Miao Feifei was quite dismissive of Zhuang Rui's words. In her opinion, the pen holder was quite nice, with exquisite openwork carving, and she could consider buying it to put on her desk.
"I don't sell them separately. The two items together cost 300,000. If you two are interested in buying them, I'll explain their origins. If you're not interested, please don't delay my business..."
The older boy noticed Zhuang Rui's expression and seemed to recognize the cup. His face wasn't so grim anymore, but he wondered if the two of them could afford it. After all, 300,000 RMB was a huge sum for most people.
"Oh? You know the origin of this cup? Then tell me about it."
Zhuang Rui laughed upon hearing this. He hadn't used his spiritual energy to examine the area yet because he wanted to test his own eyesight.
“Our ancestors once served as the Daotai of Zhonghai during the Qing Dynasty. That was considered a high-ranking official of the third rank. These two items were passed down from our ancestors. If my father hadn’t fallen ill, we wouldn’t have put them up for sale.”
As he spoke, the young man took the cup Zhuang Rui handed him and carefully placed it on the newspaper.
"But you haven't told me what kind of object this cup is, so how can it be worth 300,000 yuan?"
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Miao Feifei was somewhat skeptical of the stories told by the stall owners at the antique market. Moreover, the young man's story was so crudely fabricated that it was incomparable to the stories she had heard at other stalls.
"This is porcelain from the Ming Dynasty. If you don't understand it, don't buy it. Anyway, it's worth 300,000 yuan. I won't sell it for a penny less."
The young man was enraged by Miao Feifei's words. In truth, he knew nothing about porcelain; he had only heard his father say that it was a family heirloom, worth at least 300,000 yuan if sold. That's why he secretly took the porcelain home without telling his seriously ill father, intending to sell it to pay for his father's medical treatment.
"Xiao Huan, speak properly, why are you getting angry? Miss, I'm sorry, please don't be angry, my brother has a short temper..."
The boy's older sister pulled her brother aside and said apologetically to Miao Feifei, but her eyes were fixed on Zhuang Rui.
"Sis, they're not buying. They're just here to cause trouble. Why bother with them..."
The older boy was not entirely convinced and muttered to himself.
Zhuang Rui paused for a moment after hearing the boy's sister's voice. The voice sounded so familiar, as if he had heard it somewhere before. Zhuang Rui looked at the girl again, but still couldn't place her. He was certain that he had never seen this girl before.
"Hey, if you want to buy it, buy it. If not, leave. What are you staring at my sister for? I'll beat you up if you don't want to."
The boy had a really fiery temper. When he saw Zhuang Rui looking his sister up and down, he immediately stood up and put on a fierce look. The girl's sister blushed with embarrassment at his words and tried to pull her brother back.
“Xiao Zhuangzi, what they said is right. What’s wrong with staring at a girl? If she calls the police for harassment, I’ll drag you back to the station right now.”
Miao Feifei also joined in the teasing, making Zhuang Rui both amused and exasperated. He couldn't very well say that he just recognized the girl's voice and took a few more glances at her; that would be too cliché.
"Zhuang Rui, don't be angry, my brother is just a hothead..."
The boy's sister called out Zhuang Rui's name, which stunned everyone.
"Sis, do you know him?"
"Are you Nurse Song? Your voice sounds familiar."
Zhuang Rui disregarded the boundaries between men and women, grabbing Nurse Song's hand and shaking it repeatedly. The darkest period of Zhuang Rui's life had been the two weeks following his eye injury; he had endured immense pressure of potential blindness. He feared he would never see again. During that time, the voices he heard most often, besides his mother's, were those of Nurse Song. Therefore, upon hearing her call his name, Zhuang Rui immediately recognized her.
"Zhuang Rui, congratulations, your eyes are completely healed."
Song Xingjun felt a little uncomfortable as Zhuang Rui grabbed her hand, and pulled it away while talking.
"Yes, Nurse Song, I really want to thank you for taking care of me and encouraging me those days. I went to see you the day I was discharged, but your colleagues said you had taken leave. I didn't expect to run into you today."
