Trading

As Chu Chen walked along, he enthusiastically greeted familiar faces. When he arrived at his own stall, he found that the person currently manning it was an old friend, Zhou Wenping.

Zhou Wenping was thirty-four years old and from Xi'an. He had come to the antique street a year later than Chu Chen. He used to run an antique business in Xi'an, but his wife fell seriously ill. After much searching, they found a hospital in Beijing with a good chance of curing her.

So, Zhou Wenping sold everything he owned to raise money, bringing his wife and two children to Beijing for medical treatment. Since they needed to make a living, he returned to his old trade. Chu Chen, sympathizing with his situation, occasionally helped him with what he could. Over time, the two became friends.

At that moment, an old man was examining a blue and white landscape plate at Zhou Wenping's stall. He scrutinized it carefully, even taking out a magnifying glass for a second look, appearing every bit the scholarly type.

Chu Chen was curious about the old man's demeanor. Could that landscape plate be a masterpiece? As he got closer, he immediately understood the quality of the plate.

The old man put down the plate and asked, "Boss, how much is this?"

"I can see you're a connoisseur. This is truly a fine piece," Zhou Wenping began with flattery. After a moment of feigned contemplation, he continued, "Since you clearly appreciate it, I'll give you a fair price: five thousand yuan."

The old man thought for a moment, then picked up the plate again. "Five thousand is too much. How about six hundred?"

"Forget it. If it's six hundred, you might as well leave it here. I can't even make back my investment," Zhou Wenping said with a resigned expression.

The old man fell silent, his brow furrowed. He gently caressed the landscape plate once more before speaking, "One thousand. Boss, what do you say? If not, I'll be going."

Zhou Wenping looked at the plate, then at the old man. "Sir, I can see you truly like this piece. But one thousand is a bit too low. It's even less than my cost price, and I haven't even factored in the stall fee or my own labor. You have to let me make a little profit. If you're sincere about buying it, you can have it for two thousand two hundred."

The old man fell silent again, turning the landscape plate over and over in his hands, looking indecisive.

Seeing a glimmer of hope, Zhou Wenping added, "Rest assured, this piece is definitely old. Look at the patina, look at the craftsmanship. If this isn't a masterpiece, what is? You won't lose out by taking it home."

The old man seemed to be considering it. However, two thousand two hundred was likely beyond his expectations, as his brow remained tightly furrowed. Yet, he was reluctant to give up. With a decisive nod, as if making a firm decision, he said to Zhou Wenping:

"Boss, I'll offer sixteen hundred. Not a yuan more. You see, the blue in the glaze isn't quite right."

Zhou Wenping chuckled dismissively. "That's exactly how it should be, sir. This is a piece from a folk kiln. Did you think you could get a piece from the imperial kiln for this price? I'll compromise a bit more. How about one thousand eight hundred? A piece of this quality and condition would easily go for over two thousand in the shops next door."

The old man thought it over, gazing at the landscape plate with evident affection. Finally, he gritted his teeth and made his decision. He pulled out a wad of cash from his pocket, counted it carefully, and reluctantly handed it to Zhou Wenping. "Alright, boss. Please pack it up nicely for me!"

"Certainly! I'll get you a gift box. It'll be sturdy and look good," Zhou Wenping replied. He took the money, counted it meticulously, and quickly pocketed it. Then, he retrieved a gift box from a nearby container, wrapped the blue and white landscape plate, and handed it to the old man. The deal was done.

After the old man left, clutching the gift box with elation, Chu Chen smiled and greeted Zhou Wenping, "Not bad, Brother Zhou. Good business!"

Buoyed by the sale, Zhou Wenping was in high spirits. He fetched a small stool and invited Chu Chen to sit. "Heh heh, it's just the start of the day. Business isn't that good yet."

"In our trade, we say 'half a year without a sale, then a sale lasts half a year.' That landscape plate of yours... it was about this much, right?" Chu Chen smiled, holding up two fingers.

A vendor nearby, known to everyone as Old Wu, chimed in with a laugh, "I say, Brother Zhou, you really fleeced that old gentleman, didn't you?"

"Ah, come on, brothers. He wanted to buy that landscape plate himself. I didn't force him. Besides, he's probably feeling pretty happy right now, thinking he got a great deal. And anyway, my landscape plate is still an antique. As they say, it's better to pay too much for the right thing than to buy the wrong thing cheaply. In time, it'll be worth what he paid."

"Oh, please," Chu Chen chuckled. "By the time that old gentleman passes on, it's unlikely to have appreciated to what he paid."

