Chapter 20 Matcha
Seeing his parents' embarrassment, Shen Wenxin was not sure for a moment and said, "If it doesn't work, I will think of other ways."
"Haha! Wenxin, your dad has been teaching in Longcheng High School for so many years, and it's okay to ask for a few places, so don't worry."
"So you're playing tricks on me..."
Shen Wenxin was amused and crying, but Lu Jingbai's additional request was completed, and these two treasures were officially owned by Shen Wenxin.
Tonight, Shen Wenxin has been sleeping in a camphor wood box. These two treasures are Shen Wenxin’s reputation as an antique shop. For the time being, he will not be in a hurry to sell it. In addition, with the funds of 700,000 yuan on Yi Xiaojun’s card and his own 100,000 yuan, there is no shortage of capital for decoration stores and later bargaining capital.
Perhaps it was because he had consumed a lot of energy in the Youzha Village, so Shen Wenxin slept until midnight and was woken up by a hurrying phone ringtone. After seeing the caller ID, it was Yi Xiaojun, and he thought there was something important.
"Mosquito, there is good news and bad news. Which one do you want to listen to?" Yi Xiaojun's tone was a little weird. Shen Wenxin had just woken up and was confused. After hearing this sentence, he couldn't help but wonder, saying, "Good news."
"Boss Ding decided to give us a free high-imitation Ming and Qing porcelain worth about 10,000 yuan to our antique shop. There are about fifty or sixty pieces, which is enough to fill the store." Generally speaking, antique shops will mostly display some high-imitation decorations, while high-value items will be placed inside and rarely taken out at will. After all, safety must be done in place!
"Boss Ding doesn't look like such a generous person. Does the bad news you said have something to do with him?" Shen Wenxin suddenly understood the trick.
Yi Xiaojun was silent for a while, his tone became a little strange, and he said, "Brother, you are my biological brother. The bad news is that I told him that we picked up two more holes yesterday. Boss Ding wanted to open his eyes."
"More than fifty pieces of high-quality imitation porcelain are the stepping stones. Why are you so successful? These two treasures are the treasures of our antique shop. Why did he just want to see it? Moreover, Ding Liming also runs an antique shop. Do you know if you are a friend of your friends?" Shen Wenxin's tone increased a few points, and almost almost shouted out. No wonder such a confidential matter was spread in less than a day. Yi Xiaojun's big mouth was really too unrestrained, which made Shen Wenxin even more determined. When you go out to find a bargain in the future, you should go by yourself.
"Boss, I'm wrong, can't I be wrong? Boss Ding is too cunning and implicated me in a few words. It's not that I'm too much, but that Ding Liming is too shameless." Yi Xiaojun likes to brag, and Shen Wenxin still knows a little about it. It probably has little to do with Ding Liming. However, in order not to get the advantage of Ding Liming, Yi Xiaojun said two big mistakes to gain Ding Liming's attention.
Since he is going to develop in antiques and reputation is very important, Shen Wenxin thought to himself: "It's nothing to let Ding Liming see it, not to mention that he is not only the head of Xuanming Antique Store but also the president of the Longcheng Collection Association. It's also good to use his mouth to promote and create momentum."
After figuring this out, Shen Wenxin eased it and said, "Okay, have you confirmed the location?"
"Boss Ding talks about a teahouse in his name called Yiming Teahouse."
"Okay, please send the specific address later, I'll call it!"
"Well, I'll be waiting for you here, remember to bring your baby."
"Don't worry, I'm not as careless as you."
After Shen Wenxin hung up the phone, he hurriedly packed up, took a taxi at the school gate without eating anything, and went to the "Yiming Teahouse".
After about half an hour, the traffic congestion in Longcheng was around the middle and upper level. It was not the peak period for get off work, and there was no situation along the way. I arrived at Yiming Teahouse safely.
As soon as I got here, my stomach was a little ginger. Shen Wenxin got used to eating breakfast, and now it was almost lunch time.
"As such a big restaurant, are you afraid that there is nothing to eat? Just order something to eat later. Anyway, it's Ding Liming treats you." It's a fool to not take advantage of it. Ding Liming wants to open his eyes, but he doesn't pay any price.
The decoration of the teahouse lobby is mainly classical, with a low-key and deep charm. A root-carved tea table blends with the surrounding decorations, making people feel happy. When I arrived at the front desk, I explained the room number. A young woman wearing a cheongsam came to a private room with Shen Wenxin.
