Chapter 2 Pick a few more pieces

"Pfft..."

Laughter came from the copperware stall next to him, and Lin Sicheng turned around.

The man and woman were both in their thirties, with generally refined and elegant appearances, clearly intellectuals.

The man was examining a bronze mirror, while the woman watched them with a smile in her eyes, her lips pursed: "Excuse me!"

"fine!"

Lin Sicheng chuckled, glaring at Gu Ming, "Don't blame me!"

Gu Ming snorted but didn't say anything.

Lin Sicheng pointed and asked, "Boss, how much is that book?"

Which copy of *Yanhuang Chunqiu*?

"right!"

"Three thousand!"

Upon hearing "three thousand," Lin Sicheng understood: although the stall owner was the boss, he really didn't know his stuff.

I guess I got a small bargain.

He asked tentatively, "Is your book inlaid with gold?"

The stall owner rolled his eyes: "Who told that idiot to say all my stuff is junk?"

Lin Sicheng was both amused and exasperated: "How old are you? Why are you still getting angry with a child?"

"Bring it here so I can take a look!"

Upon hearing "Yanhuang Chunqiu," the man buying the bronzeware looked up and glanced at the magazine handed to him by the newsstand owner.

The cover is blue, slightly grayish, and looks quite old. At the top are four large characters: "Yanhuang Chunqiu" (The Annals of Yanhuang). Below that are seven or eight lines of headings:

The tenth year of the Republic of China: the best of times.

The Self-Strengthening Movement marked the beginning of industrial prosperity.

...

The man was startled: It really is "Yanhuang Chunqiu"?

At first glance, the title seems plausible, based on hearsay, unfounded rumors, or even fabricated and distorted... It's more like street vendor literature than street vendor literature.

Then look at the publication number: "Chinese Yanhuang Culture Research Association". I've never heard of it before. It's obviously a fake association.

Flipping through the pages, the articles are repetitive and contradictory, full of unspoken speculation and veiled conjecture. They're even worse than a cheap copy of a story magazine.

But only a very few people know that this book was created in 1989 by a certain committee. Although it is not classified, it is a legitimate internal reference document. If you are not of a high enough rank, you really can't see it.

Therefore, most people wouldn't recognize it and would just think it's a low-class magazine.

For example, Gu Ming casually flipped through the book and exclaimed, "Huh? Who printed this book?"

"central!"

Thinking Lin Sicheng was being sarcastic, Gu Ming chuckled coldly.

The newsstand owner chuckled, "Print this?"

Hearing this, Lin Sicheng felt even more confident and waved the magazine: "You should name your price!"

"three hundred!"

"thirty!"

The boss said crisply and decisively, "Give me the money!"

Gu Ming grumbled, "You idiot, what good stuff can it be if it drops from three thousand to thirty? For thirty, you can get two bowls of gourd soup and half a pound of braised pork!"

"All you do all day is eat, eat, eat. Do you even want to eat shit?"

"I'll eat if you eat it!"

The two of them were like a comedian performing a comedy routine. The woman laughed non-stop and glanced at the book, asking, "Wang Qizhi, what book is that?"

The man lowered his voice: "Internal report!"

"What?"

Shan Wangshu was stunned: The child wasn't just making things up; it really was published by a central ministry?

But how did the internal reference materials end up on street stalls?

"A large issuance volume?"

"On the contrary, it was very low: when it was first issued, it was only submitted to provincial-level units, and later it was limited to central government agencies..."

"How did you recognize this child?"

Wang Qizhi paused for a moment: Right?

That mention of "Central Government" was definitely not nonsense.

Besides, if you're buying this book to read as a magazine, three yuan would be too much. The fact that he spent thirty yuan to buy it shows that he understands its intrinsic value.

It can't be that someone in your family is an official, and of an ridiculously high rank, right?

Upon closer inspection: the man is handsome and fair-skinned, and his clothes are decent, but his demeanor doesn't quite match.

It's peaceful now, without a trace of the arrogance of a spoiled rich kid.

The woman nudged him again: "How much can I sell it for?"

