Fishing for people isn't the same as fishing for fish; people are much smarter than fish.

Moreover, Shopkeeper Wang had been navigating the underworld for many years, becoming a crafty old fox. To get him hooked, we had to plan three steps ahead and lay out an ingenious scheme.

Jiang Yongguang planned all night and drafted a preliminary plan for us. He handed us these bronzes and said, "Take these scraps as a stepping stone. Once Shopkeeper Wang sees these goods, he'll definitely take the bait! Then, you can show him this treasure…"

As he said this, he reached into his coat and carefully pulled out a piece of rice paper.

The paper clearly bore a rubbing of the mysterious symbols from the ancient Shu jade slip. I took a closer look and found that the arrangement of the symbols on the paper was different from the real jade slip, obviously tampered with by the Xiaoling Guards.

Jiang Yongguang said, "This is a rubbing of a fake ancient Shu jade slip. You can use this to trick Shopkeeper Wang into taking the bait. He's in a hurry to deliver to Master Gao, so he definitely won't let this opportunity pass. Once he's been fooled, my fake will be ready too. Then, we'll use the freshly made ancient Shu jade slip to trade with him in person and seize the chance to cast the net and catch him!"

After hearing the whole plan, we all agreed.

Uncle Mei couldn't wait to pick up the woven bag and said, "What are we waiting for? Let's go fishing in the antique market now!"

But Jiang Yongguang shook his head and said, "Third Brother, don't rush. The antique market isn't a wide-open road. You can't just go whenever you want and do business as you please."

Uncle Mei raised an eyebrow and asked, "What? Are there any rules here?"

Jiang Yongguang patiently explained:

"Those who do business in the antique market are roughly divided into three categories. The first category is shopkeepers. These people have fixed stores, fixed sources of goods, and experts sitting in their stores. The goods they sell are guaranteed in quality. They are the main merchants in the antique market.

The second category is called 'Bao Fu Jun' (peddlers). They don't have fixed stores. They set up stalls in the antique market, sell their goods, and leave after selling. The goods they sell are a mix of genuine and fake, but often more fake than genuine. Unless you're a discerning expert who can find bargains, you'll basically be cheated by them.

The third category is called 'You Ji Dui' (guerrilla squads). They don't have fixed stores or even stalls. They carry snake-skin bags, wander around the antique market, and show a corner of their treasure to those who catch their eye. If someone likes it, they quickly make a deal and leave after selling."

Hearing this, I immediately asked, "The goods sold by these guerrilla squads are probably illegal goods, right?"

The so-called "huang huo" (yellow goods) refers to funerary objects dug out of tombs.

Jiang Yongguang nodded and said, "That's right. Most of the goods sold by guerrilla squads come from illegitimate sources, but that's not always the case. Some people just don't have the money to rent a store or a stall, so they can only be guerrilla squads. Others don't want to be stuck in one place and often wander around different antique markets. This kind of person is more suitable to be a guerrilla squad."

At this time, Uncle Mei asked, "When we go to the antique market to sell these bronzes, are we going to be Bao Fu Jun or You Ji Dui?"

I thought for a while and said, "We should be You Ji Dui, right? After all, these bronzes are funerary objects from tombs."

Jiang Yongguang shook his head and said, "No, you shouldn't know that these bronzes are funerary objects. Your current identity should be corpse fishermen from the Tuojiang River. These bronzes were fished out of the river by you. You'd better know nothing about tomb raiding, so as to reduce Shopkeeper Wang's suspicion."

I immediately realized and nodded, "Indeed. The less information we know, the more likely we are to get close to Shopkeeper Wang."

Uncle Mei pondered for a moment and asked, "So, you're saying that we should set up a stall in the antique market?"

"Yes." Jiang Yongguang said, "You should set up a stall in the antique market openly and put out all these bronzes, fishing in a straightforward manner! The more straightforward you are, the less Shopkeeper Wang will suspect you."

However, at this point, Jiang Yongguang frowned with some difficulty and said, "It's just that it's not easy to get a stall in the antique market. As far as I know, there are no stalls available in the antique markets in town. My identity is special, so I can't use my official status to get you a stall. That would easily alert Shopkeeper Wang and he might hear about it."

At this time, Hu Wazi patted his chest and said triumphantly, "A piece of cake! Leave it to me! It's just a stall in the antique market! I'll get it done for you before tonight!"

After speaking, he strode out to do business, bringing a gust of wind with him.

Uncle Mei was very confident in Hu Wazi and said, "If Hu Wazi says he can do it, then there's definitely no problem."

Jiang Yongguang nodded and said, "That's good. Once Hu Wazi gets the stall, you can start fishing. Remember, don't be impulsive. Our goal is Shopkeeper Wang, not the small fry around him. Also, these cultural relics were all fished out of the Tuojiang River when you were fishing for corpses. You must stick to this point and never reveal that you know about tomb raiding."

Uncle Mei and I carefully memorized Jiang Yongguang's words and then sent him away.

Hu Wazi was indeed reliable. When he came back that night, he said that he had found the stall.

The three of us discussed it privately again and decided that Hu Wazi should not show his face for the time being. Uncle Mei and I would go out to fish.

After all, the other party was a tomb raider, and there was some danger in dealing with them. Hu Wazi, with his Ren Shou Tang brothers, was responsible for lurking in the dark to protect us. This was the safest way.

Early the next morning, Uncle Mei and I took a batch of bronzes to the antique market to sell.

Nowadays, people's legal awareness is increasing, and they all understand that most bronzes are prohibited from being bought and sold. If you really trade cultural relics-level bronzes, you will be imprisoned.

But in 2005, everyone's legal awareness was still generally weak, and bronzes were everywhere in the antique market, so Uncle Mei and I did not hide it. After arriving at the stall, we generously put out these bronzes.

Jiang Yongguang does have some skills. Although the batch of bronzes he gave us were fakes, they were made vividly and hard to distinguish from the real ones.

It is said that these treasures can even fool treasure appraisal experts, let alone an amateur like me.

Not long after the two of us sat at the stall, several casual customers stopped to patronize us.

They looked at these bronzes with great seriousness and commented on them one after another.

One of them, an old man with glasses and gray hair, looked like an expert. After examining the bronzes for a while, he lowered his head and asked us, "Gentlemen, these treasures have a simple shape and a natural rust color. They should all be rare genuine products. I wonder what period they are from? Eastern Zhou or Western Zhou?"

Next to him, a young man immediately said with a smile, "What Eastern Zhou or Western Zhou? I think it's from last week, right? Bronze wares are rare items, and genuine products are not common. Almost all of those sold on stalls are fakes!"