Chapter 101

OK."

Gu Jinshui wasn't stingy and agreed immediately.

He Sheng was overjoyed. He was also an antique enthusiast, and every month as soon as he got his salary, he would head straight to the antique markets in Houhai, White Horse Bridge, Liuli Factory, and Panjiayuan to buy antiques. However, his salary was limited, so he could only buy some ordinary ones.

He wouldn't even dare to dream of something like Black-Glazed Tea Bowls.

The mottled Tortoiseshell Glaze and the Paper-Cut Appliqué Prunus-Branch Conical Bowl are so lively and graceful, they fit perfectly in your hands.

He Sheng read one after another, completely captivated by them.

He put down the three teacups before giving Gu Jinshui a thumbs up. "Teacher Gu, you really are amazing! I'm completely impressed. You actually managed to find such a rare item at an antique stall. If word got out, people would be incredibly envious."

Gu Jinshui sat down in the armchair with a smile, "I was just lucky, I just happened to run into this. I'm planning to write an article about these teacups, what do you think?"

"Suitable? Why wouldn't it be suitable?"

He Sheng immediately slapped his thigh and said, "You've really done us collectors a favor! Think about it, these teacups aren't even in museums. Back then, many of them were taken away by that Chiang Kai-shek. We only know that these antiques exist, but we've never seen them in person, let alone know if they're genuine. If you write this article, I'll definitely read it carefully, and I'll even raise your payment to one hundred yuan per thousand words!"

One hundred words per thousand is a truly very high number.

Gu Jinshui's previous article was worth about 20 yuan per thousand words, but this time it has increased fivefold. Although this amount is only a drop in the ocean compared to what he earns himself, it is still a royalty.

Gu Jinshui immediately agreed and promised to write the article as soon as possible.

He stayed up for three nights in a row, consulted a bunch of books, and finally managed to put together an article of about three thousand words.

The newspaper published it the next day.

Song Jianshe spent the morning in the shop, hoping to find a sucker who might stumble in so he could make a quick buck.

After waiting for a long time, no guests arrived, but Guo Pu did.

Guo Pu stormed into the store, newspaper in hand, and threw it on the counter. "Jianshe, have you even read today's newspaper?"

"Not yet. What's wrong? Did they say they're going to shut down the antique market in Panjiayuan again?"

As Song Jianshe casually mentioned this, he picked up the newspaper and immediately spotted Gu Jinshui's article on how to appreciate Song Dynasty Black-Glazed Tea Bowls.

This article is quite long, and it also includes pictures, taking up almost half of the page.

Song Jianshe's heart skipped a beat, and he quickly read the article from beginning to end. After he finished reading it, the veins on his forehead throbbed.

"Damn it, I've finally realized it. We've been made a fool of by Gu Jinshui. He clearly came looking for us on purpose that day."

Guo Pu was so angry that his face turned red, his chest heaved, and he was panting heavily. "He only had his eye on the Black-Glazed Tea Bowls that the foreigner had his eye on first. He used us to launch a diversionary tactic. The blue and white porcelain plates and stuff from that day weren't anything special! I knew I couldn't see what was so good about those things. Turns out, his real intentions were something else entirely!"

"That bastard has gone too far!"

When Song Jianshe heard what he said, he finally understood and was so angry that he wanted to kill someone. It was one thing for Gu Jinshui to get a bargain, but he even took advantage of them to get it. If word got out, wouldn't they look like fools?

"No way, I'm going to settle the score with him!"

Song Jianshe was furious. The more he thought about it, the angrier he became, especially when he saw that the Black-Glazed Tea Bowls was very rare and valuable. He was so jealous that his eyes turned red.

He couldn't help but think how wonderful it would be if he could see these teacups himself. At the very least, he couldn't let Gu Jinshui get them. It would be better to buy them for that foreigner than for Gu Jinshui to buy them.

"What are you going to do with him?"

Guo Pu grabbed Song Jianshe and said irritably, "If you cause trouble, do you think he'll give us the Black-Glazed Tea Bowls? Besides, if things get out of hand, we'll be even more embarrassed."

