National Tide 1980.

Ning Weimin was right. This panic buying was actually a sudden chaos. Due to the imbalance of power between buyers and sellers and the instigation of some people with ulterior motives, it was bound to cause extremely abnormal and violent fluctuations in the commodity market.

Although some commodities will see their prices liberalized, the low prices that were originally suppressed by planning measures will be restored and will continue to rise.

But most things will eventually fall back the same way they went up.

Because ordinary people have no such judgment ability at all, and they don’t participate in the buying spree for the purpose of making money.

They are just worried, and in order to be prepared and ensure a safe and stable life, they will buy those things that are essential for life at any cost.

Whether it is Jiang Nianyun, a chairman who cares about employees, or the neighbors in No. 2 Courtyard of Shaner Hutong, their mentality and starting point are almost the same.

It can be said that this is almost the natural fate of being a leek, and if nothing unexpected happens, it will be harvested.

But then again, fortunately they have a sensible person like Ning Weimin by their side.

Of course it would be different with his guidance.

In fact, Ning Weimin's idea not only prevented everyone from stepping on landmines, but also pointed out how to deal with it.

He could even let these relatives and friends reap the benefits, taking advantage of this chaos and making a fortune.

Let’s first talk about the situation in Courtyard No. 2 of Shaner Hutong.

Ning Weimin learned from Luo Guangliang, who called him to ask for the charter, that his old neighbors were crying and shouting, and were willing to sell everything they had to be taken advantage of.

It turned out that just when Ning Weimin, Jiang Nianyun and Shen Cun were explaining the nature of the buying spree, Aunt Bian and Mi Xiaohui both called Luo Guangliang and asked him to go home to "solve the problem."

But Luo Guangliang didn't know what to do about this matter, so he could only ask Ning Weimin for his opinion.

And this call was of course very necessary, and Luo Guangliang asked the right person.

Ning Weimin's reply to Luo Guangliang on the phone was to ask him to tell all the old neighbors in each household not to be fooled.

Don't be afraid of price increases, it's not worth buying anything now.

I must especially remind Aunt Bian that those unsalable and defective goods in stock must not be kept, but must be sold quickly for money, and must not be left in our own hands.

Because now all businesses, whether state-owned or private, are selling junk at high prices as a way to clear out inventory.

Now whoever buys will regret it, and whoever doesn’t sell is stupid.

As for Aunt Mi's keeping the goods for everyone, Ning Weimin also felt it was not a good idea to completely let her down.

But don't buy too much. At most, you can buy a little bit of daily necessities and food, enough for the family to eat and use for ten days or half a month. You really don't need anything else.

The key now is to stay calm. It's not easy for everyone to save some money, so don't waste it easily.

Of course, Ning Weimin also expressed that he understood everyone's concerns.

If you watch others buy something but don’t buy it yourself, aren’t you afraid that the money will be wasted?

That doesn’t matter. You’re going to spend money to buy something anyway, so why not just buy his goods?

It just so happened that Curry had just bought a lot of good wine, and he was willing to transfer some of it to everyone at the purchase price.

These drinks are no longer available outside, and can be used as gifts in the future.

Buying these things will preserve their value, and they can even give everyone 100% peace of mind.

What does that mean?

That means no one needs to rush to give him money, and there is no need to withdraw the money from their savings books. It can still be left in the bank to earn interest.

If anyone wants to buy alcohol, just calculate the amount and report it to him later.

If afterwards, everyone feels that exchanging money for wine is not cost-effective, then they can just keep the money and pretend nothing happened.

If the price of wine really goes up, and everyone wants the wine, he will send the wine to them, and then ask everyone for the money according to the price agreed upon at the beginning.

Just like that, Luo Guangliang then conveyed Ning Weimin's message to each family.

This actually worked, and the neighbors quieted down after hearing it.

Because everyone knows Ning Weimin's character and knows that he can offer such conditions and has no intention of making money from everyone.

If you listen to him, you won't suffer any loss.

After talking about the old neighbors, let’s talk about Jiang Nianyun.

When Ning Weimin heard that the old lady had 4 million RMB in her hands, he became interested.

He felt that running Yunyuan didn't require so much money, so he gave Jiang Nianyun an idea - buy jade.

Where to buy?

Beijing Jade Factory.

Don't forget that Kang Shude used to work in a jade factory.

The first stone carving handicrafts that Ning Weimin opened for business were made through his grandfather's connections, where he hired skilled craftsmen in the factory to take on the work.

Later, after Ning Weimin opened the Tan Palace Restaurant, he visited the Beijing Jade Factory many times in order to add more cultural atmosphere to the restaurant.

