antique masters in modern times

"Look at the real thing? Isn't the photo the same?" The man's tone was a little unhappy.

At this moment, Yan You became more and more calm: "No way. Appraisal of antiques depends not only on appearance, but also on color, texture, and even taste. Unless it is a photo taken from all angles with a special method, it is not acceptable. "

He was telling the truth, and his tone was naturally extraordinarily firm.Hearing that, the man couldn't help shaking. After a moment of silence, he suddenly put away the flashlight and walked out of the tent.

The sudden light and sudden darkness made Yan You very uncomfortable, but his hearing became exceptionally sharp because of it.He seemed to hear someone arguing outside in a low voice, so he quickly closed his eyes and focused his attention on distinguishing. Finally, he discerned a useful sentence from a pile of meaningless notes: "No, let him go if you ask clearly."

Although the voice was suppressed as much as possible, and the tone was a little off, Yan You still recognized its owner, Shi Lin.

In an instant, all the things came together, and with Shi Lin showing an unusual interest in appraising antiques before, Yan You finally confirmed that he had not guessed wrong.

With difficulty, he raised his hand and pulled the kitten, which was only a little bigger than a palm, out of his shirt. Yan You believed that although Shi Lin had plotted against him, he did not want to kill them all.Feeling relaxed, he couldn't help thinking again, what kind of shady goodies did Shi Lin and his accomplices have in their hands, and they insisted on using kidnapping to bring him to the appraisal?

He only glanced at the stack of photos just now, and only remembered the shapes of those objects. They were generally not bad, but he didn't take a closer look. He couldn't help but secretly regret not taking a closer look.

Just as he was secretly regretting with an inappropriate fan mentality, the previous person came in again.With the flashlight on, he held the photo up in front of his eyes again, and said unhappily, "Look again, at least give it a try."

There is no reason for this poorly shot black-and-white photo.However, Yan You will not remind the other party, because this move is exactly what he wanted.Nodding his head, he looked at the man's hands one by one.

The more you look at it, the more surprised Yan You is: These things include porcelain pieces, gold stones, wood carvings, and even calligraphy and paintings, all from several ages, all miscellaneous and unclear.

Generally speaking, people who like to collect have preferences, either like calligraphy and painting, or like a certain kind of equipment, or focus on collecting objects from a certain dynasty or generation.There is basically no one like this, except for the nouveau riche who buy things indiscriminately to decorate their appearance.But the upstarts often lack discernment and are often deceived by unscrupulous businessmen with counterfeit products.There's a joke that says that out of a hundred things they buy, one in a hundred is genuine.But Shi Lin took so much trouble to bring him here, it should not be for the purpose of identifying fakes.

Could it be that Shi Lin and this accomplice are the descendants of some upstart back then?It doesn't seem like... Maybe, like the ancestors of the Meng family, they are also antique dealers?It's even more impossible. There has never been an antique shop that sells everything. The bosses and shopkeepers of each shop have specializations. Unless they are very sure, they seldom set foot in other fields for fear of losing their money.

Yan You looked at the photo pretendingly, and kept turning various thoughts in his mind, but he couldn't make up his mind.

Flip through another photo.When he saw the objects above, he suddenly widened his eyes.

——The traditional Chinese medicine keel in the photo was actually one of his collections back then!

Keel is the bone fossil of animals such as ancient rhinos, elephants or three-toed horses. It has the effects of calming the nerves and anticonvulsants when used in medicine.Yanyou only knows a little bit about medical theory, and is limited to ancient prescriptions such as Guizhi Mahuang Geban Decoction that can cure typhoid fever.Moreover, he didn't have the habit of nourishing medicinal food. The reason why he collected keels back then was not because he wanted to hoard medicinal materials, but because there were famous oracle bone inscriptions on the keels.

Around 1899 A.D., when Wang Yirong of the Guozijian Jijiu bought medicinal materials due to illness, he found words similar to bronze inscriptions on the keels he sold.Because he himself loves antiques, and what he does is the knowledge of the similarities and differences of exegetical classics, he collected these dragon bones with characters everywhere for research.But not long after, the Allied Forces of the Eight Nations entered Sijiu City, and the Empress Dowager fled in panic. Wang Yirong and his wife threw themselves into a well and died as a martyr for the country.

