I was smoking a hand-rolled cigarette for the first time. Matthew Yong’s tobacco leaves were clearly not ordinary. When I smoked it, there was a faint sweetness and a rich aroma.
It was, without a doubt, the best cigarette I had ever smoked.
Fatty pouted and sniffed with his nose, then couldn't resist rolling one for himself and taking a puff.
"How is it? Taste good, doesn't it?" Matthew Yong asked us with a smile.
I exhaled a cloud of smoke and said, "This tobacco is very fragrant."
He smiled and said, "This was given to me by a friend from Yuncheng. He sends me some every year. According to him, this tobacco is better than that found in the most expensive cigarettes on the market, but you have to roll it yourself each time."
After only a few puffs, more than half of the cigarette had burned away.
Soon, the cigarette was finished, and I still felt a sense of lingering desire.
"The four major families of Guangbei, in the early years, all started by running pawnshops," Matthew Yong got to the point and began to speak. "Later, they gradually entered the antique trade. However, at that time, there was no mention of the four major families of Kong, Cao, Yan, and Hua. Guangbei's antique circle was also not as prosperous as it is now. After times progressed and everyone's economic conditions improved, the Guangbei antique circle began to develop slowly. The earliest and largest antique shop in Guangbei was opened by my grandfather."
Hearing this, I was somewhat surprised and also confused.
"Was Mr. Ma's family also in the antique business in previous generations?" I asked.
He smiled, a look of disdain in his eyes, and said, "When my family ran the antique shop, the so-called four major families were merely assistants to my family."
"It's just a pity that later my grandfather grew tired of the deceit and hypocrisy in the antique circle, eventually transitioning from a shopkeeper selling antiques to a simple collector… From then on, the four major families began to take shape."
Upon hearing this, I roughly understood. It seemed the Ma family was the elder of the Guangbei antique world.
This also clarified why the Guangbei Antique Association would entrust its token to the Ma family for safekeeping when it was established.
After chatting with Matthew Yong for a few more sentences, he said, "Having listened to so much of my rambling, let's get back to the point. Otherwise, your consultation fee will have been wasted."
I smiled and said, "Being able to learn so much about the Guangbei antique world, the money wasn't wasted."
"These things are not exactly top-secret, and they aren't worth that much money," Matthew Yong said, taking a sip of tea and making a 'please' gesture, indicating that he was ready to appraise my item.
I signaled to Fatty, and he took a wooden box out of his bag.
This wooden box was bought from a craft store we happened to find on the way here today.
Inside it was the bone flute.
The purpose of coming here today was to probe Matthew Yong's background. As for the so-called White Dragon Jade Horse, I felt it wasn't the right time to mention it to him.
Thinking about it, we weren't familiar with each other, and he didn't have any good feelings towards the four major families.
If I had directly told him that I was here to get the "White Dragon Jade Horse," he probably would have kicked me out.
Why would he hand over the "White Dragon Jade Horse" to me?
"Oh?"
Matthew Yong opened the wooden box, took out the bone flute, and examined it for a moment. "Mr. Xiang, where did you acquire this flute?"
I said, "I bought it at an antique market. But I thought this flute was in good condition, so I bought it. However, I've shown it to many people, and none of them can tell me its origin."
"If I'm not mistaken, this should be an eagle flute," Matthew Yong said. "Eagle flutes in such good condition are rare. If this were put on the market, it could sell for at least three hundred thousand."
He paused, then added, "However, flutes like this are scarce despite having a price; not many people collect them, even though their value is not low."
After looking at it, he put the flute back into the wooden box. Then he picked up a calligraphy brush, took a strip of paper about twenty centimeters long, wrote a large price on it, and then pressed a seal onto it.
"Mr. Xiang, this is my appraisal result. If you can't sell this flute, you can bring this paper to me, and I will buy it from you at the price indicated," Matthew Yong said.
I put the paper strip into the wooden box and said, "Thank you."
After leaving the tea house and returning to the hotel, Fatty asked me why I hadn't asked him about the "White Dragon Jade Horse" just now.
I told him my concerns. After hearing them, Fatty said, "Master Xiang, why didn't you just say that Yan Hongguang sent you to find him?"
I gave a wry smile and said, "If it were that easy, why do you think Yan Hongguang sent me? Couldn't he just send someone else? Besides, didn't you see Matthew Yong? He doesn't seem to give any face to the four major families. Even if I said Yan Hongguang sent me, the other party probably wouldn't hand over the item."
Fatty asked, "Then what do we do now?"
I didn't answer Fatty's question, but instead looked at Song Bing. "Brother Song, can you still find ways to acquire antiques?"
"I can go ask Mao Dadan again."
"Alright, go ask him. Whether it's for a banquet or an underground auction, if you have any leads, go for it," I said.
Fatty couldn't help but ask, "Master Xiang, what are you trying to do?"
"Collect antiques, of course," I replied.
"Why collect antiques?"
"To have Matthew Yong appraise them."
"Ah?"
Fatty seemed confused and asked, "Master Xiang, what's your plan? Getting him to appraise them isn't cheap, it's ten thousand per appraisal! If we do this a few times, tens of thousands will be gone..."
I said, "You can't catch a tiger without entering the tiger's den. We have to interact with Matthew Yong more if we want to get the White Dragon Jade Horse."
"But isn't that too expensive?"
I gave him a sideways glance. "It's not your money, so why are you so anxious?"
"It's easy to say that, but your money is my money too," Fatty said. "My future depends on you..."
"Go find somewhere cool to hang out."
...
In the following days, Song Bing indeed found many avenues through Mao Dadan.
This small fishing village, which outwardly appeared to be dominated by the seafood industry, actually had a significant amount of clandestine antique trading.
Many items from Guangbei originated from this small fishing village.
After attending two underground auctions, I acquired three items in good condition: two porcelain pieces and a painting.
These three items cost me less than two hundred thousand, which could be considered a good bargain.
If these items were taken back to Guangling, they could be sold for at least double the price.
Indeed, finding bargains made money quickly.
Of course, my ability to find bargains was partly due to my ancestors and my father's teachings.
Without them, let alone finding bargains, I would have been lucky not to lose everything down to my underwear.
With the items prepared, I went to find Matthew Yong again...