The next day, the people arranged by Lao Kang drove to the hotel early in the morning to pick up Dai Li and Guan Honghou.
Guan Honghou spent the whole day studying hard last night and managed to get the hang of it.
As soon as he got in the car, he took out two high-intensity flashlights, gave one to Dai Li, and kept one for himself.
"I bought this at the market last night. It's a high-intensity flashlight, an essential tool for gambling on gemstones. Even experienced people have one."
Dai Li took it and looked at it: "It's hard for you to go out and buy it."
Guan Honghou felt that he was being praised and thought that he had done a good job. He began to actively share with her the information he had learned the night before.
"Before you start, you must first use a strong flashlight to illuminate the skin of the rough stone and observe the 'skin' and 'python' that appear on the surface of the rough stone..."
Guan Honghou was halfway through reciting a poem when he suddenly got stuck. He quickly took out the cheat sheet that his secretary who was far away in China had prepared for him last night.
He unfolded the cheat sheet and read aloud: "Use these five characteristics, 'skin', 'python', 'mist', 'moss', and 'pine flower', to judge the material inside..."
Guan Honghou shared the information he had prepared along the way, and finally gave a copy to Dai Li.
"Teacher Xiao Dai, when we get to the market, please observe the materials according to the information in the brochure. Even though Lao Kang and I have known each other for over 20 years, we still can't just let him handle all financial matters. We need to have a clear understanding of the situation, otherwise we might be mistaken for amateurs and get ripped off."
"If you hold this stack of information, it will tell others that you are an outsider. They will have no choice but to kill you." Dai Li flipped through the information and then gave it back to him.
Having said that, the information in his hand is Guan Honghou's confidence, and he feels more at ease with it.
"Then we can't go there blindly."
Dai Li: "I have written it down."
Guan Honghou counted his four pages carefully: "All?"
Dai Li didn't say anything and gave Guan Honghou a look that said, "Is there any need to ask this?"
Guan Honghou stopped talking. How could he question Teacher Xiaodai?
So he was happy and inexplicably felt confident. He squeezed the information and put it back into his pocket.
They arrived at the raw stone market earlier than Lao Kang, and since no one was there to receive them, they started to wander around the market.
This should be the largest jadeite raw stone market in the local area. In addition to jadeite raw stones, there are also antiques and curios around.
Most of the people doing raw stone business locally are Chinese, and they are the ones who make money.
Every day, many people from China come here to shop on Taobao and gamble on stones, and they all speak the same language.
Dai Li strolled around the market, looking for any rare and interesting gadgets. The foreign market had a wide variety of items, including domestic porcelain, calligraphy and paintings, imitations of ancient Roman sculptures, European objects from World War II, and so on.
Guan Honghou focused on the jadeite raw stone. He chose a roadside shop and carefully shone his small high-intensity flashlight to test the results of his last-minute cramming.
Shop owners who sell antiques are either aloof and indifferent, or very enthusiastic in their sales pitches.
The shop owners here are very enthusiastic. As long as you take a look at the goods, they will sell you things in their store.
The boss who got involved with Dai Li did so because he saw her stopping in front of an imitation Song Dynasty green-glazed vase.
The boss didn't even speak the local language, but spoke with a southern accent: "Don't move, beauty, I'll help you get it."
He carefully and cautiously took the vase from the shelf, held it in his hand and showed it to Dai Li.
"You have a really good eye. This is a Northern Song Dynasty official kiln green-glazed string-patterned vase. The other one is in a museum collection. It's a real gem. I only want three million for it. You won't lose out if you take it. It has great potential for appreciation."
Dai Li glanced at the value on the scanning device and looked at the boss indifferently: "This vase of yours is at most ten years old, and it was shipped from China."
The boss immediately changed his tone, "The one that's ten years old is also a good piece. Look at the glaze and the craftsmanship. It will definitely not make you look bad if you put it in your home. Who can tell it's a fake? I won't ask for more. It's three thousand."
Seeing that Dai Li did not bargain and was not very interested in buying, the boss said, "How about this, I'll treat it as making a friend with you. You can take it for one thousand. No lower."
The boss was about to hand the vase to her, waiting for her to take it.
There is no longer the same cautious attitude as before.
Dai Li remained motionless and said speechlessly, "Boss, can you show me something real? Your room is full of products of this century. Why should I buy them?"
"There are real things, but the price is this high." The boss rubbed his fingers.
Dai Li said bluntly: "I don't see you selling imitations very cheaply."