Although Wang Yirong was martyred for the country, the keel with characters has set off a craze for research and collection. People are deeply aware of the importance of this kind of Yin and Shang characters, and various masters are competing to study it, which led to the 1928 Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. The archaeological group of the Institute of History and Linguistics of the Academy excavated the Yin Ruins in Anyang and obtained more than [-] bone fragments inscribed with oracle bone inscriptions.

This excavation is a milestone for Huaxia archaeology, because it is the first fieldwork independently completed by domestic scholars.The previous excavations of the Yangshao Village site in Henan and the ape-man site in Zhoukoudian were all conducted by foreign scholars or in cooperation with China and foreign countries.Therefore, Yin Ruins is also known as the birthplace of Chinese field archeology.

In addition to being kept by scientific research institutions, many of the keels in the world have fallen into the hands of Chinese and foreign collectors.Yanyou had heard about Wang Yirong when he was a child, and when he grew up, he met a businessman who had a stock in hand by chance.So he bought a piece of keel at a price of ten silver dollars a word.

After he got it, he played with the keel carefully for more than half a year, and he was familiar with every crack and every stroke of the surface.According to "Tieyun Tibetan Turtle" and "Example of Qiwen" written by Wang Jijiu's friend, the above inscriptions were deciphered by comparison.

The photos are blurry, the angle is not chosen correctly, and the text is not complete.But Yanyou only took one look at the shape of the keel, and couldn't help muttering to himself: "Xin Weibu Zhengzhen..."

This is his treasure, why does it appear here?Is it one of the collections that disappeared with his body after the accident?Who took them? !

With his mind agitated, Yan You didn't know where the strength came from, he suddenly grabbed the man's wrist, and asked in a hissed voice, "Where did you get these things?"

He was still weak, and he didn't exert much force, even a child could easily shake him off.But the blaze and anger in his eyes were like a dark fire, not only burning in his eyes, even the small tent suddenly had an invisible pressure.The man was taken aback by his reaction, and blurted out involuntarily: "I cheated from the Zhong family decades ago—"

The Zhong family?Zhong Mazi? !

Yan You vaguely guessed something, countless thoughts flew through his mind, and asked eagerly: "Then where did the Zhong family get it? Why do you want to identify them now?"

"I—" the man was about to answer, when he suddenly realized something was wrong: "Hey, you kid, is it me asking you or you asking me!"

As he spoke, he waved his hands vigorously to break away from Yan You.I didn't want to use too much force, so I threw the photo and the flashlight away.The flashlight fell on the hand shovels and various metal utensils piled up in the tent, making a dull and loud noise, which spread far away in the quiet night.

The kitten that was pulled out of the clothes by Yan You was also frightened, rolled on the ground, and ran out limply.

At this time, a nervous voice came from outside: "Uncle, what's the matter?——Ah, Achoo!"

"It's okay, it's okay, go outside and watch it. You said you would throw this kitty far away, but you are kind. You are afraid that it will be too small to blow the wind, and you can't find food outside, so you have to get a tent to feed it." Canned food. Look, you’re going to suffer now.” The man didn’t bother to pick up the flashlight, and hurried forward to catch the kitten that ran into the man’s arms in a panic.

In the chaos, Yan You suddenly said coldly: "Shi Lin, don't hide, I recognize you."

There was a moment of silence in the tent.After half a minute, the man said unnaturally: "What are you yelling for, there is no one you mentioned here."

Ignoring his lack of confidence, Yanyou said to the short figure outside the tent who suddenly stopped all movements: "Don't deny it. I know you are not a vicious person. You can't even bear to hurt a kitten that will make you allergic. How could you I'm not good? Come in, let's talk. Maybe I can help you."

It was the cat that convinced him that although Shi Lin played tricks, his nature was not bad, so he decided to cut straight to the point.

His answer was a series of earth-shattering sneezes.The man stepped forward, picked up the cat and threw it into the nearby grass, then pushed Shi Lin to signal him to leave quickly.

Shi Lin didn't move. After a while, he finally stopped sneezing and asked in a nasal voice, "How do you know what I want to do?"

