nashuaworldcup Chapter 500: No One Wants It Even If It’s Free
Chapter 500: No One Wants It Even If It’s Free
Lin Panpan lowered her eyes and picked attentively, picking up, turning over, and examining them non-stop. She didn't utter a word the whole time, and only the sound of metal colliding could be heard.
She suddenly stopped and picked up a silver dollar from the pile of rusty coins.
In the sunlight, the words "Made in the Eighth Year of the Republic of China" are clearly visible, the edges of the Jiahe pattern are regular, the serrated edges have delicate lines, and a faint silver light is hidden under the dark patina.
This is the extremely rare eight-year Yuan Datou, which is priceless in the collecting world.
She then dug out a copper coin from the bottom of the yellowed paper bag. The coin was thick and simple, with the four characters "Daguan Tongbao" written in iron and silver. It was written in the thin gold script by Emperor Huizong of Song Dynasty, with clear edges and corners and a sharp pen tip.
What is even more rare is that the coin is covered with red spots and green rust, which are distributed naturally. It can be seen at a glance that it has been deposited over thousands of years.
Her eyes lit up slightly, and she gently placed it on the prepared velvet cloth.
The most breathtaking piece is a gold coin that is only the size of a fingertip. On the front, a coiled dragon holds its head high, and its scales are carefully carved with engraving techniques. The dragon's whiskers are flying, which seems to have a majestic momentum.
The words "Made in the Dingwei Year of the Guangxu Period" are neatly inscribed on the back, the edge teeth are even and fine, and the color is excellent.
A Guangxu gold coin of this quality would easily fetch tens of millions of yuan at international auctions, but now it lay quietly in her palm, emitting a warm golden light.
Gu Mobai leaned against the door frame with his arms folded, a smile growing on his face, his eyes filled with doting on Lin Panpan. He smiled and said, "Wife, take your time choosing. I'll go pick something too."
"Well, go ahead!" Lin Panpan said without raising her head.
Gu Mobai reached out and wiped off the thick dust on the bottle, revealing a short and stocky celadon bottle.
This bottle looks ordinary, the glaze is a little yellow, and there is a small chip on the mouth of the bottle. At first glance, it looks like an old jar for pickling pickles.
Who would have thought that when you turned over the bottom of the bottle, you would find four small characters printed in dark patterns: "Made in the Xuande Period".
Gu Mobai was shocked. This was most likely an old item handed down from the Ming Dynasty. If it were put on auction, it would cost at least 700,000 or 800,000 yuan.
When he opened the old wooden box next to it, the porcelain bottle wrapped in cotton wool inside was even more eye-catching.
The vase is painted with large peony flowers. The petals are as red as freshly picked peonies, the leaves are as green as tender spring leaves, and even the stamens are finely outlined with gold powder.
There are two colorful birds standing on the bottle, and each feather on their tail is painted clearly, just like the real ones.
The bottom of the bottle is printed with "Made by Emperor Yongzheng", which shows that it is the enamel used in the Qing Dynasty palace. If it is taken to the market, it can be sold for at least hundreds of thousands.
Gu Mobai asked, "How much are these things? Can you just sell them to me?"
"You can do it yourself!"
Gu Mobai thought for a moment and said, "I'll give you 20,000 yuan. What do you think?"
The fat man rubbed his hands together, his eyes shining like two lights, and even his voice rose unconsciously: "Brother Gu, don't lie to me! This 2 yuan is too much!"
His Adam's apple rolled up and down: "If we can really sell it at this price, it will cover the rent for several months!"
Gu Mobai pondered for a moment before saying, "The price is negotiable. I'll give you the money first, and then I'll see if you have any other good things."
As he carefully wrapped the bottle back into the cotton wool, the fat man rubbed his hands and laughed:
"Brother Gu, stop rummaging around here!
I'll take you to the warehouse at the back, where the good stuff is piled!"
As he said this, he walked around the counter and led them out through the narrow alley on the side of the store.
It wasn't long before we reached the back street of Panjiayuan. Behind a large iron gate with peeling paint was the warehouse he rented.
The warehouse was half the size of a basketball court. It was pitch black inside, and there was a strange smell of mold mixed with mothballs.
The fat man fumbled to turn on the light bulb. Under the dim light, there were piles of wooden shelves and cardboard boxes everywhere.
There were several half-human-high stone lions placed against the wall, covered in dust, and one of them was missing half an ear.
Pottery jars and copper basins were piled up in a mess on the shelves. Some were wrapped in tattered newspapers, while some were not even wrapped, with mud spots on the mouths of the bottles.
There were several camphorwood boxes stacked in the corner, with their lids half open, revealing the rolled-up calligraphy and paintings inside, their corners all yellowed.
"Look, these are all things I bought but can't sell." The fat man kicked away a plastic basin filled with copper coins at his feet, making a clattering sound. "Some of them have been left for so long that I don't even know what treasures are hidden inside them!"
Gu Mobai frowned and sighed, "Oh my goodness, this is piled up like a garbage dump. How can I find it?"
He pushed aside the tattered straw mat on top, pulled out a few scrolls of calligraphy and paintings, then squatted down and rummaged through the bronze artifacts underneath.
After picking out more than twenty pieces, his expression grew uglier the more he looked at them. "These bronze tripods and bronze jugs are all fakes. Could you have made them yourself?"
The fat man scratched the back of his head and chuckled: "Brother Gu, you know that the antique business is not doing well now, so there are naturally more antique imitations."
Gu Mobai put down the bronze cup in his hand and shook his head and said:
"Your imitation is too crude, and the color of the rust is wrong.
If I could make it, I could at least make it look 80% or 90% like the real thing."
The fat man's eyes suddenly widened: "Really? You have this skill?"
Gu Mobai smiled and patted his shoulder: "Your memory is so bad? Have you forgotten who my master is?"
The fat man slapped his thigh, suddenly realizing, "Yes! Mr. Zheng! He hasn't been here for a while. I wonder if he's still in good health?"
Gu Mobai nodded, staring at the gray wooden box in the corner and said, "It's time to take some time to visit the master. It's been a while since I heard him talk about those old things."
Gu Mobai squatted on the ground and unpacked the pile of cardboard boxes one by one.
As soon as the lid of the top wooden box was opened, a musty smell gushed out, making him frown.
Wearing gloves, he first took out the rolled-up calligraphy and paintings. Some of the paper edges had rotted into pieces, and some were eaten by insects like fishing nets.
I just unfolded a wrinkled landscape painting. The mountains in the distance were blurred, as if covered by a layer of fog, while the pine trees nearby were pitch black, and the brushstrokes were very powerful.
Turning over the back, he saw the three words "Wen Zhengming" written crookedly in the lower right corner. Although the color was so light that it was almost impossible to see clearly, Gu Mobai's heart skipped a beat.
He had seen this name in the auction catalog. If it was an authentic work, it would be easy to sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The guy next to him moved the rusty iron frame away, revealing a palm-sized bronze tripod underneath.
The body of the tripod was covered with thick green rust, looking like a layer of moss, and the patterns carved on the tripod were almost covered by the rust.
The fat man came over and said, "This little broken tripod has been sitting there for three years. No one would want it even if I gave it away for free."
Gu Mobai didn't say anything, but took out a magnifying glass and shone it on the bottom of the tripod.
Wow, there were actually some crooked little words engraved on it! He used a brush to gently brush off the rust, but just looking at the workmanship and the rust, it must be worth at least two or three hundred thousand.