Chapter 26: Hou Yuanming

  Back home, Chu Chen sorted out the goods he had just taken, hastily ate some lunch, and then turned on the computer to browse the news, to see if there was any information about auctions, and also to understand the market situation.

  The current antique market is really a bit of a rollercoaster, with prices changing in the blink of an eye. Especially now that many wealthy bosses have joined the collecting army, the price of antiques has skyrocketed. If you don't pay attention to the market for a while, it's very likely that someone will buy your items at a bargain price.

  After reading the market information, Chu Chen casually strolled around the forum, chatted with friends on the forum, and answered a few questions about ceramics, which made him feel more and more adapted to online life.

  Chu Chen happened to see a top-posted post, which was very popular. The content described the owner's experience of picking up bargains today, and also uploaded exquisite photos for people to appreciate. After reading it, he felt very interested and thought to himself, "Can I also put some antique photos on the forum and let everyone appreciate them?"

  Like today, I can put the photo of that black and white jade pendant on the forum, and also let the friends on the forum share their joy, as it is said that one's pleasure is not as good as everyone's pleasure.

  Moreover, there are often some fine products put on the forum, and it's possible that new sales channels will emerge. For example, among my five good friends in the forum, two of them have a certain social status. If they have needs, based on my performance in the forum, it's very likely that they will ask me first, which means I'll gain an additional customer.

  Thinking of this, he felt very happy, but now there is a problem, how to transfer the photos to the computer, which he really didn't know. He knew that mobile phones had camera functions, but those were not clear, and his current phone didn't have that function either.

  I searched online and found out that there is something called a digital camera. After taking pictures, you can view them directly on the computer. This sounds good, so I bought it.

  Then Chu Chen called the person who helped him buy a computer before, and that person really had goods. He asked what brand he wanted, saying that domestic brands are better.

  Chu Chen originally had a nationalist tendency, and upon hearing this, he naturally did not agree. The other person was straightforward, telling him that they could still get military-grade ones, but the price might be a bit higher. However, they were definitely good to use and not inferior to mainstream ones.

  It's okay to be a bit expensive, Chu Chen heard that it was for military use and immediately agreed enthusiastically. After negotiating the price, the other party promised to deliver the goods in the afternoon.

  However, it may be because the camera is not easy to get, Chu Chen went online and got a bit bored. It wasn't until evening that a young man came panting and delivered the camera to his home, then taught him some simple operations, took the payment and left.

  This camera is quite compact, just a bit rough in workmanship, but Chu Chen doesn't mind that. The key thing is that as long as it's sturdy and durable, the camera's 40 million pixels take pretty clear pictures, which makes him very satisfied.

  Digital cameras are good in one way, because they're idiot-proof, so for someone like Chuxin who doesn't usually touch electronic products, it's easy to learn.

  After dinner, he took a photo of the black and white jade pendant and added it to his post on the forum, along with the parameters of the pendant and his own insights.

  As soon as the post was sent, many people participated in the comments, but most of them were just expressing envy, and only a few could say something meaningful. Even so, it still made Chu Chen extremely happy, satisfying his vanity to some extent.

  "Ding Dong"

  Chu Chen refreshed the webpage and suddenly the forum prompted that he had several short messages. Upon opening them, it turned out that they were all from a friend named "Cang Jin Tian Xia", inquiring whether he was willing to sell the jade pendant, and if so, to give him a phone number.

  This friend named Cang Jiantian is not unfamiliar to Chu Chen, he was the first forum friend that Chu Chen added, and also one of the two people with some wealth mentioned earlier. The two had a pretty good conversation before.

  But what his actual situation was is unclear, however, on the forum it has been said that he had a good reputation, so Chu Chen sent him her phone number via a forum text message.

  "Beep Beep"

  It hadn't even been a minute since he sent it, when Chu Chen's phone rang.

  "Hello, who is this?"

  "Hello, are you 'Life of Appraisal'? I am 'Hidden All Over the World' from the forum." The other party's voice was somewhat low and sounded like a middle-aged man. His accent was similar to Zhou Wenping's, so he should also be from Sanqin or possibly even Xijing."

  "Oh, hello, I'm just a treasure appraiser, you can call me Chu Chen or Little Chu."

  The other party heard a positive answer and said with joy: "Xiao Chu, it's like this. I quite like that jade pendant of yours. If it's convenient, would you mind quoting a price?"

  "The quotation is okay, I won't cheat you if you're sincere about buying and I'm sincere about selling. The price definitely won't be unfair to you. The key is how we make the deal. Oh, I forgot to tell you, I'm currently in Beijing."