"I don't know, but I know it must have something to do with antiques." The instant explosive power passed, and Yan You returned to a limp state, but his mind was clearer than ever before: "However, you have to tell me first that you are from Jiuliuzhong What kind of people?"

Ghosts beating the wall, drugs, kidnapping...these methods Shi Lin used tonight are completely the skills of low-level talents in the world.But what Qianmen relies on is basically trickery and setting up tricks, which can be ruled out.Yan You didn't know which method was good at using the ground to build momentum, so he simply asked Shi Lin directly.

Although the origin has not been revealed, the word Jiuliu is enough to shock Shi Lin and his accomplices: "You know Jiuliu? Which school are you from?"

"I don't belong to the Jiuliu, I'm just a craftsman." Yan You said, "Don't worry, I won't pursue what happened tonight, and I can even cover it up for you."

Shi Lin and the man looked at each other. Although they couldn't see their expressions clearly, they were obviously suspicious: "Why?"

"Because you may know the whereabouts of an old friend of mine." Suppressing the emotions in his heart, Yan You said softly, "I found his things in the photo. I want to know where he is... now."

It is a tradition established by the Chinese people to be safe in the soil.But what Yan You wants is not the whereabouts of his own body, but the whereabouts of Zhong Mazi and Michael.

When he first came to this era, he was so busy making a living that he had no time to think.Recently, he has gradually settled down. Occasionally, he thinks of the old things, and then recalls the dreams of wandering life and death. Subconsciously, he feels that in the war-torn era, countless people were destroyed, and the murderer who killed him might have already ended well.Moreover, many years have passed, things have changed, and he is a mere commoner, so he no longer has the ability to track down anything.Subconsciously, this matter has been thrown away.

But when he just saw the photos, he suddenly realized a problem: What if Zhong Mazi and Michael, instead of having an accident, rose to the top in troubled times?How unfair!In the past, there were no clues, and the vast sea of ​​people couldn't find out, so he didn't bother to pursue it.Now that the witnesses and evidence related to it are all in front of him, how can he miss it?

Although Yanyou knew in his heart that after 70 years, no matter how proud the two people were back then, they would have turned to dust long ago.But he still couldn't let it go, he wanted to know, after killing himself, what evil did these two people do again!

Shi Lin didn't know where to go, seeing the usually gentle and gentle Yanyou, he seemed to be a different person at the moment, his eyes were stubborn and frenzied, his cheeks were flushed with excitement, he didn't feel the joy of discovering the clues of his old friend at all, but like It's like seeing an enemy.He couldn't help being startled, and quickly said, "Uncle, I think he's not in the right state. Did he use too much poisonous mushroom powder before? Give him the detoxification medicine."

The man was also afraid of killing people, so he hurriedly asked his nephew to drag Yanyou out of the tent, put him on a ventilated high ground, and took out a pill for Yanyou: "This is what the great witch gave you once. It is said that there are other things mixed in it to remove the toxin of the poisonous mushroom, but retain the effect of creating hallucinations and paralyzing the limbs. At that time, your grandpa used it very well. Did it happen that the medicine has changed after being left for too long? gone?"

"But the other two are still in a coma, and nothing unusual happened...why is he the only one who is wrong?"

While the uncle and nephew were muttering, the medicine took effect and Yan You gradually regained his strength.The previous hallucinations were like morning dew disappearing under the morning sun, without any traces left.He moved around a little, but found that he was still dizzy when he sat up, so he simply sat cross-legged on the grass, and took the kitten who couldn't walk very well into his arms: "Big witch... don't tell me you are from the witch sect?"

"No, we are the Illusion Gate. In the past, we relied on small tricks such as spreading beans into soldiers, climbing the ladder, and picking fairy peaches to please people and make a living. Brother, my name is Xu Dacai, which faction are you? May I ask your name?" First Jiuliu, then Wumen, Xu Dacai completely forgot Yanyou Shicai's words, and believed that he was also a fellow.

Shi Lin quickly stopped the uncle who wanted to offer cigarettes: "Brother Yan is proficient in antiques, and he is full of knowledge. His ancestors must be learned people, and we are not on the same side."

"Oh..." Xu Dacai turned the half-handed homemade cigarette regretfully, put it in his mouth, lit it, and smoked it with gusto: "The words are up front: you just said you found something belonging to your friend, but We also don’t know exactly where they came from.”

