The Vicissitudes of Life

"Hey, kid, don't just stand there. That door's not opening for now."

As Chu Chen stood in front of the door, feeling a bit annoyed, the owner of the antique shop next door waved him over.

The shop owner's words confused Chu Chen. What did he mean it wasn't opening for now? Had Old Zhou's shop gone out of business? He hadn't heard anything about it! So, he walked into the neighboring antique shop, intending to get to the bottom of it.

"Boss, what should I call you? And could you please explain what you meant just now?"

"Heh, my surname is Feng. You can call me Old Feng. You're that young man who often came to pick up goods from Old Zhou, right? Haven't you heard? Old Zhou jumped off a building the day before yesterday." After saying that, Boss Feng shook his head and sighed.

"Old Zhou is dead? What do you mean? Just a few days ago, I heard an elder say that Old Zhou was about to make a fortune. How could he just be gone?" Chu Chen was shocked at first, then felt incredibly surprised.

Boss Feng shook his head and sighed, "Hey, who isn't saying that? The problem, you see, is precisely with this 'making a fortune'."

Hearing this, Chu Chen asked curiously, "What happened? Boss Feng, if it's convenient, could you tell me?"

"Heh, sure. It's a scorching hot day, and business is slow anyway, so I'll tell you." After speaking, Boss Feng enthusiastically poured Chu Chen a cup of tea.

"Old Zhou, this time he was blinded by greed and stepped on a 'landmine,' losing a full six hundred thousand. You know, Old Zhou has a spendthrift son at home. This six hundred thousand was practically his entire fortune. Old Zhou couldn't think straight and jumped from his building. It was a gruesome sight!" Boss Feng sighed regretfully.

Old Zhou's real name was Zhou Xicai. He wasn't bad in other aspects, just greedy and liked to take advantage of others. He also had a very big flaw: he liked to exploit people he knew.

This is the most detestable thing in any industry, especially in the antique business, which relies on reputation and trust. Over time, his shop's business could only be imagined.

Originally, Old Zhou's shop was in Liulichang, and business was quite good. But because of this "flaw," he couldn't keep the shop there anymore and moved to Baoguo Temple. After moving here, he finally learned some lessons and restrained himself a bit, so business was so-so.

Uncle Wu and Old Zhou had a long-standing relationship. They were friends who grew up together since childhood, so Old Zhou never exploited Uncle Wu. Besides, the calligraphy and painting in his shop were indeed quite good, which is why Uncle Wu asked Chu Chen to come here to pick up goods. Otherwise, given Chu Chen's personality, if he knew about Old Zhou's habit of exploiting acquaintances, he definitely wouldn't have come here for goods.

As for how Old Zhou stepped on the landmine, it was quite simple. On Tuesday evening this week, Old Zhou was a bit late closing his shop because he had something to attend to. At that moment, a woman with a young boy walked up to him.

Both of them were dressed like country folk. The woman didn't look very old, but her face was covered in wrinkles, and she appeared very worried. The little boy looked about five or six years old, his eyes always closed, likely due to an eye problem.

The woman took out a piece of jade from a cloth bag beside her and hesitantly said to Old Zhou, "B-boss, I... I have something here, do you want it?"

"Go... Huh?"

Old Zhou had been running his shop for over a decade and was an old hand. Seeing the situation, he thought he might have encountered a "landmine." But when he looked at the item in the woman's hand, his heart began to pound. With over ten years of experience in antiques, he had some knowledge of other areas besides calligraphy and painting.

At first glance, it looked like a Hongshan culture jade jue, commonly known as a jade pig dragon. And the more he looked, the more it resembled one. Old Zhou's heart raced. If this was a genuine jade pig dragon, it would be incredible, worth at least a million.

The woman's subsequent behavior suggested she was an honest person. Seeing Old Zhou's gesture, she put the jade pig dragon back into her pocket and quietly prepared to turn and leave.

"Hey, sister, please wait a moment."

Since Old Zhou suspected it was a jade pig dragon, he wouldn't let it go easily. So, he stopped her. At this point, Old Zhou had already fallen prey to his greed.

"Sister, you said you wanted to sell that stone?" Old Zhou was quite cunning; he didn't call it jade at first.

"It's not a stone, it's jade," the woman replied, raising her voice, but still sounding timid.

Old Zhou, with his thick skin, smiled and said, "I only took a few glances, I didn't see it clearly. If you're selling it, please let me have a closer look."

After saying that, seeing the woman look a bit confused, he explained, "I mean, let me hold it and see."

"Oh, you want to hold it and see? That's fine, but boss, please don't call it a stone anymore."

