Chapter 34: Late Ming Dynasty Huanghuali High-Relief Eight Loves Pattern Brush Pot
From picking up these broken porcelain fragments to restoring them, Su Xiaofan had used only an hour in total.
After checking his phone, he saw that it was not yet eleven. Su Xiaofan was in no hurry to go find Zhao Zhengshan. Instead, he blended back into the crowd. Having spent several years in the antique market, Su Xiaofan felt completely at home walking along streets like these.
Compared with Luochuan's antique market, Yanjing's antique market clearly had a more complete selection of goods. Moreover, there were quite a few genuine items even among the things sold at street stalls, and Su Xiaofan had even spotted several fine collectibles.
It was just that those stall owners were all extremely shrewd. Su Xiaofan asked the prices of several items, but there were no bargains to be found.
But this was already far better than the Luochuan antique market. At the street stalls there, it was basically impossible to see genuine antiques, just a sea of modern handicrafts.
“Hm?” Su Xiaofan stopped in front of a stall as he wandered around.
This was a stall selling miscellaneous antiques. The most eye-catching items were several bronzes. Among them, a set of bronze chime bells looked simple and archaic in design. There was also a bronze sword, whose rust was barely visible and whose bronze patterns could still be made out.
There were also some miscellaneous collectible items scattered in the corners of the stall. The stall's main attraction was clearly those few bronzes.
“Boss, our country strictly prohibits the sale of bronze cultural relics.”
Su Xiaofan sat down on the small folding stool in front of the stall and struck up a conversation with the stall owner, who looked to be in his forties.
“That’s true, but the bronzes I’m selling are different.”
The boss glanced at Su Xiaofan. Perhaps he was bored and did not care about Su Xiaofan's age, so he said, “The bronzes our country doesn't allow people to sell are unearthed cultural relics from before the Han Dynasty. There aren't any items from before the Han Dynasty on my stall.”
“Take these chime bells, for example. They’re actually from the Jiajing era of the Ming Dynasty. The emperor wanted to restore the bronze-working techniques of the Han Dynasty, so these were made as reproductions. Look, there are even Ming Jiajing characters on them.”
“This bronze sword is actually from the Song Dynasty. It wasn't a primary weapon used in battle, but a decorative weapon carried by guards serving at the emperor's side,
Look how exquisitely it's made. I'll even throw in a sword stand for you. Put it in your study at home, and it'll look incredibly impressive.”
The boss was quite the talker. He went on and on introducing the items on his stall. The key was that everything he said sounded reasonable. He explained the origins and history of the several bronzes clearly, while also avoiding violating the regulations prohibiting the trading of bronze cultural relics.
“I didn't pay much for these when I acquired them, but putting them up for auction is troublesome. If you're interested, I can give you a fair price.”
After finishing his sales pitch, naturally it was time to sell. Talking without making a sale would just waste his breath.
“How much for the two?” Su Xiaofan asked, suppressing a laugh. He was wearing a tracksuit today that was worth less than five hundred yuan altogether, and he certainly didn't look like a sucker.
The stall owners in Yanjing still needed to work on their professional skills. At the very least, their eye for customers wasn't sharp enough. They had picked the wrong target.
“Thirty thousand for the two, and they're yours.”
The boss said, “To be honest, I urgently need the money for my kid's schooling. Otherwise, these would be good heirlooms I'd keep for the family. Normally, I wouldn't even put them out here.”
“All right, big brother, I won't hide it from you either. If you keep these things for a few hundred more years, they really could become family heirlooms, but now... forget it.”
Su Xiaofan shook his head and said, “Technically, I shouldn't expose your secret, but these few bronzes of yours have something to do with me.”
“My bronzes have something to do with you? Young man, what do you mean?”
Hearing Su Xiaofan's words, the stall owner was stunned.
“These bronzes of yours all came from Su Family Village in Luochuan, didn't they?”
Su Xiaofan said with a smile, “My surname is Su. Do you think these items have anything to do with me?”
“Huh? You're from Su Family Village?”
The stall owner was dumbfounded. How could he not know where the goods on his own stall had come from?
“That's right, Boss. Everything made by us has a mark.”
Su Xiaofan picked up the bronze sword and tapped a spot on the hilt, saying, “You can see it with a UV light. Want me to borrow a counterfeit-money detector?”
“No, no, I can tell you're an expert at a glance, haha. I have to say, the things from your Su Family Village really are excellent.”
Hearing Su Xiaofan's words, the boss hurriedly laughed it off.
“The rules of our Su Family Village are pretty good too, Boss. You know that, right?” Although there was a smile on Su Xiaofan's face, his words carried a hint of coldness.
“Hey, I'm just trying to make a living. Little brother, it won't happen again, it won't happen again!
Besides, I didn't set the price that high. The craftsmanship of the bronzes from Su Family Village is worth this much...”
The stall owner took a bottle of drink and stuffed it into Su Xiaofan's hand, saying, “Brother, everyone's having a hard time. Just let this matter go.”
It wasn't that the stall owner wanted to lower himself this much. The truth was that he knew the rules of Su Family Village. If Su Family Village found out about this, they might cut off his supply and terminate their business relationship.
And the bronzes from Su Family Village were just as he had said: exquisitely made and capable of fetching a good price. As long as he sold one or two pieces a month, he could make quite a bit of money. The boss was reluctant to lose this supply channel.
