Hou Yuanming

After returning home, Chu Chen organized the goods he had just acquired. He ate a quick lunch and then turned on his computer to browse the news, looking for any information about auctions and to understand the market trends.

The antique market nowadays truly felt like it changed by the day, with prices fluctuating rapidly. Especially with many wealthy businessmen joining the ranks of collectors, antique prices had soared. If you didn't pay attention to the market for a while, there was a high chance someone else would buy items at bargain prices.

After reading through the market information, Chu Chen casually browsed the forums, chatted with his forum friends, and answered a few questions about porcelain. This made him feel increasingly accustomed to online life.

By chance, Chu Chen saw a pinned post. The post was very popular and detailed the original poster's lucky find of the day. They had even uploaded exquisite photos for everyone to admire. After reading it, he felt very interested and thought to himself, Could I also post some photos of antiques on the forum for everyone to appreciate?

Like today, he could post photos of that black and white jade pendant on the forum, sharing his joy with his friends. As the saying goes, it's better to share joy than to enjoy it alone, right?

Moreover, if he frequently posted high-quality items on the forum, it might open up new sales channels. Among his five online friends, two were quite well-off. If they had needs, based on his performance on the forum, they might ask him first. Wouldn't that add a customer for him?

Thinking this, he felt very happy. However, there was a problem now: how to transfer the photos to the computer. He really didn't know. He knew phones had camera functions, but the pictures weren't clear, and his current phone didn't have that feature.

He searched online and discovered a thing called a digital camera. It could take photos that could be viewed directly on a computer. This was great, so he decided to buy one.

So, Chu Chen called the person who had previously helped him buy his computer. That person actually had stock. He asked what brand he wanted, saying that domestic Japanese brands were better.

Chu Chen, who already had a nationalistic inclination, naturally refused. The other person was straightforward and told him he could get military-grade ones, though they might be a bit more expensive. However, they would definitely be good to use and no worse than mainstream ones.

A bit more expensive was fine. Hearing that it was military-grade, Chu Chen immediately agreed with great excitement. They finalized the price, and the other party promised to deliver it that afternoon.

However, perhaps because this type of camera was hard to get, Chu Chen became somewhat bored while waiting online. It wasn't until evening that a young man arrived at his home, panting, with the camera. After teaching him some simple operations, he took the payment and left.

The camera was relatively small, but the workmanship was a bit rough. Chu Chen didn't mind this; the key was that it was sturdy and durable. Crucially, the camera had 4 million pixels, and the photos it took were quite clear, which made him very satisfied.

One good thing about digital cameras was that they were "idiot-proof." For someone like Chu Chen, who didn't interact much with electronic products, it was easy to learn.

After dinner, he put his new knowledge to use. He took photos of the black and white jade pendant and then added them to the post he had just published on the forum, along with its specifications and his own insights.

As soon as the post went live, many people responded. However, most of them expressed envy. Only a few truly insightful comments were posted. Even so, Chu Chen was overjoyed, satisfying his vanity a little.

"Ding dong."

Chu Chen refreshed the webpage, and the forum immediately notified him of several private messages. Upon opening them, he saw they were all from a friend named "Hide All Under Heaven," asking if he was willing to sell the jade pendant. If so, he should reply with his phone number.

Chu Chen was no stranger to this friend named Hide All Under Heaven. He was the first forum friend Chu Chen had added and one of the two well-off individuals he had mentioned earlier. They had gotten along quite well before.

However, he wasn't sure about the other person's actual situation in real life. But he had heard on the forum that his reputation was good, so Chu Chen sent his phone number via forum message.

"Beep beep."

Less than a minute after sending it, Chu Chen's phone rang.

"Hello, who is this?"

"Hello, is this 'Treasure Appraisal Life'? I'm 'Hide All Under Heaven' from the forum." The other person's voice was a bit low, sounding like a middle-aged man. His accent was similar to Zhou Wenping's, so he was likely from San Qin, or perhaps even Xijing.

"Oh, hello, I am Treasure Appraisal Life. You can call me Chu Chen or Xiao Chu."

Hearing a positive confirmation, the other person happily said, "Xiao Chu, it's like this, I really like your jade pendant. If it's convenient, could you give me a price?"

"A price, it's not impossible. If you're sincere about buying, I'm sincere about selling. The price definitely won't let you suffer. The key is how we'll trade? I forgot to tell you, I'm currently in Beijing."

The other person was silent for a moment and said, "I'm from Xijing. I might not be able to get to Beijing until next month. I'm truly sincere about buying. Could you trouble yourself to keep the item until then?"

