“My father-in-law said yes, he came last year, but I don’t know the specifics. I’ll ask someone later.”
Although Bi Yuntao was from Guangdong, this was his first time in Pingzhou. He had heard about the ghost market from his elders, and since Zhuang Rui was now involved in the antique business, he casually mentioned it. When asked for more details, he didn't know anything else.
The fourth brother was not fond of living in Pingzhou. In his eyes, Pingzhou was almost the same as the countryside. The hotel he was staying in now, although it was called a four-star hotel, was far inferior to a three-star hotel in Guangzhou. Moreover, due to the upcoming raw stone trade fair, the room rates were almost comparable to those of a five-star hotel.
The fourth brother had just advised Zhuang Rui to stay in Guangzhou, since it wasn't far and could be reached in less than an hour by car. However, Zhuang Rui and Song Jun had arranged to meet at this hotel. Besides, it would be convenient to bring Bai Shi (White Lion) to this small town; he couldn't possibly carry around half a city's dog license everywhere he went.
"Hey, beautiful lady, come here for a second. Yes, it's you."
The fourth brother stood up from the sofa and called out to a waiter at the counter. Zhuang Rui and the eldest brother looked up and then quickly lowered their heads again. They admired the fourth brother immensely. At this time, there were no monsters like Sister Feng yet. If there were, this waiter's appearance would be comparable to Sister Feng's.
"Beautiful lady, I have a question for you. I heard there are street vendors here early in the morning. Is that true? Do you know where they are? If you don't, it's okay. A beauty like you would never go shopping at a street stall."
The fourth brother was quite skilled; he watched as the buck-toothed, freckled waitress in front of him chatted and laughed freely, offering compliments without hesitation. Hearing this, Zhuang Rui and Wei Ge felt their stomachs watering, almost vomiting. They couldn't understand whether the hotel even wanted to do business, having someone like that at the front desk.
"Hey kid, you've come to the right person. I know about this. Those people on daytime duty don't know anything about it. I'm on night duty, and some customers go out around four or five in the morning to that market you mentioned where the stalls set up early in the morning. I've heard that the people in that market aren't good people; they're all acting suspiciously, and..."
"Wait, tell me first where the market that's set up early in the morning is. It's already light out, and if we go too late, it'll be gone."
The buck-toothed waitress had probably worked a long night and was feeling quite pent up. When she saw Lao Si, such a handsome guy, calling her a beauty, she immediately perked up. However, after rambling on for a while, she couldn't get to the point. Her spittle sprayed so much that Lao Si had to back away, because if he had stood still, that big, blood-red mouth would probably have been imprinted on his face.
"Isn't it on Jade Street? Just go out from here, walk three hundred meters forward and turn the corner, and you'll be there. What's so great about that place? I heard it's all just selling scrap metal. It's much more comfortable here with the air conditioning on. Hey handsome, wait... where is everyone?"
The buck-toothed waitress was having a great time when she suddenly realized that the three people who had been sitting on the sofa had all disappeared, and even the big dog that had been lying obediently on the floor was nowhere to be seen.
"He's crazy (Cantonese for 'mentally ill') and he's running around even though he has beautiful women chatting with him..."
The buck-toothed woman grinned, swayed her thick waist, and turned back behind the service counter. She was sure to be in a good mood today; after all, it was rare for anyone to call her "pretty girl."
"Fourth brother, now I understand. If we're talking about shamelessness, second brother is definitely no match for you. You can still call a woman like that 'beautiful.' I admire you, brother."
The three of them were now walking on an empty street, with Bai Shi by Zhuang Rui's side. Wei Ge's voice echoed loudly in the street.
The fourth brother curled his lip upon hearing this and said dismissively, "What's so special about that? That's how people from Guangdong talk. Even someone like Eric Tsang, who's almost fifty, can be called 'handsome guy.' What's wrong with me calling someone 'beautiful girl'? By the way, youngest brother, your dog doesn't bite, does it? Otherwise, you'll easily get into trouble here."
When the fourth brother saw that the white lion had also come out, he couldn't help but ask. Although Guangdong does not prohibit keeping pets, the regulations on large dogs are still very strict.
