Li Dali didn't even need to look at the actual items to know that what Zhuang Rui had was fake. At that moment, he was thinking to himself, "You're so rich, why do you need to pull out a few fake porcelain pieces to fool people?"
Although Li Dali's words did not explicitly reject the idea, they did express his opinion. It is true that he runs a black market for antiques, and the sources of his goods are not very legitimate, containing both genuine and fake items, but the items he photographs are generally reliable.
If Zhuang Rui were to bring the so-called Cizhou official kiln porcelain to Li Dali's black market auction, it would be like his auction house having produced the He Shi Bi jade – probably very few people would believe it.
"Hehe, Mr. Li, I heard that a kiln site in Handan was recently excavated, and a lot of exquisite Song Dynasty porcelain was unearthed. Are you aware of that?"
Zhuang Rui suddenly changed the subject, which made Li Dali scratch his head, as he was a little confused.
Li Dali makes a living from antiques. He knows about ancient tombs and kiln sites even faster than the relevant national departments. However, he really knows nothing about the Handan ancient kiln that Zhuang Rui mentioned.
"Mr. Zhuang, as far as I know, it seems there aren't any in Handan... Oh, I see..."
Who is Li Dali? Having been in the underworld for so many years, he quickly understood Zhuang Rui's words. To put it bluntly, Zhuang Rui was setting a trap. He was going to hype up the discovery of the Cizhou official kiln beforehand, and then use this as a pretext to promote the so-called ancient kiln porcelain. If he played the trick well, he could manage to sell the item. After all, there are quite a few gullible "fake collectors" these days, and Yang's father in Zhonghai is a representative of this type of person.
Li Dali was a little confused. With Zhuang Rui's wealth, was it really necessary to fuss over such a small amount of money? No matter how valuable Cizhou ware was, it couldn't compare to Yuan blue and white porcelain. The Yuan blue and white porcelain in Zhuang Rui's Dingguang Museum had been authenticated as genuine.
Moreover, if this got out, Zhuang Rui's reputation would be ruined. Li Dali weighed the options in his mind and said, "President Zhuang, if we do this, it will attract attention and might draw the attention of some departments. If you're not available right now, I'm quite generous with my resources. Just name your price..."
Even though Li Dali straddles both the legal and illegal worlds, he doesn't accept certain sensitive items and will even report them to the relevant departments. Therefore, the relevant departments turn a blind eye to his black market auction house.
However, if news of the excavation of the Cizhou official kiln were to spread, regardless of whether it was true or false, it would attract the attention of those departments, which is why Li Dali made such a statement.
As for asking to borrow money, Li Dali really had that thought in mind. He would rather lend Zhuang Rui a few million than get involved in this trouble.
"Um?"
Zhuang Rui frowned upon hearing this. He hadn't expected Li Dali to react so strongly, but without Li Dali, this matter would be difficult to handle.
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui said, "Mr. Li, you must be quite familiar with some people overseas, right?"
"What?"
Li Dali suddenly stood up. He was frightened by Zhuang Rui today. This guy was not old, but he spoke in a very disjointed way. How did he end up talking about foreign countries again?
It's important to know that Li Dali deals in antiques simply to make money. He's done his fair share of smuggling antiques out of the country. Of course, Mr. Li is very experienced in the ways of the world and is careful enough not to make any mistakes.
However, Mr. Li was feeling guilty. As soon as Zhuang Rui brought up the matter, Li Dali's face turned very ugly. Zhuang Rui's words were meant to warn him.
"President Zhuang, although I, Li Dali, am greedy, I always acquire wealth honestly. I would never sell ancestral artifacts..."
Li Dali replied righteously that he had indeed not done it; it was all done by his subordinates. He spoke with great confidence and conviction.
Chapter 859 Layout (Part 2)
Li Dali's dealings in cultural relics, at most, would be considered a charge of receiving stolen goods. Even if he were implicated and killed, he would only be sentenced to a few years, and he could even have his underlings take the blame.