The antique shop owner was not embarrassed at all. Instead, he took the opportunity to compliment Dai Li.
"Okay, I've met an expert today. I don't need to fool you with my amateur tricks. I'll take you to see the real good stuff. I guarantee you haven't seen it anywhere else."
At this time, Guan Honghou rushed over and asked, "Teacher Xiaodai wants to buy antiques?"
Dai Li: "It's alright, let's go and broaden our horizons."
Although Guan Honghou didn't know much about antiques and went to auctions to join in the fun, the antiques displayed in this antique shop were too fake. They were obviously handicrafts mass-produced by modern porcelain factories. Even a layman like him wouldn't give them a second glance.
Guan Honghou asked the boss: "Is your collection also the same stuff as those out there? If it is the same, then there is no need to take it out."
The antique dealer said: "How could that be possible? Who would put a truly good thing on display?"
Guan Honghou: "So what treasures are hidden in your store?"
The antique shop owner asked his assistant to guard the shop and took them to the inner room: "I'll tell you in secret, I have some incredible real things here, Qin Shi Huang knew about it, and there is also the Heshi Bi."
Guan Honghou: "Who doesn't know the story of returning the jade intact to Zhao?"
The antique dealer said, "That's right. This famous Heshi Bi was eventually carved into a seal by Li Si on the orders of Qin Shi Huang. After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, successive emperors used the Qin seal as proof of legitimacy and succession. It's known in history as the Imperial Seal."
He vividly described stories that were familiar to Chinese people, but the lead he laid out was indeed funny.
Guan Honghou said happily: "Why, it's here with you?"
"Shh," the antique dealer whispered, "Don't let outsiders hear this. This imperial seal is something many people want. If it weren't for the connection between the two bosses and me, I wouldn't be willing to give it to you."
If Guan Honghou had come alone, he would have left on the spot.
Don't expect an antique dealer who talks nonsense all the time to sell you anything good.
Guan Honghou, even those who are not familiar with history, knows that the whereabouts of the imperial seal became unknown after it was passed down to the Song Dynasty. It is rumored that Boyan ground it down and carved it into a private seal. Emperors of all dynasties have been looking for the legendary imperial seal, but it has never appeared since then.
The antique dealer is taking a gamble by talking about a treasure that has been lost for a long time and may no longer exist.
Those who didn't believe it turned around and left, and the boss was too lazy to waste any more time on them.
If you don't leave at this time, it means you are interested in the boss's story. After listening to his nonsense, you may really think that you have found a bargain and bought a genuine product, and pay for it.
Dai Li looked quite interested, and Guan Honghou couldn't leave, so he casually asked, "How did you get hold of something that was lost 1,800 years ago? Why are you willing to sell it to us?"
The antique dealer said, "Its origins must be dishonorable, otherwise I wouldn't want to sell it. It would be a hot potato in my hands, and I wouldn't be able to return home. I can tell from the faces of the two bosses that you are both wealthy people. The imperial seal will definitely remain in your hands."
Guan Honghou: "Don't talk nonsense, we are good citizens who abide by the law. We will not buy things of unknown origin."
The antique dealer said: "It's not something of unknown origin, it's just dishonorable. To be honest, my brother used to be a tomb robber."
Guan Honghou narrowed his eyes and looked at him: "You mean it was stolen?"
"That's right!" The antique dealer clapped his hands. "In the first year of the Jingkang reign of the Northern Song Dynasty, the Jin army broke into Bianliang, abducted Emperors Huizong and Qinzong, and brought the Northern Song Dynasty to its end. This incident is known in history as the Jingkang Shame. This imperial seal was also looted by the Jin. Later, it was rumored that after the death of Kublai Khan, the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, the imperial seal was sold in the market and was purchased by the powerful minister Bayan. He then divided the imperial seals confiscated by the Mongols into small pieces and distributed them to princes and ministers for personal seals. This was the last time the imperial seal was actually seen."
The antique dealer's story was very convincing, and it was obvious that he had done a lot of research in order to sell the "Seal of the Realm".
Guan Honghou: "Is it Boyan's tomb that your brother robbed?"
The antique dealer acquiesced: "My guess is that Boyan wanted to collect the imperial seal privately, but he knew how eye-catching it was. If he kept it with him, there would inevitably be people who wanted to take it. So he spread rumors that he had divided up all the seals seized from the Mongols. As long as the imperial seal was gone, no one in the world would care about it anymore."
