Reborn in 1977

Chapter 680: This is not for sale, not for sale!

Dazhalan was not far from Rongbaozhai.

The first time Chen Fan came here, he walked over with his three masters.

Now that he had a car, he stepped on the gas a few times, carefully avoided the pedestrians on the road, and arrived at the entrance.

He parked the car aside, got out and walked in.

The inside was the same as last time, still crowded with people.

It was obviously Saturday today, and he didn't know where so many idle people came from to go shopping.

What? Himself?

Chen Fan said that he was here to study and purchase, all serious business, definitely not an idle person!

Walking through the gate, he glanced around and found the Eternal Green Lotus Painting hanging on the wall, facing the entrance.

A green lotus was born out of thin air without roots.

The lotus leaves were graceful, but seemed to be able to cover all directions.

There was also a lotus flower, with nine petals blooming.

It was clearly not as big as the lotus leaf, but it seemed to be able to pierce the sky.

The essence of "conveying meaning through painting" in traditional Chinese painting was exemplified here.

In the lower left corner of the painting, the inscription "A lotus in the eternal green sky" was simple, but expressed the meaning of the painting vividly.

Across the counter, many people gathered together to admire the painting, and naturally some people were making comments.

The salesperson in the counter stood aside, seemingly accustomed to the scene in front of him.

Chen Fan stood for a while.

Most people were studying the painting techniques and why this green lotus looked so magical, as if it was in a void.

They could even see the entire lotus flower.

He didn't hear any negative comments.

In response, he just slightly raised the corner of his mouth, indicating that it was just a little bit of borrowing from the 3D painting techniques of the future, not worth mentioning.

Then he turned his head and looked around.

The store was still mainly selling the "Four Treasures of the Study" (writing brush, ink stick, paper, and inkstone), and also dealt in calligraphy, paintings, and antiques.

Even the antiques were basically "literary objects," such as pens, ink, paper, inkstones, pots, fans, jade, ivory, inkstones, and ancient paintings.

Ancient books?

Sorry, ancient books belong to the category of old books.

According to regulations, old books are within the business scope of the China Bookstore.

Turn right when you go out, you have to go next door to find them.

At this time, Chen Fan suddenly realized that he seemed to have come to the wrong place?

But since he was already here, he might as well take a look.

He walked straight in, passed through the front hall to the backyard, and immediately someone came up to "greet" him.

"Comrade, the backyard is a work area.

What do you need to buy?

I can take you there."

Chen Fan said with a smile, "Hello, is Manager Hou here?"

The young comrade was slightly taken aback, and his attitude became more respectful.

"May I ask your name?"

Those who came to find Manager Hou were basically writers, painters, calligraphers, and other literati, and they were quite famous.

Now that the trend had changed, these people had a tendency to rise again, so naturally they had to be accommodating.

But then again, even when the wind was at its strongest, Rongbaozhai had never done anything to look down on literati.

Chen Fan's expression remained unchanged, "Please inform him that Chen Fan is visiting."

The young comrade didn't say much, nodded lightly, "Please wait a moment."

Then he turned and walked inside.

After walking a few steps, he suddenly stopped and looked back.

Wait, Chen Fan?

The most popular young writer?

Chen Fan saw him stop and was about to ask if there was anything else, but the man continued to walk inside, so he closed his mouth and waited in place.

The young comrade walked into the back room, turned to avoid Chen Fan's sight, and ran away.

He rushed into the manager's office, panting and said, "Manager Hou, Manager Hou, Chen Fan is here, in the courtyard outside."

Manager Hou was correcting documents.

Hearing his words, he casually said, "Which Chen Fan made you run like this?"

As soon as he finished speaking, he suddenly raised his head, "Chen Fan?

The Chen Fan you are talking about, is that Chen Fan?"

The young comrade nodded vigorously, "It's that Chen Fan from Luwan, the one who painted the Immortal Lotus Painting."

Even in Rongbaozhai, not many people knew that Chen Fan was the one who painted this painting, and he was one of them.

In fact, in today's domestic literary and art circles, almost everyone knows that Chen Fan is excellent in both calligraphy and painting.

There was no way around it.

The Immortal Lotus Painting was displayed here, and Mr. Ba Lao often took the initiative to promote him, so not many people didn't know.

It's just that the speed of news dissemination was slow this year, and the calligraphy and painting circles were not as popular as they would be later, so his reputation had not spread to everyone, let alone those overseas businessmen who wanted to buy paintings.

When Manager Hou heard that it was really Chen Fan who came, he didn't even bother to tidy up the documents and got up and ran out.

Chen Fan was standing in the courtyard.

Just as he finished looking at the layout of the backyard, he heard a burst of footsteps.

