The years when I was reborn as a giant in the antique world

The man riding the electric tricycle stopped. His skin was rough and dark due to the wind and sun all year round. His body was thin and thin. His clothes were covered with dust and dirt. It seemed that this business was not as he imagined. easy.

After stepping on the foot brake, he stepped out of the car with two legs, looked at Hong Hai secretly for a few times with shrewd eyes, and smiled after seeing the other party's luxurious attire: "My name is He Jin, the boss wants to see the furniture?"

"Yes, look for some old furniture, preferably made of good materials such as huanghuali, red sandalwood, and golden nanmu." Hong Hai didn't play tricks anymore. These furniture collectors should know everything about dealing with wood all day long.

He took a closer look at the pen container tied separately to the side. It was about [-] centimeters in height and [-] to [-] centimeters in diameter. It was made of plenty of materials and was huge.

The overall color is dark purple with a hint of red. It is heavy in the hand and has a pressing feel.There is no trace of pinching with nails, which shows that the hardness is very high.

The surface of the pen holder has fine and curved cow hair patterns and small brown eyes, with dark vermilion markings near the bottom. The texture is natural and smooth, without any writing or carving, simple and generous.The patina is mellow and soft in color, so it can be seen that it is often played and watched by people.

Hong Hai made judgments on weight, color, hardness and texture, and found that this is indeed a rosewood pen holder, and it is the more expensive 'chicken blood rosewood'.

Its color is purple-reddish, very beautiful in color, fine and oily in texture, with occasional irregular vermilion markings, which is rarer than the common ox hair rosewood.

The feature of the pen container with no grain on the surface is also in line with people's cherishment of red sandalwood, a top wood.Either the carvings are exquisite and intricate, or they are natural and undecorated, otherwise it is a waste of this material.

Judging from the materials and workmanship of the whole piece, it should be a work of the early Qing Dynasty.

Rosewood is one of the most valuable woods in the world, mainly produced in tropical regions.Due to its slow growth rate, it will take hundreds of years to become useful, and it is extremely difficult to obtain large materials, so it is very precious.

Red sandalwood is hard and dense, suitable for carving all kinds of exquisite patterns, and the texture changes endlessly.In particular, its color is deep, stable, generous and beautiful, so it is regarded as the best among woods, and it is known as "one inch of red sandalwood is one inch of gold".①

Hong Hai gave the red sandalwood pen holder to several other people, and asked them: "This pen holder is not bad, how much is it?"

"It's old rosewood, I want this number." He Jin was not polite, and put two fingers together, "One hundred thousand."

"Hey, your asking price is too high." Hong Hai frowned suddenly, and put on an expression that was too expensive, but he already knew it in his heart.

He had just seen it, and this pen holder was dug out from a whole root of 'chicken blood rosewood', with symmetrical lines and no traces of splicing, which is relatively rare.

As the saying goes, "Ten sandalwood is nine empty, and a hundred-year-old sandalwood is rare." Now there are very few red sandalwood materials, so this pen holder is worth a lot, at least 30 yuan, and his asking price of [-] yuan is still acceptable.

Still, who wouldn't want to get one at a cheaper price?Bargaining is a must.

"Boss, this price is not too high. After all, it is a rosewood pen holder. If it is lower... then it will be 8 yuan, and 8 yuan cannot be less!"

He Jin was also a little confused. The furniture he received in the past was of various types, good and bad, new and old. Every time he took it back, he had to deal with it first.

Clean them up one by one, divide them into several categories and place them one by one.Except for the intact furniture, all other lame and injured solid woods were dismantled, and the broken ones were thrown away.

Although the profit is not low, what can be earned is hard money.

But a few years ago, by chance, a wealthy businessman took a fancy to the small huanghuali incense table that he had just received from the old house.

The incense table looked very dilapidated, and one of its four legs was broken, but it was taken away at a high price of 20 yuan, which was higher than the profit he made after working hard for half a year!

Since then, he has tasted the sweetness and began to consciously collect furniture such as huanghuali, red sandalwood, and golden nanmu.

However, He Jin obviously does not have much experience in this field, and has no research on the workmanship, materials, age, etc. of furniture, and is not sensitive to market prices.

Every time he makes a sale, he accepts it as soon as it is good, and he is satisfied if he can sell it for tens of thousands of yuan.But even so, the profit is unimaginable for ordinary people to resell things that have been collected for hundreds of yuan and sold for tens of thousands of yuan.

"It's only fifty thousand." Hong Hai stretched out five fingers, gathered the fake fur on his body, and put on a knowledgeable look: "Your red sandalwood pen holder is indeed old, but the color is average, worse than ordinary dark purple , and there are few gold stars, your asking price is too high."

"Okay, fifty thousand is fifty thousand, and I'll sell it to you, the boss." He Jin gritted his teeth. Anyway, it only cost less than two thousand when he received it. This transaction made a profit of more than 20 times, and it was not a loss.