With that, she took the jade pig dragon out of the bag again and handed it directly to Old Zhou.

Seeing the woman's demeanor, Old Zhou knew she wasn't someone from the trade. As mentioned earlier, if she were, she would have put the item aside first before letting him take it. However, if he had known about Chu Chen's experience, he wouldn't have thought that.

Old Zhou took the jade pig dragon and examined it carefully. The patina, craftsmanship, degree of corrosion, and coloration... The more he looked, the more it seemed genuine. He thought, This jade pig dragon looks like an authentic period piece. And judging by its condition, it's worth at least a million, and easily two million at an auction house.

Thinking this, his heart burned with excitement. He quickly asked the woman, "Sister, how much are you asking for this? I'll take it."

The woman frowned and thought for a moment, then said in a low voice, "Boss, I don't know the price of this thing. How about you give me eight thousand?"

"Eight thousand!"

Upon hearing the price, Old Zhou was genuinely shocked. Heaven wants me to get rich! If this isn't finding a treasure, what is? At this moment, he was already fantasizing about his future wealthy life.

However, this made the woman think her asking price was too high, so she began to cry, "Boss, I really have no choice. Look at my child. After he got sick as a child, his eyes were damaged. To pay for his treatment, his father was in a car accident while working away from home. I'm the only one supporting the family, and there's no money for my child's treatment."

"A while ago, a scholar from our village told me that if we had old things at home, we might be able to sell them for a good price in Beijing. That's when I remembered we had an ancestral jade at home. The elders said it was quite valuable, but I don't know if it's worth eight thousand. But please, for my child's sake, buy it."

Hearing this, the little boy also pleaded, "Uncle, please be kind and pity me. When I grow up, I will surely repay you."

Seeing their plight, Old Zhou became even more convinced that the jade pig dragon in his hand was genuine. Just as he was about to agree, a voice came from the side.

"Sister, I'll take this jade pig dragon for thirty thousand." Old Zhou's eyes widened as he glared at the speaker. It turned out to be a middle-aged man dressed impeccably, who had appeared beside them at some point.

"Hey, what's wrong with you? Are you trying to cut in line!" There's a rule in the antique trade: if one party is looking at an item or in the process of a transaction, others must wait until one party is dissatisfied before they can step in.

If someone doesn't follow the rules and bids arbitrarily, they are breaking the rules. This act of raising the price for a potential buyer and snatching the item is called "cutting in line."

Old Zhou couldn't tolerate this violation of the trade rules, especially since it involved his chance to make a fortune. He immediately became agitated.

The middle-aged man didn't seem bothered and smiled faintly, "Boss, you haven't bought it yet, have you? I also really like this item. Please let me have it. And for a jade pig dragon like this, don't you think asking for eight thousand is a bit of bullying?"

"Fine, you're ruthless. I'll offer fifty thousand!" Old Zhou gritted his teeth and raised his price again.

Once the bidding started, the rest is history. Subsequently, it went to one hundred thousand, one hundred fifty thousand, three hundred thousand, and finally reached the middle-aged man's offer of five hundred and fifty thousand.

At this point, Old Zhou had completely lost his mind. He calculated his assets, hardened his heart, and shouted, "I'll offer six hundred thousand! Ha, if you can go higher than six hundred thousand, I don't want it."

The middle-aged man sighed deeply and turned away dejectedly. The woman, at the right moment, put on a look of stunned disbelief. Old Zhou, seeing this, smugly said to the woman, "Let's go, we'll go sign the agreement."

And then, the tragedy mentioned earlier occurred.

Old Zhou's lesson actually tells people that if they want to enter the antique business, there are a few key points to remember: "Learn more, look more, buy less," and the most important point among them is "abstain from greed." Old Zhou failed on all these counts.

First, let's talk about learning more. Old Zhou specialized in calligraphy and painting. While he knew a little about Hongshan jade, he was far from an expert. Even so, he knew that Hongshan jade was rampant with fakes, yet without consulting others, he confidently determined the authenticity of the jade pig dragon. It was truly arrogant.

Furthermore, if he had looked more closely, he would not have missed the flaws in this jade pig dragon. Firstly, the corrosion on this jade pig dragon was entirely achieved through chemical means, with uniform etching holes and spots. Natural corrosion, however, would have varying degrees of severity, with both localized and overall differences.

Then there's the drilling and polishing. The Hongshan culture is a primitive culture from five to six thousand years ago. Therefore, the drilling at that time used animal bones, often resulting in off-center holes, creating so-called step marks. Moreover, the holes were funnel-shaped, wider on the outside and narrower on the inside.