It's true that Xiao Fang works as a broker, but for items like these, which are clearly authentic, once they're taken from an old house and resold, the profit can be at least ten times higher. This is a lucrative business. There's a saying in the antique trade: "Sell the goods, not the way." Xiao Fang, as a broker, only shows items to people when he's unsure, charging a commission. But if he sees this item early on, his status immediately changes from broker to buyer.
So when Xiao Fang heard Zhuang Rui's words, his face became a little unnatural, and he was filled with regret. He hadn't seen Lao Tang take out this item the previous times he came, so why was it in the house this time? If he had seen it earlier, Zhuang Rui wouldn't have had a chance.
Zhuang Rui hadn't expected Xiao Fang's thoughts. He stood up and moved closer to the chimney. He saw the inner room on the other side with the door tightly closed. Feeling curious, he subconsciously released his spiritual energy to look inside.
"Hmm? There are two more chairs?"
Zhuang Rui discovered that inside that dark room, there were actually five or six identical four-cornered official's hat chairs, just like those in the outer room. It's hard to find even one of these, so how come they were all in pairs at Old Tang's house? Zhuang Rui couldn't help but feel suspicious, so he used his spiritual energy to look at the chairs in the inner room through the door.
"Damn, are they trying to pull a switcheroo?"
Zhuang Rui discovered that although the materials and workmanship of the chairs in the inner room were quite exquisite, they were all made of fake rosewood with a layer of lacquer on the outside. They looked somewhat similar to the two real ones, but the lacquer would naturally peel off after sitting for a long time.
Thinking of this, Zhuang Rui felt somewhat helpless. This Beijing, being the capital, is indeed a place where all sorts of shady dealings can happen. Putting aside everything else, the effort Old Tang put in was astonishing to Zhuang Rui. If it weren't for making money, who could stand the smell in the room?
"How did you two find it?"
Just as Zhuang Rui finished looking at the chairs in the inner room, Old Tang swayed back. His face was still incredibly honest, but in Zhuang Rui's eyes, it had a hint of cunning and shrewdness.
"The chair is nice. Mr. Tang, what's your price? If it's reasonable, I'll buy it right now..."
Zhuang Rui said calmly, "I don't care what tricks Lao Tang is up to. As long as you dare to sell, I'll pay for it right now. Don't be fooled by how heavy these two chairs are; I'll carry them away even if I have to."
"These two chairs must be worth at least 80,000 each, so 160,000 for both. That's the price if you want them."
Old Tang rubbed the bald head with his hand, thought for a long time, gritted his teeth and gave a price. Xiao Fang next to him looked regretful. Damn it, he didn't even need to haggle over 160,000. He could just throw it in an auction house and make 1.6 million in no time. He had really lost out this time.
"Sixteen thousand..."
Zhuang Rui pretended to be deep in thought, then slapped his thigh and said, "Sixteen thousand it is. I'll write you a check right now. Xiao Fang, give me a hand, let's each carry one and get them to the car..."
Zhuang Rui thought to himself, "I won't give you the chance to swap out the chairs in the house. Let's see what you do then." As he spoke, Zhuang Rui took out his checkbook from his bag, picked up a pen, and prepared to write a check.
"Hey, I don't understand checks and stuff, you should just give me cash. It's more sturdy to have those in your hand, isn't it?"
Sure enough, before Zhuang Rui could even put pen to paper, Old Tang spoke up. Zhuang Rui sighed inwardly. He really had his eye on those two chairs. If Old Tang were a legitimate businessman, Zhuang Rui wouldn't mind spending hundreds of thousands to buy them. But judging from the way they looked, it seemed that the moment he went out to get the money, those two chairs would be moved back inside.
Chapter 419 When the East Is Dark, the West Is Bright
Zhuang Rui was incredibly annoyed. It felt like he'd swallowed a fly. But in the antique trade, everyone has their own way of doing things. If you understand the situation, you can simply not buy it. But if you point it out, it loses its appeal.
"Hey, I need to take this call..."
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to find an excuse to leave, his phone suddenly rang. He quickly stood up, took his phone, and went outside to answer it.
"Master Tang, Xiao Fang, I got a call from home, something urgent came up, I have to leave now. Master Tang, you absolutely have to save this chair for me. Tomorrow, or at the latest the day after, I'll come back with cash to buy it..."
