An extraordinary life journey through old Beijing courtyard houses

Xitao Hutong, Liu Family.

Ever since Da Ya's incident, Jiang Baobin has been in a hurry to leave Nanluoguxiang.

In addition, he's been busy with the transfer of Smith Company, so he hasn't been here for a long time.

This wasn't the first time he appeared that he was ridiculed by Liu Decai:

"Hey buddy, haven't seen you in ages! Where have you been making your fortune?"

This man had a cigarette dangling from his mouth, was wearing cloth shoes, and was clutching a wad of toilet paper in his hand.

This suggests that they've got an urgent job coming up.

Feeling embarrassed after being put on the spot, Jiang Baobin looked somewhat lacking in confidence.

She quickly flashed the "Xifeng" cigarette in her hand at him, then changed the subject:

"Well, Uncle, I've come to ask you something, but there's no rush, you go ahead with your work."

Liu Decai was indeed in a hurry; he waved and rushed out the door.

Jiang Baobin surveyed the area around the Liu family's house; nothing had changed from before...

Suddenly, Jiang Baobin turned his head and looked towards the main entrance.

Miss Liu, whom we hadn't seen for many days, came in from outside with a light step, carrying a sword on her back.

For some reason, the girl had a smile on her face.

Could it be that he has mastered martial arts and now has hope of revenge?

However, the rare glimmer of light vanished the moment he caught sight of Jiang Baobin.

Jiang Baobin instinctively took two steps back to make way.

He watched Liu Ling'er walk straight into the door.

Jiang Baobin couldn't help but sigh softly. The girl was still as proud and arrogant as ever, but I was no longer the same person I used to be.

A short while later, Liu De returned looking relaxed.

I asked him, "Hey buddy, what's up?"

Jiang Baobin then told him that he had just returned from the ghost market.

Liu Decai frowned at first, then revealed a mocking smile.

"What's this? Got some money to burn?"

Jiang Baobin chuckled: "To tell you the truth, I quite enjoy tinkering with old objects."

"My foreign boss has finished his business and returned to his country."

"I've made some money, and I feel it's not worth keeping it, so I want to exchange it for a few things."

"It will be something I leave to my descendants, something to remember me by, won't it?"

Liu Decai laughed: "How old are you? You're thinking pretty far ahead."

"Sigh, I'm just guessing, it might not even be right."

Liu Decai shook his head: "Antiques are valued in prosperous times, gold is valued in chaotic times. Man, I'm not trying to discourage you."

"It's really not the right time for you to be thinking about old things now. You should keep the Yuan Shikai silver dollar instead."

Jiang Baobin just smiled and didn't respond.

Liu Decai then advised, "We get along quite well, let me point you in another direction."

"If you want to make money from money, you can lend it out at a high interest rate. I can introduce you to a reliable person."

Jiang Baobin quickly shook his head. "What time is it? How dare they lend money at exorbitant interest rates?"

Even if the person who raised the money runs away during the chaos of war, they'll be finished once they're put on a blacklist!

Liu Decai saw that he was determined to get involved in this mess.

I stopped trying to persuade him and started chatting with him casually, actually to find out what he was up to.

Liu Decai had been playing the drum for half his life and was very experienced. In no time, he figured out Jiang Baobin's true abilities.

In his opinion, this guy is only slightly better than a stick.

He's the perfect example of someone who's bad at cooking but addicted to it.

Then, Liu Decai told him the trick of negotiating prices secretly:

For example, pressing two fingers first represents the larger number, and then pressing three fingers represents the smaller number, together representing twenty-three yuan.

You can also hold one of the seller's fingers and whisper "this yuan" or "this whole yuan".

It refers to "one yuan" or "one hundred yuan", and so on.

"Oh—I see."

Jiang Baobin suddenly realized that what seemed mysterious was actually quite simple.

Liu Decai looked at the novice in front of him, shook his head, and patiently offered some advice:

"You can't just rush into this industry like this; you'll suffer a lot of losses."

"First of all, how can you bargain with someone if you don't even know how much something is actually worth?"

Jiang Baobin scratched his head, ever since he had taken a stroll through the ghost market.

He also realized that this industry was too complex and he wouldn't be able to master it in a short time; he was afraid he would have to pay a lot of tuition fees.

That's why he came to see Liu Decai; Liu is an expert in antiques.

"Uncle Liu, I haven't had breakfast yet. How about we go out and grab something to eat?"

Liu Decai waved his hand: "We men don't need that."

"However, I can give you a suggestion; it's up to you whether you listen to it or not."

"Oh, that's great! I must listen to you; you're an expert!"

Liu Decai curled the corners of his mouth; this kid really knows how to talk.

"Don't rush to the ghost market to find bargains."

"To tell you the truth, are there any loopholes? Yes, but they are rare and hard to come by."

"Many people take advantage of your mentality to fish for your life; there are plenty of smart people in the world."

After Liu Decai finished speaking, he gave Jiang Baobin a meaningful look.

The implication is: Don't be so arrogant, and don't treat others like fools, or you'll regret it.

Jiang Baobin nodded repeatedly, looking like he was glad to be taught.

Liu Decai was satisfied and got to the point: "Stop messing around with things yourself."

"Let's go to the big shops in Liulichang first to broaden our horizons."

"Although the prices are a bit higher over there, there are fewer counterfeit goods, and you can ask around."

"If you observe, ask questions, and ponder more in the past, you will gain more skills."

"Furthermore, the more items you handle, the better you'll know their price range."

"Once you get past this hurdle, you won't be able to haggle with experts so badly, and they won't treat you like a fool to be ripped off."

Jiang Baobin listened and nodded, giving a thumbs-up in compliment:

"They say a single word can awaken a dreamer, and today I've certainly experienced that firsthand. You truly are one!"

Liu Decai smiled, accepting Jiang Baobin's offer of humility.

"Well, Uncle, if you have anything good, you might as well let me see it."

"To be honest, my previous boss valued me quite a bit."

"I also helped him a lot, so he took special care of me."

"If you really have something good, I can still afford to give you three or four hundred dollars."

Liu Decai gave him a deep look, then waved his hand and said:

"It's better to meet by chance than to invite someone. This matter is not urgent, not urgent."

Jiang Baobin's meaning was perfectly clear; this guy was practically begging to prove his loyalty.

As for the meaning behind this design, that's quite intriguing.

Then, Liu Decai patiently explained to him the intricacies of the ghost market.

For example, in the morning he would take a flashlight and wave it around inside.

(There were flashlight manufacturers in Guangzhou as early as 1921.)

Then you need to be careful. You can hold it to inspect the goods, but never point it at people.

Because the ghost market has a special rule about this, it's called "recognizing goods, not people".

In the early days before flashlights existed, people were also not allowed to point lanterns at people's faces.

If you break the rules, at best you'll be refused business, and at worst you'll be blacklisted in this "ghost market."

Why is this rule so strict? The reasons are simply a few...