"My friend, what do you think of this knife?"
Although it looked like a real thing, Zhuang Rui didn't know much about these kinds of objects. He immediately sheathed his sword and prepared to examine it with his spiritual energy, but he was interrupted just as he was about to look at it.
Zhuang Rui looked up somewhat unhappily and saw a tall young man standing in front of him, dressed in a fashionable manner and holding a samurai sword.
Upon seeing the knife in the man's hand, Zhuang Rui realized that the so-called genuine items in his noodle shop were basically all samurai swords. He wondered where the man had gotten them from. Had he collected all the samurai swords he had captured while fighting the Japanese?
Thinking of this, Zhuang Rui felt a little doubt about the knife in his hand. There must be something strange about things that seem abnormal. Many things that seem illogical have their roots.
"Excuse me, let me introduce myself first. My surname is Huangfu, and my given name is Yun. I've been collecting antiques and swords for several years now, but I used to collect them abroad and rarely interacted with fellow collectors in China. I really hope to get to know you..."
Seeing that Zhuang Rui hadn't paid any attention to him for a while, Huangfu quickly introduced himself.
"Hello, my name is Zhuang Rui. Although I also enjoy collecting, I'm not into swords. We can exchange ideas on other items, but I wouldn't dare embarrass myself by showing off my swords..."
As the saying goes, one cannot hit a smiling face. Since this Huangfu Yun was so polite, Zhuang Rui felt embarrassed to treat him coldly and immediately revealed his own name.
While the two were talking, the shop owner stood by. For some reason, he walked over and said, "Gentlemen, you two continue your conversation. I'm going to make a phone call..."
"Boss Tu, you go ahead with your work, we'll take a look ourselves first..."
Huangfu seemed to know the boss well and waved his hand dismissively, while Zhuang Rui gave the chubby boss a meaningful look. Could this be a trap they were setting together?
There are countless ways to set traps in the antique trade. For example, shills posing as customers or experts can lead people to buy fake items. However, such traps are becoming increasingly rare because the methods used are too crude.
However, Zhuang Rui didn't think Huangfu was a shill, because he was too young. Judging from his appearance, he was probably several years younger than himself. Shills are usually cunning and shrewd, and it would be difficult for someone so young to keep the scene in check.
"Brother Huangfu, how long have you been in this line of work...?"
Zhuang Rui casually chatted with the person in front of him. Don't underestimate this casual chat; there's an art to it. Experts can glean your background and origins from just a few words and even extend that to the items you've brought out. However, this involves a bit of江湖 (jianghu, a term referring to the world of martial arts and江湖义气, a code of honor among江湖 people).
Although Zhuang Rui was unfamiliar with this, the other party seemed to be a novice. After a few words, Zhuang Rui managed to find out the other party's background and realized that he was not a shill.
It turns out that Huangfu Yun is a graduate of Peking University and is actually a few years older than Zhuang Rui, but he looks younger.
After graduating with his bachelor's degree, Huangfu Yun went abroad to pursue a master's degree in law. He worked as a lawyer abroad for several years. At an overseas auction, he saw ancient Chinese swords and was immediately captivated by them.
Later, Huangfu Yun spent tens of thousands of yuan to buy that antique sword, and from then on, he became completely obsessed with collecting antique swords, both domestic and foreign.
According to Huangfu Yun, he is currently preparing to publish a book, which is a catalog of sword collecting in China, filling a gap in the domestic catalog of antiques.
"Brother Huangfu, what do you think... are these samurai swords real or fake?"
After chatting, Zhuang Rui developed a good impression of this lawyer who didn't do his job properly. At least he was a green card holder who was still a red heart despite his green skin. He was thinking about bringing foreign treasures back to China, which was much better than those smugglers who trafficked in cultural relics.
"Hehe, in my opinion, this is a batch of samurai swords from the era of Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Japan. According to the owner here, he acquired them from a Japanese family, so the credibility is very high. I bought two a while ago, and now that the owner has received some more, I'm here to take a look..."
Huangfu Yun had a smooth life since childhood and built his own business after growing up, so he spoke with great confidence and almost asserted that these swords and knives were genuine.