He used his own money to buy many bionic jade artifacts from it.

He sells jade bonsai of flowers, jade platters of fruits and vegetables, as well as jade ornaments imitating seafood and food. He is considered a major customer of the jade factory.

Later, the misunderstanding between Ning Weimin and Song Huagui was resolved, and he bought jadeite items from the jade factory many times and gave them to Song Huagui.

Soon he even introduced Song Huagui to the jade factory, making him an important customer of the jade factory.

Needless to say, both Kang Shude and Ning Weimin knew the situation of the jade factory very well.

They know exactly what is in the jade factory's inventory.

According to Ning Weimin, there are four reasons why he gave Jiang Nianyun this idea.

First, the reputation of "Northern Jade", "Beijing Works" and "Fine Works" is well-known both at home and abroad. It began to flourish in the Yuan Dynasty and reached unprecedented prosperity through the development of the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

It can be said that jade wares produced in Beijing have long been widely recognized by overseas art connoisseurs and are well-known treasures with extremely high collection value.

Especially the good things from the Beijing Jade Factory, they are not only "large" in quantity, but also have a very high artistic level, and are "refined" and "beautiful".

You should know that the Beijing Jade Factory not only has the current master craftsmen who send excellent works for awards every year, but also has many rare treasures left by famous artists.

Unfortunately, due to the characteristics of the domestic planned economy and the long-term control over foreign trade exports in the past, most of the products produced by the jade factory over the years have remained in the warehouse.

Not only is the price relatively low, but it has also not created much economic value so far.

In addition, in recent years, the output of precious and high-quality raw stones has become less and less, and even the raw materials have continued to rise in price.

These fine works of art left in the library have immeasurable potential for appreciation, even in terms of material quality, compared with their current prices and future value.

It can be said that now is a good time to start.

As long as you are not an impatient person, and just keep the money you buy, it won't be a big deal to make a hundred times the money in ten or twenty years.

The second reason is that the current situation of the mainland collection market in recent years is that as the country's doors open more and more, and as the Republic's foreign exhibitions and trade activities continue to increase, foreigners and compatriots from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan continue to enter the mainland.

The market conditions of special handicrafts in various industries, including jade, ivory carvings, bone carvings, enamel cloisonné, lacquerware, filigree inlay, silk flowers, plush birds, lacquerware, wood carvings, hardwood furniture, jewelry, traditional Chinese paintings, and interior paintings, have changed greatly.

Items like calligraphy and paintings and seals are more likely to be recognized and favored by collectors. As high-quality items become increasingly scarce, their prices soar and continue to set new highs.

At present, even the price of jade products has begun to rise and it seems that it is difficult to suppress it.

So from a short-term perspective, it is appropriate to take action now.

If this price really goes up, it might lead to a complete collapse in one or two years.

Third, from a collection perspective, buying these jade pieces from a jade factory does not just mean waiting for them to appreciate in value.

Just like Ning Weimin storing wine, he can enjoy the benefits of appreciation while also using it to run his restaurant.

You know, the biggest difference between Yunyuan, as a foreign-related hotel, and other foreign-related hotels in Beijing is that it is an ancient garden and was the private residence of the richest man in Beijing at that time.

It is not only magnificent and luxurious, but also rich in cultural connotations. It is not an unknown or vulgar place.

Therefore, buying these jade pieces can increase the heritage of Yun Garden and enhance its style. I am afraid that any guest who comes to Yun Garden and sees these rich jade collections will be shocked by these exquisite works of art.

Naturally, the evaluation of Yunyuan will also increase.

You know, selling services is not Yunyuan’s essential pursuit, nor is it Yunyuan’s unique core competitiveness; selling culture is.

Finally, Ning Weimin thought that now was a very appropriate time to go to the jade factory to buy things.

Because everyone is rushing to buy things, it won’t attract attention if you buy too much.

That wasn’t possible in the past.

Ning Weimin had been eyeing those things for a long time and was eager to move them back to his home.

But that's not possible. In the past, if he wanted to buy more, he was afraid of attracting attention. It would be bad if the relevant authorities investigated his financial situation.

Therefore, every time he went to the jade factory, he had to restrain himself and maintain a certain sense of propriety, and could only make purchases slowly and steadily.

But now there is no such concern. Anyway, the commercial market in the capital is in chaos. Even if they empty the jade factory, it is nothing in this situation. It must be said that Ning Weimin's idea is too calculating.

Moreover, he was able to please her and persuade Jiang Nianyun in no time.

You know, Jiang Nianyun was originally a daughter of a scholarly family, and her father studied architecture.

Her love and aesthetic taste for art are innate.