The man thought for a moment, then stretched out his hand and spread his five fingers.

"five hundred?"

"thousand!"

The woman's mouth dropped open: "That's three months' salary for her? This kid only cost thirty."

"How come you didn't see it just now?"

The man retorted confidently, "I'm here to buy bronzeware, not books."

The woman puffed out her cheeks.

...

They paid and left, passing each other by.

Several objects were laid out at the man's feet: a bronze mirror, a bronze sword, arrowheads, and ancient coins. But they were obviously fake, all imitations.

The man knew it was a fake and was haggling with the stall owner.

The woman stared at Lin Sicheng with curiosity.

What is she looking at?

"They must be wondering: This young man looks quite clever, so why is he carrying a porcelain hammer?"

Gu Ming pondered for several seconds before realizing who the young man and the porcelain hammer were, and he threw a punch without thinking.

Lin Sicheng dodged, paused for a moment, and then squatted down again.

Gu Ming craned his neck to take a look, and secretly grimaced: At least waste paper is worth some money, but this time it's just become junk?

But she stopped nagging, thinking that she would just pay off the six hundred yuan loss as long as Lin Sicheng could come home.

Lin Sicheng first looked around: all of them were roof tiles, and they all looked quite authentic.

Most of them are glazed tiles from the Ming and Qing dynasties, but there are also iron tiles from the Song dynasty and even Chang Le tiles from the Eastern Han dynasty and Si Xiang tiles from the Three Kingdoms period.

Unfortunately, most of them are broken pieces.

Looking at the young stall owner, Lin Sicheng sighed: "You have a pretty complete selection, but why can't you find anything that's sold in bulk?"

"My father passed away, and we were in a hurry to divide the family property, so we sold off the good stuff as soon as possible!"

Sure enough.

What are the prices?

"Depending on the dynasty, the most expensive are Han Dynasty tiles with inscriptions, followed by those with floral patterns, then glazed tiles, and unglazed tiles without patterns are cheaper! If you buy a lot, plain tiles are free."

Lin Sicheng nodded and casually picked out a few pieces.

The couple next to us paid their bill, but didn't leave immediately.

The woman knew he wanted to buy the book as soon as she saw the man staring at Lin Sicheng. She first pursed her lips, then glanced at the broken tiles at Lin Sicheng's feet.

"Hey, why is he picking out so many plain tiles?"

Men are strange too.

As the name suggests, roof tiles are naturally used to block rain. The tile is shaped like a "U" shaped channel, and the round disc in front of it is the "dang".

Whether it's characters or patterns, they're only printed on the "pawn" part, so only the "pawn" part has collectible value. If it's just a smooth, broken piece of tile, it's basically worthless.

Lin Sicheng, however, did the opposite; he would pick out seven or eight plain tiles before choosing two to pawn.

Looking at the inscription on the surface, it seemed to be made entirely of Han Dynasty tiles. Then, examining the curves and shape of the broken tile, the man had a sudden inspiration: "He wants to make a teapot?"

"What?"

"There is a type of Zisha teapot called Hanwa teapot, which is made by piecing together Han Dynasty tiles. Since the tiles can only be used for the base and lid, they are used sparingly. The tiles are used to shape the body of the teapot, so they are used more often."

"Very expensive?"

"It depends on the craftsmanship; a good one can cost tens of thousands!"

"He can do this too?"

“He might not know, but he’s definitely studied it!” the man sighed. “And he’s very knowledgeable: put aside everything else, just look at the curvature of those tiles—they’re perfect for combining teapots!”

The woman clicked her tongue in surprise: "How old is he?"

The two whispered among themselves, and Lin Sicheng had already picked out more than ten pieces. The total cost was three hundred yuan, and the shopkeeper gave them a cardboard box as a gift.

Lin Sicheng quickly packed it up, took it, and casually shoved it into Gu Ming's hand. As soon as he stood up, Gu Ming's eyes lit up.

Wow, I actually got a bargain?

Seeing him squat down again, Gu Ming was completely confused: "What's wrong?"

"Pick a few more!"