What is the most important thing about playing antiques?

Some people say it's vision, some people say it's connections, but it's not accurate enough. The antique industry is played to the extreme, and what you really need to pay attention to is two words: "fate".

Therefore, most of the older generation of antique players believe in fate, believing that there are times in life that they must have it, and they always force it in life. If a thing has nothing to do with you, and you force it to get it, this is called going against the sky, which will attract endless disasters, and that antique is no longer a good product, but has become a murderous thing that eats the master, and it will be ruined at least and your life will be worried.

But this is all old talk, and it belongs to feudal superstition. In today's era, everyone who has been educated in materialism for decades has long since disbelieved in this set. As long as there is money to be made, no matter what rules and roads it has, it will be completely smashed and flattened with fearless spirit. The God of Wealth is above, and the cows, ghosts, snakes, and gods all have to stand aside.

For example, the people who were in the car with me at this time were obviously not the old-school antique dealers who revere tradition.

I'm in a dilapidated nine-seater Toyota van with only five people in the car except the driver. The carriage has been very quiet, no one accosted or greeted. The four of them sat upright in their seats, all of them with indifferent expressions of rejection, and their faces were calm and silent. It was only when the car jerked that they quickly moved their eyes and pretended to cast a sharp glance at each other casually.

I could feel that these four people were different from me. I'm a small antique shopkeeper in the city, and they're the kind of antique dealers who specialize in collecting old goods in the countryside. These people wander the countryside all year round, dealing with simple but cunning peasants, so they have a faint earthy smell and evil spirit.

Who's in this car? Where do you go now? I had absolutely no idea. The windows were tightly closed, and the night outside was as dark as ink, and it was impossible to see clearly. Only the engine makes a low humming sound, indicating that we are heading towards a certain target.

I didn't bother to think about it, so I leaned my head against the cold window, my temples against the window buckle, and I felt like I wasn't sleeping. The car staggered and bumped up and down, and I had a peculiar illusion floating in my drowsiness—the whole carriage was like a large coffin that had just been nailed, tightly knit, leaving no light. I lay inside, and there were sixteen people carrying the coffin outside through the cemetery, down the graveyard, towards the final tomb, forward......

By the way, I haven't introduced myself yet. My name is Wish, I have passed the year of establishment, and I am a little person who is an upside-down antique in the root of the imperial city. I have a small shop in Liulichang, and I usually pour some gold, stone and jade, and the name of the shop is Si Regret Zhai.

Which four repentances? It is repentance, repentance, repentance, and repentance. This is my father's last words before he died, he was persecuted during the "**" period, voted for Taiping Lake, and left such eight words. And behind these eight words, there is actually a long story hidden. Our ancestors are one of the "bright-eyed plum blossoms". "Bright-eyed plum blossom" refers to the five ancient families of the antique industry, each of whom is good at the identification of a category of antiques, and has the status of Taishan Beidou in the collection world. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, these five veins were reorganized into the Chinese Society for the Study of Antiquities, and its influence is still not small.

My grandfather Xu Yicheng was originally the head of the five veins during the Republic of China, born in Baizimen, and later was shot as a traitor for stealing and selling the jade Buddha head of Zetianmingtang to the Japanese. Our Xu family has been in a slump since then and has withdrawn from the five veins. On my thirtieth birthday, under the impetus of someone with a heart, I fell headlong into this whirlpool. After some hardships and twists and turns, I finally rehabilitated Zhaoxue for my grandfather, let the Buddha head return to the motherland, and ended the thousand-year-old entanglement between the Xu family and the jade Buddha head. After the incident, I still returned to the four confessions, continued to pour antiques, and lived quietly.

Suddenly, I heard a slam of brakes, and I leaned forward, waking up from my memory. When the car finally stopped, I opened my eyes and shook my head. I saw a miserable white face in the darkness outside the window of the car next to me, the eyes on the face were particularly strange, one side was very large, round as a bull's eye, less black, more white; One side is very small, and it may not be possible to win by staring at Wang Ba. These two eyes, one big and one small, seem to be aiming and shooting at any time.

I was so frightened that I subconsciously dodged and almost fell off my seat. The four people in the same car seemed to be smiling, showing a look of disdain. It occurred to me that this face should be the driver of this car. I didn't have to think about it, the car door was pulled open, and the driver poked his head in, and made a gesture of invitation in a hoarse voice: "My name is the big-eyed thief, run the hall, a few of you follow me." ”

I quickly adjusted my breathing and jumped out of the car with the other four people. As soon as I stepped on the ground, I was greeted by a refreshing scent of pine branches and weeds. Needless to say, this is the taste of the wilderness, and it is a particularly desolate place. I looked around and could faintly see the outlines of several mountains, like giant beasts lurking in the darkness, as if they were ready to pounce at any moment.

The big-eyed thief told us to follow him in one direction in the darkness. At this time, the dark clouds in the sky obscured the moonlight, and only the big-eyed thief held a flashlight in his hand, barely illuminating the way ahead. He is particularly particular about this flashlight, and the lamp head is covered with a circle of cardboard, so that the light column is only bundled in the front section, and it cannot be scattered, and if it is a little farther away, it will not be visible.

We followed him on the high and low hillside for more than ten minutes, turning seven times and making eight turns, and two times in the middle of the forest. Finally, someone couldn't help but ask, "Where are you taking us here?" Where exactly is the banquet held? ”

The big-eyed thief turned his head and grinned: "What's the hurry, the one who is the east will not leave the table." After speaking, he laughed twice, like an old eagle. After he finished laughing, the temperature around him dropped sharply, and it was cold. The man didn't dare to ask any more, so he had to "hum" and continue walking.

