The stall owner had seen all kinds of customers, and in his eyes, the young girl in front of him was nothing special. He crossed his arms and said, "Shoo, shoo. If you're not buying, don't make trouble."
The small clay figurine on the stall noticed Jin Mutong as well, curling its lips. "I knew someone would be fooled, even a pretty lady can't escape. Sigh, I'm genuinely worried for your future."
Jin Mutong's eyelid twitched slightly, but she forced herself to ignore the little figurine. Acting nonchalant, she said, "Boss, you claim this porcelain bowl is from the Ming Dynasty's Hongwu era, but just look at this blue-and-white porcelain vase. The white glaze is overly bright, and the blue pattern looks too unnatural. The blue-and-white porcelain from the Hongwu period had a grayish tint, especially for official kilns. This seems like something fresh out of a kiln in Jingdezhen."
Hearing the girl speak so knowledgeably after squatting down to examine the items, the surrounding onlookers became curious and gathered closer, eager to listen in.
The stall owner lost his initial composure and warned, "You don't know what you're talking about! Look closely at the bubbles under the glaze; those are unique to the Hongwu period!"
In truth, Jin Mutong wasn't entirely certain if the item was genuine. After all, she had only read about such things in books and never handled an authentic piece herself.
At this moment, the little figurine's face was filled with even more mockery. It wobbled its head in a smug manner. "Bravo, bravo! Under-glaze bubbles, huh? Bah! In the Hongwu era, were the bubbles that fine? There's no translucency at all. And you're still trying to scam this pretty lady? Shame on you!"
Jin Mutong raised an eyebrow slightly and parroted, "These bubbles are clearly artificial. While it's true that there were bubbles under the glaze in blue-and-white porcelain from the Hongwu period, they were evenly distributed and had a translucent quality. But these bubbles... clearly modern craftsmanship. Moreover..."
The little figurine widened its eyes. "What? Her eye is almost as sharp as mine? Pretty ladies really are in a class of their own."
Jin Mutong pointed to the dragon depicted on the porcelain bowl. "The proportions of this dragon's claws are wrong, its posture isn't elegant, and the painting is rough. It doesn't look like official kiln work at all. So, for a modern replica like this, you're asking for 200,000 yuan?"
The stall owner's face turned from red to white as he listened. He had indeed put a lot of effort into this porcelain bowl, even studying the characteristics of blue-and-white porcelain from the Hongwu period to commission a batch of high-quality imitations. This was his prized piece, and he had planned to trap a gullible buyer during the weekend rush. He never expected to be exposed by a young girl.
"What nonsense are you spouting!" he retorted, pointing at Jin Mutong, but his tone revealed his unease.
The onlookers burst into laughter. "The girl's right! This piece is fresh out of the kiln. The imitation isn't even that good. At most, it's worth one or two hundred yuan, but you're asking for 200,000? That's hilarious."
The small figurine continued to grumble, "Tsk, tsk. Why didn't you all speak up earlier? You're only saying it now because the pretty lady pointed it out. But alas, even a pretty lady can't see my brilliance. Sigh, being so impressive is truly a lonely existence."
The stall owner was trembling with anger, but Jin Mutong held onto the porcelain bowl and didn't let go. "Alright, even though it's a replica, I need something for decoration at home. How about this: 250 yuan, and I'll take the bowl. These two little clay figurines over here aren't worth much anyway. Throw them in as a gift. What do you say?"
A piece originally priced at 200,000 yuan was now down to just over 200? And 250, no less—was she mocking him?
The little figurine froze for a moment, its eyes widening as it stared at Jin Mutong's hand pointing at it. Trembling with fury, it roared, "Little clay figurine?! Not! Worth! Anything?! You—you—you! This is an insult to me! I don't like you anymore! You're not smart! And you're not pretty either!"
In the corner, it screamed angrily, its chest heaving up and down as if Jin Mutong's words had driven it mad.
Meanwhile, the stall owner was nearly as furious.
"Someone just offered me 200,000 yuan for that piece!" he insisted, trying to hold on.
The crowd erupted in laughter once more.
In the world of antiques, if your item is genuine, it's your skill to sell it at a high price. If it's fake and you still manage to sell it for a high price, that's also your skill. But if someone exposes it, all you can do is swallow your pride.
Jin Mutong grinned. "There are so many people here. Do you really think that buyer would come back to fall into your trap? Besides, they probably wouldn't return anyway."
Seeing the growing crowd, the stall owner's composure crumbled completely. He just wanted this troublesome girl to leave as quickly as possible.
"Fine, fine. Take it for 300 yuan."
There was no way he'd settle for 250 yuan—business had its limits, after all! He still had to give away two clay figurines. He decided he wouldn't lower the price by even a cent more.
Jin Mutong counted the cash in her bag. "I didn't bring my phone, and I only have 280 yuan on me. Boss, just sell it to me. I've been bargaining with you for a while now."
The stall owner hesitated, feeling utterly defeated.
"Fine. 280 yuan, and it's yours. Just take it."
He waved her off, eager to see Jin Mutong disappear.
