Volume 2Chapter 6, Hainan

Uncle San came out to make his living when he was a teenager, and has seen a lot of things. He is usually very careful when doing things, like the last time when he prepared a lot of things for the trip. Sometimes I think he is too cautious. Like last time, 80% of the equipment was not used. I didn’t expect him to be so rash this time, just casually picking up the suitcase and running away. I couldn’t stop him, so I shouted, “Be careful!” He answered with a cry and ran into the elevator.

Coincidentally, the attendant from the foot bath center of a hotel came up to settle the bill with me. Seeing this scene, he laughed and said, “Your uncle is even more impatient than your nephew. He’s turned everything upside down, and you still have to worry about him.” I had no way to explain, so I just smiled and took the bill. When I looked at it, my face turned black. It turned out to be more than 4,000 yuan. I couldn’t help but curse: Damn it, this old guy went down again yesterday to do those things that are not clear.

Looking at the bill, I was a little worried. I had spent a lot of money in the past few days. Originally, Uncle San’s old man had a very full pocket, but after escaping all the way, he spent money like water, and donated some to the village that burned down the forest. He was used to going out He doesn’t bring his card with him, saying that it’s old-fashioned. He’s been using my money shamelessly these few days, saying that his company will transfer some more to him, and he’ll pay me back after the transfer. Now that he’s gone, I think of this matter and think that he must have known that I was running out of money and ran away.

I was very upset. I took out my wallet and saw that my heart sank. I was used to using fast money and didn’t pay much attention to it. There were only a few bills in my wallet. Pan Zi is now in a deep coma and I don’t know when he will wake up. Although the doctor said that there is no major hidden danger, it mainly depends on his physical recovery. I figured that I shouldn’t expect to leave in ten days or half a month. Pan Zi is a lonely person, so it is impossible to find someone to replace me. This little money is definitely not enough to cover the expenses.

The most troublesome thing is that a four-digit bill is already in front of me, and this hurdle is a bit difficult. I smiled embarrassedly and said that I didn’t have enough cash, so I would wait to get it and send it to him. He saw that I had paid the bill in a hurry these days, and smiled: “It’s okay, there’s nothing wrong tomorrow, so you can go ahead.”

As soon as he left, I was furious. I thought of more things. His mother-in-law Pan Zi had to pay four-digit medical bills every day in the hospital. Where could I find the money to pay him back if the old man left? I couldn’t call the old man. If I did, he would probably scold me to death. He already had a lot of complaints about me because of the poor business in recent years. Now he’s even learning from the most unworthy third uncle to dig up graves. Forget it.

I went back to my room, feeling annoyed, and suddenly saw the jade coffin lying in the bag. Uncle San loved this thing so much that he wrapped it in four or five layers of oil paper. I suddenly had an impulsive idea. I thought that I should make a good plan for the next ten days. It was not a good idea to eat and sleep here every day and then write a promissory note. I could either find an antique market to sell this thing, and then make some money and go around Jinan, which would not be a waste of time.

I thought this was very reasonable. I originally came here with the attitude of a tourist, but now it’s like I’m investigating a X-file. Why bother? And now, I can’t just dawdle about this matter, or I’ll be kicked out. It’s a small matter if Pan Zi is kicked out, but it’s a big problem if Pan Zi is given no medicine. It’s not dark yet, so I have to get rid of it quickly.

I thought about going down to the lobby to ask the waiter where there was a place to sell antiques. The waiter was very helpful, and he accompanied me downstairs and even called me a taxi. After getting into the car, I told the driver where to go to find more antiques. The driver agreed and took me to the Hero Mountain Market. I saw that there was something fishy about this place.

I listened to the driver’s ramblings all the way. He said that this place was a large concentration of antiques and calligraphy products, and there were many people, so it was noisy. However, there were mostly fakes. If there was nothing else to do, you could chat with the owners and brag, and they would be happy to do so.

I got out of the car with the heavy jade coffin cover on my back, thinking about finding a bigger storefront. This kind of thing is not something that ordinary people can afford. Those big stores must have connections with some bigger customers, and they can be asked to introduce it to him, and he can just take a 2% commission. I am also an old expert on this set, and no one can fool me. On the way back, I discussed the value of this thing with my uncle. My uncle said it was worth about a million yuan. This thing has a price but no market. First, it is difficult for anyone to buy such an expensive thing, unless it is a foreigner. But this thing is too big. Large things are inherently more difficult than small things. He estimated that if someone really wants to buy it, he would be willing to let go for 800,000 yuan.

