Chapter Twenty-Four: A Small Profit

  "How about it? Do you want this seal or not? I'm telling you, this thing has been passed down from my ancestors. If I didn't want to make sure my granddaughter could go to college comfortably, I really wouldn't want to sell it off. When my father gave it to me in the first place, he told me that this thing was very precious. Don't try to cheat me!" The old man said firmly at last.

  "Alright!" Chu Chen replied affirmatively: "Old man, then give me a reasonable price, and it'll save you the trouble of coming back and forth, after all, it's a hot day."

  "I don't know much about antiques either, but after all, it's something that has been passed down from my family. My dad used to be a scholar and he said this is a good thing. How about you give me 12,000 yuan for it, what do you think?"

  However, after quoting the price, the old man took another look at the seal and possibly felt that the seal was indeed not selling well. Seeing Chu Chen's thoughtful expression, he hastily changed his tone and said: "Let's just say 10,000 yuan, I won't sell it for less."

  Chu Chen was delighted when he heard the price, this seal carving is exquisite and the material is good, and it's in perfect condition, just like this can easily sell for 700,000 to 800,000 yuan.

  Moreover, saying that this is a seal is not entirely accurate, because there are no inscriptions engraved on the bottom of the seal, which means that this seal can still be considered as an embryo, and its price can be increased by quite a bit. If you encounter someone who needs it, you can sell it for a good price.

  Then Chu Chen nodded his head in agreement after a moment of consideration, "Alright, 10,000 yuan, we have a deal. However, sir, do you have any boxes for me to put them in?"

  The old man said with some embarrassment, "This is really sorry, originally, this thing was placed in a brocade box, but during that period, the box was buried underground together with it. Later, when it was taken out again, the box had rotted away. Usually, this thing is wrapped in a piece of red cloth. I thought the red cloth didn't look good, so I casually found a newspaper to wrap it."

  It turns out that Chu Chen knew about this seal, why it looked a bit dull at first glance. It was re-buried in the soil, and this seal was originally made using the oil extraction method, and it was buried in the soil in this way. No wonder the people in that store thought it was a modern imitation.

  Afterwards, Chu Chen made a simple written contract, and the two of them exchanged money for goods, and the deal was done.

  Chu Chen and his friends spent over 10,000 yuan on food yesterday. Today, he didn't have enough money with him, so this morning he went to the bank to withdraw another 50,000 yuan. Before even using it, he withdrew another 10,000 yuan. He thought to himself, "Money really doesn't last long." But if the old doesn't go, the new won't come; he wishes that money would never run out like this.

  The place where they were going to pick up the goods was already close by, and Chu Chen didn't walk for a few steps before arriving at the location.

  This is a small antique shop with a very inconspicuous entrance, and it's not easy to notice. There is no signboard on the door, so generally speaking, few people pay attention to this place. However, this antique shop has always been wholesale-oriented, and the owner doesn't really care about it either.

  The interior of the store is not as small as it looks outside, with an area of about 40 square meters. The air conditioner in the store blows a refreshing breeze that hits you as soon as you enter, instantly dispelling the sweltering heat of summer.

  Speaking of air conditioning, Chu Chen really has some resentment because the place he is renting now does not have air conditioning installed. In winter it's fine, there's heating, but in summer it can only be fanned with an electric fan, blowing people dizzy and confused.

  I wanted to ask Mrs. Zhang to install an air conditioner, but she said, "Young people are afraid of a little heat, in the past we didn't have air conditioners and we still managed." Although what she said is not wrong, since we have air conditioners now, do we still need to endure the heat?

  Chu Chen originally wanted to install an air conditioner himself, but later thought better of it. If he were to buy a new house, he wouldn't bother taking the old air conditioner with him anyway, and Zhang Dama would end up benefiting from it. Fortunately, his internal martial arts skills had some achievements back then, so the sweltering heat of summer had less of an impact on him, and he managed to get by like this for a few years.

  The owner of the shop is called Chen Dewang, who is sixty-five years old today. Chu Chen and others call him Old Chen. At this time, Old Chen was half-reclining on a recliner, drinking tea and reading a book, with a contented look on his face.

  "Good morning, Mr. Chen. I'm afraid I'm going to have to trouble you again today."

  "Oh, it's Xiao Chen, are you here to pick up goods today?" Chen Dewang asked.

  Before Chu Chen nodded, Chen Dewang saw that he was holding something wrapped in newspaper and curiously asked: "Hey, little Chen, what's the good thing you're holding?"

  Chu Chen smiled and gently placed the seal on the table, without saying much, and asked him to take a look himself.

  After a while, after careful observation, Chen Dewang put the seal back on the table and sighed:

  "Not bad, it's a Ming dynasty green jade ancient dragon button seal paste, a good item from the beginning to the end of the dynasty. Where did you get it?"

