words, Duncan enthusiastically said, "It's good to take a look at it. Maybe you'll find something that catches your eye."
The old man couldn't help showing a trace of helplessness on his face: "Your... things are all fake."
"Yes," Duncan said matter-of-factly. "How can I put the real stuff here? My store doesn't even have a security door. I rely on making sure thieves can't get their money back."
The old man's face twitched obviously. He probably didn't expect that the antique shop manager who sold fakes could be so calm. He choked for several seconds before speaking: "... Then..."
"Those who are good at persuading themselves treat me as an antique shop for their own satisfaction. Those who are realistic treat me as a grocery store for their cheap prices. Those who recognize the reality but want to deceive themselves, I congratulate him on finding a gold brick in the garbage dump. He is lucky to have found the only real thing in the whole store. Anyway, the main reason for spending thirty or fifty is to have fun. Even if you cheat me, it won't cost more than a hundred, and you can still get the crystallization of modern industry. Think about it, isn't it a good deal?"
The old man listened to Duncan's nonsense in a daze. Perhaps he had no social experience in this area, and he was a little slow to react. Then, his eyes suddenly fell on a corner next to the counter, and his expression changed slightly.
Duncan was originally immersed in the joy of doing business. At this moment, he noticed the change in the old man's gaze and his heart moved. Then he suddenly remembered something, but before he could speak, he saw the old man reaching out to the corner: "This thing..."
Among a pile of debris, he found a dagger that was ancient in style but extremely well preserved.
He took out the dagger.
That was the old item from the Lost Hometown that Duncan had hidden among the junk pile before—one of the only two genuine items in the entire antique shop.
The other was a cast-iron cannonball, deeper in the debris pile.
Duncan wanted to divert the old man's attention at first, but then he noticed the change in his expression and the professionalism he showed when he checked the pattern on the scabbard of the dagger, and immediately realized one thing:
This old man may be a "professional".
Duncan frowned, his eyes running over the dagger.
It’s actually not a big deal - this thing is not an extraordinary item, nor does it carry any “sea specialties” such as curses or pollution. Although it was brought out from the Lost Homeland, in essence it is no different from ordinary “antiques”.
It was just an ordinary item, so it would be strange if he reacted too much to it.
"This thing..." the old man repeated. He raised his head and looked at Duncan with some surprise. "Is it also a 'product' in the store?"
The gentleman's words were very polite, but the implication was obvious: How did you mix a real thing among all these fakes? Was it a mistake at work
Duncan guessed that this person was an expert when he saw the other person's reaction. It would be wrong for him to pretend to be ignorant at this time. Instead, he should admit it appropriately. So he restrained his smile and said with a hint of mystery: "Look, isn't this something that is destined to happen?"
Then he cleared his throat and said seriously, "Most of the items in the store are on sale, with a few exceptions, like the one you have in your hand."
The old man immediately turned his head to look at the shelves, his eyes sweeping over the "modern handicrafts" that were priced at hundreds of thousands and discounted by dozens. He didn't know what was going on in his mind, but he suddenly felt that this seemingly shabby and intimidating antique shop was mysterious and interesting. He carefully placed the dagger on the counter and seemed to be about to ask the price, but at this moment, the sound of a bell suddenly rang from the door, interrupting his action.
Duncan looked up at the store entrance and saw Nina.
"Uncle Duncan, I'm back!" Nina shouted towards the counter without even looking up as she entered the door, "Is Mr. Morris here?"
"No," Duncan glanced inside the store, "I was serving..."
Before he finished speaking, he saw the old man in front of him cough twice, then raised his hand and pointed at himself: "My name is Morris."
Duncan: “… ?”
"Mr. Morris!" Nina also saw the old gentleman in front of the counter at this time, and she exclaimed in surprise. Then, like every student who ran into a teacher after school, she became visibly nervous and stood up straight. "Good afternoon!"
Duncan looked at Nina and then at the old man in front of him, his eyes moving back and forth twice, and he felt that the atmosphere was finally becoming awkward.
"I wanted to introduce myself at the beginning," the old man spread his hands helplessly, "but you interrupted me before I could even open my mouth, and then you started introducing the things in the store to me..."
Nina realized what was happening at this time, and immediately noticed the gray-looking dagger on the counter. She quickly took two steps forward and said, "Teacher, please don't buy it! Everything in my store is fake!"
Duncan looked at the girl with a strange look in his eyes, wondering how could this girl be so honest that she sold out her family's secrets in less than a second in front of the teacher - although considering the quality of the goods in this store and the vision of Morris, a history expert, it didn't matter whether she sold it or not...
On the other side, Mr. Morris shook his head after hearing what Nina said, raised his hand and pointed at the dagger on the counter: "This one is real."
Nina was stunned: "...Huh?"
"This dagger should have come from a century ago. It was one of the tools favored by sailors from central city-states such as Plande and Lunsa at that time. However, due to the bankruptcy of the forging workshop and the erosion of seagoing items by wind and waves, there are very few of them left today, and most of them are in very bad condition..."
Morris said as he carefully picked up the dagger on the counter. After pulling out a section of the blade, he continued with an amazed tone, "I... I have never seen one in such good condition. It looks like it was just used normally not long ago. The blade is so sharp that it can slide through paper. There is not a single flaw on it..."
“It still has its original scabbard,” Duncan added. “If you look closely, even the buckle on the back of the scabbard is original.”
Upon hearing this, Morris quickly checked the scabbard and accessories of the dagger again, his eyes full of surprise. "This... I really didn't notice it just now... My God! This thing looks like it was just taken out of the pocket of a sailor from a century ago! If I wasn't confident enough in my own eyesight, I would even suspect that this is an amazing imitation... But even the pattern at the connection of the handle and a special flaw at the end of the handle..."
At this point he suddenly became confused, looked up at Duncan, then looked at Nina next to him. The history expert actually became unsure: "Is it really not a replica?"
Nina waved her hands when she heard this: "Uncle can't imitate something so real..."
Duncan's eyes jumped and he looked at his niece: "Go upstairs and do your homework!"
Nina was stunned for a moment: "I don't have any homework today..."
"Then go read a book!"
Nina stuck out her tongue and walked towards the stairs in small steps. But after taking two steps, she turned back and looked at her history teacher: "Mr. Morris, don't forget that you are here for a home visit..."
"Of course, I have a lot to discuss with Mr. Duncan," Morris said, smiling broadly. The old man looked radiant. "You can go upstairs and read a book first—don't worry, I won't tell on my students behind their backs."
Nina looked at Uncle Duncan and her teacher in confusion - she didn't seem to have expected that this "home visit" would start in this way.
But the next moment, she suddenly smiled for some reason.
The girl ran briskly up the stairs.