Chapter 13: Get Rich Overnight

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The shop owner closed the door immediately behind Chen Fan, and then poured some water into the small bowl. He shone the light through bottom and gently shook the bowl. At that instant, Chen Fan felt many things as once.

“Like a dream. It’s like in a dream!” Chen Fan couldn’t find any other words to describe the scene in front of him. Under the strong flashlight, the ripples shaking gently in the bowl released circles of surging wave-like stripes that mixed together with the butterfly paintings. The images were projected on Chen Fan’s and the owner’s bodies like an elegant and beautiful Chinese landscape painting.

Looking at the dumbstruck Chen Fan, the owner swallowed and said, “Young man, I shall be honest with you. I guess you don’t need me to explain to you why it’s called eggshell porcelain. I want to tell you, of all the eggshell porcelain produced in the town of Jingde in the history of the Song Dynasty, those produced during the Chenghua years have the best workmanship. Although the workmanship of the modern creations has improved, they are too new. You know antiques! They have to be old,and this small bowl of yours looks as good as new!” The owner looked regretful. He blamed his excitement for showing off in front of this rookie. Great, now even this idiot knew the bowl was very valuable. But then, this guy didn’t look like an idiot with his money-minded expression.

“Since they are so precious, then I guess you must like them very much!” After recovering from his shock, Chen Fan grinned from ear to ear, “Name your price. I’m a straightforward and easygoing person, I won’t say a word more as long as the price is reasonable.”

“Young man, for these two pieces, I’ll give you this much.” After some consideration, the owner raised two fingers at Chen Fan.

“2 million RMB?” Chen Fan opened his eyes wide at the owner’s fingers and shouted.

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“Ah…no no!” The owner was shocked by Chen Fan’s reaction, and almost dropped the porcelain in his hands. He wished he could chop off his fingers right now. Why did I raise my fingers? 2 million? You might as well just kill me!

“T-t-two hundred thousand!” The owner said softly, wiping sweat off his brow and looking at Chen Fan’s thirsty stare. Chen Fan frowned and pointed at the small eggshell porcelain bowl.

“Are you sure? Those worn-out antiques on TV could easily be auctioned for a few million RMB! Look at mine. Isn’t such a beautiful piece worth a few million RMB? Moreover, the crimson plate came with this. They should easily be more than a million RMB!”

“Bro, those at auctions are all from government kilns!” The owner scratched his head and almost cried out, “If these two items of yours are government made, there will be lots of people fighting to get them for five million or ten million RMB, let alone two million! People in antiques nowadays pay attention to status. At one auction, an enamel lantern-shaped vase from Qianlong was sold at a sky-high price of eighty million RMB.”

“Crap, if these two were bowls and plates used by Wu Zetian for her meals, I wouldn’t be here!” Chen Fan raised his head and cut off the owner’s words, “But come on, add another few hundred thousand!”

Chen Fan had already researched on the internet the difference between government and common kilns. Since the end of the Yuan dynasty, a special marking had been inscribed at the bottom of government pieces. Although these two porcelain items were beautiful, they did not have the “government” label. There was huge difference between the price of government made and common pieces. It was like the price difference between an Alto and an Audi, although their names only sounded a little different.

“Bro, you think I’m paying in Vietnamese Dong? Add another few hundred thousand?” After hearing Chen Fan’s words, the owner shot back with a gloomy face, “At the most, I can only add another 2,000 RMB!”

“2,000? Come on, 250,000 RMB, or I’ll leave!”

“I’m only running a small business!” The owner gave a pitiful look, “How about…I add another 500?”

“250,000!” Chen Fan was still insistent.

“Bro, it’s really not possible!”

As soon as the owner’s voice started to fade, Chen Fan packed the two treasures back into his bag and left him. He threw “I’ll go find another buyer!” over his shoulder before leaving the store.

“You…you…” The owner held back his words. He had not given a low price in the first place. It was very good to earn more than 10,000 RMB for two porcelain items. Although eggshell porcelain was not common, it was not extremely rare. Among the famous traditional varieties of Jingde Town, it was one of the special crafts products that had long enjoyed a good reputation

Looking at Chen Fan leaving, the owner’s heart ached, “Ah…young man, I… I’m really not making much profit!”

Eh? He should be chasing me out to agree on my price! Chen Fan walked a few steps outside and felt a little depressed when he turned his head and saw that the owner had not chased him out. Was the price I stated really too high?

The owner was vexed at himself for not adding a little more and earning a little less, but Chen Fan returned less than ten seconds later. “Boss, I’ll sell them to you for 210,000 RMB!”

“Ah!” The owner had already given up hope, but when he realized that things had taken a turn for the better he quickly stood up from his chair, “Sure sure, take a seat and have some tea first. I’ll go get the money right away.”

“Mmm, please be quick!” Chen Fan pounded loudly on the cedarwood table at his side, crossed his legs, poured a cup of tea from the Yixing clay teapot beside him, and started drinking big mouthfuls from it. He was very uncouth.

Money makes the world go round. In less than ten minutes, the pleased owner ran in with a black plastic bag. “There, I just withdrew this from the bank. Count it, it’s 210,000 RMB exactly.” The owner pushed the plastic bag to Chen Fan before he could catch his breath. Looking at the 20 stacks of 100 red 100 RMB notes on the table, Chen Fan’s head felt light.

“N-n-no need!” After roughly glancing over the money, Chen Fan stuffed it into his backpack with shaking hands. He left the two treasures behind and walked zigzag out of the shop.

“Lalala, I’m a happy little donkey!” Chen Fan had just become rich overnight. The day before, he had still been a pitiful man with less than 100 RMB. But now, he was carrying enough money to buy a 120 square meter house. At this price it wouldn’t be in an ideal location, but he also foresaw that these huge sums would appear more and more frequently in the coming days.

“My dear ride, you’ve been with me for three years, but today, I’m gonna say goodbye!” Chen Fan patted the seat of his worn-out bicycle and revelled in his fantasy of a better life in the near future. Once he got home, he immediately spread the stacks of notes all over the living room and rolled on top of them. If he hadn’t been afraid of disturbing the neighbors, he would have sung out loud to express his excitement.

“Beauties, cars, mansions, watches, yachts, bodyguards, nannies…hmm, I must have them all!” Curling up on the heap of notes, Chen Fan raised his hands in front of him and started counting his planned purchases on his fingers one by one.