In fact, it is not difficult to achieve this goal.
Don’t forget, after being around the arts and crafts market for so long, Hong Yanwu has been working as an internal agent in many arts and crafts stores and has made many friends.
These people are short-tongued in eating others and short-handed in exploiting others. They are willing to give him advice after receiving small favors from him, so that he can easily understand the inside story.
So since the water was deep here, he felt that the items in the store were not worth it, so he thought about buying furniture from the "Beijing Hardwood Furniture Factory".
He asked these people again, "Can I go directly to the factory to buy jade? Can they sell it to me? Do you have any acquaintances in the jade factory or jewelry factory?"
Originally, Hong Yanwu wanted to find a way through these people.
Because according to the prevailing regulations, all industries adopt the method of "supply of raw materials, processing and ordering, technical guidance, acquisition and underwriting" for manufacturing enterprises, and manufacturers are not allowed to sell products on their own.
Private sales of furniture by "Jingcheng Hardwood Furniture Factory" are illegal operations.
If we really find out, not only the factory leaders, but also Wang Hanping will be implicated.
This is why he asked the "little wife" and his wife to pretend to be Hong Kong businessmen.
But he really didn't expect that when it came to jade, the reality was much better than he expected, and he could actually buy it openly.
Since the reform and opening up, the relevant departments in Beijing have gradually increased the number of handicraft companies that foreign guests are allowed to visit to eleven.
It's just that after foreigners visit, they buy the products they like when they see them on site, which creates a huge conflict with our supply and marketing system.
For example, when Churchill Jr., the grandson of former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, visited an arts and crafts factory in Beijing, he was extremely fond of a new cloisonné product, a large bottle, and immediately asked the people accompanying him to buy the large bottle.
However, due to policy restrictions, the factory said it could not sell it and declined repeatedly.
It just so happens that little Churchill still has a bit of a "shaft", but people just don't understand it and insist on buying it.
Frustrated, the factory had no choice but to call the superior company for instructions, and then the superior company asked its superiors for instructions.
In this way, little Churchill waited from 1 p.m. to around 4 p.m. when the factory was about to close, and finally got a reply that he could buy this product.
As for the problem of the one-meter-tall cloisonné bottle being unpackaged, the factory could not solve the problem. Then Churchill had to carry it away on his own shoulders.
Needless to say, at that time, this kind of thing was definitely not an isolated case.
As more and more of these "gangsters" come from overseas, the resulting disputes and troubles will increase.
In the end, the superiors had no choice but to give special approval to these eleven factories and allow them to sell their own products.
Although in order to comply with the procedures, it is not possible to go directly to the manufacturer's account.
All products sold to foreign guests must also issue a commercial invoice, and then complete the intermediate purchase and sale procedures, which is regarded as the commercial delivery of the goods from the factory.
But this means that manufacturers have a certain degree of independent pricing power, and they are no longer completely bullied by the commercial sector like in the past.
So in fact, Hong Yanwu didn't need to ask anyone. He just took the money and went to these 11 special arts factories to buy it.
The only thing to note is that you must use foreign exchange coupons to trade.
However, despite this, given the characteristics of our human society, having human feelings and not having human feelings are completely different things. Hong Yanwu, who is extremely shrewd, will not ignore this.
What I didn’t expect was that God would give me a pillow if I wanted to sleep.
When he inquired about the conditions of these eleven factories, he discovered that the two largest jade factories in Beijing were located at No. 11 Guangming Road, north of Longtan Lake, Chongwen District, and at No. 1 Yushuguan, Beili, Chegongzhuang, Xicheng District.
Hey, actually one is under the rule of Xu Bingquan and the other is under Song Guofu's sphere of influence.
This is so beneficial, wouldn’t it be easy to handle?
In this way, he asked Xu Chongya separately, took Song Guofu with him, and they accompanied him on the journey.
Not to mention, it is different to have the favor of the district chief and section chief as a stepping stone.
For the Jingcheng Jade Factory in Chongwen and the No. 3 Jade Factory in Xicheng District, one was greeted by the deputy director in charge of business, and the other was accompanied by the business section chief in charge of sales.
They all take it seriously and are very enthusiastic.
As soon as I heard that they were here, they wanted to buy some good things. I was very satisfied on the spot and took the initiative to say that I would give them the lowest price, and then personally took them to the finished product exhibition room.
As a result, this visit was an eye-opener for Hong Yanwu and others.
Because to be honest, there are so many good things in the two jade factories that even a store cannot compare to them.
This issue is mainly determined by the commercial sector's capital costs and procurement targets.
After all, if the commercial department comes to acquire something, it must have a certain amount of funds, and it is impossible to get everything good.
As for the purpose of purchasing, it is to sell to earn foreign exchange.
If you take into account the price and the inconvenience of foreigners carrying them when traveling, then of course it is easy to sell small items but difficult to sell large items.
This resulted in most of the products collected by commercial outlets being small in size.