Song Jianshe thought that made sense, but he felt aggrieved if he didn't get his revenge. What could be more enviable than his mortal enemy becoming rich? It was his mortal enemy using him to get rich.

"He just wait, better not fall into my hands!"

This is not an isolated incident.

It's definitely not Song Jianshe and his group who are thinking this right now.

The foreigner's name was Thompson. He regretted missing out on the Black-Glazed Tea Bowls that day, but he thought that it might be a later imitation. If it were genuine, it wouldn't just be displayed on a street stall.

But when he later had someone inspect the goods, he found that the blue and white porcelain plates and vases were worthless at all, and he realized that something might be wrong.

Today, I passed by a newsstand and saw these pictures in the newspaper. My head went blank, so I quickly bought a copy and looked at it carefully. I felt like I'd been struck by lightning.

Those teacups were actually genuine, and they slipped away right under my nose.

Thompson gripped the newspaper tightly, gritting his teeth as he stared at Gu Jinshui's name.

Chapter 97 The Ninety-Seventh Day of Being Eavesdropped On

"Dad."

When Song Jianshe got off work, Song Chaohua immediately put down her bowl and chopsticks and went to greet him.

Song Jianshe asked impatiently, "What is it?"

"I... I had another dream last night." Seeing his attitude, Song Chaohua felt a little uneasy and stammered.

Upon hearing this, Song Jianshe was stunned for a moment, then his expression changed instantly. "What dream? Is it a dream that will allow your dad to make a fortune by finding a bargain?"

Song Chaohua nodded quickly, "I dreamt that at the end of this year, Uncle Gu next door will find a huge, Top-Grade Imperial Green Jade in the jade gambling market in Beijing. That piece of jade is very valuable; I heard it's worth tens of millions."

Tens of millions?!

It was as if a thunderbolt struck Song Jianshe's head.

This sum of money was a huge amount he never dared to imagine in his entire life.

If he could get his hands on that money, he wouldn't have to worry. He could just sell the jade and use the money to buy land all over Beijing. In a decade or so, he would be a billionaire.

Thinking of this, Song Jianshe smiled at his daughter, "Xiaohua, do you remember which day it was, and what the stone looked like?"

How could Song Chaohua remember so clearly?

She had only overheard some things in her past life, and roughly knew when such a thing happened, but she wasn't a Gu Family Members, so how could she know more details?

Seeing Song Chaohua's expression, Song Jianshe quickly shook her shoulders, "Think about it again. Don't you want to learn to dance and play the piano like everyone else? When Dad gets rich, I'll send you there and buy you a house, okay?"

"Oh dear, Jianshe, have you lost your mind?"

Huang Xirong, pulling her beloved grandson Da Bao out of the house, heard these words and immediately frowned, scolding Song Jianshe: "She's just a little girl. It's already good enough that our family is sending her to school. She'll still get married in the future, so why bother sending her to school or buying her a house? Isn't that just benefiting outsiders?"

Song Chaohua's face showed some grievance and anger. She bit her lip and remained silent.

Song Jianshe hurriedly said, "Mom, what era are we living in? The leader has said that men and women are equal. Our family can't be sexist. What Da Bao has, Xiao Hua should have too. Xiao Hua, don't listen to your grandma. Dad loves you more than your brother. Do you remember when that happened?"

Song Chaohua's complexion improved, and she smiled, "Dad, we're going on a winter field trip in a few days, and the teacher said we need to buy some things."

Song Jianshe quickly stuffed another hundred yuan into her hand. "Here's a hundred yuan. Buy whatever you want, eat whatever you want. Isn't there a McDonald 'McDonald's that opened recently? Buy some and take it to school."

"Thank you, Dad."

Song Chaohua was delighted. She took the money, carefully put it in her pocket, thought for a moment, and said, "I only remember that the stone was very big and ugly, and not many people wanted to buy it. Uncle Gu was different from others; he just happened to take a liking to it."

This Gu Jinshui is really something else.

Song Jianshe muttered to himself, but quickly became excited again.

No matter how capable Gu Jinshui is, this good stuff still ended up in his hands.

Even if Golden Stone Studio were open for business every day, it might not be able to earn this much money!

Achoo! Achoo!

