Li Yun leaned against the door frame of the bedroom opening as he watched Rouxi moved about between the closet and the bed to pack up her belonging. He thought about his conversation with Bufu. Although he had questions, it wasn't the right time to ask. Especially not when she looked preoccupied with a mental checklist of things to do before she zipped up her luggage.
"Done!" Rouxi turned to Li Yun, but couldn't help but let out a laugh chuckle at his outfit.
He was wearing a simple off-brand shirt and dirty cargo pants from working at the farm, he looked like a poor debt-ridden recent graduate.
"Are you disguising yourself for the street market Mr. CEO?" Rouxi curiously asked.
"I'm technically still in debt, so I'm dressing the part," Li Yun responded. A lot of the money that went into his company were investments money that he would eventually have to return. "Are you ready?"
Rouxi nodded. She was going to visit her stepparents first in Imperial City and then Xuxu in Magic City for the National Holiday.
Li Yun would go with her if he had the time, but there were already too many things he still needed to do with his start-up. He drove her to the airport. As they got out of the car, he unloaded her luggage from the trunk and handed over her luggage. She tugged his sleeve to make him bend to her height and kissed him on the cheeks. He smiled, there wasn't a need to complicate their relationship with questions.
After dropping her off, he drove to the street market. According to Dun Mao, there were more opportunities to encounter treasures during the National Holiday. It was one of the few days that sellers were exempted from a vending license. During this time, the streets were lined with regular people selling items from their homes. They weren't regular sellers, so they didn't have haggling skills. Most people just wanted to get rid of items they considered junk.
However, due to this, there were also a lot of treasure hunters going around. It was quite chaotic.
"Look man! I saw this piece first!" A guy yelled at a man picking up the item he was interested in.
"What do you mean!? I clearly picked up this item first!" The other man replied. "It got nothin to do with being at the stand first. Boss, how much?"
"Hey! Boss, I'll buy 10% higher than whatever this guy is buying it at!"
It was easy to see arguments erupting on the street over every little piece. Many treasure hunters had a dream of finding the one single piece that would secure their future. Everyone hoped to find the one chicken teacup that could be sold for 230 million yuan. It was enough to feed several generations.
It was also enough for people to fight each other and lose any sort of self-respect.
"Tsk, those losers, it's obviously a fake teacup," said the spectators.
There were less than 20 Ming Dynasty chicken cups, most were either in private collections or museums. 99.9999% of the time, highly priced antiques seen in the streets or even local auctions were fake.
Chicken Cup (Chenghua) - Wikipedia [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/02/%E6%98%8E%E6%88%90%E5%8C%96_%E6%99%AF%E5%BE%B7%E9%8E%AE%E7%AA%AF%E9%AC%A5%E5%BD%A9%E9%9B%9E%E7%BC%B8%E6%9D%AF-Chicken_Cup_MET_1987_85_2015AT_001_%28cropped%29.jpg]
As for Li Yun, he kept to himself. He didn't want to cause trouble. If someone did cause him trouble, he had a couple of poisonous compounds he could test out.
In the market, many treasure hunters ignored Li Yun since he didn't look like he could afford anything. It was one of the reasons why he dressed poorly. The other reason was to avoid any vendors trying to jack up the price. The vendors were very astute. If they see anyone with brand clothing or a foreigner, prices would be tripled, 10x and even 20x times the amount they would sell to anybody else.
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Li Yun was methodological, stopping at every vendor along the street. He didn't want to miss anything that could be of value. Having a bit more experience, Li Yun focused on items with age markings rather than scoff marks. A lot of fakes tried to artificially make reproductions older by staining them or adding dirt. So when looking at antiques, it was better to find items that were actually cleaned.
Li Yun spotted an elegant vase with a short poem. As he stood longer the usual, the female vendor was quick to spot his interest.
"Good choice young man! My grandfather collected that back in the early 80s," said the woman in her forties. "I was clearing out his storage after he passed, and that is my favorite piece!"