Hong Hai took out five stacks of red bills under the cover of the fur and handed them to him. After taking them, the latter immediately turned his back and counted them with the banknote detector, took out two more bills and took photos against the sun, and quickly received the money. Inside the close-fitting black bag, he smiled so hard that he couldn't see his teeth, "The boss is really a real person."

Then he approached and said in a low voice, "If you still want it, I have a few good items in my warehouse, and I'll take you there after I collect them."

Hong Hai and the others looked at each other, happy in their hearts, and coughed to hide the excitement in their eyes: "Okay, is your warehouse far away?"

"It's not too far. If you drive there, it will only take more than 20 minutes."

He Jin's dark face was also full of excitement, "Boss, leave a contact information first, and I will contact you after I finish receiving these two goods, within an hour at most."

"Okay." Hong Hai called him. To be on the safe side, he also asked him to leave a number for himself, so as not to find anyone when he could.

After the lean man rode away on the electric three-wheeler, Hong Hai clenched his fists and shouted 'Yes', smiling triumphantly, "Baby, I have a hunch that this time the harvest is definitely not small. There is one hour left, let's Hurry up and go two more, leave the warehouse and go back directly."

"Okay." Yunzhou and the others agreed, it's almost three o'clock in the afternoon, and it gets dark early in winter, so try to get back by six or seven o'clock in the evening.

"By the way, which one of you wants this red sandalwood pen holder? It's made of chicken blood red sandalwood, and the material is very good. I estimate that the market price will not be less than 30."

"I'll offer 10." Yun Zhou thought for a while, and made the first bid.

Since you want to give Mr. Du a gift, then the shopkeeper Wu who takes care of him must also have one. This pen holder is just right, elegant and high-grade, and the price is not expensive. It is very suitable as a gift.

Several others did not bid.

Hong Hai already got a Hainan huanghuali chopping board, and wanted to go to the warehouse to see if there was a better one; Xue Yifan had limited funds, and after getting his favorite treasure-embedded suitcase, he was not very interested in other items; Xu Ze Even more high-sighted, not easily shot.

Therefore, this chicken blood red sandalwood pen holder is cheaper for Yun Zhou.

The young man stroked the natural grain of rosewood, the color is really beautiful, without any extra decorations, which makes this pen holder more natural and elegant.

Afterwards, several people visited the three houses non-stop, and saw a pair of exquisite white jade paperweights at the old man who loves calligraphy.

Paperweight is a tool used by ancient literati to press paper or books. Most of them are rectangular in shape, which is convenient for pressing a corner of paper, so it is also called ruler or ruler.

It is also a small utensil for viewing and playing on the desk. It is made of various materials such as gold, silver, copper, jade, porcelain, stone, and wood.

In addition to the common three-dimensional shapes of animals such as rabbits, horses, sheep, deer, and toads, there are also exquisite works jointly carved by famous calligraphers, painters, and engravers, which are rich in forms and have high ornamental and craft value.

The pair of paperweights placed on the table are made of bright and moist white jade in a long strip shape. The carved jade dragon is vivid and walks through the emerald grass.

There are small pieces of sugar-colored dragon head and dragon tail, which are clean and beautiful. The jade-cutting knife is refined and powerful, which is a typical Ming Dynasty utensil.

Yun Zhou fell in love with it at the first sight. He looked at the sleeping little jade dragon coiled on his wrist, and at the exquisitely carved jade dragon on the paperweight.

"Grandpa, may I ask your pair of paperweights—"

"Not for sale." The old man dipped the tip of his pen into the rice paper and swayed freely on the rice paper. His cursive script ran like flowing water and was wild and uninhibited, which shows that he has a deep skill.

After finishing writing, he rinsed the brush in the round brush washer next to him, "Go and look at other things."

Hong Hai and the others went to look at a few ancient books and other decorations on the other table, while the young man stood aside and looked at the pair of paperweights.

"Young man wants it very much?" The old man chuckled. "I don't have any other hobbies, old man. I like calligraphy. If you have good calligraphy works, you can exchange them with me."

"Okay." Yun Zhou's eyes lit up instantly, and he walked quickly to Hong Hai, "Brother Hai, do you still remember the fans we collected this morning? Can you give them to me? I'll pay double the price."

"No, anyway, it's three or four thousand, I'll take you to get it." The two went to the trunk to get the two bamboo fans, which were not masterpieces of Qing Dynasty masters, but in terms of calligraphy alone, they are beyond comparison for ordinary people.

Yun Zhou handed the fan to the old man with excitement and apprehension.

"It's not bad. Although it's not as good as Wang Duo's and Fu Shan's cursive scripts, it still has its own style." The old man stroked the fan with his skinny fingers and admired it for a while, "But these two fans can only be exchanged for mine. Zhenchi, do you agree?"

