Rebirth 93: Break off the engagement at the beginning and marry Bai Fumei

This is a tea-dust glazed olive-shaped vase with ruyi-shaped handles and protruding flanges. Its open mouth, with its smooth, rounded rim, seems to encompass all things in the world. The long, slender neck is as elegant as a swan's. The sloping shoulders create a smooth, natural flow, enhancing its gentle beauty. The tapering body adds a touch of stability and restraint. The flared lower section resembles the flowing skirt of a dancer, light and graceful.

A Qing Dynasty Qianlong period tea-dust glazed olive-shaped vase with ruyi-shaped handles and protruding

The neck, shoulders, and shins each feature two symmetrical halberd-shaped prisms, exuding a majestic and solemn air, further enhancing its royal grandeur. The foot is relatively shallow, with a neatly turned finish at the end; every detail is meticulously crafted, showcasing exceptional artistry.

Its shape originated from the ancient bronze zun (wine vessel), first created during the Yongzheng era, and inherited and developed during the Qianlong era, becoming a highly favored vessel type in the court at that time. These olive-shaped vases are mostly glazed in monochrome, further highlighting their simple and elegant beauty.

The entire piece is covered in a tea-dust glaze, the color of which is deep and varied, resembling tea leaves in late autumn, displaying a captivating luster under light. The glaze surface is smooth and lustrous, with a delicate and warm touch, like a piece of fine jade, making it irresistible to hold. The texture is fine and even, without any flaws, demonstrating the exquisite craftsmanship of the artisans of that time.

The shoulders are decorated with ruyi-shaped handles, adding to the exquisite craftsmanship. The ruyi shape symbolizes good fortune and reflects Emperor Qianlong's yearning for a better life. This tea-dust glazed olive-shaped vase with ruyi-shaped handles and protruding flanges is a masterpiece among the early Qianlong period's official monochrome glazes, its rarity self-evident. The base bears a three-line square seal mark in relief reading "Made in the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty," the characters neat and clear, showcasing imperial grandeur.

The elegant and graceful shape of this vase is perfectly combined with its lustrous and beautiful glaze, achieving the Taoist artistic realm of "harmony with nature and displeasing to human taste." It is full of natural charm and reflects the extraordinary aesthetic taste of the ancient Emperor Qianlong.

Chen Yang's gaze lingered for a moment on the tea-dust glazed olive-shaped vase with ruyi-shaped handles and protruding flanges from the Qianlong period. Then, he took a deep breath, as if to inhale all the history and worthless essence of the vase into his lungs, and slowly exhaled, "Sigh!"

The sound was just like the sigh of an old man fanning himself with a palm leaf fan under the shade of a tree on a summer afternoon, full of lament for the capriciousness of fate.

Hearing the sigh, the middle-aged man's eyebrows twitched, and his heart skipped a beat. Could there be something wrong with this treasure? He cautiously asked, "Mr. Chen, is there something wrong with this item?"

Chen Yang slowly shook his head. "The object itself is fine; it is indeed from the Qianlong era." He paused, a hint of helplessness in his voice. "But... tea-dust glaze isn't worth much now!"

The tea-dust glaze isn't made to resemble the color of tea leaves; it was created to imitate ancient bronzes, hence its darker, almost blackish hue, like the patina on bronze. This olive-shaped vase, about thirty centimeters tall, has a wide mouth and a constricted neck—simply put, the mouth is wider than the neck—followed by sloping shoulders and a tapering belly. Imagine a thirty-centimeter-tall object with a wide mouth, a narrow neck, and a large belly, all in the color of tea dust—how ridiculous does it look?

Chen Yang didn't say anything more, but his expression said it all: This thing is so ugly that it's unbearable to look at!

"This olive-shaped vase is the ugliest vessel I've ever seen, bar none!" Chen Yang said with a pained expression, then pointed at the vase. "If it were famille rose, blue and white, or doucai, or even a monochrome glaze, as long as it wasn't tea-dust glaze, it would still be somewhat presentable. But this one is perfect, it has both!"

Chen Yang toyed with the teacup in his hand, took a sip of tea, smacked his lips, and savored the taste of tea leaves. This reminded him of the olive-shaped bottle with an indescribable color, and his expression immediately became indescribable. He gently put down the teacup, looked up at the middle-aged man, and wore a complex expression as if he had finally found a toilet after being constipated for three days. He hesitated, then finally managed to squeeze out a sentence: "Brother, we've done business together before. You know I'm always honest and fair, and my prices are reasonable..."

The middle-aged man had been looking at Chen Yang with high expectations, waiting for him to quote a price that would satisfy him. But when he heard this, his heart sank. He knew something was wrong. This didn't sound like he was going to offer a high price at the beginning!

