Chapter 304 Panjiayuan Taobao
Panjiayuan was originally called Panjiayao, but it didn't sound very nice, so it was changed to Panjiayuan.
At that time, there was no large-scale bargain hunting market. In 1980, the newspapers announced that the second-hand market had been restored, and it usually sold old furniture and the like.
The people selling things were not very particular. They squatted on the side of the road with used goods on their hands.
Gradually, this street became more and more crowded and became popular. Located at No. 5 Fuchang Street, it can be regarded as the starting point of Beijing's antique market in the 1990s.
This street is not long, only about a hundred meters long. The sides of the road are full of second-hand goods, and of course there are antiques hidden among the second-hand goods.
Street market in the early 1980s
There are quite a lot of famous people in this area, from all walks of life.
It is rumored that Jin Mazi's ancestors were of prominent status and now own a courtyard house facing the street. There are many good things passed down in the family.
He often sneaks out with things hidden in his sleeves and squats on the side of the road waiting for the right person.
After selling for a while, he saw that no one cared, so he simply put the gilded bronze Buddhas, porcelain, calligraphy and paintings in the grids of these old wardrobes and bookshelves and sold them.
To come to Taobao, you need the "three strengths": vision, financial resources and courage.
The average monthly salary is now around 30 yuan, which is enough for the living expenses of the whole family.
People with ideas put money in their pockets and wander around casually, hoping to see something new.
Before I had even visited a few stalls, I lost all the money in my pocket because of my impulsive behavior, and was left with a pile of rags in my hands.
A gust of wind cleared up my feverish head.
I turned around and went to the seller to return the goods, shouting and yelling, but by the time I arrived, the stall had already been run by a new group of people.
I was left standing there, jumping up and down in anger, and went home dejectedly with the rags in my arms, and I was bound to get scolded.
At that time, most of the things sold there were genuine goods, unlike the antique market that was flooded with items where ugly things made at random were said to be treasures.
Of course, there are also some middlemen who, after picking up bargains at low prices, can make a net profit of dozens of dollars by getting in touch with people in Beijing's antique shops.
It is difficult to sell antiques at high prices nowadays. If you ask for a price of around a hundred yuan, people will definitely turn around and walk away without even looking at them.
There are a lot of good things on this stall, and you are no shortage of them.
Unless you have connections with Hong Kong businessmen or overseas Chinese who know the value of the goods, you will be lucky enough to sell it at a high price.
Nowadays, most people come here to buy second-hand furniture that can be used at home.
Especially the Huanghuali furniture from the Ming Dynasty and the red sandalwood furniture from the Qing Dynasty, the asking price basically does not exceed eighty.
Besides picking up wood at the scrap yard, Xie Da Jiao also likes to hang out here.
He didn't have much money, and it wasn't easy for him to save up all at once, so he was particularly picky and compared prices from different stores.
He was patient, but the money he had was not enough to buy a complete set, so he just focused on the furniture with missing parts.
The old-fashioned three-legged Huanghuali wood chair and the unstable red sandalwood square stool...
In addition, he also likes to pick up some scraps of wood, and if he picks up enough, he can put together a piece of furniture.
The old male cat Zhima at home always likes to get on Daju's wooden bed and can't be driven away.
Because of this, the cat couple fought more often.
In order to maintain family harmony, he also made a wooden bed for Zhima using huanghuali wood.
Unexpectedly, Big Orange bared his teeth and drove Zhima to her old bed.
Compared with gray old-fashioned wooden furniture, many young people nowadays prefer to buy large double-door wardrobes imported from Romania when they get married.
It was fashionable and prestigious, and all the neighbors in their tube-shaped buildings came over to see it.
After Gao Xiulan and Lin Xiaotong got off the bus, they came over carrying two large bags.
The transportation here is quite convenient, and there are many food stalls.
"There are so many people here. Xiaotong, put your wallet on me. I heard from your dad that there are a lot of petty thefts in this area."