As Zhuang Rui spoke, he couldn't help but recall the two large, white, soft mounds of flesh he had seen when his vision had just returned. He became somewhat distracted and didn't notice that Song Xingjun had already withdrawn her hand.
"Zhuang Rui, what's going on? You two actually know each other? Then why did you ignore everyone else just now?"
Miao Feifei asked curiously from the side, "These two have met several times already. Logically speaking, if they knew each other, they wouldn't act like strangers."
"It's like this, two months ago, at work..."
Looking at the curious child in front of him, Zhuang Rui had no choice but to tell Miao Feifei what had happened.
"Oh, I remember now. No wonder your name seemed familiar. When I first arrived in Zhonghai, there was an announcement within our system about the robbery at the Zhonghai Pawnshop. A hero emerged from it, named Zhuang Rui. I didn't expect it to be you, little Zhuangzi. That person wouldn't happen to share your name, would he?"
Miao Feifei had indeed heard of Zhuang Rui's name. Back then, she had just arrived in Zhonghai and, being a criminal investigation major, she paid close attention to some serious and heinous criminal cases. That's why she had seen Zhuang Rui's name in the documents. However, more than two months had passed, and she couldn't possibly connect that perfect image with the man in front of her.
"I almost got shot, would I really risk my life for that..."
Zhuang Rui glared at Miao Feifei, annoyed. He didn't know the criminals had guns. If he had known, he wouldn't have wasted so much time talking and would have just lay down and pressed the alarm.
“Nurse Song, stop setting up this stall. This is your brother, right? Put the things away and let’s find a place to eat first. You took care of me for more than ten days when I was injured, and I haven’t properly thanked you yet. If you trust me, I’ll help you deal with these items.”
Zhuang Rui took out his phone and checked the time. It was already past noon. He and Miao Feifei had only eaten some snacks earlier, and now they were feeling hungry.
"No, no need, we just ate..."
For some reason, Song Xingjun always felt somewhat unnatural when facing Zhuang Rui.
"I've already eaten, but you haven't eaten yet, sis..."
Song Huan muttered something under her breath.
Zhuang Rui glanced at the lunchbox in Song Xingjun's hand and said, "Let's go, don't be shy, you still want to sell this stuff, right?"
Chapter 154 Chenghua Doucai (Part 2)
Song Xingjun knew about Zhuang Rui's job. She thought that pawnshops must have many opportunities to deal with antiques, and maybe they could find a way in. So she stopped insisting and waited for her younger brother to wrap the two items in several layers of newspaper before following Zhuang Rui out of the antique market.
Inside the antique market at the City God Temple, there are a few decent restaurants, but since it's the weekend and there are many tourists, Zhuang Rui asked at two of them, but neither had private rooms available. So he simply left the City God Temple and drove the group to a five-star hotel next to Nanjing Road.
Song Xingjun was somewhat surprised by Zhuang Rui's change. In her memory, Zhuang Rui was a shy young man. She had also met Zhuang Rui's mother and sister, and judging from their clothes and conversation, they did not seem to be from a wealthy family. Now, seeing Zhuang Rui driving a car and exuding confidence, Song Xingjun even doubted whether she had mistaken him for someone else.
"Nurse Song, please make yourselves at home. Miss Miao, please don't stand on ceremony. It's an honor for us to have two beautiful ladies here for dinner today."
After entering the hotel's private room, Zhuang Rui repeatedly invited everyone to sit down and handed the menu to Miao Feifei and Song Xingjun.
"I'd like a shark fin and bird's nest soup, and a ribbonfish, too. Ribbonfish come out of the spring mist, it's perfect to eat this month. Oh, and two servings of bird's nest soup, and one for this lady as well."
Miao Feifei didn't stand on ceremony at all and started ordering from the menu.
"No...no, no, just order a few dishes."
Upon hearing Miao Feifei's words, Song Xingjun waved her hands repeatedly. Although she didn't know the price of the shark fin and bird's nest soup, judging from the name alone, it probably wouldn't be cheap.
