Luoyang has four major antique markets, namely Wenbo City, Tianzi Jialiu, Sanyanju and Folk Museum, and in recent years, with the economic recovery and rampant tomb robbery activities, these antique markets have sprung up like mushrooms after a rain, and have developed rapidly. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

There are all kinds of people who do "business" in these antique markets, some people bring a bag on the ground, put a few things and start doing business, and most of them are vendors with fixed stalls. If you have the strength, you can rent a storefront on the side of the street.

The market is crowded with people every day, and the artifacts unearthed in the tombs are also sold in a semi-public state.

A shriveled old man in his fifties was introducing business to a middle-aged Hong Kong couple, pointing to a three-colored horse in their hands and saying, "This one in your hand is a modern imitation, and the one next to you is just dug up from the tomb." ”

The couple's eyes were drawn to a pile of three-colored horses in the stall next to them. The old man glanced at the stall owner, and an imperceptible smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

This kind of person has a unified name for "childcare" in this industry.

Insiders know that the handicrafts placed in the stalls in the market are made by modern people, although it is also to the point of being fake, but insiders can still see the difference at a glance. "Crafts" are mainly to fool those tourists.

In fact, 90 percent of the toys circulating in these markets are fakes.

Of course, it is not excluded that some people have genuine products in their hands, but the number is very rare. Those who can reach the level of treasures are even rarer.

Those who have counters and storefronts, they basically have the real thing in the store - they just don't put it on the counter or sell it in the store - and when you see a real customer, they will show you some accessories or parts first. I am in love and want to continue talking, which will show you the real thing.

If you want to set up a façade in Luoyang to engage in antiques, there must be "treasures" in the store, which is called the treasure of the town store.

If you want to do big business, you won't be able to get along without a few real guys. If you want to get the real guy, you either know someone in your hometown and collect it from your fellow countrymen, or you buy it from your peers, and more people buy it from brokers.

The real business is done by connoisseurs in the industry, and they basically don't go to the kind of stalls - they only trade through introductions from friends.

The person who is responsible for introducing customers and colluding transactions is generally called a broker.

Unlike ordinary street vendors, brokers have a fixed source of customers, and they have a wide range of contacts, including people from all over the world.

Buyers in the market come from all over the country and from all over the world, and with the activity of the past few years, the popularity of the cultural entertainment market has become more and more popular. Many large buyers with strong funds also came here.

Most of these foreign buyers come from Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Xi'an and other places, and in recent years, there are more and more buyers from Hong Kong, Macao and even overseas.

Those who are relatively large merchants or brokers have gradually formed long-term cooperative relations with these large buyers.

Those who really do antique trading rarely do it in the antique market, because real treasures are not sold in the store publicly, and they are often mixed in hidden places.

Some high-value cultural relics, brokers do not have the strength to take down, or feel that it is risky to hold in their hands, they are held by the tomb robbers themselves, and when they meet suitable customers, they will take customers to directly visit the tomb robbers to see the goods. The business is negotiated, and the broker takes a commission.

Of course, it doesn't mean that all the goods on the scene are genuine, and some people will also cooperate with tomb robbers to put some things with dirt in some broken tombs, and take them out to tell you that they are genuine.

Buyers, sellers, childcare, brokers, grave robbers...... With the development of the market, tomb robbery is rampant. These various people have formed a complete industrial chain.

Doing business in the antique market is about "relying on eyesight, buying fake and accepting fate", which is also the rule.

No one forces you to buy things before buying and selling, look at good things, buy them or not? Buy! Okay, then pay the money with one hand and deliver the goods with the other hand, and the payment will be cleared.

If you buy a good baby at a low price and make it, count yourself lucky - of course, this situation basically does not happen, and most people buy fakes.

When you buy a fake, you can only blame yourself for not having a vision, you think you are unlucky, and you can't make trouble with the seller - let alone return it.

Although there are no explicit regulations, there is a default rule in the entire entertainment market, and everyone does business under the constraints of the rules in an orderly manner. If someone breaks the rules, there will be a dedicated person to clean you up.

And the Song brothers are the ones who "maintain" the market order.

The Song brothers are not industrial inspection and justice, they are actually the biggest brokers in Luoyang City.

There are a total of four Song family brothers, and the Song family brothers in the literary and entertainment industry refer to the eldest Song Biao and the third Song Qing.

