The next day.
Morning.
Dong Xuebing was still dreaming. In his dreams, he was inthe middle of a field, and he could smell the scent of flowers. But suddenly,there was a storm and the whole world was flooded and he was drowning in flood.He could not breathe and was struggling to swim... Then, he woke up and saw QuYunxuan's face in front of him. She was pinching Dong Xuebing's nose andsmiling. "What did you dream? Why are you grinning like a fool?" Both of themgrew closer over the past few weeks and had exchanged keys to their home. Thiswas why Dong Xuebing was not surprised to see Qu Yunxuan in his room.
Dong Xuebing rubbed his nose. "I thought I had drowned when I couldn't breathe."
Qu Yunxuan laughed and knocked his head. "Breakfast isready."
After she left, Dong Xuebing got dressed and saw thatshopping bag of cosmetics. He remembered that the gifts he prepared for LiuHua's wife were still with him. He rubbed his nose and thought for a while,before bringing the bag out to the living room. He looked at Qu Yunxuan, whowas bent over wiping the windowsills: "Eh, you don't need to do this. I will wipeit later. Aunt Xuan, can you come over for a minute? Do you need these cosmetics?"
Qu Yunxuan was surprised. "Why are you buying things for meagain?"
Dong Xuebing did not lie: "Actually, I had bought these formy leader's wife. But he did not accept my gifts."
Qu Yunxuan looked at him, "Really?"
"I don't dare to lie to you. It's the truth." Dong Xuebingpassed the bag over.
Qu Yunxuan stared at him and look into the shopping bag."L'Oreal? Elizabeth Arden? These are expensive stuff." Qu Yunxuan laughed. "Youreally know about cosmetics. All these are the stuff I can use. I was stillthinking of buying cosmetics next week. Fine. I will accept these."
"Ok. Let's have breakfast."
"I have just eaten, and I need to go to the New agency. Yougo ahead."
"Today is Saturday. Are you working overtime again?"
"Yes. If I can clinch these 2 deals today, I will be able toget high commission. I will buy some nice clothing for you if I get it." QuYunxuan finished up cleaning the windows and grab her handbag from the sofa."Ok, I am off to work. I might be having dinner with my clients this eveningand will be late."
Dong Xuebing knew that Qu Yunxuan was working hard to saveup enough to set up her own business. But it was not easy to save 1 millionRMB. Dong Xuebing was worried that she would tire herself out before she reachesher goal. He decided to think of ways to earn some money after this DeputyChief selection was over.
9 am. Dong Xuebing went to the bank to withdraw 20,000 RMBand took a bus to Panjiayuan.
Although he was not confident of finding the 46 mm LionHead, he still wanted to try.
Panjiayuan, Beijing Antique Market.
This market was located at the southeast of Beijing's 3rdRing Road. It was China's biggest antique market, and all sorts of antiquescould be found there. There were more than 3,000 stalls there and were set upby people from all the various provinces in China. Other than the foodproducts, there were all sorts of goods. It was like a museum and had attractedtourists from all over the world. It was the playground for antique collectors.
The morning was the busiest time for this antique market.Today was a Saturday, and the crowd was more significant than other days.
Dong Xuebing looked around the market and head towards thewest. He entered a shop specializing in selling collectible Walnuts and walnutscraving. He had worked in a porcelain shop nearby and knew where the walnutsshops were located. "Boss, do you have Lion Heads?"
The man in the shop replied. "Yes, what type do you want?"
"46."
"Huh?" The shop owner shook his head. "I do not have those."
"I don't mind about the colors or have slight defects, aslong as it is 46."
The shop owner shook his head. "46 is too rare. It is toodifficult to find a single piece, let alone a pair. If I have a pair of 46, Iwill also not sell it. I will keep it for my own collection."
Dong Xuebing sighed and left the shop for the next shop.
"Boss, do you have 46 Lion Head?"
"Oh, the biggest pair I have here is 44 Tiger. Do you wantto see it?"
"Nevermind. Thanks."
Dong Xuebing went to 4 shops and could not even find asingle 46 Lion Head!
Dong Xuebing sighed and said to himself. "I knew it. If it canbe found so easily, Liu Hua would have bought it a long time ago."
When Dong Xuebing was about to return home, he heard someoneshouting.
"Come and see. Chicken Heart, 200 RMB a pair. Lion Head fromPanshan, 400 RMB for a pair."
There was a big crowd around a walnut stall not far away.
Dong Xuebing squeezed his way through the crowd to thefront. This stall was not selling the finished walnut products. It was sellingthe green walnut fruits. There were a few baskets of walnut fruits on the floor,and 5 to 6 hands were choosing the fruits. The business was bustling. Thesecretion from the walnut fruit will turn black after it was exposed to air.The stall owner's hands were like coal miners. He used a small knife to cut theskin of the walnut fruit and shouts to attract customers.
Dong Xuebing was familiar with this.
This was walnut gambling.
These walnut fruits were plucked from the trees before theywere ripe. The species of walnut from this region, Shilihe, were mainly ScholarHats, Chicken Hearts, Tiger Head, and the top-grade Lion Head. There was no wayto tell how the seeds look like from the exterior of the walnut fruit. This waswhy it was called Walnut gambling. It was all based on luck. This type ofgambling started a few years ago, and it was very popular in Beijing.
Tiger Head walnut season started earlier, and the fruitswill not be available by the end of the month. The walnut fruits now weremainly Lion Head.
Walnut gambling?!
Dong Xuebing was deep in thoughts. Although these fruitssold by this seller were not high-grade fruits, there should be exceptional.While working part-time in the past, he had seen an old man opened up twowalnut fruits, and it formed a pair of 44mm Tiger Head. Since 46mm Lion Headcould not be found in any of the shops here, should I try my luck in Walnutgambling? What if 46mm Lion Head could really be found in this basket offruits?
No. This should not be luck. There were so many walnutfruits in Panjiayuan, and there should be at least a pair of 46mm Lion Head.
But how should I get it?
From the exterior of the fruits, there was no way to see thesize of the seed inside...
Notes: Walnut gambling is very interesting. I watched a Youtube video about this walnut gambling and collecting before. It's a Chinese program, and it explains how it worked
There were two types of walnut gambling.
First, it isthe same as what was stated in this chapter. People will buy the fruits from aroad side peddler, and the peddler will cut the fruit for their customers. The fruits were sold in pairs. Customers get to choose the fruits themselves from apile of fruits. Once the fruits were cut open, they will look at the seeds. Ifthe seeds from both fruits were big, similar in size and color, it would wortha lot. The seeds were all measured in mm. The prices of the fruits are a fewhundred RMB a pair.
The next type of gambling is to buy the whole tree. The buyers will travel to the walnutplantations in the countryside and buy all the fruits on a single tree. It costa lot more than the previous type of gambling. But the chances of getting bigwalnut seeds were higher. One tree will produce 400 and more fruits. It mightcost up to a few hundred thousand RMB per tree.