"Later, old Boyan was afraid that his descendants would not be able to protect the imperial seal, and that it would bring disaster to them, so he asked his descendants to bury the imperial seal with him."
Guan Honghou gave him a thumbs up and said, "Boss, this is a good story."
It not only conforms to historical reality, but also leaves room for maneuver and self-consistency.
The antique dealer said bluntly, "I made up some of the story, but the items are indeed in his tomb. The ancients loved to bury their favorite things with them. Take Emperor Taizong of Tang, for example. He loved the 'Preface to the Lanting Poems' so much during his lifetime that he ordered it to be buried with him in Zhaoling Mausoleum before his death."
Guan Honghou: "No one has ever successfully robbed the Zhaoling Mausoleum. If it had been robbed before, you wouldn't have found the authentic "Preface to the Lanting Poems" here today."
The antique dealer said, "Boss, don't be so quick to disbelieve me. Let's see the real thing later. Then you can see if I'm lying."
Guan Honghou glanced at Dai Li, who had not yet expressed her opinion.
Dai Li understood what he meant and said with a smile, "The boss's story is very interesting. It wouldn't hurt for us to go and take a look."
The antique shop owner said, "I'm putting this out there. You're here today, and you'll definitely make the most of it."
He took the two of them up to the attic, took off the key chain from his waist, and opened the carved wooden door of the attic.
The things displayed in the attic are indeed more exquisite than those downstairs. Anyone with a discerning eye can tell that there are good things inside.
The antique dealer walked straight around the screen in the attic hall, opened a glass cover with the key chain at his waist, put on gloves and took out the jade seal inside.
He placed the jade seal carefully on the velvet-covered table behind him and asked Dai Li and Guan Honghou to come and see it.
"Boss, look at it, isn't it beautiful? It even has the eight characters engraved on it by Qin Shi Huang himself: 'Mandate from Heaven, May You Live Long and Prosper'. It's full of historical deposits. Holding it is as if you can see Qin Shi Huang conquering the six kingdoms and unifying the world over 2,000 years ago, and witnessing his rise to become the greatest emperor of all time."
He passionately introduced it to them, and finally pointed to the missing corner and said, "Look at this missing corner. It was dropped by Empress Dowager Xiaoyuan of the Western Han Dynasty."
Guan Honghou could not see the sedimentation of history, nor could he see the emperor who unified the world through the jade seal. He thought that this antique dealer might have better development if he became a storyteller.
He didn't pay much attention to the antique owner from the beginning. He just took a quick look at the excitement and didn't even read the seal script "受命于天,久永昌" carefully.
Dai Li next to her was quite serious. She took a picture with her smart watch and analyzed it.
"Teacher Xiao Dai, what do you think?"
The antique dealer sensed their lack of interest and diligently guided them, "You'll need to examine it carefully to appreciate the charm of the Imperial Seal. Every detail engraved on it is meticulously detailed, and it truly demands the skill of the master craftsman. I'll get you two magnifying glasses, so take your time."
Dai Li: "No need for a magnifying glass, I've already seen it."
Antiques shop owner: "Boss, you must be kidding. You haven't even started looking at it yet."
As soon as I came in, I saw her playing with her smart watch and didn't even look at the imperial seal.
Dai Li: "The jade is fine, but your jade seal has nothing to do with the imperial seal. Judging from the cross-section of the broken corner of the jade seal, it must have been engraved in the past one or two years. It's not even as old as the Northern Song Dynasty green-glazed vase downstairs."
Guan Honghou had an expression that said, "As expected."
Seeing he couldn't fool them any further, the antique dealer once again displayed his acting prowess, even more shocked than the others: "What? Engraved in the last two years? Could it be that my brother is lying to me?"
He sighed helplessly, "To be honest, this imperial seal was consigned to me by my brother. He told me he stole it from a tomb and told me to sell it if the price was right. I think the jade is pretty good, so even if it's not the imperial seal, it's worth buying. Boss, you can use it to make beads or Buddha amulets, and wear them out to look impressive."
The antique dealer was very eloquent and indirectly admitted that his imperial seal was also newly made.
"So what other 'treasures' does your brother have on consignment with you? Why not take them all out and let us enjoy them?" Guan Honghou didn't want to see the treasures now, but wanted to hear what other stories the antique dealer had made up.
The antique dealer is shameless and it is common for him to be exposed for selling imitations, but he doesn't take it to heart at all. Besides, not all his items are imitations. There are still some genuine ones, but they are not so famous. If you maintain a good relationship with your customers, you might be able to buy his genuine items.
