Siheyuan: Returning to 61 to collect waste

Old Xu pointed to an antique that looked like a bowl in the cabinet. At this moment, Ye Chuan didn't care about the goods in the store, but when he heard what Old Xu said, he turned his attention and was immediately attracted by it.

It was a white bowl with a wide mouth, painted with small red bats, and looked extremely delicate and elegant. With his identification ability, he could tell at a glance that it was a court porcelain from the Yongzheng period. He stared at it for a long time in shock, and then saw that the porcelain bowl suddenly became ** and returned to normal.

When Ye Chuan checked the system energy readings, he found that there were indeed 300 more points. After double verification, he knew that the piece in his hand was indeed a treasure. He then noticed the label under the bowl, which read: "Yongzheng Hongfu Tianci Official Kiln Plate", priced at yuan.

This discovery left him dumbfounded. A genuine official porcelain from the Yongzheng era was sold for only four hundred yuan, which was far beyond his comprehension.

If it were a few decades later, the price of similar items might be thousands of times higher. "This is actually a genuine item!" he exclaimed.

The voice was a little loud and was heard by the clerk, who immediately asked with obvious displeasure: "Sir, what did you say? Do you suspect that our public store sells counterfeit goods?"

Although the clerk's tone was cold, Ye Chuan was not affected at all. Instead, he asked incredulously: "Comrade, is this porcelain also included in the discount promotion?"

"Not just this, any item you like will be sold at a 10% discount." The staff member responded clearly.

How is it possible? Are all the antiques here genuine? Ye Chuan was shocked.

He couldn't believe the truth of the story. He didn't even bother to pay attention to Mr. Xu and hurriedly checked the counter carefully.

Official kiln porcelain can be seen everywhere. The counter is filled with fine official kiln porcelain from the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties; and outside the counter, various official kiln porcelain pieces from the Jiaqing, Daoguang and Xianfeng periods are scattered around.

Apart from the porcelain from those dynasties, the rest of the items seemed much more casual. Some were placed on the table, and some were even stacked on the ground. But no matter how they were placed, every piece was a genuine official kiln porcelain.

"How much are those, comrade?" he asked.

The worker behind him turned around and glanced at the direction Ye Chuan pointed to - a pile of porcelain against the corner, and then replied: "The price is 120 yuan, and it's on sale today, so it only costs 90 yuan!"

Just as he was about to ask, he heard someone interrupt, "Young man, that batch is not worth it. You'll be wasting your money!" Ye Chuan and Mr. Xu looked back and realized that it was the old man who had taken a nap in the calligraphy and painting shop earlier.

"Why do you say that? Is there something wrong with those porcelains?" Ye Chuan couldn't help but ask. The word "problem" here actually means forgeries or fakes, which is always expressed in this way in the antique world to avoid offending the makers or sellers.

The old man waved his hand and said, "All the items here are genuine, but the prices are a bit high and the actual value is limited. They are okay if you use them as gifts for others."

Mr. Xu beside him also nodded: "Except for the Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong dynasties, the collection value of porcelain from other eras is limited and there is really not much value."

Although I agreed verbally, I didn't really think so in my heart.

Don't underestimate these small official kiln pieces worth 150 yuan, any one of them will become a rare treasure worth tens of thousands of yuan in the future. Those slightly crude handmade folk kilns are completely different from them; in the late Qing Dynasty, the price of folk kilns was only a few thousand yuan, which is not comparable at all.

The old man continued, "The most expensive porcelain in this store is from the Yongzheng period, which is 400 yuan each. The second most expensive is from the Kangxi period, which is 350 yuan. The last is the Qianlong period, which is 300 yuan."

Hearing such a price, Ye Chuan's heart was filled with ripples. The most affordable Qianlong porcelain can be obtained at only 30% of the price, which is almost a bargain!

However, he did not buy it immediately. Considering Mr. Xu beside him, he did not want anyone to know his true purpose.

After the two of them had been shopping for two hours, a small car that came to pick up Mr. Xu had already parked at the entrance of Liulifang. "Mr. Ye, there is an emergency meeting to attend this afternoon. Let's talk another day. I am very happy to chat with you today." After he said that, he got into the car and left. Ye Chuan smiled and said goodbye, expressing the same joy. After the car disappeared, Ye Chuan did not leave with it, but returned to the bookstore.

When I returned, no one was there, and the old man I met in the treasure house was nowhere to be seen.

In this era of extreme material scarcity, ordinary people can hardly make ends meet, let alone save money to collect art.

From the 2s to the 50s, China's antique industry has been in a lukewarm state. It was not until the 90s that it gradually attracted people's attention.

Ye Chuan had just figured it out. The reason why antiques seemed cheap was not because they were really cheap, but because there was no demand at that time. People could not even afford basic living expenses, let alone enjoy an elegant cultural life. As early as the "May 10" period, everyone had forgotten the potential investment value of antiques.

The waiter in the store heard the footsteps of someone entering the store, looked up and saw that it was Ye Chuan, and then returned to his original posture and sat back in his chair.