Our group walked for more than half an hour, and finally walked into a deep mountain col. The col is sandwiched between two towering ridges to the left and right, forming a small foothill plain. In the distance, you can faintly hear the murmuring of water, which is supposed to be a stream flowing down from the mountain, and it is coiled here, just cutting the small col into a triangle. The stream is the bottom, and the two mountains are two sides. This is called the second dragon into the water in feng shui, which is an auspicious soil suitable for building a yin house.

The big-eyed thief stepped into the col, stopped, and shook his flashlight forward: "Oh, that's over there." "When we looked along the lamppost, the first thing we saw was a young man in camouflage squatting on the ground in the distance, with a half-meter-wide dirt pit in front of him, and three heavy shovels with stainless steel handles and a large pile of fresh earth resting next to the pit.

No need to ask, this kind of feng shui treasure land, there must be a tomb three feet under the soil; With a tomb, there will inevitably be tomb robbers.

"How far have you got?" A man with a scar who was walking with me asked.

The big-eyed thief stepped on the ground and said proudly: "The location of the entire tomb has been revealed, and we just hit the back wall." Just one foot at the door, waiting for you to come to the table. ”

Several people in the same group walked to the cave, rummaging through the thrown dirt, with different expressions. I've heard that there are tomb robbers who have been robbing for years, and they know which dynasty and which generation the tomb is when you look at the soil. But I don't have that ability, I guess a few of my peers are at the same level as me. They inspect the soil just for peace of mind, but they can't see why.

After inspecting the soil, the big-eyed thief said with a smile: "Good luck everyone, this time the dish is braised pork in the first pot, and there is a head to eat." If there are no objections, let's serve the food, shall we? ”

The five of us nodded and stood some distance away. The big-eyed thief flashed his flashlight and shouted "Serve," and the young man in camouflage got up and grabbed a hammer and shovel. He was thin and thin, and easily got into the thief's hole. The big-eyed thief took out a bottle of loose liquor from his arms, as well as five cups, and handed one of us a glass: "The dew in the mountains is heavy and cold, and it will take a while to drive away the cold air with white air." ”

He didn't say anything, but when I mentioned it, I suddenly felt a gust of wind and white mist, and subconsciously glanced into the dark mountain forest. The big-eyed thief handed it to me and smiled: "The first time my brother ate a live meal?" I smiled awkwardly, and the big-eyed thief said: "Once born, twice cooked, let's work hard, but don't we have a solid heart?" I nodded yes and again, took the glass and drank it down, the spicy bulk liquor rolled down my throat into a line of fire, until I reached my stomach, but my eyes kept staring at the dirt thrown from the entrance of the thief cave, and my heart was churning.

The big-eyed thief's "eating the table" is a rather secret business in the antique world, I only heard about it before, but I didn't expect to see it with my own eyes now.

There are two main sources of antiques: one is that it has been handed down from generation to generation by living people; The second is that the dead were brought into the tomb and later dug up. The former has a clear lineage, but the latter is not easy to judge whether it is true or false. You said that this thing was dug up from an ancient tomb, how can you prove it? What if it's a trick? You know, some antiques are not worth much in themselves, and the value is all in their provenance. The same melon seed, bought from a small store, is not worth a penny, if it is dug out of the belly of the female corpse of Mawangdui, it will cost more than a thousand gold.

So someone came up with an idea, first surveyed the location of the cemetery, hit the hole to the edge of the tomb and did not move, and then invited some buyers to come to the scene, knock on the tomb in front of them, take out the contents of the tomb, and sell it now. The buyer saw the Ming artifact coming out of the grave with his own eyes, so he naturally did not have to worry about the fake.

This trick is called "eating the present seat" in the antique industry, and this "seat" originally meant not a banquet, but a reed mat, what is the reed mat for? It was used by the old society to wrap up the dead, that is, to refer to the grave. Those who come to buy things like this are called "guests", and those who rob tombs are called "running halls", and "those who do the east" naturally refer to the dead people in the tomb - so the big-eyed thief just said "those who do the east will not leave the table", which frightened those people into silence.

Like the big-eyed thief who said that he ate the braised pork in the first pot today, it means that this is a Ming tomb - Ming Taizu's surname is Zhu Ma - the first pot means that there was no hole before the robbery, and the probability of hiding good things in it is very high.

We waited while drinking liquor, and after waiting for more than ten minutes, the big-eyed thief suddenly narrowed his eyes and said, "It's here." A group of people looked towards the robbery cave and saw two gray dead hands slowly stretching out, wasn't it the tomb owner who crawled out of the robbery cave? This scene is really a bit frightening, and everyone subconsciously takes a step back. The big-eyed thief laughed, and with a flick of the flashlight, we saw clearly that the hand was the young man who had gone down the cave just now, stained with tomb mud, and between his hands, he was still holding something.

When I saw this, everyone's eyes lit up. Look at this running hall has to be held with both hands, which means that the size of the thing is not small. It is a good sign that such a large object was excavated in the tomb. None of the five of us moved, and we stood there and watched the big-eyed thief run over alone.

This is the rule of eating at the table. The buyer is here to buy safe goods, not to dig graves, so you can't get your hands on the whole process of tomb robbery, and you have to wait for someone to send the Ming artifact to you before you can see it. In this way, he can only be regarded as buying a Ming vessel, not a tomb robbery, and he cannot damage his yin virtue, which can be regarded as a psychological comfort. From the perspective of modern law, if the incident of the real east window occurs, it will be a crime of selling stolen goods at most.

The big-eyed thief walked over and took the thing out, quickly turned back, carefully rested it on the ground, and shook it with a flashlight. The five of us leaned over to take a look, this thing was a bottle, skimming, long neck, round belly, and the shape of the vessel might be a jade pot spring bottle. But the surface is dirty, and the color cannot be seen.

