Chapter 48: The Prodigal Son (Part 1)

  Nowadays, it is impossible to use bones to make holes, and electric tools or small knives are used instead. The resulting texture is generally spiral, which did not exist at the time of the Hongshan culture.

  As for polishing, people at that time used animal skin or jade sand to repeatedly rub and polish the jade. During the rubbing process, the fat in the animal skin would be released and attached to the surface of the jade, making the surface of the jade brighter and warmer.

  Nowadays, people use electric mechanical polishing methods. First, an electric plastic brush is used to polish the jade for the first time, also known as rough polishing. Then, a wool brush is used for the second polishing, and finally, a cotton brush is used for fine polishing. Some counterfeiters also use animal skin or jade sand to repeatedly rub the jade.

  These two methods, no matter how well they are done, cannot achieve the same effect as real Hongshan jade, and can usually be identified with a magnifying glass. Old Zhou didn't even take out a magnifying glass from start to finish, and the result is predictable.

  Let's talk about the "more views" among them. If Lao Zhou could understand more information, he would know that in the more than 20 years from the 1970s and 1980s of the last century to the present, only three jade pig dragons have been excavated, and several others were previously collected by museums as beast-shaped jade artifacts of the Shang and Zhou dynasties.

  After the excavation of the Hongshan River Niulanghe Red Mountain Cultural Site, these few animal-shaped jade artifacts were finally confirmed to be the Hongshan Culture Jade Pig Dragons. In addition, there are several pieces collected from the folk, totaling about twenty pieces. If we look at the number of stone tombs that have been discovered so far, it is likely that one hundred Jade Pig Dragons would already be an extreme limit.

  With such a rare quantity, it's actually easy to appear in the hands of a peasant woman. Anyone who has some understanding of this aspect knows that they must be extremely cautious when dealing with this situation.

  The most critical thing is that if he had understood the market a bit more, he would have known that the jade pig dragon he bought was exactly the same shape as one sold at auction last autumn. It was precisely for this reason that when he asked someone to appraise it, the master appraiser burst out laughing as soon as he saw it.

  In fact, business people in the antique industry are all cunning. Often, a piece of artwork can be made to sound alive or dead depending on what they say, and any story can be spun. Even Old Zhou has done this many times before.

  So, new people entering the antique business, it's not scary to get a bad deal, and stepping on "landmines" is the same. As long as you're not greedy, even if you get a bad deal or step on a "landmine", the loss won't be too great, and it won't hurt your body or mind. Instead, you can learn from the experience, which is the wisdom gained from setbacks in the antique business.

  However, once you have a greedy mind, bankruptcy may be just around the corner, and Old Zhou is a living example of this.

  "Hey, Old Zhou is really crazy about money!"

  Chu Chen couldn't help but sigh after hearing Mr. Feng's account, but he wasn't surprised by Lao Zhou's outcome either, because that was just his character - he valued money and benefits too much; otherwise, he wouldn't have "killed the familiar" back then.

  "This young brother, you're too late. Old Zhou's store and the goods inside were all sold off by his good-for-nothing son yesterday." Mr. Feng shook his head and sighed.

  Upon hearing this, Chu Chen was momentarily speechless. Old Zhou's son had also heard that he was a complete prodigal son, but his way of being a prodigal son was not like others who indulged in food, drink and gambling, but rather in the area of antiques.

  Since Old Zhou is also into antiques, how can his son be bad at it? This is because Old Zhou's son insisted on not learning about book and painting appraisal from his father, but instead wanted to collect ancient jade. It's not a big deal if he just studied hard and became proficient, but he only learned a little bit of superficial knowledge and thought he was very capable.

  The ancient jade market is a disaster-prone area in the antique industry. With just a little knowledge, Zhou's son, who can't even be considered a novice, dove right in, and the outcome is predictable.

  Newcomers in this line of antique business, some people are good at summarizing experience, after being hit by reality, they will learn from their mistakes, and their knowledge will also improve. However, there is a small number of people who not only fail to learn from their mistakes but also think that others are wrong and only believe in what they think. This kind of person can be said to have entered the state of being possessed by evil spirits, no matter how many times they get hit, it will never be enough.

  Lao Zhou's son was such a person, and because of this matter, many families in Lao Zhou's household were ruined by him. Even Lao Zhou's wife was driven to death by anger. However, Lao Zhou's son remained unmoved, doing as he pleased. In a fit of rage, Lao Zhou stopped caring about his son altogether and cut off financial support for him.

  Actually, this time with Old Zhou's matter, there is also a bit of his son's factor in it. After all, his son isn't young anymore, and parents always think about their children being able to start a family and career. For the sake of his son, Old Zhou thought about saving more money, so that if he were to pass away in the future, his child's life would still be guaranteed.

  However, Chu Chen felt that with Old Zhou's son's character, no matter how much money he had, it would all be squandered. Look, Old Zhou has only been dead for a few days and the shops have already changed hands. It's likely that the money will be used to fund his hobby of collecting ancient jade.