Ye Chuan walked straight to the counter and said to the clerk, "Comrade, can you let me see Tang Yin's work?"

The guy looked at Ye Chuan for a while, his eyes full of doubt about Ye Chuan's ability to pay, but he still walked into the inner room and took out two scrolls.

He just casually placed it on the counter and spread out the scroll without wearing white gloves. After the two scrolls of paintings were displayed, Ye Chuan's heartbeat accelerated.

Both works were created when Tang Yin was in his prime: one was "The Treasure Crane" which he created in the fifth year of the Zhengde reign, and the other was "The Plum Branch" which he created when he returned home after pretending to be crazy and escaping from Prince Ning's control in the tenth year of the Zhengde reign.

During this period, Tang Yin was at the peak of his artistic maturity. He lived in the famous Taohua Temple, devoted himself to writing poetry and painting, which made his painting skills reach the peak during this period. The value of his works during this period is still very high in modern times.

Even though these "Picture of Treasure Crane" and "Picture of Plum Branches" are not world-famous, they are still very valuable for collection. Ye Chuan observed them attentively for a long time and found that each work was shining with a faint light, which provided a lot of energy value to the system. He glanced at his personal information page and almost shouted.

Just these two paintings picked randomly from the art shop contributed as much as 50,000 to his energy value.

Tang Yin is indeed a famous artist in Chinese history. It seems that the greater the fame and the higher the artistic attainments, the more energy the works bring.

Just these two works have earned him nearly half of the total energy value obtained in **. If he had known the truth about this place before, he would not have waited until today to explore.

I can't help but sigh that as a country with a long history of 5,000 years, the Chinese culture still has its own unique features that cannot be matched by a single small street even in difficult times.

"anything else?"

The shop assistant shook his head and said, "These are the only two Tang Yin paintings left in the shop."

"Can we also display Zhu Da's works?" Ye Chuan asked.

The guy's face showed some displeasure but he didn't say anything. When he was rolling up the two scrolls, Ye Chuan called him:

"Comrade, I am satisfied with both of these paintings. Please take out Zhu Da's work and let me see it together."

After hearing this, the clerk's attitude immediately became much more positive. He walked briskly back into the house and soon took out two bound works and a collection of paintings, which he spread out on the counter.

The first two are ordinary art paintings "Fish and Duck" and "Lotus". The former shows the artist's mature style and is pleasing to the eye; the latter is slightly childish and one can tell at a glance that it was created in his youth.

The last volume of the album attracted Ye Chuan's attention the most. It consisted of seventeen pages, including sixteen ink paintings and one calligraphy work.

He thought for a long time, and suddenly remembered a piece of news about Bada Shanren's auction of his works in Hong Kong Island, which was sold for 3500 million... and this work was exactly the "Green Mountains, Clear Waters, Singing Birds, Fragrant Flowers" in front of him! "How much is this album?" Ye Chuan asked.

The guy thought for a moment, then said, "Our manager didn't mention the specific price, but it should be 400 yuan!" Ye Chuan nodded calmly, "Pack them all up, I want them!"

"Ah...what did you say?" the waiter asked in surprise. "I said I want all!" "Okay, please wait a moment!" The waiter quickly agreed and started to pack.

Ye Chuan smiled. These three paintings by Zhu Da really brought him considerable rewards. He gained energy points in total, of which the painting "Green Mountains, Clear Waters, Singing Birds and Fragrant Flowers" alone contributed .

The clerk quickly packed up the four scrolls and the album and handed them to Ye Chuan. When he was waiting to be paid, he found that the story was not over yet. "How many works of Mr. Beihong, Mr. Baishi and Mr. Daqian do you have?" Ye Chuan continued to ask.

The guy was stunned for a moment and said hesitantly: "What do you mean?"

"Just asking." Ye Chuan replied with a smile. Then the clerk took out an account book from under the counter, flipped through it and said, "Mr. Beihong has 12 paintings, Mr. Baishi has 27 paintings, and Mr. Daqian has 22 paintings."

Ye Chuan calculated in his mind that including Tang Yin and Zhu Da's paintings, the total of 5000 paintings was less than yuan, and the remaining funds could be used to sweep the Zhenbaozhai. "Please help me buy them all!" Ye Chuan said softly.

The guy thought he had heard it wrong and confirmed it again: "You said you want to pack everything?"

"I want them all, pack them all!" Ye Chuan replied. After paying for the paintings, Ye Chuan walked out of the store with a large stack of scrolls in his arms, in front of the clerk's surprised eyes. He first put the 65 paintings and the album into the jeep and locked it, then walked straight to Zhenbaozhai.

He had already spent about five thousand yuan, leaving him with more than 350 Chinese yuan, 1500 million island yuan, and about Hong Kong dollars, but the latter two could not be circulated directly in the country.

Arriving at the entrance of Zhenbaozhai, he noticed the old man in an old cotton-padded jacket. The old man saw him and grinned. Ye Chuan nodded politely in response and walked into the shop.