The Yuanshan Cao Shi mentioned is located in the southwest of Jiangbei City. It is very remote and the scenery is not very good. Except for people who run stone factories in the mountains, most people will not go there. I asked Cao Shi if those guys were there.
Cao Shi refused to talk about being the one who had the upper hand at Fatai Temple. He lit a cigarette and smoked silently. Only then did I remember his instructions before setting off. I smiled and swallowed all the questions that followed.
.
At this season, the vegetation in the mountains has begun to become barren. When our car reached the foot of Wonsan Mountain, we turned off the lights and stopped in the knee-high withered grass. I am a person who is born to be restless, and my buttocks were so tight when I sat in the car.
It hurt, and I really wanted to go down and get some air. Cao Shi probably saw that I was bored sitting there, so he said if I just had to bear with it for a while, he would be there soon.
I was about to answer when a bright light suddenly appeared about two to three hundred meters away from us. Cao Shi became more energetic, stretched out his head to observe for a moment, and ordered the driver to flash his lights three times in a row.
The bright light immediately responded and flashed three times. I could see that it was definitely not a car light or a flashlight. It was very similar to the light in the room after dark. I was a little strange. How could it be in this barren mountain?
Will such light appear?
After receiving the other party's response, Cao Shi asked the driver to drive over. It wasn't until I got closer that I realized: This is an abandoned low-rise earth house. I don't know what it was used for in the past. It is already in a mess.
Several windows are now temporarily covered with newspapers, and someone has hung a battery-consuming energy-saving lamp inside.
Cao Shi got out of the car and went to negotiate with the other party. Through the light coming from the hut, I saw a total of five people on the other side. A few minutes later, Cao Shi took me and two other people into the hut, while the rest stayed outside.
The small shabby house had been abandoned for a long time. It was empty inside. A temporary table was set up in the middle of the house. After both parties entered, there was no place to sit. The other party only left one person outside, and the other four were all in the house. The leader
He was a middle-aged man about forty years old, very thin, with a gloomy face, as if his wife had just run away with someone.
As soon as the two sides stood still, Cao Shi and Yin Shen Lian nodded slightly to each other. Then, the person behind Yin Shen Lian handed over a very delicate small box and gently placed it on the table.
I'm not sure if they are the ones who brought things back from Fatai Temple, but since they have aroused the old man's appetite so much, they must bring real things. Although Yuanshan is deserted, it is still in Jiangbei. If the things are
Adding water made the old man anxious, and the consequences would be serious.
Cao Shi calmly looked at the suitcase placed on the table and snapped his fingers. Cao Shuang, who had been standing behind him, immediately picked up a small suitcase and placed it in front of Cao Shi.
Two boxes of different sizes and shapes were lying quietly on the table, which heralded the official start of this transaction. There is no doubt that what is contained here is what makes the old man extremely concerned. I dare not say anything, I can only
Open your eyes and see what's in the box.
"One for three, you make a profit." Cao Shi said calmly to the gloomy face: "Master Ba doesn't care so much, as long as the things are genuine."
"Thank you very much, Mr. Wei Ba." He replied with a gloomy face, pushed their boxes forward, and said, "The things must be real, feel free to test them."
One of the four of us in the room is named Song Laowan. He is the best "eye" under the old man (the eye is the person who specializes in appraising cultural relics and antiques). He is very famous in Jiangbei. It is said that something has been mixed with water.
Things will definitely not get through in front of him.
And because I was eager to know what was in the box, my eyes were even wider than Song Laowan's.
The two boxes were opened almost at the same time. Immediately, four bronze medals with upper and lower circles appeared in front of us. There was one bronze medal in the other party's box, and three bronze medals in our box.
When I saw these four bronze medals, I almost lost my breath. Xixia ordered the horse medal to be burned!
It is difficult to understand the meaning of the imperial horse card from the literal meaning. In fact, it is a kind of letter card commonly used in Xixia. It is similar to the tiger charm used to mobilize troops in ancient times. The earliest tiger charm in China appeared in the Qin State during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and was followed until the Sui Dynasty.
In the Tang Dynasty, the symbols were changed to the Fish Talisman, the Rabbit Talisman and the Turtle Talisman. The Talisman Card also appeared in the Tang Dynasty, when it was called the Imperial Horse Silver Medal.
The Song Dynasty copied the Tang Dynasty's talisman system, and Xixia was deeply influenced by the Song Dynasty in all aspects, so the imperial horse talisman came into being. The Xixia imperial horse talisman is about fifteen centimeters in diameter and is divided into upper and lower pieces.
Cheng, the front of the lower piece has the four characters "Emperor" in regular script in Xixia script. It is very neat and beautiful. There is a gold-plated "Emperor" on the upper and lower ends of the plate, which means the emperor's order.