The big-eyed thief had already prepared, first took out a brush, brushed the soil on it a few times, and then opened the half bottle of bulk liquor, took a piece of moose skin, dipped it in wine and wiped it finely. Soon the glaze luster of this bottle was revealed, and the decoration was also wiped clearly, with blue and white Ruyi head patterns, curly grass patterns, and tangled chrysanthemum patterns on the top, which looked extraordinary.

Everyone's eyes are straight, looking at these features, if it's a bright blue flower, then tonight is really a big harvest.

One of the peculiarities of eating a live meal is that no one knows what's inside until the tomb is dug up. There may be rare treasures, or there may be none. Therefore, buyers generally pay a sum of hard money to the tomb robber in advance, which is called a reward, to ensure that no matter what the tomb robber digs up, he has a guaranteed income, and will not work in vain; Another use is to arrange the number of seats, and whoever has the most reward can choose first. If you have a lot of money, you will even come to a private table.

Now digging out such a valuable bottle, the big-eyed thief showed a painful look - he had already received a guaranteed reward, even if this bottle was from the firewood kiln, he could only let it go - he put the bottle on the ground, took a few steps back and smiled reluctantly: "Come and see." ”

The person who gave the most money stood up, took the bottle with a smile on his face, looked back and forth a few times, but did not hand it to the others, clasped his hands, looked up and said, "Several, I'll eat this first." ”

The four of us were stunned at first, and then we all showed helplessness.

The general rule of eating a live meal is to wait for all the things in the grave to be taken out and lined up, and then according to the amount of reward, one person picks one piece, and if there is any left, repeat in order until it is finished. This person came up and took the bottle, which is a bit domineering, but the rules can't be wrong.

Besides, he's already used his priority once, and he won't be able to pick it again until all four of us have taken it. It's hard to say what will be left at that time. From this point of view, eating a live table is similar to gambling stones, and it all depends on luck. Someone only spends a few hundred yuan to bump into a piece of Tang Sancai; Someone took down a dozen tables of graves in one go, but only got five or six pounds of dead bones.

So we had to swallow our anger and wait to see what else could be served. After a while, the big-eyed thief took out six or seven more things from the thief's hole and piled them on the ground. Inside was a rusted copper incense burner, a silver lock of longevity, half a piece of rotten silk, two small pottery bowls, and a pile of musty copper coins.

A few of us frowned and pulled through the pile, looking dissatisfied. Compared to the porcelain vase, these things are in tatters. The man with the scar looked up and asked the big-eyed thief impatiently, "Is there anything else in there?" ”

"It's gone." The big-eyed thief spread his hands.

"Didn't you search Dong's body?" The man with the scar asked.

The big-eyed thief was stunned, and hurriedly smiled: "Boss Zhang, we don't move the coffin, this is the rule." ”

Generally, this kind of tomb robber only searches the burial goods in the tomb, does not open the coffin, and does not search the body, which is regarded as respect for the deceased. Unexpectedly, Boss Zhang snorted and was very disdainful: "A group of inverted fighters, and they are so poor and exquisite!" Don't you know that the jade in the mouth of the tomb owner, the agate stuffed in the **, and the jewelry hanging on the body are good goods! ”

The big-eyed thief waved his hand again and again: "It's already a non-trivial move to fight backwards, and if you move your body again, you will be punished - this is someone's territory." His big eyes were rolling around, and the night fog rose in the valley at this time, and the fog was a miserable white, as if the deceased had rolled out the whites of his eyes and peeked to the side, and the atmosphere was mysterious.

If you change the timid person, you may shrink when you see this scene, but Boss Zhang doesn't pay attention to this set at all: "What kind of archway should be set up." A few of us came here in the middle of the night, asking for money, not to see your five words and four beauty! "Boss Zhang is not stupid, he knows that he has to unite a group and crack down on a group, so he pulled a few people who were watching from the side over with a word, and put pressure on the big-eyed thief together.

The other guests at the table nodded their heads. It's not easy for everyone to come here, just because of an inexplicable old rule to empty into Baoshan and return? This is ridiculous. Even the person who occupied the bottle first agreed with Boss Zhang's opinion - only I didn't say anything.

But the big-eyed thief was still embarrassed: "This can't be done, this can't be done, how can you do such a desperate thing......"

Seeing that the big-eyed thief didn't agree, Boss Zhang was angry, he pushed the big-eyed thief away, walked to the thief hole, grabbed a shovel, and shouted, "Can't you open the coffin?" If it doesn't open, I'll fill this hole! ”

The big-eyed thief's face turned white. There is still a man in the cave who has not come out, and if he goes down with a shovel, his companion will be trapped alive in the tomb. He begged: "Boss Zhang, Boss Zhang, don't break the rules." Boss Zhang didn't care: "If you don't make money in front of you, this is a bad rule!" The shovel in his hand was about to fill the earth, and the big-eyed thief was so anxious that he stepped forward to stop him, and was forced back by several other people, muttering how could this be.

I frowned. I couldn't see people like Boss Zhang the most, so I stood up and persuaded him: "I've seen people digging graves, but I've never seen people forcing people to dig graves." If you don't feel like it's fun, go down and dig it yourself, what's the matter with forcing you to run away? Boss Zhang raised his shovel and sneered at me: "Don't pretend to be a good person there." You give the least amount of money, and you can't get a lot of things according to the rules. If you don't open the coffin, your trip will be in vain. ”

"A gentleman loves money and takes it in a good way. I advise you to rein in the precipice and turn back in time. "Not to be outdone.

"! You think you're a news broadcaster! Boss Zhang scolded, suddenly squinted his eyes with bad intentions, and said to the others, "This kid smells wrong when I smell in the car, and I'm not the same as us." He turned his gaze to me again, "You kid can't have other intentions, do you?" ”

He was sincerely provocative, and the expressions of the other people immediately became a little unnatural.