Zhuang Rui rubbed the white lion's big head and replied, "It's okay, the white lion is very obedient and won't bite people randomly..."
When the white lion was a cub, it was very cute, and people might have teased it back then. But now, the white lion can only be described as fierce. Most people would avoid it like the plague and wouldn't dare to provoke it. The white lion is now immune to crowded places; at most, it will bare its teeth to scare people, but it won't actually bite.
Pingzhou Jade Street is located on Yong'an Road, Guicheng Subdistrict, Nanhai District, Foshan City, Guangdong Province. It had already begun to take shape in the mid-1970s and was quite famous in the industry. It had the largest production and sales volume of jade in the country and ranked first among the four major jade markets in China. It was well-known for processing A-grade jadeite into plain jade pieces.
Since the reform and opening up, individual businesses have sprung up like mushrooms after rain in Pingzhou.
The jade connoisseurs and skilled craftsmen scattered throughout Pingzhou raised funds to purchase Burmese jadeite from Tengchong, Yingjiang, Zhangfeng, Ruili, and Wanding along the Yunnan-Myanmar border. They then processed and sold finished jade pieces in family workshops. Because Pingzhou jade craftsmen excelled at making smooth, polished pieces—not only of high quality and excellent craftsmanship but also at low prices—they quickly gained renown in the jade industry of mainland my country, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and Southeast Asia.
Jade merchants from all over the country came directly to Duntou Village in Pingdong, Pingzhou to purchase finished jade products, thus forming the Pingzhou Jade Market. The Pingzhou Jade Market, which took shape in the mid-1980s, had increased its sales value to over 100 million yuan by the mid-1990s.
Pingzhou jade products mainly include jade bracelets, jade buckles, heart-shaped pendants, and jade garlands. Their processing techniques are exquisite, especially their jade buckles, which come in a wide variety of styles, making "Pingzhou buckles" famous far and wide. Every year, many tourists from Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan come to visit.
It was only a few minutes' walk from the hotel to the jade street. After turning a corner, Zhuang Rui and his group saw this nationally renowned jade street.
The jade street stretches approximately 2,000 meters from east to west. Along both sides of this street are the homes of the residents, and also the jade shops they run. Almost every one of the hundreds of households on this street has a workshop for processing jade, a typical front-shop-back-factory marketing model. There are also professional processing workshops, offering services such as material cutting, carving, and polishing, although few shops are currently open. However, the signs outside all display these services.
It's only a little past six in the morning. Although it's already bright outside, the sun hasn't come out yet. Plus, it rained here yesterday, so there's a thin mist. Through this thin mist, you can vaguely see many people walking around on both sides of the jade market street. But there's none of the usual market noise here. It really feels like the gates of hell have opened, and little ghosts are setting up stalls.
"Youngest brother, I feel like this place is eerie. What good things could there be here? Besides, in this weather, you wouldn't be able to tell if there were anything good. Let's go back and come back when the sun comes out."
Yang Wei has always been timid, and upon arriving at this somewhat eerie place, he couldn't help but feel nervous. He reached out and grabbed Zhuang Rui, standing at the street corner, clearly not wanting to go in.
"Boss, most of these vendors are grave robbers, and they're all tainted with the aura of the dead. Be careful, or some unjustly killed ghost might steal your soul."
The fourth brother knew that Wei Ge was timid and usually afraid of ghosts and spirits, so he deliberately tried to scare him from behind. Wei Ge fell for it and clung tightly to Zhuang Rui's clothes, refusing to move forward no matter what.
"Hey Fourth Brother, stop scaring the Boss. This kind of ghost market opportunity is rare. Wei Ge, don't be afraid either. With White Lion, you'll be immune to all evil."
Zhuang Rui was both amused and exasperated by what Lao Si said. He was eager to get in because, normally speaking, there shouldn't be a ghost market in Pingzhou. It was probably just that the raw stone trade fair had attracted all sorts of antique collectors from all over the country to gather here.
It's important to understand that antiques and jade are inherently connected. Many jade dealers are also antique collectors and are among the most influential figures in the antique collecting world. As a result, antique dealers from all over the country gather at this location at this time.