"It's alright, bird's nest soup is good for your skin. If that stingy guy doesn't treat us, I'll treat him this time."
Miao Feifei's words left Zhuang Rui both amused and exasperated. "I didn't say I wouldn't invite you. Besides, with your lowly policeman's salary, can you even afford to eat here? You're just a freeloader." However, Zhuang Rui only dared to think these words to himself.
Song Huan seemed to have never been to such a high-end hotel before. After entering, he looked around, while still tightly holding his two treasures in his arms.
After everyone sat down, Zhuang Rui asked Song Xingjun and learned that her parents were ordinary workers in Zhonghai. Her father had retired and was recently diagnosed with stomach cancer. In just over a month, the treatment alone had cost 80,000 to 90,000 yuan, almost depleting the family's savings. As a result, Song Huan had no choice but to steal the two family heirlooms to sell.
Song Huan sat with Zhuang Rui. After sitting down, she stared at Miao Feifei for a while, then looked at her sister, and finally nudged Zhuang Rui's arm and asked in a low voice, "Brother Zhuang, did you and my sister really meet at the hospital? What was wrong with my sister just now? She clearly knew you, but she pretended not to."
“I injured my eye at that time. When it was being bandaged, most of my face was covered. Maybe your sister didn’t recognize me just now. I only recognized her because I heard her voice.”
Zhuang Rui's answer satisfied Song Huan, who carefully placed the two antiques wrapped in newspaper on the table beside her.
Seeing Song Huan's cautious look, Zhuang Rui smiled. If it were him, he would probably be even more careful. In fact, when Zhuang Rui handed the chicken cup back to Song Huan, he had already examined it with his spiritual energy. It was indeed an old object with a long history, and judging from the purple spiritual energy contained in the cup, it was very likely the Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup, which had been famous in various periods since the Ming Dynasty.
To talk about Chenghua Doucai porcelain, we must first introduce the history before the Chenghua era of the Ming Dynasty. There was a very famous emperor in the Ming Dynasty, namely Emperor Yingzong Zhu Qizhen. Although his reign title contained the words "brilliant," Zhu Qizhen, who ascended the throne at the age of nine, was a completely incompetent ruler.
After Zhu Qizhen ascended the throne, with the successive deaths and retirements of the "Three Yangs," important ministers of the Renxuan era, and the rapid rise of the power of eunuchs in the harem, the court's politics became increasingly corrupt. The famous Grand Eunuch Wang Zhen was a representative figure of eunuch dictatorship during the Zhengtong era. Emperor Yingzong listened to him attentively, and Wang Zhen relied on the emperor's authority to eliminate dissidents and establish factions.
At that time, the Yuan Dynasty's power in the Mongolian Plateau had split into two: the Oirat and the Tatars. The two tribes fought each other. By the time of Emperor Yingzong, the Oirat had grown stronger and constantly harassed the northern border of the Ming Dynasty. The real power of the Oirat tribe was in the hands of Taishi Esen, who often sent people to the court under the guise of paying tribute to obtain rewards.
At that time, the Ming Dynasty always gave very generous rewards to envoys from tributary states, regardless of the quality of the tribute, and these rewards were distributed per person. Esen also took advantage of this and kept increasing the number of envoys he sent, eventually reaching more than 3,000.
Wang Zhen, having reached his limit of tolerance, ordered a reduction in rewards. Esen used this as a pretext to launch a war against the Ming Dynasty. Emperor Yingzong, young and impetuous at the time, wanted to personally lead the campaign. Wang Zhen, also eager to display his military prowess and secure his place in history, strongly urged Yingzong to do so. However, since the main Ming forces were engaged in battles elsewhere and could not be recalled immediately, court officials advised against it. Ultimately, however, Yingzong's resolve remained unchanged. He hastily assembled an army of 500,000 from the vicinity of the capital and, under his command, embarked on a grand campaign.
