After saying that, he turned and left. The middle-aged man was stunned, not expecting Zhou Xuan to be so decisive. He quickly chased after him and said, "Young brother, young brother, let's talk it over. How about this, I really like that calligraphy. You name your price!"
The middle-aged man's words made Zhou Xuan even more certain. Although he knew nothing about antiques and calligraphy, the middle-aged man's expression made him realize that the idea that flashed through his mind was Yuan Mei from 1795. However, he still didn't know who Yuan Mei was. When it came to people with the surname Yuan, besides Yuan Shikai, the only other person he knew was Yuan Chengzhi. It would be better to search online first.
Zhou Xuan glanced at the middle-aged man's somewhat expectant eyes and smiled, saying, "Sir, do you know Yuan Mei?"
The middle-aged man's eyebrows twitched, and he was stunned for a moment before sighing and saying, "So you're a fellow traveler, young brother. I thought you were just lucky to have stumbled upon a bargain. Oh, my apologies."
When the middle-aged man first passed by the bookstall, he saw Zhou Xuan flipping through the tattered manuscript and stopped to stand by. Because there are rules in the trade, one must never go up and interrupt if someone is looking at or buying something. So he quietly observed from the side. After observing for a while, he was basically sure that Zhou Xuan was not in the same trade and did not know anything about this industry. He was quite pleased and just waited for him to leave before buying it at a slightly higher price. However, he did not expect that Zhou Xuan would mention the name "Yuan Mei" to him.
From a distance, he thought the manuscript looked a lot like Yuan Mei's handwriting, but he couldn't be sure. When he heard Zhou Xuan mention Yuan Mei's name, he knew he had misjudged it. After hesitating for a moment, he still said, "Young brother, I did misjudge it. Since you've found a bargain, I won't say anything more. But could you let me take a closer look?"
"What's wrong with this? Take a look." Zhou Xuan readily handed him the manuscript. He had no idea what to expect from this thing. Looking at the man's regretful expression, could it really be worth hundreds or thousands?
The middle-aged man took the manuscript, gently touched the damaged part of the cover, and felt a real pang of heartache. Then he took out a magnifying glass with a black frame and a copper handle from his pocket.
Zhou Xuan blushed. This was a real player, this was professional.
The middle-aged man slowly flipped through the pages, muttering to himself, sometimes excited, sometimes puzzled, until he finished the last page and stood there stunned for a long time.
Seeing his expression, Zhou Xuan wasn't sure if it was worth ten yuan or if he had misread it, so he cautiously asked, "What is Yuan Mei from 1795 in this Jianzhai Supplement...?"
Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's words, the middle-aged man finally let out a long sigh of relief and said, "Brother, it turns out you're not just a fellow professional, but also a master! To have such keen insight in this field at such a young age is truly remarkable!"
"A master of nonsense, unless he has a flash of inspiration, he's no different from a blind man." Zhou Xuan blushed and held back his words, knowing that he would embarrass himself if he spoke.
The middle-aged man continued, “Yuan Mei’s pen name was Jianzhai. In his later years, he made some supplements to his previous works. This manuscript was revised in 1795. Yuan Mei passed away two years after revising the supplementary manuscript. There have been rumors of such a manuscript in later generations, but they are all just hearsay. I never expected to see it here on a street stall today. It’s a pity that it is a bit damaged!”
When Zhou Xuan heard him say that, he thought to himself that the idea had flashed into his mind and was actually quite accurate. But how much was Yuan Mei's manuscript worth? He would sell it if he could get a hundred dollars, but the problem was that he couldn't ask so directly. Maybe Yuan Mei wouldn't be willing to give a hundred dollars?
After thinking it over, Zhou Xuan asked hesitantly, "How much is this manuscript worth?"
The middle-aged man said, "In 1999, Mr. Wu Dingyuan bought a copy of Yuan Mei's early manuscript from a Hong Kong auction house for HK$150,000. He then donated the manuscript to the Nanjing Museum. The manuscript you have is a late supplement to Yuan Mei's work, and it is a masterpiece, making it especially valuable. If we calculate based on the value of the early manuscript, it would be worth at least RMB180,000. Of course, this is just an estimate. If it were auctioned, it would definitely be worth more than that!"