The blue and white landscape plate the old man had bought was something Zhou Wenping had acquired just a few days prior, when Chu Chen was still manning his own stall. So, Chu Chen knew it was a late Qing Dynasty folk kiln piece. The craftsmanship and glaze were very ordinary, worth at most three to five hundred yuan. Even after ten years, reaching a thousand would be a stretch.

The old man had probably studied antiques for a while, but not very effectively. He was what people commonly called a "two-sword" expert – someone with superficial knowledge. In the antique trade, these "two-sword" types were the most prone to making mistakes. Newcomers, on the other hand, were less likely to be fooled because they didn't know much and were therefore more cautious when buying.

Many people who had learned a bit about antiques liked to compare items to color plates in books, often resulting in a vague resemblance and a costly mistake. Chu Chen guessed that the old man might have misattributed the era or perhaps mistaken it for an unmarked imperial kiln piece, which was why he happily bought it, congratulating himself internally.

It was better for the old man, at least he bought something real. Some people, however, ended up buying modern fakes made with chemical means, only to proudly display them at home, only to have experts deliver a devastating verdict. The worst part was that they refused to believe they were wrong, content to live in their own fantasy world. Such people couldn't be fooled enough.

Actually, the old man had made another mistake: he didn't know how to haggle. When Chu Chen first saw him, he figured he must be an intellectual worker, someone who didn't need to worry about daily expenses and was unfamiliar with market rules. That's why he ended up overpaying by hundreds, even thousands, of yuan.

As the saying goes, the seller is never as clever as the buyer. For items at ordinary stalls, the quoted price could be ten times the cost price, or even more. So, when you haggle, you should be bold. The saying "ask for the sky, settle on the ground" implies that as long as the seller makes a profit, they'll eventually sell. Of course, the degree of negotiation depends on your own judgment.

However, people like the old man were Chu Chen and his peers' favorites. Along with those who were broke but liked to pretend they were rich, or those who were too shy to haggle, these two types were the easiest to make money from.

What they detested the most were stingy people like Aunt Zhang, who would try to squeeze every last cent out of a deal. They could haggle for two or three hours over a few dozen or even a few yuan, as if not giving them a discount was a grave offense.

Moreover, they seemed to have an innate sensitivity to prices, often offering a price that was just within the seller's acceptable range. You couldn't drive them away, nor could you accept their offer without feeling cheated, so you were often forced to agree to their price.

Zhou Wenping said with a wry smile, "I only made a thousand yuan or so, but you're making it sound like I committed a heinous crime. Alright, I'll treat you all to drinks at a food stall tonight, okay?"

Hearing the word "drinks," Old Wu's eyes lit up, and his mouth watered. He was a good person with no other bad habits, except for one: he loved to drink. As long as his wife didn't stop him, he'd drink himself into a stupor. Once, he even managed to break a Qing Dynasty imperial kiln famille rose bowl worth tens of thousands of yuan. He had calmed down a bit since then.

Seeing Old Wu's reaction, Chu Chen and the others knew his craving for alcohol had been triggered, and they couldn't help but chuckle inwardly.

"By the way, Xiao Chen, everyone's heard you got swindled on that Tang Sancai piece you got from Old Xiang last time. Old Xiang came looking for you yesterday to apologize. But he's leaving for the Star-Spangled Country today. He left you a phone number and asked you to call him as soon as possible. I suspect he wants to compensate you somehow."

After saying that, Zhou Wenping handed Chu Chen a piece of paper with Old Xiang's phone number on it.

Taking the slip of paper, Chu Chen felt a touch of warmth towards Old Xiang's gesture. However, even though he would call Old Xiang, he wouldn't accept any compensation. The deal for the Tang Sancai was made willingly by both parties at the time. He said:

"Old Xiang's character is truly admirable. But this has nothing to do with him. It was entirely my persistence that made him agree to part with the Tang Sancai. Besides, in our line of work, it's all about knowledge and discernment. Once the money and goods have exchanged hands, settling accounts would break the rules."

Zhou Wenping nodded. "I know Old Xiang's temperament. He's doing this to put his own mind at ease. Oh, right, Xiao Chen, you lost so much money this time. Do you want to borrow some from me?"

"Heh heh, no need for that. Yesterday, I not only made back what I lost, but I also made an extra few tens of thousands." Chu Chen said with a sly chuckle.

"Whoa! Alright, Xiao Chen! You found a treasure! No way, it's not my turn to treat tonight. It should be you!"

Zhou Wenping exclaimed with surprise and envy. Old Wu nodded repeatedly in admiration.

"Sure, what's a little treat? It's on me today. Let's not go to a food stall. That private tea house I went to yesterday was pretty good. I'll call Sister-in-law and the kids over later. Old Wu, you bring your wife too. Let's celebrate together." Chu Chen said magnanimously, waving his hand.