The father of the Song brothers was originally a famous chef in Luoyang, and he was best at three dishes: carp jumping over the dragon gate, steamed bream and Luoyang swallow vegetables.

The eldest Song Biaozi inherited his father's business, and he was also in charge of the state-run hotel, and the old Song intended to teach him his own skills, so that he could inherit the mantle of his Luoyang famous chef, but unfortunately although Lao Tzu did not hide his selfishness, but his son was not angry.

This Song Biao has learned and learned, but he can't master the essence of the three dishes. Although he will be able to have the level of a celebrity chef, there is still a big gap from his father's grandmaster level.

According to Lao Song's comments, this son is not talented enough, and if he can practice hard for decades, he may be able to reach his own level. But what's worse is that this son's attitude towards learning art is not good enough.

Song Biao served those dignitaries all day long, and after a long time, he gradually became dissatisfied, and lamented that fate was unfair, all of them were born by his parents, why are you sitting there eating and drinking spicy and calling around, I have to stand here and serve carefully with low eyebrows and pleasing eyes?

Song Biao is an ambitious and ambitious person, and he never wants to be a chef for the rest of his life.

Like my father, who has worked hard for decades and endured the name of a master, he is just a chef, and he has served people all his life, what is the future of this industry?

Thinking about this, Song Biao threw away the iron rice bowl of the chef of the state-run hotel, and planned to find another way out and become a self-employed person.

I have set up a stall and sold a plate, like the vast majority of people, it is very difficult to start a business, and I have hit a wall everywhere after tossing a few small businesses, and I have lost a little savings.

In a fit of rage, he simply didn't do anything, and stayed at home all day thinking about how to make a fortune, doing nothing for a while, and he couldn't get the essentials, until one day when he went shopping, he saw an old farmer from the countryside going into the city to sell the crockpot porcelain dug out of the field, and suddenly got the hang of: engaging in antiques.

With the recovery of the mainland's economy, some "Lao Guang" (from Guangdong) antiquities dealers began to gather in Luoyang to find their own agents and buy antiquities hidden in farmers' homes. They were generous, and the countrymen never thought that these rags that no one wanted could be worth so much money, and many people became rich overnight.

However, the cultural relics in the family collection were quickly acquired, and people began to think of digging tombs, and there was even a saying in the countryside that "if you want to get rich, dig ancient tombs, and become a 10,000-yuan household overnight".

It was the golden age of tomb robbers, and myths of making a fortune overnight abounded, and most people turned a blind eye to this kind of business, although it was risky, but if they were lucky, they could build a house and get a wife in one night. ”

Song Biao took the lead in this wave of getting rich, and through his unremitting efforts, he finally became a well-known "agent" - a big broker in Luoyang.

Before becoming a big broker, Song Biao was only a small vendor, and the first step in his business was to start from the grassroots - walking the streets and alleys to buy cultural relics.

The local farmers have a good impression of the boss of the Song family, he is kind, he greets people when he comes to the village, asks for cigarettes, chats with the old men and ladies for a long time, and does things in a regular manner.

In this way, Song Biao successively bought a lot of treasures at a low price, and sold them to make a small windfall.

Song Biao will not be satisfied with such a petty fight. With this "start-up capital", he received a batch of treasures that had just been dug up from the tomb from a tomb robber, and sold them to Lao Guang from the south at a high price.

Seeing that the business is getting bigger and bigger, buyers from the south to the north have begun to take the initiative to do business and buy things from him.

This truth is the same in all walks of life, everything is difficult at the beginning, as long as you take the first step to go out, after the capital and strength are bigger, the business is taking the initiative to find the door.

Because of the "fairness" and "rules" of doing things, Song Biao gradually established a reputation in the tomb robber industry, and everyone asked him to be their "agent".

Song Biao couldn't be busy alone, and at this time, his third brother Song Qing, under the introduction of the boss, also began to intervene in this business.

Song Qing is different from his brother Song Biao, although Song Biao's attitude in the cooking industry is problematic, but Song Dad still has great hopes for him, and has never given up, thinking that this child has good quality, and if he tempers it, he should become the head of the family in the future.

Although Song Biao has faded out of the cooking industry, Daddy Song still comes to the boss's mansion on crutches every once in a while to "lobby and educate", Song Biao has no choice, he has to eat and drink well every time, serve well, eat and drink enough, and then carefully coax away.