In addition, these collected items will be distributed to jade sets in many stores, and new products will be replenished after they are sold.
Therefore, there is no possibility for the factory to set aside several large warehouses to display all the fine products accumulated over the years together.
On the other hand, as manufacturers, their large and high-quality products seem to have no other choice but to be purchased by the state, put on display in places like the "Great Hall", "Diaoyutai", and museums, or presented as national gifts. Gone somewhere.
Even many award-winning works have to be sent back to the original factory after participating in ministry and city exhibitions.
So from the founding of the People's Republic of China to the present, masterpieces have been preserved almost every year, which is naturally astonishing.
And this is the reason why jade factory workers have always been underpaid.
Think about it, the profits are not high in the first place, and the profits turned over are too much but the profits are not retained, and then the limited funds are spent on the creation of large-scale works. How can there be money to subsidize the employees?
This is called a vicious cycle.
The real good times for the two jade factories were in the past two years when the ban on receiving foreign guests was lifted and they were allowed to sell their own products.
Because foreigners these days are also stupid and have too much money, and their mentality is actually similar to our overseas tour groups today.
When you come here to visit and be visually shocked, there is no need to fool around, and you will often spontaneously "buy".
As a result, the factory suddenly became richer and the employees became much better off.
Of course, the good things in the factory are not only "plentiful" in quantity, but the artistic level of these things is also extremely high, as well as "exquisite" and "beautiful".
You know, the jade factory not only has the master craftsmen who play the leading role today, but also sends out outstanding works for awards every year, and there are also many rare treasures preserved by famous artists.
For example, before liberation, there was a jingle circulated among artists in the jade industry in Beijing.
"Beggars, Pan Bingheng, Xiaojiao, Liu Deying, Xiao Zhuge, Wang Datou, Xia Sanlan, this is He Rong."
This is not a curse word, but refers to the "Four Northern Jade Monsters" in the jade shop in Beijing. Each jingle mentions its own outstanding characteristics.
Later, these four people were absorbed into the Jade Factory in Beijing, and each of them had excellent works preserved.
Like Pan Bingheng, the leader of the "Four Great Eccentrics", he was devoted to carving jade and lived a slovenly life.
In his later years, he was nicknamed "Jade Taoist", which shows his obsession.
His main technological achievement was the invention of the method of extracting materials from sets.
In 1937, the lost craftsmanship of gold and silver wire inlaid jade was revived during the Qianlong dynasty. This technique was later known as the "gold inlaid jade" technique.
Today, some of his works that can still be seen in the factory include "Waiting for the Moon in the Western Chamber" in jasper, "Er Qiao Makeup" in turquoise, etc.
They are works that combine various precious stones, ivory, coral and other precious materials. Their beauty, ingenuity and magnificence are far beyond what people can imagine today.
In particular, the coral "Six-Armed Buddha Locked Dragon" is Pan Bingheng's pinnacle work.
Its artistic level far exceeds the "Coral and Jade Playing Parrot" and "Pretty Agate Clam Buddha" which have been collected by the Louvre in Paris, France, and the Blog Gallery in Philadelphia, the United States, which are also masterpieces by his hand.
As for Liu Deying, he is praised in the industry as the master of three-dimensional flowers.
In terms of craftsmanship, his flower works combine three-dimensional round carving, deep and shallow relief carving and hollow carving, which is called "Kung Fu is reflected in craftsmanship".
We must know that most of the flower works on jadeware from the capital during the Ming and Qing dynasties were plane reliefs, and single-piece products that combined round carvings and hollows were extremely rare, and even if they were, they were only shallow reliefs.
But Liu Deying was able to start on the path of innovation by improving tools and craftsmanship skills.
He is best at making coral flowers, making use of the multi-branch material shape. In terms of production techniques, he often uses drill thallium or small hook thallium to connect the branches and stems with the turning and folding of the flowers. The flowers, leaves and stems are three-dimensional.
The layers of charm are connected.
Although due to the limitations of the tools, it can only do one side of the work (i.e. the front) on the dense flowers and leaves.
However, due to the proper arrangement of the composition and the orderly and varied folding and folding of flowers, leaves and stems, the work can ultimately achieve a three-sided viewing effect.
There are not many of his works preserved in the Jade Factory in Beijing, except for "A Hundred Birds Paying Attention to the Phoenix", which was conceived and created using a piece of coral material with a thick main branch and few branches.
On one side of the bottle is a peony in full bloom, and on the other side is a sycamore with tall branches and tall leaves, which are connected to the branches and leaves on the bottle cap and lead directly to the top of the bottle.
An auspicious phoenix stands next to the parasol tree, lowering its head to peer at the rich peonies.
On the branches of the sycamore tree, birds are seen in pairs, spreading their wings and ready to leap, like a new autumn scene.
This thing is extremely eye-catching among the many fine products.
Because it is so vivid and vivid, all the details and shapes are perfect expressions that people cannot imagine.
No matter how artistic you are, you still have to look at it for a while before you can take your eyes away.
