"Brother Xiong, you can raise another one after the start of autumn. This brother likes it, so let him have it."
The monkey standing nearby chimed in, saying that in his opinion, a cricket was only worth ten or eight yuan, and since the person wanted to buy it, why not just sell it?
Xiong Ge's expression changed, and he seemed to be tempted. He had bought the cricket for 20 yuan half a year ago, and the cricket gourd was something he had picked up from a street stall when he stayed at his uncle's house in Tianjin the year before last, which only cost him about ten yuan.
Thinking of this, Xiong Ge's expression turned serious, and he said to Zhuang Rui, "This cricket of mine is top-quality. You heard its chirping just now; it was incredibly loud. I'm not bragging, but in this entire market, no one who keeps crickets can compare to me. Since you really like it, I'll give you an offer. If you think it's reasonable, I'll sell it to you..."
"Go ahead and tell me."
Zhuang Rui replied.
"One thousand yuan, no bargaining. I'll sell you the cricket gourd along with it. This gourd is a really good one. The old man at the 'Jiyaxuan' shop over there offered me 800 yuan yesterday, but I couldn't sell it to him."
Xiong Ge gritted his teeth and said, half of what he said was true and half false. The owner of the antique shop "Jiyaxuan" did offer him a price for this gourd yesterday, but it was only 100 yuan. Now that it was in Xiong Ge's mouth, it had become 700 yuan.
After considering it for a moment, Zhuang Rui decided to buy it. After all, this was the third item he had encountered that could increase spiritual energy since his eyes began to generate spiritual energy. A thousand yuan wasn't a lot of money, and he could afford to lose it all.
"Alright, Xiong-ge, since you're willing to part with it, a thousand yuan it is. Take the money, but the item is mine..."
Just as Xiong Ge and Monkey were scrutinizing Zhuang Rui's expression, Zhuang Rui spoke up. He took out his wallet from his pocket, counted out a thousand yuan, and handed it to Xiong Ge. He then took the cricket gourd and, just like Xiong Ge had done before, carefully put it away. Xiong Ge seemed reluctant to part with it. He took the money, counted it casually, and put it in his pocket, but his eyes kept glancing at the spot where Zhuang Rui had placed the cricket.
Touching the cricket gourd in his arms through his clothes, Zhuang Rui slowly walked towards Liu Chuan's pet shop, feeling somewhat happy. After all, he had found an item with spiritual energy, although the amount of spiritual energy he absorbed was rather small, it was better than nothing.
Chapter 25 The Grasshopper Gourd (Part 2)
"Oh my, our Manager Zhuang is finally back! You've got quite the airs, haven't you? A whole roomful of people are waiting for you."
As soon as Zhuang Rui stepped into the pet store, he heard Liu Chuan shouting loudly. Looking into the store, he saw that there were indeed quite a few people inside.
The first person Zhuang Rui saw was naturally Qin Xuanbing. Qin Xuanbing was wearing a loose purple sweater today, which made her already fair skin look like jade. Her hair, which was originally tied up, was now loose and draped over her shoulders, giving her a lazy feeling. Even though Zhuang Rui disliked Qin Xuanbing's cold personality, his heart beat faster when he saw her like this.
Qin Xuanbing was playing a tortoise race with Nannan. It was probably Liu Chuan's idea. He caught two tortoises and threw them on the coffee table, letting Nannan play with them. Watching the two tortoises clumsily crawl on the coffee table, Qin Xuanbing and Nannan, the two beauties, were laughing happily. Qin Xuanbing's smile was like a glacier melting in an instant. In Zhuang Rui's eyes, it felt like spring had returned to the earth.
Over time, Qin Xuanbing's family background has become an open secret. She comes from a wealthy family in Hong Kong, whose main business is jewelry and jade. They are well-known throughout Southeast Asia. Compared to her family, Lei Lei's maternal grandfather's business is much less impressive. In terms of assets, reputation, and business projects, it cannot compare.
Seemingly sensing Zhuang Rui's gaze, Qin Xuanbing resumed her cold demeanor. Zhuang Rui scratched his head awkwardly and looked at the others.
Lei Lei was currently helping customers choose turtles next to several aquariums at the shop entrance. She had grown up in Pengcheng and didn't have any language barriers, so she was very confident and capable in doing business, without being pretentious at all.