However, smuggling cultural relics is a much more serious crime. If the amount of money involved is large and the cultural relics are of high quality, it is not impossible for them to be taken out for target practice.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Boss Li immediately became anxious. If he hadn't been afraid of the power behind Zhuang Rui, he would have already turned hostile.
"Mr. Li, you misunderstood me. I meant, could we try another route for these few pieces of Cizhou official kiln porcelain? I've heard that some countries are particularly interested in Cizhou ware..."
When Zhuang Rui realized that Li Dali had misunderstood him, he quickly explained, almost suggesting that Li Dali should invite the Japanese guests.
Zhuang Rui's "Xuanrui Zhai" wasn't opened for nothing. Although it didn't make a lot of money, it was a place where information was readily available. Any new developments in the antique trade would definitely spread through Panjiayuan first.
Zhuang Rui also learned a lot of inside information from the monkey. The smuggled antiques from China are mainly concentrated in two places. The first is Hong Kong, which is used as a transit point to sell to countries such as Europe.
The second place is Japan. Since the Japanese themselves have little culture and history, they have long coveted Chinese antiques. Every year, the foreign tourists who are found by customs to be carrying the most Chinese cultural relics out of the country are basically Japanese.
For example, when Zhuang Rui first participated in the antique black market in Tibet, he met a Japanese person. This was not a coincidence. Many Japanese people who come to China will use various channels to buy up valuable antiques and bring them back to Japan.
In this process, people like Li Dali play a key role; to put it nicely, they are middlemen; to put it bluntly, they are cultural relic smugglers.
"Mr. Zhuang, the Cizhou ware you mentioned, is it the one we had last time..."
Li Dali now understood Zhuang Rui's meaning. So this guy was trying to scam foreigners? But to be on the safe side, Li Dali still wanted to figure out the reason behind it.
You see, if something goes wrong, people will only go to him, the middleman, not Zhuang Rui.
Li Dali had been to Xu Guoqing's lab with Zhuang Rui before, and had already guessed that the item Zhuang Rui was talking about must have come from there. He only asked Zhuang Rui to confirm it.
"Mr. Li, the antique market has always been thriving, and with your extensive network, you could consider making your auction house more standardized and international. There's no need to stick to a small-scale operation in one corner..."
Zhuang Rui did not answer Li Dali's question, but instead said something else.
Zhuang Rui spoke somewhat casually, but Li Dali listened with wide eyes. The prosperity of the antique market brought about the country's attention to it, and relevant regulations were constantly being introduced, squeezing the space for the black market to survive, which became smaller and smaller.
Moreover, tomb raiding organizations are becoming increasingly rampant. Li Dali is always on edge when receiving stolen goods, fearing that there might be something that the state is watching. He knows better than anyone that the reason he is still alive and well is because he has not crossed the line of the law; otherwise, he would have been sent to jail long ago.
Two years ago, Li Dali wanted to quit his job and go ashore, but he didn't have enough connections and couldn't make a proper living after leaving the business. Now that Zhuang Rui said this, it hit Li's weak spot.
"I have a good relationship with Mr. Qian from Kyoto Auction House. I can introduce you to Mr. Li. You could be affiliated with Kyoto and open a branch in Hebei Province, which would be a good idea..."
Zhuang Rui threw out another bait. He knew that talking about national righteousness and friendship with someone like Li Dali was pure nonsense. Without sufficient benefits, Li Dali would never risk helping him to make arrangements.
"Mr. Zhuang, that's wonderful..."
The entry threshold for auction houses is very high, especially for antique auctions, which require relevant qualifications. However, the auction house that Li Dali publicly operates in Hebei Province is only affiliated with a government department and has the authority to auction related real estate and equipment.
Now that Zhuang Rui has given him an opportunity to enter the antique auction through legitimate channels, Li Dali knows it's bait, but he's determined to swallow it whole.
"Mr. Zhuang, leave this matter to me. I guarantee you'll be satisfied. However, you'll need to give me those two items first, preferably with some supporting evidence. I'll have someone look at them and then release the information..."