"Of course I agree." The boy's eyes were filled with surprise, "Thank you, Grandpa."

No matter in terms of value or love, he has made a lot of money.The white jade carved Panlong paperweight of the Ming Dynasty cost more than [-] yuan even for one piece.

So before taking away the ancient books and ornaments, he secretly told Hong Hai to raise the price by [-].

The old man didn't expect that his few unknown ancient books could be sold at this price, he was slightly taken aback, then seemed to understand something, raised his head and looked at Yun Zhou with deep eyes.

At the same time, I sighed in my heart, it is really rare to see such a young man who is not greedy for cheap.

Yun Zhou gently stroked the Panlong carved on the paperweight, and compared it with the little jade dragon on his wrist, his eyes were bent into beautiful arcs, and he was very happy.

The harvest of this trip today is too great, and it is worthwhile.

There were few old things in the latter two, and there was nothing to collect. When several people stepped out of the courtyard, Hong Hai's cell phone rang, and it was He Jin who called, "Okay, gather at the alley, we'll go there right away."

"His furniture is almost finished, let's go."

When we arrived at the place, the buddy was waiting in the car, and the trunk of Wuling X-Ray was already full of things, all of which were today's spoils.

After throwing all the useless objects into the waste area, Hong Hai followed the electric tricycle full of furniture and drove towards the warehouse.

The speed of the electric three-wheel is not fast. They drove for more than half an hour to get there. This is an "auto parts city" surrounded by car repair shops, and the grade is not high.

The car was parked at the corner, and He Jin pushed up the plastic-steel sliding door of the warehouse, turned on the light at the door, and said to several people: "Boss, this is it."

"Okay." Hong Hai arranged for a guy to help him unload the goods, and several of them entered the warehouse first.

There is a large space inside, piled with all kinds of furniture, solid wood, leather, massage chairs, rocking chairs, screens and other things, all kinds of things, messy.

Xue Yifan coughed a few times. The smell here is not good, the dust is very heavy, because there is no sunshine all year round, it has a musty smell.

Hong Hai kicked away the stool legs and sawdust scattered under his feet, glanced at several sets of intact mahogany and oak furniture piled up, and walked inside while looking.

When he saw the things on the innermost table, Hong Hai took a few steps quickly, and said to Yun Zhou and the others: "The good things he said should be these few things."

Others naturally saw it too.

The boy stepped forward and picked up a rectangular wooden box on the right.The box had obviously been cleaned, and apart from dust in the crevices, it was clean.

The box is about 30 centimeters long, 15 centimeters wide, and 5 centimeters high. It is reddish-brown in color and light in hand.The overall surface is finely crafted, with no frills.

Its wood grain is natural and exquisite, gorgeous and smooth, the patina is stable, there are faint fluorescent floating, and the light reflects like silk, which belongs to the precious huanghuali material.

The four corners of the top of the box are covered with copper sheets inlaid with cloud patterns, and the vertical walls are also reinforced with copper bars. The center of the front is inlaid with round leaves and cloud-shaped beats (copper buckles). The workmanship is exquisite.

Yunzhou carefully observed its style and workmanship, and thought it should be a worship box from the middle Qing Dynasty.

The worship box is also called the worship post box, that is, the box where the worship posts are placed, which is equivalent to a modern business card, and it was more popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

There was a whole set of cumbersome rituals for officials and literati to visit in ancient times.

Visitors must first submit a name card with their name, fame, and official title written on it, put it in the worship box, and the servants of the master's house will go to inform, and the master decides whether to meet according to the information on the name card. ②

If it is put away, the servant will return the empty box and inform the master's house, who will go to visit some day.

As a common ritual item, the material and exquisiteness of the worship box are a symbol of the status of the owner. Therefore, most of the materials used are precious wood, mainly huanghuali and red sandalwood.

In addition to holding greeting cards, worship boxes can also be used to hold pens and ink, bank notes, jewelry and curios, and when exchanging invitations before getting married. The more important function is to present secret letters and memorials.

Therefore, there is a lock on the mouth of the worship box, which can be locked to prevent loss when delivering important items.

However, because of the age of the 'Huanghuali Worship Box in the Mid-Qing Dynasty' held by Yunzhou, the lock on it has long been lost, leaving only the original copper buckle, which is slightly rusty.

"Hey, Xiao Zhouzhou, the one in my hand is the same as yours, but this one is an old mahogany invitation box, which should be from the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China." Hong Hai also had a prayer box in his hand, but no matter the material or the In terms of workmanship, it is obviously not as good as the one in Yun Zhou's hand.

"The one in your hand must be used by a high-ranking official. It's hard to say about me, after all, I won't pay attention to it later." Hong Hai put down the box in his hand, leaned over to look at the object in front of Xue Yifan, "You still have Anything good?"