Due to continuous heavy rains and a lack of supplies, the army's morale was extremely low. Upon reaching the vicinity of Datong, seeing the corpses of Ming soldiers killed by Esen strewn across the fields, Emperor Yingzong and Wang Zhen wavered and decided to retreat. However, Wang Zhen's hometown was in Weizhou, very close to Datong, so he decided to have the army detour through Weizhou during the retreat. Wang Zhen's proposal was immediately opposed by the court officials, who believed it would delay the retreat. But Wang Zhen wouldn't listen, and Emperor Yingzong also wanted to give Wang Zhen a chance to return home in glory, so the army began moving towards Weizhou.
At this point, Wang Zhen had another sudden thought. Fearing that the army's passage would damage the crops in his hometown and bring him infamy, he suggested retreating along the original route. Thus, precious time was wasted. When the army reached the vicinity of Huailai, since the supplies had not yet arrived, Wang Zhen ordered them to camp and wait.
If Emperor Yingzong had been able to enter Huailai City and garrison it at that time, history would have been rewritten. However, history is history, and there are no "what ifs." Right outside Huailai City at Tumu Fortress, the Ming army was overtaken and surrounded by Esen's army. Esen cut off the Ming army's water supply, trapping them in a desperate situation. Esen feigned peace talks, then launched a general offensive while the Ming army was off guard. The Ming army was completely annihilated, Emperor Yingzong was captured, Wang Zhen was killed by the Ming general Fan Zhong, and ministers such as Duke Zhang Fu of Yingguo and Minister of War Kuang Ye died in battle. This is the famous Tumu Crisis. Emperor Yingzong then began his year-long captivity in the north.
From that time onward, the Ming Dynasty began its decline.
Zhuang Rui first learned about this history from Liang Yusheng's martial arts novel "The Legend of the Condor Heroes," which was set against the backdrop of the historical event of Emperor Yingzong's capture.
After Emperor Yingzong was captured, in order to stabilize public sentiment, the Ming Dynasty officials in Beijing, led by Yu Qian, installed Emperor Yingzong's younger brother Zhu Qiyu as emperor, known as Emperor Jingzong. After Emperor Yingzong was released by the Oirat Mongols, he was imprisoned in Beijing by Emperor Jingzong for eight years. In 1457, Zhu Qizhen took advantage of Emperor Jingzong's critical illness to launch the "Tumu Crisis" and ascended the throne again, changing the era name to Tianshun.
Emperor Chenghua, Zhu Jianshen, was the eldest son of Emperor Yingzong, Zhu Qizhen. After Zhu Qizhen's restoration, he was reinstated as crown prince. At the age of 18, Zhu Jianshen succeeded his father to the throne and began his 23-year reign, with the reign title Chenghua.
Unlike his father, Zhu Jianshen was not passionate or adventurous. He was quiet, cautious, and lenient, and trusted his ministers. It is said that great chaos is followed by great order. In the end, during the Chenghua reign, apart from the Yao rebellion in Guangxi and the refugee movement in the Jingxiang and Yunyang mountainous areas, the political situation was relatively stable. Therefore, the people of the Ming Dynasty called the Chenghua era a golden age of peace and prosperity.
Due to political stability, the production of handicrafts reached its peak during the Chenghua period. Doucai porcelain is a masterpiece of the Chenghua period and a major contribution made by the Chenghua court to enrich the variety of colored porcelain. Chenghua Doucai uses blue and white as the outline of the pattern or as a partial pattern and then fills it with color, and then fires it twice at a low temperature.
Zhuang Rui knew that Chenghua doucai porcelain was characterized by its transparent and bright colors, especially the red, which was so vivid and dazzling that it was difficult for later imitators to match. The yellow had many variations, the green had different shades, and the purple was often like the dark purple of ripe grapes or the light purple of eggplant skin. The most special one was the cha zi, which was the color of red iron and had a dry and dull surface. All of these points could be used as special criteria for identifying Chenghua doucai porcelain.
If Zhuang Rui was not mistaken, the cup in Song Huan's hand should be a genuine Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup. Very few of these items have survived to the public, and even if the cup was damaged, its price was beyond Zhuang Rui's estimation.
