Chapter 74 Another Lottery
After Shi Yue handed the Hundred Longevity Painting to Yang Zhiqiang, he thought that the deal was done and no longer cared about the follow-up.
As for whether Yang Zhiqiang gave away the Hundred Longevity Painting or whether people liked it after giving it away, he didn't care. After all, he was just a calligrapher. He thought that his calligraphy was serious enough and that he didn't take Yang Zhiqiang's money in vain.
Besides, Shi Yue recently found a new hobby and is very busy.
His new hobby recently is visiting Panjiayuan.
Hey, it’s Panjiayuan. Ever since Shi Qiushui found a bargain on an agarwood bracelet in Panjiayuan last time, Shi Yue discovered that some of the sellers in Panjiayuan really don’t know what they’re doing, so he started planning to find a bargain again.
These days, every night after work, he would drag Old Zhao to Panjiayuan.
Old Zhao, who went with him, had no intention of finding a bargain. The last time he went to Panjiayuan, he met those scammers who really scared him. He finally knew his own worth and knew that let alone finding a bargain, it would be a blessing if he could avoid being cheated and losing all his money.
Old Zhao had gone with Shi Yue to Panjiayuan purely to see the fun. He hadn't brought any money with him. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but Aunt Lu had confiscated all his personal savings, so he had no money. So, he followed Shi Yue to see the fun with nothing.
Shi Yue knew this in his heart. He knew that even though he knew a little bit about the business, he was just a layman and he didn't come here to buy things with the intention of finding a bargain. In the first few days, he took Lao Zhao to walk around the area, visited every stall, and didn't buy anything.
After Shi Yue walked around for a few days, he actually made a few new friends. After all, he came here every day, so people were familiar with him.
People also saw that Shi Yue came here to collect things, so they took the initiative to say to Shi Yue: "If you really want to collect things, you have to come at night. The people who set up stalls here don't put the real and good things out during the day, but only at night."
Shi Yue was surprised and asked around, only to find out that there was a ghost market in Panjiayuan from 9pm to 12am.
He immediately became interested. Is there something real tonight?
He wanted to see what real things there were in this ghost market.
Shi Qiu Shui was furious when she knew that Shi Yue was going to explore the ghost market at night. It was not that she disagreed with Shi Yue going, but the reason she was furious was that she also wanted to go, but Shi Yue did not allow her to go.
There are all kinds of people going to the ghost market, and it is not safe for Shi Qiu Shui to go there as a child.
Shi Yue rejected Shi Qiushui's application on the spot. He said, "Xiao Qiushui, be good. If you don't go, stay home."
Shi Qiu Shui pouted and looked at Shi Yue with pitiful eyes, trying to make Shi Yue soften his heart and agree to take her with him, but Shi Yue still refused.
Shi Yue: "Xiao Qiu, be obedient. If you stay at home well, I will give you more New Year's money."
Shi Qiu Shui was about to sit down and throw a tantrum, but she hesitated for a moment. Finally, under the temptation of the New Year's money, she gave up the idea of asking Shi Yue to take her with him.
She pouted and said, "Okay."
Shi Yue took action that night. Around ten o'clock in the evening, seeing Shi Qiu Shui had gone to bed and fallen asleep, he took a flashlight and went out.
This time, Old Zhao didn't follow. After all, he just wanted to watch the fun and didn't really want to collect anything, so Shi Yue didn't insist on grabbing him.
Shi Yue was still the same as usual. He took the bus to Panjiayuan. As soon as he got off the bus, he found that this place was really different during the day and at night.
The first thing that makes people feel different is that this area is particularly quiet at night.
Of course, this quietness does not mean that there are few people or no one. On the contrary, the number of people setting up stalls and buying things here at night seems to be no less than that during the day. The entire street is densely packed with small stalls with dim lights, and people holding flashlights walking back and forth in front of the stalls.
But these people were very quiet. Even when customers were asking for prices or communicating with their companions, they kept their voices down. The stall owners were even more taciturn than each other, and none of them shouted to sell their goods.
Shi Yue had heard people talk about the origin of this ghost market during the day, and he knew why.
It is said that this ghost market was originally a place where impoverished officials of the Qing Dynasty would sell off their property, and where eunuchs and guards in the palace would steal tributes from the emperor and sell the stolen goods. The former were too embarrassed to show their faces to others, while the latter were unable to do so for the sake of their own lives.
Although their reasons are different, they all have one thing in common, which is that they don't want others to find out that they are selling things in the ghost market, so they deliberately come to sell things in the middle of the night when it is dark and they don't speak while selling things.
Although so many years have passed and the Qing Dynasty has been gone for many years, this rule has been retained because some of the things circulating in the ghost market are still not presentable to the public.
Yue had no objection to this at the moment.
After all, even if he has an opinion, it’s useless. This has become an unspoken rule and he can only abide by it.
Shi Yue took a deep breath, turned on the flashlight, and slowly walked into the market full of stalls.
Because it was dark, he could only rely on the dim lights on each stall and the flashlight he was holding to illuminate the way, so he walked very slowly. He stopped in front of each stall for a long time, carefully looking at the items on the stall before moving forward.
Hey, don't tell me, the man didn't lie to him during the day.
Shi Yue visited several stalls and found that there were more good things at night than during the day.
Although he couldn't be sure whether the items on each stall were genuine, the quality was much better than what he saw during the day.
At least he didn't see any fake items here.
Shi Yue took a careful look around and found that there were quite a lot of good things here.
For example, the man in front of me selling used books and stamps has various styles of stamps displayed on his stall. He has been here for a few days and has memorized several famous and valuable ones by listening to people chatting. They all happen to be on display at his stall, including "Monkey Stamps", "The Whole Country is Red", and "Blue Army Stamps".
But the problem is, he can't tell whether this thing is real or fake.
He had only heard of it, but had never seen it in person.
Shi Yue looked at it curiously for a long time, but finally left quietly. He didn't understand this thing, so he just looked at it.
Shi Yue strolled around for a while until he stopped at a stall selling porcelain.
The stall mainly displays various types of blue and white porcelain, including larger ones such as plum bottles and incense burners, and smaller ones such as wine jugs, porcelain bowls, and tea cups. There are all kinds of items with different patterns and styles and in different qualities.
Shi Yue glanced around and was not very interested at first, because it was really difficult to guarantee the quality of porcelain, and it was difficult to guarantee the authenticity of good quality porcelain. However, there were so many good quality porcelains on the stall, and it was obvious that a lot of modern technology was involved.
But just as he turned to leave, he suddenly noticed a large jar with a lotus pattern in the corner. The diameter of this jar was about thirty or forty centimeters, but the reason why Shi Yue first noticed this jar was not because of its size, but because of its pattern.
The pattern on this bottle is quite interesting. The lines of the petals are thick and solid, with a sense of fluidity, as if they were drawn in one stroke.
Shi Yue raised his eyebrows and stopped.
Not to mention, just this line has a Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain feel.
Shi Yue took two steps forward, walked in front of the jar, shone the flashlight on himself, and observed it carefully.
At first glance, you can see that the pattern of this jar also has a bit of the flavor of Yuan blue and white porcelain. The individual petals are large, the petals do not overlap, the flower shape is outward, and there is a lot of white space.
He smacked his lips. The overall shape of the jar was rough and had a strong sense of power, which really gave it the feel of Yuan blue and white porcelain.
Looking at the glaze color, it also matches the Yuan blue and white porcelain.
The more Shi Yue looked at it, the more he felt that this jar was indeed genuine Yuan blue and white porcelain. He pursed his lips and touched the inner wall of the jar. Another feature of Yuan blue and white porcelain was that the inner wall was not repaired. Modern imitations generally repair the inner wall, making the lines of the inner wall rigid and stiff, while the real one is more rounded.
