Chapter 135: Purple Clay Teapot during the Yongzheng Period
Shi Xiaoai didn't plan to make money by buying antiques.
Firstly, she was well aware of her limited abilities; to put it bluntly, she was a mere dabbler. The only things she knew were from her parents, and she could often tell the real from the fake just by instinct.
This is indeed a good opportunity to get a bargain now that the collecting craze has not yet taken off and no one is counterfeiting.
But when the nationwide collecting craze really started in the next few years, Shi Xiaoai felt that her level of skills would fall into the ditch in a minute.
Of course, in addition to her self-awareness, another very important reason why she didn't dare to get too involved in the antique business was that she had no money.
Buying antiques is a big pitfall. Even if things are cheap now, you still need to have some spare money in your pocket that you don’t really use.
Because now is the time when things are easy to get in but difficult to get out.
Once you buy it, it will take at least ten or twenty years for the price to go up.
It really takes up too much capital.
Therefore, when it comes to antique collection, Shi Xiaoai always holds the mentality of finding bargains. If she finds something suitable and likes it, she will buy one or two. If it is not suitable, she will not feel bad if she misses it.
Standing in the antique shop, looking at the old objects on the counter that contain thousands of years of cultural history, Shi Xiaoai was amazed, but did not feel any desire to buy them.
"Mom, look at this pot!"
While Shi Xiaoai was exchanging cordial and friendly glances with these precious cultural relics, Mingxi tugged at her sleeve and gestured for her to look at a purple clay teapot on the counter.
This is a square teapot with a landscape painting inscribed with a poem in gold. The shape of the teapot is simple and elegant. The body of the teapot is decorated with purple clay and a poem inscribed with gold, and one side of the belly of the teapot also has a landscape and figure pattern in gold.
It is estimated that what attracted Mingxi was the magnificent gold-painted patterns.
The little fellow traced the pot repeatedly with his fingers through the glass, exclaiming, "It's so beautiful!"
Shi Xiaoai stared at the pot carefully, and the more she looked at it, the more she felt it was extraordinary.
She vaguely remembered seeing one very similar to this one when she visited the Forbidden City.
I have the impression that it was used by the emperor in the palace during the Yongzheng period of the Qing Dynasty.
Of course, this is just Shi Xiaoai's own thought and cannot be used as evidence.
After all, the items in this antique shop are all priced by the masters. According to the current rules, anything that can be put here must not be a rare treasure.
Usually, only a part of many similar cultural relics will be put up for sale.
Shi Xiaoai didn't dare to say that his vision could surpass those of the old masters who had been immersed in the antiques industry for many years.
But she really likes this pot.
Shi Xiaoai called the waiter over, pointed at the pot and asked, "How much is this?"
"Two hundred and sixty yuan in foreign exchange coupons," said the waiter.
Shi Xiaoai was stunned.
Only now did she realize that the current antique shops have not yet introduced a domestic sales policy!
She had heard before that in the early 1980s, the National Cultural Relics Store mainly sold items to foreigners.
At that time, antique shops were divided into inner and outer counters.
The inner cabinet is for professionals or senior officials of counterpart units to study and observe, and the exhibits are not for sale to the public.
The external counter is mainly for foreign friends who come to visit or communicate.
The country was simply too poor, and lacked funds for development. Therefore, earning foreign exchange was, for a long time, a national obsession.
Everyone is proud to be able to generate income and obtain foreign exchange for the country.
So they sold all the good stuff in China, the treasures they were reluctant to eat or use, to earn foreign exchange.
Even antiques are no exception.
Of course, the cultural relics sold in cultural relics shops are definitely not high-grade, and most of them are not collectible.
But there are actually some excellent ones.
Selling a purple clay teapot like this for 260 yuan in foreign exchange coupons is really worth it!
Shi Xiaoai couldn't help but think, if I buy this and keep it for twenty or thirty years, the price will increase many times!
Just as she was lost in thought, Mingrui and Kaikai beside her became anxious.
Mingrui pulled Mingxi hard, accusing her, "You're asking for things again! We already agreed we're just out for a stroll and can't buy anything. Mom just bought you a popsicle!"
Mingxi defended herself unconvincedly: "I didn't ask for it! I just thought it looked nice. Don't you think this pot is beautiful?"
Kaikai glanced at his sister-in-law and saw that she was staring at the pot in a daze. He was very worried.
He knew that his sister-in-law seemed to be very strict with them, but she was actually very easy to talk to and had a very soft heart.
