The Grandmother in the Siheyuan

Chapter 22 Picking up the leaks
It's like a code word: "Buy or sell?"

"purchase."

"A dime."

After paying ten cents, Liu Hua covered his face with a towel and walked into the black market. There was no bright light. There were either lanterns in front of the stalls or customers holding flashlights. In any case, it was dim and unclear what was going on.

Most of the items sold are daily necessities and living supplies. The black market today is very different from the black market back then. Most of the items sold on the black market in the old society were illegal, or the stall owners felt ashamed of it.

It is legal nowadays, but this behavior is not encouraged.

Liu Hua wanted to turn on the flashlight, but fortunately he took a closer look and saw that almost everyone's lights were shining on the ground. They could look at the goods but not at people. It seemed that this was a taboo in this industry.

Liu Hua shone the flashlight on the ground and saw food, cigarettes, alcohol, fish and meat.

Liu Hua was disdainful of such daily necessities. He had an exchange system, and it was quite cheap. One point could be exchanged for 100 kilograms of pork belly.

Liu Hua now has 500 points, 100 of which are novice benefits, and the remaining 400 are rewards for brake water tanks, which is equivalent to 40,000 kilograms of pork belly, enough for him to eat until he dies.

He heard from others that there were descendants of the Eight Banners selling their belongings on the black market. These were all valuable items. If they collected more now, when the market was open, there would be a mix of good and bad people, and the more they collected, the less they would have.

Originally, Liu Hua had no intention of keeping it because he had nowhere to hide it. If others knew about it, it would be a disaster.

But now that I have a space, I can give it a try. When it opens up in the future, I can sell one or two items and exchange them for a few courtyard houses, and then I can lie down and become a landlord.

Those Eight Banners descendants are the kind of people who would rather suffer than lose face. They would not block the entrance of the black market to sell things, but usually hide in a quiet corner.

After all, the things they sell are relatively expensive, and selling one is enough for them to live happily for a while.

At the back door of the black market, which is actually the place where everyone retreats when encountering special situations, I saw a few people hiding there. There were bags on the ground and there were not many things in them, but they were all shining with precious things.

"Man, if you want to see something, come closer."

A stall owner greeted Liu Hua and dimmed the lanterns on the ground a little, just a little.

Liu Hua looked at several plum bottles, a ring and a snuff bottle placed on the ground.

"What good stuff do you have?"

"These are all the good stuff left by our ancestors."

Liu Hua squatted down, picked up the jade ring and looked at it carefully. One word: smooth.

But Liu Hua didn't know what was good about it. After all, he was a technology geek and a science student. He was completely clueless about antique appraisal.

The stall owner looked at Liu Hua's face in the dim light and soon concluded that this was a rookie who didn't understand these things at all.

God really can't let the sparrow starve to death, so this wealth has fallen into my hands.

"This is a good thing. It is the ring used by Prince Heshuo Yu. Do you know who Prince Heshuo Yu is?"

The stall owner kept the secret and laid an ambush. When he revealed the answer later, he would shock Liu Hua.

Liu Hua's mind was working fast. He knew nothing about antiques and the man in front of him was a coward who was most likely trying to trick him. How could he break the deadlock?

Liu Hua immediately thought of his own exchange system, wondering if it had the skills to identify antiques.

After searching in his mind, he found that it was indeed available for 150 points. He gritted his teeth and stomped his feet to buy it. Because his mental power was relatively large now, he accepted this skill without any side effects.

"Prince Heshuo Yu, Duoduo." Liu Hua said disdainfully, "You think I don't know anything. The dragon and phoenix painted on it are obviously a literary ring. Who is Duoduo? He is a warrior who leads troops to fight. He looks down on Fan Wencheng, a traitor and a scholar. Is this thing he uses?"

"Well, I'm impressed today. It turns out that you are an expert."

Liu Hua put the ring down gently: "This thing is a work of art made after Emperor Qianlong. It should be used by those uneducated children of the Eight Banners to show off. The material and craftsmanship are not good."

Liu Hua finally said disdainfully: "It's just dirtying my hands. I don't even have a place to put it when I take it back."

"Okay, look at something else."

"You don't have anything good here. If you sell all the Jiaqing blue and white tea bowls, can you get a good price?"

A stall owner nearby called out, "Little brother, he doesn't like that, why don't you come over here and take a look at mine?"

Liu Hua ignored him and picked up a plum vase: "This is in pretty good condition, from the Qianlong period. How much is it selling for?"

"My dear, look carefully, there is a Xuande underneath."

Liu Hua smiled and shook his head: "Look at your ignorant appearance. You have forgotten what Emperor Qianlong loved to do the most, which is to pretend to be cultured. He himself liked Ming blue and white porcelain, especially the Xuande period, so he often stamped the porcelain from his official kiln with the Xuande style."

Liu Hua held the plum vase in front of the stall owner and said, "Take a look for yourself. Is this Sumaliqing? It's not the same color at all."

Liu Hua took another gamble. The things this guy could sell now were definitely not his favorites. Maybe they had been gathering dust in a corner for a long time.

This plum vase is indeed from the Xuande period, and it contains genuine Sumaliqing, but one could never have expected that this old man hadn't paid much attention to it before, and he might have given Liu Hua a magic pill.

Liu Hua put down the plum vase and asked, "How much?"

"Fifty."

"Thirty." Liu Hua chopped off the knife directly: "Although it is from the Qianlong period, you have to understand the time now. It is not only not good for drinking, but who is willing to spend money to buy it? This is a good year. If it were last year, I would at most give you five catties of corn flour."

"Thirty is thirty, at least I can open a shop."

Liu Hua was very happy to buy the Xuande blue and white plum vase for thirty yuan.

The seller doesn't care. Not only does this thing take up space in the cellar at home, but it's also hard to sell in the current market. He might as well exchange it for a few cents.

Liu Hua looked at other stalls and picked up a few pieces of Shoushan stone. The quality looked good, real frozen stones. Although not full blood, it accounted for more than half.

"My dear, you are a talented person. I guess you come from a scholarly family."

The stall owner who sells seal materials said proudly: "That's right, my grandfather was also a bachelor of the Hanlin Academy, and a real Jinshi in the two lists."

"Do you have any writing brushes, inkstones, and paper at home?" Liu Hua asked with a smile, "I want to collect some old paper and ancient ink."

The stall owner smiled and said, "My dear little brother, you have a good taste. At first glance, I can smell the fragrance of books. You're not to mention that I really have some at home. If you really want them, I'll bring some samples here next Wednesday for you to see."

After making an agreement with the stall owner, Liu Hua walked back with satisfaction. Passing by a small stall, he smelled the aroma of wine. He looked around and found that it was an old wine jar.

　Ask for monthly tickets and collection
　　
　
(End of this chapter)