Yan You frowned: "You said before that you got it from the Zhong family."

"Don't worry, little brother, listen to me first. This batch of things was conned by my father and others from an antique dealer surnamed Zhong decades ago. The more important source of income for street performers is to go to the rich families who hold birthday parties to perform. If you are lucky, after a hard day, you will have enough food and clothing for half a year. But the years were too chaotic, and business gradually became difficult. Right now. At this time, a member of the Wu family approached my great-grandfather and proposed to cooperate, let us use tricks to cooperate with him to pretend to be a ghost, and it will be a big ticket."

Hearing this, Yan You interjected: "So, the ghost hitting the wall we met before is also your masterpiece?"

"I did it. Now it's a new era, Xiao Lin must study hard and become a promising person in the future. My sister and I will not pass on his skills. Hehe, did you scare you just now? To put it bluntly It’s not worth a penny, it’s just a blind path in the magic door: I made some tree branches in advance to make roadblocks, blocked some paths, and quietly induced you to go around in circles. I also arranged the same things at intervals. You are naturally afraid when you find out that you have turned your back on the road. The mud handprint that the four-eyed boy mentioned was also pressed by me quietly before you."

Yan You thought, you don't want Shi Lin to engage in these low-level tricks again, but you let him act as a helper to trick us here, isn't this inconsistent?

As if he had seen through his mind, Xu Dacai said again: "Don't blame Xiao Lin, this matter is a last resort, anyway, you should listen to me first to finish the reason. Back then, my great-grandfather listened to the great witch's proposal, although he was moved, he still refused. Yes. We have always earned small money, and we dare not do such things. But the business is getting worse and worse. In the past, we could attend banquets and get rewards every now and then, but gradually we can no longer receive work. And In troubled times, everyone is in danger, and there are fewer and fewer people who give rewards when performing on the street. One time, after a dozen or so members of my family starved together for two days, my great-grandfather found the big witch and agreed to make a deal with him."

"I heard from my great-grandfather that the rich people were running away at that time. They exchanged their property for jewelry and diamonds, concentrated their property, and ran to Hong Kong Island or even abroad in packs to escape the war. No. For example, landlords, hundreds of acres of fertile land, become worthless in troubled times, and they may be harmed by foreign devils one day. Who will pay to take over? We have to guard. There are also some antique dealers who can’t leave, bronze and porcelain. , Carved utensils...anything has a lot of weight, and there are several big houses full, and there is no way to take it on the road, and if you want to sell it, you can't sell it all, and you are even more reluctant to throw it away, so you have to keep it."

"However, the owner of the house we selected is very discerning. A few years ago, he stopped collecting big pieces and turned to the business of emerald and jade pieces. I heard that after several years of trading, he finally took away the things he couldn't take away. The sales are about the same, and I got a batch of miscellaneous things, and I plan to sell them together to a neon man, and when I get the money, the whole family will move to the sun never sets.”

"This man's surname is Zhong, and he is called Zhong Mazi in the industry. The great witch said that this man seemed to have done too many bad things, and he had secretly asked him to perform rituals several times. He should have gone to the Taoist school for exorcising evil spirits and praying for blessings, but Zhong Mazi asked for it." But he asked the gods to help him. Witchcraft is actually similar to fortune-telling and word testing, and it also pays attention to observing facial expressions. When the big witch chatted with him, he made a lot of words quietly, and inquired about it in private. Combining the two, he speculated This person may have carried human life on his body. Moreover, the person who was harmed by him seemed to have a grievance. After his death, he took revenge on another person, causing that person to encounter wind and waves when he was out at sea, and the big ship sank. Although another searched ship He was rescued in time, but he became a living dead because he was drowned for too long. He was breathing and his heart was beating, but he couldn’t move. He died in bed for two or three years.”

Xu Dacai and Shi Lin didn't know the inside story, and lamented that good and evil are rewarded.However, Yanyou knew that the so-called shipwrecked person must be Michael, and he didn't expect that the scenes he saw at that time turned out to be true.He knew that he didn't have the ability to turn the world upside down, perhaps, it might not be true karma.

