Two Realms: A cartload of rice arrived at the end of the Ming Dynasty

0006 Zigang

"You want to sell jade?"

"We accept it here, but we need to take it upstairs to show it to General Manager Lin."

The saleswoman immediately realized what was happening and pointed to the staircase leading to the second floor.

No wonder this dirty-looking young man dared to wander into their store and linger there; he came prepared!

One of the female sales representatives even adopted a warm attitude and led Zhu Shiting up to the second floor.

The second floor of Yu Shang Jade is also decorated in a grand style, but it is not the vulgar kind that is open to the public for business. Instead, it has been transformed into a modern and Chinese style, similar to a museum or collection exhibition.

Jade carvings of various shapes and colors can be seen everywhere on the walls. With just the right lighting, the simple elegance exudes a Zen-like tranquility, and you can even smell the lingering scent of sandalwood in the air.

Further up on the second floor, there was a stone tea table where a female boss, who looked to be in her forties, dressed in black and adorned with jewelry, was flipping through a magazine related to jade.

"This lady has such a great presence and is so beautiful!"

Zhu Shiting only glanced at the other person from afar, and the popular internet meme "Old A8" popped into his mind.

The saleswoman who had shown us the way stepped forward and explained our purpose. The female boss, surnamed Lin, put down her magazine and said softly, "Handsome, please have a seat. Did you bring that item?"

"Yes, I brought it."

Zhu Shiting hurriedly responded, glanced at the emerald green beaded necklace around the other person's neck that stood out against the black knitted sweater, and after sitting down, took out the jade hairpin from his backpack and handed it over.

"It's actually an antique jade piece!"

The female boss took the hairpin and examined it for a moment, then casually picked up a paper business card from the tea table and gave it to Zhu Shiting.

"Lin Yuling, the eldest sister is beautiful, and her name is also lovely."

Zhu Shiting glanced at the information on the business card and watched as the other person held the slender hairpin, playing with the mushroom-shaped tip of the hairpin in her delicate hand.

She is beautiful, the jade is beautiful, and her voice is pleasant to hear; she is extremely pleasing to the eye.

After a moment, Lin Yuling finished examining the jade hairpin and introduced it, "This is a hairpin made of mutton fat jade. The jade quality looks excellent; it's top-grade mutton fat jade. However, our shop doesn't accept this kind of antique. If you want to sell it, handsome, I can introduce you to a buyer who collects this kind of ancient jade."

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shiting nodded immediately: "Thank you, Mr. Lin. I am sincerely willing to sell."

Seeing this, Lin Yuling nodded slightly, took an elegant tray from the display shelf behind her, placed the jade hairpin on it, took a few photos, and then sent out a few voice messages.

……

After the message was sent, it took almost an hour to wait.

While waiting, Lin Yuling brewed tea for Zhu Shiting and introduced him to a lot of knowledge about jade.

Zhu Shiting was broadened by the knowledge he gained about various types of jade, including glutinous rice type, icy type, glass type, jade with cotton-like inclusions, jade with fluffy inclusions, jade with floating flowers, and the differences between jadeite and ordinary jade.

"There aren't many people in Ruixian who collect antiques, and even fewer who collect jade, let alone high-quality jade. Usually, when someone needs to buy good jade, they will send it to me from the rear," Lin Yuling said with a smile, introducing the exhibits on the second floor.

Zhu Shiting was speechless upon hearing the prices of those bracelets and pendants that often cost millions.

Judging from her appearance, this pretty older sister is doing business with the wealthiest people in the county. No wonder Yu Shang Jade Shop has been open for more than ten years.

Just then, a sprightly old man with gray hair came up the stairs.

The man appeared to be in his sixties, dressed in a crisply pressed Zhongshan suit, with a string of jade beads in his hand. He had regular features and looked somewhat like a handsome retired man.

Upon seeing the old man appear, Lin Yuling greeted him warmly, "Uncle Zheng, we've been waiting for you! Come and take a look at this hairpin."

As they spoke, Lin Yuling introduced the old man's identity.

The other party's name is Zheng Zhaohui, one of the few major collectors of ancient jade in the Vancouver area, and he is also a retired university professor.

However, the other party usually lives in Lucheng, and it takes more than an hour to get to Ruixian even by taking the light rail, so it is clear that they have had a lot of travel.

