"Crafts?"

Hearing the shopkeeper say this word, Zheng Zheng was stunned for a moment. The difference between a craft and an antique, the difference between a fake and the genuine, is not the same thing, and the shopkeeper does not make such a low-level mistake of saying the wrong thing.

Although it is normal for the shopkeeper not to know that this bronze balance is a treasure, Zheng Zheng still couldn't help but ask: "Crafts? Is this also made from the factory? It doesn't look like it, I thought it was an ancient work of art." ”

If the shopkeeper can confirm that the bronze balance was made from the factory, then Zheng Zheng can only admit this coincidence: the statue of the bronze balance has been made in history, and now there are factories making imitation crafts of this kind of bronze balance. At the same time, this can also prove one thing, that is, although the bronze balance in Zheng Zheng's hand has an inseparable relationship with China, the roots of history are more focused on foreign countries, otherwise there will be no records in the history of domestic antiques, and there will be no such imitation crafts in foreign countries.

"No, no, friend, this is not an ancient work of art, this is a craft. ”

Hearing Zheng Zheng say this, the shopkeeper shook his head and corrected Zheng Zheng's statement. From this point, it can be seen that the shopkeeper is really quite reliable in doing business, and the average merchant sees this situation, and it is good to raise the price vigorously, how can it be said that this is not an ancient artwork?

After a pause, the shopkeeper said, "However, although this is a handicraft, it should not be produced from a factory. ”

Hearing what the shopkeeper said, Zheng Zheng became a little interested again and asked, "Shouldn't it be produced from the factory......?" I'm curious about the origin of this artifact, can you tell me a little bit about its origin?"

"No problem. The shopkeeper nodded, thought about it a little, and then told Zheng Zheng about the origin of this bronze balance.

According to the owner, the bronze balance was sold to him by a man named Giorgio Roland. This Giorgio is a middleman in the flea market, in domestic terms, he buys and sells, buying at a low price and selling at a high price, earning the difference. His clientele ranged from wealthy collectors in high society to flea market owners, so in many cases, he became a bridge between different clients, making a lot of money with a network of connections.

Although Giorgio is in the business of buying and selling, he has a good relationship with these customers, because he is quite reputable when he does business, although the price is sometimes a little black, but the things are good. It is precisely because of this that the relationship between the shopkeeper and Joeljo is also good, and Joljo sometimes reveals some news to the shopkeeper, and the relationship between the two is not bad.

When Giorgio first brought the bronze scale, the shopkeeper was also frightened, thinking that it was an ancient art with a lot of history. But Jorcio says it's just an artifact he sells for an antique collector. The antique collector also regarded this as an ancient art at first, so he bought it for a considerable price, but after getting his hands on it, he carefully appraised it and found that it was just a relatively good handicraft.

And the man who sold the antique to that collector has long since disappeared without a trace. Obviously, this is a preset scam for this collector.

The collector looked away and was not happy to see the handicraft, so he found Joljo, who had always been in contact with him, and gave it to Joljo. It was useless for Joljo to keep this, so he pondered to dispose of this handicraft and exchange it for some money, isn't this much better than being an ornament?

Giorgio had a good relationship with the shopkeeper, so he sold the craft to the shopkeeper for a very low price. Although this is just a handicraft, the workmanship is still very particular, even if it is sold as a handicraft, the shopkeeper also makes money, so the shopkeeper also accepted the handicraft. Giorgio instructed the shopkeeper to sell it as an ancient work of art, but the shopkeeper did a clean job and didn't think about it.

There are many people who have seen this bronze scale, but the first time those people look at it, they think it is an ancient handicraft. And when the shopkeeper explained that it was just a handicraft, they immediately lost interest, regardless of the price, and they just didn't buy it anyway.

Zheng Zheng didn't know that he was the first few who were interested in this bronze balance, and the shopkeeper didn't really think that Zheng Zheng would buy it, but just took these things as a source of this handicraft and told Zheng Zheng.

Hearing what the shopkeeper said, Zheng Zheng's heart also calmed down, and he lost his previous excitement, but he was not disappointed.

