EBE Chapter 457 Kangxi Blue and White Porcelain Bell Cup with Figures from Radio Gymnastics
Chapter 457 Kangxi Blue and White Porcelain Bell Cup with Figures from Radio Gymnastics
Looking at the bustling scene, Zhuang Chaoying recalled a classic saying in the antique trade...
"If you don't open for business for three years, you can live off it for three years once you do."
He wandered around the various stalls, looking at the all sorts of trinkets displayed there: porcelain, coins, ornaments, a motley collection, all in a chaotic mess.
Just then, he walked up to a stall and saw a foreign couple staring at a cup with a very unique design. Zhuang Chaoying looked closer and exclaimed inwardly, "Wow, this cup has a story behind it! Awesome!"
It turns out that the picture on the cup depicts a man and a woman doing calisthenics, with their clothes still hanging on a stool and a clothes rack. This bizarre scene is both funny and absurd.
A thought flashed through his mind: Could this be the tea set used in the ancient "Red Romance Second Floor"?
[System, how much are you offering to buy this cup?]
The system responded quickly.
[In response to the host, the Kangxi blue and white porcelain bell cup depicting figures from radio calisthenics features beautiful lines, a unique shape, a pure white and delicate body, and a neatly crafted foot. The inscription "Made in the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty" is also included. The system has recovered 70,000 yuan.]
Open the door, or rather, open the door.
Zhuang Chaoying was overjoyed; the price was incredibly tempting, and she had to get this cup.
But when he turned his head, he saw that the foreign couple also seemed to really like the cup, especially the foreign lady, who wouldn't let go of it once she held it.
She looked at the picture on the cup and asked, "How much?"
The two were accompanied by a female college student who also served as their tour guide. She quickly began translating.
"Boss, how much is this cup?"
The stall owner sized up the stylishly dressed foreigners, each with a camera around their neck, and silently calculated in his mind, holding up two fingers. "Two thousand."
Upon hearing this, the foreign woman quickly looked at the tour guide.
"two thousand."
The foreign woman then shook her head and put the cup back on the stall.
Seeing her put down the cup, the stall owner became anxious and hurriedly said, "Young lady, please help me tell you, this cup is from the Ming Dynasty, it's a cup used by a prince, a genuine blue and white porcelain wine cup. Look how interesting the picture is, have a drink."
The naive young girl blushed slightly as she looked at the picture on the cup. She swallowed hard and was about to speak when the stall owner interrupted her.
The stall owner knew perfectly well that these days, the easiest people to swindle money from were definitely these foreigners who only had a superficial understanding of antiques.
Judging from the fact that they need a translator to speak, they definitely don't understand Chinese.
So he put on a big smile and said to the little girl.
"Little sister, I'll sell this cup for two thousand. If you can help me close this deal, I'll give you five hundred back. How about it? I'm a generous guy, and you're Chinese too, so you can't side with someone from out of town."
The foreign man had remained silent because he knew perfectly well that his foreign face was seen as an easy target by some people, making him a perfect sucker.
He had been in Kyoto for five years. Although his Mandarin was not very fluent, he could still communicate and understand what others were saying without any problems. So he remained silent throughout the whole process, just wanting to see what tricks the stall owner could pull.
"Dude, you're ripping me off with 500 back for every 2000? You're really ripping me off, Alice. Let's go." The foreign man suddenly spoke fluent Chinese, then turned and left with his girlfriend in his arms.
The stall owner stared in astonishment at the foreign man speaking Chinese and hurriedly called out.
"Hey buddy, you can speak Mandarin, and you even say 'te'. Five hundred, five hundred for you, this is blue and white porcelain."
Seeing the employer walk forward, the tour guide quickly said to the stall owner, "Boss, you're really overcharging. If you ask for a thousand, he might actually buy it."
Seeing that the foreign couple had finally left, Zhuang Chaoying reached for her cup and asked, "How much, boss?"
The stall owner, frustrated by his failed sale and with nowhere to vent his anger, slumped into a chair. "Fifty."
Zhuang Chaoying didn't mince words. He genuinely liked the cup and had no intention of selling it; he just wanted to keep it for himself.
He pulled fifty yuan out of his pocket and handed it over, saying, "Dude, I'll take this cup."
The stall owner was quite straightforward; he reached out and took the fifty yuan, then handed the cup over. "It's yours."
The stall owner was now kicking himself, thinking to himself that he should have charged less.
He originally got this cup by trading an aluminum pot for it in the countryside, and he didn't consider it a rare treasure at first.
Back in the day, those foreign devils stole so many good things from our ancestors, so whenever he sees a foreigner, he thinks he can swindle as many as he can, which is a way of getting some back.
This time, I didn't manage to scam the foreigners. Oh well, at least I can make a little money selling to my own people, which will cover my living expenses for the month.
Zhuang Chaoying put the cup into her purse and then strolled around a bit further.
At a stall, he saw Yuan Shikai silver dollars, which cost five yuan each, so he bought ten of them and also bought some copper coins.
With the help of the system to authenticate them, he selected five more silver hairpins for Huang Ling. Two of them were plain, while the other three had old hairpin bodies and the gemstones were added later. Although the patina was not quite right, they were indeed from the late Qing Dynasty.
Afterwards, he went to Rongbaozhai, thinking about bringing some gifts for his relatives and friends.
He chose a painting titled "Jade Snow Pine and Peony" for his uncle and a painting titled "Yellow River Tangkou" by Huang Hongbin for his father-in-law.
In addition, I bought three calligraphy works, two of which were intended as gifts for Lin Gong and Lao An. One was a landscape painting by Li Keran, the other was a landscape scroll with color by Shen Zou, and the other was a flower and bird scroll by Bada Shanren.
These paintings and calligraphy cost a total of 1,966.7 yuan.
The staff carefully tied the painting and calligraphy together and handed them to him.
Zhuang Chaoying, carrying the painting, went out, hailed a taxi, and headed straight for the courtyard house.
Today's trip to Liulichang was a real steal, especially with that unique cup. Compared to that, the calligraphy and paintings became secondary gains. He was in a good mood, humming a little tune all the way.
Back at the courtyard house, after opening the door and putting the calligraphy and paintings into his suitcase, he went out again to find a place to eat.
.....
At three o'clock in the afternoon, the sun was shining brightly. Tu Nan and Wan Shu finished their day's activities and returned to the courtyard house.
Today was a very rewarding day for them.
The organizers arranged for the nine award-winning designers to have a meal.
In this significant "Design Competition for Outstanding Architectural Artworks of the 1980s", the award categories were uniquely designed, with only one first prize, three second prizes, and six third prizes.
It is worth mentioning that Zhang Liangchun from the Northwest Design Institute has outstanding talent, with two of his works selected at the same time, winning second and third prizes respectively.
The top ten outstanding works from this competition will not only be featured in two highly authoritative and influential magazines in the field of architecture, Time + Architecture and Architectural Journal, but will also embark on a touring exhibition, visiting major architectural colleges across the country and even being exhibited overseas.