Herein lies the risk of eating a live table. The place where the grave is dug is generally in the wilderness, in case the buyer or seller is greedy and wants to make money and kill him, and throws the body into the hole afterwards, it is estimated that it will not be found for decades, so it is especially taboo for irrelevant people to participate, they must be familiar faces, and there is a guarantor outside. It should also be the bad luck of the big-eyed thief, he found several of our buyers this time, they don't know each other, they don't know the roots, and he can't control himself. As a result, he was instigated by Boss Zhang, and the situation immediately became delicate.

The big-eyed thief saw that the situation was not good, and pulled my sleeve: "Boss Xu, don't go up with them, it's a big deal that I will damage some yin virtue and go open the coffin......"

"He's going to bury your people, are you still shrinking?" I glared at him.

The big-eyed thief grew such a big eye in vain, and he was actually a little tearful, like a big girl: "I brought you here to eat a feast, if someone dies, who on the rivers and lakes will dare to believe me?" I pouted: "I don't see that you are quite righteous." The big-eyed thief couldn't hear it as sarcasm, but patted his chest and was very proud: "Since my big-eyed thief debuted, he has always been righteous." ”

Boss Zhang was impatient over there, waved his shovel, and shouted at the big-eyed thief: "There must be a person buried here today." It's either you or him, you pick! His every move made people can't help but suspect that he had wanted to turn his face a long time ago, and he was just using the topic to play. As soon as the banquet opened today, a jade pot spring bottle came up, which aroused the greed of the participants, and Boss Zhang provoked it slightly, and these people ignored all the rules - human nature is like this, and it can't withstand any temptation.

This big-eyed thief is a person who abides by the old rules, but when he encounters these masters who only recognize money, he is considered unlucky. I groaned slightly, patted the big-eyed thief on the shoulder, and said, "Leave this matter to me." ”

"Boss Xu? You ......"

I shook my head, walked between the two of them, raised my right arm and said loudly: "Boss Zhang, let me tell you, if you are obsessed again, you will soon be unlucky." ”

Boss Zhang probably thought I was bluffing, frowned, and shoveled a pile of dirt into the thief hole with a cruel smile. The big-eyed thief couldn't help but shout: "Boss Zhang!" Other! ”

His shout startled the birds in the trees around him, and the sound of fluttering was heard throughout the forest. Boss Zhang didn't hear it, raised the shovel and was about to make a second hit, when he suddenly found that there was an extra beige circle on his chest. He hurriedly looked up and saw that the flashlight was still in the hands of the big-eyed thief, and he looked behind the big-eyed thief and me, and saw that it was a pillar of light piercing out of the mist in the forest, and it was imprinted on his chest.

Several people around immediately panicked, wondering what was going on. Boss Zhang was stunned for a moment, seeing that this pillar of light did not cause any damage to him, he snorted coldly, and the action of filling the soil in his hand sped up. When Boss Zhang lifted the third shovel, countless points of light rose between the white mist in the nearby forest, about twenty or thirty places, fluttering and flickering, all rushing towards this side, and at the same time, the sound of Suo Suo sounded in his ears.

The big-eyed thief suddenly shouted in a heart-rending voice: "The tomb owner is here!" The voice was extremely poignant, Boss Zhang's hand trembled, and the shovel fell to the ground with a "dang long". He didn't believe in these strange forces, but this situation came strangely, and his heart was already tense, and he was shouted by the big-eyed thief, and he was suddenly confused.

The buyers were all stupid, and one of them even secretly pulled out a string of Buddhist beads, trembling and twisting his hands. I stood motionless, arms folded, and smiled incomprehensibly. At the same time, a deep and stern voice floated from the secluded forest: "You have been surrounded, immediately lay down your weapons and raise your hands." ”

There was a crackling electric murmur in his voice, apparently shouted through a loudspeaker. When Boss Zhang and those buyers heard this, their faces suddenly turned pale, and it was estimated that they would rather encounter a powerful ghost at this time.

I saw the No. 20 or 30 policemen coming out of the fog in the woods, and the large "ghost fire" was actually a strong flashlight in their hands. The leather boots trampled on the grass and made a dull sound, and the national emblem on the big cap occasionally glowed with cold light, and the power was overwhelmingly pressed down in silence. The policemen did not say a word, and their feet flew like a fly, and at once the small mountain col was completely encircled.

First the big-eyed thief, then Boss Zhang, and a few other buyers, all obediently squatted down, holding their heads in their hands - it could be seen that each of them was very skillful. I was the only one standing still, holding my arms elevated, as if I had summoned these policemen. At this time, Boss Zhang and the others didn't know what was going on, and they cast fierce eyes one after another, and their murderous intent was revealed.

According to the old rules, I did this because I was at a loss. The antique shop is a bit similar to the underworld, the grievances in the industry are resolved in the industry, and disputes are determined by the masters in the circle, and it is easy not to go to court. Whoever invites others to buy and sell is called acting for the tiger, and will be looked down upon.

But then again, these days, who cares about these old rules, and only the big-eyed thief still abides by his duty. It is precisely because I appreciate that his ancient style still exists, so I do not hesitate to expose it in advance.

A person who sticks to his principles is always worthy of respect. I once watched a Hong Kong movie with a line that said, "In life, you have to stick to something that seems stupid." ”

When a little policeman saw that I didn't squat, his eyes widened, and he was about to kick me, but he was stopped by a person next to him. This man was carrying an electric horn, and it was the policeman who had just shouted in the woods. He was in a sturdy figure, with a layer of sternness floating on his dark and thin face, and the whole person poked at him, and the surrounding Sen Sen ghosts all fled, and fled in all directions.

He handed the electric horn to the little policeman, slowly paced to me with his hands behind his back, and scanned the scene. Boss Zhang was swept away by him, and immediately lowered his head like a cat mouse.

"Come with me." He said coldly, and then hooked his hand.