The next second, Manager Hou appeared at the door, his eyes shining, and he quickly walked over, reaching out his hands from afar, "Qing… Comrade Chen, a rare guest, a rare guest!"

A question mark appeared on Chen Fan's head.

What was Comrade Qingcheng?

When their hands clasped, he realized that Manager Hou wanted to call him Green Lotus, right?

Zhang Shifu was so unreliable, why did he give himself a Taoist name?

And Green Lotus!

Why not call him Blue Lotus?

Manager Hou held his hand and refused to let go, saying with an excited face, "Comrade Chen, you haven't been here for so long, I'm really afraid you've forgotten my little shop.

You don't know, the painting you drew last time was very popular…!"

As he spoke, he pulled Chen Fan towards the side room.

When he entered, Chen Fan glanced around.

Well, this was where the big shots gathered last time, and the Green Lotus Painting was also painted here.

It wasn't until this time that Manager Hou let go of his hand, invited him to sit down at the tea table, personally brewed two cups of tea, handed him a cigarette, and after finishing, he sat opposite him and asked with hopeful eyes, "Comrade Chen, what's the important matter that brings you here today?"

Of course smoking was prohibited in calligraphy and painting shops, but this room was an exception.

If even this place was banned, I'm afraid those literati who couldn't live without smoking would no longer come.

Chen Fan was a little dizzy from his enthusiasm.

He couldn't help but light a cigarette and take a puff before regaining his senses and said with a smile, "It's nothing serious.

I just came to buy something and ask you something."

Manager Hou spread his hands, "Please speak."

Chen Fan smiled and said, "I have a relative who is overseas.

He returned to China a few days ago and wants to acquire some antique treasures.

I don't know much about these things.

I think Rongbaozhai is also a century-old shop, and there are many literary objects in the shop, so I want to ask you where I can buy antiques and what are the considerations?"

Uncle was the best cover.

It was better to come forward in his name than in his own.

Otherwise, what do you want to do with a large number of antiques?

"So that's the matter."

Manager Hou nodded suddenly and said with a smile, "There are many kinds of antiques, and there are indeed many tricks involved.

If you are not careful, you may be deceived.

But that was before.

Since the founding of the country, antique markets across the country have been rectified.

First, the major time-honored brands were jointly operated by the public and private sectors, and later all were reorganized and reorganized, and cultural relic stores specializing in antiques were established.

As long as you buy in the cultural relic store, you can basically guarantee that it is genuine.

It's just that in the cultural relic store, the price is slightly higher than the private sale, but the things in private hands all depend on your eyesight.

Therefore, for safety's sake, I suggest that your relative should go to the cultural relic store to buy, where the things are clearly marked and you generally won't get ripped off."

Chen Fan nodded and asked, "Where is the Beijing Cultural Relic Store?"

Manager Hou pointed in the direction next door and said with a smile, "It's next door."

Chen Fan looked in the direction he was pointing, and only saw a wall.

Manager Hou continued, "Now there are not so many shops on Liulichang Street.

Rongbaozhai is the most respected bookstore, you have to go to the China Bookstore for ancient books, and cultural relics and antiques are all in the Cultural Relic Store."

After a pause, he said again, "In those years, Beijing integrated the reorganized antique shops and established the Beijing Cultural Relics Company, and then opened several branches to facilitate the acquisition of folk collections on the one hand, and to sell them to the outside world on the other.

It's just that later, there were more people selling cultural relics and fewer people buying them.

Also, because foreign tourists came to Beijing to travel every year, the Cultural Relics Company cooperated with the tourism company after asking for instructions, and this Cultural Relic Store became one of the tourist attractions for foreign tourists to visit Beijing.

Naturally, cultural relics have become an important object for earning foreign exchange.

Now the branches with the best business are the Liulichang Cultural Relics Store next door, the Dongdan Cultural Relics Store, and the Wangfujing Department Store Cultural Relics Store.

As long as you go to these places, you can buy anything as long as the store has it."

Chen Fan blinked and asked curiously, "Then I want to buy a bronze ware?"

Manager Hou smiled dumbly and shook his head, "As early as 1970, except for folk sales to cultural relic companies, my country strictly prohibited bronze wares from leaving the country.

Even within the country, bronze wares identified as national first-class A-grade cultural relics are not allowed to be traded.

If they are passed down from ancestors, they are only allowed to be collected by themselves and are not allowed to be traded.

Only ordinary cultural relics that have been identified as general categories can be traded."

Hearing this, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, "Then I can't buy it?"

Manager Hou smiled and said, "Not necessarily.

Not all bronze wares are national treasures.

Only those identified as first-class A-grade are national treasures.

First-class B-grade to third-class cultural relics can only be called treasures, which are often said to be precious cultural relics.

Some ordinary bronze wares are also sold in cultural relic stores, but they are not very precious."