After Zhuang Rui took the phone, he returned to the house and spoke to that "Master Mao." Calling someone "Master Mao" now seemed inappropriate; this guy was a master of deception, always setting traps for people.
However, Zhuang Rui didn't expose him. He and Xiao Fang had just met today, and he couldn't figure out if this person was part of the scheme or if he was as unaware as he was. He decided to just leave. If you, Lao Tang, like to fool others, keep fooling them. I'm not going to let you play anymore, okay?
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, a hint of disappointment flashed across Old Tang's eyes. If Xiao Fang hadn't been inside just now, he would have switched the items and accepted the check.
Based on Lao Tang's professional experience, Zhuang Rui's words most likely indicate that he has seen through some flaw, and he certainly won't back down tomorrow or the day after.
"Okay, then I'll keep it. To be honest, these things were passed down from our ancestors. If I hadn't had no other choice, I would never have bought them. Sigh..."
Despite his disappointment, the charade had to go on. Old Tang patted his chest and assured Zhuang Rui that he would definitely keep the item.
Zhuang Rui felt that it was a waste for Old Tang not to be an actor. His lines were so fluent and coherent. He guessed that the Manchu identity was nonsense. You can change your ancestors' names, why would you care about this?
"Xiao Fang, where are you going? Do you want me to give you a ride?"
Once outside the alley, Zhuang Rui let out a long sigh of relief. Damn it, this whole old house raiding thing felt so frustrating. The nationwide collecting trend isn't necessarily a good thing. Not only has it led to the professionalization of counterfeiting, but the methods of selling fakes have also become incredibly diverse and difficult to guard against. If he hadn't been so perceptive, he probably would have suffered a major setback today.
"Brother Zhuang, I live not far from here, so I won't trouble you. You can go ahead with your work..."
Xiao Fang calmly said to Zhuang Rui, but inwardly he was overjoyed. In his eyes, Zhuang Rui was the most lovable person of the 1950s and 60s! This pile of money was destined for his pocket. "Come back tomorrow or the day after?" "Sorry, I've already snatched it."
Some friends might say, "Xiao Fang, what you're doing isn't ethical. As a broker, reputation comes first. If you do this, who will want to look at your items in the future?"
But that's not how it works. If it were a big business owner, he certainly wouldn't do something like this. But who is Xiao Fang? He's just a small-time crook hanging around the antique market all day. To put it bluntly, he's one of the lowest rungs of society. Reputation? Forget about it. He can make over a million yuan with just one transaction. What does reputation matter to him? If a man has over a million yuan, why would he still be doing this kind of business?
Seeing that Xiao Fang wasn't going the same way as him, Zhuang Rui shook his head and drove away. His mother had called earlier to ask if he was coming home for dinner. This whole thing had annoyed Zhuang Rui, so he simply drove straight back to the courtyard house.
Leaving aside Zhuang Rui's situation, looking back at Xiao Fang, after seeing Zhuang Rui's car drive away, he jumped three feet high and darted back like a monkey.
"Hey, Xiao Fang, why are you back again?"
Acting is quite tiring. Old Tang is sitting cross-legged on the edge of the bed, reflecting on where he slipped up just now, so he can correct it next time.
Just as he was racking his brains trying to figure it out, he heard another knock on the door. Old Tang's heart immediately jumped into his throat. He was afraid that Zhuang Rui might have already taken the money and rushed back, since the items hadn't been moved yet.
Seeing that Xiao Fang's hands were empty, Lao Tang finally felt relieved. Anyway, without cash, there was no way he could take the items. Besides, even if he took cash, the items he took would definitely be fake. These two real things were just for fishing.
As soon as Xiao Fang entered, he didn't waste any words and pointed directly to two chairs, saying, "Master Tang, I'll take these two chairs. I'll go get the money for you right away, so please save them for me..."
"Hey, isn't this inappropriate? Didn't that person just say they wanted me to save it for them?"
Old Tang was secretly delighted when he heard Xiao Fang's words. The main target hadn't taken the bait, but now a scapegoat had appeared. However, he wasn't one to sell to just anyone who paid him; he could fool whoever he wanted. This was a case of one door closing while another opened.
