Chapter 32

The next morning, while Su Xiaofan was still lying in bed, there was a knock on the door.

"Hey, Xiaofan, you haven't gotten up yet?"

Seeing Su Xiaofan, who was still half-asleep, come to open the door, Zhao Zhengshan smiled. "You young people really sleep well. At my age, I can't even get a few extra minutes of sleep."

"Uncle Zhao, I'm sorry. Just wait a moment, I'll get ready and we can go."

Su Xiaofan scratched his head awkwardly. He had made an appointment with Zhao Zhengshan the day before to visit the antique market in Yanjing.

"It's fine, no rush. I'll take you to try some authentic Yanjing breakfast later." Zhao Zhengshan waved his hand and sat down on the sofa in the room.

Su Xiaofan was quick, and the two of them left the room after just five or six minutes.

"I can't get used to this taste."

Drinking the most authentic Yanjing soy milk that Zhao Zhengshan had recommended, Su Xiaofan made a bitter face. He really couldn't enjoy the taste.

"Whether you like it or not, you should try it." Zhao Zhengshan said, "I also took several years to get used to this breakfast in Yanjing."

"Uncle Zhao, where are we going today? To Pan Garden?"

Su Xiaofan asked. He knew that Zhao Zhengshan had studied traditional Chinese medicine in Yanjing and had stayed there for about eight or nine years, including his internship. Later, he returned to Luochuan because he couldn't adapt to the fast-paced life in the big city.

"Pan Garden is almost like a tourist attraction now, mostly selling cultural artifacts."

Zhao Zhengshan shook his head. "If we go to a store, we should go to Liuli Factory. Jingxin Hall also has a branch there. But today, we're going to the Northern Old Goods Market's antique street. There are more good things there, and we might find a bargain."

"Okay, I'll follow Uncle Zhao."

Su Xiaofan had no objections. He knew that although Pan Garden was famous and almost considered a holy place for antique markets nationwide, the chances of finding good items there were lower.

As for the Liuli Factory that Zhao Zhengshan mentioned, Su Xiaofan also knew that it was where all the old brands in Yanjing were located. However, there were no street vendors at Liuli Factory; if you wanted to buy something, you had to go to the stores. Few people who liked to hunt for bargains went there.

The longer Su Xiaofan spent with Zhao Zhengshan, the more he admired the Zhao family's upbringing.

Although the Zhao family had a net worth of billions, Zhao Zhengshan's behavior was truly that of an ordinary person. After breakfast, they didn't even take a taxi but took the subway, transferring once and spending over an hour to reach the antique market.

"I'm familiar with this place."

Arriving at the antique market, seeing the bustling crowd and the street vendors lined up on both sides, Su Xiaofan couldn't help but smile.

Although the street vendors here were real, with their stalls directly on the ground, antique markets were all the same. Su Xiaofan found the vendors here similar to those in Luochuan.

"Xiaofan, do you want to compete and see who can find a bargain?"

Arriving here, Zhao Zhengshan was also excited. His former graduate school was not far from here, and he used to visit almost every week. Now, it felt like a return to old times.

"Uncle Zhao, I can't afford good things."

Su Xiaofan shook his head. Zhao Zhengshan's wealth was far beyond his own, and he had nothing to compete with.

"Hey, we're competing in our eyes, not in wealth. If I wanted to buy expensive things, I'd go to Liuli Factory..."

Zhao Zhengshan waved his hand and said, "Let's each buy something for no more than 3,000 yuan and see who can find a bargain. How about it?"

Zhao Zhengshan loved collecting, especially the thrill of finding a bargain.

Back when he was a student, the antique market in Yanjing had many good items, and he could often find one or two. However, the chances of finding a bargain had become much smaller over the years.

"Alright, Uncle Zhao, you have to go easy on me."

Su Xiaofan nodded in agreement. With the restoration system in his mind, he wasn't afraid of even the experts from the museum when it came to pure discernment.

"Alright, let's each look at one side of the street, and when we reach the end, we'll switch. How about it?"

The antique street was similar to those in Luochuan, with vendors on both sides of the street and a path in the middle for visitors. When they encountered a shop, the vendors would clear the path.

"Okay!"

Since being struck by lightning and hospitalized, this was the first time Su Xiaofan had properly visited a market, and in an unfamiliar place, he was a bit excited.

After greeting Su Xiaofan, Zhao Zhengshan started browsing. He was very meticulous, stopping at the first stall and squatting down to chat with the vendor.

Su Xiaofan smiled and walked to the other side of the street to start looking.

In the antique market, the street vendors usually didn't specialize.

This meant that you could see porcelain, bronze, and calligraphy all on one stall, and most of these stalls were supplied by art wholesale markets.

Squatting down, Su Xiaofan began to examine each item. He didn't immediately use the restoration system to identify them, as many were clearly fake at first glance.