The simple and rustic decoration is similar to the style of the Tang Dynasty. There are many futons on a small table. The tatami will not hurt your feet when you step on it, but it is very comfortable.
The tea sets on the table are not in the traditional sense, but have mills, sieves, tea cups, etc. After all, Shen Wenxin studied history. It is undoubtedly inferred from the decoration style. So from the tea sets, Ding Liming treated them as the "Matcha" that appeared in the Sui Dynasty and emerged in the Tang Dynasty.
This tea art is relatively rare in China, mainly because few tea artists learn how to make matcha, but it is very popular overseas, such as Hong Kong and Taiwan.
There is a young and beautiful tea artist in the room, wearing Tang Dynasty costumes and heavy makeup, undoubtedly sitting quietly with the beauty of the Tang Dynasty, which is very pleasing to the eye.
Regarding the knowledge of tea art, Lu Yu, the tea saint of the Tang Dynasty, said in detail the "Tea Classic". Shen Wenxin read it briefly, but did not study it carefully. Although he knew it was matcha, he did not know the specific origin, so it was better to fill in the stomach.
In addition to the tea art master, there are also host Ding Liming and best friend Yi Xiaojun in the room. Ding Liming is still very kind and does not call anyone else. There are many people and mixed hands. Ding Liming's prestige is there so that he will not suffer any loss when he sees it.
"Xiao Shen, are you here? Come and sit down." Ding Liming stood up and said politely, Yi Xiaojun helped Shen Wenxin lift the treasure in his suitcase.
At this moment, Shen Wenxin did not open it immediately. Instead, he said to Ding Liming: "Boss Ding, don't be so polite. They are all your own people. I heard that this is your teahouse. What kind of stuff can fill my stomach? I haven't had dinner this morning."
"Haha, Xiao Shen is so funny. Teahouses are not restaurants. They are all snacks and fruits. But don't worry, I'll ask someone to bring some food here immediately. I wonder what Xiao Shen, you like to eat?"
“Snail Noodle…”
"I said mosquito, you come to the teahouse to eat snail noodles? It's too luxurious."
Shen Wenxin felt embarrassed when he said this. He looked as if he was taken for granted and said, "The authentic food in Longcheng is snail noodles. If he doesn't eat anything, it will be made quickly and delicious. I can't wait for any delicacies."
"It's really a coincidence that there is an authentic snail noodle shop near our store. I'll ask someone to help you pack it." Ding Liming swears and shows no impatient at all with Shen Wenxin's behavior. The tea artist fiddled with matcha and brewed a few cups. Ding Liming said: "Xiao Shen, while waiting, I'll have a cup of matcha first. Thank you all the hard work along the way. I'm asking you to bring your baby so far away. I'm really embarrassed to be a brother."
"When it comes to it, Boss Ding is busy with everything he wants. It is already very embarrassing to find us brothers, and our treasures may not be able to get to the eyes of Boss Ding." Shen Wenxin's words obviously had something in his words. Since he was a competitor, he really lost his identity when he found out about Shen Wenxin's treasures. And every line has rules, Ding Liming first broke the rules.
Shen Wenxin must say a few words, so that when Ding Liming officially enters the collection industry in the future, he will think he is easy to bully.
"Xiao Shen, you are so polite. The two treasures you transferred to me last time were praised by many people. This time the treasure must be better." Ding Liming learned some inside information through Yi Xiaojun's mouth, but it was just the surface. What is the origin of the treasure? He still needs to take a look at it himself.
The bronze bowl of the Tang Dynasty and the ivory pen holder of the Ming Dynasty traded last time are relatively rare in the Longcheng antique market, so they are extremely popular. Ding Liming also likes it very much and plans to wait for the price. He has a new understanding of Shen Wenxin, so he will not underestimate him just because he calls snail noodles in the teahouse.
"Go award, go too award." Shen Wenxin did not cut the theme directly, took a sip of matcha and tasted the taste. In ancient times, drinking tea was quite troublesome. Unlike now, every household basically "sucked to the end" and there was not much attention at all.
Shen Wenxin didn't understand tea ceremony either and acted casually, after all, there were no outsiders.