Upon hearing this, Zhu Shiting hurriedly stood up and shook hands with the old man: "Teacher Zheng, thank you for making this trip."

"No trouble at all! If it's good stuff, it's worth the trip, no matter how far." Zheng Zhaohui said with a smile.

As soon as they sat down, the other person was drawn to the mushroom-shaped jade hairpin and took it to examine it closely.

"A fine hairpin; this is a Ming dynasty-style hairpin for women to style their hair."

"Look at the inscription on this. It's an imitation of Lu Zigang's style. The carving is exquisite and the jade is of superior quality. I haven't seen such a fine antique hairpin in years."

Zheng Zhaohui only glanced at it a few times before recognizing that it was indeed a genuine old item and offered a few comments.

"Imitation of Lu Zigang?"

"Wasn't it made by Lu Zigang himself?" Lin Yuling asked curiously.

While waiting, she and Zhu Shiting had already searched online for information about the signature of that "Zigang system".

Lu Zigang was a jade carving master during the Jiajing period of the Ming Dynasty. He was known in the martial arts world as the "unique skill of Wuzhong" and the "number one craftsman of Taicang". He was extremely skilled in carving jade plaques and hairpins.

If it really is a jade hairpin carved by him, it would be worth tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, and would be extremely valuable even in a niche collecting market.

After all, modern people face increased pressure in the 21st century, leading to widespread baldness, and the Chinese people have long lost the habit of growing their hair since the fall of the Ming Dynasty.

These types of jade hairpins cannot be worn or handled after acquisition, so their value is naturally lower than that of other Ming and Qing dynasty antiques.

Ordinary Ming and Qing dynasty jade hairpins, without the embellishment of historical figures or scholars, would only fetch a maximum of ten or twenty thousand yuan in the antique market for the material itself.

"If it were Lu Zigang's work, the carving wouldn't be cloud patterns, but dragon patterns."

"And this inscription for Yingning is something I've never seen on Lu Zigang's genuine works. It must have been a later imitation by a craftsman," Zheng Zhaohui explained patiently.

Although this jade hairpin is an antique from the Ming Dynasty, the craftsman who carved it was not famous. In order to earn more money for his work at the time, the craftsman forged Lu Zigang's signature.

It's the same principle as modern counterfeit luxury goods and fake shoes from Putian.

"Teacher Zheng, how much could this jade hairpin possibly fetch?"

As the owner of the hairpin, Zhu Shiting was now feeling quite uneasy.

I thought I could make a fortune from this Ming Dynasty antique, but I never expected that I could still buy a counterfeit A-grade piece at the end of the Ming Dynasty.

"Imitations of Lu Zigang's Ming and Qing dynasty women's hairpins usually cost tens of thousands of yuan each."

"However, the jade you have is of excellent quality, top-grade mutton fat jade, and the carving is also quite good. It should be worth around 15 to 6 yuan. It just depends on whether you can accept it, young man."

As he spoke, Zheng Zhaohui opened the auction transaction records of the ancient jade circle in recent years on his mobile phone, and let Zhu Shiting browse and compare the prices.

Several similar imitations of Lu Zigang jade hairpins were also exquisitely crafted and of outstanding quality, but the highest price they ever fetched at auction was only 18 yuan.

However, Zhu Shiting's eyes lit up immediately when he saw the price list: "I can accept this price!"

He worked hard as a deliveryman for Lalamove for several years and finally saved up more than 12 yuan in bank savings.

Unexpectedly, the delivery of just a dozen or so bags of rice to the end of the Ming Dynasty wiped out his savings accumulated over several years of hard work.

The initial disappointment at the price of the jade hairpin was instantly washed away by the joy of making money.

"Then let's set the price at 158,000. You'll have to pay the remaining 3000 for tea to Yuling."

Zheng Zhaohui chuckled and made a small cut, hoping to get a lucky number with the number 8 in it.

As for the "tea money," it's an unspoken rule in the antique and jade industry. Middlemen who introduce buyers and sellers can take a cut, and Zhu Shiting expressed his complete understanding of this.

This beautiful and sweet-voiced older sister chatted with him for half an afternoon and gave him a crash course in jade knowledge. The emotional value she provided alone was worth more than 3000 yuan.

So he immediately agreed to sell the jade hairpin.