186: Chapter 182: Transaction 186: Chapter 182: Transaction The small private room covered an area of about ten square meters, with a row of wooden sofas inside and a huge coffee table in the center.
Inside the main hall of Treasure House, there were only some handicrafts.
The real antiques, generally quite precious, were not casually displayed in the hall by Dong Dahai, the owner.
In their line of business, there was a saying: “Open for business one day, and live off that for three years”.
To buy truly good items in his store, one had to be a regular or come recommended by someone.
Besides buying and selling antiques themselves, Treasure House also leveraged its substantial connections to act as a middleman, facilitating others in antique transactions.
“Mr.
Chen, you’re here!
Please come in…” Seeing Chen Hai, Dong Dahai, who was sitting alone in the room sipping tea, hurriedly got up, his face glowing with warmth as he came forward.
Of course, his enthusiasm for Chen Hai was definitely due to the face given by Hou Donggui.
Without Hou Donggui’s introduction that day, had Chen Hai rashly visited a place like Treasure House, he would certainly have been received by the cheongsam-clad women downstairs.
As for Dong Dahai, the owner, he was far from idle and personally received every customer who entered their store.
“Brother Dong, it’s been a while since we last met.
Seeing you so robust and glowing, business must have been very good lately!”
Smiling and exchanged pleasantries, Chen Hai walked into the room and sat down near Dong Dahai.
The cheongsam-clad woman who led him over very appropriately left the private room and gently closed the door behind her.
“Mr.
Chen, you really have a way of predicting things!
In the past month, our store completed three or four deals and made a tidy profit,” Dong Dahai said laughingly.
As a businessman, his every move was filled with affability, naturally endearing him to others.
Strictly speaking, Chen Hai and he were merely acquaintances.
However, after entering this private room, within minutes and after just a few casual exchanges, he felt that his relationship with Dong Dahai had noticeably warmed.
“By the way, Mr.
Chen, didn’t you mention that you have something you’d like me to look at?” After the pleasantries, Dong Dahai directly steered the conversation to the main topic.
“Alright, Brother Dong!” Chen Hai nodded.
He took out the last two pen holders left from his backpack and carefully placed them on the coffee table in front of Dong Dahai.
Picking up the two pen holders, Dong Dahai examined them carefully.
After over ten minutes, he finally put the pen holders back down.
“Mr.
Chen, these two pen holders are definitely authentic!”
“This one is a Qing Yongzheng Official Kiln blue and white landscape pattern pen holder.
If it were in perfect condition, it would be worth between eight thousand and ten thousand yuan in the market.”
“But this one isn’t well-preserved, and its condition is quite average.
I can only offer three thousand for it.”
After appraising one of the pen holders,
Dong Dahai pointed to the other pen holder and continued, “This other one is a Qing Kangxi Official Kiln famille rose character story pen holder.”
“Compared to the previous pen holder, this one, with fewer existing examples, is definitely much rarer.”
“Unfortunately, due to poor preservation, there is a slight crack near the mouth of this pen holder.”
“For this Kangxi character story pen holder, Treasure House can offer up to five thousand…”
After stating the prices, Dong Dahai stopped and looked at Chen Hai, quietly waiting for his response.
Truth be told, in his eyes, both pen holders were of the type that were neither here nor there.
If it were someone else coming to their store to sell these two pen holders, Dong Dahai, the owner, probably wouldn’t have bothered to personally interven.
If left to his staff to acquire these two items, offering a total of five thousand would already be quite generous.
Hearing Dong Dahai’s offer, Chen Hai remained somewhat silent.
The two pen holders, one at three thousand and the other at five thousand, altogether only amounted to eight thousand, still well below ten thousand.
Compared to the snuff bottles he initially sold, the price offered for these pen holders was significantly lower.
“Mr.
Chen, the purchase prices I have offered for these two pen holders are already extremely generous!”
“If you don’t believe it, whether it’s Glass Factory or Panjiayuan, you can take these two items to any antique store and ask around.”
“I can assure you with one hundred percent certainty that no other store will offer a higher price!”
Chen Hai’s silence caught Dong Dahai’s eye, and he laughed before adding,
His words were clear and straightforward, as they reflected the reality.
Perhaps, in ten or twenty years, as Yanhuang Country’s economy improved, antique prices would soar.
But for now, this was the market condition.
