Monkey has been going to the countryside to collect secondhand goods for the past few years. Although the expenses are not large, he has lost money over the years. A rough calculation shows that he has lost at least 40,000 to 50,000 yuan.

For this, his father often scolded him for being a spendthrift.

Today, his luck finally turned around. He came across an artifact from the Ming Dynasty, and he was in an exceptionally good mood. He drove his secondhand Camry, humming a tune all the way.

About half an hour later, the car drove into a village in Shenbei. The monkey did not enter the village, but instead turned onto a mountain road outside the village.

By this time, it had already darkened, and the eerie north wind made the shadows of the trees sway and dance like living creatures under the car headlights.

Seeing the place the monkey had chosen, I had some doubts: "We came to this village to buy antiques, not to traffic drugs, so why did we end up in this desolate place?"

"Don't worry, I come to this village often and I know this place very well."

The monkey, holding the steering wheel, smiled at me: "The seller is betting big. To avoid being caught, they set up the gambling den in an abandoned brick kiln in the mountains. When I spoke to him, he was still gambling. We agreed to meet here."

Can you be sure this person is alright?

I was still a little unsure. According to Monkey, the other party was blinded by greed and gamblers were capable of anything.

"Don't worry, I was careful too. I didn't bring a single penny of cash with me this time."

Monkey handed me a cigarette: "I bought this used car ten days ago, and the paperwork hasn't been transferred yet. I just called the dealership, and if I want to return the car, they will refund my money directly. I can just deliver the car first thing tomorrow morning."

I took out my lighter and lit the cigarette: "You lost a lot of money, didn't you?"

The monkey grinned and said, "If I really return the car, I'll have to pay 20,000 yuan in compensation, but it's worth it! With the money I earn, I can buy an older 3 Series!"

When I heard the monkey say that, I flicked the ash into the ashtray and said, "If the item is found to be genuine, the 20,000 will be deducted from my share of the money. Of the 120,000, I will take 40,000."

Monkey's greatest virtue is his generosity; he immediately insisted, "How can that be! I promised you 60,000, and I won't shortchange you a single penny!"

"You paid for the goods today. I'm just here to oversee things. It's not fair for you to take half the profits without contributing a single penny."

I didn't want to take too much advantage of the monkey: "It's settled then, I'll take one-third of the profits!"

The monkey was about to say something when it saw lights coming from the road ahead, and immediately sat up straight: "They're here!"

Soon, a motorcycle stopped in front of the vehicle. I saw that only one person got off the motorcycle, and I felt less nervous.

The person who got in the car was a middle-aged man in his forties. After he sat down, he glanced at me in the passenger seat and asked, "Why are there two of you?"

The monkey casually made up an excuse: "This is my partner in collecting antiques. Your asking price for this item is too high today; we should both take a look."

The middle-aged man waved his hand dismissively: "Whatever, did you bring the money?"

"Brother, don't worry, as long as we like the item, we will definitely pay you every penny."

I put on a white glove on my left hand and smiled at the middle-aged man, "But before we finalize the deal, could you let me see the goods one more time?"

The middle-aged man pulled a red cloth bag from his pocket and handed it to me: "Okay, take a look!"

Although I had already seen this stemmed bowl in pictures, I was still immediately struck by its beauty when I saw the real thing.

The glaze is clean, the painting is rough, the decoration is dark and black with some impurities, which is consistent with the characteristics of folk kilns during the Jiajing period.

As your fingertips brush across the surface of the porcelain, you feel its warm, smooth texture.

My grandfather once told me a saying: "Ancient porcelain can sweat."

Generally speaking, porcelain that is over 200 years old but under 800 years old will have a moist feel, similar to sweat, which is very difficult to fake.

When I was learning appraisal, my grandfather often took me to antique shops and the homes of some of his friends. I have touched countless pieces of porcelain since I was a child.

It's a hard feeling to describe, but you can definitely tell the difference between new and old porcelain by touch.

When unearthed porcelain is frequently touched, the glaze will quickly develop a jade-like texture, while new items or imitations will never develop that special feel no matter how much you touch them.

Based solely on the feel of the porcelain, I was able to roughly determine that its age was correct.

Upon further observation, there seemed to be no problem with the pattern on the stemmed bowl.

Based on my experience, I believe this stemmed bowl is an original piece.

I don't know why, but this piece of porcelain, which I can't find any fault with, gave me an uncomfortable feeling.

But I just can't put my finger on what's wrong with this porcelain.

I turned the stemmed bowl over, and inside the foot ring was a blue-and-white inscription in regular script that read "Made in the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty".

Upon seeing these six words, I broke out in a cold sweat.

The middle-aged man, growing impatient, urged me, "How's it going? Have you finished inspecting the goods yet?"

"alright."

Seeing the middle-aged man urging me on, I turned the stemmed bowl upside down and handed it back to him.

There are many rules in the antique trade. If a buyer puts the item back with the opening facing down, it means that he has realized there is a problem with the item and is not going to keep it.

The middle-aged man didn't seem to be an insider and didn't seem to care about what I was doing: "Since you've finished watching, hurry up and pay me. I'm waiting to go back and recoup my losses!"

Seeing that the middle-aged man didn't understand what I meant, I went straight to the point and said, "Brother, we won't take this."

The middle-aged man was stunned: "You're not accepting it anymore? What do you mean?"

“This thing isn’t worth two hundred thousand.” I held out my palm to the middle-aged man: “If you’re really serious about splitting the cost, we can barely take this porcelain for fifty thousand!”

Hearing my response, the middle-aged man's eyes revealed deep displeasure. He questioned the monkey, "You told me on the phone that as long as the goods were in good condition, you would never try to lower the price! Now you're putting on this act?"

Hearing the middle-aged man's question, the monkey secretly cast a glance at me, as if to remind me that I was being a bit too harsh in bargaining.

I ignored the monkey's hint: "Fifty thousand it is, we won't pay a penny more!"

"Pah! You think you can buy my treasure for 50,000 yuan? Dream on! I'm not wasting my time with you! If I'd known this would happen, I would have just bet it at the gambling table!"

The middle-aged man started cursing at the two of us, then pushed open the car door and drove off.

Seeing the middle-aged man leave, the monkey made a move to get off the carriage and chase after him: "Young Master Duan, you've been too ruthless in your bargaining! We finally got a chance to snag a bargain, we can't let this sure thing slip away!"

"Stop chasing! Still hoping to snag a bargain? You've almost suffered a major setback today!"

I grabbed the monkey's arm and said bluntly, "You had someone set up the pot. That stemmed bowl has an eerie aura; it's a fake!"