Zhuang Rui turned his gaze back to Liu Chuan. Three men were sitting on the sofa next to him. One was an old man, probably in his sixties, thin but vigorous, with bright and piercing eyes, looking very capable. The other two were middle-aged men around forty years old, and judging from their clothes, they did not look like customers who were buying things.
Liu Chuan pulled Zhuang Rui over and pointed to the old man, saying, "Zhuang Rui, come here, let me introduce you. This is Manager Lü, the owner of 'Jiyaxuan' next door. He is a senior figure in the Pengcheng antique industry, the president of the Pengcheng Antique Association, and a director of the Jewelry and Jade Association. If you have any questions, feel free to ask Manager Lü."
The old man seemed dissatisfied with Liu Chuan's address. He glared at Liu Chuan and said, "You little brat, I don't deserve to be called Uncle Lü by you. What shopkeeper? You're just a lousy old man."
Liu Chuan seemed used to joking with the old man and didn't mind. He then pointed to two other middle-aged men and said to Zhuang Rui, "This is Mr. Song Jun, the owner of Liuxiangzhai. He's a very busy man who's not often in Pengcheng. This is Brother Wang, the owner of Yudingtang. These two are not only well-known in the Pengcheng antique world, but they are also very famous in the whole of northern Jiangsu Province. When I opened my shop here, these two helped me a lot."
Zhuang Rui nodded hurriedly to greet the group, but he was a little puzzled. According to Liu Chuan, the middle-aged man in front of him was a prominent figure in Pengcheng's antique world. He wondered what Liu Chuan meant by introducing these people to him, since he had never had any connection with this industry.
As the saying goes, old people become wiser. Manager Lü seemed to see the hint of doubt on Zhuang Rui's face and said bluntly, "Young Zhuang, we've come uninvited today because we heard that you recently acquired a manuscript by Wang Shizhen of the Qing Dynasty. Many of Wang Shizhen's poems have been passed down, but his manuscripts are extremely rare. We don't have any other intentions; we just want to see it."
Upon hearing this, Zhuang Rui immediately understood and glanced at Liu Chuan, who quickly said, "You guys chat, I'll go and greet the guests."
After Liu Chuan finished speaking, he hid far away from Lei Lei. Without asking, it was clear that this guy had a loose tongue and spread the word. Zhuang Rui was secretly glad that he hadn't told this guy about the spiritual energy in his eyes, otherwise the whole world would probably know by now.
"Manager Lü, the two bosses..."
"Young Zhuang, this old man will take the liberty of calling you Uncle Lü."
Before Zhuang Rui could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Manager Lü.
"Alright, Uncle Lü, Brother Song, Brother Wang, I did acquire a manuscript before the New Year. Judging from its condition, it should undoubtedly be a rare and valuable ancient book. I also did some research, and the manuscript is Wang Shizhen's Incense Ancestor Notes. As for who wrote it, I can't tell."
Zhuang Rui honestly explained the situation regarding the manuscript. In any case, the manuscript had a clean provenance and no one could take it away. These experts wanted to see it, which would be a good opportunity to clear up his doubts.
"Brother Zhuang, could you show it to us?"
The somewhat rugged-looking Song Jun said loudly, "You know, the most difficult antiques to preserve are calligraphy and paintings. Works by a master like Wang Shizhen are extremely rare. His original works can probably only be seen in a few major museums. Therefore, they all want to see them as soon as possible to see whether they are genuine works of the ancients or fakes."
"Now? Here?"
Zhuang Rui glanced at the little girl who was having a great time playing and was in a bit of a dilemma. He needed to go home to get the things, and besides, Liu Chuan's shop was bustling with people and quite noisy, not exactly a good place to appreciate antiques.
"Hey, I misspoke. This place isn't really suitable. How about this, if you're free tomorrow morning, take the manuscript to the Jingmingxuan Teahouse next to the market. That's my business too. Let's have a tea tasting and appraisal session, old man. What do you say?"
Although Boss Song has a rugged appearance, he speaks with great tact. His words imply that he still respects Old Master Lü. However, Song Jun's demeanor and speech are very dignified, and he doesn't seem to be an ordinary antique collector.
"I think this will work, but I don't know if Xiao Zhuang will have time tomorrow?"
Grandpa Song nodded and said.