  The other party was silent for a while, then said: "I am from Xijing, and I may not be able to go to the capital until next month. I really want to buy it with all my heart, can you trouble yourself to keep it until then?"

  "Hehe" Chu Chen smiled and said: "There's no need for that, next week I'll come to Xijing with my friends, we can get in touch then."

  "Really!" The tone of the person opposite immediately became high-pitched: "Then I'll send you my phone number and contact information via text message, you must get in touch with me when you arrive, and I'll pick you up. Oh, I forgot to tell you, my name is Hou Yuanming."

  "I'll get in touch with you once I've arrived."

  Chu Chen hung up the phone, thinking that the internet was indeed quite convenient, and he had gained something so quickly. Of course, what his friend Hou Yuanming was like in reality was unknown, but it shouldn't be too bad.

  The internet is just that bad, while convenient, it also makes people unable to know the identity of those on the other side (except for criminals), if forums had authentication it would be better.

  When Xie Chuanchuan refreshed the webpage again, he received several more text messages asking if it was for sale. He could only apologize and then modify the post to indicate that it had been sold, which indeed made things much quieter.

  Then Chu Chen was a bit idle, went online for an afternoon, it was a bit dull, so he played Monopoly again, after playing for a while, he went to bed.

  The next day, Chu Chen did not think of going to fetch some books and paintings, but instead prepared to gamble on stones.

  After a change of heart yesterday, Chu Chen didn't care about his previous decision anymore. Besides, it's not like there was no reason for it. Winning a bet and then going to gamble again is quite normal, right? And if he wins again, that's just proof of his luck and skill. Who would still doubt him after that? Moreover, he's not stupid enough to go gambling every day, and he wouldn't win every time either.

  However, this time Chuyan didn't go to Zhang Guosheng's Cuizhuanzhai. After all, the quality of wool there is really not good. Like the glass seed that was opened yesterday, it's already very lucky if one can get a piece in a year. It can be seen what kind of goods the wool he bought is. Moreover, even so, Zhang Guosheng didn't even set off firecrackers to celebrate, which really left him speechless.

  Arrived at the previously mentioned Ju Yuan Ge, this place is not only two or three times larger than Cui Yuan Zhai, but also has a much more lively atmosphere. As soon as it opened, there were already many customers coming and going continuously.

  After entering, a female shopping guide enthusiastically asked Chu Xuan: "Sir, what can I help you with?"

  This salesperson, although ordinary in appearance, has a very pleasant voice, giving Chu Chen a feeling of being caressed by the spring breeze.

  He thought to himself that in the future if he opened a store, he would also want to hire a salesperson like this one. This way, customers would be happy and might even buy a few more things.

  "Please take me to see the emerald wool fabric." Chu Chen smiled and replied.

  Then Chu Chen was led into the backyard by the shopping guide, where large and small jade wool were placed in different categories.

  Actually, Chu Chen wasn't here for the first time either. He still let that salesperson bring him over because he heard that if a customer brought by a salesperson buys jade wool, the salesperson will get a certain commission, and if the wool is opened to reveal jade and is purchased by the store, there's also a certain bonus.

  Since that's the case, Chu Chen didn't play the role of a bad guy either. Every time he came, he would be led in by the shopping guide, convenient for both others and himself. Of course, Chu Chen had come several times and only remembered buying something here once, just a 2,000-yuan woolen fabric. In the end, as expected, he took out a piece of jade worth... 200 yuan.

  Alas! The past is unbearable to recall!

  The backyard here is divided into several areas, where the wool products are placed in three blocks, namely the thousand-yuan zone, the ten-thousand-yuan zone, and the fifty-thousand-yuan-and-above zone. As for the hundred-yuan ones, you can find them at the corner of the entrance wall.

  In addition to the courtyard, there are four stone-breaking machines, one of which is large and the others are the same as Zhang Guosheng's. However, the large one is generally not turned on, only suitable for giant wool, at this time, three other stone-breaking machines, two of which are running, surrounded by many people.

  Chu Chen had just entered when he ran into Mr. Liu from yesterday, who was now squatting in the thousand-yuan section examining a piece of woolen fabric.

  It was rare to meet someone familiar here, and when he stood up, Chu Chen went forward and greeted him.

  "Oh, I recognize you, you're the young man who drove up in that apple green car yesterday, truly impressive!" Mr. Liu immediately recognized him and warmly shook his hand.

  "That was just luck on my part, which can't compare with Mr. Liu's rich experience." Chu Chen humbly waved his hand repeatedly.

  Mr. Liu smiled faintly, neither affirming nor denying: "Luck is sometimes part of one's ability, just like me, I've played with so many lines of goods, and in the end, I still went bankrupt, my wife and kids all ran away with others."