Chapter 168: Angry Xiangxi Liulichang (Part 2)

Seeing that more than half a month had passed and the traditional Chinese Spring Festival was approaching, we had no choice but to give up the idea of ​​going to the United States to celebrate the New Year. At that time, the New Year atmosphere in Beijing was strong, and fireworks had not been banned in the city, and New Year's Eve was still far away. You can hear the sound of firecrackers coming and going, adding a bit of chaos to the already very lively flea market.

The Panjiayuan Flea Market now is much more lively than when we first came here. There are crowds of people here, one after another. Of course, it’s because the Chinese New Year is coming soon, and the food and beverage markets are buying new year’s goods these days. There were more people, and many people had hobbies to get together. Seeing the crowds in the flea market, they all came to join in the fun. Although the weather was cold, there were more and more people.

In the past year or so, the Panjiayuan flea market has indeed gradually become a phenomenon. Compared with the original, it is no longer the same. In addition to rags and second-hand goods, there are countless antique toys. It is extremely rich, including calligraphy and painting, porcelain, pottery, bronze ware, guqin, ancient coins, xuan furnaces, ancient bronze mirrors, jades, ancient inkstones, ancient ink, ancient books, inscriptions, famous papers from past dynasties, ancient bricks and tiles, seals, Silk embroidery, cloisonné, lacquer ware, Yixing pots, enamelware, utensils, tooth ware, bamboo carvings, fans, wooden furniture, weapons, famous stones... are piled up like a mountain. You can't see the other side from one side. Just take a look. You can see it in one day. If you look at ten items, you may never be able to see all the things in this flea market in a lifetime.

However, unlike Liulichang in Beijing, which originated in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, where it was all about "literary toys", Panjiayuan's path was wild and miscellaneous. Among these things, antique "Xibei goods" accounted for 90% , If you want to buy some real things in Panjiayuan, in addition to having a sharp eye to distinguish authenticity, you also need luck like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fatty and I have a good reputation and cannot be compared with those second-rate dealers who sell fake things. Some of the regular customers who often visit Panjiayuan heard about it from somewhere. They all seem to know that Mr. Hu and Fatty have something in their hands. Then It's the real deal - the artifact filtered out from the pit, even if it's just a mediocre bronze coin, if you can't help it, it's the "mouth money" that Captain Jin pulled out of the old Zongzi's mouth.

I saw a lot of people asking me when they saw me: "Are there any artifacts stolen from the ancient tombs? Mr. Hu, you can ask for the price, but as long as it is genuine, you will never bargain."

I thought to myself that I haven't shown up in Panjiayuan for a few days. Once Da Jinya went abroad, he must have sent all his patrons to me, but I don't have any bright weapons in my hands. Besides, it is forbidden to come into contact with this thing frequently. Fortunately, there are a lot of "green heads" obtained from the South China Sea. The properties of green heads and Mingqi are actually similar, except that one comes from the soil and the other comes from the water. They are basically the product of bear paws in the mountains and shark fins in the sea. There is a difference, so he tells the buyers to watch the green-headed goods.

Nowadays, collectors think that the price of jade is bullish, but they only recognize old jade with old Qin color. Although green-headed ancient jade has a deep Qin color, it can withstand being soaked in sea water for many years. Chalcedony is blocked by salt brine, as if wrapped in It is coated with an extremely heavy layer of lime, and even those who know the goods will shake their heads when they see it.

While we were discussing the price, someone familiar from the flea market came to tell us that it was "Master Qiao" from the Liulichang Zhentang who invited us there. I thought this was a bit strange. That Master Qiao was in Beijing Liuli. The factory has a great reputation. He has been running an antique shop, Cangzhentang, since before liberation. He has never seen it in many years. He has passed countless antiques in his hands. Even in Panjiayuan, everyone knows that he is a leader in the antique world. I had long wanted to visit the "old Yuan Liang", but there was no way to contact him for introduction. I didn't expect that he would invite us to come and talk about it. I don't know what kind of medicine he sold in his gourd.

After further questioning the visitor, I found out that Mr. Qiao had heard that I had ancient jade from the South China Sea. He was usually a lover of antiques. Green-headed jade is very rare in Beijing and it is difficult to see it in the market, so he specially asked me to ask him. Someone got a message and asked me to take the ancient jade to his home to see how it was.

I thought to myself that I finally had an expert who knew the goods, and I wanted to go to Mr. Qiao's house to broaden my horizons, so I hurriedly packed up a package of imported goods with the fat man and went straight to Yanshou Temple Street at the east end of Liulichang. The two-story facade is antique and quite impressive. The sign with gold characters on a black background is the time-honored Zangzhentang brand.

I explained my purpose to the people in the store, but instead of going upstairs, I was sent directly to an old tube building far away. This place was almost to Xiannongtan. The building was in tatters and there were piles of stuff in the corridor. It is filled with winter coal from each house and Chinese cabbage piled as high as a wall. Mr. Qiao is used to living here and is unwilling to move as he gets older, so he spends his daily life here.

I saw that Mr. Qiao was almost eighty, with not a single hair left, but a long beard that was snow-white, and his eyes were so bright, he looked energetic, old and immortal. When he saw us, he hurriedly Sit down and someone will serve tea. The utensils are exquisite and the tea is rich in aroma. However, we fat people are used to drinking large bowls of tea and do not know how to drink tea. In addition, it is freezing outside and our hearts are full of chills. A cup of hot tea He raised his neck and drank it all, praising: "Good tea, you might as well have another bowl, preferably a big teapot."