This Song Qing doesn't have such a good "treatment", he has been stubborn and abnormal since he was a child, fighting and stealing, and repeatedly refusing to change, Father Song has given up disciplining him, he has long seen that this kid is destined to embark on the road of crime when he grows up.

Daddy Song didn't look away this time, and when he grew up, Song Qing really became a standard gangster, digging bags, fighting, and flirting with flower girls at the train station all day long, no one could control him, and he was arrested several times.

If it weren't for the second child of the Song family who was on an errand in the office, his head would have fallen off several times during the crackdown.

Song Biao felt that his third brother was not the same thing as eating and drinking all day long, he was successful in his career as the eldest brother, and he also had the obligation to promote the younger brother, although doing the "antique business" was not an upright business, but it was better than being a little hooligan at the train station every day.

After entering the industry, Song Qing quickly showed his unique talent in this industry, and in addition to his eldest brother's business, he actually developed a new career of his own.

At that time, Song Qing had a group of horses under him, who were responsible for contacting people who knew each other in various villages and asking for clues. As soon as he heard that the tomb robbers in which village had succeeded, the next day he would come to the other party's house with a group of horses and ask for a low price, and the other party could only comply.

If the other party refuses to listen, he will move out of his second brother's name and threaten people to sue the bureau and not sell my things? Okay, I'll tell my brother that I'll get you in tomorrow.

This trick has been tried and tested. His second brother has repeatedly taken the blame for him, and he is also very troubled. But his mouth grows on other people's bodies, and he can't help it no matter what people say. The brothers fought several times, and finally threatened to sever the relationship between brothers, and Song Qingcai promised not to damage the reputation of the second brother again.

Losing the "blessing" of his second brother, Song Qing did not necessarily restrain himself, but his business was more "radical".

He has two leading horses under his command: Chen Hao and Hao Yubo, who are also the kind of people who have a stubborn personality, a hot temper, and are in a hurry to beat their own fathers.

This hum two generals often take double-barreled shotguns to various villages to collect cultural relics, and if they don't accept it, they will do it, and they will look down on life and death. I almost killed someone in a dispute, and after I went in, I ate in prison for a few years, and I was still a "good man" when I came out.

With such a murderous subordinate, no one dares to beat his edge in the Luoyang literary and entertainment world.

Of course, when the rivers and lakes are big, there are also those who don't know the situation, and there are also those who don't have the eyesight to touch the moldy head in the literary and entertainment world.

Once, one of Song Laosan's subordinates spent 3,000 yuan to buy a pair of plum vases and a porcelain bowl from a second-class dealer, which were later identified as fake cultural relics.

Song Laosan was furious and ordered Chen Hao and Hao Yubo to lead a group of thugs to kidnap the two dealers to the Xigong Mingyuan Hotel with iron rods and sharp knives, break one of their legs, force them to return 3,000 yuan, and then pay another 3,000 yuan.

This kind of violent practice has undermined the practice of "relying on one's eyesight to buy fake and accept one's fate" in the sale of cultural relics. For a while, no one dared to sell it to the third fake.

Because Song Laosan was too fierce, some tomb robbers were oppressed by him, so they asked Song Biao and Song Boss to intercede.

Boss Song is also righteous and responds to requests. Although this Song Laosan acted domineering and arrogant, he only sold the boss's face.

No matter how stiff the situation is, as soon as the boss comes out, things are easy to do, so the final result is often that Boss Song buys the things in the hands of the tomb robbers at a "slightly higher" price that "no one dares to ask unless they sell them to me Song Laosan".

Song Biao also has a group of horses, and the head horse led by him is called Tonga, and Tonga has more than 30 people.

Unlike Song Laosan's gangsters who are good at fighting and making trouble, Tonga himself is also a professional tomb robber, and among the people under him, there are still a few "workers" under each of them. So counting it, there are at least one or two hundred people who directly and indirectly obey Song Biao's orders.

After the business became bigger, Song Biao was no longer satisfied with buying and selling, and he began to find some tomb robbers to support the pot.

The literal meaning of the pot is to build the stove and live at home.

In some places, because of the need to entertain a large number of diners, there is no fixed stove, and a triangular pier is built temporarily before cooking, and cooking utensils such as pots are put on to make a large pot of rice, which is called "branch pot". Before eating, put the pot up, and after cooking, the pot is removed and buried, which is simple and convenient.

Later, the tomb robbers called the gang that organized the tomb robbery gang "branch pot".

