Chapter 7

"Ten yuan," the vendor said casually. The good items on his stall had long been bought by others. The remaining items had not cost more than ten yuan each, and he could name any price for them. He wouldn't lose money no matter what. Of course, he had to adjust his prices based on the customer and the situation. If he charged more than ten yuan to someone like Yu Lifei, he might scare the customer away.

"Is a brick worth this much?" Yu Lifei was indeed startled. If a half-brick cost a hundred yuan, then the houses in the village made of blue bricks would make everyone rich.

"This is no ordinary brick. See? It has words carved on it, 'Made in the 16th year of Qianlong.' This is a royal blue brick, a family heirloom and an antique," the vendor said without batting an eye. He had bought this brick from the countryside, along with some ancient coins. He had used it as a stool for a long time. Only recently did he bring it to the stall, but its main function was to weigh down the corners to prevent the wind from blowing his stall away.

"Will you sell it for one yuan?" Yu Lifei asked. He weighed the brick in his hand; it was only a third or a quarter of its original size but still weighed seven or eight kilograms. Carrying it would be a burden. In the past, he wouldn't have bought it, but Wu Wengu had promised to find him a job, so carrying a brick was no big deal.

"One yuan? Not even enough for breakfast. At least ten yuan," the vendor exaggerated. From the customer's offer, he knew he couldn't sell it for a high price. But the brick was indeed heavy. If it remained unsold for a few more days, he might just throw it away. Such city wall bricks were piled up like the Great Wall in the nearby antique market, and they weren't worth much.

"Two yuan, no more. It's a burden to carry," Yu Lifei put down the brick and said slowly. Although he knew there was something special about the brick, he was still a novice in antiques and didn't know the current market value. When he held the brick, he felt comfortable, but he didn't want to spend a third of his money on it again.

"Five yuan, and it's yours," the vendor said firmly, extending his hand.

"Five yuan, plus this ink and this paper, and this brush," Yu Lifei picked up a piece of broken ink, a stack of ordinary Xuan paper, and a brush from the stall. He said it was a stack, but it felt like less than half. The brush looked ancient but was actually newly made.

"The broken ink is not negotiable, but you can have the paper. The brush will cost extra," the vendor's face turned sour. If there were more customers, he would have ignored Yu Lifei. Although the broken ink wasn't valuable, it was genuine ancient ink, the oldest item on his stall. Of course, being old didn't necessarily mean it was valuable, but it was a talking point.

Many people think antiques are expensive, but why are they so valuable? Most people don't know. Some believe antiques are expensive because they are a game for the rich or because of the ancient people's obsession, who would pay any price for their beloved items. Others think antiques are valuable because of their age, and the older they are, the more valuable they become.

In fact, these ideas are incorrect. There are two main reasons why antiques are valuable. One is the intrinsic value of the antique itself, such as excellent craftsmanship that cannot be replicated. For example, the paintings and calligraphy of the Tang and Song dynasties are so exquisite that no matter how hard people try, they cannot reach the same level. The bronze and jade of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties are very fine and often have inscriptions, which are very helpful for modern archaeology. Even porcelain, ink, paper, brushes, and ancient coins are valuable for these reasons.

The other reason is human factors. Collecting antiques is actually a rather boring activity. Why do people spend so much time and effort collecting and playing with the relics of the dead?

However, for thousands of years, people have been enthusiastic about collecting antiques, even dedicating their lives to it. This is partly due to the social system of the time. Humans, besides eating, sleeping, and resting, need to think. Thinking leads to ideas, which form one's thoughts. With thoughts, people take action, such as Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. Without the ideas of those great people, there would be no modern China.

However, for thousands of years, China has been under imperial autocracy. Emperors, to maintain their rule, wanted their subjects to worship them. All rulers indoctrinated their subjects with the idea that the emperor was divinely appointed. If a tyrant or corrupt official was in power, criticizing the government or discussing politics could cost you your life and even your entire family. Therefore, ancient scholars and officials did not want to have any improper thoughts and, besides studying and serving in government, avoided other activities.

Of course, modern people have a variety of entertainment options, such as singing, dancing, playing cards, gambling, bathing, and socializing, which greatly enrich our spiritual lives. But in ancient times, these activities were considered immoral and were not allowed by law or public opinion. Therefore, people had no choice but to study antiques as a pastime. Antiques also played an important role in the lives of officials and scholars: hiding wealth.

Chinese people have always believed in not showing off their wealth, especially officials. For example, an official with an annual salary of less than a hundred taels of silver might own property worth a thousand taels after ten years. If this was reported by a censor, he would lose his position.

However, antiques are different. They have no fixed price. A hundred-tael item could be bought for one tael or sold for ten thousand taels. Therefore, no matter how many antiques an official owned, it was reasonable. This is why many officials used collecting antiques to hide their wealth, which is one reason why antiques are valuable.

Moreover, in ancient times, officials' promotions were not regular. If you bought property in the capital, it might be convenient at the time, but if you were transferred, you might never return. Managing or selling the property would be a hassle. There were no nationwide banks, and storing gold and silver was inconvenient. An antique could be worth a cartload of silver. Storing an antique in a box was inconspicuous, but if you carried a cartload of silver, a censor might find out, and you could lose both your position and your life.

Returning to the topic, the broken ink, though fragrant and ancient-looking, was only a small piece with no inscription. It might be a few decades or a hundred years old, but it wasn't worth much.

"The broken ink isn't valuable, and I'm using it, not collecting it," Yu Lifei said. Spending a little money to achieve a lot was his principle. Otherwise, he might find himself in a difficult situation with no money. He knew nothing about other antiques but was familiar with ink, paper, brushes, and inkstones related to calligraphy.

"Young man, I didn't expect you to have the spirit of the ancients. Add the broken ink, and it's ten yuan," the vendor was surprised. Few young people today write with a brush, let alone grind ink. Now he understood why Yu Lifei wanted the blue brick; he intended to use it as an inkstone.

But his stall had many inkstones, some of which were well-made. Why didn't Yu Lifei choose one? He couldn't make the decision for him, and besides, he might not be able to afford the other inkstones.

"Can you throw in the brush?" Yu Lifei asked. Without a brush, he couldn't write.

"Add two more yuan. It's a good start, and I won't make a profit," the vendor said.

Yu Lifei didn't haggle further. He chose a small wolf-hair brush and paid the money. He had agreed to meet Wu Wengu at the noodle shop they visited last night, and it was almost time.

As Yu Lifei was about to leave the antique market, he suddenly remembered something and stopped in his tracks.

PS: Please recommend and follow. Since the contract with Qidian hasn't been received yet, this is still an exclusive work, so I can't update regularly and often forget.