  Then Chu Chen told him what had happened, and Chen Dewang listened with a smile and said to him:

  "Wow, Xiao Chuan, your eyes are quite sharp! The store you mentioned should be Old Zhang's storefront. However, Old Zhang has gone out of town to pick up goods recently, and now it's his son who's in charge. This kid is usually idle and doesn't do a proper job. If he finds out about this when he gets back, Old Zhang will probably be furious! By the way, what are you planning to do with this seal?"

  Chu Chen said: "I was originally planning to find a suitable opportunity to transfer it, since Mr. Chen likes it, I'll give it to you."

  "Alright, what about the 1.2 million?" Chen Dewang said after finishing, looking at Chu Chen's slightly hesitant appearance and asked: "How is it, do you think the money is too little?"

  Chu Chen hastily shook his head and said: "No, no, I think it's not that much, right?"

  Chen Dewang smiled and said: "Alright, let's just say it's settled then. Do you think I'd be at a loss?"

  Chu Chen listened, touched his head and laughed foolishly, then the two quickly signed a transfer agreement, after which Chen Dewang wrote a check for 120,000 yuan and handed it to him.

  Identifying the authenticity of a check, Chu Chen had asked someone before, and at first glance, he knew it was a real check. After taking the check, he curiously asked: "Old Chen, when did you start using checks?"

  Chen Dewang said with some pride: "We, the citizens of the new century's China, must keep up with the times. Unlike you, Wu Shu and Old Zhu, who are still stuck in the past. You, Wu Shu, are a bit better, at least you can learn about computers, but Old Zhu is really an antique."

  This kind of thing, Chu Chen naturally couldn't say anything, could only foolishly smile and nod in agreement.

  "Alright, you don't have to accompany this old man anymore. If you want something, go inside and pick it out yourself."

  Most of the items in Chen De Wang's store are modern replicas, and the prices are a bit higher than elsewhere. However, one good thing is that they are all relatively well-made, especially some of which are extremely exquisite, which is exactly what Chu Chen values.

  As mentioned earlier, Chu Chen is still quite regular in doing business. Although he won't tell others whether the items are antiques or not when picking stalls, the things he sells are of good quality and there aren't any defective or fake products.

  Chu Chen always believed that since customers bought something from him, even if it didn't have cultural value, it should at least have some artistic value. This was also a kind of respect for the customer. This can be considered one of his simple ideas, or perhaps the bottom line of being human.

  People say that good people don't get good returns, but this saying may not be accurate in the business world. As the saying goes, "harmony generates wealth." Although Chu Chen may not have made as much from a single item as others, over time, he has accumulated many old customers and repeat customers, and when calculated, his earnings are actually higher than others.

  After a wave of picking and choosing, Chu Chen had already selected more than half of the targets. Under the influence of Wu Shu, he was also mainly engaged in ceramic business before, so this time the goods he took were mostly various kinds of exquisite new imitation porcelain, and others were jade and bronze ware.

  As for the books and paintings, Chu Chen didn't get them from here, but rather went to a familiar person in Nancheng to make a purchase. After all, each profession has its own specialization, and although Chen Dewang's place also had books and paintings, they weren't something he couldn't afford, just that they didn't meet his standards.

  "Huh?"

  Suddenly, Chu Chen was attracted by a piece of jade, which was a white and black jade pendant carved from jade.

  Hei Bai Yu is actually a black jade with a white jade base, also known as Qing Hua Jade in the market.

  Qinghua jade is the black spots or cloud-like or stripe-like black patterns that appear in white jade or light greenish-white jade. All of these can be called Qinghua jade. If the black (gray) and white are clearly distinguishable, it is what people refer to as Heibai jade.

  At first glance, the surface of this jade pendant appears dull and not very shiny, giving people a sense of depression. However, upon closer inspection, its uniqueness can still be seen. So he took it in his hand without hesitation, and as soon as the jade pendant was in his hand, its strange power began to stir, undoubtedly this is an old jade.

  Chu Chen first didn't bother with other issues, raised the jade pendant in his hand and carefully observed it.

  This jade pendant is a circular pendant with a hollowed-out design, surrounded by a frame of rolled cloud patterns. The inner hollowed-out carving depicts two dragons playing with a pearl, with smooth lines and powerful carvings, indicating a certain level of craftsmanship.

  Overall, this should be a mid-Qing dynasty or late Qing dynasty jade pendant. As for why Chu Chen couldn't accurately determine it, that's because he wasn't as proficient in jade as he was in porcelain. Later, after using his special ability, he confirmed that the jade pendant was a mid-Qing dynasty translucent carved dragon pattern pendant.

  As for why this jade pendant looks a bit dull, it should be related to not wearing it for a long time. Once worn for a while, it will look completely different. However, Chu Chen still found it strange that Old Man Chen would put this jade pendant among the fakes. It shouldn't be according to his discerning eye.

  For a moment, Chu Chen couldn't understand it, so he put this question aside. Now there is a strange phenomenon that makes him very concerned.

  That feeling of being attracted to the jade pendant was really confusing, and this wasn't the first time it had happened. Just now, when he found that seal, he had felt it too, but at the time he hadn't paid attention, thinking it was just a coincidence. Now it seemed there must be some problem he hadn't discovered yet.