This isn't like selling things in a shop. In the antique trade, the rule is that if you make a mistake, you can't hold anyone accountable. But Old Tang isn't afraid of this kid holding a grudge. This is the third batch that's taken the bait. After selling two more chairs, he'll move on to another location. Anyway, he's not staying in Beijing anymore.
"Old Tang, you're absolutely right. It's your stuff, so you should just sell it. It doesn't matter who buys it. Speaking of which, you didn't bring this item out the last few times I came. What's wrong? Do you think I can't afford it? Are you looking down on me, Xiao Fang?"
Xiao Fang blushed. He realized that what he had done was a bit underhanded, but he couldn't let the duck fly away now that he had it. If the person in charge hadn't had something to do today, he wouldn't have had the chance to pick up this bargain.
"No, no, I promised that gentleman. I'm an old man, I can't go back on my word..."
Old Tang shook his big head like a rattle drum. If his ears were any bigger, they could have slapped his face. He was in the zone again. Since someone was eager to buy, he couldn't sell it so cheaply, could he?
"Old Tang, I'll offer 180,000, is that alright?"
To be fair, Xiao Fang is still young and naive. He didn't notice that Zhuang Rui's expression was strange just now, and he was even afraid that Zhuang Rui would turn around, get the money, and actually buy it.
"Isn't this a bit inappropriate?"
Old Tang's expression changed. He seemed a little tempted.
"Hey Master Tang, you'd be lucky to get 180,000 for these two old chairs. These days, laid-off workers are laughing all the way to the bank even if they only make a few hundred or a thousand a month. What are you even thinking about?"
As Xiao Fang spoke, he took out a pack of Zhonghua cigarettes. This time it was a red belt with a decorative column attached. He carried it on his person to show off. The cigarettes he usually smoked were Zhongnanhai cigarettes in another pocket. After handing one to Lao Tang, Xiao Fang simply put the whole pack of Zhonghua cigarettes on the table.
"Alright, then I'll swallow my pride and go for it. But you have to hurry, if that young man comes back, I'll still sell it to him..."
Old Tang's fat face trembled, and he gritted his teeth, making a decision.
"It'll be at most two hours, but you'll have to wait for me to come back..."
When Xiao Fang heard that Lao Tang had agreed, he left the alley, hailed a taxi, and rushed home. In the past two years, he had saved 50,000 to 60,000 yuan. With his parents' savings, he had a total of nearly 200,000 yuan. After returning home, he found several passbooks and then rushed to the bank.
After getting the money and rushing to Old Tang's house, it was already getting dark. The curtains and blinds at Old Tang's door were drawn again, leaving only the small, firefly-like light bulb inside, emitting a faint yellow glow.
"Old Tang, the money's all here, a total of 180,000. Please check carefully..."
Xiao Fang turned the bag full of money over onto Lao Tang's bed. The eighteen neatly bundled RMB notes were piled high on the bed.
"Hey, no need to check, this old man trusts you..."
As Old Tang said this, his hands skillfully tore off the bank's seals and started counting the bills one by one. He was a master of deception himself, and if someone else set a trap for him, he would be a laughingstock.
“That’s right, Xiao Fang, the chair is over there, please move it. Hey, move it quickly, I can’t bear to see it like this, I’m letting down our ancestors, I’m letting down our forefathers…”
After collecting the RMB from the bed, Old Tang pointed to the two chairs that hadn't moved and started his performance again. It's said that when an actor is about to cry, they hold chili powder in their hand and wipe it near their eyes when no one is looking, and tears will fall immediately. But Old Tang didn't need to do anything; he could cry as soon as he said he wanted to, and tears were streaming down his cheeks.
"Well, Master Tang, I'll be going now. Please take care of yourself. Take the money and get your aunt some medical treatment. Drinking Chinese medicine all day isn't a good solution."
After Xiao Fang poured the money onto the bed, he fondled the two chairs repeatedly, his movements a hundred times more ecstatic than when he touched a woman's body. These chairs weren't made of wood; they were made entirely of gold.
Seeing that Old Tang's voice was trembling with tears, Xiao Fang simply shouldered the two heavy chairs and carried them out. The taxi he had called earlier was still waiting for him at the alley entrance.