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui shook his head almost imperceptibly. When he had his doubts, he used his spiritual energy to examine the batch of samurai swords. The result surprised Zhuang Rui. All of these swords were fakes, and the internal structure of the swords was made by mechanical pressing and then reforging and polishing the patterns, and then artificially aging them.
The person who made this batch of samurai swords must be an expert with a deep understanding of the history and style of Japanese swords. At the very least, Zhuang Rui had already misjudged them before he used his spiritual energy to examine them. If he were a sword collector, he might have bought one.
"Brother Huangfu, how much did you pay for these two knives?"
Zhuang Rui asked.
Huangfu Yun glanced around, lowered his voice, and whispered, "Two for 500,000. The owner originally asked for 500,000 per sword, but I managed to negotiate it down. Brother Zhuang, if you like one later, we can try to lower the price a bit more..."
Zhuang Rui looked at his well-meaning friend, swallowed hard, and asked, "Two... 500,000 RMB?"
Damn it, even though you're making US dollars, you can't just waste money like this! This knife? Zhuang Rui might buy two for fifty dollars each, at least they'd be decorative if hung at home. But five hundred thousand? Only when Zhuang Rui's brain is fried would he be able to buy it.
"Yes, very few 15th-century samurai swords like this exist. At a New York auction last year, a nearly identical samurai sword sold for $180,000, and it wasn't even as good as the one here. Luckily, I missed that auction, or I would have lost a lot of money..."
Huangfu Yun looked extremely relieved, which made Zhuang Rui both laugh and cry. Dude, you might as well have spent that 180,000 yuan. It wouldn't have been as upsetting as buying these two broken knives forged with modern technology, would it?
"Brother Huangfu..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to point out a few flaws in the knife, he suddenly saw the shop owner walk out through the back door. He quickly changed his tune, saying, "I really don't know much about antique knives and swords. I just bought a couple outside to play around with, and I came in to browse after seeing the name of this shop. You don't need to take my opinion into consideration; just choose what you like..."
They all make a living in Panjiayuan, so Zhuang Rui absolutely cannot say whether these things are real or fake. Otherwise, it would be a big taboo to ruin someone's livelihood. Although this boss doesn't know Zhuang Rui now, he might meet him in the future, and Zhuang Rui doesn't want to make an enemy who will be remembered by him.
However, Zhuang Rui still subtly hinted to Huangfu Yun that there was a saying often heard in the antique trade: "Just do what you like." This is usually said to comfort those who have been fooled and paid their dues. If Huangfu Yun is perceptive enough, he might be able to understand it.
Just as Zhuang Rui finished speaking, his phone rang. He took out his phone, greeted Huangfu Yun and the shop owner, and leisurely went out to answer the call.
He had said all he could. If Huangfu Yun were to fall for it again, the loss this time would probably be more than 500,000. There were at least seven or eight samurai swords there, and the loss might not even be less than 2 million.
The call was from Zhao Hanxuan. He had heard from Monkey that Zhuang Rui had come to Panjiayuan. Old Zhao was very dissatisfied with Zhuang Rui's behavior of passing by his own home without going in, so he called to complain for a few minutes until Zhuang Rui said he was coming over, and then the other end of the phone hung up.
"Brother Zhuang, Brother Zhuang, slow down, slow down, wait for me..."
Zhuang Rui had just squeezed into the crowd when he heard Huangfu Yun's voice coming from behind. He turned around and saw that the guy had just walked out of the store empty-handed.
Chapter 610 Cutting Iron Like Mud (Part 1)
"Brother Huangfu, what's wrong? Didn't you buy anything?"
Zhuang Rui turned around and saw that the shop owner was still standing at the door. He didn't say much at the moment, but casually asked a question.
"Come again next time. I'd like to get to know Brother Zhuang today. Come on, let's talk as we walk..."
Huangfu Yun, being a lawyer by profession, was no less adept at reading people than Zhuang Rui. He turned his back to "Daojianzhai" and gave Zhuang Rui a wink, and the two of them squeezed into the crowd together.
"Damn it, why did they have to come now of all times? What bad luck..."
The shop owner who had just escorted Huangfu Yun out had long since lost his smile. He spat at their retreating figures, cursing inwardly with resentment.
The samurai swords in his shop are indeed fake; they were all custom-made in Hebei and Tianjin, where there are craft factories that specialize in making antique swords for home decoration.
The shop owner had originally ordered two swords, but unexpectedly encountered Huangfu Yun and fabricated a story about acquiring them from a fallen Japanese family. He actually sold them for a high price of 500,000. This gave him a taste of success, so he quickly ordered more than 10 more swords and arranged for Huangfu Yun to come and see the goods today. However, Huangfu Yun left without even finishing looking at the swords in order to get to know Zhuang Rui.
Of course, Zhuang Rui behaved quite properly in the store, so the shop owner didn't suspect anything. He arranged another time for Huangfu Yun to inspect the goods, but since the sale hadn't gone through, the shop owner was a little uneasy. ...
"Boss, this isn't fair of you. You're just hanging around Panjiayuan without even showing up at your own shop. That's unacceptable! You need to give me an explanation..."
As soon as Zhuang Rui stepped into the gate of "Xuanrui Zhai", he was blocked by Zhao Hanxuan. Old Zhao was a person who loved making friends, otherwise he would not have suffered losses and been deceived because of making friends. During this period of time, he had become good friends with Zhuang Rui, so he spoke very casually.
"Xiao Zhuang, you're here..."
Master Ge, who was sitting behind the seal stone, quickly stood up and greeted Zhuang Rui when he saw him. He didn't dare to speak like Zhao Hanxuan. In the old society, Zhuang Rui would have to call him "boss".
"What's the explanation? You guys should find somewhere to eat tonight, the restaurant will pay for it. By the way, where's Da Xiong?"
Zhuang Rui went into the store and took a look, only to find that apart from the monkey and another employee, Da Xiong was not there.
Zhao Hanxuan smiled and said, "Send that kid to get the goods. Let him explore the distribution channels more often so he can get up to speed faster..."
"Old Zhao, you're practically forcing me to give you a raise..."
Zhuang Rui patted Zhao Hanxuan on the shoulder with some frustration. It seemed that the old guy still hadn't given up on going out on his own. But that wasn't surprising. Who wouldn't want to be a boss and be someone else's employee?
"Let's not talk about this, let's not talk about this. I've been selling myself to you for two years..."
Zhao Hanxuan smiled and changed the subject. Noticing that Zhuang Rui was followed by another person, he asked, "Boss, who is this...?"
"Hey, look, we almost forgot about our distinguished guest..."
Zhuang Rui slapped his forehead and stepped aside, saying, "I met Huangfu Yun when we were looking at the items earlier. He's a top American lawyer, and also an expert in antiques and swords..."
"Brother Zhuang, please stop embarrassing me. You call yourself an expert? It's so shameful. By the way, should I call you Boss Zhuang?" Huangfu Yun had been standing quietly behind Zhuang Rui. To be honest, he was also very curious about Zhuang Rui's identity. Someone a few years younger than himself actually owned such a large shop in Panjiayuan.
Zhuang Rui smiled and waved his hand, saying, "No, I'm not a good enough boss. Please just call me 'brother'..."
"Brother Zhuang, you are the real expert! You must have been holding back just now. There are truly hidden talents in this country..."
Thinking of what Zhuang Rui said at "Daojianzhai", Huangfu Yun's confidence in the two samurai swords he bought for 500,000 yuan became somewhat lacking.
Actually, Huangfu Yun was a little doubtful at the time, but when he was looking at the goods, there was an old man who spoke Japanese who was also interested in buying them. He raised the price with Huangfu Yun a few times, so Huangfu Yun didn't think much of it and just bought them.
Looking back now, however, he found many suspicious points. Moreover, after he bought two samurai swords, more than ten more suddenly appeared, which aroused Huangfu Yun's suspicions. However, people are often blinded by their own involvement. It was only after Zhuang Rui's guidance that Huangfu Yun gradually expanded his doubts.
Huangfu Yun was right. The Japanese old man's identity was real, but he was a shill hired by the shop owner. This shows how much effort antique shops nowadays put into creating a scam. Just hiring that temporary actor cost the shop owner a considerable sum.