“You do this, brother,” Chen Yang said, slurping his cheeks with a slurping sound, as if he wanted to suck up all the food residue on his palate. His expression was just like a roadside vendor haggling with a customer.

He pointed at the water chestnut-shaped bottle with his finger, then poked at the pitiful olive-shaped bottle, as if he were poking at two unsellable rotten cabbages. "These two items are 1,500 yuan, that's the most I can offer. As for the other three items, if you really don't want them, you can give them to me as payment for my tea today; if you don't think it's appropriate, you can take those three items with you."

Chen Yang's words, spoken casually, left the middle-aged man stunned. He thought to himself, "I've done business with Chen Yang several times before, I'm practically a regular customer, so why is the price so low this time?" Although he knew Chen Yang's prices were higher than those of other antique shop owners, this price still didn't meet his expectations.

His heart was filled with mixed emotions, a mix of sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and salty. He forced a bitter smile and said to Chen Yang, "Mr. Chen, your price is too low. I'm a regular customer, so please add a little more. I'll leave all these items for you."

Upon hearing this, Chen Yang's face contorted into a grimace, more like a grimace. He waved his hands repeatedly, "Brother, what you're saying makes me feel bad too! These two items, though the market isn't good, are antiques, and I've already given them a very reasonable price. As for those three items you mentioned, to be honest, they're completely worthless. I wouldn't even want them for free; they'd just take up too much space."

Chen Yang paused deliberately, took a sip of his tea to moisten his throat, and continued, "Let's not talk about anything else, just this olive-shaped vase." He tapped the poor vase with his finger, making a "thump-thump" sound, like beating a broken drum. "Although the shape of this water chestnut vase isn't very popular on the market, its glaze is quite nice. But look at this olive-shaped vase, its shape is as bulky as a big winter melon, and its color is as old as a piece of scrap metal. If you were a buyer, would you buy it?"

As he spoke, he deliberately emphasized the words "big winter melon" and "scrap metal," as if to highlight the ugliness of the olive-shaped bottle.

"You're getting better at buying things these days, but you're also getting worse at buying things!" Chen Yang's last sentence seemed to be criticizing the middle-aged man for not knowing how to spend money, but in reality, he was implying that these two items were not worth much at all. He was only paying this price because he was a regular customer and giving him a friendly discount. It was also a subtle way of telling him not to think he was a fool and try to fool himself with some junk.

Chen Yang's words left the middle-aged man completely bewildered. He didn't understand Chen Yang's meaning at all. He just frowned and lowered his head to think. After a long while, he raised his head, looked at Chen Yang, gritted his teeth, and said, "Mr. Chen, how about this? Three thousand yuan. I'll leave all my things to you. Consider it a favor to me. What do you think?"

"Help you?" Upon hearing this, Chen Yang deliberately feigned surprise. He raised his eyelids, glanced at the middle-aged man with a half-smile, then narrowed his eyes slightly, tapping his fingers lightly on the table, making a tapping sound, as if he was thinking about something.

After a while, Chen Yang sighed deeply, as if he had made a major decision. "Alright, since you've put it that way, I'll reluctantly agree. Three thousand yuan, and I'll keep everything you have. I know you've had a hard time, and I'm naturally a compassionate person. You've hit a nerve with me."

As Chen Yang spoke, he took three stacks of crisp new banknotes from the drawer and handed them to the middle-aged man. The middle-aged man took the money, a grateful smile on his face. He nodded to Chen Yang and turned to leave.

After the middle-aged man left, Qin Haofeng and Zhu Zi came over. They had been watching from the sidelines without saying a word. At this moment, Lao Shan also arrived. He was late today and had only seen the tail end of the transaction; he didn't know the details. He also came over to watch.

While looking at the water chestnut bottle, Qin Haofeng winked at Chen Yang, his expression as if he'd seen his own piglet stealing the neighbor's cabbage. He said in an exaggerated tone, "Brother, I think this guy's getting a bit cocky! Doesn't he know his own eyesight? He dares to pontificate to you like this! Doesn't he fear he'll bite the hand that feeds him?"

Zhu Zi stood to the side, holding the large yellow-glazed bowl with an incised dragon and phoenix design, his brows furrowed deeply. He looked at it from left to right, and the bowl unmistakably resembled a piece from the Hongzhi imperial kilns. He couldn't help but wonder: Had Brother Yang made a mistake this time? If this was a late Qing dynasty imitation, the craftsmanship was simply incredible; it was practically indistinguishable from the real thing!

"Brother, I have to say, this thing is an incredibly well-made replica!" Zhu Zi asked Chen Yang while staring at the large bowl. "Apart from the mark on the bottom, I can't find a single flaw. How did you figure it out?"

"Imitation? Who told you this is an imitation?" Chen Yang raised an eyebrow in feigned surprise, his expression as if to say, "Young man, you're still too naive."