Chapter 58: Soaring Chain Paintings

  Calm down, Qu Wen also felt that quarreling with a woman was not very classy. He glanced at Tao Jingying and stopped talking, otherwise they would continue to quarrel endlessly.

  "Let's go, we'll go somewhere else tomorrow."

  Qu Wen and three others left, Tao Jingying thought it was pointless to continue making a scene. She turned around and wondered why she had to insist on becoming his apprentice. In Hong Kong, there was another more prominent figure in the collecting world; if all else failed, she could ask her father to introduce them when she got back.

  But after quarreling with the other party for half a day, she didn't even know the other party's name, which made Tao Jingying very unhappy. Otherwise, she would have definitely let someone make endless trouble for him. Now she could only secretly scold the other party in her heart.

  In the 20th century, young people's nightlife was mostly rich and colorful, but three vigorous young men sat in a hotel chatting about antique knowledge. The teacher is Zhao Haifeng, and the students are Qu Wen and Duandan.

  Don't just look at Qu's literary works for a few months of antique appreciation, but the knowledge is still very narrow. At least in his opinion, if he can't even understand the historical dynasties, how can he understand the era background and cultural categories of that time? It's also impossible to correctly distinguish the true age of each antique.

  By day, Tao Jingying said this is a low-level thing, but not so. The thousands of years of Chinese civilization are so prosperous, if you really want to understand it, it's not just cattle, it can almost be called divine.

  Zhao Haifeng is a graduate of the Archaeology Department, and has studied under Bao Guoqiang for many years, with a very good understanding of historical common sense. Having him temporarily replace the teacher is not a bad choice.

  Perhaps due to his personality and cultural level, the interest in reading was not as high as that of Qu Wen, after listening for a while, he started yawning vigorously, with an appearance that was not born to read books.

  Agreeing to take care of Gu Hai De's order, Qu Wen didn't demand that he learn much, as long as he could leave his original life behind, it would be considered completing the task entrusted by his friend.

  The next day, Qu Wen and his two friends arrived at another antique market in Guiyang City. Compared to yesterday's, this place was clearly a few notches lower.

  This place is more like a flower and bird market than an antique market. A large pile of flowers, grass, and flying birds are scattered among the old stalls, which don't have many things to sell. You can basically see everything at a glance. However, compared to yesterday's antique market, there are more people here today. Ordinary people may not understand antiques and strange stones, but they still have demand for flower and bird decorations.

  After what happened yesterday, I don't dare to speak carelessly again, fearing that if I'm not careful, I'll break the rules of the antique business once more. Every industry has its own rules, and those outside the industry really don't understand them.

  All the way, Qu Wen unexpectedly saw many small books on a street stall, packed in box after box, with at least over a thousand volumes.

  When he was young, Qu Wen loved to read comic books. At that time, his family was poor and couldn't afford a TV, so comic books became his favorite pastime. Nowadays, whenever he sees them again, they inevitably evoke deep memories and interest.

  He flipped through a few books and asked the stall owner, "Boss, how much are these books?"

  Seeing the business coming to the door, the stall owner immediately showed a smile: "It depends on what book it is. Like these three yuan ones in your hand, and five yuan for some later ones. If it's a set, we need to discuss it privately. If you're really interested, just give me a price first."

  I remember when I was a kid, books like this were mostly one or two cents, and even the more expensive ones were only five cents. Later, many people treated these small books as waste paper, selling them by the pound or in bundles for the price of cabbage. Who would have thought that after more than ten years, all the remaining ones have become valuable antiques.

  "Boss, I'm actually quite interested, do you have a complete set of Romance of the Three Kingdoms from 1979?"

  The stall owner was not very old, probably only thirty-five or six years old. He had a kind face and chuckled when he heard Qu Wen's words: "Brother, you've come to the right place! Although there are many copies of this 1979 edition of 'Romance of the Three Kingdoms' left in the world, complete sets are rare. As it happens, I have one here, wait a moment and I'll show it to you."

  Not long after, the stall owner brought over a cardboard box. As soon as it was opened, a strong smell of camphor wafted out, probably used to prevent insects. Inside, forty-eight volumes of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" were neatly arranged.