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to reply, the cricket in his arms suddenly chirped, probably because the temperature in the shop had risen. A thought struck Zhuang Rui: the cricket was nothing special, but the cricket gourd must have some history. He didn't know anything about it, so why not let these gentlemen take a look?
Thinking of this, Zhuang Rui said, "Alright, since Uncle Lü said so, I'll be there on time tomorrow. But Uncle Lü, I just bought a small item at the market that I really like. Could you take a look at it and tell me its age?"
"Hehe, is it a cricket gourd? Take it out and let me see..."
When Manager Lü heard the cricket chirping and saw Zhuang Rui speaking like that, he immediately understood what Zhuang Rui was up to.
When Liu Chuan and Lei Lei heard that Zhuang Rui had bought a cricket gourd, they also gathered around. Even Qin Xuanbing and Xiao Nannan, who were playing with a turtle, were attracted by the cricket's clear chirping.
Zhuang Rui reached out and took out the cricket gourd from his arms, but before he could hand it to Grandpa Lü, Liu Chuan snatched it away. Little Nannan hugged Liu Chuan's leg on the ground, clamoring to play with it.
"Hey Wood, how much did you pay for this thing? What made you suddenly want to play with this? Do you remember when we were kids catching grasshoppers?"
Liu Chuan fiddled with the cricket gourd in his hand for a moment, then handed it to the little girl, clearly not taking it seriously. However, he didn't notice that Grandpa Lü's expression changed slightly.
"I bought it for a thousand dollars. We didn't know any better back then. If we had this, my little blue-eyed dog wouldn't have frozen to death..."
Zhuang Rui answered casually.
"A thousand yuan! What's gotten into you again? Do you know I used to sell these things for 20 yuan each, pick whichever you wanted? Which bastard sold them to you? Tell me, I'm going to find him..."
Liu Chuan's voice unconsciously rose a few decibels. It wasn't that he was heartbroken about the thousand yuan; he was just upset that his brother had been treated like a fool.
Chapter 26 The Grasshopper Gourd (Part 2)
At that moment, Qin Xuanbing was playing with the cricket gourd in her hand. After hearing Liu Chuan's words, she looked up and said calmly, "2000 yuan, I'll take this."
For Qin Xuanbing, money is just a number. She does like it, especially the melodious chirping of crickets, which makes her feel as if she is in the countryside.
Liu Chuan opened his mouth wide in surprise. He felt that the world had changed. How could even this aloof woman have gone crazy with Zhuang Rui? But what surprised him even more was yet to come.
"I'm not selling it. I'll keep it for myself to play with."
Zhuang Rui immediately rejected Qin Xuanbing.
5000.
Qin Xuanbing's expression remained unchanged, and she uttered another number.
"I'm sorry, Miss Qin, I really can't sell this. It's not about the price; it's just that I really like this cricket gourd. I hope you can understand."
Zhuang Rui saw that Qin Xuanbing really wanted to buy it. Although he raised the price, he didn't mean to throw money at her. So he said sincerely that the price of five thousand yuan was really not enough to sway her.
Qin Xuanbing didn't reply, but glanced at Zhuang Rui indifferently before returning the cricket gourd to Nannan's little hand.
"Ahem, Xiao Zhuang, you want me to show you the item, but I haven't even handled it yet."
Surprisingly, Grandpa Lü seemed to be somewhat interested in the gourd as well, but he was too embarrassed to snatch it from Xiao Nannan, so he spoke to Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui quickly took the cricket gourd from Nannan's hand and handed it to Grandpa Lü. Immediately, everyone in the room focused their attention on Grandpa Lü.
After receiving the cricket gourd, Grandpa Lü first flicked its belly with his fingernail, and the cricket inside immediately began to chirp. The clear and loud sound echoed throughout the shop. Then, Grandpa Lü took out a magnifying glass about the size of a thumb from his pocket and carefully examined the gourd's hollow core. After a full five minutes, he put the magnifying glass away and let out a long sigh.
"Xiao Zhuang, are you really not going to sell this item?"
As he fiddled with the cricket gourd in his hand, Old Master Lü's first words surprised everyone.
"Not for sale."
Zhuang Rui said firmly.
"Even if I offered 50,000, you still wouldn't sell?"
Grandpa Lü's smile was somewhat amusing, and seemed to contain... a hint of bitterness.