Chen Fan rubbed his chin, thought for a while, and asked, "You just said private transactions, are there any folk spontaneous trading markets now?"

Manager Hou tossed his cigarette butt, took a sip of tea, and smiled at him, "If it were two years ago, I would definitely tell you no. But since last year, some folk markets have spontaneously organized. For example, the Shahe Grand Bazaar is a famous pigeon market in old Beijing. Besides the usual flowers, birds, insects, and fish, there are many other things. It has developed into a comprehensive market.

However, that place is a bit far, in Changping, and it hasn't been restored for long. There aren't many things there either. It's mainly organized spontaneously by the surrounding people, and the goods are mainly agricultural products and daily necessities."

Chen Fan nodded to show he understood.

He had seen many such spontaneous markets in the park, mainly selling clothes, fabrics, or handmade bamboo products and homemade furniture, focusing on a small-scale agricultural economy.

In addition, there were some light industrial products.

Almost every industry existed in Beijing. There were many "defective products" and "unplanned products" in factories, and many were given to employees as benefits. Some workers' families had clothes and fabrics piled up for more than ten years that they couldn't finish wearing or using.

Seeing that the folk market was unbanned, many daring people naturally took them out to sell or sold some to small vendors, which was risk-free and could earn them some pocket money.

Seeing him lost in thought, Manager Hou thought he wanted to go to the market to hunt for treasures and couldn't help but smile, "If you want to see something new, you can go to the market for a stroll. But if you want to find a treasure at the market, then don't even think about it.

From the establishment of the Cultural Relics Company to the present, I don't know how many documents have been issued and how much publicity has been done. Over the past twenty years, old Beijing has been scoured inside and out countless times.

Any possible treasures have been sent by the people to their store for appraisal. If you want to find a bargain, it's not impossible, but first, you must have overwhelming luck, otherwise, it's all a waste of time."

He offered Chen Fan another cigarette and smiled, "Then you might as well go to the Ghost Market and take a look. The chances are even greater there."

As soon as he heard about the Ghost Market, Chen Fan immediately perked up and asked curiously, "Panjiayuan?"

The most widely circulated treasure hunting mecca in later generations was undoubtedly Panjiayuan. All kinds of stories could be spread from that place. He wondered what Panjiayuan was like now?

As a result, upon hearing his words, Manager Hou looked blank, "Panjiayuan has a Ghost Market?"

Chen Fan was stunned, "Doesn't it?"

Manager Hou: "Does it?"

Chen Fan: "No…"

He immediately coughed twice, picked up his teacup and took a sip, lit the second cigarette, and then smiled, "I also heard it from someone."

"Oh."

Manager Hou shook his head in confusion, "That should be a small Ghost Market."

Chen Fan blinked and looked at him, asking, "You… don't know that place?"

Manager Hou smiled and said, "Of course I know. That place used to be the tomb of Dorgon, one of the Eight Great Iron-Capped Princes of the Qing Dynasty. His family members of several generations were buried there, divided into old tombs and new tombs, occupying a large area.

During the Republic of China, there was a kiln owner surnamed Pan from Shandong who dug the ground there to burn kilns. He originally wanted to fire glazed tiles, but the soil quality was not good, so he could only fire bricks. However, the quality of the bricks he fired was good, and because the price was the same, the quantity of bricks was slightly more than other kilns, he finally opened up sales channels and became famous in the city.

From then on, that place was called 'Pan's Kiln', and later, because in the old society, that thing was called 'kiln', it was renamed 'Panjiayuan.'"

He took a puff of cigarette and continued, "Because of the kilns, the ground was dug up everywhere, full of pits and bumps, even worse than a battlefield that had been shelled.

It was in the sixties that residential areas began to be built there, and the pits were gradually filled, which led to the current Panjiayuan."

After explaining, he shook his head in confusion again, "But when it comes to the Ghost Market, I really haven't heard of any famous Ghost Market there."

Chen Fan opened his mouth, his eyes full of confusion. So that's how it was?

He only knew about Panjiayuan before, but he didn't know that Panjiayuan's rise actually started in the 1980s. Because it was not far from the city, the transportation was convenient, and the area was not small, but it was sparsely populated. Not far away, there was a large residential area, so many people set up stalls there to sell second-hand goods, which attracted all kinds of ghosts and snakes to set up stalls, and then slowly developed.

The Panjiayuan Market was not planned and built until 1992.

So, in terms of reputation, Panjiayuan is the largest, but in terms of history, it can only be considered a younger brother.

Manager Hou looked at him and said, "Still, the things in the Ghost Market are uneven. Good things are even rarer than finding gold in the waves. If your relatives really want to collect, you might as well go to the Cultural Relics Store to buy them. The Ghost Market is not a place to stroll, but to 'wade' through. There are not many good things inside, but there are many bad rules. Unless necessary, it's best not to go."

