An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Jiang Baobin selected "Antique Appreciation" and "Speech and Performance" in section ①.

"Antique appreciation"—that's too straightforward—it's all about making money.

You have to understand that this is a time of dynastic change, which is the perfect time for Taobao.

In my past life, the "Treasure Appraisal" program on TV was incredibly popular.

Why?

There are still many examples of people finding bargains, especially big ones, where becoming rich overnight is not a dream!

Jiang Baobin was so eager to join in that he dreamed of becoming one of them.

Unfortunately, as the number of shows increased, he began to see some clues: one was that there were too many shills involved.

Another common mistake is paying a high price for worthless junk!

This shows that nothing is easy, as the saying goes, "a pack of wolves surrounds you!"

He then calmed down.

But I never expected to be able to return to the Republic of China era, so I must get involved in the world of collecting.

In his view, "speech and performance" are even more important.

Without effective communication skills, how can you easily gain people's trust?

How can you fool the enemy if you can't perform?

Especially when the system is getting worse and worse, constantly sending you to complete dangerous tasks.

Acting skills become especially useful.

② It's simple inside, you must choose "Fitness" and "Boxing".

Simply because it's most closely related to kung fu.

As for option ③, which one should we choose?

They all look so high-end!

This guy's indecisiveness is acting up again...

Now, Jiang Baobin faces a thorny problem: how to sell the supplies he has on hand.

What should I do next? Should I deposit the money in a bank? Which bank? Is it reliable?

Will I end up doing all the work for someone else?

Or should we hide the money in the cellar of the courtyard house, or simply dig a hole and bury it?

This problem has been troubling him from time to time ever since his assets began to snowball.

This finally made him realize that rich people do indeed have many troubles.

Making money is hard, but saving money is just as difficult.

These days, if you're not careful, someone will steal your money!

This is inhumane, but that's reality, and there's nowhere to reason with it.

Even if you lose all your money, being spared your life is considered a blessing.

That's why he set his sights on old objects—to save some money while things are in chaos.

Yellow and white things are enviable. These things are old and unhealthy, neither edible nor drinkable, so they must be safer, right?

Even if I stay for several decades, I'll still win!

××××××

There are many ghost markets in Beiping, but the most famous are the North and South markets.

"Nanshi" is located in Dongdashi outside Chongwenmen.

The "Taipei City" was originally located on the riverbank northeast of the Deshengmen Bridge.

Later, because the city gates opened late, we went to the vicinity of "Duanjia Hutong" in the northwest corner of Shichahai Houhai instead.

This alley can no longer be found; the north-south section was renamed "Sugar House Courtyard".

The section running southwest and northeast was renamed "Binhai Hutong" because it is close to Houhai Lake.

Now that Rose is gone, Jiang Baobin is suddenly idle, feeling rather restless.

He had just acquired the hobby of "antique appreciation," which coincided with his own ideas, so he wanted to practice his skills.

But when he arrived in Taipei in the pitch black, he was dumbfounded—he had no idea where to start!

All that could be seen were numerous stalls, some indistinct and others indistinct.

The only way to distinguish between different sellers is by the lantern; each lantern represents a different owner.

But they all turned the lights down to the lowest setting, so that they could only illuminate a small area.

The people buying the goods were like ghosts, moving among them.

Apart from the rustling of footsteps and the occasional cough, there were no other sounds.

Jiang Baobin was genuinely confused. How could they conduct a business transaction if the buyer neither inquired about the goods nor the price?

Alright, since I don't understand, I'll just learn from others quietly, just like when I first transmigrated here.

So he stopped looking at the things on the ground and focused on people.

Whenever someone seemed to be an expert, he would quietly follow them and observe their every move.

He was a master at surveillance; he was sharp-eyed and could stay far away unnoticed.

Those experts silently moved among the stalls, occasionally spotting items they liked, but never asking the price.

Instead, he simply stopped, looked around, and squatted down to examine it carefully.

Once you've picked out something you like, set it aside and then pick the next one.

After making all the selections, he then signaled to the boss.

Then came the iconic scene: the two "passed hands" to each other from their sleeves.

Even with Jiang Baobin's exceptional eyesight, he couldn't see inside the sleeve, so he could only stare helplessly.

If the price is agreed upon, the buyer will pay.

Then, gathering his things together, he drifted away just as he had come.

If the price isn't agreed upon, there won't be much discussion, and there won't be any heated arguments.

The buyer waved or shook their head and left on their own.

The seller, with a calm demeanor, put the items chosen by the previous customer back in their place and quietly awaited the arrival of the next customer.

Jiang Baobin thought the scene was quite good, very civilized and professional.

He later learned that this was called "looking at the goods without asking the price," one of the old rules of the ghost market.

After circling around a few times, Jiang Baobin became bolder.

The key was that there were so many good things around him, a dazzling array, that it made his little heart a little restless.

This guy pretended to be serious, found a stall, squatted down, and started examining the items.

He found the lantern light too dim, so he took out his own flashlight and used it to look around.

The most important thing is actually searching for knowledge from the brain that comes from the system.

Sure enough, as I picked up a porcelain bowl, a thought immediately popped into my head:

The fact that it bounces and hits the hand indicates that the clay is thick and heavy, which is consistent with the characteristics of the early Qing Dynasty.

The glaze is also bright, but not as delicate as that of the mid-period glaze.

That's right, this item is a product from the early Shunzhi or Kangxi period.

Looking at the bottom mark, hey! I was right, it says the reign title "Shunzhi".

(Wow, the characters are so big and small, it feels so capricious!)

(Doesn't this look much better?)

Ignoring everything else, just looking at the bottom mark, a comparison between the two clearly shows the difference between high-grade kilns and ordinary kilns.

During the Shunzhi reign, porcelain produced in private kilns could be marked with the reign title.

However, after the sixteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, this practice was no longer permitted among the common people.

Jiang Baobin stayed at the market from the opening until dawn, when the stall owners packed up their things, and he reluctantly followed them away.

Before this, it was always the same: I look, I look, I look and look, but I just don't buy.

Okay, he admits he's embarrassing himself; he really doesn't know how to buy things!

Some people say, "If you don't know, just ask. Why do you have to keep talking?"

Haha, you absolutely can't show your ignorance in the antique market.

If the experienced shopkeeper discovers you're a fool, then you're doomed—

You'll be taken advantage of and fleeced!

However, given Jiang Baobin's personality, it's quite normal for him not to bid.

On the first day, just to be on the safe side, let's scout out the location.

But I definitely won't do that next time; it would be too damaging to my self-esteem.

Therefore, he has already decided who to consult...