The next day, Yang Bo got up early. He folded the simple bed, washed up briefly, locked the door, and went out.
It was still dark, only three o'clock in the morning. Yang Bo walked on the moonlit ground, holding a flashlight. He turned left and entered a small alley. After walking dozens of steps, he heard a bustling noise, with beams of light flickering.
The antique block where Goodzhai was located was very close to the Chaotian Palace Antique Market, only two or three hundred meters away. Yang Bo used to visit the ghost market often, but he had no money at that time and never bought anything. This time, he brought the remaining two - hundred - plus yuan of this month.
It was a make - or - break situation. If his eyes deceived him, there was nothing he could say. For his father, he would take the risk.
Although he had made up his mind, Yang Bo still searched cautiously. There were numerous items in the ghost market, including porcelain, calligraphy, paintings, gold, silver, jade, Qin bricks, Han tiles, Song gravel, snuff bottles, and even the Spring - and - Autumn - and - Warring - States heavy cauldrons that were prohibited from being auctioned could be found there. As for authenticity, it was all up to the buyers to distinguish.
Yang Bo knew his knowledge was limited and couldn't identify the value of many items, so he became more careful.
He walked past one stall after another and picked up items one by one. He didn't easily use his special ability because he didn't know how long it would last, but he thought it wouldn't be long. If he couldn't find genuine items, he would lose money.
So, he decided to change his strategy.
Yang Bo stood up and looked around. Soon, he found a target - Curator Qu.
Qu Yuanyang was the deputy curator of the Jinling Museum. He had been to Goodzhai two or three times, so Yang Bo had some impression of him.
Yang Bo kept his eyes on Curator Qu and followed him quickly. He planned to adopt a tracking tactic. By observing Curator Qu's actions, he could find possible genuine items and then use his special ability to identify them. In this way, he could save the time of using his special ability.
It was the first time for Yang Bo to do such tracking, so he seemed a bit clumsy. While following, he was afraid of missing any details. He pretended to pick small items while paying attention to Curator Qu's actions.
Curator Qu picked a snuff bottle, looked at it for a long time, then put it down. He then looked at a brush washer and occasionally at some paintings and calligraphy.
The disorderly and seemingly random selection made Yang Bo feel at a loss. Fortunately, he had enough patience. He had very little money on hand. If he wasted this chance, he would have to wait until next month. He couldn't wait. There was still hope for early treatment of liver cancer. Every day's delay meant less hope.
Soon, Yang Bo noticed that Curator Qu picked up a porcelain item shaped like a fish basket and looked at it for a long time, seemingly hesitating.
Yang Bo's heart skipped a beat, and he walked over. He got a little closer and squinted. Rays of light seeped out from around the porcelain. The light was particularly noticeable in the dark. The light gradually gathered at the neck of the fish - basket - shaped item and soon condensed into a halo.
Yang Bo looked closely and was shocked. The halo was thicker than that of the Daoguang famille - rose seven - treasures - pattern cup he had seen before. That meant this fish - basket - shaped item was from an earlier period than Daoguang.
After the initial joy, Yang Bo was worried that Curator Qu would decide to buy it.
Standing beside Curator Qu, Yang Bo didn't dare to turn his head to look. He just stared at the small jade items in front of him. Until Curator Qu left without saying a word, Yang Bo finally breathed a sigh of relief and quickly picked up the porcelain.
The porcelain was shaped like a fish basket and had a light - purple glaze. It looked like a defective product with uneven glazing. However, Yang Bo hadn't studied in vain for the past two years. He knew it was an imitation of Song - Dynasty Jun - kiln porcelain. Qing - Dynasty imitations of Jun - kiln porcelain were most famous during the Yongzheng and Qianlong periods. Since it was from before Daoguang, even if it was made in Jiaqing, it would still be profitable. After carefully examining the whole item and finding no other damage, Yang Bo finally felt relieved.
Yang Bo looked up at the stall owner and asked, "Boss, how much is this?"
The stall owner, who was in his thirties with a small beard on his chin and sharp eyes, said, "Little brother, do you know who was looking at this porcelain before you?"
Yang Bo shook his head and said, "Who is it?"
The stall owner smiled and said, "Don't you know? It's Curator Qu from the Jinling Museum!"
Yang Bo pretended not to understand and said, "Oh, really? How much is this porcelain?"
The stall owner stared at Yang Bo, as if trying to read something from his face, and said, "Since Curator Qu has seen it, the price of this porcelain has to go up. The original price was twenty thousand, and now it's worth forty thousand!"
Yang Bo frowned. Although he had expected a price increase, he didn't expect it to be so expensive. However, he knew it was mostly an inflated price.
"Fifty yuan!" Yang Bo bargained.
"Little brother, your offer is too low!" said the stall owner.
Yang Bo shook his head and said casually, "Boss, I'm not new to this place. My house is newly renovated, and my father asked me to come and buy two ornaments. Give me a reasonable price!"
The stall owner paused and said, "Eight hundred!"
Yang Bo was happy inside, knowing that a deal was possible, and said, "One hundred yuan. That's my limit!"
The stall owner sighed and said, "It's a small - profit business. I don't make much money. Since it's my first sale today, five hundred yuan!"
Yang Bo felt his pockets. He didn't have that much money, so he turned around and said, "It's still too expensive. I'll go check other stalls."
After saying that, Yang Bo turned to leave, but he was very nervous. He really wanted to get the fish - basket - shaped item, and he was afraid he had overplayed his act.
He silently counted down from three in his heart. Before he could speak, he heard the stall owner's voice, "Little brother, give me a final offer!"
"One hundred and fifty!"
"No, no! That's too low!" The stall owner was unwilling.
Yang Bo didn't want to haggle too much for fear of things changing, so he simply said, "Two hundred yuan. That's my final offer!"
"Okay!" The stall owner thought for a moment and replied. At the same time, he said, "Little brother, since it's my first sale today, I'll give you a low price for good luck!"
"Thank you, boss! I live nearby, and I'll come back often!" Yang Bo paid the money, picked up the fish - basket - shaped item, and replied. He couldn't wait inside.
Holding the fish - basket - shaped item carefully, Yang Bo was planning his next step. He had to sell this item as soon as possible. He only had money for one or two days' meals left. If he couldn't sell it in time, he would go hungry. The key was that this item was related to his next plan.
"Hey, young man, stop!" As Yang Bo was walking back, he heard a call. He looked up and was shocked because he saw Curator Qu standing in front of him, smiling and looking at the fish - basket - shaped item in his arms.
Yang Bo subconsciously hugged the fish - basket - shaped item tighter.