The Sixtieth Entry

The Sixty-Eighth Day of Eavesdropping

At this point, Gu Jinshui's face broke into a gloating smile.

He took a bite of the Youtiao and said, "If it weren't for that bottom, how could this have been kept from you?"

He Fei was taken aback.

He was a man of great experience and knowledge; he quickly realized what was happening, slapped his thigh, and exclaimed, "The bottom is real, but the top is fake?!"

"By the way," Gu Jinshui nodded, pointing at He Fei, "You're quick-witted, but I wonder when Song Jianshe and the others will realize it. I saw that thing yesterday, and it's definitely real. If you looked at it in daylight, you could definitely see that the glaze on the jar is rough, and the color is wrong; it has an eerie feel to it."

"So there was just a Kerosene Lamp next to that stall..."

He Fei clapped his hands, finally understanding. "Damn it! No wonder that old guy was in such a hurry to leave, giving you all those coins. He was feeling guilty!"

Gu Jinshui smiled slightly.

He Fei looked at him, somewhat convinced, but he had a question, "If it's fake, why did you buy it?"

"My brother was only trying to help you," Shanhu said. He was tall, and the restaurant was so crowded that there wasn't enough room to move around. Even against the wall, Shanhu felt a bit cramped. "If my brother hadn't pulled this stunt, you wouldn't have gotten your thing."

I see.

He Fei looked at Gu Jinshui, feeling quite grateful.

His lips moved slightly, "Well, I haven't really helped you guys much, but you've done me such a huge favor, I..."

He scratched his head, unsure of what to say.

Gu Jinshui, "If you're going to say these things, then pretend I didn't help you. I'm not doing this purely for you. You saw those two people just now; they have a grudge against me. I'm just scheming against them to vent my own anger."

"Haha, Brother Gu, you're amazing! You managed to arrange everything so clearly in such a short time." He Fei felt even more favorably disposed towards Gu Jinshui.

This person is capable and quick-witted; it's truly rare.

A thought suddenly popped into his mind.

He Fei glanced around and said to Gu Jinshui, "Brother Gu, if you have some free time later, why don't you come to my Guesthouse? We can discuss this properly. I'd like to ask for your help with something that could make me rich."

Gu Jinshui agreed without much thought.

He Fei's Guesthouse was quite nice; there was even a sofa in the room. He Fei poured them some water before telling them the truth.

He said, "You've been here for so long, you probably know there's an Overseas Chinese buying goods here, right?"

"I've heard of it," Gu Jinshui said, taking the cup and thanking him.

He Fei said, "That Overseas Chinese wanted to sell his goods, but I didn't bring much with me. The Lin Family has been in this area for many years and never lacks goods. However, considering my relationship with the Lin Family, the Overseas Chinese asked me to buy a house for him."

"Buying a house?"

Gu Jinshui was stunned.

He blinked, wondering if he had misheard.

What does buying a house have to do with antiques?

"Yes, the old man said that his ancestors lived in that old house. They went abroad decades ago and sold the old house. Now he's back in China and wants to buy it back, but the old man living there doesn't want to sell. That old man is a retired teacher who loves calligraphy and painting. He said he'd sell the house, but he has to exchange it for a famous painting or calligraphy."

He Fei shuddered at the mention of this matter, saying, "This seemed like a difficult situation, but it just so happened to be a coincidence. I know an Uncle Cai who is a friend of my Grandpa. He has a genuine Ink Bamboo Painting by Zheng Banqiao, but my grandfather isn't short of money and just wants to trade it for something. So, I went to the market specifically to look for something and found this Tiger-Shaped Pillow."

He Fei took out the Tiger-Shaped Pillow from earlier.

He carefully placed it on the table and used a dry cloth to gently brush off the dirt.

Gu Jinshui stepped closer and examined it carefully. "A fine piece, from the Northern Song Dynasty. Although it's from Cizhou Kiln, it's still a masterpiece. It seems that house is destined to fall into your hands."

As he said this, something suddenly came to mind, and he said, "The Lin Family shouldn't lack famous calligraphy and paintings, so why aren't they helping the Overseas Chinese?"