Chen Fan came back to his senses and nodded, "Well, I will tell him."

Manager Hou smiled and said, "It's rare for Comrade Chen to come to our small shop. If you're not in a hurry, why not leave a piece of calligraphy?!"

Chen Fan blinked and smiled, "Are the calligraphy and paintings in Rongbaozhai all scammed by Manager Hou like this?!"

Manager Hou was smoking, and when he heard this, he was immediately choked by a puff of smoke and coughed several times in a row.

He quickly picked up his teacup and took a sip. After catching his breath, he looked at Chen Fan helplessly, "The calligraphy and paintings in our shop are naturally purchased. If Comrade Chen is willing to cooperate, I am willing to offer you the highest purchase price."

As he spoke, he gestured, "15 yuan per square foot. Qi Gong, Liu Haisu, Jiang Zhaohe, Li Keran, and Wu Zuoren are also at this price."

After a pause, he explained, "It used to be 60, then the royalties were interrupted, and it was not until last year that it was restored, and the highest price of 15 yuan was initially set."

Chen Fan shook his head, "Let's forget about cooperation. I drew a painting last time, so I'll write a piece of calligraphy this time."

Upon hearing this, Manager Hou was both disappointed and happy.

He was definitely disappointed that he couldn't cooperate.

He was happy that he could get a piece of calligraphy for free.

If he could choose, he would of course hope to cooperate. In this way, he could not only see more of Chen Fan's paintings, but also create profits for the unit.

Now, getting a piece of calligraphy for free can only be used as one of the treasures of the museum, just like that painting, and cannot be sold.

Who would be embarrassed to take out and sell the calligraphy and paintings given out of courtesy?

Such things are generally non-sale items of Rongbaozhai, and there are quite a few of them.

Without Chen Fan having to do anything, and without calling anyone in, Manager Hou personally served the pen, ink, paper, and inkstone.

Ten pieces of high-quality zhang'er pi Xuan paper, the one used to paint "Land So Rich in Beauty", were taken out by Manager Hou, neatly laid on the table, and pressed with bronze paperweights.

Then, he took out a top-quality Hu pen, as well as a top-quality Duan inkstone and a section of Luo Xiaohua ink stick.

Seeing such a luxurious set, Chen Fan couldn't help but feel his fingertips itching.

He turned to look at Manager Hou and smiled, "Are you planning to let me write how much?"

Manager Hou didn't change his expression and chuckled, "You can write as much as you like. If the paper is not enough, I'll take more!"

As he spoke, he scooped a spoonful of water from Yuquan Mountain into the inkstone and picked up the ink stick to grind it.

Chen Fan's mouth twitched slightly. Is that what I meant?!

However, he didn't say much. After the ink formed, he picked up the brush, touched the tip of the brush to his fingertip, familiarized himself with the hardness and looseness of the brush, and then prepared to write.

Zhang'er pi Xuan paper is 367 cm long and 144 cm wide, and is specially used for the creation of large-format works.

Chen Fan had never bought this kind of paper before, nor had he painted on such a large piece of paper, but in his eyes, no matter how big the paper is, it is not bigger than the earth. As long as there is a pattern in his heart, no matter how big or small the paper is, he can use it.

He first turned the paper horizontally, then picked up the brush and dropped it.

This time, Chen Fan's speed was very slow. He was not writing, but painting.

Manager Hou was stunned at first, and then stared at the drawing paper with rapt attention, watching with great interest, while not forgetting to grind the ink.

More than half an hour later, a picture of a precipitous mountain pass appeared on the paper.

Chen Fan took a breath, and then without stopping, he splashed ink on the painting. After a while, under the setting sun, a team holding high the flag and bravely moving forward appeared between the mountain passes.

After finishing the team, he wrote on the upper right of the ink painting.

Manager Hou widened his eyes and whispered, "The west wind is fierce, and wild geese cry in the frosty morning moon. The frosty morning moon, the sound of horses' hooves is broken, and the sound of trumpets is choked. The majestic pass is like iron, but now we are stepping over again. Stepping over again, the green mountains are like the sea, and the setting sun is like blood."

After Chen Fan put down the pen, he suddenly clapped his palms, "Good!"

Chen Fan smiled and was about to speak when the door was suddenly pushed open, and a middle-aged man burst in. A staff member followed behind with a wry smile, spread his hands to Manager Hou, indicating that he couldn't stop him, he couldn't stop him at all!

Before Manager Hou could speak, the man rushed to the desk, his eyes shining as he looked at the calligraphy and painting on the table.

At this time, Manager Hou didn't care about Chen Fan. He immediately spread his arms to stop the man, and shouted in his mouth, "Not for sale, this is not for sale, not for sale!"