Of course, that accomplice has probably already returned to Japan, so there's no way to verify the matter now. Even if Huangfu Yun goes to the shop owner, he can't do anything about it.
Antiques are always sold out immediately, and the invoice is issued as a craft item, so Huangfuyun has no way to settle accounts later. When setting up a trap, especially for shop owners, they will never leave any loose ends.
"What happened? Did someone hook you up? How much did you lose?"
Zhao Hanxuan was very perceptive about this matter. As soon as he heard the conversation between the two, he knew that Huangfu Yun had probably been set up.
"Probably around 500,000. There are so many fakes in China these days..."
Huangfu Yun sighed. He had started collecting swords abroad and thought there would be more genuine ones left in China. Who knew that he would suffer a big loss on his first attempt.
Zhao Hanxuan had come to terms with it by now. After hearing Huangfu Yun's words, he said self-deprecatingly, "Brother, just consider it a lesson learned from spending 500,000 yuan. I was tricked out of 8 million yuan, and even this shop has changed hands..."
Huangfu Yun was unaware of this matter. When pressed for details, he shook his head repeatedly, admitting that he was truly lucky to have encountered Zhuang Rui on his second attempt. Otherwise, he would likely have had to throw money into the scheme again. However, Huangfu Yun was still completely baffled as to how Zhuang Rui distinguished between the real and fake swords. He then looked at Zhuang Rui and asked, "Brother Zhuang, I noticed that you only looked at the scabbard and didn't examine the inside closely. How did you determine that there was something wrong with the sword?"
"Let's go to the inner room to talk, and I'll let you see what I just bought..."
Seeing that there were quite a few people in the shop, Zhuang Rui greeted Master Ge and led Huangfu Yun into a private room. Zhao Hanxuan naturally followed, wanting to see what goodies Zhuang Rui had found this time.
"Brother Huangfu, please take a look at these two swords..."
After entering the cubicle, Zhuang Rui unwrapped the newspapers covering the two swords and carefully placed them on the table.
"Rusted like this? It's not worth much..."
Huangfu Yun frowned when he saw the two stick-like objects. He asked Zhuang Rui for a pair of gloves, put them on, and began to examine the knife.
"This should be an iron ring-pommel sword from the Han Dynasty, but the hilt is rotten and the blade is too oxidized to be worth polishing..."
Huangfu Yun had indeed put a lot of effort into swords. After a brief look, he took out the key he carried with him and poked around the hole of the ring-pommel sword, removing the rust and revealing the original hole for the ring.
"Hmm? I'm planning to polish this myself, it shouldn't be too difficult..."
Zhuang Rui bought a knife that wasn't very valuable; he planned to take it home and sharpen it with a sharpening wheel.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Huangfu Yun quickly said, "Brother Zhuang, a good knife can't be sharpened haphazardly, or it will cause damage..."
"Oh? There's such a saying? Brother Huangfu, please tell me about it..."
Zhuang Rui knows a little about porcelain restoration, but he knows absolutely nothing about sword preservation. Sword collecting has only become popular in recent years, and even Uncle De doesn't know much about this kind of antique.
"Brother Zhuang, when sharpening swords, if you're not a professional, you can easily grind away the hard steel coating on the surface. That would change the entire shape of the sword, which is a big no-no..."
It was rare for Huangfu Yun to exchange knowledge about sword collecting with others, so he began to speak eloquently. There was no precedent for sword collecting, and what Huangfu Yun said was all the experience he had accumulated over the years, which greatly broadened the knowledge of Zhuang Rui and Zhao Hanxuan.
It turns out that while polishing can restore the beautiful patterns to antique swords, these patterns are not inherent to the swords themselves. Although they may look nice, they lose the unique charm of antique swords, and thus their value is greatly reduced in the eyes of experts.
In Japan, a skilled sword polisher charges $100 for polishing a sword to one inch in length. It can take up to half a month to process a sword, and the effort required is beyond what most people can imagine. It's not as simple as just taking it for a quick polishing and maintenance to restore its original appearance.