frightfiction Chapter 863 This is a big bargain
Chapter 863 This is a big bargain
After coming out of Xiao Erduo's house, Dabao was also a little drunk. His feet were a little unsteady. He went to a place where there was no one, slipped into the space, took a bath in the space, and checked his collection by the way.
I didn't find the Jade Guanyin. It was so late and Liulichang had already closed. Besides, I might not be able to buy anything good in Liulichang now. It seemed that I could only go to the ghost market in Xixiao City. It was already dark, so it was the perfect time to go there.
At that time, Panjiayuan outside Chaoyang Gate was just a black market and had not yet formed a large scale. At that time, the only place selling antiques and second-hand goods was Xixiao Market outside Xuanwu Gate.
In the past, Xixiao City had the most second-hand clothes for sale. Second-hand clothes are used clothes. When you hear the word "second-hand clothes", don't think of the kind of tattered clothes that can't be worn. Even if such clothes are taken out, who would buy them?
There were small vendors who shuttled between the alleys of the eastern suburbs and the alleys where the rich lived. They bought the discarded clothes from the servants. In fact, they had not worn them many times. After buying them, they would wash them briefly and then sell them in Xixiao Market.
So Xixiao City used to have a very prosperous business. Recently, the news of the Public Security Bureau cracking down on the black market has passed. Coupled with the famine, the old and young people of the Qing Dynasty had no choice but to take out the antiques and jades from their homes and sell them in Xixiao City during the dark night.
After selling all the food, they would go to other black markets to buy food. The reason why Xixiao Market is called Ghost Market instead of Black Market is because there is no light here. There is only a candle in front of each stall.
How bright can the candles be? The numerous candles are like twinkling stars. People who buy and sell goods are wandering around inside. From a distance, they look more like ghosts. In addition, when buying goods, they try to keep their voices as low as possible so that no one else can hear them. It looks more like they are speaking ghost language, so this is called a ghost market.
This was Dabao's first time in Xixiao City. He had no interest in this place. The organizers here were not as wealthy as those in other black markets. The organizers here relied on Xixiao City to make a living.
Dabao did not cover his face like them, but released his consciousness. All the people and objects within a hundred meters were the same as what he saw in the daytime.
Dabao couldn't help laughing as he walked along. These people who were buying and selling goods wanted to wrap themselves up from head to toe in sackcloth.
From a distance, it looked like a walking sack, but the things on the stalls on both sides were quite good. Antiques and jades are the easiest to fake. No matter how good an appraiser you are, there will definitely be times when you make mistakes.
Dabao's antique appraisal appraiser was taught by Lao Zhangtou, who was a pawn shop clerk before liberation. This was not something that ordinary people could do. It can be said that any professor from Peking University could not compare to the pawn shop clerk in terms of knowledge reserves.
Dabao has studied for more than ten years in his two lifetimes, and with the help of consciousness, he is the best in the field of antique appraisal.
People who live in Beijing have seen countless antiques in their lifetime. Not to mention the faraway places, just look at the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, and the Ming and Qing Tombs. There are antiques everywhere.
Some people even go to the Ming and Qing Tombs and pick up a jade pendant by kicking it.
So Dabao has no shortage of things to practice with, especially since Old Zhang works in a consignment store. In the ten years since the founding of the People's Republic of China, he has handled more than a thousand antiques, many of which are world-class masterpieces.
There is one right in front of Dabao. It is a jade Guanyin statue from the late Qing Dynasty, which is carved from a whole piece of Hetian jade.
The image of Guanyin is lifelike, with a natural side-lying meditation posture, flowing folds in her clothing, her right hand twisting a jewel, her left hand hanging down, the seat embossed with a dragon pattern, and a phoenix with outstretched wings on the left adding a sense of dynamism.
Dabao took a closer look and realized that this was definitely a masterpiece carved using the Suzhou jade carving school's unique Han Eight Knife and Yinchi Line techniques.
Dabao squatted down and looked at the person wrapped in the sack and couldn't help laughing.
"Fuck, man, is it really that serious to sell something? Man, you're covering it up so tightly."
The vendor knew the man was from Beijing when he heard the accent, so he couldn't fool around anymore. He might be a wealthy man, and if he fooled around, he would be exposed.
The vendor lifted up the sack a little, revealing a yellowish-white face. Why is it called a yellowish-white face? The yellow color indicates malnutrition, and the white color is due to a good foundation. Judging from his age, he must be over 40 years old. Needless to say, this is definitely an old man who has been left behind. His family can't make ends meet, so he comes out to sell the good things left by his ancestors and buy some cornmeal to make a living.
"Hey man, I've chosen this statue of Guanyin with thirty-two aspects. How much would you like to sell it for?"
The salesman hesitated and held up five fingers. Dabao didn't care about money at all and said casually,
"Fifty? Not bad, deal."
The seller shuddered, and he wanted five dollars, but he bumped into a stick and turned the money ten times over. Dabao counted out five big black ten coins and handed them to him, and took the Guanyin statue.
The salesman almost cried, this fifty yuan is life-saving money, with this fifty yuan, the whole family will not starve to death.
When he saw Dabao was about to leave, he hurriedly said,
"Sir, please take your time. I have something here that I would like you to take a look at."
Dabao squatted down, and saw the salesman took out a small box. When he opened the box, there were four small wine glasses inside. Dabao took a look, his legs went weak, and he almost knelt down.
He rubbed his eyes and couldn't help groaning in his heart. Is this the Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup? He looked carefully again with his consciousness and it was absolutely correct.
This is the imperial wine cup of Zhu Jianshen, the Chenghua Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. It is made on the outer wall of a bowl with a lipped mouth and a flat bottom, about eight centimeters in diameter. The outline of the decoration is first drawn with fine blue and white lines, then glazed and fired in a kiln at a high temperature of about 1300 degrees to form the body.
Then use red, green, yellow and other colors to fill in the reserved blue and white patterns and put them into the kiln for a second low-temperature firing. The outer wall is divided into two groups with peony lake stone and orchid lake stone.
One group of paintings shows a rooster looking proudly with its head held high, a hen and a chick pecking at a centipede, and two other chicks playing with each other.
Another group of paintings shows a rooster crowing with its neck stretched out, and a hen and three chicks pecking at a centipede. The pictures are vivid and interesting.
Such a small cup was sold at a high price of 280 million yuan in the later market. There are only 17 of them left in the world, and 10 of them are in the museum on the other side of the sea.
What's going on with these four? Dabao didn't have time to think about it. He had to take this thing down. He didn't care about the rules and asked in a low voice,
"These four cups are quite nice. How much do you want to sell them for?"
The salesman thought about it and said cautiously,
"Sir, I can see you're not dressed like an ordinary person. These four cups are heirlooms from my ancestors. I'm not selling them for money. I want to exchange them for... food!"