Compared with many people who don’t know how to pretend to understand and be arty, Ding Liming thinks that Shen Wenxin is real enough and not pretending to be good, it should be worthy of close friends. However, this time, it was still very abrupt because he rashly asked to appreciate the treasure.
After a while, the waiter brought a bowl of fragrant snail noodles into the box. The spicy snail noodles became mainstream, making the fragrance of tea and sandalwood a supporting role.
Shen Wenxin, who swept through the snail noodles and made a "stolen" sound, completely ignored his image and swallowed it. In the heart of the charming tea artist, his evaluation of this guest was "rural people".
Ding Liming didn't think so. In his senses, Shen Wenxin was just casual and free, or he was extremely dissatisfied with Ding Liming's request this time.
He always smiled and savored the tea and did not express any displeasure, and seemed gentle and elegant.
"Ding Liming has a high concentration, so he won't get angry like this!" Shen Wenxin secretly observed Ding Liming's expression several times, but found nothing wrong. It can be seen that Ding Liming was just looking at the treasure sincerely this time, and there should be no bad intentions, and it is not ruled out that Ding Liming is extremely cunning.
After eating and drinking, Shen Wenxin opened his suitcase, took out two treasures and put them on the table. At this moment, the tea artist had left, and a complete set of tea sets had also been removed.
"Boss Ding, please see."
Shen Wenxin first gave Ding Liming a Nuan Inkstone. He was very excited when he started, and said, "At first glance, I thought it was the 'Ming Zhengde-style Bihai Tengjiao Copper Inkstone' collected by the Palace Museum. However, from the craftsmanship and material, it should be a hot inkstone imitated by the previous dynasty in the Qing Dynasty. It might be from this period during the Shunzhi or Kangxi period. It is rare, very rare."
Many porcelains in the previous dynasty were imitated by the previous dynasty, while bronze warm inkstones were rare in the Ming Dynasty, and imitations in the Qing Dynasty were even more valuable, and the production craftsmanship was also of the best.
Ding Liming, who had not yet come back to his senses from shock, took over the original parchment manuscript of "Crane Tower Collection" handwritten by Wang Duo, a calligrapher in the late Ming and early Qing dynasties. He was sometimes surprised, sometimes happy, sometimes depressed...
A lot of emotions emerged, Ding Liming said: "The books that can see parchment are from our country. In my memory, I have never seen them. This is the first time! And it is "Crane Tower Collection". I have visited the island country once before and saw the carved version of "Crane Tower Collection" in their museum. According to the rubbing, this seems to be more comprehensive. Could it be a hand-copy of the original manuscript?"
After saying that, he was still observing his eyes and suddenly saw the clues from the title page and muttered to himself: "This is not Zhang Chong's handwriting, it seems, it seems to be Wang Duo!"
"Boss Ding has such a good eye. This is Wang Duo's handwriting!"
"Okay, okay, I, Ding Liming, I was so glad to see the original works of Wang Duo's calligraphy in my lifetime. I used to buy a pair of Wang Duo's calligraphy at a large auction house, and a wealthy businessman offered a price of 5 million yuan. It really made me ashamed!" The low price of that calligraphy was only 800,000 yuan, which made the wealthy businessman reach 5 million yuan. Ding Liming was willing to collect it, but he was unable to compete with the rich man for financial resources!
Ding Liming calmed down his excitement, took a sip of tea, and after eased it, he returned the manuscript to Zhao. He also knew that these two things were Shen Wenxin’s treasures in the store, and they were intended to be used to create momentum, so he could not transfer them to Ding Liming, so he had to return them to Shen Wenxin reluctantly.
Yi Xiaojun didn't expect that these two treasures had such a great origin. Judging from Ding Liming's appearance, both manuscripts and inkstones were of great value.
He said secretly: "Haha, thanks to my foresight and partnership with Mosquito, otherwise there would be such a big leak!"
Shen Wenxin and Yi Xiaojun's partners will all pay dividends at the end of the year and adopt a half-term system.
Therefore, half of the profits of these two treasures are from him Yi Xiaojun. How can you be unhappy?
But this is also one of the root causes of the disbanding trend. Fortunately, Yi Xiaojun's father saw this, so it did not cause any confusion. Shen Wenxin also gained a lot of benefits, a lot of treasures, and an antique shop. The happy one should be Shen Wenxin, which was something the two of them did not expect.
Chapter completed!