"Uncle Lü, please stop teasing me. I really just want to keep it for myself. Is there some other trick to it?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback upon hearing this and began to waver. After all, he had been spending money without earning any during this period. He had spent more than 60,000 yuan on buying a house and manuscripts, and now he only had 50,000 to 60,000 yuan left. Moreover, this thing only cost him 1,000 yuan, and in less than an hour, it had increased in value fiftyfold. If the old man's price was reasonable, he might as well sell it to him.
"You got this from that guy named Da Xiong, right?"
Instead of answering Zhuang Rui's question, Old Master Lü asked a different question.
"Yes, Uncle Lü, how did you know? Oh, right, Da Xiong said someone was willing to pay 800 for him. Could it be you, sir..."
Zhuang Rui also recalled what Xiong Ge had said back then, and it turned out he wasn't lying to himself.
Upon hearing this, Manager Lü gave a wry smile and said, "Where is 800? I offered that kid 100. The kids who've been around in this market are all very shrewd. If I really offered 800, do you think he would have sold it for 1,000?"
The old man's words left everyone present confused. He was only willing to give 100 to Da Xiong, but how did it become 50,000 to Zhuang Rui? This was quite baffling. However, the two bosses, Song and Wang, seemed to have a look of realization on their faces, as if they understood something.
"Xiao Zhuang, stop pretending. If you couldn't tell where this item came from, how could you have stolen it from me? Why are you still trying to fool this old man?"
The old man stared intently at Zhuang Rui, the smile on his face vanished, replaced by a hint of displeasure, as he spoke to Zhuang Rui, enunciating each word clearly.
"Uncle Lü, I really don't know the origin of this thing. I don't know much about these things, and I really don't understand what's so special about this cricket gourd. If you don't believe me, ask Da Chuan. We grew up together, and he knows me best."
Zhuang Rui became a little anxious upon hearing this and quickly explained, thinking to himself that this old man was like a dog, how could he turn on him so easily and show no mercy? Saying such things in front of strangers was tantamount to tearing off the mask of civility.
Liu Chuan finally understood. It turned out that the old man thought Zhuang Rui had gotten a good deal and was still acting innocent. He quickly said, "Uncle Lü, my brother really doesn't know anything about this business. If he says he doesn't understand, then he doesn't understand. Although I, Liu Chuan, am young, you all know my character. I've been in this market for several years, and I always keep my word. Zhuang Rui's words are my words!"
Hearing Liu Chuan's assurance, the old man's anger subsided, and he said, "This item is a gourd with teeth from Liu of Sanhe. I don't need to tell you its value. I saw that kid Daxiong carrying it yesterday, but it was a bit late, so I didn't take a closer look and couldn't guarantee its origin. I offered him 100 yuan. I was just thinking of taking a closer look in the next few days, but I didn't expect you to buy it. Sigh, this is quite a coincidence. But this is an old item, definitely from Liu of Sanhe. Keep it safe."
Upon hearing the old man's words, everyone in the room reacted differently. Liu Chuan, Song Wang, and the other two were so wide-eyed they could hardly close their mouths, while Zhuang Rui, Qin Xuan, Bing Lei, and the other two looked puzzled, clearly unfamiliar with the name Sanhe Liu or hearing it for the first time.
"Uncle Lü, is this really from Liu of Sanhe?"
Liu Chuan's voice trembled slightly.
The old man glared at Liu Chuan and said with displeasure, "I've been collecting miscellaneous items for decades, and I've seen Sanhe Liu's items before, so it shouldn't be wrong."
"Hey bro, you've got some good luck again. Sanhe Liu's stuff is really good, you know, Sanhe Liu... well, Brother Song, you tell me about him, I only know the name..."
Liu Chuan slapped his thigh hard. After seeing the puzzled looks on Zhuang Rui and the others' faces, he originally wanted to show off his knowledge, but he realized that he had only heard of Sanhe Liu when he was in the business of selling crickets and gourds. He knew that Liu was a famous person, but he didn't know as much as Zhuang Rui about the origin and value of the item.
Boss Song took the cricket gourd from Grandpa Lü's hand, and like Grandpa Lü, he first took out a magnifying glass and examined it carefully for a long time before saying, "Brother Zhuang, you are really lucky. From the core to the reed, and the workmanship and patina, this gourd really looks like it was made by Liu from Sanhe."
Before Zhuang Rui could answer, Liu Chuan hurriedly asked, "Brother Song, how much is this thing worth?"