I followed him a dozen steps into the bushes next to me. It wasn't until he was sure that the distance was far enough that the conversation would not be overheard by others that he stopped, frowned, and said, "Comrade Wish, it's a bit nonsense for you to do this." ”

"Comrade Fang Zhen, haven't I been cooperating with you?" I replied nonchalantly. I have known this old policeman named Fang Zhen for a long time, and we can be regarded as friends of life and death. But he didn't have the excitement of reuniting his old friend at all, and his face became gloomy: "Why did you take the initiative to stand up and expose yourself just now?" ”

I replied, "I can't stand it anymore because they bully honest people." There aren't many people like the big-eyed thief who are willing to abide by the old rules now, and I want to say it again - anyway, you've surrounded this place, so just scare and scare them. ”

"Confused! You should be arrested by the police with them, and you will be released after being quarantined at the Public Security Bureau. Now that these people know that you are an undercover agent of the police, the risk will be very high, aren't you afraid of their retaliation? Fang Zhen criticized me with a serious face.

"They have to be sentenced to at least ten or twenty years, what are they afraid of?" I raised my hand nonchalantly.

Fang Zhen shook his head and sighed, as if he was very dissatisfied with my unnecessary showmanship. I pretended not to see it, and stretched: "Don't talk about these details, I said Lao Fang, my errand is over, right?" ”

"Not yet, I'll have to make a record when I go back to the bureau later."

When I heard this, I immediately cried bitterly: "You have all stolen goods, why do you want me to make a record?" ”

"It's the rule." Fang Zhen replied, "By the way, during the interrogation, you also have to observe as a cultural relics consultant, which was arranged by Bureau Liu." ”

"Well, well......"

I raised my hands in surrender. It is pointless to argue with someone like Fang Zhen. He is a stubborn rock, a, no matter how many winds and waves hit you, he will not move. I turned my head sideways and saw a flash of white light in the distance. This is several technicians taking pictures at the scene of the robbery. The surrounding policemen walked around, collecting stolen goods, watching prisoners, printing ruts, in an orderly manner, and the voices were dense but not noisy. I was impressed by the thought of so many people quietly following us around the mountains in circles until the encirclement was completed. What kind of quality does this have to be, it's almost time to catch up with the special forces. The people under Fang Zhen's hands are as mysterious as him.

"You've been following me since just now?" I asked.

"Yes."

"The van has circled around the mountains several times, and the lights are blind, so it's a shame that you can keep up."

"Where the duty lies."

"What if I had revealed my identity and you hadn't arrived in time? Is there any backup plan that you don't have? I suddenly asked curiously.

"There is a quota for righteous and brave martyrs in the bureau."

“……”

I looked at Fang Zhen's face, but I didn't see any signs of joking, so I had to shrink my neck and stop the topic. We finished talking and walked back over there. The big-eyed thief suddenly raised his head: "Chief, there is still a person underground, don't forget it." ”

The policeman guarding him next to him unceremoniously knocked him: "Shut up! The big-eyed thief quickly closed his mouth and lowered his head again. As soon as I heard the fun, I nodded: "You are really righteous, don't worry, Skynet is restored, and none of you can run." ”

Soon the young man in camouflage uniform who dug up the grave crawled out of the robbery hole, and as soon as he got out of the hole, he was held down by three big men. As soon as I saw his face, I was immediately happy, this young man is also a copy of a big-eyed thief with one eye and one small eye.

The police seized the stolen goods, and Fang Zhen announced that he could leave the scene. There were several police cars parked outside the forest, Fang Zhen and I got into the first one, and the other guys who were eating at the table were locked up in the second car. The motor's motors roared at the same time, the police lights flashed, and the righteousness was awe-inspiring, which suddenly shook the mysterious atmosphere in the gloomy mountains and forests into smoke.

Fang Zhen and I sat side by side in the back, his hands resting on his knees, his eyes narrowing slightly, staring ahead without saying a word. This is his habit of riding in the car, and I didn't pull him to continue to talk with interest, but looked at the deep dark night outside the car window, and I had a lot of thoughts.

In this operation, I was found by Bureau Liu. He was born in the red letter of the five veins, held important positions in the government, was in charge of cultural relics and ancient affairs, and was the spokesperson of the five veins in the officialdom.

A few months ago, the police noticed that there was an inflow of Ming artifacts in the capital market, and after the identification of the Chinese Society for the Study of Antiquities, these Ming artifacts were all genuine, and the age was uniform, and the soil composition on the surface was similar, as if it had been excavated from a batch of stolen tombs. Suspecting that grave robbers were rampant again, the police devised a fishing plan.

This plan requires a person, who must understand antiques, have a certain identity in the rivers and lakes, and not be too eye-catching. None of the people in the five veins were suitable, and in the end this errand fell to me. I followed the care of Liu Ju and Fang Zhen, and walked around the market, and sure enough, I found an organizer who "ate the seat". So I pretended to be an antique dealer and had a good relationship with Fang Zhen.

This time, the "eat the seat" did not go smoothly, but ended in infighting. This ending has long been expected by me. The old-fashioned business of "eating a seat", which focuses on rules and integrity, is obviously out of date today. Now that the economy is opening up and invigorating, everyone has figured out that in the face of money, there is no need to talk about the old rules, how to make money, and how to come. Even an old-fashioned conservative business like the antique industry can't withstand this kind of impact, and there are more and more people like Boss Zhang, the general trend is the general trend, and the rules are slowly dying out.

Many of the former rules of the antique industry have gradually withdrawn from the stage of history and become an antique like "eating a seat".

If my grandfather and my father had lived to this day, I don't know what to say. While thinking so crankily, I stuck out my finger and dipped the fog on the window to draw a plum blossom. The plum blossoms are divided into five petals, and they are so close together. It's a pity that the temperature of the air conditioner of the car came up after a while, and this plum blossom became incomplete.

