Riding the wind of rebirth

“Although we are doing the same thing, we may not be doing it from the same intentions, so it’s not surprising that the results are different,” Liu Zhengyun said. “We can’t come here for nothing today. We must make Old Ma bring out all the treasures he keeps hidden away and tell us the stories inside.”

Although Zhou Zhi intercepted the furniture, bronze incense burner and other miscellaneous items belonging to Master Wang, Master Ma had been making a fortune in the capital since the 1980s, and his resources were much stronger than those of Shu, where Zhou Zhi was located.

From 1980 to 1990, antiques in private hands were practically worthless. Later, antique shops appeared, and they had quite a few fine pieces, but they were all transferred from museums. There were clear regulations that foreign exchange certificates were required to purchase them in order to comply with export regulations.

Although systems and implementation are two different concepts, Zhou Zhi still reaped considerable benefits from it. He later earned foreign exchange royalties by publishing books from Sichuan overseas, and had a considerable income in Hong Kong dollars. Even now, Hong Kong dollars and foreign currencies are treated equally. He also amassed a lot of valuable items from antique shops.

Mr. Ma wasn't so lucky. After everyone entered the porcelain hall, Mr. Ma began his introduction: "This row of porcelain pieces was all 'carried' from Hongguang Pavilion in Liulichang. We almost missed it."

"In 1985, the Kaifeng Museum commissioned Hongguang Pavilion to prepare a batch of porcelain, all from the Ming and Qing dynasties, totaling over a hundred pieces, in two glass cases." Master Ma led everyone to a Qianlong blue and white fish and algae jar. Knowing that everyone's interest in the origins of the artifacts was far less than their knowledge of them, he simply stopped explaining the artifacts and started telling stories.

“At the time, the asking price for this batch of cultural relics was 22,000 yuan. The museum submitted a report for this amount for two years, but it was not approved in the end. The manager of Hongguang Pavilion was also a little anxious, so he started to think about finding a buyer. That’s when he came to me and asked if I wanted it.”

“This part of the items did not come from the museum, so we can also buy them. However, more than 20,000 yuan was not a small amount at the time, and we also had to ensure that the museum’s collection had priority. So I told them that if the museum didn’t want them, I would take this batch of items.”

"As a result, this dragged on for three years, and by 1990, the Hongguang Pavilion finally sent a letter saying that the Kaifeng Museum was finally going to receive funding, but the prices of the items had risen again, and they still couldn't afford them. In the end, they only selected two Ming Dynasty masterpieces and decided not to accept the rest."

"During those ten years, the value of antiques was not apparent. No one could have imagined that antiques would appreciate in value, and people's judgment of the value of an antique was merely at the level of their feelings. Throughout those ten years, my perception of antique prices was very inaccurate, and my funds were very limited. I couldn't have foreseen what would happen later. It was all purely out of interest and hobby." Ma Weidu said with emotion, "The first time I realized that antiques could be valuable was in 1988. A Taiwanese director came to Beijing and saw a bowl in my house, asking if I could sell it to him. I had bought it for two hundred yuan, but the Taiwanese man asked for ten thousand US dollars. That was the first time I was truly amazed. I realized that these things that no one in China valued were so expensive overseas!"

"It's a pity that my income over the past ten years has been too low. It's not as good as Zhouzi's foreign exchange earnings. Although I started working ten years earlier than Zhouzi, I still don't have as many good items as him." Master Ma couldn't help but complain about Zhou Zhi, and then laughed: "Speaking of this batch of collections, my heart sank at the time. I asked the manager how much it would cost. The manager said that with storage fees, inflation and other factors, it would cost at least 180,000 now. He couldn't explain it to the employees if it cost less."

"This money also involves the restructuring and resettlement of employees, so not a penny can be missing. I was kicking myself at the time because I had just bought a car. If I hadn't bought it, I would have had enough money, but the news came a little late, and I was short of cash."

The 180,000 in 1990 was actually quite a hefty sum, similar to, or even greater than, the 20,000 in 1985. Meanwhile, Ma Ye's associates hadn't yet made their fortunes and often relied on him for financial assistance; they couldn't offer any real help. "This matter has always weighed on my mind," Ma Ye said. "Fortunately, it wasn't easy for Hongguang Pavilion to sell its goods. Back then, everyone was actively trying to earn foreign exchange for the country. When foreigners who could afford to buy came to us, we prioritized promoting the original museum collections transferred from antique shops. Although the items acquired from private individuals could be bought with RMB, almost no one could actually afford them. So, after three years, these items were basically not lost."

"Did I have money at that time? To be honest, I did, but I still couldn't bring myself to take out nearly 200,000 yuan at once." Master Ma sighed, "Until I met Zhouzi, he was quite straightforward and agreed to let the two of us partner up to buy this batch of antiques. However, he had one condition: he would pick first, until he felt that I could take over the rest."

"At the time, I didn't know how good the elbow was. I thought, how good could this kid's judgment be? If he picks the wrong one, won't all the remaining ones end up in my hands? So I agreed immediately."

"So Zhouzi used 180,000 plus 20,000 for 'water fees,' totaling 200,000, to buy up this batch of goods. Then he made a list of the two hundred or so items, estimated their value, and multiplied them by the 200,000 to get the cost price of each item. Then he started to reduce the price from the most expensive to the lowest."

Laughter erupted from the crowd. Everyone now knew the true level of Zhou Zhi's judgment; it was clear that Master Ma had suffered a setback in this matter.

“In the blink of an eye, five items were taken away by the elbow,” Master Ma said with a wry smile. “They are Huang Daozhou and Ni Yuanlu’s ‘Double Loyalty Examination Paper’, Shen Zhou’s ‘Elegant Gathering at Kuaiji’, a Ming Dynasty Chenghua blue and white porcelain jar with a lion-shaped knob and lotus leaf design featuring maidens, a Kangxi pink-ground openwork floral bowl, and a Yongzheng enamel double-chicken-protecting-chicks appreciation vase…”

"You remember it so clearly." Zhou Zhi laughed in astonishment.

"How could I not know?!" Master Ma said indignantly, "These five items are worth 100,000, and the remaining 190-plus items are also worth 100,000 in total. They're all here. How could I not know?!"

"Hahahaha..." Everyone couldn't hold back any longer. It was obvious that Zhou Zhi had picked out the most valuable items from the "cargo" he had obtained this time.

Antiques have begun to appreciate in value in recent years. However, the appreciation potential of high-quality antiques is vastly different from that of ordinary ones. Just look at the few pieces Zhou Zhi acquired; in another ten years or so, each one could be worth hundreds of millions. While the remaining items are also considered high-quality, they still can't compare to those earlier pieces. (End of Chapter)