“Brother Dong, let’s set aside the matter of these two pen holders for a moment!”
“Please take a look at this and tell me what it might sell for?”
After a brief silence, Chen Hai flipped his hand and revealed the successfully crafted Danghui Talisman in his hand.
Placing the talisman on the coffee table in front of Dong Dahai, Chen Hai tentatively began to speak, asking.
Ever since last time, when he successfully drew a Danghui Talisman to remove the yin snake gu from Ye Qingqing,
Chen Hai had drawn this talisman again, and the success rate had increased significantly.
With his current level of drawing talismans, he wouldn’t dare say much, but he was fairly confident about drawing a Danghui Talisman every two or three days!
If he could find the right connections to sell the talismans he drew at a decent price, making money in the future would be relatively easier for him.
“Mr.
Chen, are you joking with me?”
“The quality of the paper is indeed quite decent, and the patterns drawn on it do look quite professional at a glance!”
“But this item is certainly not an antique.
I have limited knowledge and am unclear about its use.”
“Perhaps for some people, this item is valuable, but for us at Treasure House…”
At this point, Dong Dahai stopped speaking and did not continue.
Though he did not explicitly state his opinion, his expression alone made it clear that the Danghui Talisman had no value to him and did not spark any interest.
“Brother Dong, it’s normal that you don’t see the wonders of this talisman!”
“I brought this item out to ask if you might know any place where this could potentially be sold?”
Chen Hai said with a serene smile.
Dong Dahai’s reaction was not unexpected to him.
After all, Dong Dahai, though knowledgeable about antiques, was still just a regular person.
He couldn’t even distinguish a Magic Artifact, much less recognize a True Taoism Talisman at a glance.
Bringing the Danghui Talisman to Dong Dahai was merely a test by Chen Hai, hoping to cast a bait to attract interest.
“Mr.
Chen, I never touch things I don’t understand!”
“On the fifteenth of this month, there will be an exchange meeting within our circles.
If you have time, you can come with me and check it out!”
“In addition to some experts in antique collection, there often appear other bigwigs at the exchange.”
“If this talisman in your hand truly has some marvelous use, perhaps you could meet someone who recognizes its worth and sell it at a good price.”
After a brief contemplation, Dong Dahai suggested to Chen Hai.
When he first met Chen Hai, he remembered Hou Donggui saying that Chen Hai was the same kind of person as he was.
What Hou Donggui did, Dong Dahai was naturally aware of.
Therefore, the talisman that Chen Hai had produced might indeed be something special!
He was already planning to attend the exchange meeting on the fifteenth!
Taking Chen Hai along was just a convenience.
Offering this favor to Chen Hai and getting closer to him seemed a win-win situation for Dong Dahai, and he had nothing to lose.
“The fifteenth of this month?
Okay, I got it!”
“Brother Dong, thanks for the trouble.”
“On the fifteenth, I’ll come and find you, and you can take me to that exchange meeting to broaden my horizons!”
The words from Dong Dahai made Chen Hai feel elated, and he quickly responded.
“It’s no trouble at all, just a matter of convenience!” he chuckled.
Dong Dahai then said, “About these two pen holders…”
“Brother Dong, I brought these items and didn’t plan to take them back!”
“One for three thousand, one for five thousand, adding up to eight thousand.
Let’s go with the price you’ve quoted and sell them to your Treasure House!”
This time, Chen Hai did not hesitate at all and spoke directly.
He really didn’t understand or have any interest in antiques.
The pen holders were just decorations at home.
Besides, these items were all excavated from a cave, where they had been stored with a skeleton for decades.
Such items, he would definitely not want to keep at home.
To be honest, eight thousand yuan was already quite substantial!
But now, his appetite had become more refined.
Had he known back when he first dug these jars out of the cave that these two pen holders could sell for eight thousand yuan, he probably would have jumped with joy.
With this eight thousand yuan, his one hundred and fifty thousand yuan for the housing payment was almost complete.
Private transactions were very simple, as long as there was a willing buyer and a willing seller.
After Chen Hai agreed to sell the two pen holders to Treasure House, Dong Dahai only had to step out briefly.
When he returned, the eight thousand yuan had already been handed directly to Chen Hai.
With the transaction completed and their plans set for the fifteenth, Chen Hai turned and walked toward the exit of Treasure House.