Xu Dafu said again: "Having mastered this information, Dawu naturally answered fluently when he asked the god to dance the witch, but Zhong Mazi was so happy that he said that Dawu is a person with real skills, and his family will be able to leave Huaxia safely. It was on the Dawu. Because of his trust, he gradually became less guarded when he spoke. Only then did the Dawu know that not only did he have a few good pieces of jade that he bought over the years, but the old gadgets that he was about to sell to the Neon people were also worth a lot. Big money. The two together are worth at least [-] to [-] silver dollars, so I started thinking about making money."

"His plan is this: First, persuade Zhong Mazi to hold a second meeting to bring joy and drive away bad luck; then let my great-grandfather lead people to perform, then he will act as an internal response, and together with the bribed servants, change all the items in the prop box Become a treasure, and then sneak it out without anyone noticing. In order to avoid people's eyes and ears, the big witch will secretly put a hallucinogen in the wine. After drinking it, people will be lazy and don't want to move. The wine can't be found out. But my great-grandfather has to go all out to attract everyone from the top to bottom of the Zhong family in the front hall."

Xu Dacai lit another cigarette, and said intoxicatedly: "Afterwards, my great-grandfather always said that it was the best performance in his life, 'The sticky pendulum is closed, don't hold it open', which brought the essence of the magic door to the extreme. The owners and servants of the Zhong Mansion all looked straight ahead. In the whole courtyard, except for the sound of changing colors, no one spoke. It was not until a long time after the end that everyone applauded desperately. The sound almost shook the tiles. It was lifted, and the people in the patrol room thought that something happened, so they came in to check."

Although Shi Lin hadn't learned these skills, but when he heard his mother and uncle talk about them since he was a child, he couldn't help yearning for them, and now he was also fascinated.

But Yan You mercilessly poured cold water on them: "It's hard to get rid of stolen goods. If you sell something worth seventy to eighty thousand yuan, it's considered a high incense if you can sell it for half the price after turning into stolen goods. Your family's Things have been covered until now, I am afraid there is still a reason inside."

As soon as these words came out, Xu Dacai lost all interest, and said with a wry smile: "Little brother knows a lot, it is true. After dividing up the things back then, we thought that we had made a fortune, and we would not have to suffer from now on. We were so happy. How could we think of that?" , the big witch is from the Jingchu area. He came to Sijiu City not long ago to seek a living. He didn’t know these ways. Draw a sketchbook of the lost property and give it to the people on the road, and those who find the stolen goods will take it immediately."

"At that time, the people who entered the patrol room suffered unimaginable sufferings. There were rumors in the city that they could stop children from crying at night. The big witch must have heard about this, and took poison before the interrogation. He committed suicide—when he danced to ask the gods, he always used some hallucinogenic drugs, and some of them turned into poison when the dosage was increased. My great-grandfather was terrified when he heard the news of the great witch's death, but he was not willing to give away what he got. They all sank into the river, so they buried it in the ancestral house, and warned the descendants not to open it for at least 50 years."

"Decades have passed, and now you want to exchange it for money?"

Although these past events are shocking, they are all old events, which are far from what Yan You wanted to hear, so it is inevitable that he will be somewhat disappointed.

Unexpectedly, Xu Dacai's next words turned around.

"No one in our family has ever known antiques, and now we can't find a suitable place to sell them. We all forgot about it at first, but we didn't expect to go to the house of an old acquaintance who had known him for two or three lives a while ago. I heard from them that there are now people in several cities saying that they are willing to buy antiques at high prices, but only for treasures. I just thought, things that were worth tens of thousands of silver dollars back then would sell for tens of thousands of dollars today, right? If I can exchange some money, my nephew's family can improve their lives, and I can get a bride price to marry a wife. It's just..."

Xu Dacai lost his face: "It's only after I dug out the things that I discovered such a coincidence in the world: a well-informed buddy told me that the owner behind the purchase of antiques in Sijiu City was named Zhong." .His family was well-known in the antique industry back then, but later they avoided the war and moved overseas. Now that the descendants of the Zhong family have come back, they want to do a big business and revive the reputation of their ancestors. The Zhong family, whose great-grandfather once buried it, must not sell this antique to him. But knowing that it can be exchanged for money, and digging it out, if you don’t sell it, you will feel uncomfortable. It’s better to take it far away and send it to Guangzhou to sell, anyway. There are also high-priced purchases there. I have already inquired about the address, but I don’t know the origin of these treasures, and I am afraid of being scammed. It happened that Xiaolin knew about this and wanted to help, and I also found out that you have good eyesight, so I thought of this way. You... um, please come to Palm Eye."