"Hi."

He Fei packed his things without looking up, saying, "You don't understand. The Lin Family doesn't care about this. It's a small matter. The Overseas Chinese can handle it themselves. They just gave me a chance, but things just didn't go as planned. Someone leaked the news, and that Song Jianshe and his group got involved."

He Fei looked up at Gu Jinshui and said, "Now you understand why I had to get my hands on this. If someone else steals this credit, how am I supposed to make a living?"

"So your elders or friends won't lend you a hand?"

Shanhu asked, puzzled.

He Fei laughed and said, "I can tell you're an outsider just by hearing that. There's a saying that even close brothers need to keep clear accounts. Besides, Uncle Cai and my Grandpa haven't seen each other for decades. It's already a miracle that they still have some old friendship. You'd think that after all these decades, even relatives would become strangers, let alone friends, right?"

Gu Jinshui immediately understood.

This is why He Fei needs their help.

He felt he couldn't handle this matter, and he was afraid that Song Jianshe and his group would snatch it away, causing him to lose face and also lose out on the benefits.

It's obvious that once the house is acquired and given to the Overseas Chinese, the Overseas Chinese will definitely benefit. Even if they don't earn as much as the Lin Family, they'll at least be able to make a living for half a year if they don't make any business at the beginning of the year.

More importantly, they could connect with the Overseas Chinese. These people sell antiques abroad and earn US dollars. If they could get the Overseas Chinese to owe them a favor, they could do business both domestically and internationally in the future.

After figuring things out.

Gu Jinshui asked, "How do you want us to help you? You've already bought this, haven't you?"

He Fei wasn't smug. Although he had been overjoyed when he found out the Wucai Lidded Jar was fake, he was still cautious. "We arranged with Uncle Cai for three days from now. Who knows what might go wrong in these three days? Of those three, the two younger laymen aren't anything to be afraid of. It's just that the old man has a very sharp eye. They might find other good things in these three days."

"So how would you like us to help?"

Gu Jinshui asked.

He Fei had already made plans.

He had his eye on something for a while: a plate collected by a family in a nearby village. Although He Fei had only glanced at the plate once, he was certain that it was a bronze mirror from the Tang Dynasty.

He remembers the work very clearly.

How can you be so sure that the door was open?

Gu Jinshui asked.

He Fei chuckled and said, "That's easy. My Grandpa loves collecting mirrors, especially Tang Dynasty mirrors. I have several at home. I've seen those bronze mirrors since I was a child. Moreover, those mirrors have a full back of mercury. You know, a silver back is a top-grade item, very rare. I was tempted when I first saw this mirror, but I was afraid of alerting the enemy, so I didn't buy it."

He Fei said, "Now that's settled, if you can help, we'll go there tomorrow morning and retrieve that thing. We'll split the profits 60/40, I get 60%, you get 40%, how about that?"

Honestly, I can tell you.

He Fei's share is quite generous; he probably saw that Gu Jinshui was capable and quick-witted, which is why he was willing to give him the share.

If it were someone else, forget about getting a share, they wouldn't even get a cut; at most, they'd just get a few dozen yuan for running errands.

"Okay, so how do you plan to do this?"

Gu Jinshui thought about it and then agreed.

He and Shanhu have only been wandering around the city lately, so it would be good for them to go to the countryside and broaden their horizons.

There was a reason why the two of them didn't dare to go to the countryside before: each place has its own dialect. Most people in Xi'an still speak Mandarin, at most with a slight accent. But if they went to the countryside, there was no guarantee that an entire village would speak only one dialect. Without someone to guide them, they might not even be able to communicate.

Gu Jinshui and He Fei finalized the time.

The three of them set off early the next morning and rode in Ox Cart down to the village.

The mountain road was bumpy, and even a tall and strong man like Shanhu would have had a hard time riding it, let alone a chubby guy like He Fei.

Once we arrived, we quickly got off and walked around to stretch our muscles.

As they walked, He Fei and Gu Jinshui discussed their plan. He said, "When we get there, we'll say we want to buy some grain. I saw someone buying grain from their house before. Then you can pretend you've got your eye on the mirror. We'll take turns playing the good cop and the bad cop. In short, it's best to buy the goods at a lower price."

