"Let's check out a few villagers' homes first. It's not too late to go to the market at noon, and people will come down from the mountain then; we might find some good stuff..."
After Zhuang Rui went downstairs, Uncle De also put away his airs and took a towel to wipe his sweat.
Chapter 579 The Market (2)
Breakfast at Old Wang's house consisted of boiled yams, wild yams that Old Wang himself dug up from the mountain. They were very nutritious, and Zhuang Rui and the others had never eaten anything like them before. They tasted quite good.
Zhuang Rui's group wasn't the only one having breakfast; there were also seven or eight other residents from out of town. Some of them knew Uncle De and greeted each other. At this time of day, everyone who comes to Yuyan Mountain is here to buy chicken-blood stone.
"Teacher Ma, you can't take all the good stones this year. Leave some for us too..."
A middle-aged man in his forties, wearing a suit and tie, was joking with Uncle De. Uncle De was a title only used by very close people and disciples. Outside, people generally called him Teacher Ma.
Upon hearing the man's words, Uncle De deliberately feigned anger and said, "Mr. Wang, what are you saying? You have more than enough chicken-blood stone produced in your own mine, yet you come here to compete with us for this business..."
"Haha, Mr. Ma, you're joking. I wonder if this is for personal use or to help someone else inspect the goods?"
Mr. Wang chuckled and changed the subject, glancing at Zhuang Rui and the others. He had witnessed the conflict yesterday; anyone who could look down on the Yan family of Zhonghai must have a powerful background.
"I brought my apprentice here for a look around. He owns a shop in Panjiayuan, Beijing, and he's here to get some material for his shop seals. Alas, the amount of Changhua chicken-blood stone is decreasing year by year. In a few more years, it might disappear completely..."
Uncle De was 120% satisfied with Zhuang Rui as his disciple, and immediately introduced Zhuang Rui to that General Manager Wang.
"It's Teacher Zhuang! I was wondering why you looked so familiar. Oh dear, look at my eyes! If Teacher Ma hadn't pointed it out, I really wouldn't have recognized you..."
After Uncle De introduced Zhuang Rui, President Wang slapped his forehead, grasped Zhuang Rui's hand, and shook it affectionately.
"Mr. Wang knows me? Did you see that TV show?"
Zhuang Rui asked somewhat strangely, "It really makes a difference that I've been on CCTV. But not everyone recognizes me. At least the consultant from Yan Kai's company didn't recognize me yesterday."
"Hi, Professor Zhuang, you're the 'King of Jade'!"
Your reputation is legendary! I saw you on CCTV a while ago, I never expected to run into you here. You look even younger than you do on TV! No way, lunch is on me..."
President Wang held Zhuang Rui's hand tightly and refused to let go. Luckily, he was a man; otherwise, Qin Xuanbing, who was standing to the side, would probably have been jealous.
"No, no, there's nothing good to eat here. When we get to Lin'an, Teacher Zhuang, you must do me the honor of having a meal together..."
Mr. Wang thought that there wasn't even a restaurant in the area, so there was no question of having a meal. However, judging from his attitude, he was really sincere in inviting Zhuang Rui to dinner.
"No problem, no problem, Mr. Wang, you're too kind..."
Although Zhuang Rui didn't know why the middle-aged man was being so polite to him, he couldn't refuse someone who was smiling, so he returned the courtesy with a few words.
"Are you all heading to the market? I was just checking to see if the company's stones have been transported down the mountain yet, let's go together..."
"Mr. Wang, we still need to check on the goods at a few more stores. Let's meet at the market later..."
Uncle De's words disappointed Mr. Wang. After asking Zhuang Rui for his phone number, he left with a few entourage, waving goodbye to Zhuang Rui as he went.
After Zhuang Rui and the others finished their meal, they followed behind Old Wang and walked down the mountain road without driving. Although the vertical height was only forty or fifty meters, it was still quite a walk. However, the scenery along the way was beautiful, with birdsong constantly filling the air, giving it a feeling of spring outing.
"Uncle De, who is that person?"