“The bronze business of Su Family Village has really grown big.”
Looking at the boss's anxious expression, Su Xiaofan only then realized just how large the business of Su Family Village had become.
Actually, as Su Xiaofan had walked along just now, he had seen bronzes from Su Family Village at several stalls. The reason he hadn't stopped was that none of those stalls had anything he wanted.
But at this stall, Su Xiaofan had spotted something good. Pointing out the origin of the other party's bronzes was actually also a way to make it easier for him to bargain down the price.
“Forget it, Boss. Just be more careful in the future. I'm easy to talk to, but if you run into someone who's not, they might really stop supplying you.”
Su Xiaofan was only trying to scare him. In fact, although Su Family Village had this rule, with so many people coming from all over the country to buy goods, there was no way they could supervise everyone.
Besides, what this boss had done wasn't particularly excessive. That set of chime bells had cost him three or four thousand yuan to acquire, and the bronze sword had cost more than a thousand. Even if he made seven or eight times his money, he wasn't exactly being outrageously greedy.
“Heh, thanks, brother. Take a look at my stall. If there's anything you like, take it and play with it.”
The stall owner was quite accommodating. After all, apart from the bronzes, which had somewhat higher acquisition costs, everything else on his stall was cheap merchandise, with none of it costing more than a hundred yuan to acquire.
“No need, Boss. If I'm buying something, of course I'll pay for it.”
Su Xiaofan reached out and picked up a pitch-black brush pot. The bottom of the brush pot was somewhat charred, as if it had been burned by fire, making it look very inconspicuous.
“Boss, this is African rosewood, right? The workmanship is quite exquisite, but there's a defect on the bottom. One hundred and fifty yuan, I'll take it.”
“No wonder you're an expert.”
The boss gave a thumbs-up and said, “One hundred and fifty. I won't haggle either. Take it.”
This brush pot had been among a batch of goods the boss had taken over from a friend's stall and then passed on to him. Its cost had only been a few dozen yuan.
Because it had been burned by fire, its condition wasn't very good. The brush pot had been sitting on the stall unsold for a long time. Now that someone was willing to buy it, and at a price higher than what he had paid, he was naturally happy to sell it.
“All right, Boss, I've transferred the money. See you around.”
Su Xiaofan swiftly took out his phone and paid, asked the boss for a bag to put the brush pot in, said goodbye, and left.
Walking along Antique Street, the corners of Su Xiaofan's mouth curled upward.
If the Ding kiln carved-wash basin had been something Su Xiaofan had restored out of nothing, then this brush pot could truly be considered a bargain find.
【Restoration Points: 6!】
【Late Ming Dynasty Huanghuali High-Relief Eight Loves Pattern Brush Pot: Damaged, can be restored, requires 1 Restoration Point to restore, restore?】
“Hehe, even without restoring it, despite its somewhat poor condition, this would still be an incredible bargain!”
Su Xiaofan was absolutely delighted at this moment. A Huanghuali brush pot from the late Ming Dynasty had several hundred years of history by now. With excellent material and a long history, if it weren't for a section of the bottom being scorched by fire, this thing could even have gone to auction.
“Restore!” Holding the brush pot, Su Xiaofan said inwardly. An item from the Ming Dynasty was worth spending a Restoration Point on.
【Restoration Points: 5!】
【Late Ming Dynasty Huanghuali High-Relief Eight Loves Pattern Brush Pot: Cannot be restored!】
Looking at the information that appeared in his mind, Su Xiaofan discovered that the charred black section on the bottom of the brush pot in his hand had disappeared. The entire brush pot was perfectly rounded and unified, with no sign of any damage.
However, perhaps because it had not been wiped for a long time, the overall color of this old brush pot was still dull and black. If Su Xiaofan hadn't determined its age from the Restoration Points, he might even have thought it was a modern rosewood piece.
“These two are about enough. I can't keep bargain hunting.”
Using Restoration Points felt great, but once they were spent, Su Xiaofan felt a little pained.
Before coming to Yanjing, after absorbing the Yin Sha Stone, Su Xiaofan had a total of thirteen Restoration Points.
He had used six points to restore the black jade Buddha for his younger sister, one point on the Song Dynasty Ding kiln brush washer, and another point on the brush pot, for a total of eight points spent. Su Xiaofan decided to save the remaining points for now. After all, he still didn't know where to find Yin Sha Stones.
“Restoring magical artifacts consumes more Restoration Points than restoring antiques. Looks like magical artifacts are more valuable after all.”
Su Xiaofan pondered the pattern behind the use of Restoration Points. The brush washer had been shattered into seven or eight pieces, yet restoring it had only cost one point, while a magical artifact in perfect condition required at least three points to restore. Clearly, in terms of value, antiques were inferior to magical artifacts.
After checking the time, it was already nearly noon. It was lunchtime, so Su Xiaofan stopped browsing and began looking for Zhao Zhengshan.
“Uncle Zhao, how was your haul?” Finding a person was much easier than searching for items. Before long, Su Xiaofan found Zhao Zhengshan squatting in front of a stall.
“Little Su, you've got quite a haul.”
Seeing the things Su Xiaofan was carrying, Zhao Zhengshan couldn't help smiling. He raised a bag in his right hand and said, “I found some things too. Come on, let's find somewhere and compare our finds.”
(End of Chapter)
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