"Hehe," Chu Chen chuckled. "There's no need for that. My friends and I will be coming to Xijing next week. We can contact each other then."

"Really!" The tone on the other end immediately became more excited. "Then I'll send you my phone number and landline via text. You must contact me when you arrive. I'll host a welcome dinner for you then. Oh, I forgot to tell you, my name is Hou Yuanming."

"Okay, I'll definitely contact you when I arrive."

Chu Chen hung up the phone, thinking that the internet was indeed very convenient, yielding results so quickly. Of course, he didn't know what the real situation of the friend named Hou Yuanming was, but he figured it wouldn't be too bad.

This was the downside of the internet: while convenient, it also made it impossible to know the identity of the person on the other end (except for illegal activities). It would be better if the forum had some form of verification.

When Chu Chen refreshed the webpage again, he received several more messages asking if he was selling. He could only apologize and then modify his post to indicate that it had already been sold. This indeed quieted things down considerably.

Afterward, Chu Chen found himself with little to do. He had spent the entire afternoon online, which was quite boring. So, he started playing Monopoly again. When it was about time, he went to bed.

The next day, Chu Chen didn't plan to acquire more calligraphy and painting items. Instead, he prepared to try his hand at gambling on stones.

After his mindset shifted yesterday, Chu Chen no longer cared much about his previous decisions. Besides, there was no reason not to. If he won gambling, it was normal to gamble again, right? Winning again would be a display of luck and skill. Would anyone doubt him then? Besides, he wasn't foolish enough to gamble every day, nor would he win every time.

However, this time Chu Chen wasn't going to Zhang Guosheng's Cuiyuan Zhai. After all, the quality of the "rough" stones there was really not great. Like the glass type he opened yesterday, one a year was considered a lot, which showed the quality of the "rough" stones he sourced. Even so, Zhang Guosheng didn't even set off firecrackers to celebrate, which left him speechless.

He arrived at Juyuan Pavilion, which he had heard about before. Not only was it more than two to three times larger than Cuiyuan Zhai, but its popularity was also undeniable. Not long after opening, customers were constantly coming and going.

Upon entering, a female sales assistant greeted him warmly, "Sir, how may I help you?"

Although the sales assistant was plain-looking, her voice was very pleasant, giving Chu Chen a feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze. He thought to himself that if he opened a shop in the future, he would hire such a sales assistant. This way, when customers were happy, they might buy more items.

"Please take me to see the jade rough stones," Chu Chen replied with a smile.

Afterward, Chu Chen was led by the sales assistant into the backyard. The backyard was where jade rough stones of various sizes were arranged in categories.

Actually, this wasn't Chu Chen's first time here. He still had the sales assistant lead him because he heard that if a customer brought by a sales assistant purchased jade rough stones, the sales assistant would receive a commission. Furthermore, if the rough stone yielded jade and was purchased by the store, there would also be a bonus.

Since that was the case, Chu Chen didn't want to be the "bad guy." Every time he came, he would be led in by a sales assistant. It was convenient for others and convenient for himself. Of course, Chu Chen only remembered buying once here a few times, and it was just a 2,000 yuan rough stone. In the end, as expected, he opened a piece of jade worth... 200 yuan.

Sigh! The past is unbearable to recall!

The backyard here was divided into several areas. The area where the rough stones were placed was divided into three sections: the thousand-yuan area, the ten-thousand-yuan area, and the area for stones over fifty thousand yuan. As for the hundred-yuan ones, you could find them in the corner by the entrance.

In addition, there were four stone cutting machines in the yard. One was a large one, while the others were the same as those at Zhang Guosheng's. However, the large one was usually not turned on; it was only used for giant rough stones. Currently, two of the other three stone cutting machines were in operation, with many people gathered around.

As soon as Chu Chen entered, he encountered Mr. Liu from yesterday. He was currently squatting in the thousand-yuan area, examining a rough stone.

It was rare to encounter someone he somewhat knew here. When Mr. Liu stood up, Chu Chen stepped forward and greeted him.

"Oh, I recognize you. You're the young man who later opened the apple green yesterday, aren't you? Truly formidable for a junior," Mr. Liu immediately recognized him and shook his hand enthusiastically.

"That was purely luck. How could it compare to your extensive experience, Mr. Liu?" Chu Chen humbly waved his hands repeatedly.

Mr. Liu smiled faintly, neither confirming nor denying. "Luck is sometimes part of skill. Like me, I've played with so many types of rough stones, and what was the result? I went bankrupt, and my wife and child ran off with someone else."