As the saying goes, "Those who offer unsolicited favors are either up to no good or are thieves." Zhuang Rui was somewhat puzzled by Mr. Wang's attitude and couldn't help but ask Uncle De about it.
"That man's name is Wang Xiaoyi. His ancestors ran gold shops in Shanghai and Jiangsu and Zhejiang, and they were very famous. Although they were nationalized after liberation, they gradually developed again after the reform and opening-up policy was relaxed. Now, the largest jewelry company in East China belongs to his family, and they also operate two chicken-blood stone mines on this Yuyan Mountain..."
At this point, Uncle De stopped and looked at Zhuang Rui with a half-smile. Zhuang Rui quickly looked down at himself and realized that he wasn't wearing his clothes inside out.
"You've caused such a stir in the jade business, of course he'll be paying attention to you since he's in the jewelry business. Heh, I bet he's got his eye on those pieces of jade you have, right?"
Uncle De's words startled Zhuang Rui for a moment, but he quickly realized that everyone knew about his successful bets on jade in Myanmar. They probably knew that he had won several rough stones.
That Mr. Wang wanted to cultivate a good relationship with me, probably because he wanted to buy some good materials from me.
"Then he might be disappointed..."
Zhuang Rui shook his head. He had no intention of unraveling those materials. Even if he did, he would leave them for Qin Xuanbing to design and play with for the time being, and he had no intention of selling them.
Zhuang Rui suddenly remembered something and asked, "By the way, Uncle De, that Mr. Wang already owns a chicken-blood stone mine, so why is he still coming to buy chicken-blood stone?"
"The output of this chicken-blood stone mine is not large. Their company mostly uses chicken-blood stone to make ornaments, and the demand is huge. In the Changhua chicken-blood stone market in China, Wang Xiaoyi's company probably accounts for 60% of the market share..."
After hearing what Uncle De said, Zhuang Rui understood. Although chicken blood stone is known as the queen of seals, its value as a seal is far less than its market value as an ornament.
Just like the chicken-blood stone ornament I saw at the Spring Festival treasure appraisal event, according to Mr. Qian from the Kyoto Auction House, if it were auctioned, its value would be over 100 million yuan. However, if it were broken down and made into a seal, it would probably only be worth 30 to 50 million yuan at most.
As they talked, they reached the foot of the mountain. More and more people were getting up early to work in the fields. Spring is the time to plan for the year, and now is the perfect time to tend to the terraced fields in the mountains.
Everyone they met on the road warmly invited Old Wang to come to their homes for breakfast. It was unclear whether this was because Old Wang had high prestige or because those people wanted to invite Zhuang Rui and the others to their homes to inspect the goods.
Although both are rural areas, the village at the foot of Yuyan Mountain is significantly wealthier than the villages Zhuang Rui and his companions had seen along the way, thanks to the presence of chicken-blood stone. Almost every family has built a small house, and there are signs for agritainment businesses hanging at their doors.
As we walked through the village, it was clear that many people, like Zhuang Rui and his group, were from out of town attending the chicken-blood stone trade fair.
"Erhuzi, isn't he home...?"
Old Wang led Zhuang Rui and his group to the courtyard of a small building. He pushed open the front door and entered the courtyard before shouting loudly. In the countryside, there's no such thing as knocking on doors; sometimes you can just run to someone's house with a bowl in your hand.
"Woof woof..."
Instead of anyone coming out, a big yellow dog darted out of the house and barked at Zhuang Rui and the others.
"Hey, Second Uncle, I'm home, I'm home, get out of here..."
Upon hearing the dog barking, a young man kicked the dutiful yellow dog and led Zhuang Rui and the others into the house. There was no need to ask any further questions; Old Wang, being from out of town, had come to the house to see the chicken-blood stone.
"Second Uncle, the stones are all there. I've arranged them all and am ready to take them to the market on a cart later..."
These few days are the most important trading time for chicken-blood stone. Chicken-blood stone merchants from all over the country gather here. So not only do chicken-blood stone mine owners prepare chicken-blood stone materials, but the villagers at the foot of Yuyan Mountain also bring the stones they found on the mountain last year to the market to set up stalls.
