Riding the wind of rebirth

Zhou Zhi squatted down again, put the plate under the flashlight and looked at it for a while: "Three thousand yuan."

"What?" The old man was stunned.

"I'll give you three thousand dollars, and without further ado, the things will be mine." Zhou Zhi said with a smile, "Or you can give me three thousand dollars, and I'll explain everything here to you, and show you the little things you don't know. It's your choice."

"This..." The old man showed a look of shock on his face and thought seriously for a long time.

"If it doesn't work, we'll leave and see you later." Zhou Zhi stood up slowly.

"Wait a minute. Three thousand dollars, I'll give it to you. As for that piece of window paper..." The old man smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Forget it. I guess I'll never meet someone like this again in my lifetime. It's better not to know."

Then he bowed to Zhou Zhi and said, "Whether it's your keen eyesight or your courage, I, old man, am convinced."

Zhou Zhi smiled slightly, unzipped his down jacket again, opened his waist bag, counted out thirty "Great Unity" banknotes from it and handed them to the old man, put the plate away, bowed to the old man, and left with Mai Xiaomiao.

"Did I get into trouble just now?" Mai Xiaomiao asked quietly.

"It's OK to use the seller's item's defects as an excuse to get out of the situation," Zhou Zhi said, "but shouting about it out loud is a big taboo."

"Ah? Really? Then what were you guys talking about just now?"

"Just now, the old man knew that I was also knowledgeable, so he used words to control me. His item was indeed very rare, and ordinary people couldn't appreciate it. I guess he couldn't appreciate it either, so he wanted to take the opportunity to show it to me."

"There is a rule in the industry that if you point out someone's flaws, then if someone else comes up with something more suspicious, you have to explain it to them. Otherwise, it's like putting on an act. According to the rules of the industry, you have to pay money to cover up your shame and avoid embarrassment. If someone says three hundred, you have to pay ten times to make up for it."

"You know it's fake, but you still buy it?"

"You have to tell me what's fake. If you can't, you have to admit your mistake."

"So we're screwed? You paid ten times the price for it."

“Hahahaha…” Zhou Zhile said, “Our situation is completely different.”

"what's the situation?"

"First, I have already seen whether this thing is real or not, and I can be sure that it is worth more than three thousand yuan. I will directly offer ten times the price to buy it, but the other party cannot ask me for my appraisal opinion again."

"Also, if I don't buy anything, he will give me 3,000 yuan, and I will tell him my appraisal opinion so that he can sell it for a good price in the future."

"Of course, this requires him to really believe that I can tell whether this thing is real or not. It is entirely possible that I did this because I didn't want to lose face. It's up to him to judge the specific situation."

"In the end, he chose not to believe you." Mai Xiaomiao shook his head: "He charged ten times the price."

"If this was a fake, he would have paid more than a hundred times the price."

"So is this thing real or fake?" Mai Xiaomiao, anxious to know the answer, shook Zhou Zhi's hand and acted coquettishly.

"Well... let's go find Master Ma and tell him later, so I don't have to tell him twice." Zhou Zhi comforted him, "Anyway, this trip is not a loss, it's bigger than the last leak."

"Elbow, you are really amazing." Mai Xiaomiao trusted Zhou Zhi very much: "If you stay here every day, you can also make a fortune."

"If I stay here every day, people will remember me in a few days." Zhou Zhi said, "No one is stupid. Look, Master Ma won't have the chance to visit the ghost market now."

After buying the small dish, the sky gradually brightened. Although there were many vendors around, the things there did not attract Zhou Zhi's interest. Instead, Mai Xiaomiao took a fancy to a gourd-shaped katydid cage, which was decorated with another intangible cultural heritage - pyrography, which uses the heat of the iron to draw ink on the surface of the gourd. Zhou Zhi saw that it should be something from the Republic of China.

The so-called tooth mouth means that the ring mouth is made of ivory, and the shell of the lid on the surface is called the core, which looks like black plastic, but is actually made of coconut shell.

The covering core is an important part of the katydid cage. It not only blocks the gourd mouth to lock in the katydids, but also is responsible for showcasing the carving craftsmanship and enhancing the taste and value of the katydid gourd. Most importantly, it is also a sound regulator, which enhances the katydid's call.

This effect is called "making a sound" in the jargon. If the carving is not done well, the sound of the katydid will be "muffled", while excessive carving will cause the sound of the katydid to be "open" and unable to be restrained, which is unpleasant to the ear.

So although this object is small, it is a test of the craftsmanship.

In the old days, the best core covering was made of coconut shell. The shipping cost of shipping the coconut shell from Hainan Island to the capital was huge. A well-carved coconut shell core covering could be worth as much as jade or ivory.

Of course, this phenomenon is impossible to happen again now, unless you are a veteran player like Mr. Wang. Few people know that Coconut Shell has made important contributions to the history of katydid cages.

This is also an old item that is seventy or eighty years old. The gourd has turned orange-red, and the coconut shell is shiny black. The edge of the old tooth has turned yellow and is covered with cracks, which are called "laugh lines" in the jargon. It is full of ancient flavor.

In addition, the pyrography was of a smiling monk with a cloth bag, which looked very festive. Encouraged by Zhou Zhi behind the scenes, Mai Xiaomiao bargained hard and got it for only 80 yuan. He was very happy.

By the time he took down a double-sided round fan with a kitten embroidered on it, Zhou Zhi felt that it was enough.

6◇9◇Book◇Bar

The kitten on the fan is delicately carved. The pictures on both sides are the same, but one side of the kitten is white and the other side is black. The butterfly’s wings are also different colors.

However, no matter how beautiful it is, it is a pure modern handicraft. Besides, buying a fan in such a snowy day, Zhou Zhi felt that he had really become a fool and should not stay any longer.

After asking people where Shunxing Teahouse was, Zhou Zhi took Mai Xiaomiao to find the place.

"Get in line!" Seeing Zhou Zhi and Mai Xiaomiao trying to squeeze into the only private room, someone came out and greeted them: "Don't you see everyone is lining up?"

"Master Ma and I are friends..."

"What a coincidence, isn't it?" The man opposite laughed, "Anyone who wants to cut in line always says that."

"If you don't believe me, forget it." Zhou Zhi didn't bother to argue with the person in front of him: "Is there anything to eat here? How about we get breakfast first?"

"Tea is five dollars a cup. There are fried liver, noodles with gravy, and pancakes for food. You can order them in and pay five dollars for service charge."

Zhou Zhi took out a fifty-dollar bill and said, "Brother, please order whatever you want for us. Just enough for us to eat. The tea fee and service fee are also included in it."

The man smiled, thinking that this boy was quite sensible, and took the money: "Wait."

After a while, the man came over with a plate and a thermos. On the plate were two pairs of chopsticks, a bowl of hot fried liver, a bowl of noodles with gravy, two tea eggs, and a plate of pickles. "Is that enough? If not, you can add two pancakes."

"Add one, my sister and I will each have half. Mainly because we have never had the pancakes here before, and we want to try it." Zhou Zhi said, putting down the plate he was playing with, "Thank you, brother."

"Hey, how did Old Man Lu's treasure end up in your hands?" The man recognized the plate as soon as he saw it: "Did the old man bear to sell his plate?"

"Ah, I've made my move." Zhou Zhi stretched out his fingers and gestured, "Three thousand dollars is mine."

"What? Three thousand?!" (End of this chapter)