As Lao Si said, these people have very complicated backgrounds. It's not surprising that some grave robbers would appear. And it's often these people who have found some of the finest antiques.
Chapter 166 Broken Porcelain Shards
"No, there are gods watching over us. The gates of hell haven't been open for long, safety first. I'm going back now, you two go explore..."
Ever since watching the Hong Kong version of the "Fong Sai-yuk" movie series, Wei Ge has learned not only the phrase "winning people over with virtue" but also the importance of "safety first." Looking at the silent, shadowy street ahead, he still had second thoughts.
"Alright... Wei Ge, you should go back first, but we won't go back. As the saying goes, even ghosts are afraid of a crowd. Be careful when you go back to the hotel."
Zhuang Rui, too lazy to waste time with his boss, finished speaking and headed towards the jade market. He figured that once the sun came out and the fog dissipated, the ghost market would probably have to close up shop.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Yang Wei shuddered. Looking back at the deserted street they had come from, his face changed. He quickly followed, saying, "Wait. Wait for me. I'd better stay with you."
Actually, the fog was very thin. From a distance, it seemed hazy, but once you got closer, people could see each other very clearly. It didn't affect visibility at all. Wei Ge followed closely behind Bai Shi, and just as Zhuang Rui had said, no one dared to get close to him.
"Boss, Fourth Brother, what have you got your eye on? Don't ask the price too soon. This place is different from a regular market. If you ask the price, you're going to get ripped off..."
As Zhuang Rui walked ahead, he turned back and whispered instructions to Yang Wei and Bi Yuntao.
How can you buy something without asking the price?
The fourth brother asked, somewhat puzzled. They had just passed three stalls, all selling finished jade pendants and ornaments. Zhuang Rui wasn't very interested in these. Looking at jade and emeralds in Pingzhou's ghost market? Wasn't that crazy? If you wanted to buy jade, you could find it everywhere during the day.
After listening to Zhuang Rui's words, the fourth brother observed carefully and noticed that at the stalls they had just passed, neither the buyers nor the sellers were speaking.
“For a single item, these sellers often offer several prices. If you ask and then don’t buy, and someone overhears you, the seller will blame you, saying that you revealed their bottom price. This is a rule passed down from the older generation. However, you can still negotiate the price without saying a word. Just watch their actions and you’ll see.”
Zhuang Rui stopped in his tracks as he spoke, standing in front of an antique stall. The three-meter-square stall was filled with bronze porcelain, rare ancient books, and some copper coins and knives, but not many jade pieces. Only a few ornaments that looked somewhat like ancient jade were placed in the center of the stall.
"Hey, this young man may be young, but he's a real expert. Come take a look, and I'll give you a discount if you see anything you like..."
Zhuang Rui's words were overheard by the stall owner, who grinned. In the antique business, one is not afraid of encountering knowledgeable people; the more knowledgeable the person, the easier it is to be fooled and pay the price. The Ghost Market is a place that truly tests one's eye for quality, and there are plenty of people who have stumbled in such a place without knowing the truth.
The stall owner spoke in a deliberately low voice, probably because he was an experienced vendor and wanted to maintain the mystique of the ghost market.
Many people, when in the environment of an antique market, seeing antiques everywhere, often develop some biases and unconsciously assume that these items are genuine. In fact, although the probability of finding genuine and rare items in these places is higher than in antique markets in various cities, it is still nine out of ten items are fake. If there is even one genuine item on a stall, that's already quite remarkable.
"Youngest brother, are those people holding hands negotiating a price?"
Viagra followed behind the white lion. His courage grew, and after looking around, he figured out something.
"right……"
Zhuang Rui nodded without explaining further. This way of negotiating prices is a tradition passed down from ancient times. In the past, people valued keeping their wealth secret, and the transaction price of an item was to be kept confidential by both the buyer and seller. Therefore, this method of negotiating prices was invented.
However, in ancient times, people wore clothes with wide sleeves, which could cover their hands when negotiating prices with gestures, making it impossible for outsiders to see. But now it's just a formality; even if this method is used to negotiate prices, discerning people can still discern something from the gestures.