Smiling, Jin Mutong packed the porcelain bowl into her bag, then casually picked up the still-enraged little clay figurine and stuffed it into her bag as well before getting up to leave.
The little figurine yelled, "Put me down, you wretched woman! Ahhhhh! I'm going to die! How could I be sold so cheaply and humiliated like this? If my buddies find out, where will I put my face? How can I go on living?!"
The onlookers shook their heads. "This girl has a good eye for porcelain, but she got tricked by the stall owner. She picked up a filthy, broken clay figurine."
"Exactly. There were better figurines right next to it, but she chose a damaged one."
"She probably didn't notice. Anyway, it's not worth much."
Once Jin Mutong left, the crowd began to disperse as well.
The vendor from the neighboring stall came over to chat with the vendor Jin Mutong had just dealt with.
"Hey, you're doing alright, making a sale this early in the morning."
The man scoffed. "What kind of sale is that!"
"Come on, at least you sold something. It's all just junk anyway, and at that price, you've already made your money back. Look at me, I'm in trouble—I don't even know when I'll be able to get rid of all my junk."
"Hmph, if it weren't for that little girl causing trouble, I might have made a big profit!"
"Well, in this business, we can't be greedy. Sooner or later, your luck will come."
"Hmph."
Jin Mutong continued browsing the antique stalls with her bag, but due to her limited expertise in antiques, she didn't spot anything else valuable and decided to head back to the shop. However, the little clay figurine in her bag was still chattering away, full of pride and lament. "I'm worth a fortune! None of the items on that stall could compare to me. That broken bowl can't even match my little finger, and yet I was sold with it as some freebie. Oh, what a miserable fate I have!"
Annoyed by the constant noise, Jin Mutong quickened her pace, but the figurine continued to babble. Her ears began to ring, and she couldn't help but growl, "Shut up."
"You think I'll shut up just because you tell me to? Do you still think you're the pretty lady I once admired? Ever since you got me in that buy-one-get-one deal, I…"
The clay figurine abruptly stopped, as if suddenly realizing something. Staring in disbelief, it asked, "You can hear me?"
Jin Mutong didn't bother responding, but the figurine was suddenly excited as if it had discovered something amazing.
"Oh my heavens, you must have heard me! You must be telling me to shut up, right? You can hear me! I haven't heard anyone respond to me in so long!"
The little figurine started shouting in excitement, Jin Mutong's one word seemingly unlocking his chatterbox again. He didn't mind her silence and continued talking, teary-eyed and runny-nosed.
"Let me tell you, I was born in the Western Han dynasty. You can tell from my dashing, handsome face. And don't mind how dirty I look now. Back then, I was…"
(At this point, 5,000 words are omitted...)
The clay figurine rambled on and on, from the moment he was made to how he was passed from one owner to another until he ended up in the hands of the street vendor. By the time Jin Mutong arrived home, it was clear he could have kept talking for days.
Numb to his incessant chatter, Jin Mutong entered the shop, expressionless, and set her bag down. She carefully took out the painting from her bag and hung it back in its original spot. Then, she placed the porcelain bowl she had bought from the stall on a shelf. Although it was a fake, the imitation was quite decent, and since there weren't many real antiques in her shop, it would work as an extra decorative piece.
Finally, she pulled out the still-talking little clay figurine from her bag.
The figurine's eyes met Jin Mutong's, and it immediately shrank back, its voice growing quieter. Jin Mutong sighed in relief and rubbed her temples.
Unable to resist, the figurine cautiously swallowed and asked, "You… you can really hear me?"
It was utterly shocked. For so many years, since its reemergence from the ground, it hadn't spoken to anyone because no one could hear its voice.
Seeing how timid it looked, Jin Mutong couldn't help but smile slightly. "Yes, I can hear you, and I can see you too. I just don't know why."
At this moment, the painting spoke: "You can see him because, after hundreds of years, he has developed a spirit."
Jin Mutong, puzzled, asked, "A spirit? Are you saying antiques have souls? Does every authentic antique have a spirit?"
The painting replied, "Of course not. Not every antique develops a spirit. It depends on the maker, the storage environment, or the item's own consciousness."
"Oh, I see. So this little guy is quite special then."
Hearing himself being praised, the little figurine proudly raised his head. "You're only now realizing how special I am? Hmph, and you treated me like a freebie. I'm telling you, insulting someone as great as me like that is bound to make me very unhappy. You should return me right away."
Jin Mutong couldn't help but chuckle and teasingly said, "Sure, I'll return you. Then you can go back to that stall, all dirty and broken, getting kicked around from time to time."
The figurine imagined the scene and immediately became both sulky and unwilling to give in. "Someone will recognize my value eventually!"
"Shall we give it a try then?"
"You… Fine, let's try! I don't believe you'll actually return me."
At this point, the painting, watching the exchange, spoke again in a calm tone: "Keep him. You can repair him."
The clay figurine froze upon hearing the sudden voice, startled, but before he could fully process it, he was struck by what was said. Overjoyed, his voice turned sharp, "What did you say? She can repair me? Is she a restoration master?!"
Jin Mutong was equally confused. "What? I can repair him?"