  "Alas, although he's like this, after all, I have some connection with Old Zhou, so I should still go pay my respects."

  Chu Chen thought of this and immediately called Wu Shu, telling him about it again.

  Uncle Wu was initially skeptical upon hearing the news, but after listening to the whole story, he couldn't help but sigh in dismay. At the end of the call, he told Chuyan to stay at Baoguo Temple and that he would rush over to meet up with him, then they would go together to Old Zhou's house to pay their respects.

  After Chu Chen finished the phone call, Mr. Feng asked him: "Young brother, are you coming to Old Zhou's place to pick up goods? If not, come here and take a look?"

  Chu Chen saw this and smiled faintly. This Mr. Feng should also be here to do business, so he talked to him for so long. As long as his goods meet his requirements and the price is right, it's okay, so he smiled and said:

  "Mr. Feng, my name is Chu Chen, you can call me Xiao Chu. This time I came to Lao Zhou's place, indeed to pick up goods, but I have high requirements for the goods, at least they must be pleasing to the eye, otherwise..."

  "Heh heh, Little Chu, I understand what you're saying. To be honest, Old Zhou's goods are indeed excellent, but mine aren't bad either. Talk is cheap, let's take a look and see. If it really doesn't meet your expectations, we can call off the deal without any hard feelings." With that, Boss Feng welcomed Chu Chen into his house.

  Mr. Feng didn't lie, the paintings and calligraphy in his store are indeed not inferior to those in Old Zhou's store, among which there is a corner, all of which are works by teachers and students from the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts, he said that this is a cooperation with some teachers and students, he provides the location, and the teachers and students provide the works, after selling, both parties share the proceeds in proportion.

  After a round of selection, Chu Chen finally chose three pieces: a landscape painting, a "Three Sheep Bring Prosperity" painting, and a peony flower painting. All were quite well done. The authors of these three works are also somewhat famous. In the end, he spent 3,200 yuan on them. Compared to the works, this price is quite reasonable, and they should be able to bring him at least double the profit.

  "Mr. Feng, your stuff is really good, let's keep in touch and exchange ideas often, if you have any great works, please let me know." Chu Chen said with a smile and handed him his business card.

  Chu Chen's smooth transaction also delighted Mr. Feng, this kind of customer is the most welcome to business people, he exchanged business cards with Chu Chen and nodded in agreement: "That's for sure!"

  At this time, Wu Shu's phone call came in, and Chu Chen hastily bid farewell.

  Lao Zhou's family now lives in a house passed down from his ancestors, located near a bus station in the southern part of the city. The surrounding area is home to many freelancers and has a somewhat dirty and disorderly appearance, with a hint of a slum-like atmosphere.

  Lao Zhou now lives here, also because of Lao Zhou's son's profligacy. Before that, his family had a house on the other side of Wu Shu's house, but because Lao Zhou's son borrowed money to buy antiques and lost everything, in the end Lao Zhou could only sell the house there to pay off debts.

  It's no wonder that Lao Zhou would take money so seriously, leading to the previous tragedy.

  "Dong dong dong"

  It was already the third day after Old Zhou's death, but the gate of Old Zhou's house was still tightly closed, so Wu Shu went up and knocked on the door.

  "Who's there?!"

  A voice of impatience came from inside the house. It wasn't until after a while that the person inside finally opened the door.

  The one who opened the door was a man in his thirties, none other than Old Zhou's son, Zhou Júde. To say that this name and his usual behavior were compared would be extremely ironic. This person not only didn't gather virtues but instead scattered them. When he saw Wu Shū and Chǔ Chēn standing at the door, that impatient face finally squeezed out a hint of a smile.

  "So it's Uncle Wu, are you here to pay respects to my dad?"

  Uncle Wu looked at him with a somewhat displeased expression: "I'm telling you, Little Zhou, your dad left and didn't even give me a call. If it wasn't for Little Xuan going to your dad's store today and getting the news, I wouldn't have known!"

  Xiao Zhou led the two of them into the house, saying as they walked: "Uncle Wu, I'm also helpless. My dad left suddenly and didn't leave me anything. When my aunt was cremated, she came once and lost over a thousand yuan before leaving. With this little money plus some from home, it's barely enough to buy a grave site. Where would we get the money for a funeral?"

  After hearing this, Chu Chen secretly scolded in his heart: You've already driven your mother to death, and it's unlikely that your aunt will come to help you with the funeral. With your attitude, it's not bad that some money is left for you.

  Wu Shu heard this and somewhat displeased said: "Then you can just not notify him?"

  Three people walked through the courtyard and came to Old Zhou's former residence. Now, except for a simple mourning hall, it has been cleaned up. Seeing this, Chu Chen couldn't help but think in his heart that he was indeed a prodigal son!