Siheyuan: Pretend to be a Pig and Eat the Tiger

Huo Shao and the others were curious. What kind of object could make this learned Mr. Han so nervous? Could He Yuzhu have gotten a bargain?
"Chunming, you can watch if you want, but are you sure you know him?"

“Master, I dare not say anything else, but I am extremely familiar with this incense burner. I have read the books about this incense burner no less than dozens of times!”

He Yuzhu smiled and shook his head. Every old Beijinger has this habit of boasting. They can talk about anything and everything, and if they know a little information, they can combine it with many different stories and talk on and on.
Han Chunming may have looked at it many times, but dozens of times is a bit of an exaggeration. However, whether this thing is genuine or not, we still need Han Chunming to authenticate it!
"Here you go, be careful with this. I think it's real, don't let me try to take advantage of it!"

"Okay, don't worry!"

Han Chunming subtly curled his lip. What are you pretending for? You're a complete novice when it comes to antiques. If we didn't have so many guests, I might have made a few jokes!
Han Chunming examined the incense burner carefully, then let out a sigh of relief. This thing was indeed real. He had studied it for so many years, but he never expected it to fall into He Yuzhu's hands.

This thing is related to Yang Liulang, and the story behind it is true. It's a Song Dynasty incense burner, so it has great collectible value.
However, once this thing fell into the master's hands, there wasn't much he could do. After all, the master had money to burn. Alas, it seems we were destined to be apart and missed each other!

"Mr. Han, this incense burner?"

Even the erudite Han Chunming was so nervous, how could Huo Shao not know that He Yuzhu had acquired a treasure? But, a gentleman does not take what others love, so one can only sigh at He Yuzhu's good fortune!

“Mr. Huo, this incense burner is no ordinary item. As far as I know…”

Han Chunming looked at the incense burner with reluctance, recounting the stories he knew. Between the lines, he seemed to lament the injustice of heaven, believing that such a thing could only play a greater role in his own hands. In He Yuzhu's hands, it was at most an old incense burner, and had no other use!
He Yuzhu was overjoyed. He had bought Song's "Heaven and Earth's Death" incense burner for only 100 yuan. Such good luck didn't come around every day!
This incense burner needs to be paired with that book to be considered a good item; otherwise, many people won't know the story behind it, and if it's just an incense burner from the Song Dynasty, its significance will be diminished.

Many valuable items need to be accompanied by verifiable stories and historical materials to double their value, although Song Dynasty incense burners are quite valuable;
But he wanted to keep it for himself. Knowing that Han Chunming had such a book, how could he possibly give it up? Thinking of this, He Yuzhu looked meaningfully at Chunming, who was telling the story!

"Broken bottles, broken cans, I'll buy them..."

"Hey, ragpicker, come over here..."

He Yuzhu smiled slightly, shouted loudly, and turned around after seeing He Yuzhu and Han Chunming. He was slightly taken aback and walked over!
Never underestimate a scrap collector. Their job may seem ordinary, and some people may even look down on them, but it may be many times more secure than a "secure job" and their assets may exceed those of most people!

You can't judge a book by its cover, and you can't measure the sea with a bucket. For example, many people look down on junk collectors these days. Wasn't Han Chunming, who collected junk in the drama, criticized by everyone? But is your so-called good job comparable to his? Not necessarily!

"He Yuzhu, Han Chunming, what are you doing here? It's one thing for Chunming to be here, but you're not in this line of work, you shouldn't have time to waste here, right?" "Loser, these are guests from Hong Kong Island. They were just curious and brought them here to take a look. Master is here to entertain guests, not to pick up bargains!"

Han Chunming smiled. This man's understanding of the secrets of life and death was no less than his own. What would his reaction be if he knew that such a valuable item had fallen into He Yuzhu's hands? He really couldn't wait to find out!
"I see, Chunming, what good stuff did you find? You seem so happy?"

Han Chunming's lips curled up. He didn't want to provoke you, but since you old rascal asked first, then he felt bad!

"My master found it; it has nothing to do with me. After it's broken, do you remember the phrase 'Heaven and Earth Seal'?"

The ragged man was taken aback. If anyone else had studied these four words, it would definitely be Han Chunming. A few years ago, he had given Han Chunming several books, one of which was specifically about "Heaven and Earth's Death"!

The ragged man stared incredulously at the incense burner in Han Chunming's hand. Had he obtained the "Heaven and Earth Death Furnace"? How lucky was he?

However, Han Chunming's insight and knowledge are not to be underestimated. How could someone trained by Grandpa Guan make a mistake?

The ragged man hurriedly walked up to Han Chunming, his hands trembling as he slowly took the incense burner and examined it carefully!
"It's true, exactly as described in the book. I've had this book for years, and Chunming has studied it for quite some time. In the end, this thing ended up in your hands!"

The book tells the story of Han Chang, the Grand General of the Liao Kingdom, who was inspired by an ancient person to use ice to command and study warfare. After being corrupted by magic, he set up the "Heaven and Earth Death Formation". Han Chang gave Yang Liulang, the then Marshal of the Three Passes of the Great Song Dynasty, a promise that if the Great Song Dynasty broke his formation, he would swear never to invade the border of the Great Song Dynasty again.
This formation can be described as a formation within a formation, with each formation connected to the next. Yang Liulang was also a remarkable figure. He went to scout the formation alone, but on his return, he was ambushed by the enemy. They lit the medicinal herbs that were meant to protect him, and Yang Liulang fell unconscious on his white horse.

His horse was different; it was named "Night Illumination." Yang Liulang felt someone pulling him at any moment, and the warhorse led him to a place called "Baishui Xinglong Temple."

Hungry and unable to move freely, the white horse gnawed off pieces of plaster from the temple wall and brought them to Yang Liulang.

The plaster on the wall was made of glutinous rice flour paste. It dissipated after four days. Later, Yang Liulang broke the Heaven and Earth Death Formation and rebuilt Baishui Temple!
The incense burner that He Yuzhu obtained is the core of the "Heaven and Earth Death Formation".
After carefully recalling and explaining the origins of the Heaven and Earth Death Formation, the Broken-Robed Marquis couldn't help but sigh at the good fortune of humankind, lamenting that it had fallen into the hands of an amateur!
After finishing opening the broken-down shop, Hou picked up the incense burner and examined it again. He knew how difficult it was to find a bargain these days; he hadn't come across anything good in a long time. He did have some Qing dynasty porcelain, though.
However, there are very few fine pieces. Most of them are from folk kilns, and official kiln pieces rarely appear on the market. Most of them are imitations. When the masters of antiquing saw that many foreigners liked old objects, they started to find ways to make a lot of imitations. These imitations were so good that they could be mistaken for the real thing!
The ragged Hou finally confirmed that this was the incense burner of the "Heaven and Earth Death Formation" recorded in the book. No way, Chunming and he should be the "destined ones"; but in the end, He Yuzhu got it. Where can we find justice?

"Sigh... I was planning to go to the countryside today, but now I don't want to go anymore. Sometimes luck really does matter. He Yuzhu, how about coming over for a drink? I'll think about it!" (End of Chapter)