He still enthusiastically took them to continue looking at his collection.
"This is the night-shining pearl that was buried with Empress Dowager Cixi. It was originally buried in the Dingdong Tomb of the Eastern Qing Tombs, but was stolen by the warlord Sun Dianying. It then came into the hands of Soong May-ling, who used it to make shoe ornaments. People say the whereabouts of the night-shining pearl are unknown, but in fact, someone saw that Soong May-ling was old and probably didn't care about the night-shining pearl anymore, so they stole it. The descendants of that person owed my brother money and couldn't pay it back, so they used the night-shining pearl to pay off the debt."
"And this snake head. Back then, the Eight-Nation Alliance burned down the Old Summer Palace and stole the twelve bronze heads. My brother accidentally found the missing snake head. You all know it's hard to show it to the world, so it's kept secret. My brother's family couldn't let it go. He married a money-making woman who sold tons of clothes and jewelry every day, leaving them with no room in the house. They had no choice but to sell it. If you like it, keep it away from anyone and don't let anyone else know."
"If your brother really exists, he must be an extraordinary talent." Guan Honghou felt that the antique shop owner's story was more interesting than the fake antiques in his shop, and he became more and more intrigued the more he listened.
He looked around, his eyes revealing a bit of excitement: "Besides the night-shining pearl and the snake head, what else are there?"
What the antique dealer fears is that the customer will not be interested. As long as the customer is willing to listen to his story, he will find a way to make the customer happy.
He took good care of the customers, so how could they leave empty-handed? They would at least spend tens or hundreds of thousands of yuan in his store. Some customers were even more generous and spent hundreds or even millions of yuan.
What I bought is happiness.
He saw that Guan Honghou's demeanor showed that he was a wealthy man, so if he could make him happy today would definitely not be in vain.
"Over there is also the Qianlong Emperor's gold-inlaid Jin'ou Yonggu cup. This cup has a story. Boss, let me tell you slowly..."
The antique dealer was about to lead Guan Honghou to another room in the attic, but Dai Li did not follow him. She stopped in front of an inconspicuous display cabinet in the corner and called out to the dealer.
"Boss, what is this?" she asked. She was looking at a piece of earthy brown stone with a smooth top and sharp corners.
The boss himself couldn't remember. There were too many things in his shop and it was impossible for him to remember everything clearly, especially since Dai Li was asking about a stone that no one was interested in.
This place is really inconspicuous. The staff didn't even keep it clean. The glass of the display cabinet was covered with a layer of dust and the key was rusty. It was obvious that the antique owner hadn't opened this cabinet for at least several months.
The antique shop owner flipped through the brochure in the shop and then remembered what the stone was.
"Peking Man skull fossil."
Guan Honghou: "Aren't the things you're selling fake antiques? Why are you selling fake fossils too?"
The boss didn't even bother to refute the fact that he was selling fake antiques. He frankly said, "These were all consigned by my brother. He sent them here with the night pearls and snake heads. I don't care whether they are antiques or fossils. I'll just sell them all together and see if I can find someone who is destined to buy them."
Dai Li exited the scanning device's operating interface and asked, "What new story do you have with the Peking Man skull fossil?"
A broken stone that no one had asked about for ten years was not worth the antique dealer making up a complicated story about. He casually said, "It seems that my brother's friend stole it from R."
Guan Honghou used his mobile phone to check the relevant information.
The Peking Man skull fossil was discovered in Zhoukoudian, Beijing in 1929. It is a Chinese ape-man about 500,000 years old and has extremely important research value. It can be called a "national treasure."
During World War II, the country was in turmoil. In order to protect the fossils from being damaged by the war, they were going to hand them over to the Natural History Museum of the United States for temporary custody. However, they were captured by the U.S. Army and the R Army on the way. Since then, the whereabouts of the Peking Man skull fossil have been unknown.
Guan Honghou jokingly said, "Boss, the things you have here are quite valuable. Several of them are national treasures."
The antique shop owner also laughed when he heard this: "Excuse me, excuse me, to do business you need to have some stories, otherwise customers won't like to hear them."
Guan Honghou deeply agreed with the story and loved to listen to it. After hearing the story, he looked at the antique shop owner with a much better impression.
The antique dealer said, "We are all compatriots. I won't lie to you. This stone was picked up by my brother. It just looks like a skull. He brought it to me and asked me to tell others that it is a skull fossil."
Guan Honghou: "That sounds like a sentence."
As soon as he finished speaking, Dai Li asked, "Boss, how much is this fossil?"