Having already washed his hands of the trade and returned to the real world, why would Li Dali care about ruining his reputation in the antique black market? Once he made up his mind, Li Dali didn't hesitate any longer and simply took on all the work of setting up the trap himself.
"Sure, Mr. Li, don't worry. Those items are over 99% similar to the official porcelain from back then. Unless they undergo carbon-14 dating, there will be absolutely no problem..."
Seeing that Li Dali had agreed, Zhuang Rui breathed a sigh of relief. Without someone like Li Dali, he really couldn't have accomplished anything.
"That's good. Don't worry, Mr. Zhuang. Give me a month, and I'll definitely get this auction going. Let's hold a special auction for Cizhou official kiln porcelain..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Li Dali completely put aside his concerns. The items were fake, so even if the relevant departments were watching, he wasn't afraid. At most, it would just be a case of tax evasion, so what could they do to him?
"Okay, Mr. Li, could you please stay in Beijing for a couple more days? I'll deliver the things to you tomorrow..."
Li Dali was willing to take on everything, which Zhuang Rui was more than happy to do. This Boss Li was a man of the underworld, and he was definitely more professional than Zhuang Rui when it came to setting up a scheme.
After seeing Li Dali off, Zhuang Rui received a call from Xu Guoqing, who also asked him to come directly to the courtyard house. ...
"Mr. Xu, I recognize this piece. It should be called a white vase with black cloud and phoenix design and four handles, but what was its purpose? Could you please explain it to me?"
The two porcelain pieces placed in front of Zhuang Rui were a white-glazed vase with black floral cloud and phoenix patterns on a white background and four handles. The vase was large, round, and heavy, and was decorated with patterns such as cloud dragons and jade algae.
Zhuang Rui recognized the four-piece bottle, but he couldn't quite understand the other one. This porcelain piece was square with a small opening about the size of a palm, and all four sides were decorated with figures. Zhuang Rui wasn't sure what it was used for.
When Xu Guoqing saw that Zhuang Rui didn't recognize the item, he immediately laughed and said, "Hehe, this is an ancient urinal, specially used by emperors and their concubines for relieving themselves. Cizhou kiln itself produced porcelain for civilian use, so it's quite fitting that I made this..."
Hearing Xu Guoqing's words, Zhuang Rui felt a chill run down his spine. Wasn't this the emperor's toilet? There's a joke in the antique trade that an emperor's toilet is priceless, and that's exactly what this object in front of him was like.
However, if Zhuang Rui hadn't known that this thing was freshly made, he would never have touched it.
After Xu Guoqing finished his introduction, Zhuang Rui carefully examined the two pieces of porcelain. In terms of glaze, body, and firing temperature, it was really difficult to find any flaws in these two pieces of porcelain.
Compared with Cizhou porcelain from folk kilns, these two pieces retain the bold, unrestrained, and free-spirited painting style, while also possessing the meticulous and exquisite characteristics of official kiln porcelain.
"Good, Xu Gong, excellent craftsmanship." If it weren't for the fact that the item had just come out of the kiln, Zhuang Rui would have had a hard time distinguishing the real from the fake with his own eyes, and he couldn't stop praising it.
"Brother Zhuang, I've delivered the goods. Is there anything else I need to do?"
Xu Guoqing had just successfully fired two pieces and was itching to try again, but his mind was already back in the laboratory.
"XCMG, since you're here, why don't you stay a few more days before you leave..."
Zhuang Rui said.
Upon hearing this, Xu Guoqing shook his head vigorously, saying, "No, brother. I'm going back now. I have a few unfired paintings on hand, so I don't have time to linger here..."
"Alright, then you can go back. But Xu Gong, don't release any news about the successful firing of the Cizhou official kiln just yet. Don't let even a whisper of it leak out..."
Seeing that he couldn't keep Xu Guoqing, Zhuang Rui quickly gave him a few instructions.
