Chapter 21

Gu Jinshui couldn't stop thinking about that piece of Blood-Infiltrated Jade.

Jade of that quality should have been his, but Song Jianshe had gotten involved, and the chance had slipped through his fingers. The thought made Gu Jinshui furious.

Now that he had an opportunity, Gu Jinshui naturally wanted to get his hands on it.

"Who is it?" Director Chen asked as he came out of the bedroom.

He held a newspaper and wore reading glasses. He paused when he saw Gu Jinshui, evidently finding him familiar.

Gu Jinshui smiled. "Director Chen, I live in the same Compound as Jianshe. My name's Gu Jinshui—Jin as in gold, Shui as in water."

At the mention of Song Jianshe, Director Chen's expression soured.

"What, are you here to plead his case? Whatever else you say, I'm giving him a disciplinary warning. He's forever taking time off. Does he think there's no proper work to do at the post office?"

Gu Jinshui caught on at once: the director had misunderstood.

He set down his bag with a smile and took out a box of pastries and some canned goods. "Not at all. I actually came to ask you about something. I heard you've collected quite a few fine pieces, and I'm in the trade myself."

He pulled the newspaper-wrapped Dabin Teapot from his bag. "I picked this up for a bargain a while back, but I can't tell whether it's genuine. Would you take a look and set me straight? A word of guidance from an old hand like you would mean the world to us youngsters."

As the saying went, flattery would get you everywhere.

Director Chen was no match for Gu Jinshui's praise. Besides, he loved collecting antiques, especially pots. Snuff Bottles were his favorites, but other vessels interested him too. The Dabin Teapot's simple, old-fashioned shape had already caught his eye.

Chapter 24: The Twenty-Fourth Day of Being Overheard

Director Chen picked up the Dabin Teapot and examined it closely. The longer he looked, the more he liked it.

When he saw the maker's mark beneath the pot, he was full of praise. "This is unmistakably genuine and from the right period. You found yourself a treasure, young man. What did you pay?"

"Really? I was afraid I'd made a mistake. Hearing that from you puts my mind at ease."

Gu Jinshui let out a relieved breath, delighted.

Seeing the two of them chatting happily, Director Chen's wife made a pot of tea and brought it over. "You two talk. I'll go back inside."

Gu Jinshui stood to see her off. Only after she had closed the door did he sit down and say to the director, "I paid a little over seventy yuan. I wasn't too sure about it, but there's no one around me who knows this stuff. When I heard a few days ago that you were an expert collector, I thought I'd come ask your advice. Good thing I did."

"What do you think would be a fair price if I sold it?"

Director Chen paused, adjusted his glasses, and studied the teapot again.

"Shi Dabin was a master of purple-clay teapots, and not many of his pots have survived. The trouble is, this shape is unusual. He also had a habit of putting his own mark on particularly good pots made by his apprentices. So it's hard to say whether he made this one or an apprentice did. If it was an apprentice's work, it would be worth less, but it could still fetch two or three hundred yuan."

"And if I traded it? What kind of piece could I get from another collector?" Gu Jinshui leaned forward and asked tentatively.

"A trade?" Director Chen wasn't surprised. Antique collectors traded pieces all the time. Everyone had different tastes: some liked small items such as jade pendants, bracelets, and rings, while others collected only scholars' supplies—Hui ink, Xuan paper, brush rests, and inkstones. When something caught a collector's fancy, they might gladly trade away a slightly better piece for it.

Wasn't there a saying about that?

No amount of money could buy what the heart truly wanted. That was especially true in the antique trade.

Director Chen considered it. "You'd have no trouble trading this for an obviously genuine piece from the Ming or Qing dynasty."

By "obviously genuine," he meant something you could identify as authentic at a glance.

Gu Jinshui seized his chance. "What about trading it for that Jade Cicada of yours?"

Director Chen froze for a moment, then understood.

He wasn't offended. He burst out laughing. "So that's why you paid me a visit out of the blue. You came to make a trade."

Gu Jinshui rubbed the back of his head. "I knew I couldn't hide it from you. I just like that piece so much."

The last thing you wanted in a deal was for someone to know how badly you wanted an item. Even if you loved it, you had to keep it to yourself, or the seller would fleece you.

But this situation was different.

Director Chen had the piece, and Gu Jinshui had come to his home. No one would believe him if he claimed he wasn't interested.

Director Chen poured Gu Jinshui a cup of tea, then one for himself. It was made from cheap tea dust, nothing fancy. "Young man, I'd consider it for another piece, but that Jade Cicada is special. Blood-Infiltrated Jade is hard to find."

Damn it!

Gu Jinshui cursed inwardly.

He should have known Director Chen wasn't a fool. The man hadn't bought the piece from Song Jianshe on a whim; he had recognized its value.

"Director Chen, name your price. If it's reasonable, I won't haggle."

Gu Jinshui braced himself to be fleeced.

He had saved nearly a thousand yuan. Surely that would be enough.

Director Chen shook his head. "No, no. What would I do with the money?"

He paused, then frowned. "But if you could find me a Snuff Bottle in good condition, that would be another matter."

Director Chen beckoned to Gu Jinshui. "Come with me."

He led Gu Jinshui into a small room in the northwest corner. Along the left wall stood a row of glass cabinets filled with little palm-sized Snuff Bottles. There were other ornaments too: purple-clay teapots, an Ivory Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea, a Famille Rose Plum Blossom Plate from the Daoguang Era...

Director Chen gestured toward the Snuff Bottles. "I've collected antiques for half my life. I used to buy them on the sly, and now that things have opened up, I spare no expense. But fine Snuff Bottles are hard to find. Bring me one made of pearl, a Jade Snuff Bottle, a White Jade Snuff Bottle, or one an emperor once used, and I'll trade you the Blood-Infiltrated Jade."