Guan Honghou was caught off guard: "Teacher Xiao Dai, didn't you hear it just now? It's just a broken stone picked up from outside."
Dai Li nodded to show that she understood, and then said, "Didn't the antique dealer say that things should be bought by people with a predestined relationship? I think this fossil is quite appealing."
The antique owner opens his shop and has a lot of customers coming and going. He sees all kinds of people. It is not surprising that some people have special aesthetic tastes. As long as they like a stone, it is not uncommon for them to buy it.
"Look, we're so destined to be together. I won't ask for a high price. Let's just go with the Northern Song Dynasty celadon vase downstairs. How about one thousand yuan?"
After hearing the price, Dai Li hadn't said anything yet, but Guan Honghou was already unhappy: "Boss, you said you picked up the stone outside, and you still want to sell it for a thousand?"
The antique shop owner said: "Boss, you don't understand. Money can't buy what you like. If you like something, a thousand yuan is not expensive at all. Don't you think so, beautiful boss?"
Dai Li didn't bargain for the price. In the eyes of Guan Honghou who didn't understand, she paid a thousand yuan and took the stone away.
Amid the antique shop owner's cordial farewell, Guan Honghou always felt that Dai Li had suffered a great loss. If Dai Li had not been unwilling to bargain, he would have cut the price to 10 yuan no matter what.
He shook his head, thinking that it was easy to make money from women.
When they came out of the antique shop, they met Lao Kang and his friends.
Lao Kang was late because he was about to go look for his friends, and when he saw them carrying shopping bags from the antique shop, his brows furrowed.
"I forgot to remind you, don't buy antiques in the antique street next door. Most of them are fakes made in China, designed to scam tourists."
Guan Honghou: "I don't care whether it's fake or not. Anyway, it doesn't matter if it costs a few thousand or eight hundred. If you like it, buy it. As long as you are happy, that's all."
Lao Kang smiled and shook his head, and said no more. When going out to play, the most important thing is to have fun. Whether the goods are genuine or fake is secondary. It would be bad if it ruined people's mood.
Dai Li: "Not all of them are fakes. If you look carefully, you can still find good things."
Lao Kang's friend has a small goatee and looks quite serious.
Hearing this, he disagreed and said, "I haven't seen anyone find anything good in this antique street. This is a fake market. I have no objection to people liking the style of fakes, and they can buy them for collection, but I can't say that fakes are also good things."
Lao Kang came out to smooth things over and said, "I'm sorry, my friend is a serious person and speaks his mind directly. Teacher Xiao Dai, please don't take it to heart."
"He's a man who doesn't like to talk in a polite way. He always says what he thinks. So you can rest assured that he will take us to see the raw stones. He will definitely not hide anything from you."
Lao Kang's name is Lao Bian, and he still has that serious expression on his face: "Did you buy it at the Wanbao Pavilion in the back? I have some connections with the owner of Wanbao Pavilion. Come back with me to find him, and I'll ask him to return the money he cheated you out of."
Dai Li: "That's not necessary. I personally like it very much and don't want to return it."
To Old Bian, her words seemed to indicate that she deserved to be deceived.
Lao Kang asked, "What did Teacher Xiao Dai buy?"
What a beautiful antique porcelain this must be to make her like it so much.
"Skull fossil." Dai Li said as she was about to open it to show him.
Lao Kang didn't want to watch it when he heard the name.
Lao Bian: "Didn't I tell you it was a Peking Man skull fossil?"
Guan Honghou: "That's right, the antique shop owner said he stole it from Japan."
Old Bian sneered, "Almost every shop on this street sells Peking Man skull fossils."
Lao Kang nodded and said, "It's real. I believed it the first time I came here. I was surprised that such a precious thing could be sold in the market. But then a friend told me it was made of plaster. Later that day, I saw the skull fossil in several other shops."
Lao Bian: "They also sell the imperial seal, Empress Dowager Cixi's night-shining pearl, and the twelve bronze heads. You should have seen them too."
Guan Honghou felt mixed emotions, and he must have felt bad too.
Even if the thing you like is a stone, even if it is a unique stone, it would be fine. But it turns out to be a mass-produced gypsum stone, and it cost a thousand yuan. Who can stand this?
Guan Honghou said awkwardly, "Teacher Xiaodai, how about we just follow Lao Bian and return the things?"
Dai Li: "Who said I bought plaster? I bought a unique fossil."
The scanner on her wrist also records data on the degree of carbon 14 decay.
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