Xu Guoqing's laboratory is now receiving a lot of attention from the local government because if they can replicate Cizhou official kiln porcelain, it will fill a gap in the history of ceramics, which is a very meaningful thing.
This matter, when transferred to the local government, could naturally become a political achievement, and Zhuang Rui didn't want those ambitious officials to ruin his plans.
Having previously discussed the foreign exchange earnings from Tang Sancai (Tang tri-colored pottery), Xu Guoqing naturally understood Zhuang Rui's intentions. He immediately replied, "I understand. Even those researchers didn't know about these two porcelain pieces. Don't worry, brother..."
Xu Guoqing went from being so poor he couldn't even afford electricity to now living a comfortable life with his wife and children. He naturally knows what's good for him. Besides, this stuff was being exported to swindle money from foreigners, so Xu Guoqing felt no guilt whatsoever.
After seeing Xu Guoqing off, Zhuang Rui handed over the two porcelain pieces, as well as several unearthed Cizhou official kiln porcelain fragments that Xu Guoqing had brought, to Li Dali the next day.
As for how to age the material, Li Dali has his own professionals, so Zhuang Rui doesn't need to worry about it at all.
About half a month later, when Zhuang Rui went to Xuanruizhai in Panjiayuan, he heard a message from a monkey: a tomb raiding gang in Handan, Hebei Province, had recently unearthed an ancient kiln site in Cizhou and unearthed many valuable items.
According to well-informed sources, two exquisitely crafted porcelain pieces were found at the looted ancient kiln site. After authentication by some folk experts, they are suspected to be official kiln porcelain from Cizhou, Southern Song Dynasty, which was presented as tribute to the imperial palace.
The speed at which gossip spreads in the antique market is no less than that of old women who enjoy prying into other people's private lives. In a very short time, the news of the excavation of Cizhou official kiln porcelain spread throughout the north and south of the Yangtze River and along both banks of the Yellow River.
Chapter 860 Communication
"Teacher Zhuang, what are you busy with?"
Zhuang Rui was watching King Kong perform in the manor when he suddenly received a call from Fatty Jin, an associate researcher at the Palace Museum.
"Oh, Brother Jin, please don't call me teacher, it makes me feel really awkward..."
Although Zhuang Rui is quite famous in the antique industry and is called a teacher by antique enthusiasts, he still lacks a bit of depth compared to people like Fatty Jin who have formal training.
"Hehe, then I'll just call you 'brother' then. What's up? You caused such a stir a while ago, are you now keeping a low profile?"
Jin Pangzi dared not underestimate Zhuang Rui. When the two first met more than two years ago, Zhuang Rui was only a minor celebrity in the jade industry. But two years later, in terms of both career and personal achievements, Zhuang Rui was undoubtedly a leader in the industry.
"Hey, Brother Jin, I'm just lucky. I don't actually know much. I don't want to go out in this heat, so I'm staying home. What can I do for you, Brother Jin?"
Zhuang Rui picked up the little snow mastiff that had climbed onto his lap and handed it to his niece while exchanging casual pleasantries with Fatty Jin.
It has been a full month since he last saw Li Dali. In the meantime, he spoke with Boss Li twice on the phone. Li Dali subtly told Zhuang Rui that three guests from Japan had expressed great interest in the two pieces of porcelain.
The black market auction of these two porcelain pieces is scheduled to take place in the next few days. Due to the rumors released by the Cizhou official kiln, the cultural relics authorities have become nervous, so Li Dali is being very cautious. The time and place of this black market auction have not yet been determined.
Zhuang Rui had no intention of participating in this black market auction, so for the past two weeks, he had been spending time with his family at the manor. Although his days were somewhat uneventful, they were quite fulfilling.
"Brother, I have something to tell you. There's been a black market auction going on in Langfang recently..."
Fatty Jin's voice suddenly lowered, sounding somewhat mysterious.
"Brother Jin, you're not talking about the same kind as last time, are you? I really have no interest in that..."