The color looked authentic. It had no reign marking, but it may be done during the transitional period. The foot was cleaned and white, and there were aged dimple markings on the base. The deep cobalt blue coloring was vibrant, and not dull. On initial inspection, it looked like a real piece.
"If you like it, I can sell it to you for 2000 yuan," the woman offered.
Li Yun used Qivi. Unfortunately, there was nothing that came up. It could be a real piece, but if it didn't trigger a memory, Li Yun didn't want to risk it. Disappointed, he set the item down. Almost immediately, he noticed a box with scrolls rolled up together in the corner of his eye. He wondered if she was going to sell it. The aging on the scrolls looked natural.
The woman looked at the box. Her grandfather was a huge calligrapher fan, but he often bought reproductions. She signaled him that it was all right to take a look.
Li Yun approached the box and opened the scroll. From the obvious signs of printing and flatness of the characters, he could immediately tell that they were reproductions. He wasn't too discouraged, the majority of scrolls were reproductions.
Setting down the reproduction, he pulled out another scroll and unraveled another piece of calligraphy. This particular scroll had more signs of aging than the rest. It could be a high end reproduction. The poem had a seal and was dated by Dong Qichang in 1615.
If the scroll was authentic, the value was worth his entire year of salary as a surgeon. For any regular treasure hunter, it was like hitting the lottery.
Using Qivi, Li Yun was teleported back to the time of the Ming dynasty with an elderly man in a private room carefully crafting each stroke of the characters.
Dong Qichang was a brilliant calligrapher, but not because he was particularly gifted. As a child, everyone fawned over the young genius. However, during the imperial exam, he took second because his calligraphy was poor. As a temperamental person who was prone to jealousy and rage, it led him to focus on his calligraphy. Eventually, he became a renowned calligrapher and theorist.
The next flash took him back to the street, still holding onto the scroll. This was truly a treasure.
Dong Qichang wasn't particularly liked by the general public, and his tomb was vandalized. Li Yun wondered if this was one of the items that were stolen around that time? If the woman's grandfather traveled to Magic City and bought something from the street, he was probably lucky to buy the item, but did not know of its true origin.
"Madam, can I buy the entire box from you?" asked Li Yun. He wasn't stupid enough to buy just one item. If the vendor sensed that he was really interested in the scroll, she would jack up the prices. "I have a Teebee store where I sell all sorts of calligraphy, and some of these are pretty good."
"Oh? You sell replicas of calligraphy?" asked the woman.
"I'm not as much of a painter, but I enjoy calligraphy," replied Li Yun. He showed her his store on the phone.
"Oh wow, some of the prices are pretty high," said the woman.
The woman thought about it. If he was planning to buy everything and then resell it, it was better than her trying to sell everything individually.
"How about 750 yuan per scroll?" asked the woman.
"Madam, the price I sell for my original scroll is 1000, most of the replicas are 700 yuan. I won't be able to make a profit. 300 yuan? I am buying in bulk."
Li Yun was slightly offended. A lot of his scrolls were written using famous calligraphers' style, but he never claimed they were replicas. He signed his work with his own seal.
"I could make more if I wait it out, but since you are buying all of it, I can offer them to you for 500 yuan. You're still making 50% profit."
There were 29 scrolls, so Li Yun didn't mind buying them for 14,500 yuan. After paying the woman with his phone, Li Yun carried the box.
"Are you going to be all right?" The woman asked. "It's pretty heavy."
"I should be fine," replied Li Yun.
His strength was a lot stronger than most people. There wasn't really a need to use physical strength, but it was useful in this case. Since the vendor was close to the beginning of the street, Li Yun was able to carry it back to his car.
The rest of the day, he was able to find small value items, but it was to be expected. A treasure like a Dong Qichang calligraphy only came once in a blue moon.
File:Two pages from 'Landscapes and Calligraphy' by Dong Qichang.JPG - Wikimedia Commons [https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Two_pages_from_%27Landscapes_and_Calligraphy%27_by_Dong_Qichang.JPG]