With his words, I had a good idea of the value of the item. I looked around, and after a few steps, I suddenly saw a bronze incense burner in a shop. There were some engraved figures on it. I was shocked when I saw it. The people on it all had big bellies, and they looked a lot like the murals of the sea that my uncle had mentioned. I leaned down to take a closer look, and at that moment the owner came out and said, “Hey, you know what you’re looking at. This is the most valuable thing in my shop.”

I heard his accent, which was still a Beijing dialect, so I asked him, “What is carved on it? It’s so strange. It looks like it’s not from Hainan, does it?”

The man’s expression changed when he heard this, and he hurriedly let me into his shop, saying, “I really met an expert today. This thing has been here for years, and you are the first to see the signs. It’s good. This is indeed from Hainan.”

Antique dealers are certainly sweet-talkers, but I couldn’t tell from his expression whether he was telling the truth or just trying to sell me the thing. I didn’t have much information on hand, and pretending to be an expert would definitely give me away, so I said, “I’m not an expert, I’ve seen this thing in Hainan before, and I was wondering what it was called.

The man invited me to sit down and served me a cup of tea, saying, “You are being modest, but it doesn’t matter if you really don’t know. I’ll tell you, the incense burner is carved with a kind of ghost. They call this thing a ‘forbidden woman’. The origin of this thing is a long story. If you are really interested, I will tell you about it?”

I saw that there was a show, so I pretended to be very interested in buying it. I nodded, and he gave me a wait-and-see gesture, took the censer out of the showcase and put it on the coffee table. I immediately smelled a strange fragrance, and I couldn’t help but be surprised. He laughed and said, “This fragrance is very special, isn’t it?”

I asked, “What kind of spices are in it?”

He opened the lid of the incense burner and I saw a small black stone. I was stunned and he smiled proudly: “This is the bone of the forbidden woman. This fragrance is called bone fragrance. It’s a good thing. Put it next to you when you sleep and you’ll sleep comfortably.”

I suddenly felt a little sick and asked, “What exactly is the forbidden woman? Smelling her bones to sleep is too mean.”

He smiled and said, “Jianpo is a very broad concept, it is the general term for something bad. People there say that if they get sick or injured, it is because of the jianpo. It is really hard to describe what she is. If you really have to say, you can say that she is a demon.”

“Oh, so this is her bone?” I frowned and asked, “Where did this come from? Looking at the sea shit on the lid, it seems to be a sea product.”

The man laughed and said, “You said you weren’t an expert, but this thing was caught by a fisherman with a net. Although it has a bit of sea shit on it, it’s not cheap.”

I didn’t have enough money on me, so I sighed and said, “Unfortunately, I’m a good person, and I don’t want this sea product. If you really want to sell it, why don’t you sell me the bone incense inside?”

The man’s face changed, and he smiled apologetically, “How can that be? If you buy this incense, who am I going to sell the incense burner to?”

I looked at the slightly dusty object and knew that it had been sitting there for a long time without selling. This kind of thing is too unpopular, and it is not easy to resell it. Generally, people who buy it for investment don’t like it. In troubled times, gold is valuable, and in prosperous times, antiques are valuable. If something can’t be sold, the owner naturally won’t bother to take care of it. I I shook my head. Anyway, I bought this thing for no use. Later, I took out the coffin cover and showed it to him. If he could find a buyer, he could give it to me. Thinking about it, he said with a smile, “That’s fine. Let’s not talk about this. I’ll show you something.”

He took the jade coffin cover and showed him a corner. If you are an expert, you can tell by his behavior. As soon as he saw it, his face changed. Without saying a word, he put the jade coffin cover back and then got up and pulled down the shop’s shutter. He poured my tea and brought me another cup. I smelled it and said, “Damn, it’s a high-quality Tieguanyin. It seems that I have reached a higher level.”

He wiped the sweat from his head and said, “I don’t know what this craftsman is called.”