Let’s talk about the third Wang Shusen, he is famous for his “flower pieces” and “weird” sculptures.
Such as Bodhidharma, Jigong, Zhong Kui, Qu Yuan, Li Bai, etc.
The so-called "weird" is the expression of Wang Shusen's creative thought of "the best quality must be the best".
His "strangeness" lies in being unconventional and having his own form of expression.
His works that can be seen in the factory include "Qu Zi Xing Yin" on agate, "Guanyin Crossing the Sea" on coral, "Han Xiangzi" on turquoise, etc.
In addition, Wang Shusen also has a unique agate "pretty" technique.
The agate "Five Geese" he created is a classic work of beautiful color "unprecedented and unprecedented" made from a piece of reddish white agate. It has fourteen beautiful spots that are very rare.
The five geese all have red crowns, white feathers, and black pupils. Their shapes are lifelike, lifelike, and rich in meaning. They look like "living geese."
Undoubtedly, this is an "orphan" that will last forever, and its value is immeasurable. It is a metaphor for the peaceful and prosperous age of "plentiful food and clothing".
As for his representative works of "flower pieces", the Jade Factory in Beijing still has Gao Cui's "Dragon and Phoenix Presenting Auspiciousness" and "The Goddess Scattering Flowers" that were just completed.
The materials of these two works are rare "beautiful jade and high quality". They are comparable to the "Immortals Congratulating Birthdays" he made as a National Day gift in 1979.
You know, that work was awarded the title of national treasure and is permanently collected.
As for the last one, He Rong, he has specialized in round-shaped figures since he was a child. He mainly works on Buddhist statues, but also dabbles in utensils, birds and animals.
His works "Flying Buddha" in coral, "Flying Buddha" in white jade, and "Resemblance of Tang Buddha" are preserved in the jade factory in Beijing. They are all Buddha statues with a certain realm.
And his lady figures emphasize the noble and graceful emotions. The six-centimeter coral work "Thirteen Sisters" is a model of masterpieces made from small materials, achieving the ultimate effect of applying techniques according to materials.
Xicheng Jade Factory No. 3 also has many of their own masterpieces in stock.
For example, Zhang Yunhe, the "bird Zhang" who specializes in birds, Wang Zhongyuan, who is famous for carving jade flowers, can make a vessel carved from a whole piece of jade float on the water, and Dong Fengming, known as "floating on water".
All in all, these exquisite products can only be described by "Oriental treasures".
They are all creations of the highest level, and they are holy objects for people in the industry to worship. There is no possibility that they will be surpassed by future generations.
For no other reason than because there are so many distractions in modern society, no one can spend their entire life pursuing art so intently, meticulously and without any distractions.
Therefore, the so-called "masters" in the future will be just scum when compared with these people.
Even Hong Yanwu, a master who has seen a lot of things in the world, is relaxed and happy and excited when he sees these masterpieces that are beyond human imagination.
In fact, the key point is that these things are unique national treasures that he has never seen before, and many of the skills will never be available again!
And these are only a small part of the inventory of the two jade factories. Most of them are the award-winning works that participated in the selection.
For example, the beautiful agate "Hehe Fushou" from the Beijing Jade Factory, the coral "Lotus Lamp", the coral "Rebound Pipa Music Lotte", the blue and white jade "Fan Zuo Furnace", the coral "Flower Vase", the beautiful emerald "Autumn Scenery Vase",
The pretty color of agate "Brows with Joy", the pretty color of Xiuyu "Crane", "Phoenix Peony", the agate "Dragon and Phoenix Ruyi", Ordinary "Eternal Bottle", Jade "Five Blessings Together", Lapis Lazuli Animal "Everything Renewed",
Jade flower vase "Pastoral Sound and Color", agate flower vase "Amitayus Buddha", agate flower "Plum Blossoms, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum", agate flower vase "Mirage" and so on.
Jasper "Pheasant", "Lotus Kingfisher", Xiuyu "Yellow Rooster", "Peacock", "Danfeng Chaoyang", jadeite "Songhe", "Egret Lying on Lotus", "Sanqiu Vase" from the No.3 Jade Factory,
Agate "Dragon Plate", "Shrimp Plate", "Crab Plate" and so on... countless.
These are still rare and extraordinary treasures. Any one of them is enough to be displayed in a world-class museum.
So this is because Hong Yanwu caught up a little bit and took advantage of such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Don’t forget, the foreigners who come to visit basically buy small items, and almost all the large items are left untouched in the factory.
In the original history, except for a small part of these things, they were later sent to overseas auctions and were copied by foreigners.
Others ended up being shelved for decades and finally included in the National Museum.
As for these working craftsmen, the last batch of truly capable craftsmen will soon reach retirement age. So such high-level creations will soon no longer exist.
So this is truly the last train. A unique acquisition opportunity.
In such a big treasure house, one thing you buy can be worth ten or hundreds of things outside. Isn't this the same as picking up money?