Gu Jinshui sneezed several times at home. He rubbed his nose and wondered, "Who's talking about me?"

The old man opposite him smiled broadly, "Mr. Gu, you're a distinguished guest, so naturally many people talk about you, unlike us ordinary folks. What do you think of these goods?"

The old man was the owner of the blue and white porcelain stall from a few days ago. He called yesterday, saying he had received about ten more pieces and asked if Gu Jinshui wanted them.

Gu Jinshui felt that those blue and white porcelain pieces were somewhat special, so he asked the old man to bring them all along.

"The goods are alright, they look decent enough."

Gu Jinshui examined the jars, plates, and vases on the table, saying with concern, "But why do they all have cracks? These cracks mean things could get complicated."

The stall owner also felt sorry for the items, saying, "I know that once these things have been damaged, they won't fetch a good price, but you also know that these are porcelain pieces. Porcelain isn't like bronzeware; it's fragile. Besides, after all these years, it's inevitable that they'll get some bumps and scratches. It's already quite good that they're still in good condition."

Gu Jinshui wanted it, but he was afraid the stall owner would overcharge him, especially since he had made several thousand US dollars selling the previous items to foreigners.

If we try to sell him these things at the price we'd charge foreigners, we'd be taking advantage of him.

After thinking for a moment, Gu Jinshui put down the items and said, "What you said makes sense. To be honest, I don't really like these things. If I hadn't thought I'd never bought anything like this before, I wouldn't have bothered. But since you went through all that trouble to bring them here, I can't just say no. So, I'll give you a hundred for these. If you're willing, we can make a deal; if not, then forget it."

As Gu Jinshui spoke, he took out a hundred yuan from his pocket and slammed it on the table.

He had a firm grasp on the stall owner's thoughts. This person had come all this way and certainly didn't want to take the goods back with him. If he wanted to sell them outside, it would be difficult to find someone like that foreigner. Right now, he had cash on hand, so cash was definitely better.

Without hesitation, the stall owner agreed, took the money, and gave all the Fertilizer Sack to Gu Jinshui.

Gu Jinshui laughed and said, "You're really generous. How about this, if you have any good stuff next time, feel free to come to my shop. If it's good enough, I'll buy it."

"Oh, that's great!" The old man was very happy to have found a bite to eat.

There are many people setting up stalls in the antique business, but it's hard to say who actually makes money. People like Gu Jinshui, who have shops and connections, don't have to worry about food and clothing. But people like the old man, who come all the way from other places to Beijing to set up stalls, live a life of hunger and hardship. Even if they make money, they have to see if it can cover their travel expenses.

If I don't earn money and run out of cash, I'll have to find odd jobs to earn some money to take home.

However, the old man made such a large sum of money from the foreigners this time, so he probably won't be short of money in the short term.

After the old man left, Gu Jinshui went to get a dry cloth and wiped the dozen or so porcelain pieces clean one by one.

He examined the porcelain pieces closely, and the more he looked, the more something seemed off.

This is not to say that these porcelains are imitations, but rather that their style is very different from that of the official kilns of the same period in the late Ming Dynasty.

With the intention of asking the teacher any questions, Gu Jinshui left a note at home and went out with a few pieces of porcelain.

Old Master Xi lives nearby now, just a few steps away. As soon as Gu Jinshui knocked on the door, he heard someone call out from the courtyard, "Come in."

The voice sounded somewhat familiar, but it didn't seem to be Master's.

Gu Jinshui pushed open the door and saw that the person watering the flowers in the yard was none other than Professor Bai.

Professor Bai was pleasantly surprised to see him. "Jin Shui, you don't have to watch the shop today?"

"Oh, I received a few items today, so I didn't go to the shop. But I'm a little unsure, and I'd like to ask my master for his opinion." Gu Jinshui put his backpack on the table and called inside, "Master, are you home?"

Xi Han came out of the house, holding a Yixing purple clay teapot. He took a few sips from the spout and said, "What are you shouting for? What's the matter?"

"Master, what a refined taste you have! Where did this teapot come from? I didn't see it before."

Gu Jinshui pulled out a chair and helped the Old Master sit down.

Xi Han put down the teapot and said, "