1952: Walking through Nantongluo Alley

There was another round of bargaining and bidding.

Seeing that the seller was reluctant to give in, Chen Xiao had no choice but to give up.

The seller is selling it for 1000 yuan. This is a scam.

The golden pupils have been appraised according to their current market value, and the highest value is only 350 yuan.

This is still the highest price. Maybe it will only be sold for around 300 yuan in the end.

Chen Xiao withdrew his hand and stood up.

"Since my comrades won't budge, I'd better look elsewhere."

Seeing Chen Xiao was about to leave, the seller gritted his teeth.

Then he shouted at Chen Xiao.

"How's the price?"

The seller extended one of his sleeves and Chen Xiao put his hand in.

Then he decisively took it back.

"You should sell it to someone else. It's a good thing, but I don't have enough money."

Then Chen Xiao pushed his bicycle and continued walking inside.

Are you kidding? At a price of 950 yuan, isn’t it just a scam?

After walking for a while, just when Chen Xiao was about to give up, his golden eyes suddenly saw something good.

It was also a small, dusty plate that the seller used as an ashtray.

This Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln celadon-glazed washbasin, made in 1022, boasts a 930-year history. It is in perfect condition and has no visible damage. Its current market value is inestimable.

Seeing this thing, Chen Xiao's breathing began to become extremely rapid.

He actually came across something good.

You can't tell much from the appearance, but in terms of shape, it looks exactly like the Northern Song Dynasty celadon washbasin that was auctioned for a sky-high price of 23 billion yuan.

Suppressing his inner excitement, Chen Xiao stopped his bicycle.

The seller was a sloppy middle-aged man, puffing on a pipe. In front of him was a painting. Not only was it incomplete in appearance, it was also fake.

In order to prevent the seller from discovering that his target was his gray 'ashtray', Chen Xiao took out the incomplete calligraphy and painting.

As soon as Chen Xiao took it out, the middle-aged man couldn't wait to speak.

"This is the last work of Mr. Wu, one of the four great masters of the Shanghai School in the late Qing Dynasty. Although it is a little damaged, it is of great collection value. If you want it, it's 20 yuan!"

Chen Xiao was speechless after hearing this.

If he remembered correctly, Mr. Wu died in 1927. Only more than 20 years had passed, and the seller had already made him look like this.

I have to say, it’s really a waste of resources.

And judging from the seller's actions, it's obvious that he's an amateur.

Considering that he looked like he was in a hurry to sell it, he probably needed the money urgently to smoke opium!

Chen Xiao took a look at the calligraphy and painting and put it back.

He shook his head and said.

"If it were Mr. Wu's calligraphy and painting in good condition, it would really be worth 20 yuan, but now..."

"It's been damaged quite badly, and some of the words are even missing."

After saying that, Chen Xiao stood up and prepared to push his bicycle away.

The middle-aged man stood up and grabbed the back seat of the bicycle.

"Don't leave in a hurry. If the price is not right, we can talk about it slowly."

"If 20 yuan is too expensive, how about 18 yuan?"

Chen Xiao shook his head.

"Forget it, you should keep it for yourself and sell it to someone else."

The middle-aged man became anxious.

He had been in Liulichang for four or five days with a broken calligraphy and painting.

No one was interested in his calligraphy and painting.

Even if there was one, the offer was extremely low and he simply could not accept such a low price.

The middle-aged man gritted his teeth and stretched out a palm.

"15 yuan! How about 15 yuan? That's my lowest price!"

Chen Xiao's mouth corners slightly raised.

"It's still too expensive. Your calligraphy and painting are really not worth the price."

Chen Xiao pointed at the gray 'ashtray' on the stall.

"If you want to sell it, including the ashtray, it's 10 dollars."

"If it doesn't work out, I'll just leave. This is the highest price I can offer."

The middle-aged man hesitated for a moment, struggling in his heart.

10 yuan was not enough for him to buy much opium.

But now the opium is about to run out, and if he doesn't make money to buy it, he will be miserable.

In the end, he gritted his teeth and accepted Chen Xiao's offer.

“10 yuan is 10 yuan!”

Then he took the ashtray and all of Mr. Wu's calligraphy and paintings.

Chen Xiao took out a big black ten from his pocket.

After completing the transaction, Chen Xiao felt very happy, and the middle-aged man was also very happy.

I was so lucky to get such a big bargain with only 10 yuan.

A Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln celadon glaze washbasin could be auctioned for a sky-high price of 21 billion yuan in the 23st century.

So in the 50s, it could be sold for at least hundreds of thousands, or even more.

I pushed my bicycle to the largest antique shop in Liulichang: Rongbaolou.

Chen Xiao walked in with the calligraphy and painting by Mr. Wu.

On the one hand, it was to make some money back, and on the other hand, it was to see the world in Rongbao Building.

As expected, Rongbaolou is worthy of being the largest store in Liulichang.

As soon as he entered the door, wherever his golden eyes swept across, he saw some old antiques.

Although there are fakes, only one in ten is real.

In addition, these real antiques are basically ordinary antiques worth hundreds to thousands of dollars.

I have never seen antiques worth tens of thousands or millions of dollars.

In the end, I realized that antiques worth millions of dollars cannot be displayed easily.

Coming to the counter, Chen Xiao took out the calligraphy and painting by Mr. Wu.

The guy at the counter opened it and looked at it nonchalantly, and when he saw that it was damaged, there was even a hint of disgust in his eyes.

"It's an authentic piece of Mr. Wu's calligraphy, but it's not worth much because it's damaged."

"If you want to sell it, the price is six dollars."

Chen Xiao was speechless.

Before I could even warm up to the bargain, I had already lost four dollars.

It turns out that the antique world is really deep.

If Chen Xiao didn't have the golden eyes, and didn't study hard for a few years, he probably wouldn't dare to come to Liulichang to buy things casually.

"Sell it, why not sell it!"

"Money is most valuable when it's in your pocket. If a rat bites it, it will be worthless."

The counter clerk rolled his eyes at Chen Xiao.

Mr. Wu has been dead for just over 20 years. If he were still alive, I wonder how he would react if he knew that someone was destroying his works.

The counter clerk took six dollars from the cashier's office and handed it to Chen Xiao.

Chen Xiao put the money in his pocket and left Rongbao Building.

By this time, it was getting dark and it was time to go back.

I spent one yuan to buy some local snacks at the exit of Liulichang: donkey rolls.

Then he pedaled his bicycle all the way to the courtyard.

By the time we returned to the courtyard, it was already completely dark.

After parking the bicycle at the door and smelling the aroma of food coming from the house, Chen Xiao carried the donkey and rolled into the house.

"Why did you come back so late?" Qin Huairu looked a little complaining.

She complained about why Chen Xiao came back so late. She was home alone just now and was worried about Chen Xiao.

"I'm going to buy you some delicious food." Chen Xiao took out the special snack, donkey rolls, from behind him.