Gao Xiulan tied her waist bag in front of her stomach and wore a cotton jacket on the outside.
Lin Xiaotong nodded obediently and helped to tidy up the clothes.
When they arrived at the place, Gao Xiulan's face fell and she looked expressionless, like a fierce aunt who looked not to be trifled with.
She followed Gao Xiulan, and no one dared to push her on the road.
It feels great to have someone protecting you!
Lin Xiaotong passed by many small stalls and stopped at a stall selling bottles and cans.
The reason is that she fell in love with something for no reason, maybe it was just a "catch at first sight"!
Gao Xiulan noticed it, squatted down to pick and choose, and asked casually:
"How do you sell this little crappy dish?"
"Oh, sister, you have a really good eye. This is a blue and white rimmed plate, a treasure from the time of Emperor Qianlong!
I think you are a destined person, so I will sell it to you for fifty yuan."
The stall owner was a young black boy. When he saw people coming, he squatted with his hands in his pockets and had a distressed expression on his face after he finished speaking.
When Gao Xiulan heard this, her voice rose a notch and her tone was incredulous.
"How much? Fifty!
I'm not a sucker. If you really treat me like a pig, you can slaughter me as much as you want!
Such a high price for such a tiny plate, I'd better go somewhere else."
Lin Xiaotong squatted down, took it in her hand, and looked at it carefully.
The plate is grey in colour, with a painting of mandarin ducks playing in the water on the bottom. It is about 20 centimetres in diameter and looks like a small vegetable dish.
It feels quite heavy in the hand, and the blue and white painting on this plate looks real.
Because she looked carefully and found that there were scratches on the plate, and they were irregular.
If it is really old porcelain, it must have signs of use if it has been passed down from generation to generation, which is different from new porcelain that has been artificially aged.
Moreover, old porcelain will produce different "camouflage shells" on the surface under different storage environments.
She had visited Teacher Shen's house before and saw many blue and white floral plates.
However, her limited vision was not enough to accurately distinguish whether it was true or false.
Teacher Shen’s husband, Mr. Zhang, is quite knowledgeable in this area. He plans to take the item to Teacher Shen for his approval after buying it.
"Hey, hey, hey, don't go, sister, let's discuss this. How much do you think is appropriate?"
"I think this plate is only worth fifty cents! It looks so new, it's obviously fake.
I think the garlic cloves I bought back home are too small, so forget it, I won’t buy them. Let’s go to the next store and have a look.”
After saying that, he pulled the person and pretended to leave.
The black boy couldn't laugh anymore because of the clean and neat appearance, so he quickly stopped him.
"Sister, you're bargaining too hard. I bought it from the countryside for five dollars.
If I sell it to you for 50 cents, wouldn’t I be losing a lot of money?
It is not easy to find a wealthy buyer for this antique. He looked at the fashionable appearance of these two people and immediately asked for a high price.
What if a poor sucker who has plenty of money but can’t bargain takes a fancy to it?
He just made a lot of money.
But he didn't lie. He really paid for the plate, but of course it only cost him two dollars.
Gao Xiulan glanced at him, obviously not believing him.
"This thing costs five dollars, are you a scammer?"
"That's not how it works. Isn't buying things here just about seeing what you like?
As the saying goes, love is more precious than gold. If your daughter likes this plate, then they are destined to be together.
Don’t you agree, sister?
Gao Xiulan made some money today, and she waved her hand: "I'll take six dollars."
"Ten dollars."
"Six."
"Nine dollars, okay?"
"Six."
"Come on, come on, big sister, you really won't give me a penny."
Gao Xiulan took out some money from her trouser pocket and handed it to the black boy, then took the plate.
There were still a lot of bottles and jars in her bag, which she would use to wash and pickle vegetables when she got home.
"Xiaotong, are you leaving?"
"Mom, here I am. Let me show you the treasure I found."
She had just set her sights on the small stall across the street selling wood carvings and stared at an object covered in mud and sand for a long time.
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