180,000!
Zhou Xuan almost tripped and fell! He had just been thinking of selling it to him for a hundred yuan!
However, the words "180,000 yuan" really stunned Zhou Xuan. Just think how much you can do with 180,000 yuan! You can build a beautiful house in your hometown and marry a beautiful wife. He had only saved 5,000 yuan in seven or eight years. These words "180,000 yuan" were like a dream!
What is a dream? A dream is something that only happens when you're asleep and doesn't exist when you're awake. He said this lousy manuscript was worth 180,000, but all he said was that. Since it hadn't turned into money and wasn't in his own hands, it wasn't even worth 18 yuan!
Seeing Zhou Xuan's face turn pale and then red, the middle-aged man thought he had underestimated the price and hesitated. To be honest, if Yuan Mei's manuscript were auctioned, it would fetch at least 200,000 yuan.
Zhou Xuan finally gritted his teeth, and said somewhat guiltily, "If I sell it to you, will you want it?"
The man was taken aback, glanced at Zhou Xuan, and was somewhat confused by his meaning. If Zhou Xuan had the same discerning eye as him and was an expert in this field, then he would naturally have his own way of selling. As the saying goes, every tortoise has its own way, and every snake has its own way.
If Zhou Xuan were to resell it himself, Yuan Mei's manuscript could probably fetch at least 200,000 to 250,000 yuan, and even more at auction. But judging from his expression, he didn't seem to be joking. The middle-aged man was a little puzzled. He had just examined the manuscript in detail and found that it contained Yuan Mei's special marks, indicating that it was an authentic work. Since it was an authentic work, there was no possibility that Zhou Xuan had colluded with the bookseller to set a trap. But what did Zhou Xuan mean by saying that?
"How much do you want to sell it for?" The middle-aged man asked tentatively, unsure of Zhou Xuan's intentions.
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment, then lowered his voice slightly and said, "If you want it, you just said it's worth 180,000, right? So I'll sell it to you for 170,000, and consider 10,000 as a service fee. Is that alright?"
The middle-aged man was taken aback again. Most people would raise the price after understanding it, but he was lowering it. After a moment of hesitation, seeing Zhou Xuan's bitter face, he guessed that he might have some unspeakable difficulties, perhaps urgently needing money. He thought for a moment and said, "If you really want to sell, of course I'd be happy to oblige. But how about this, we've met, from all over the country, so it's a kind of fate that we met. You don't have to say 170,000, and I won't say 180,000, let's just say 175,000. I happen to have a few friends getting together today, so I'll treat you to a meal. Consider the 5,000 as the meal, and I'll add any more if it's not enough, okay?"
Of course he could! This was the biggest sum of money he'd ever earned in his twenty-six years of life! Zhou Xuan smiled and nodded. This middle-aged man was quite generous, and he was rather pleased. But could a meal really cost five thousand? Judging from his tone, it seemed like it wasn't enough!
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Volume One: The First Signs of a Lotus Bud, Chapter Four: The Treasure Appraisal at Jingshi Studio (Part One)
Although the deal was agreed upon verbally, the middle-aged man still handed Yuan Mei's manuscript back to Zhou Xuan, saying, "Young brother, you should keep the manuscript for yourself first. Hehe, in this business, unless it's a very trustworthy friend, most people still follow the rules. Every industry has its rules, and basically every industry operates on the principle of cash on delivery. We are no exception!"
Zhou Xuan was a little embarrassed. To be honest, he was really worried. This wasn't just eighteen yuan or one hundred and eighty yuan, but a value of one hundred and eighty thousand yuan!
The middle-aged man continued, "Hehe, young brother, I've been talking for so long, and I still don't know your name. My surname is Chen, and my given name is Shanyan. My friends have given me the nickname Chen Three-Eyed, hehe, it's low-class, low-class!"