According to the remaining historical records of Xixia in later generations, the founding emperor of Xixia, Li Yuanhao, would give a token to the generals every time before sending troops, and the generals would lead the troops in battle. If there were major military changes, Li Yuanhao would send a special envoy to the front line carrying another token.
, the two tokens are combined into one, so that the general can execute the order. This kind of order tool is probably the imperial horse token.
Xixia cultural relics are already scarce, and the imperial horse tiles are even rarer. I have only browsed through pictures and have never even seen the real thing. The old man collected three of them without saying a word?
But after looking at it for a few times, I felt something was wrong. The imperial edict in the box was not authentic and seemed to be a parallel import. Not only was it less than fifteen centimeters in size, but there was no honeysuckle pattern on the upper part of the bronze medal, and there was no Xixia inscription on the lower part.
The four-character Ranma brand is like a Mercedes-Benz with the front and rear logos removed. It looks very awkward. Cao Shi even said it was a top-notch hard product. What the hell!
Is it these parallel imports that the old man is thinking about? He already has three of these things, and he is still looking for them like crazy. Is it because he wants to make a complete set? Parallel imports are parallel imports, even if they are made into ten sets, they are still complete sets.
Parallel imports are not worth much. But this speculation is untenable. The goods traded between the two parties are already clear. According to Cao Shi, the old man wants to exchange three items for the other party's one.
I felt a little regretful in my heart. I originally risked being scolded by the old man to trade with Cao Shi just to see things with my own eyes and satisfy my curiosity. Unexpectedly, after I saw the things, my curiosity became more and more inflated. Neither the old man nor Cao Shi knew how.
To be honest with me, this trip is not worth it.
I was thinking hard over here, but Song Laowan was already busy over there. I heard someone said that he didn’t need any tools at all when he saw something, and he could distinguish between true and false with just a pair of eyes and two fingers. We
Song Laowan must have thought about it in advance. For an expert like him, if he makes a mistake when he has a reference, he might as well just hang himself.
The old man's goal was the parallel-imported bronze medal in the box in front of him with a gloomy face. Cao Shi had already missed Fatai Temple once, so no mistakes were allowed in this transaction. Song Laowan was probably severely vaccinated, not at all.
Dare to trust Da, he carefully picked up the goods brought by the other party and looked at them for ten minutes. Then he closed his eyes, paused for a moment, rubbed them with two fingers, and then nodded to Cao Shi.
This means that there is nothing wrong with what the other party brought.
When Song Laowan was looking at the goods, I also looked at it very carefully. I can confirm that this is definitely not the Xixia Edict Burning Horse Card, but it is just a bit similar.
The appraisal on our side is over, but the other party's "eyes" are endless. They turned over the three things we brought and looked at them. Various tools for appraising antiques are very complete. It looks very professional, but it is actually very annoying.
Looking at his troubled look, I couldn't help but want to smoke him. I got really impatient with the waiting, so I reached out and took out a cigarette, lit it.
Everyone in the room was paying attention to things. The lighter in my hand made a crisp sound. Everyone looked in this direction involuntarily, and their gloomy faces slightly raised their heads. This guy didn't talk much since he entered the room.
He looked indifferent and proud, but after seeing me lighting up the cigarette, for some reason, his eyes suddenly widened and his expression changed slightly.
I never thought that I would cause such a big reaction from the gloomy face, but I immediately understood that it must be my left hand holding the cigarette that was to blame.
My left hand was born with six fingers, and these six fingers are very strange. They grow out from the root of the little finger, and then the fingertips are connected to the second joint of the little finger, thus forming a small flesh ring. When I was young, I didn’t know
I cared about it, but I felt very awkward when I grew up. I wanted to go to the hospital for a small operation to cut it off, but the old man scolded me severely. He said that it was something I was born with, and if it was cut off, it would be detrimental to my future life.
.I was very impressed by the old man’s knowledge and ability, so even though I didn’t believe what he said about destiny, I still kept this strange six-fingered thing.
For a moment, both Gloomy Face and I felt a little embarrassed. I quickly retracted my hand, and he quickly withdrew his gaze. This guy glanced at me at the end, which made me feel very uncomfortable. Although Gloomy Face's gaze was not like what was written in the novel
It's dazzling, but very sharp. Just looking at someone is like stabbing them with a knife.
After this little episode, the other person's "eyes" still held the object and did not let go, as if he was not sure whether it was true or false. Cao Shi was very patient, but his uncle and brother Cao Shuang was a little impatient and said: "We eight
What kind of identity do you have that I can use fake things to fool you? If you don’t have enough eyesight, just go back and practice for a few more years."