If Mingxi really hummed a few times, her sister-in-law might really dare to buy it for her.
Thinking of this, Kaikai's heart skipped a beat.
Without saying a word, he picked up Mingxi and walked out the door.
As he walked, he said loudly: "Sister-in-law, let's go back. It's getting late. My brother will be looking for us soon!"
Mingrui reacted quickly. He followed his uncle out, still echoing, "Mom, hurry up, don't make my dad wait anxiously!"
Mingxi was held by Kaikai and couldn't struggle free. She yelled angrily, "I don't want it! Put me down, I can walk on my own!"
The waiter at the counter was so amused by the three children that he was giggling as he stood there.
While smiling, he said to Shi Xiaoai, "Your child is really interesting."
They have been standing guard at the counter every day and have seen many cases like this where people just look but don't buy.
Or rather, most of the people they met were like this.
After all, at that time most people did not understand the value of these antiques.
Even if the unit keeps finding experts to give them lectures and instill various cultural knowledge into them, they just memorize it by rote and use it to fool foreigners.
But in the eyes of the waiters in these antique shops, this thing is really meaningless.
It’s not good to eat or drink, and it’s so expensive!
Why not buy something else with this money?
The price of a small broken pot is enough to buy a whole set of furniture, or even to marry a wife!
So she didn't think there was anything wrong with the three children's behavior, but rather thought it was very normal.
Shi Xiaoai ignored the little ones. Since Kaikai was watching them, she was not afraid that they would run around.
She stood there motionless, listening to the waiter's accost, then pointed to the counter and said, "Can you take it out and show it to me?"
The waiter was surprised by her words, but he didn't refuse.
The waiter put on gloves and carefully took the pot out of the counter and placed it on the table.
Shi Xiaoai took the gloves and put them on, then picked up the pot carefully and looked at it. The more she looked at it, the more she liked it.
She felt that even if this pot was not from the same batch as the one in the museum, it should not be much different from the previous one.
The key is that it is so beautiful!
Regardless of appreciation, this pot itself is a work of art and is worth appreciating and playing with repeatedly.
it's beautiful.
So beautiful!
But this price...
Shi Xiaoai gritted her teeth and put it down reluctantly.
She looked at the pot deeply for a few more times before returning it to the waiter.
Leave reluctantly.
Two hundred and sixty foreign exchange certificates plus cash is about three hundred to four hundred, which is really not a large amount.
But the key point is that they are traveling now and don’t have much money with them. They don’t have internet access and can’t withdraw the money in their passbooks.
Even if she could withdraw the money, Xiao Ai didn't dare to touch it. She had too many places to spend money recently, and she still had a loan of 3,000 yuan to pay off!
Although she has the ability to repay the loan, she really can't waste money that shouldn't be spent.
Seeing her finally come out, Mingrui and Kaikai both breathed a sigh of relief.
The two children left Mingxi and ran towards her. One of them grabbed her arm and kept saying, "Let's go back. Let's go back quickly."
He looked like he was afraid that if he didn't grab her, she would run back and buy the pot.
Shi Xiaoai was amused by the two little guys.
She promised herself that she would not buy it, but the two children looked at her with eyes full of distrust.
I guess her credibility is now equal to Mingxi's in the minds of the two kids.
When they returned to the guesthouse, the group of men had not yet finished their chat.
The room was filled with smoke, and it was so smoky that one couldn't open their eyes when they opened the door.
Seeing this situation, Shi Xiaoai and the others didn't even enter the house. They said hello inside and went back to their room to rest.
However, Cheng Yang followed in quickly.
Seeing him, Shi Xiaoai took several steps back in disgust. Mingrui and Mingxi pinched their noses at the same time and shouted in unison: "Dad, you stink! You reek of cigarettes!"
Cheng Yang chuckled and explained, "Dad doesn't smoke, it's the uncles who do."
As he said this, he was about to bend over to hug Mingxi.
But the little girl didn't give him any face at all. She jumped back a step and avoided him.
Cheng Yang stood up again in humiliation.
Seeing him like this, Shi Xiaoai laughed and asked, "Have you eaten yet?"
"No, where can I have time to eat!" Cheng Yang said helplessly: "Two more comrades are coming, Lao Qian went to pick them up, we have to wait for them to come before we eat together.
As for you guys, why don’t you go and have something to eat. Don’t wait for us, we don’t have anything to do here.”