"My name is Zhou Xuan, I don't have any nicknames, I'm from the countryside!" Zhou Xuan introduced himself straightforwardly. He glanced at Chen Shanyan's eyebrows and noticed a small birthmark, about the size of a finger, that really did look like an eye. No wonder he was called Chen Three-Eyed.
In fact, Zhou Xuan didn't know that Chen Sanyan's nickname was partly because of his birthmark, but more importantly because he had a reputation in the antique world. Chen Sanyan was actually a term used by his friends in the industry to describe his profound skills and sharp eyesight, which allowed him to immediately tell the authenticity of an item through his eyes.
Chen Sanyan was originally from Yangzhou and was a well-known figure in the Yangzhou antique circle. In recent years, in order to expand his business, he opened two branches in the south, one of which was in Chongkou.
The four most famous antique cities in China are Tianjin, Beijing, Yangzhou, and Zhengzhou, with Yangzhou being one of them.
Chen Sanyan's two antique shops in the south are basically breaking even, but he is still worth tens of millions. He wants to expand these two shops in the south and open up the market in the south. Even if he loses a little, he doesn't care, especially since he is basically breaking even.
I happened to stay at this shop in Chongkou for the past two weeks, and I would stroll around this pedestrian street every night. It wasn't that I was looking for a bargain, but I did happen to run into it tonight. However, Zhou Xuan beat me to it. But if Zhou Xuan hadn't found it in that pile of student workbooks, I wouldn't have had this opportunity either.
He just didn't expect Zhou Xuan to want to sell it to him. All things considered, he could make at least 60,000 to 70,000 yuan. If he was lucky in the market, he might make even more. He just couldn't figure out this young man, Zhou Xuan.
He seems to be a straightforward young man. Judging from his actions, expressions and scheming, he probably doesn't know much about the antique industry. But he managed to find Yuan Mei's manuscript from a pile of exercise books. Was it luck or good eyesight?
Even if it was luck, why would Zhou Xuan have thought of buying this? If it were someone he didn't know or understand, he wouldn't have wanted this junk even if it were given to him for free. Even if that was luck, when Zhou Xuan heard him say "Jianzhai Supplement, Yuan Mei's revised manuscript in 1795"—such a precise year and Yuan Mei's name—that it was definitely not luck. It was something that could only be done by someone with a very deep understanding of history. Thinking about it this way, Zhou Xuan obtaining this manuscript of Yuan Mei was by no means a simple matter!
In this world, how many people pretend to be weak while actually being strong?
But it was precisely because of Zhou Xuan's keen eye that Chen Sanyan genuinely wanted to befriend him. In this day and age, it was extremely difficult to find someone as young as Zhou Xuan with such keen insight. As for Chen Sanyan himself, he was in his early forties, and in this line of work, he was considered young. There were no young masters or extraordinary individuals in the martial arts world.
It's not that there aren't young people in this industry; there are, but most are flashy and impractical. People with truly profound skills are hard to find. The fact that they haven't been able to open up the market in the south has become a major worry for Chen Sanyan. This Zhou Xuan has a very good eye. If his character is decent, he could be a good talent if he's trained. But I don't know where he works. I guess it's some pawn shop. There aren't many antique shops in Chongkou, but there are several pawn shops.
In the south, pawnshops are much more prosperous than antique shops. Pawnshops are different from antique shops. Antique shops only deal in calligraphy, paintings, antiques, jade and stone artifacts, while pawnshops are different. They will accept any item if someone is willing to pawn it and they think they can make money from it.
It's not possible to transfer money through a bank at night. 175,000 yuan is not a small amount. Chen Sanyan's antique shop does have that much cash, so at this point, the only option is to take Zhou Xuan to his shop to get the money.
Chen Sanyan's shop is not in the most bustling area of Chongkou, but is located at the entrance of a second-class street market. The rent is two-thirds cheaper than that of a first-class location, but the area occupied is much larger.
Chen Sanyan's "Jingshizhai" has an area of only about 60 square meters on the street front, but the interior of the shop is nearly 300 square meters.