Xiao Fang didn't care about the mud and dirty water in the alley. He darted out in a flash. When he got to the alley entrance, he carefully put the chair in the back of the car, and used the red carpet in the back of the car to pad the edges, so as not to bump or hurt it.
No sooner had Xiao Fang left than Lao Tang busied himself inside, making a phone call while calling out to the inner room, "Get up, hurry up, we're leaving too..."
"You damned bastard, you spent eight hundred dollars to rent a room, and you've made a profit of three or four hundred thousand dollars, haven't you?"
A woman's voice came from inside the house. When she came out, her hair, which had been loose in front of her, was now pulled back. She didn't look like an old woman at all; she looked like a young woman in her thirties. As she spoke, she disgustedly changed out of her old-fashioned clothes.
This guy must be bored sitting here all day. When Zhuang Rui and the others first knocked on the door, Old Tang was having sex with this young woman.
Ten minutes after Xiao Fang left, a small double-cab pickup truck stopped at the entrance of the alley. Two young men got out, loaded the real and fake official hat chairs from Old Tang's house onto the truck, and sped away.
Chapter 420 Blind as a Blind Person
After the belongings were moved out, the girl with the messy hair that looked like a bird's nest came out of the door carrying a suitcase. She left the courtyard house with the artsy young man who came out of another room and Old Tang, who was now dressed in brand new clothes.
If Xiao Fang saw this scene, he would be so angry he would vomit blood, because he had inquired with the two households next door and learned that Old Tang was a long-time resident who had lived here for decades. He never imagined that this was a complete trap set by snakes and rats.
Of course, right now, Xiao Fang was overjoyed, happily carrying the chairs home. These things weighed dozens of kilograms, and he carried two up five flights of stairs by himself without even breaking a sweat. He was as happy as if he'd eaten honey, already thinking about what kind of wife he should find with over a million yuan in hand…
Putting aside the infatuated Xiao Fang, Zhuang Rui didn't manage to buy anything, and although he was a little frustrated, he had still gained some experience. After having dinner at home that evening, he took two boxes of tea he had taken from his grandfather and drove straight to Old Master Gu's house. With his grandfather's birthday approaching, Zhuang Rui also wanted to see if the object that his Uncle Gu had carved had been produced yet.
"You brat, you never come here with good news. You're thinking about that piece of variegated jade, aren't you?"
The old man's courtyard house was surprisingly equipped with heating. After entering the house, Zhuang Rui took off his down jacket and casually placed the tea leaves on the table.
"Hey, Uncle-Master, I came here especially to bring you tea. If you don't want it, I'll take it..."
Zhuang Rui picked up the two cans of tea from the table, making a move to stuff them into his bag. Before recognizing his maternal grandfather's relatives, Zhuang Rui didn't have many elders. Liu Chuan's parents were one, and then there was his Uncle Gu and Uncle De from Zhonghai.
In their presence, Zhuang Rui was always particularly relaxed, and occasionally even a little unrestrained. This was a feeling he rarely displayed, even in front of his uncles, because those men, having long held positions of power, possessed an aura that kept strangers at bay.
"Hmm, Longjing tea, alright. You've got some conscience, kid. Wait here, I'll go brew a cup..."
Besides carving and appreciating jade, the old man's ancient hobby is tea drinking. Whenever Zhuang Rui comes to his courtyard, before the weather gets cold, he always sees the old man dozing in the yard with a tea set. Knowing that he likes tea, Zhuang Rui brought him this tea.
As Gu Lao rinsed the teaware with hot water from the kettle at the doorway, he asked Zhuang Rui, "Did you get this tea from your uncle?"
"No, it's from my grandfather..."
Zhuang Rui honestly replied that although he was a collector and had once acquired a set of Zhu Kexin's purple clay teapots, he didn't really enjoy drinking tea. He mainly found it too troublesome, and said that only someone with a certain level of mental focus could calmly and peacefully brew tea.
"Oh? This is pre-Qingming Longjing tea. No, we need to get a different tea set..."
After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Gu Lao opened the tea canister, smelled it, and his face immediately lit up with a smile. He put aside the purple clay teaware he was washing and went back into the inner room to take out two glass cups.
"You rascal, bring your senior uncle some of this more often, so I can benefit from the old man's influence..."
After rinsing the tea set, Gu Tianfeng filled an electric kettle with purified water and started boiling it.