In particular, the love for jade and jadeite is determined by women's nature.

When Jiang Nianyun heard Ning Weimin speak so highly of the things in the jade factory and how thoughtful he was in every aspect, she immediately forgot about food and was about to go and take a look and let Ning Weimin make arrangements.

Although Kang Shude was a little surprised by this, he did not object.

The old man thought that buying these jade pieces was indeed a good idea, and it was definitely better than spending money to stockpile food.

In this hot weather, thousands of tons of grain would end up being fed to insects, so it would be better to buy this. So he took the initiative to help, called the director of the jade factory, and arranged a time for Jiang Nianyun to visit.

So, the next day, Ning Weimin and Kang Shude got up early and accompanied Jiang Nianyun to the Beijing Jade Factory.

It’s no wonder that as soon as Jiang Nianyun walked around the warehouse, she was dazzled by the dazzling array of jade wares.

Especially those masterpieces from famous artists are simply wonderful.

For example, before liberation, there was a jingle circulating among jade artists in Beijing.

"Beggar, Pan Bingheng, Little Pepper, Liu Deying, Little Zhuge, Wang Datou, lowlife, this is He Rong."

This is not an insult, but refers to the "Four Weirdos of Northern Jade" in the jade trade of Beijing. Each jingle describes the outstanding features of each.

Later, these four people were absorbed into the Beijing Jade Factory. Each of them left behind excellent works that were now gathering dust in the warehouse.

Like Pan Bingheng, the leader of the "Four Weirdos", this man devoted himself to jade carving and did not care about his appearance in his daily life.

In his later years he was nicknamed "Jade Tao", which shows how obsessed he was.

His main technological achievement was the invention of a method for obtaining materials by nesting.

In 1937, the lost jade-inlaid gold and silver thread-pressing technique from the Qianlong period was restored. This technique was later called the "gold inlaid jade" technique.

His works that can still be seen in the factory today include "Waiting for the Moon in the West Chamber" by Biyu and "Er Qiao Getting Her Makeup" by Songshi.

They were all works that combined various precious materials such as gems, ivory, corals, etc. Their beauty, ingenuity and gorgeousness were far beyond what people today can imagine.

Especially the coral statue "Six-Armed Buddha Locking a Dragon" is Pan Bingheng's masterpiece.

His artistic level far exceeds the "Coral Jade Playing with Parrot" and "Colorful Agate Inlaid with Gem Clam Buddha", which are also masterpieces from his hand and have been collected by the Louvre in Paris, France and the Philadelphia Blog House in the United States.

As for Liu Deying, he is praised in the industry as the master of three-dimensional flowers.

His flower works are a combination of three-dimensional round carving, deep and shallow floating carving, and hollow carving, and are known as "the craftsmanship shows skill."

It should be noted that most of the floral works on jade wares in the capital during the Ming and Qing dynasties were flat and embossed. Single pieces that combined round and hollow shapes were extremely rare, and even if they did exist, they were only shallowly embossed.

However, Liu Deying was able to start his innovation journey by improving tools and enhancing his craftsmanship.

He is best at making coral flowers, using materials with multiple branches. In terms of production techniques, he often uses drills or small hooks to connect the branches and stems with the turning and folding of flowers, so that the three layers of flowers, leaves and stems are connected.

Although due to the limitations of the tools, only one side (the front) can be worked on the dense flowers and leaves.

However, due to the proper arrangement of the composition, the curling and folding of flowers, leaves and stems are orderly and varied, and the work can ultimately achieve a three-sided viewing effect.

There are not many of his works preserved in the Beijing Jade Factory, the only one being "Birds Paying Homage to the Phoenix", which he conceived and created using a piece of coral with a relatively thick main branch and few twigs.

On one side of the bottle is a blooming peony, and on the other side is a tall, upright phoenix tree with large branches and leaves, which connects to the branches and leaves on the bottle cap and goes all the way to the top of the bottle.

A phoenix stands beside the phoenix tree, looking down at the gorgeous peonies.

On the branches of the paulownia trees, birds fly in pairs, spreading their wings as if ready to leap, creating a scene of new autumn.

This thing is extremely eye-catching among so many fine products.

Because it is so vivid and figurative, every detail is a perfect expression that people cannot imagine.

No matter how poor your artistic talent is, you will have to look at it for a while before you can look away.

There is also the third representative of the "Four Weirdos of Northern Jade", Wang Shusen, who is famous for his "flower pieces" and carved "weird figures".

Such as Bodhidharma, Jigong, Zhong Kui, as well as Qu Yuan, Li Bai and so on.

The so-called "weird" is a manifestation of Wang Shusen's creative idea that "the best works must be unique."