Gu Jinshui was at a loss for words.

There were plenty of porcelain Snuff Bottles, and glass ones too. But where was he supposed to find one made of pearl or jade?

The man had set him a difficult task.

But Gu Jinshui refused to give up.

He nodded to Director Chen. "All right. Please hold on to it for me. Once I find a treasure like that, I'll come back and make the trade!"

Director Chen looked surprised, then nodded. "Of course."

From his tone, though, it was clear he didn't think Gu Jinshui could do it.

Early the next morning, Gu Jinshui bought soy milk, youtiao, and beef buns from a restaurant, then strolled over to pay Old Master Xi a visit.

Old Master Xi opened the door to find him grinning broadly, breakfast in hand. Without a word, he stepped aside and went back inside, leaning on his cane.

Gu Jinshui made himself at home. He followed him in, set the table, and dished out breakfast.

The morning soy milk steamed with an appetizing beany aroma. The beef buns were substantial, each as big as an adult's fist.

Gu Jinshui alternated mouthfuls of soy milk and bun, enjoying every bite.

Across from him, Old Master Xi watched him eat with gusto, nearly speechless. He tapped the bowl with his chopsticks. "What's this? Did you come all this way just to eat breakfast at my place?"

Gu Jinshui put down his chopsticks. "You're joking, Master. I came because I need your help."

"So I had to ask you first?"

Old Master Xi gave him a pointed look.

Gu Jinshui chuckled. "That just shows you care about me."

Old Master Xi fell silent. The flattery gave him goose bumps.

How had he failed to notice how shamelessly this boy could flatter people when he took him on as an apprentice? Back in the Great Qing, he would have made a perfect corrupt courtier.

"Out with it. What do you need?"

Gu Jinshui told him about his proposed trade with Director Chen. Grinning ingratiatingly, he put a piece of youtiao on the old man's plate. "That's the situation. Master, do you know anyone who collects Snuff Bottles?"

Old Master Xi scoffed. "Do you think your master knows everything? Even if someone has a treasure like that, they won't want to trade it. I'd say Director Chen simply doesn't want to deal with you."

"I know what he meant," Gu Jinshui said. "But I really want that Jade Cicada. So I thought of you. There's nothing you can't do. Surely you can point your apprentice in the right direction."

Old Master Xi found that gratifying. He glanced at his tobacco pipe.

Gu Jinshui promptly took out fresh tobacco, filled the pipe, lit it, and handed it to him.

The old man took a puff. "Well, you're right to ask. If I let a greenhorn like you search blindly, you wouldn't find it in eight hundred years. But there's someone you could ask. He might have a lead."

"Could it be Master Chen Dengxing?"

Gu Jinshui was quick to make the connection.

Old Master Xi nodded. "He works at the Cultural Relics Bureau. When people bring things in to sell, most of them pass under his eye. If anyone knows where to find a fine Snuff Bottle, it's him."

Realization struck Gu Jinshui, and he slapped his forehead.

Of course.

In the past, people wanting to sell antiques had thought first of the Cultural Relics Bureau. Farmers in particular, who couldn't identify what they had but feared being cheated, would bring things in by the cartload.

All sorts of objects had passed through the bureau's hands.

Suddenly, Gu Jinshui saw a way forward.

Perhaps luck was on his side.

Chen Dengxing did indeed have a lead.

"I have seen a Jade Snuff Bottle once," he said.

"Master Chen, please give us youngsters a hint. I won't forget the favor."

Gu Jinshui eagerly offered Chen Dengxing a Zhonghua cigarette.

Chen Dengxing gave him a complicated look. Old Master Xi was so rigid; how had he ended up with such a resourceful apprentice? He waved the cigarette away. "I don't smoke. I can tell you who has it, but I'm warning you now: he's a stubborn old man. He won't sell."

Gu Jinshui remained perfectly calm. "Don't worry. I won't force him."

But he stayed seated, waiting for every detail.

He hardly looked like someone who would take no for an answer.

Chen Dengxing hesitated. He didn't want Gu Jinshui going off and doing something wrong.

"If you don't trust me, surely you trust my master?"

Gu Jinshui could see what worried Chen Dengxing. He smiled. "I have a family and children. I'm not stupid enough to break the law over a Snuff Bottle."

After he put it that way, Chen Dengxing relented. The bottle belonged to an old man in Beizang Village, Daxing. His family had once been somebody. They had sold many of their possessions over the years, and this was the one piece left. The old man couldn't bear to part with it.

One year, when food was scarce both in the city and the countryside, his family had nearly starved. He had taken out the Jade Snuff Bottle, intending to sell it for rice, and had even approached Chen Dengxing. But after thinking it over, he sold his blood instead to buy food.

That showed how much he treasured it.

Gu Jinshui knew at once that this would be a tough nut to crack.

Even so, he hadn't expected Elder Guan to widen his eyes and wave him away before he could finish speaking. "No. Absolutely not!"

"Sir, sir, we can talk about this."

Gu Jinshui glanced around. It was a rural earthen house, with an eight-sided table in the main room and benches whose red paint had nearly all worn away. "I genuinely want it. Three hundred yuan—what do you say?"

"Go on, get out," Elder Guan said. "There's nothing to discuss."

Auntie Guan looked uncertain. In a low voice, she said, "The old man, Da Ya's about to get married. That three hundred..."

Elder Guan wavered, but only briefly. "No. Who ever heard of paying extra to marry off a granddaughter? Once the Bai Family has the money, how long will they treat Da Ya well?"

He glared at Gu Jinshui, who had been listening nearby. "Enough. Don't say another word. Just leave!"

Chapter 25: The Twenty-Fifth Day of Being Overheard

That old man Guan's temper—