"Yes, yes." Although the other person's "eye" is not good at business, his attitude is very respectful. He picked up a magnifying glass and said carefully: "What this elder brother said is that I have only been in the industry for a short time and I am naturally timid.
, my heart trembles when I see something good, I’m afraid I might have misjudged it, don’t be impatient, don’t be impatient, let me look at it for a while, look at it for a while..."
Don't reach out to hit the smiling man. When he said this, even Cao Shuang was embarrassed to speak again and could only wait calmly.
Song Laowan only spent a little more than ten minutes looking at the jade, but the other party spent more than half an hour before he said to the gloomy face in fear: "I've seen it."
"Well? How's it going?"
"This, this..." The man wiped the sweat from his forehead with a sad face: "I still can't get it right..."
"You are playing with us!" Cao Shuang wanted to yell again, but Cao Shi stopped him and turned to the gloomy face and said: "We have been living in Jiangbei and can't escape. You can inquire about Ba Ye's reputation elsewhere.
I will never mix it with water. If there is any problem, come to Jiangbei and find me. The man named Cao will not deny his fault."
"These words can only fool a three-year-old child." He put his hands in his trouser pockets with a sullen face and said with a smile on his lips: "But I can trust you."
Saying this with a sullen face was equivalent to approving our things. I thought the transaction would end here, and everyone took their things and left. Unexpectedly, both parties had no intention of leaving at all, and each took out a set of tools for making rubbings.
I was a little puzzled and didn't dare to say anything, so I could only watch helplessly as Song Laowan cut out the messy patterns on the inside of the upper piece of the bronze medal intact. Everything had already been traded, so why did he need to make rubbings?
Song Laowan made a rubbing of the other person's item. He was very agile with his hands and feet. After making the rubbing, he cleaned up the item and handed it back. The other person took the item and put it back into the box, then snapped the lid shut.
My mind moved, and a thought suddenly occurred to me. Could it be that the purpose of this transaction was not the bronze medal, but the rubbing?
In other words, what the old man and the other party want is not the bronze medal itself, but the information carried on it?
After all the rubbings were done, it was already past two o'clock in the morning, and my suspicion was confirmed. Both parties repacked the things they had brought with them into the box, and only took away the rubbings. My legs and feet were numb when I stood, and I felt very unhappy.
I just wanted to forget all about the bronze medal and go back to sleep quickly, so as not to guess again and again and fail to guess the result. At this moment, the only person on the other side who stayed outside quietly slipped into the house and whispered in the ear of the gloomy face.
He hummed and whispered something.
He nodded calmly with a gloomy face, and after pondering for a minute, he suddenly smiled like a nervous wreck, and said to Cao Shi: "There is an old saying, the ninth gate of the Wei family, the eighth master, Wei Changkong, the eighth master.
What a character.”
I have also heard people say this behind my back. The Wei family used to be a big family, but then the number of people withered and it gradually declined. The old man's current family fortune was all built on his own ability.
The Nine Gates of the Wei family does not refer to the nine gates in the Wei family compound, but refers to the nine old man’s brothers, all of whom are talented people who can support the family. Among them, the eighth son of the Wei family, the old man, is more
He is a talent among talents.
"Master Wei is now in his 70s, right?" He looked at Cao Shi with a gloomy face and said, "He is still very cautious."
"what do you mean?"
With a gloomy face, he stretched out his hand and pointed in all directions, and smiled gloomily: "Right near this house, Mr. Wei Ba has sent you seventeen more backups. Unfortunately, they can't move now."
At this point, even a fool could tell that something was wrong. Just as Cao Shuang was about to reach out to grab the guy, the people behind him with a sullen face suddenly took the lead. Several guns were immediately aimed at us. Then, someone came up and took out all the guys on us.
Searched and taken away. Cao Shi narrowed his eyes and asked, "Are you playing with fire?"
Near Jiangbei, the word "playing with fire" means taking advantage of others.
"We are all not serious people, so don't criticize anyone." He turned to look at me with a gloomy face and said to the person behind him: "Keep this one and send the rest on their way."
Damn it!
I couldn't help but say an old man's catchphrase. It was really unlucky. I was just out of curiosity and pestered Cao Shi to bring me to see what was new. Who knew I would encounter such a disgusting thing? Where did these people come from?
, You are so courageous. After all, Yuanshan is not beyond the boundaries of Jiangbei. If you dare to stroke the old man's tiger beard here, he is definitely not an ordinary person.
I am inexperienced, and my mind goes into chaos whenever something unexpected happens, and I don’t know how to deal with it. In fact, even if I think about it again, I can’t think of a way, after all, there is a tough guy standing on our foreheads.
Just as the other party was about to take action, Cao Shi suddenly said something out of nowhere: "What time is it now?"