"Youngest, you stay here and watch over things, I'm going to go for a walk..."
The fourth brother also became interested in bargain hunting and excitedly turned around to go to another stall. This is the charm of the ghost market. Even if you don't know anything about antiques, you will feel like you're looking for a bargain in this environment. It's like going to a food street and looking at all the delicious food and snacks. Even if you're not hungry, you'll still feel tempted. It's the same principle.
Yang Wei saw that Zhuang Rui was squatting on the ground and not moving. He was also a little bored standing there. At this time, he also knew that everyone here was an ordinary person like himself, so he was not so afraid. So he followed Lao Si to wander around.
Zhuang Rui knew that the two brothers came from families in the business world. Although they didn't know much about antiques, they had been exposed to business since childhood. He figured they wouldn't suffer any major losses, so he didn't pay much attention to it at the moment.
"Boss, the items here are incredibly well-made replicas."
Zhuang Rui's legs were getting numb from squatting so long. He had looked at all the items that were close to him on the stall, but to his disappointment, there wasn't a single good one. He could tell the difference without even using his spiritual energy. However, he couldn't lie about how good he was, or others would get angry.
"Young man, you were just saying you knew the rules, but now you're talking like an outsider? Things in the ghost market are just for looking, don't talk about them. Take it or leave it. Goodbye."
Although Zhuang Rui spoke rather subtly, he still angered the stall owner, who immediately told him to leave. Zhuang Rui knew he had broken a taboo, so he smiled somewhat embarrassedly at the stall owner and stood up.
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to leave, his gaze was drawn to a pile of broken porcelain shards in the corner of the stall. Although it was called a pile, there weren't many, probably only thirty or forty pieces, scattered sparsely in one corner of the stall. If you weren't looking carefully, you wouldn't have noticed them.
Zhuang Rui has learned a lot from Uncle De during this time, especially about porcelain.
In recent years, with the airing of the Taobao segment on CCTV-2, antique and ceramic collecting has become a "national pastime." Since genuine, priceless porcelain pieces are often unattainable, porcelain shard collecting has gradually gained attention. Some porcelain pieces lack originals, making shards even more exceptionally valuable. For example, shards from the five great kilns of the Song Dynasty, official kilns of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, and certain special varieties (such as Yuan blue and white porcelain) are quite expensive. Good porcelain shards can be worth tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of yuan.
In porcelain collecting, it is very difficult for ordinary people to see genuine pieces, such as those from the five famous kilns of the Song Dynasty and official kilns of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, let alone handle them. Even when visiting museums, people can only view them through glass and cannot see them up close, let alone hold them in their hands for careful study.
Therefore, porcelain shards from Song Dynasty Ru, Guan, and Ge kilns have been sought-after treasures by collectors since the Song Dynasty. The saying "Even with a fortune of ten thousand pieces of gold, it's not as valuable as a single piece of Ru porcelain" speaks volumes about the value of rare porcelain shards. Antique porcelain shards also have advantages such as large quantity, diverse styles, low price, high authenticity rate, and low risk, making them a shortcut for ordinary people to learn antique porcelain appraisal from books to practical experience.
In the world of collecting, many people know that there is a man in Beijing who specializes in collecting ancient porcelain shards, known as "Pian'er Bai"... Bai Ming. He not only collects porcelain shards, but also runs the Muming Tang Museum, which specializes in exhibiting ancient porcelain shards. In addition, he has written monographs based on his collection and experience, becoming a "big shot" in the collecting world. Zhuang Rui had only heard that porcelain shard collecting was becoming popular, but he had never seen such a pile of broken porcelain shards before. He couldn't help but walk to that corner and squat down to look at them. Although the stall owner told him to leave, it was only out of anger and there was no reason for him to turn away business. So he didn't say anything at the moment.
In fact, compared to well-preserved antique porcelain, many people in the collecting circle believe that porcelain shards do not have high profit margins and little potential for appreciation. Zhuang Rui only wanted to use them as learning materials and auxiliary tools for identification, in order to identify ceramic fakes.
"There's no such thing as a good product at a street stall," that saying is really true.