After hearing what he said, Shi Xiaoai hadn't said anything yet, but the other kids all pouted. Mingxi even said directly, "Dad, you're not keeping your word! You said you'd take us out to dinner tonight, but we passed by several restaurants and didn't eat there. We came back just to wait for you to eat together!"
Cheng Yang was not angry at the children's complaints. He turned to look at Shi Xiaoai and asked, "Did you go to the city wall?"
"Well, I took them for a walk."
"Don't go there at night. It's a bit out of the way. I see there's a state-owned restaurant nearby. How about I take you there for dinner and then pick you up later?"
"No, no," Shi Xiaoai said quickly, "It's very lively outside at night now, not deserted at all. When we came here just now, we saw many people pushing carts out to sell things, it has become a night market.
You guys go talk, I'll take them to the night market for dinner."
"Don't eat cold dishes, be careful not to get an upset stomach." Cheng Yang instructed again.
Shi Xiaoai followed Cheng Yang's advice and stopped giving the children cold food.
Fortunately, Qin City itself is a food city with all kinds of special snacks.
There are more than twenty stalls selling various types of noodles in the night market alone.
This night market is located diagonally opposite the guesthouse where they live and is spontaneously organized by small vendors nearby.
The conditions were very simple. Almost every family used a modified wooden cart with a fixed frame on it, and then they cooked vegetables, noodles and various other foods on the frame.
Then place a few folding tables around the cart, open them and put a few small wooden benches you made yourself, and it will become a snack stall.
But even at such a snack stall, the food tastes amazing, and you can smell the rich aroma from far away.
Shi Xiaoai and her friends ordered a bowl of Xiaomian fish, a serving of stir-fried noodles, and a bowl of steamed tofu pudding.
Although the quantity was not large, the portion was huge and everyone was full of food.
So much so that after dinner, she didn't dare let the children go back immediately. Shi Xiaoai took them for a walk around the yard of the guesthouse for more than ten times.
Because they had been riding the bus for almost two days and had taken such a long walk outside, the children were all very tired by the evening.
Shi Xiaoai didn't ask them to do their homework anymore. She just read a few English stories to them to warm their ears, and then told the little ones to go to bed.
Qian Yingjun booked a four-person room for them. The room was very large and looked like a student dormitory, with two single beds placed on each side.
So it is very comfortable for a family to live together.
After coaxing all three children to sleep, Shi Xiaoai also washed up and went to bed with her clothes on.
She originally wanted to wait for Cheng Yang and ask him what his plans were for tomorrow.
If their comrade wanted to talk more, she would take the children out to play so that he wouldn't have to worry.
It's a rare opportunity to get together, so we should make the most of it.
Shi Xiaoai had good intentions, but she overestimated her self-control. She didn't know when she couldn't hold on and fell asleep.
When she woke up, it was already the next morning. Cheng Yang had already taken a shower and walked back with wet hair.
Seeing that she woke up, Cheng Yang grinned and reached out to pull her.
The water on her hair dripped all over Xiao Ai's face.
"Don't touch me, I can get up by myself." Shi Xiaoai pushed him away in disgust, then sat up from the bed.
She looked to the side and saw Mingrui and Mingxi still sleeping soundly, snoring softly, but Kaikai was no longer in bed.
"Where is Kaikai?" she asked.
"I just went out for a run with you and now I'm going to take a shower." Cheng Yang replied.
"You really don't mind being tired." Shi Xiaoai was speechless: "What time did you come back last night? And you went out for a run this morning?"
Cheng Yang smiled and said, "I'm used to it."
"Even if you're used to it, don't pull Kaikai around, okay?" Shi Xiaoai rolled her eyes. "How old is he? He won't grow if he doesn't get enough sleep!"
Cheng Yang smiled and pressed her head. "I thought you felt sorry for me, but it turns out you felt sorry for that guy! I didn't call him, he heard me get up and insisted on going with me. I couldn't stop him."
After hearing what he said, Shi Xiaoai didn't know what to say.
She knew that Kaikai admired this elder brother very much.
It’s all because of Cheng Lin who brainwashes Kaikai all the time, causing the kid to regard his elder brother as his idol. He wants to get closer to Cheng Kai!
Shi Xiaoai felt that she should not get involved in the affairs of the two brothers.
She got up from the bed, rubbed her eyes and prepared to wash up.
Cheng Kai suddenly took something out of his pocket and put it in her hand, then whispered in her ear, "Happy birthday!"
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