Old Wang turned around and said to Zhuang Rui and the others, "Teacher Ma, Brother Zhuang, please take a look first. Once you've chosen, let Erhuzi set up a stall for the rest. This is my nephew, don't be shy..."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this. Sure enough, it's true that good things shouldn't go to outsiders; when inspecting goods, you should first look at your own people.
Perhaps because Erhuzi was young and strong, he had significantly more chicken-blood stone material than Lao Wangtou. In a corner of the yard, the stones were piled up full, and they looked quite good from the outside, with several pieces showing a blood-red color.
Zhuang Rui did a quick check and found there were a total of sixty or seventy pieces of material, the largest of which weighed seventy or eighty kilograms. He didn't know how Erhuzi had managed to carry them down from the mountain.
After apologizing to Old Wang, Zhuang Rui and Uncle De took flashlights and went to examine the pile of stones. As for Wei Ge and the others, they neither understood what it was nor were they interested in it. They sat on the chairs that Er Hu Zi had brought and chatted in the yard.
"This piece, this piece, and this one—I'll take all three. Brother Erhu, how much do you think they're worth?"
More than an hour later, Zhuang Rui stopped working, covered in sweat. In front of him were three stones, weighing about thirty or forty pounds in total. Only one of them was bleeding on the outside, while the other two looked no different from ordinary rocks.
"Zhuang Rui, you've already made your decision so quickly?"
Uncle De, who was still observing from the side, turned his face after hearing Zhuang Rui's words. Zhuang Rui had examined these dozens of stones far too quickly.
Zhuang Rui took the towel Qin Xuanbing handed him and wiped his sweat, saying, "I've taken a quick look, and I think these pieces are pretty good. Uncle De, would you like to take a look?"
To be honest, examining chicken-blood stone is much more tiring than inspecting jadeite. Jadeite pieces are generally at least the size of a fist, while chicken-blood stones vary in size, with some small reddish stones also placed in the stone material area.
However, having learned from yesterday's example of the seal material, Zhuang Rui didn't let even the smallest stone fragment, no bigger than a thumb, slip by today, examining each one with his spiritual energy.
Chapter 580 The Market (3)
Chicken-blood stone generally has scattered bleeding patterns. If a piece of stone has about 30% bleeding, it can be considered a high-grade chicken-blood stone. If it can reach more than 50%, it can be called a rare gem.
Therefore, when Zhuang Rui examines these materials, he not only needs to look at the color of the bleeding, but also the area of the bleeding. If it were a raw jade stone, Zhuang Rui could finish examining it in 10 minutes, instead of needing more than an hour.
Of the three stones Zhuang Rui selected, the largest one weighed about thirty pounds and was three or four times the size of the other two. It was also the best-looking one. The middle of this stone was no different from an ordinary stone, but at both ends, bright red blood streaks had seeped out.
There are generally two possibilities for this type of chicken-blood stone rough: one is that there is a large amount of chicken blood under the stone skin, which can reach the whole stone; the other is that the chicken blood is scattered, just like what we see now, with chicken blood only at the beginning and end.
Regardless of the possibility, it's certain that this stone will contain chicken blood (a type of mineral), and stones with such good quality generally command high prices.
"Second Uncle, how much do you think these pieces are worth?"
Erhuzi squatted down and carefully examined the three rough stones that Zhuang Rui had picked out. Then he looked at Old Wang. When it came to bargaining, his second uncle was much better than him, and since he had brought the person with him, it was more appropriate for Old Wang to negotiate the price.
"This larger one is similar to the one I sold two years ago. The market price is much higher now, it should be around 100,000..."
Before Old Wang could finish speaking, Erhuzi, who was standing to the side, was already beaming with joy. He couldn't earn 100,000 RMB in 10 years by digging in the soil and farming.
"As for these two stones, where did you find them?"
Old Wang glanced at the other two pieces, but there was nothing unusual about them, so he frowned.