"Knew."

Gu Jinshui nodded.

With his hands in his pockets, he took only a few steps forward before spotting Song Jianshe and his group again.

The group was coming out of a farmhouse, Song Jianshe, who was leading the group, was stuffing something that looked like a round mirror into his bag.

"Hey, it's them again?"

He Fei's eyes widened. His gaze fell on the mirror, and a look of panic immediately crossed his face. He rushed forward, shouting, "It's you again!"

When Song Jianshe saw He Fei and his group, his face darkened at first, then he smiled and said, "Yes, it's us. You came to buy bronze mirrors, right? What bad luck, we beat you to it."

"You!" He Fei's face turned red with anger; his fair skin made his anger even more noticeable.

Gu Jinshui stepped forward, sized them up, and when he saw Guo Pu glaring at him resentfully, he smiled and said, "What? You three have discovered that the thing is fake?"

It would have been better if he hadn't brought it up; the moment he did, Song Jianshe and the other two were filled with anger.

Yesterday morning, they took the things back, and fearing that someone would see them, they hurried back to the Guesthouse. But who knew that once they entered the Guesthouse and looked at the Wucai Lidded Jar in the sunlight, the flaws of the jar became obvious. Even someone like Liang Renyi could tell that something was wrong with the jar; it looked too rough and didn't seem like a good item.

Guo Pu took it out and examined it closely under the sunlight. There were clear joint marks between the body and the bottom of the jar, which clearly indicated that it was a fake.

He was so angry he almost died. He had never suffered a loss in all his years in the industry, but today he had been defeated by this young man.

If Gu Jinshui hadn't driven up the price and acted as if he was determined to win, Guo Pu, with his keen eye, would have noticed something was off with just a little closer inspection.

"We were fooled before, but this time we've finally gotten a genuine piece of good stuff: Tang Dynasty Bronze Mirror with a silver back, Gold-and-Silver-Inlaid Phoenix Bronze Mirror —this is a real gem."

Song Jianshe smiled and deliberately provoked He Fei, "Speaking of which, we have to thank you. If you hadn't stayed at their house for so long that day, we wouldn't have realized that they had something good there."

He Fei clenched his fists in anger.

Liang Renyi said, "What? You want to hit someone? Fine, hit me then. You're not a man if you don't."

"Ah!!" He Fei clearly had little experience in the martial arts world and was immediately provoked, rushing over to attack Liang Renyi.

Gu Jinshui quickly pulled him back, "Don't be impulsive. If you hit someone and end up in jail, this matter will fall on their shoulders."

His words were like a bucket of cold water poured over He Fei, waking him up.

He Fei, panting heavily, pointed at Song Jianshe and said, "Fine, you just wait. If I let you get away with this, I'll change my surname."

Chapter 69 The Sixty-Nine Days of Being Eavesdropped On

He Fei was furious about this and even ordered drinks during the meal.

Gu Jinshui was eating Lamb Paomo while listening to He Fei complain. He finished one bowl when a tall, burly man in a brand-new Military Overcoat came in. He ordered two bowls of mutton stew and took over the entire table opposite him.

"Are you listening to me? That An Yi is a scoundrel! He took people to dig up the land, and that's when he woke me up. Why did he bring Song Jianshe's gang along? Now I've lost my bronze mirror."

He Fei was already furious, and seeing Gu Jinshui lost in thought only fueled his anger.

Gu Jinshui waved his hand at He Fei, then gestured with his chin towards the man opposite him who was engrossed in eating mutton, saying, "Don't talk. You just want the good stuff, don't you?"

"What, you know this guy? Got some goods?"

Upon hearing about the good stuff, He Fei immediately perked up, sobering up considerably. Gu Jinshui rolled her eyes at him and said, "Not sure, but it's better than us going out and blindly stumbling around now."

He Fei knew that Gu Jinshui wasn't one to boast, so there must be a reason for his words. He whispered, "Whatever you say, I'll do whatever you say."

He put on an obedient and docile demeanor.

Gu Jinshui