For some reason, even when I was sitting in the police car, the oppressive feeling of slowly sliding into the dark tomb still lingered in my heart and made me breathless. My forehead smacked the glass slightly, and a thin cool air came over me, and it was extremely cold. It was in this silence that the car slowly drove out of the mountains.

Soon the convoy arrived at a local police station and drove into the courtyard. As soon as I saw this posture, I was afraid that Fang Zhen was planning to surprise the interrogation in the nearest police station, and I couldn't help but secretly complain in my heart. It seems that there will be no way back to the city for a while.

The police station is not big, and several police cars came in and filled the parking lot. Fang Zhen and I jumped out of the car and walked in, casually drank hot water, chewed a few bites of biscuits, and walked directly into the interrogation room. The first big-eyed thief to be arraigned on the opposite side had already been brought in, his hands cuffed, and he sat in a chair. But this guy is very calm, his big eyes flickering and looking around, and there is no tension at all.

I thought he would at least glare at me when he saw me. Unexpectedly, the big-eyed thief was full of smiles, and took the initiative to say hello first: "Good chief, good chief." ”

"He can think about it." I muttered in a low voice, and sat down behind the table with Fang Zhen, and next to a small policeman in charge of recording opened the record book.

Fang Zhen followed the procedure first, asked him his name, age and identity, the big-eyed thief held his head high, and replied fluently, saying that he was from Kaifeng, Henan, surnamed Liao. Looking at his spirit, it seems that he has won the "National Model Worker" and is being interviewed by reporters, and he does not look like a criminal suspect being interrogated at all. I guess if the public security system had the best criminal suspect of the year, he would definitely win the award.

After asking the previous routine questions, Fang Zhen knocked on the table with the pen and entered the substantive stage: "This time, you 'ate the seat'?" ”

"Yes, I put some wind in the market, and someone came over on their own initiative...... Hey, if I had known earlier that there was a chief's concern, I would have recruited a few more illegal traders, and it would have been regarded as eliminating harm for the people. The big-eyed thief looked indignant.

"When did you find out that the police were concerned about this?"

"That's just now. As soon as I saw the row of flashlights shining through the mist, I understood everything. A strong anti-fog flashlight, only the police have this equipment. From that moment on, I made up my mind to fully cooperate with the police. The big-eyed thief explained, and the big-eyed thief spun around in a whirl's way.

I couldn't help but ask, "Since you know that you are a policeman, why do you shout at the tomb owner for his life?" The big-eyed thief said hatefully: "These people usually do all the bad things, and they are very superstitious in their hearts." I shouted that I could scare and scare them—who let these bastards be unkind and bury my son alive? ”

Fang Zhen raised his eyebrows slightly: "It's your son who went down to dig the grave?" The big-eyed thief smiled: "The father guards the pit, and the son goes down to the hole, this is the emphasis of our industry." ”

Fang Zhen glanced at me, and I nodded, indicating that he was right. There is indeed this old rule. The reason is very simple, digging a thief hole when the bucket is inverted, generally one is guarding at the entrance of the hole, and the other is digging a weapon in the tomb. However, human nature is greedy, and there are often people who guard the entrance of the cave who are greedy, and after taking the Ming weapon away, they bury the treasure alive with a shovel. Therefore, most of the people who cooperate in robbing the tomb are relatives, and they have to be blood relatives, but the son harms Lao Tzu from time to time, and later the rule becomes that the son goes to the hole, and Lao Tzu guards the pit, so that he can keep safe and sound - don't look at it as a small change, there are a lot of human truths in it.

The young man who went down to the cave is also big and small, it is estimated that it is a genetic disease in some family, no need to identify, you can know that it must be father and son when you look at your face.

Fang Zhen lowered his head and made a few strokes, and patted the table: "Then do you know what crime your father and son have committed?" ”

The big-eyed thief nodded hurriedly: "I know, I know, I know, I am guilty of fraud." The Criminal Law of our country stipulates that I have used fabricated facts or concealed the truth to defraud a relatively large amount of public or private property for the purpose of illegal possession. He memorized it very well, and the little policeman next to him, who was in charge of recording, snorted and almost laughed.

"Fraud?" Fang Zhen sneered, "What your father and son did today is just a crime of fraud?" I'm afraid it's not, right? ”

The big-eyed thief smiled and said, "Chief, you are really just a fraud. He leaned forward, his eyes widened, and his voice was low, as if he were telling us a big secret, "I'll tell you a few things, and the goods I gave them are all fake." ”

Fang Zhen was stunned for a moment, and hurriedly ordered the little policeman to go and get the stolen goods. When they brought the stolen goods over, I knew that the time had come to use me, so I got up calmly and picked up the jade spring pot and bottle first. Speaking of which, this time I smashed the pot at the present table, and this jade pot spring bottle has to bear a lot of responsibility. It was it that provoked the greed of the attendees, and this led to the strife that followed.

In fact, I don't know much about porcelain, that's the specialty of the Xuanzimen pharmacist, but it's a pity that the medicine is not this unscrupulous rebellion, the medicine will die, there is no tiger in the mountain, and I can only let the duck in the white character door be put on the shelf. I took the jade pot spring bottle and turned it over and looked at it a few times, and suddenly I was happy. When the bottle was first taken out, the light was too dim, so I just hurriedly took a flashlight and didn't look closely. Now that I look closely, I can see that there is a problem.

Fang Zhen asked me what I was happy about, and I said that the big-eyed thief was right, this was a fake, and it was so fake that it couldn't be faked anymore. After speaking, I pointed it out to Fang Zhen, there is an inscription at the bottom of this bottle, on which is written "The first year of Hongxi of the Ming Dynasty", a total of ten light blue glaze letters.