“Nurse Song, if I’m not mistaken, your chicken cup should be a Chenghua doucai chicken cup. This thing sold for a sky-high price of HK$29.17 million at a Sotheby’s auction in Hong Kong in 1999. Although yours is a bit damaged, selling it for only HK$300,000 is still too low.”
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and then voiced his opinion. If it were someone else, Zhuang Rui might have immediately pulled out 300,000 yuan to buy the chicken cup. However, ever since Zhuang Rui accidentally saw Song Xingjun's chest last time, he felt really guilty towards the nurse who had taken care of him for more than ten days, so he didn't think about taking advantage of her.
"This is the Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup? I know these things; they're quite expensive. Xiaozhuangzi is good; he didn't take advantage of the situation..."
Miao Feifei seemed to have heard of the Chicken Cup. Upon hearing this, she immediately turned her gaze to the crumpled newspaper.
After Zhuang Rui said this, Song Xingjun and Song Huan were both stunned. The siblings had not expected the cup to be so valuable. Of course, Zhuang Rui was referring to a well-preserved Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup. As for the exact value of this cup, Zhuang Rui had no idea, but he figured it would be worth more than 300,000.
"Princess Miao, how did you come to know about this Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup?"
Miao Feifei had just held the chicken cup in her hand and played with it for a while, but she didn't recognize it. Now she said she had heard of it. Zhuang Rui couldn't help but feel a little strange. He now understood that Miao Feifei was a complete novice when it came to antiques.
"Oh, I heard about it from a friend in Beijing. This year, a TV series was filmed in Beijing with antiques as its background. Some of the props were provided by my friend, including this Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup. He said it's worth 30 to 40 million yuan. Hehe, a lot of fun things happened back then."
Zhuang Rui rolled his eyes upon hearing this. It turned out that this young lady's knowledge of antiques all came from stories.
"Sister Feifei, what's the story? Tell us about it."
Song Xingjun and Miao Feifei were getting along really well right now, and while Zhuang Rui was still in a daze, they were already calling each other sisters. But considering Miao Feifei's personality, it's understandable.
"My friend said that the 'guest appearance' of his antiques almost overshadowed the three main actors, Zhang Tielin (the Emperor), Li Chengru (the Police Chief), and Li Liqun (Professor Tian)."
Each time these antiques appeared on screen, they were escorted by two dedicated prop masters. Other staff members would hold their breath and consciously keep their distance. One prop master said that he had to be extremely careful every time, handling them with utmost care, and he was almost developing a heart attack. There's an interesting anecdote circulating on the set about "antique-induced heart disease": Ge Cunzhuang, who played the antique shop owner, once had a scene with this precious Chenghua Doucai Chicken Cup. At the time, Mr. Ge didn't know that this small cup, only 2 inches tall, was a priceless antique. He held it in his hands, turning it over and over, examining it: "How much is this little cup worth?"
Li Chengru, who had genuine experience in collecting antiques, told him in a serious tone, "Teacher Ge, this cup was auctioned for 30 million yuan."
Grandpa Ge's hand trembled at that moment, and he quickly put the cup on the table. It is said that after this scene was filmed, the old man secretly took several nitroglycerin pills.
"Well, this TV series doesn't seem to have started airing yet. It'll probably be around June or July, then you'll be able to see it."
Miao Feifei's words prompted Song Huan to push the two items on the edge of the table further towards the center, presumably to prevent them from accidentally knocking them to the ground.
After hearing Miao Feifei's words, Zhuang Rui thought to himself, "Once this TV series airs, it will probably spark a collecting craze across the country, and the chances of finding a bargain on Taobao will be even fewer."
In just a few months, Zhuang Rui even considered quitting his job and going to antique markets in several cities to make a fortune first.
Zhuang Rui's guess was correct. After the TV series was released, it did indeed become a sensation across the country. For a time, everyone paid attention to the antique collecting industry. Even some old ladies in the countryside would take a car for dozens of kilometers to the county town to have an expert appraise their ceramic basins used for feeding pigs. There were countless similar incidents that occurred afterward.