Acquisition at a high price...Guangzhou...Zhong's...Overseas...

A few key words are like lightning strikes one after another, instantly connected, illuminating Yan You's eyes: "Where is the address of Guangzhou?"

"I've got it in my head. Just when..."

If it wasn't for physical discomfort, Yanyou might have made some gaffe in ecstasy: the address Xu Dacai said was exactly the same as the company address that Murong Hui found out at that time!

Zhong Mazi killed himself back then, and now, the descendants of the Zhong family have the idea of ​​selling treasures and going abroad, and the plan even hits the old man Ying.He must disintegrate the tricks of the Zhong family, and settle the old and new grudges together!

Xu Dacai couldn't see what Yan You was thinking, but felt that his glaring eyes looked like he was about to do something bad, so he reminded: "Brother Yan, for the sake of knowing the old history of the world, I am Tell us everything you know. We don't know who the Zhong family got these things from, and there are old things from your ancestors in them, just take them away. But what you promised must be done. "

The things were all obtained decades ago, so Xu Dacai automatically understood the friends Yanyou mentioned as people from his ancestors, thinking that they were old things that were lost or lost by his family.

Being interrupted by him, Yan You gradually recovered from the hot blood.After thinking for a while, he said, "You don't need to take things to Guangzhou. There are people in the city who are willing to buy them, and you don't have to sneak around. It's just that the price may not be high. I can only guarantee that it is absolutely fair."

Xu Dacai didn't expect all the treasures to be sold at a high price. After some calculations, he felt that if the price was fair and he could sell everything, it would be more cost-effective than just selling one or two pieces, so he nodded: " OK, you introduce the buyer to me."

Yan You pointed to Shi Lin who hadn't been able to get in for a long time: "He knows both. Professor Ying Lao and Professor Chen, one is an authority in the archaeological field, and the other is in the antique business. Is it for a commission, or is it a one-off Sex buyout, I explained the situation to them later, you can discuss it in detail.”

"Yo? It seems that we are looking far away." Xu Dacai was happy for a while, and then he felt sad: "Xiao Lin, if you know these things, will the school let you go? Our family only has one in a dozen lifetimes." College students, if you have to ruin your future, you might as well not make the money."

Shi Lin didn't speak, but looked at Yan You pleadingly, afraid that what he said didn't count.

In fact, they are overwhelmed.The clue of bringing Zhong's family alone is enough for Yanyou to forgive them eight times out of ten.

In addition, although Shi Lin has many eyes, his essence is not bad.Yan You is also willing to give him another chance.

Smoothing the fur of the kitten in his arms, Yan You asked, "Where are Senior Brother Wei and Meng Hao?"

"It's in that tent next door."

"Will this toadstool powder leave any after-effects?"

"No, it has been improved."

Yan You nodded: "Understand their medicinal properties, let your uncle hide first, before alarming the teacher, let's go down the mountain together, and I will persuade them not to spread the word later. But this is the first and last time, If you dare to count me or the teachers and students in the school again in the future, I will count the crimes and punish them."

Shi Lin breathed a sigh of relief, his face full of gratitude, but he was speechless for a moment.Xu Dacai was obviously much thicker than him, he thanked him repeatedly with a smile on his face, and promised again and again that he would never make mistakes again.

"Don't be in a hurry to thank me, maybe I have to ask you to do a few things later."

While talking, Yan You was already thinking about how to deal with the Zhong family.Maybe it would be a good idea to send someone to deliver the treasure to the door and sneak in to find out the news.It was not appropriate for anyone around him to show up, but this Xu Dacai, who was familiar with Jianghu affairs and somewhat generous, could be used.Anyway, Shi Lin was still in school, so he didn't dare to change his mind.

"Okay, as long as I can get rid of the things and earn money to marry a wife, I can do whatever my little brother wants me to do."

Xu Dacai agreed without a word, as if he was fascinated by the dowry.