Zhuang Rui shook his head as he fiddled with the broken porcelain shards on the ground. He had examined seven or eight pieces. From the cross-section of the body and glaze, he could tell that the firing process was rough. He guessed that they were some ordinary porcelain items used by the common people and had no collectible value.
"They're selling something like this? Huh?"
Zhuang Rui picked up a small piece of porcelain, no bigger than a thumbnail, with two fingers. Just as he was about to laugh at the shop owner for being greedy, he discovered that this piece of porcelain was different from the ones he had seen before.
Because it was small, Zhuang Rui had been rubbing it with his fingers. The sensation from his fingertips was very smooth, and even the broken surface didn't feel prickly. Based on the feel, Zhuang Rui thought it should be a good piece of official porcelain.
Zhuang Rui quickly brought the porcelain shard to his eyes and examined it carefully. Judging from its appearance, it should be a celadon piece, with the glazed side displaying a light sky-blue color. The cross-section showed a fine and dense body. However, the object was too small for Zhuang Rui to discern which kiln it was fired from.
Zhuang Rui scanned the porcelain shard with the spiritual energy in his eyes and found that although the shard was small, it still contained some faint spiritual energy, and the color was purple. However, the spiritual energy inside was already very thin, and Zhuang Rui could feel that the spiritual energy was slowly dissipating. It was likely that the spiritual energy here would completely disappear before long.
Zhuang Rui placed the inconspicuous little porcelain shard in his hand beside the stall and continued searching through the pile of broken porcelain. To his surprise, he found another porcelain shard, which was the base of a porcelain vessel. However, it was only about one-fifth the size of a porcelain base. Judging from the color, it was exactly the same as the previous one. On the base, Zhuang Rui could vaguely see the character "士" (shi).
Chapter 167 A fortune of a thousand pieces of gold cannot compare to a single piece of Ru porcelain.
This discovery energized Zhuang Rui. Instead of searching through the pieces one by one, he released the spiritual energy from his eyes, enveloping the small pile of broken porcelain shards.
After removing the seven or eight broken porcelain pieces he had initially examined, only about thirty pieces remained in this small pile. To Zhuang Rui's astonishment, he discovered that fourteen of these pieces contained a faint spiritual energy, and the color of this spiritual energy was exactly the same as the piece he had initially discovered.
"Could it be a piece of porcelain?"
A thought popped into Zhuang Rui's mind: it wasn't impossible; it was quite normal for the fragments of a broken porcelain piece to be stored together.
Zhuang Rui picked out all the porcelain shards that contained spiritual energy. Of course, while picking them out, he also mixed in some broken porcelain shards that had no collectible value. He was afraid that the stall owner would notice something fishy and ask for an exorbitant price later.
The prices of antiques are unpredictable. You can sell an item for 100 or 10,000, and the price bureau has no jurisdiction over that.
In fact, Zhuang Rui was overthinking it. After seeing him fiddling with the broken porcelain pieces, the stall owner didn't even glance in his direction. These broken porcelain pieces weren't his at all. A few days ago, there was a street vendor stall from Henan right next to his stall.
Just yesterday, the stall owner from Henan seemed to have some urgent family matter and had to rush back to Henan. At that time, he transferred all the items on his stall to this boss at a very low price at the ghost market. These broken porcelain pieces were not charged at that time; they were given to him for free. So now, this stall owner doesn't care much about those broken porcelain pieces at all.
Zhuang Rui carefully arranged the fragments of porcelain, each imbued with spiritual energy, in his palm. The fragments were all small, the smallest being the size of a fingernail from before, and the largest being only seven or eight centimeters in length. They were all different shapes. It took Zhuang Rui a while to arrange them into a roughly identifiable object. After a quick glance, Zhuang Rui immediately scattered the fragments and placed them on the street stall.
"Boss, can you lend me a hand?"
Zhuang Rui piled up the sixteen porcelain shards that possessed spiritual energy, along with eight or nine worthless shards. Then he stood up, pointed at the pile of shards, and said to the stall owner.
Upon hearing this, the stall owner stood up from his small stool, walked to the pile of broken porcelain shards Zhuang Rui had placed together, squatted down, fiddled with them for a bit, and said, "These are sold by the piece..."