Only when he encountered items he couldn't easily identify did he focus his attention or pick them up to see the information appear in his mind.

The vendors, seeing Su Xiaofan's youth, didn't bother to greet him.

"Finding a bargain these days is really hard."

After looking at seven or eight stalls, Su Xiaofan hadn't seen a single "old" item. They were all modern crafts, with a few handmade items being decent, but far from being antiques.

"Boss, did you dig these up from some kiln?"

Su Xiaofan squatted in front of a stall selling broken porcelain pieces. There were many pieces, stacked up to about seven or eight centimeters high.

"Hey, buddy, you got it right. These are all pieces from Jun kiln, and also Ding kiln. I have pieces from all five famous kilns."

The vendor, who wasn't much older, was reading a novel on his phone. Seeing someone at his stall, he immediately put the phone down.

"Brother, you guys have really played out the 'Ru, Guan, Ge, Ding, Jun' five famous kilns, haven't you?"

Su Xiaofan laughed. In the antique market, any porcelain, whether whole or broken, would be labeled as coming from one of the five famous kilns.

"Hey, buddy, you can't say that. The broken porcelain here is genuinely from the five famous kilns."

The vendor was unhappy with Su Xiaofan's comment. "Let me tell you, even experts from the Xingong Museum often come here to look for porcelain pieces. Don't disbelieve me. Look at this photo with Professor Zhou. Do you know him?"

Afraid that Su Xiaofan wouldn't believe him, the vendor showed him a photo on his phone, which indeed showed the vendor with a man in traditional Chinese clothing.

"Sure, I know him. He's an expert from the Xingong Museum."

Su Xiaofan nodded. As the saying goes, in times of turmoil, gold is valued; in times of peace, antiques are treasured. The past twenty years have seen the rapid development of the antique market, with various online and offline appraisal activities becoming common, and many so-called "experts" emerging.

Of course, while many were just pretenders, there were also many with genuine expertise. The vendor's Professor Zhou was indeed an expert from the Xingong Museum, with deep knowledge in antique appraisal and porcelain.

"Brother, let me tell you, these porcelain pieces were collected by my grandfather from the kiln sites."

Seeing Su Xiaofan examining the porcelain pieces, the vendor became animated. "He kept them for so many years and never sold them. It's just that I'm a wastrel, and I've brought out the family treasures. You're lucky to be here."

"Brother, if you keep telling stories, I'll leave."

Su Xiaofan waved his hand, amused and exasperated. He wasn't there to find a bargain.

While there's a saying that a single piece of broken porcelain can be worth a thousand gold, except for the legendary 'Chai kiln,' most broken porcelain pieces are not expensive. They can't be auctioned, and the market for them is niche, so they don't fetch high prices.

Su Xiaofan was there to see if the restoration value in his mind could repair these completely broken pieces.

[Restoration Value: 7 points!]

[Jun kiln broken porcelain, cannot be restored!]

Picking up a piece of broken porcelain, Su Xiaofan saw the message "cannot be restored" in his mind.

However, what surprised Su Xiaofan was that the piece in his hand was indeed from the Jun kiln. The vendor wasn't lying; he had some genuine items.

"Is it that items with missing main parts cannot be restored?"

Su Xiaofan thought to himself, "If I can gather all the pieces of a Jun kiln porcelain, can I restore it to a complete piece?"

Looking at the thousands of broken porcelain pieces on the stall, Su Xiaofan felt a bit excited. With so many pieces, he might be able to gather a complete set.

"Brother, are you buying?"

Seeing Su Xiaofan blocking the stall, the vendor was a bit annoyed. The antique market had a lot of foot traffic, and Su Xiaofan was hindering his business.

"Buying, brother, how much for this piece of broken porcelain?" Su Xiaofan picked up the Jun kiln piece.

"For the Guan kiln piece, 200 yuan is fine." Seeing a potential buyer, the vendor perked up and quoted a price.

"100 yuan!" Su Xiaofan countered without looking up.

"Brother, if you really want it, the lowest I can go is 180 yuan." The vendor was unhappy.

"50 yuan!" Su Xiaofan continued to haggle.

"Brother, don't joke with me. If you really want it, 150 yuan."

"30 yuan, or I'll leave!"

Su Xiaofan stood up. He understood the psychology of the vendors in the antique market well, as he was one of them.

"Hey, brother, you're my brother. Who keeps lowering the price? 30 yuan, 30 yuan, take it."

The vendor was almost in tears. He should have sold it for 100 yuan, but trying to make more profit, he ended up lowering the price even further.

"Alright, you're not losing out. I'm not just buying this one. I'll pick some more, and we'll settle together."

Su Xiaofan asked the vendor to bring a small basket, placed the Jun kiln piece in it, and squatted down again.

"Alright, I'll treat it as a wholesale sale."

The vendor was delighted and even brought a stool for Su Xiaofan to sit on while he picked, then went back to his phone.