His "weirdness" is unconventional and has its own form of expression.

His works that can be seen in the factory include the agate "Qu Zi Wandering", the coral "Guanyin Crossing the Sea", the turquoise "Han Xiangzi", etc.

In addition, Wang Shusen also has a unique technique for "color matching" of agate.

The agate work he created, "Five Geese", is made from a piece of white agate with red. It is a classic work of color that is "unprecedented and unrivaled", with fourteen extremely rare color dots.

The five geese all have red crowns, white feathers, and black pupils. They are lifelike, vivid, and rich in meaning, just like "live geese".

This is undoubtedly a unique piece of art that will last forever, and its value is immeasurable. It is a metaphor for a peaceful and prosperous era with ample food and clothing.

As for her representative works of "flower pieces", the Beijing Jade Factory still has Gao Cui's "Dragon and Phoenix Appearing Together" and "Heavenly Girl Scattering Flowers", which were just completed.

Both pieces are made of rare "fine jade" materials.

It is comparable to the "Immortals Celebrating Birthday" he created in 1979 as a tribute to National Day.

You know, that work has been awarded the title of national treasure and is permanently collected.

As for the last one, He Rong, he specialized in round figures since he was young, mainly in Buddhist statues, but also in utensils, birds and animals.

His works, including the coral "Flying Buddha", the white jade "Flying Apsaras" and "Imitation Tang Buddha", are preserved in the jade factory in Beijing. They are all Buddha statues of a certain realm.

His female characters emphasize noble and graceful temperament.

The six-centimeter coral work "The Thirteenth Sister" is a model of small materials making great works, achieving the ultimate effect of using art in accordance with the material.

All in all, these fine products can only be described as “Oriental treasures”.

Those are creations of the highest level, sacred objects that are worshipped by people in the industry. There is no possibility that they will be surpassed by future generations.

If for no other reason, it is because there are too many distractions in modern society, and no one can devote their entire life to pursuing art with such concentration, care, and undivided attention.

Therefore, the so-called "masters" of the future are nothing but scum compared to these people.

Even someone like Jiang Nianyun, who had seen the world, felt refreshed and excited by these masterpieces that were beyond human imagination.

But to be honest, even these are only a small part of the inventory of the two jade factories.

There are more award-winning works that participated in the selection.

Such as the Beijing Jade Factory's agate colors "Harmony, Happiness and Longevity", coral "The Lotus Lantern", coral "The Girl Playing the Pipa", blue-white jade "The Foreign Furnace", coral "Flower Vase", jadeite colors "Autumn Scenery Vase", agate colors "Joy on the Eyebrows", Xiuyan jade colors "Crane", "Phoenix and Peony", agate "Dragon and Phoenix", plain "A Bottle for the Ages", jadeite "Five Blessings", lapis lazuli animals "A New Look", jadeite flower vase "Rural Sounds and Colors", agate colors "Amitabha", agate flowers "Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum", agate colors "Mirage" and so on.

There are also jasper "Pheasant", "Lotus and Kingfisher", Xiuyan jade "Yellow Chicken", "Peacock", "Phoenix Facing the Sun", jadeite "Pine and Crane", "Heron Lying on Lotus", "Three Autumn Vase", agate "Dragon Plate", "Shrimp Plate", "Crab Plate" and so on ... too numerous to count.

These are still rare and exquisite treasures. Any one of them is worthy of being displayed in a world-class museum.

So this is a bit of a catch-up.

Jiang Nianyun and Ning Weimin took advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Don’t forget that even the jade factories have been able to sell their own products since the first few years.

But the foreigners who came to visit mostly bought small items, and the big items were almost all left in the factory without being touched.

In the original history, these things, except for a small part that was later sent overseas for auction, were bought up by foreigners.

The rest were eventually shelved for decades and eventually ended up in national museums.

As for those currently employed, the last batch of truly skilled craftsmen will soon reach retirement age.

Then such high-level creations will soon no longer exist.

So this is really the last train.

Now is a unique opportunity to acquire.

The key is that the price is still cheap, it is really a historical low.

When Jiang Nianyun asked the staff, she found out that the two high-quality emerald "flower pieces" - "Dragon and Phoenix Appearing Together" and "Heavenly Girl Scattering Flowers" - were only sold for 15,000 yuan.

She couldn't believe the low price. In Hong Kong, this amount could only buy a better bracelet at most.

In such a huge treasure trove, buying one item is worth ten or a hundred items outside. Isn’t that just like picking up money?

Okay, stop talking nonsense!

The old lady made a decisive decision and decided to follow Ning Weimin's idea.

Buy! (End of this chapter)