I looked at him and realized that he was not just an antique dealer. He reacted so quickly that he could tell at a glance that this thing had been poured out. He couldn’t help but say, “My name is Wu. What is your name, boss?” The man said, “You can just call me Lao Hai. Master Wu, are you going to sell this thing or let me take a look?”

I said, “Of course I’m going to sell it. This thing is a bit hot to keep around.”

He walked back and forth in the room a few times and asked, “Is it complete?”

I nodded and said, “You won’t be missing a single piece. It’s just come out of the oven and is still hot.”

He sat down and said softly, “Master Wu, I’m a straightforward person. I dare say that I’m the only one who can buy this whole thing. But there’s no need for me to argue with you about the price. You can tell me how much you’re willing to let go, and I’ll give you a call to ask my friends.”

I thought about it for a moment and said to myself that I would ask for one million, 300,000 for Daku’s family, and at least 200,000 for Pan Zi’s hospitalization. The fat man had already left a message saying that he would send the money to him after the item was sold. But Uncle San said that this is what it’s like to dig up a tomb. Otherwise, why would one tomb after another be overturned? No matter how precious the things you bring out of a tomb, if no one wants to buy them, they’re still just garbage. So he doesn’t take anything too good, and if he does, he can’t sell it.

I estimated that one million was about right, so I made a gesture of one to the old sea. He couldn’t help but be happy. I looked a bit depressed. Could it be that I’d under-estimated it? He picked up the phone and went into a corner to make a quiet call. After he finished, he was so happy that his face turned red. He said, “It’s done! It’s done! Master Wu, you’re lucky. Someone really wants this thing. One million is not too high, and two million is not too low. I’ll give you a price of 1.2 million. What do you think?”

I heard this and thought to myself, ‘Who knows how much you’ve quoted? Maybe you’ve doubled it and quoted it to the other person. But it’s already 200,000 more than I expected, so I’m still very happy. I smiled and said, ’So, your share, is it still the old rule?” He smiled and said, “To be honest with you, they have already prepared a little extra for me. You can keep the 1.2 million. It’s not easy to get this stuff out. You have to remember my kindness. Next time you have this kind of stuff, don’t ask around at other people’s homes. Just send it to me directly. I’ll give you a 20% raise on the price. You have to know that the client behind me is very wealthy. He dares to accept things that others dare not accept.” He saw that I was a bit anxious, so he hurriedly said, “Please sit for a while, I will prepare the money for you. This 1.2 million, don’t look at my small shop, the account is not lacking, I will advance it to you first.”

I heard this tone and it was really big. As the saying goes, among the 36 trades, antiques are king, and it is really true. It seems that this guy still has a little bit of a way on hand, so he hurriedly said, “Wait, what about this forbidden stove? If you don’t give it to me, can you also give me a discount? I will take it all at once.”

The man said, “If you like it, take it. I’ll give it to you for free. To be honest, I bought it for five yuan. I was just trying to trick you.”

Three hours later, I was carrying a large sum of money and was in a good mood. When I returned to the hotel, I didn’t even want to look at the doorman. People behind me were discussing whether this kid had won five million yuan. After I sorted out the money, I paid all the bills first, then went to the hospital to pay for Pan Zi’s month-long nursing fees, sent money to the fat man, and then solemnly transferred my share, along with what Uncle Three owed me, to my own card. I finally felt comfortable.

In the following days, I found a local beautiful tour guide to take me to various places in Jinan. However, I had come from Hangzhou and had seen too many cultural and historical sights, so the more I looked, the lower my spirits became. Later, I simply went to a fishing factory to go fishing. These few days were the most comfortable time in my life, but I was a bit cheap. When I was comfortable, I actually began to miss the excitement of the time when I was digging.

I won’t go into too much detail, but after a week or so of this decadent life, I returned from the fishing factory and as soon as I entered the door, I heard the phone ringing. I only told my third uncle about the phone number at the hotel, so I thought he must have found something out. I picked up the phone and heard a strange man on the other end. His first words were, “Do you know a man named Wu Sansheng?”

I heard his tone was rather urgent, so I hurriedly replied, “Yes, how do you know?”

The man said, “He’s disappeared.”

I was stunned and asked, “What do you mean by confirmed missing?”

The man said, “The ship he was on lost contact with the mainland ten days ago. What is your relationship with him?”

I said, “I am his nephew.”

He said, “Can you get to Hainan as soon as possible?”