He touched it and felt more confident that this jar was indeed genuine Yuan blue and white porcelain.
Shi Yue was certain in his heart that this jar was genuine Yuan blue and white porcelain, but he didn't show it on his face. He pretended to wait and see for a while, then spoke in a light tone.
"Boss, how much do you want for this jar?"
The middle-aged man sitting behind the stall raised his head, and through the light, Shi Yue saw his face. His bronze face was covered with wrinkles. Judging from his appearance, one might think he was a farmer who needed to work in the fields, rather than an antique seller.
Shi Yue was not surprised. He knew that many of the people setting up stalls here went to the countryside to collect antiques. They went to the countryside in the wind and sun all year round, so it was not surprising that they looked like this.
The middle-aged man looked up at the jar that Shi Yue was pointing at, then stretched out a hand and made a five gesture. After he finished making the gesture, he turned his palm over.
At the same time, he whispered, "One hundred thousand."
Wow.
Shi Yue was surprised. He knew that a single slap was five, and with the flipped palm it was ten, but he didn't expect that this ten was one hundred thousand!
He glanced at the boss who made the offer and found that the boss was also staring at him, as if observing his reaction to the price.
Shi Yue understood instantly. This guy offered such a high price probably because he saw that he was interested in the jar and wanted to rip him off.
Shi Yue chuckled and said, "Tsk, Boss, I'm not ignorant either. Just be honest and give me a fair price."
The boss laughed dryly: "Haha, little brother, if you really want it, then I'll give you a lower price, 80,000. What do you think of 80,000?"
His eyes rolled around, and it was obvious that he was not honest. Shi Yue also understood that since he had met this person, the price today would have to be negotiated.
However, he has plenty of time and patience, so it doesn't matter if he talks slowly.
He shook his head and said with a pout, "You're no good. You're not honest. I told you I'd give you a fair price, but you're still taking advantage of me? Ha, eighty thousand, you really dare to ask for it."
Shi Yue's sudden assertiveness actually frightened the stall owner. He had bought this jar from the countryside some time ago, and because it looked nice, he had paid two hundred yuan for it. With his discerning eyes, he could tell that the jar was an old item, but he couldn't say exactly where it came from or how much it was worth.
The reason why he asked for 100,000 right away was exactly what Shi Yue thought. Seeing that Shi Yue was interested in this thing, he wanted to make a killing from him.
At this moment, Yue Yi became more assertive, and the stall owner began to feel uneasy. He smiled and said, "Hey, buddy, don't be impatient. Let's talk slowly. The price is negotiable. At worst, I can give it to you at a lower price."
Shi Yue glanced at him indifferently and asked, "How much cheaper can you give me?"
"Fifty thousand, how about fifty thousand?" Shi Yue stood up and made to leave as soon as the stall owner finished speaking. Seeing this, the stall owner quickly grabbed Shi Yue's hand and said, "Oh, no, buddy, don't leave yet. Didn't we agree that the price is negotiable?"
Shi Yue rolled his eyes at him and said, "I didn't tell you we had to negotiate. Besides, your offer is a bit dishonest, isn't it?"
The stall owner said: "No, buddy, I have already bargained it down to 50,000 from 100,000. Why are you still accusing me of being dishonest?"
Shi Yue: "Then tell me, is this jar worth fifty thousand?"
When this was mentioned, the stall owner began to feel guilty. He stammered, "Well, well, how much do you think is appropriate?"
He looked at Shi Yue and asked, "Brother, give me a price. What do you think is a reasonable amount?"
Shi Yue thought about it, then he stretched out his hand and slapped it. He said, "Five hundred."
The stall owner shook his head without a second thought: "No, no, five hundred is not right, this price is too low."