Fang Zhen and the little policeman who was in charge of recording looked at each other, but they couldn't see why. I simply put the bottle down, took my index finger and tapped the line one by one, and told them: "The flaw in this bottle is in this line." ”

The little policeman slapped his face: "I know!" Hongxi is the era name of Ming Renzong Zhu Gaochi, and the era name of Ming Chengzu Zhu Di is Yongle! There are contradictions. ”

I shook my head, "It's not wrong. Do you see the word 'legacy'? It shows that this jade pot spring vase was ordered by Zhu Di during his reign, but before it was done, Zhu Di died. By the time this bottle was fired, it was already in the Hongxi years, so the inscription was written in front of the new emperor's year, and then written as the ancestral relics, indicating that although this thing was produced in the year of Hongxi, it was a relic of the first emperor during his lifetime. It's not here's what's wrong. ”

The little policeman was a little unconvinced: "You don't look at the glaze of the fetal feet, and you don't recognize the decoration, just look at this line of words, how do you know that it is fake?" ”

I laughed: "This wrong place is in the three words of Ming Chengzu." Zhu Di's temple name is not called Ming Chengzu, but Ming Taizong. The little policeman's eyes widened: "How is it possible!" In my middle school history book, I wrote about Ming Chengzu Zhu Di, but I have never seen any Ming Taizong. ”

I shook my fingers: "You don't know. After Zhu Di's death, the temple name was Ming Taizong. After more than 100 years, in the Jiajing period, it was changed to Ming Chengzu. Therefore, let's talk about 'Ming Chengzu Zhu Di' now, there is no problem at all, but the craftsmen in the Hongxi period can only be called Taizong when they mention Zhu Di. The cultural relics before Jiajing, where the word Chengzu is seen, must be fakes - this is a blind spot in knowledge, many people don't know, and they are fooled if they are not careful. ”

The big-eyed thief showed a look of sudden realization, applauded admiringly, and made the handcuffs rattle: "It turned out to be fake here!" This chief is really eye-catching. ”

Fang Zhen and I glanced at each other, and felt that this guy's reaction was a little strange, as if he didn't know where the flaws of this fake was.

Among these stolen goods, this jade pot spring bottle is worth a lot, and since it is fake, you don't even need to look at the other pieces. Fang Zhen ordered people to take away the stolen goods, and asked the big-eyed thief, "You planned to trap those people from the beginning, right?" ”

"Hmm!" The big-eyed thief nodded generously and acknowledged, not feeling ashamed at all.

I frowned, in vain I just praised him for following the rules, it turned out that he was also a liar.

But after thinking about it carefully, I have to admit that he is quite shrewd in his calculations. You think, if the buyer takes these fakes seriously, he will make a lot of money for nothing; If the buyer sees through the flaw, it is nothing, the thing is taken out of the grave in front of you, even if it is a fake, it is also a fake of the tomb owner's burial, and it has nothing to do with the person who held the banquet. Eating a live meal is a chance to eat, not to mention receiving a fake, even if you don't receive any grains, you can only treat it as a dumb loss. In case the wind is caught by the police, it doesn't matter, the big-eyed thief only needs to show the flaws in this thing and prove that it is a fake, at least he can get rid of the crime of reselling cultural relics, at most it is a crime of fraud.

It seems that this guy has taken all kinds of possibilities into account before making a move, and he can attack and retreat, so it's no wonder that he has a fearless expression when he enters the interrogation room.

Fang Zhen narrowed his eyes and fell into thought. The little policeman next to him couldn't hold his breath and shouted: "Do you think you can escape the punishment of the law?" Stealing and digging ancient tombs is also punishable! ”

The big-eyed thief smiled and blinked slyly. My brain was excited, and I immediately reacted and blurted out: "Could it be ...... That tomb is also fake? ”

The big-eyed thief smiled, "Chief Shengming." ”

All of a sudden, the atmosphere in the interrogation room became a little strange. Fang Zhen knocked on the table calmly: "Tell me in detail." ”

The big-eyed thief said: "Actually, it's very simple to say. The two of us first found a piece of feng shui treasure land, and went down to a fake thief hole, which was about a few meters deep, and we couldn't touch any graves. Then we hid the false vessels that we had prepared in advance at the bottom of the cave, and when the feast was opened, my son pretended to be in the tomb and shipped them out one by one and sold them one by one. Those people are very superstitious and timid, and they will not go down to the cave to see what is going on, and they will not be able to see through it. ”

"No wonder you insisted on not letting Boss Zhang open the coffin. I thought you were sticking to your principles, but it turned out that you were afraid of revealing your bottom! "I think back to the previous details, and I can't help but feel ashamed and angry.

The big-eyed thief's chest straightened, and he said, "It's not that I'm afraid of revealing my bottom, but I know it's wrong." Digging graves is a great sin against human morality, and even though I don't have much education, I would never do that kind of thing. Besides, Article 328 of the Criminal Law says that anyone who excavates ancient cultural sites or tombs, steals precious cultural relics, or causes serious damage to precious cultural relics shall be sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of not less than 10 years, life imprisonment, or death. ”

"You know the Criminal Law by heart."

"Only by knowing the law can you break the law." The big-eyed thief replied solemnly.

I leaned heavily on the back of my chair, and the smug feeling I had just now was gone. This bastard is so cunning. This thing is a scam from beginning to end, this guy looks stupid but is actually very shrewd, if I wasn't an undercover agent for the police, I'm afraid he would not know if he was played to death. It is a shame that a dignified person in the five veins was fooled by an old liar at the grassroots level in the countryside.

Fang Zhen glanced at me meaningfully, which made me even more embarrassed. I defended the big-eyed thief in front of Fang Zhen just now, thinking that he was a gentleman among thieves, and he had been making trouble for a long time, but it turned out that he was also a master who eats black and eats black!