Although the foundation of this bronze balance is still not particularly clear, Zheng Zheng can also understand from what the shopkeeper said that this bronze balance is not a treasure, otherwise it would not be considered a handicraft after identification. If it were a treasure, it would not have been something that had only appeared in recent times in terms of its resemblance to a bronze scale. Because the bronze balance in Zheng Zheng's hand, although there is no clear age mark, style can be identified, but from the subtleties on the bronze balance - such as the carving technique of the pattern on the bronze balance, copper color, etc. - it can be seen that this is not a product of modern industrial manufacturing.

But after confirming that this bronze balance is not a treasure, Zheng Zheng became more curious about the origin of this bronze balance.

Choosing popular ancient artworks seems to be a good way, but this can only be used to fool a layman who doesn't know anything, but anyone who has a little knowledge of antique identification will not be fooled by this; and if you create a thing out of thin air to fool others, you will not be able to explain the origin and history of this antique, and it is not easy to win people's trust.

To do this, the most important thing is the true and false false, the goal of imitation is best to be the unpopular in the unpopular, because it is unpopular, so there are not many people who pay attention, and there may be fewer people who know how to do it; there must be some fragmentary records about this kind of antique, but it can not be too detailed, it is best to be vague but the kind that says the matter. It is better to have a pattern or something, so that the counterfeiter can imitate it according to this shape, so that the information about the counterfeited product is more likely to make it easier for the buyer to be fooled.

Zheng Zheng is basically certain that the counterfeiter came along this line of thinking, otherwise how could he explain the treasure in his hand that is exactly the same as the bronze balance? The counterfeiter either has one such antique and then makes it in batches according to the style of the antique to cheat money; or he has information about the bronze balance, including the pattern or something, otherwise he would not have been able to make such a fine bronze balance.

Zheng Zheng doesn't care how counterfeiters create fakes. What he really cared about was the information about the bronze scales - if there were any records of bronze balances in the corners of history, it would probably mention some of the incredible abilities of the scales, and even reveal some of the origins of the scales. If he really knew this, then Zheng Zheng would finally be able to unveil the mysterious veil of the treasure.

"That's ...... so"

After the shopkeeper finished speaking, Zheng Zheng thought about it and said with a smile: "Whether this is a handicraft or a work of art, I want to buy this scale, because I am very interested in this scale." How much does this canopy cost?"

The shopkeeper made everything clear, but Zheng Zheng still insisted, and he didn't say more. He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Three hundred euros...... The price may be a little higher, but as a craft, it's worth the price. ”

After 300 euros are converted into RMB, it is a little more than 3,000 yuan. This price is not high, and it is not low to say low, after all, this is just a fake that looks like a work of art, and it is just an ornament and put it there, and the buyer basically smashes it.

Zheng Zheng didn't bargain and happily agreed. Before he went abroad, Wang Di helped him get an account and exchanged some euros and US dollars or something, and Zheng Zheng just swiped the card directly.

After completing the transaction, Zheng Zheng didn't leave immediately, but said to the boss: "You said that Mr. Roland has a lot of customers, then he should also have a lot of sellers, ......right?" Could you please make an appointment with Mr. Roland? I would like to talk to him and see if I can make a deal. ”

Zheng Zheng bought this bronze balance that had been backlogged in the store for a long time, and the shopkeeper was very happy. So Zheng Zheng made this request, and the shopkeeper did not refuse, he agreed in one bite, took out his mobile phone and dialed a phone number.

When he spoke to the person on the phone, he didn't speak English, but authentic Italian, and Zheng Zheng couldn't understand what they were saying at all. As an insider of the antique dealership, Zheng Zheng is still a little sensitive to this situation, antique dealers invent all kinds of jargon, and what they pursue is not this situation of "discussing in front of the buyer but the buyer doesn't know what we are talking about"? However, seeing that this shopkeeper is still very kind in doing business, I think this shopkeeper will not say that Zheng Zheng is a "fat sheep" or "wronged head" or something like that.

Three minutes later, the shopkeeper hung up the phone and said to Zheng Zheng, "I have contacted Mr. Roland, he doesn't have time right now, but he would be happy to make an appointment with you to meet at a time." If it's convenient, can you leave your contact information?"

Zheng Zheng nodded, took out a business card from the business card holder and handed it to the owner, but it was the business card of the hotel where he was staying: "I am staying in this hotel now, if Mr. Roland is free to see me, please contact the hotel and say that you can find Mr. Zheng Zheng." ”