Although he only spent two hundred when he bought this jar, he could tell that it was an old item. If he was asked to sell it for five hundred, he would definitely not sell it.
He glanced at Shi Yue and said, "Brother, you said I wasn't honest. I don't think you're that honest either. You want to take this thing for 500 yuan? Aren't you dreaming too much?"
Shi Yue was not annoyed by what he said, he just asked: "Then how much do you want to open?"
The stall owner thought about it and bargained with Shi Yue for a long time. He realized that this man was a stingy person and it would be impossible for him to rip him off.
Although he knew that he couldn't make a killing, the stall owner still wanted to sell the jar. After all, he had put the jar out for a while, and Shi Yue was the first one to come and ask the price.
Thinking it was better to sell it cheap than to lose money on it, the stall owner slowly said, "Brother, let me be honest with you. I won't sell this jar for less than 5,000 yuan."
Although he said so, both Shi Yue and he knew in their hearts that in this market, no matter how high the price was, there would be half water in it, which was room for bargaining.
When Shi Yue heard the offer, he decisively cut his price: "Five thousand is too high, will you sell it for two thousand five hundred?"
The stall owner's attitude was a little loose. He gritted his teeth and said, "I'm at a loss at 2,500. Brother, give me a little more. If you give me a little more, I'll sell it."
Shi Yuezhi added another five hundred and said, "How about three thousand? If you can, I'll take it."
The stall owner frowned and hesitated for a moment, as if he had made a difficult decision. He gritted his teeth and said, "Okay, three thousand. Take it!"
Because he came here with the purpose of picking up a bargain, Shi Yue deliberately carried some extra money with him when he went out. He had just enough three thousand yuan in his pocket at the moment. He decisively paid the money, took the jar and left.
He walked very fast, whoosh whoosh, and soon walked out of the market lined with stalls. If you asked him why he walked so fast, it was of course because he was afraid that he would laugh if he was a little slower.
Even though he was not an expert, he knew that in the current market, a Yuan blue and white porcelain jar would definitely not be sold for 3,000 yuan. Not to mention 3,000 yuan, even if the price was increased tenfold, 30,000 yuan might not be enough to buy a jar of such good quality.
He made a lot of money tonight!
Shi Yue suppressed the joy in his heart and walked quickly towards the bus stop. It was almost twelve o'clock and the last bus had already left, so there was no one waiting at the bus stop. Shi Yue also found out when he came over that the last bus had already left. He slapped his forehead in annoyance, but he was not too worried.
After all, even if the bus stopped running, there were still taxis available, so he wouldn't be unable to go home.
Shi Yue felt lucky that he had brought a lot of money today. He spent three thousand yuan to buy the cans and still had enough money left to take a taxi home, otherwise he would be in real trouble.
He waved on the roadside holding the can and quickly got a taxi. After getting in, he told the driver the address of the slum and the driver stepped on the accelerator and drove off.
There were few cars on the road at this moment, and there were not many red lights. The taxi drove smoothly towards the compound. The driver said to Shi Yue in a bored tone: "Hey, buddy, you bought this jar from the ghost market, right?"
Shi Yue could tell that the driver was just bored and had nothing to say, so he simply nodded and said, "Yeah, I just bought it at the ghost market."
Driver: "Hey, how much did you pay for this can?"
Shi Yue smiled and said, "Not much money."
Although he knew the driver had no bad intentions, he didn't want to reveal how much he spent.
As the saying goes, don't show off your wealth.
He was a stranger to the driver and didn't know what kind of person he was. What if he knew that he was carrying a valuable jar and had bad intentions?
The driver could see through Shi Yue's expression and knew that he didn't want to talk about it, so he didn't ask any more questions. He smiled and said, "This bottle looks pretty good."
Shi Yue: "Yes, fish playing with lotus. This pattern looks beautiful and has a good meaning. It's auspicious."
The driver said, "Huh? This fish playing with lotus has a meaning? I've never heard of it before. Can you tell me more?"