There is a significant difference between bloodstone and jadeite rough. Many jadeite rough stones show no signs or indications on their surface, but bloodstone usually has blood streaks on its skin. Conversely, the chance of blood inside is very small, and the price is naturally very low.
Erhuzi's attention was entirely focused on the 100,000 yuan stone. He paid no attention to the two fist-sized pieces and casually replied, "Second Uncle, I found these two in an old mine. They weren't heavy, so I carried them back..."
"Found them in the old pit? Well, that's hard to say. How about this, two pieces together for 5000 RMB, Brother Zhuang, what do you think?"
Old Wang took out his pipe, took a couple of puffs, then tapped the mouthpiece on the ground before standing up and giving Zhuang Rui a price.
"Brother Zhuang, as you know, there's less and less chicken-blood stone left on the mountain. The old mines have long been depleted, and the price of stones from the old mines is generally three to five times that of stones from the new mines. So, this price is quite reasonable..."
After all, it was a stone with no apparent value. Old Wang was afraid that Zhuang Rui would be unhappy with his asking price of 5,000 yuan, so he quickly explained a few more words.
Zhuang Rui didn't speak upon hearing this. Instead, he squatted down again and examined the thirty-odd-pound stone from all angles. Finally, he shook his head, stood up, and said, "Uncle Wang, this stone is too risky. I can't make a profit with 100,000 yuan. How about we let Brother Erhu take it to the market to bid? Maybe we can get a better price..."
Hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Erhuzi looked somewhat disappointed. He didn't ask for much; he would be happy if he could sell it for 100,000. If no one took a liking to it at the market, it would just be a broken stone.
"These two are worth 5,000 yuan each, they're not too expensive. Brother Erhu, I'll take these two smaller ones. Will you sell them for 5,000?"
Zhuang Rui's last words brightened Erhuzi's face. Although the larger stone hadn't sold, the two stones he'd casually picked up could fetch 5,000, which was practically free money. Erhuzi quickly agreed, "Sell, sell! Wait a minute, I'll wrap them up for you right away..."
After Erhuzi finished speaking, he turned around and called into the house, "Mother of the child, mother of the child? Erqin, come out, take out one of those baskets you wove..."
As Erhuzi spoke, a young woman in her early twenties walked out of the main room of the small building, holding a baby in her arms, seemingly breastfeeding. A patch of white flesh, like snowflakes, was exposed on her chest, causing the men present to immediately turn their gaze elsewhere.
"You stupid woman, couldn't you leave the baby inside? Go inside, go inside..."
Although this is how babies are usually breastfed in the countryside, Erhuzi knew that city people wouldn't approve of it, so he quickly pushed his wife back into the main room and went in himself. When he came out, he was carrying a few old newspapers and a very exquisitely woven little bamboo basket.
Erhuzi wrapped the two stones in old newspapers and put them in the bamboo basket.
This bamboo basket looks a bit like the one Guanyin Bodhisattva used to catch the goldfish monster. It even has a handle on it, and it could be sold as a handicraft. If someone who doesn't know any better were to choose it, they would definitely take the basket and throw away the stone.
Zhuang Rui took the counted 5,000 yuan from Peng Fei and handed it to Erhuzi, saying, "Brother Erhu, your bamboo basket is quite well woven. You could probably sell it for more than 10 yuan..."
"Hehe, it's not worth it, not worth it at all. My wife just made it up. Second Uncle, why don't you take these people for another look around? I need to load them into the car..."
After Erhuzi took the money, he checked it carefully before smiling and putting it in his pocket. He then got busy, as he was going to load the dozens of stones onto a flatbed cart and take it to the market. This was all hard work, and Erhuzi's wife had put down the children to help.
Zhuang Rui and the others naturally wouldn't help, but they couldn't just stand there and work either. They said goodbye to Erhuzi and left the courtyard. As for the two stones Zhuang Rui bought, Wei Ge carried them in his hands like a curious child. Speaking of which, the bamboo basket was indeed exquisitely woven.