  "Look at this, the condition is very good, almost 90% new. There are 48 books in total, not a single one is bad. If you like it, just give me a reasonable price."

  The 1979 edition of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms had a set of lyrics, I remember it was forty-eight volumes, but when moving house, I didn't know where to put it, and then I never found it again, becoming one of his few regrets. Now looking at this set of little people books, there is a special kind of intimacy.

  After taking a closer look, Qu Wen quoted a price: "Boss, how about 300 yuan?" The stall owner had previously said that the expensive ones were five yuan per book. This set of Romance of the Three Kingdoms has a total of 48 books, so 300 yuan should be reasonable.

  When he heard Qu Wen's words, the stall owner chuckled and shook his head repeatedly: "Young brother, you want me to do a losing business, to be honest with you, I bought this set of books for less than three hundred and one third."

  Three hundred and three tenths of one are not even close, isn't that over a thousand?

  This time Qu Wen was stunned, and at this rate, wouldn't this book cost 20 or 30 yuan? At the original publication price of 0.18 yuan, it had increased by more than a hundred times.

  "Boss, are you buying books or antiques!?" Qu Wen asked a silly question in surprise.

  The stall owner heard and smiled: "Little brother, you're right. If it were over a decade ago, this would be just an ordinary little people book, but now they've all become antiques. If you still want to buy them at the price of little people books, even if you search the whole country, you won't be able to find any. Especially now, complete sets are becoming increasingly rare, and once you leave this village, there's no more shops like this."

  This set of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was formally published in 1979 as a set of small books, and it can't be considered a real antique by age, but due to its type and publication year, it has some antique flavor.

  Qu Wen turned his head to Zhao Haifeng: "Ah Feng, you've been in this line for a long time, do you know what the early small books were priced at and what kind of lectures they had?"

  Zhao Haifeng also loved to read little people books when he was young, and his family still had a large collection. He had a set of the 1979 version of "Three Kingdoms" himself, but only one set, so he couldn't bear to part with it for Qu Wen. Having mixed in the antique business for so long, he also had some understanding of the early little people book market.

  Lianhuanhua originated in Shanghai, generally with 64 to 40 pages per book. Due to its portability and affordability, it was widely popular among people from all walks of life, especially the poor. In the early days, a lianhuanhua usually cost only as much as a big pancake or an oil stick, even rickshaw pullers had several copies in their hands, placed under the seat cushion, flipping through them during idle moments to kill time.

  "In the 1950s and 1960s, it was the heyday of lian huan hua. Many famous artists in the painting world participated, such as Zhu Runzai, Zhou Yunfang, Shen Manyun, Zhao Hongben and others were the most famous. At that time, the arrangement of lian huan hua was exquisite, the pictures were beautiful, and the typical ones were the Three Kingdoms series."

  "In recent years, due to the rise of new-generation comics, Lianhuanhua has gradually faded out of people's sight. Publishers have stopped issuing Lianhuanhua, making it a rare and precious item, sought after by some collectors. The price has risen from a few cents per copy to several yuan or even tens of yuan. A complete set is even more expensive. The price the boss gave is not the highest, but not cheap either. I think 800 yuan is about right, if it's any higher, I'd rather accompany you to look for another one."

  Zhao Haifeng's words made the stall owner extremely surprised, originally thinking of selling it for a higher price, but unexpectedly met a connoisseur. In fact, this set of books was collected by him for 100 yuan, and if sold at the current market price for a complete set of old books, he would have earned several hundred yuan more. However, the real buyer has not spoken yet, and he will not be foolish enough to rush into selling, otherwise the other party will think that it can still be lowered.

  As expected, Qu Wen listened to Zhao Haifeng's words and said: "Then it's 800, boss, if you're willing to sell, help me pack it up."

  Although he had made a lot of money, the stall owner pretended to be in a state of loss: "Forget it, forget it, just consider it as making friends." He said with a smile and took over eight 100-yuan bills, helping Qu Wen pack up the entire set of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms".