Pick up treasure

"Old money?"

Xiao Changyi and Li Nengqian called out the man's name at the same time.

There is no doubt that the person Xiao Changyi brought Wang Ding to visit today is Boss Qian.And Laoqian and the stall owner Li Nenggan looked very familiar.

Old Qian, that is, Qian Zhongshui, glanced at Li Nenggan with a smile, and then introduced Xiao Changyi to Li Nengqian.

"Old Li, Master Xiao Changyi is my friend. He is a household name in the collector circle. He has taken a fancy to your banyan tree bonsai. Don't say give it to him, and you can't ask for a high price of 3000 yuan. "

"Haha." Li Nengqian also burst into laughter, and said apologetically, "Hey, I'm still your friend. Since we all know each other, I'll give you this banyan bonsai without charging any money."

"Then how can it be, the money must be given, it's just that you give us a little cheaper, don't you, Wang Ding. I forgot to introduce you, this is my brother Wang Ding, old money, today I want The beads you see are his."

As soon as Xiao Changyi introduced him, Wang Ding hurriedly nodded to Lao Qian and Li Nenggan.

"Hello, junior Wang Ding, just like what my big brother Xiao said, I will definitely give you the money for the banyan tree bonsai, and I can't make you lose money, Uncle Li. Look at it and ask for a price."

"Okay, then it's 300 yuan. If you give me a capital, I won't be happy if you give me more."

Wang Ding was shocked by Li Nenggan's words. It wasn't about the 300 yuan, but the price difference was too big, even ten times.

Wang Ding was very interested in the nearby bonsai that Li Nengqian said was worth [-] yuan, and he also wanted to know how much it was worth.

The root of this pot of sweet-scented osmanthus is claw-shaped, grasping the soil, the stem is straight, the main trunk is only [-] centimeters high, and there are three forks on it, and countless small forks.There are also a little white flowers between the leaves, obviously a silver osmanthus variety.

He asked casually. "Uncle Li, I still want to know, how much is your silver osmanthus bonsai?"

"This silver osmanthus, take a closer look, this silver osmanthus is not natural."

Li Nengqian was grinning, Wang Ding and Xiao Changyi took a closer look at the silver osmanthus in front of them.

After watching for a long time, Xiao Changyi made a discovery, but Wang Ding still didn't find anything different, and looked at the stall owner Li Nenggan with a puzzled expression.

Before Li Nenggan could say anything, Qian Le, the son of Qian Zhongshui, answered first, "This bonsai is not natural, because the root and trunk of the silver osmanthus below are tassels, and only the top crown is osmanthus, which is tassels. Grafted bonsai with rootstock and osmanthus as scion. The original osmanthus belongs to the southern flowers and trees. Although it can survive in the north, it needs to adapt for several years. Cold and drought resistance has been greatly improved, so many osmanthus bonsai in the north are grafted with tassels. This kind of grafted silver osmanthus is not as valuable as the original silver osmanthus, and you can buy this bead for 3000 yuan!"

Qian Le didn't say that Wang Ding hadn't looked at it carefully yet, but now he opened it up and looked through it. As expected, there were tassels under this silver osmanthus, and only the crown above it was osmanthus.

"Why, Xiao Ding, do you like this silver osmanthus? If you like it, I will give you a pot. Do I have to show something when we meet for the first time!"

"No need, Uncle Li, I'm just asking, but I'm still very interested in this bonsai. If you come to study with you in the future, you must accept me as an apprentice!"

Li Nengqian has a good impression of Wang Ding, a young man, but not many young people are interested in bonsai nowadays. Seeing that Wang Ding likes it, Li Nengqian said happily, "Okay, as long as you are interested, if you like it, then I will Let me tell you, the bonsai industry still has a bright future!"

"Old Li, you really don't know. The young man in front of you is not an ordinary person. He is also a rising star in the collection circle. This time he came here to find me, and asked me to take a look at him some time ago. A piece of bead that was missed, by the way, you can take a look at it too, Xiao Ding, where is the bead?"

Qian Zhongshui was still looking forward to the beads, and looked at Wang Ding with longing eyes, and Wang Ding quickly took out the beads from Jin Chan's mouth.

"Old Qian, I'm not a rookie in the collection circle, I'm just interested in collecting. I got a special bead some time ago, and I would like you to take a look at it for me." Wang Ding smiled and handed the dark purple bead to past.

Qian Lao stretched out his hand to pick it up, and only then did he get the beads. His expression moved slightly, and he smiled and said, "This thing is interesting, it seems to be red sandalwood and gloomy wood..."

"Red sandalwood gloomy wood!"

Wang Ding was startled, he heard Xiao Changyi mention this red sandalwood, and he also felt like it.But gloomy wood is less heard of.

"It should be right."

Mr. Qian nodded and saw that Wang Ding seemed a little confused, so he simply explained: "This gloomy wood can be called carbonized wood in a scientific definition. Because it is generally black, the southwestern side is generally called ebony."

"The formation of gloomy wood can be said to be accidental. Due to earthquakes, floods, mudslides and other reasons, some wood was buried in the stratum or muddy puddles of rivers. After tens of thousands of years of carbonization process, it was finally formed."

Qian Lao said with a smile: "It is this characteristic that makes the gloomy wood so precious. The ancients used the gloomy wood as a thing to ward off evil spirits, and made handicrafts, Buddha statues, and amulet pendants. And, there is a popular saying that every family has half a piece of ebony wood. A square is better than a chest of treasures."

"Yuan Mei, a scholar in the Qing Dynasty, also described gloomy wood in his book Zibuyu."

At the same time, Qian Le added: "That's what he said. It is said that the gloomy wood is the tree before it was opened up. The color is dark green, and the patterns are like brocade. Put it on the ground, and no flies will fly a hundred paces away.”

"It's so amazing." Wang Ding was amazed.

"Of course, this kind of record also has a certain deductive element. However, there is no doubt about the preciousness of the gloomy wood." Qian Zhongshui said: "The ancients believed that the gloomy wood would stay in the ground for ten thousand years without rot, and it happened to be the birthday of the gloomy wood. The best material of wood. Therefore, it is also recorded in the water classics that there is a stream beside the village, and there are many longevity trees in the stream. Even among the folks, there is a proverb that gold ten thousand taels will be sent to the underworld in exchange for ebony to worship the heavenly spirit. .”

"There are many kinds of gloomy woods. The common ones are hemp willow, qinggang, camphor, etc. However, the most precious ones are red sandalwood and golden nan gloomy wood."

Qian Lao said with a smile: "Before the emperors and generals in ancient times, before they died, their biggest wish was probably to get the golden nanmu wood as the material for their birthdays. Unfortunately, golden nan and red sandalwood are rare in the first place, and the gloomy wood is formed. The odds of the wood are also very low. Therefore, their wishes are doomed to fail." (To be continued.)