If "the pot can't be supported", it means that the tomb robbery was unsuccessful and missed, and the black language is also called "empty".

Not everyone can support the pot, and the owner of the pot is responsible for organizing the manpower, and also provides the expenses of all personnel, including tobacco and alcohol, food, tools, etc., and the expenses are not small.

Therefore, people who do not have a certain strength cannot afford to come to the pot. Tomb robbery is not a sure thing, many times it will be empty, the kind of grave digging for three years without harvest, "supporting the pot" to the bankrupt There are many people.

It's not enough to just have money, you have to have connections, you can eat both black and white, and you have buyers with strong funds, so as to ensure that you maximize your profits.

Like some small owners who have no strength, they finally support a pot, and if they are lucky, they are bought and sold by Song Lao Sanqiang, or they are eaten by others and "robbed the pot", and it is good to be able to lose money without losing money.

The antique industry has to go through a lot of hands from buyers to sellers, and the more times it handles, the thinner the profits.

But the Song brothers have this strength to "support the pot", they not only have close ties with various tomb robber families, but also master the most important buyer resources.

After several years of development, Luoyang's buyers have been divided into several major factions - not to mention the kind of petty fighting, and the most powerful ones are divided into three ways.

The first is the Macau antiquities dealer Li Dana. It is said that the owner behind him is a casino, so this person is generous, often carrying large bags of cash to buy goods directly.

The second road is a man surnamed Wang nicknamed "King of Guangdong". This man has a shrewd mind and a vicious eye, and the gold lord behind him is mysterious and is said to have a deep background.

The third way is Hong Kong's Boss Zhan. Boss Zhan is engaged in international trade, relying on Hong Kong's special trade and financial status, and his business is all over the world.

These wealthy dealers became regular business partners with the Song brothers.

It can be said that the Song brothers have secretly controlled most of the entertainment market in Luoyang. In Luoyang, all the business that can be put on the table must be supported by the two brothers of the Song family.

Of course, there are "exceptions" here, Boss Ge of Wenbo City also opened a shop to do business, he used to be a tomb robber, and after digging the tomb to get the first pot of gold, he didn't want to take risks underground, so he opened a store in Wenbo City to do some in-and-out trading.

Because he debuted early and has old qualifications, he doesn't take the Song brothers seriously.

Once, a group of tomb robbers in Zhangling Village produced good goods, and Boss Ge got a Northern Wei sarcophagus plate from it, which is a fairly well-preserved treasure. After Boss Ge got it, he couldn't put it down and decided to collect this board as a treasure of the town store.

A customer in Fujian took a fancy to this Northern Wei sarcophagus plate and paid a lot of money to buy it, but was sternly rejected by Boss Ge.

After the Fujian customer begged again and again, he had no choice but to ask Song Laosan for help.

Song Laosan agreed, and sent Chen Hao and Hao Yubo to organize more than ten people to break into Boss Ge's house with shotguns and ask to "buy" this sarcophagus board.

Boss Ge is also a person with backbone, and he can't die, Chen Hao and Hao Yubo are fierce, and the two of them have shotguns on Boss Ge's head, seeing that Boss Ge is about to splash blood on the spot. Fortunately, his family saw that the situation was not good and notified Song Biao in advance.

"Timely rain" Song Biao hurried over and drank Chen and Hao.

Finally, after some bargaining, Boss Ge had to agree to give the Northern Wei sarcophagus plate to Song Biao. Song Biao sold it to a Fujian merchant for twice the price.

Although the Song brothers walked together horizontally and vertically in the Luoyang antique market, they did not see who killed whom, after all, doing business was "harmony and wealth", every time Song Laosan made a fuss, Song Boss would appear "in time" to help make peace and solve the problem.

Some ordinary tomb robbers and brokers are often oppressed by the two, and they dare not speak out. However, some large tomb robber gangs and families still have a good relationship with the Song brothers.

No matter how muddy Song Laosan is, he also knows who can and can't be provoked - for example, Ma Wangye and the like, they don't dare to buy and sell by force. Instead, a long-term relationship has been established. Ma Sanye shipped the goods, and the Song brothers helped contact the buyer and charged a certain percentage of the intermediary fee.

Nowadays, the Song brothers have not only mastered the source of goods, but also controlled the shipping channels, and their power has reached its peak in the Luoyang cultural toy market.

The proud Song brothers didn't know that the mountain rain was coming, the building was about to fall, and the fall of the empire was actually just an overnight thing.