Shi Yue: "The fish and lotus each symbolize fertility and many offspring. When combined, they symbolize the union of yin and yang, and reproduction. The fish playing with the lotus symbolizes harmonious marital relations and many offspring."
"Wow, there's such a thing! This is the first time I've heard of it." The driver exclaimed in surprise, then nodded thoughtfully. "That seems to be true. I saw in department stores that when they recommended wedding supplies to young couples, the pillowcases and pillowcases all had designs of fish playing with lotus flowers."
He touched his head and said, "I didn't know why before. I didn't expect it was because of this. Now I know something new."
Shi Yue smiled but said nothing.
The driver asked, "So you bought this jar because you're getting married?"
He glanced back and thought, this young man looks to be around 28 or 29 years old, how come he is not married yet?
Shi Yue waved his hand: "Oh, no, I got married a long time ago. I just think this jar has a good meaning and looks festive."
"Oh oh." The driver smacked his lips and said nothing.
He thought to himself, this guy is rich and willful.
If Shi Yue knew what the driver was thinking, he would probably burst out laughing. What's with all the money and capriciousness? He was just trying to get rich! He was going to resell it!
But even if he didn't know what the driver was thinking, Shi Yue was still thinking about how to sell this jar.
Although he was sure that the jar was a Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain jar, he had no intention of keeping it for his own collection.
Collecting? That's something for rich people to do.
He is not rich enough now, so there is no point in collecting this thing. It would be better to sell this jar and buy more delicious food for his Xiaoqiu.
Shi Yue thought about it in his mind, but couldn't think of anyone he knew who would want to receive this thing.
He sighed with melancholy. It was a pity that he was not in the Dayu Dynasty now. If he were in the Dayu Dynasty, one of his friends would definitely be willing to pay a high price to take the jar away.
But then again, if he were in the Dayu Dynasty, he probably wouldn't have fallen to the point of having to rely on selling jars to survive.
Oh, forget it, don’t think about it anymore. There’s no point in thinking about it.
Shi Yue shook his head, threw these regrets out of his mind, and continued thinking.
It has been almost two months since he and Shi Qiu Shui came here. They have been hanging around the machinery factory. The people he knows are all the employees and their families of the machinery factory. They are all working class people who get paid every month. Who would be willing to spend money to buy such a can that is not suitable for eating or drinking?
Oh, no, no, doesn’t he know a boss?
Yes! Yang Zhiqiang!
Thinking of Yang Zhiqiang, Shi Yue's eyes suddenly lit up.
He didn't intend to sell the jar to Yang Zhiqiang, as he knew Yang Zhiqiang had no interest in collecting such things. He figured that Yang Zhiqiang was a boss after all, so he must know a lot of bosses.
Maybe among those bosses, there are some who know the goods and want to collect this thing!
When Yang Zhiqiang asked him to write a few days ago, didn’t he say that the old man who was going to hold a birthday party was interested in antique calligraphy and paintings?
"Comrade, we've arrived. It's time for you to get off the bus."
While Shi Yue was thinking, the driver had already parked the car at the entrance of the alley. Shi Yue opened his mouth to remind him, and then Shi Yue realized that he had arrived home. He quickly took out the money and asked, "How much is it, driver?"
"fifteen."
"Hey, I'll give you money."
Shi Yue paid the money and got out of the car. The gate of the compound was already closed, but it was not locked to make it convenient for the residents to get up at night. He pushed hard and opened the gate.
The yard was quiet, and every household had turned off the lights and gone to sleep. Shi Yue entered the yard, carefully closed the door again, and then walked quickly towards his home.
When he entered the door, he glanced thoughtfully at the Yang family next door.
He was thinking of talking to Yang Zhiqiang about the jar tomorrow.
But what Shi Yue didn't expect was that before he even found Yang Zhiqiang, Yang Zhiqiang took the initiative to find him.
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