Second Master Qiao stroked his beard and smiled, and quickly asked people to serve big bowls of tea to Master Hu and Fatty. Looking at the way they drank tea, it was clear that these two people were informal and cheerful people.

I laughed and said, "It makes the second master laugh. I practiced stalls in Panjiayuan for half a day, and I was so cold." After drinking a few cups of tea, my body warmed up, and then I could look around. There were almost no people in the rooms in this old building. A new thing, the old-fashioned bookcase is filled with ancient books, and the outer edges are filled with white jade, crystal, Shoushan stone, Buddha statues, ivory carvings, nose pots and other antiques, making the small room full of things. Who doesn't know the details outside this Tongzi Building, who would have imagined that Mr. Qiao, who has spent his whole life squandering antiques and artifacts, would live in such an inconspicuous place.

But Fatty and I felt a little more respectful when we saw that he was willing to be ordinary. We exchanged a few words with each other. Mr. Qiao seemed to know that we were working as gold-touching captains, and asked me some Feng Shui in Beijing. Let’s talk about the business situation in Liulichang.

I am more discerning. Although Mr. Qiao is a well-known figure in Beijing, not comparable to Uncle Ming and others, I do not want to reveal the essence of "Sixteen-Character Yin-Yang Feng Shui Secret Technique" and only pick up some New Year greetings. Come out: "There are two dragons in Beijing, floods and droughts. The situation of the dragon's veins happens to cover Liulichang. It is the traffic and the water and the horses and the dragons. There are two fortunes in it. When doing business in this place, I am afraid I have to count the money until I am weak."

Mr. Qiao was overjoyed when he heard this and wanted to praise him again. The fat man was eager to get rich, but he thought the old man was too verbose, so he hurriedly took out the green head and asked Mr. Qiao to look at it to see what price he could give. Mr. Qiao took out a magnifying glass and asked the old man Huajing came, looked at it repeatedly for a long time, played with it in his hand again, and said: "What a jade, what a jade. They are really ancient jade from the bottom of the sea for thousands of years. It's a pity that the old color has not been revealed. Hu and Wang are the younger brothers. I smell the smell on you two. I often deal with open weapons. If you don't tell lies in front of real people, you will tell the truth. Before liberation, I, Qiao, was traveling with you. Back then, I was no better than now. I didn't have anything in my hand. How can you run an antique business in Liulichang with real things, so I know that old jade like this can only be found in underwater monuments and ancient tombs in the mountains, and there is absolutely nothing of this quality in the world."

Fatty and I were both surprised when we heard this. We didn’t expect Mr. Qiao to speak so clearly. He turned out to be a skilled craftsman. Under the building where he lives now, there was an ancient stone from the Yuan Dynasty. The tomb was robbed by Mr. Qiao so that he could afford to do business in Liulichang. He was greedy for the good feng shui near this ancient tomb and was reluctant to leave this place. Later, the ancient tomb was leveled and a building was built, but he still lives here. , you asked me to come here, firstly, you want to get rid of the green hair, and secondly, this building is going to be demolished, and you asked me to find a Feng Shui location so that you can move your home there.

I said you are making things difficult for me. If you want to touch the gold captain and don’t break into the house, how can you know the feng shui of the Yangzhai? Besides, since they are all craftsmen, how can they still believe in the theory of feng shui?

I tried to persuade him not to be obsessed with this idea, but Mr. Qiao was unmoved and pointed to the floor at his feet: "This ancient tomb of the Yuan Dynasty is really a geomantic treasure cave. Back then, I sneaked into the underground palace from a tomb robber. When I saw the situation in the tomb, I almost dropped my jaw to the ground in shock. Only then did I truly believe that the theory of Feng Shui in the world is not just some mythical theory..." When he said this, he used a sentence that was inverted in Dou Xingli. The secret code tells us what we saw that night: "In this ancient tomb... there is water but no fish!"

I heard Mr. Qiao say that there was "water but no fish" in the ancient tomb downstairs. I also found it a bit strange, because I have always known that the ancient tombs of the Yuan Dynasty buried deep treasures, and there were no seals or trees on the ground. It is Tantric Feng Shui, which has always been the most difficult to find. In the secret language of inverted buckets, the porcelain in ancient tombs is called "water". The most common burial utensils in Yuan Dynasty tombs are porcelain, and the craft of inverted buckets is People have always called Yuan Dynasty corpses "fish" because the corpses of Yuan Dynasty tomb owners were buried with fishing nets wrapped in the coffin. This is also a custom of Tantric people, and it is difficult for most people today to understand.

If it is said that "there is water but no fish", it means that there are only ancient porcelains in the tomb but no ancient corpses. Is it a tomb? The fat man and I were particularly interested in the back-and-forth fight. When we were curious, we asked Mr. Qiao to tell us the details. It would be best to tell us more about what happened to the "water" and what kind of market it was worth.

It turns out that Mr. Qiao made a fortune by playing upside down in his early years. He has been doing business in antiques, calligraphy and painting for many years now. He has a similar origin to the ancestor of Mr. Jinya. He is a low-ranking folk thief who knows a little about mud. He has the ability to distinguish the color of soil and has a natural sense of taste and smell. He has never touched tobacco or alcohol in his life. When he tells his colleagues about the back-and-forth fight back then, he still beams with joy and looks very proud of himself as an old veteran.

(To be continued. If you want to know what happened, please log in. There are more chapters. Support the author and genuine reading!)