I sat there, my face blue and white. Fang Zhen was indifferent and continued to interrogate with an expressionless face: "That is to say, the so-called 'eating the present seat', everything is fake, the fake theft hole dug in advance, the fake made in advance, this is a game." ”

The big-eyed thief corrected, "Chief, this must be made clear. Some of those fakes are made by ourselves, but things like the jade pot spring bottle are on the waterway, and we can't do it ourselves. ”

"Waterways?" Fang Zhen turned his gaze to me, and I explained listlessly: "Water, it is water mixed with water in wine, which means fake. To go by water means to buy a fake from a specialized counterfeiter and take it to a scam mallet. ”

This is a common occurrence in the antiques business. There are many scammers in the antiques industry, but there are very few scammers who can process fakes themselves - counterfeiting is also a craft, not so easy - they usually buy fakes back at low prices from specialized channels, and then go elsewhere to cheat high prices. For example, Zheng Guoqu in Zhengge Village specializes in making bronze fakes, and people from all over the country buy from there and take them back to sell as genuine products, which is called taking the waterway. Because the seller is under the banner of antique handicrafts, the sale is legitimate, so the police have been helpless about this link.

After Fang Zhen understood, he turned to the big-eyed thief: "Who sold it to you?" ”

The big-eyed thief snorted his teeth, and for the first time showed a look of embarrassment: "Chief, this ...... Don't ask, it's really inconvenient to say. ”

The little policeman slapped the table: "This is the police station!" Who bargained with you! Say it! ”

"This, this is the rule of the way."

"You deserve to talk about rules, too!" The little cop was angry. Fang Zhen slowly beat a side drum and said, "Since you are familiar with the law, you should know that those who have made major meritorious contributions can also be commuted or suspended." ”

The big-eyed thief closed his eyes and seemed to be engaged in a fierce battle of ideas. finally spoke: "Since it was caught by several leaders, it means that we are destined, so I will tell you, but I am also forced to be helpless, not deliberately trying to ......."

"Don't be instigated! Say it! ”

The big-eyed thief sighed and said, "To be honest, I don't know who bought this bottle." ”

"How dare you play tricks?" The little cop was furious.

"I really don't know. I heard from a colleague that there is a place where you can take the waterway, the goods are good and the price is cheap, and the reputation is also good. However, there are no people to see on this waterway, so there is only one mailing address. I wrote the items to be ordered and the specific requirements into the letter, enclosed the money, and sent it to the address. After ten days, they sent me back. The whole process, not a single person can be seen. ”

"Aren't you afraid that they will collect money and not give the goods?"

"They have a good reputation and a lot of people come from there. And people are very professional, you can specify whether you want a high imitation or a low imitation. Like me, when I eat a live meal, the fakes I need must not have obvious flaws, but they cannot be without flaws. The jade pot spring vase they gave is very well proportioned - ordinary people can't tell the authenticity at all, but real experts can see through it at a glance. ”

After saying that, the big-eyed thief glanced at me, which made my self-esteem feel a little more comfortable.

Fang Zhen said: "What is that address?" Who is the recipient? ”

"I have the address at home, and ah, this letter is particular, two stamps to be pasted, and three words must be written on the corner of the letter: Old Chaofeng."

With a "bang", a cup of hot water hit the ground. I asked with a grim face, "Say it again." ”

"The old court, the old handsome, the Korean court, the dedication of the court." The big-eyed thief looked at me innocently, and I don't know why I suddenly became excited.

I can't help but be excited, if I say that the whole of China has the deepest relationship with me and has the most to do with it, there is no one more than this guy. He and my grandfather were contemporaries, and the Buddha's head case and the next series of encounters of the Xu family were all caused by him. A few of my friends either died at his hands or were simply his undercover agents.

This is a selfish vendetta; As far as the public is concerned, Lao Chaofeng is an undercurrent in the antique world, he controls a huge counterfeiting industry, stirring up a bloody storm in the Chinese cultural relics market, and the five veins can be said to be a natural opponent. Therefore, Lao Chaofeng is not only my enemy, but also the sworn enemy of the Chinese Society for Ancient Studies. After the Buddha's head case was settled, the old courtier disappeared completely, and I didn't even know who his true body was. The people of the Five Veins and I also wanted to investigate deeply, but there were too few clues, and we have been working in vain. He was like a poisonous spider, hiding himself in an intricate web of spiders, unaware.

Who the hell is he? Why is he so hostile to the Xu family? What is the connection between the name Lao Chaofeng and my ancestor Xu Heng's old enemy, Yu Chaofeng? All kinds of mysteries are unsolved, and I can't let go of my back. If we don't get an answer for a day, our Xu family, Wumai and even the entire antique market will not be at peace for a day.

I never expected that such a case, which seemed to be 108,000 miles away, would actually bring out Lao Chaofeng, which really surprised and delighted me. It seems that there is really a special "fate" between our Xu family and him.

I leaned over and picked up the glass, silent, my eyes staring at the big-eyed thief, as if I had taken him for an old courtier. The big-eyed thief was probably stunned by me, and hurriedly raised his hands that were cuffed together, and waved vigorously: "I can't help it, comrade, I can't help it." ”

"What's not to do?" The little policeman asked.

The big-eyed thief looked at me with a concerned face: "This comrade is tall and straight, his eyebrows are flat, and the nasolabial folds on both sides of his nose are deep and wide. But you didn't know who you had murderous intent just now, the two nasolabial folds tightened suddenly, and the narrow blade was edged, like a pair of scissors hanging upside down, which ......" he wanted to say and stopped.

I stared at him: "What's that?" ”

The big-eyed thief sighed and said, "Since ancient times, the face is closely related to the number of lives, and it changes at will. Comrade, your murderous intent has been moved, your face has been robbed, the bronze bell is cast into gold scissors, and it hangs upside down through the nose, aiming at the middle of the person. If you don't cultivate your self-cultivation and reconcile your emotions, you're afraid of ......"

"Afraid of what?"

"I'm afraid that it will be cut off by a person."