Chapter 8: Section 8: Two Bosses

Then he dug out another pile of information. Setting aside those unreliable myths and legends, the useful part boiled down to one sentence: the discovery of Chicken-blood Stone began in the early Ming; when the Qianlong Emperor toured Jiangnan in the Qing, a monk presented a stone to him, and from then on everyone knew of it and all vied for it.

"Great prospects, great prospects!" He closed the laptop as he thought. His career was just starting, and his stone plan was very important. Fortunately, the number one speculator of all time, the Qianlong Emperor, hadn't taken the stage yet. This stone hadn't caught fire in the Great Ming, so he should be able to get quite a lot in the future.

"If I can sell the stones in the Ming, I'll buy some gifts to bring to the ancients. Give-and-take is the true way." Thinking this, he climbed into bed. He'd been agitated twice now, body and mind utterly exhausted. He really couldn't hold on any longer and fell into a dead sleep the moment his head hit the pillow.

At nine in the morning, a certain someone was smashed awake from a pleasant dream. Li Douzhan rousted him out, cursing as he tidied up the room. Cao Chuan asked and learned the boss would be arriving soon, so he hurriedly got up, scrubbed himself clean, and the two went out for breakfast.

While eating, Cao Chuan thought it over again. Given the unclear situation, he still hadn't figured out how to cover up this source of income, so he urged Li Douzhan to ask for cash when they sold the goods later.

Li Douzhan didn't mind at all. Which antiques boss wasn't ready with a big stack of cash at all times? He thumped his chest and told him to relax, he'd handle it easily in a bit.

The two had just returned when the buyers entered the house right on their heels.

The one in front was around forty, a middle-aged man, wearing a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, a Western suit and leather shoes, with a shrewd face — clearly the successful career type at a glance.

The other, a thinner man in his fifties, had an utterly ordinary face, a goatee, and wore a Tang suit. He twirled two large walnuts in his hand and walked in chuckling the whole way.

Gold-rimmed Glasses glanced left and right as he entered, pulled a chair over without any courtesy and sat down, shaking his leg as he said to Li Douzhan, "Li, looks like you've got quite the setup today, even able to invite Shopkeeper Hu. What exactly did you dig up from the countryside? Bring it out. Let me tell you, the little face you've got with me is only worth this one visit. If the goods turn out to be unreliable, there won't be a next time."

Li Douzhan, while gesturing for the old man in the Tang suit to sit, said to the middle-aged man with a grin, "Boss Ma, listen to you. If I didn't have something good in hand, how would I dare trouble you two gentlemen? Is Li that tactless? Please wait a moment, you two, I'll go get it right now. We'll talk once you see the goods."

Boss Ma seemed fairly satisfied with Li Douzhan's answer, but the old man, still twirling his walnuts, noticed Cao Chuan standing to the side and asked with a chuckle, "Li, and who might this be?"

Li Douzhan answered while opening the cabinet door, "A relative from the old home, not in the trade yet, a total rookie. Elder Hu, don't mind him."

The old man nodded upon hearing this and said nothing more.

Li Douzhan brought out the wooden case, placed it gently on the living room table, opened the lid, lifted the red silk, then stepped back and said, "You two may handle them now."

The two men exchanged a smiling glance, then simultaneously leaned in to look at the wooden case on the table.

With a clatter, the two walnuts in Shopkeeper Hu's hand dropped onto the table. Immediately after, the old man swiftly pulled a pair of white gloves from his pocket, shook them open, and put them on.

Boss Ma had already reached his hand into the case. The moment he saw the old man take out gloves, he spat out some unknown word, withdrew his hand like lightning, and also pulled a pair of white gloves from his trouser pocket. Before he could even get them on properly, the old man had already steadily lifted one seal stone from the case, walked over to the window, and began scrutinizing it with rapt attention.

Boss Ma didn't move. He just stood straight by the table, holding the other seal stone, and brought it close to his eyes to scrutinize it just as intently.

Seeing this scene, Cao Chuan turned to look at Li Douzhan. Li Douzhan grinned, shot Cao Chuan a look that said "wait for my victory signal," and said nothing more.

After a few minutes, the two bosses, as if by prior agreement, each pulled out a magnifying glass and continued examining the stones. It was Cao Chuan's first time witnessing such a scene. The sense of profound mystery awed him so much he didn't even dare to breathe loudly.

The room was silent until the two bosses finished looking and gently placed the stones in their hands onto the tabletop.

Cao Chuan thought the heart-pounding payment session was about to begin. Who knew the two would act out a pantomime, gesturing "after you" to each other. Then the old man nodded, slowly reached out, picked up the seal stone Boss Ma had just examined, and returned to the window. Boss Ma did the same, switching stones and continuing to look.

Cao rolled his eyes. He glanced at Li Douzhan, but this guy was looking immensely pleased with himself, just silently watching the two bosses appraise the stones, seemingly not the least bit impatient.

Another ten or so minutes passed before the two treasure appraisers placed the stones back into the case.

Once seated, Boss Ma spoke first. His tone was much more measured now, none of the arrogance he'd had when he first entered. "Li, this material, well, it can be considered a decent piece. Name a price."

Li Douzhan smiled faintly. He didn't answer, instead asking the old man directly, "Shopkeeper Hu, what do you say?"

Old Hu had now struck a pose, eyes slightly shut, seemingly half-open. The chuckling expression he'd worn when entering was completely gone. Hearing Li Douzhan's question, he spat out two words: "Name a price."

Li Douzhan chuckled, walked to the table, gently took the two stones out of the case, laid them side by side on the red silk, removed the case, and then said in a clear voice, "A matched pair of Frozen Ground Dahongpao rough blanks. Base price one and a half million. Cash preferred, fees not covered. Two bosses, make your move?"

Cao Chuan, the pauper, truly hadn't expected these two stones to be worth so much. And this was just the base price — it looked like it might even go higher. He was feeling a bit disoriented now.

No one paid him any attention. Boss Ma rubbed his chin, glanced at the feigning-sleep Elder Hu, leaned back in his chair, and said to Li Douzhan with feigned ease, "You're in luck today, Li. It's your Brother Ma's wedding anniversary. For good luck and smooth sailing, I'll add a hundred thousand — one point six million. Give me that case, and I'll wrap up the stones."

Li Douzhan responded with delight, saying, "Many thanks, Boss Ma," and bent down as if to hand over the wooden case in his hands. In that instant, Shopkeeper Hu's eyes flew wide open. His hand lifted, and Li Douzhan snapped right back to his original position.

Old Hu's gaze was sharp after waking. Staring at Boss Ma, he extended a finger. "Add a hundred thousand."

Boss Ma could no longer keep up his relaxed act. He sat up, one hand rubbing his chin, the other gesturing. "One point eight million."

The tug-of-war finally stopped when it reached two point two million.

Old Hu leaned both hands on the table and said with earnest gravity, "Boss Ma, you know I specialize in metal and stone. I truly love this pair of rough blanks. Besides, at this price there's hardly any profit left, and with no fees covered, the risk is huge. How about you consider Old Hu owing you a favor today?"

Boss Ma replied with a fake smile, "Who would dare accept a favor from Elder Hu? That said, who wouldn't love material of this quality? How about this — I, Ma Wei, will just take a bit more of a loss today. You walk out that door right now, and I'll immediately offer you fifty thousand for your travel expenses. How's that?"

With a bang, Old Hu slammed the table. "Two point four million! Add one more and I walk!"