As soon as he entered the shop, Yang Jing felt a familiar feeling coming towards him.
Before coming to London, Yang Jing often felt this atmosphere in antique markets in China. Obviously, the owner of this shop in the Alfie Antique Market is likely to be a fellow countryman from China.
Sure enough, when he pushed the door, he hit the copper bell above the door. The bell made a crisp "ding-dong" sound, which immediately attracted the boss inside.
Yang Jing looked back at the copper bell hanging above the door and smiled.
In ancient China, there was a reason to hang copper bells at the door. Ancient people hung copper bells above the door of their homes. One reason was that visitors could ring the bells to notify the host of the arrival of guests. Another more important reason was that hanging copper bells at the door could protect the house.
In the ancient Chinese Feng Shui, copper bells have the function of warding off evil spirits, eliminating evil and ensuring safety. No matter whether it is a wind chime or a copper bell, they all have the effect of attracting wealth and eliminating evil spirits, but the wind chime has the best effect on the Five Yellow Evil Spirits. It also has great functions of warding off evil spirits, subduing demons, protecting homes and bestowing blessings. The sound of copper bells and copper bells has the effect of bringing blessings and driving away evil spirits.
Seeing Yang Jing looking back at the copper bell, the boss greeted him with a smile: "Little brother, are you interested in my bell?"
Hearing this, Yang Jing turned around, smiled, shook his head and said, "Hanging a copper bell at the door can restrain the Five Yellow Evils. Whenever the Five Yellows fly to the main door or the room door, it is advisable to hang a copper wind chime to ward off the evil spirits. Since the Five Yellows are of the earth element, hanging a copper wind chime of the gold element can release the earth energy. The swinging of the bell can strengthen the gold energy, which can then release the Five Yellows. This is something you have to protect your house, boss, and I don't want to take it away from someone else."
Hearing Yang Jing's words, the shop owner's eyes lit up and said, "Oh, little brother is really an expert."
Yang Jing waved his hand and said, "I'm sorry to make you laugh. I don't claim to be an expert, but I heard my grandfather talk about this when I was a child, so I have always kept it in mind. Now I think I am showing off a bit."
"Haha, little brother, what you said is not right. If you hadn't said this today, I really wouldn't have known that there was such a saying about hanging a copper bell at the door. I hung this bell at the door just to notify me when someone came, but I didn't know there was such a deep meaning behind it."
After a pause, the Chinese boss in his 50s asked, "Where in China are you from, young man? I'm from Chengde, Hebei Province, and I've been in the UK for eight years."
Yang Jing said, "We are not far from each other. I am from Tianqu, Shandong Province, which is close to your Ji Province. We are half fellow villagers. My name is Yang Jing, the Yang of poplar tree, Li Qingjing. I wonder what your name is, boss?"
The boss said quickly, "We are really half fellow villagers. My name is Huang Benchu, you can just call me Lao Huang."
It is not easy to meet a fellow countryman in the UK, thousands of miles away from home. Boss Huang was obviously very happy. He pulled Yang Jing to sit down and enthusiastically made a pot of tea for Yang Jing.
Yang Jing had nothing to do, and since Boss Huang was so welcoming, Yang Jing was happy to chat with him.
"Xiao Yang, are you coming to the UK to study or work?"
"I am studying for a master's degree and will get my diploma in November."
Hearing Yang Jing's words, Boss Huang said enviously: "You young people are still good. You can read more books and learn a lot. Unlike us, when we want to study, there are no books to read. When we get old, we can only set up a stall to make a living."
Yang Jing could understand what Old Huang said. Old Huang should be a few years older than Yang Jing's father, and was born in the 1960s. When they were studying, they happened to catch up with that era of buzzing. They really had no place to study even if they wanted to.
"Are you an immigrant?" Yang Jing asked.
"Yes, I immigrated here. My son and daughter-in-law both work in the UK, and my husband passed away early. I had nothing to do at home, so I immigrated at the instigation of my son. Oh... If I had known that it would be so difficult to survive in the UK, I would rather stay at home and run my small stall than live here!"
Old Huang waved his hands in annoyance and said, "Let's not talk about this anymore. It's just too bitter. Xiao Yang, are you here to stroll around or buy something? If you're buying something, I'll give you a 20% discount. It's rare to meet a fellow villager who you can get along with, so I have to give you a discount today."
Yang Jing smiled and said, "Thank you so much. I came here today because I really wanted to buy something."
Old Huang pointed at the things in the store and said, "Then you can take a look at what I have here first. Although there are not many old pieces, most of the things I have here are real. You can choose with confidence."
Yang Jing put down the teacup, stood up and started walking around the store.
Lao Huang’s shop is not very big, about 30 square meters, but there is a staircase at the back, so the second floor should also belong to Lao Huang.
Lao Huang's shop mainly deals in miscellaneous collectibles. Bamboo, wood, ivory and horn carvings can be seen everywhere in the shop. There are also many inkstones, purple clay teapots, brush washers, gourds, collectible walnuts, snuff bottles placed on the antique shelves. In addition, there are also many embroidery and jade wares.
Although the shop is not large, these things are arranged in a very orderly manner. It looks scattered but not messy, and you can see Boss Huang's care and effort everywhere.
There are countless shops like this in the domestic cultural relics market, which is why Yang Jing could feel a familiar atmosphere as soon as he entered the door just now. If he didn't know that this shop was in London, Yang Jing would have really thought he had returned to the domestic cultural relics market.
Yang Jing knew that his grandfather often carried him to the antique market before he could even walk. This familiar atmosphere had long been deeply ingrained in his bones.
After obtaining the consent of Mr. Huang, Yang Jing started to work.
Picking up a snuff bottle made of glass, Yang Jing looked at it carefully.
This snuff bottle is very delicately made and is a typical inner-painted snuff bottle. The patina on the outside is also very good. You can tell at a glance that it is an old item.
Sure enough, seeing Yang Jing looking at the snuff bottle, Old Huang came up and said, "Xiao Yang, you have a good eye. You liked this snuff bottle at first sight. This snuff bottle is a work of the Ji School, one of the four major schools of inner painting during the Daoguang period. Although it is not made by a master, it is rare that it has been preserved until now."
Yang Jing nodded and said, "Yes, in those days, there were four major schools of inner-painted pots: Beijing, Hebei, Shandong, and Guangdong. Among them, snuff bottles made by masters of the Beijing school are now sold at auction for over a million yuan. Although your pot is not made by Ma Shaoxuan, Ye Zhongsan, or any of the four famous Beijing school artists, it is also a rare fine product. Mr. Huang, how much is this snuff bottle?"
PS: I will post one chapter in the early morning of Monday, please read it first. Also, I beg for your recommendation votes, the more the better...
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