"They're all small pieces. Mine is a red sandalwood incense box." Xue Yifan said, "It's from the Qing Dynasty."

The incense box is a container for holding incense. Because incense noodles or incense chips were used in ancient incense burning, boxes should be used for storage.

This incense box is oblate in shape and 7 cm high. It is made of high-quality red sandalwood.After opening it, you can still smell a faint fragrance, which is very yearning.

Hong Hai was a little disappointed in his heart. What he expected were coffee tables, incense tables, writing desks, official hat chairs, arhat beds, and other large items. Unfortunately, there is not even a huanghuali desk. "Where is the young master?"

"A mahogany lotus pattern base and two red sandalwood ornaments." Xu Ze's cold voice came.

"Hey, well, I feel like my visit was in vain."

Hong Hai sighed and complained, just when He Jin came over sweating profusely after moving the goods, he hurriedly asked: "I said, apart from these few pieces on the table, do you have any other furniture?"

He Jin wiped the sweat from his forehead with his sleeve, then stretched his head to look at the things on the table, and was relieved when he saw that there was nothing missing, "There is also a long square stool of huanghuali, but the leg is broken——"

"It's okay, let's take a look first."

Hong Hai waved his hand, motioning for the other party to take a look.

They walked to the side of the wall, where there were all kinds of chairs with missing arms and legs, some standing crookedly, and some were directly leaning against the wall or placed on the ground because they couldn't stand upright.

"This is it." He Jin pointed to the huanghuali equishoe-footed square stool leaning against the wall.

"Damn it! You call this a broken leg, I think it's all fucked up!"

Hong Hai took a closer look, and was immediately out of breath.I saw that two of the four legs of the stool were broken. The most important thing was that one leg was broken all the way to the top of the stool, and the connection below was also broken. It was basically out of shape, and it was difficult to repair.

The man's expression was also a little embarrassing, "Well, this stool was like this when I took it away. The family almost took it as firewood. Boss, do you want it? If you want it, take 2 yuan."

"Forget it." Hong Hai frowned.

It would be fine if the stool surface was intact, but unfortunately, there are several black scabs in the middle of the wood. I don’t know what hot things were put on it.

Hong Hai's heart was bleeding, it was more painful than seeing that chopping board, such furniture can only be chopped into small pieces to be used as car beads, what a reckless waste!

"Nothing else?"

Facing the straight gaze of the other party, He Jin smiled awkwardly, and when he was about to shake his head, he suddenly thought of something, "Oh, by the way, there is also a chair with a strange shape, and the sitting surface is the same as a hemp rope like a mozzarella." Material. But... they are all open, do you want to take a look?"

"Go!" Hong Hai still didn't give up, and followed him to a corner.

I saw a chair leaning against the corner, the lower part is 'Maza', with footrests at the bottom, which can be folded.

The upper part is in the shape of an armchair, with a semicircular chair ring, four-jointed armrests, a curved back panel, and curved narrow-angled teeth on both sides, which looks like a combination of an armchair and a Maza.

However, when they took a closer look at the chair, they were all stunned, and Hong Hai even took a deep breath. If He Jin wasn't here, he would have almost cried out.

This is actually the top spot of a huanghuali! !

When it comes to the top spot, "Water Margin" naturally comes to mind.Liangshan hero [-] will take the seat, the older brother is older and the younger brother is shorter, and finally Song Jiang took the top spot and became the leader of Liangshan hero.

The chair originated from the ancient "Maza", also called "Hu bed" at first, and it is a marching tool often used by the northern minorities.In the Southern Song Dynasty, people put a support on the back of the 'Maza', and the top chair was born. ③

Since the invention of the chair, it has been loved by the upper class, and then gradually developed into a status symbol.Such a scene is recorded in the Qing palace painting "Kangxi's Southern Inspection Tour": Kangxi is sitting in the top chair on the boat, and everyone else is standing.

Therefore, only high-ranking officials and dignitaries can sit on the top chair, and Lord Kangxi will be the top chair when he goes out, so its status can be imagined.

In the Ming Dynasty, when Chinese furniture was the most glorious, there was a saying that "top chairs, circle chairs, and official hat chairs are three parts of the world".

However, unlike other chairs, the chair bears weight on four legs, because it is a variant of 'Mazza', so its stress point is on the cross axis of the legs.

Even if it is often reinforced, it is not very strong, and it has to be folded frequently, which is easy to break.

Therefore, the number of handed down top chairs is very small, and it is said that the total number of intact ones does not exceed 30.

At J Shide's auction, a huanghuali unicorn-patterned ring-back chair from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties was sold for a sky-high price of more than 6000 million, shocking everyone!

As for this one, although the stitches on the seat surface have been removed, and part of the connection of the foot kick below has been damaged, its integrity is damaged, but its value is still immeasurable.