Chapter 2: Picking a Few More Pieces

"Pfft..."

Laughter came from the nearby Bronze stall, and Lin Sicheng turned his head back.

A man and a woman, both in their thirties, equally refined and elegant; one look and they were clearly intellectuals.

The man was researching a Bronze Mirror, while the woman pursed her lips and watched them, her eyes filled with amusement: "Sorry!"

"It's fine!"

Lin Sicheng smiled slightly and glared at Gu Ming, "Stop being so weird!"

Gu Ming huffed and didn't say a word.

Lin Sicheng pointed a finger: "Boss, how much for that book?"

"Which one, *Annals of the Yellow Emperor*?"

"Yes!"

"Three thousand!"

Upon hearing three thousand, Lin Sicheng understood: although the stall owner was a boss, he really didn't know his goods.

It counted as picking up a small bargain.

He tentatively asked: "Is your book inlaid with gold?"

The stall owner rolled his eyes: "Who told that blockhead to say my stuff is all trash?"

Lin Sicheng didn't know whether to laugh or cry: how old is he, still getting angry like a child?

"Bring it over here for me to see first!"

Hearing "*Annals of the Yellow Emperor*", the man buying the Bronze looked up and glanced at the magazine handed over by the newsstand owner.

A blue cover, slightly graying, it seemed to have some years on it. At the top were four large characters: *Annals of the Yellow Emperor*. Below them were seven or eight lines of headlines:

The Tenth Year of the Republic of China: The Best Era.

The Westernization Movement, the Starting Point of Industrial Prosperity.

The man was startled: it really was *Annals of the Yellow Emperor*?

At a glance, the headlines: specious, hearsay, groundless, even fabricated and distorted... it looked more like street-stall literature than actual street-stall literature.

Looking at the issue number: "China Yanhuang Culture Research Association"—he had never even heard of it; one look and it was clearly a fly-by-night association.

Opening it to look at the articles inside: the same circular arguments repeated, wanting to speak but not daring to, the whole thing filled with subtle speculation. It wasn't even as good as an eighty-cent copy of *Story Monthly*.

But only a very small number of people knew that this book was founded by a certain Ministry in 1989; although not classified, it belonged to the serious internal Shen Mansion. If your rank wasn't high enough, you really wouldn't see it.

Therefore, ordinary people wouldn't recognize it if they ran into it, just treating it as a low-class magazine.

For example, Gu Ming, who flipped through it casually and let out an "Eh": "Who printed this book?"

"The Central authorities!"

Thinking Lin Sicheng was being sarcastic, Gu Ming let out a cold "Heh heh."

The newsstand owner also laughed along: "Printed this?"

Hearing him say this, Lin Sicheng felt even more confident and raised the magazine: "Give me a proper price!"

"Three hundred!"

"Thirty!"

The boss was clean and decisive: "Pay up!"

Gu Ming grumbled: "You blockhead, dropping from three thousand to thirty, can it be any good? Thirty could buy two bowls of *hulu tou* and you could even add half a catty of braised meat!"

"All you know is eat, eat, eat. Do you eat shit too?"

"If you eat it, I'll eat it!"

The two of them were like a crosstalk act; the woman couldn't stop laughing and also took a peek: "Wang Qi Zhi, what kind of book is that?"

The man lowered his voice: "Internal Shen Mansion!"

"What?"

Dan Wangshu was stunned: that kid wasn't talking nonsense, it was actually published by a Central Ministry?

But how could an internal Shen Mansion flow onto a street stall?

"Is the circulation large?"

"Quite the opposite, it's very low: when it was first published, it was only submitted to provincial-level units, later limited to institutions directly under the Central authorities..."

"Then how did that kid recognize it?"

Wang Qi Zhi was taken aback: That's right?

That "Central authorities" remark definitely wasn't nonsense.

Besides, if this book were bought to be read as a magazine, even three yuan would be too much. That he could spend thirty to buy it showed he knew its intrinsic value.

It couldn't be that he had someone in his family who was an official, and at an absurdly high rank?

Looking closely again: the person was very handsome and fair-skinned, and his clothes weren't bad, but his temperament didn't quite look like it.

It was too peaceful, without a single bit of the ostentatious air of a second-generation heir.

The woman poked him again: "How much can it sell for?"

The man thought for a moment, reached out his hand, and spread his five fingers.

"Five hundred?"

"A thousand!"

The woman opened her mouth: equal to three months of her salary? This kid only spent thirty.

"Why didn't you see it just now?"

The man was righteous and confident: "I came to buy Bronze, not to buy books?"

The woman puffed out her cheeks.

……

Money was exchanged and they left, the two parties brushing past each other.

The man had several items laid out at his feet: a bronze mirror, a bronze sword, as well as arrowheads and ancient coins. But they were fake at a glance, all imitations.

The man also knew they were imitations and was currently haggling with the stall owner.

The woman looked curious, staring at Lin Sicheng the whole time.

"What is she looking at?"

"She's probably wondering: this young man looks quite sharp, why is he carrying a porcelain hammer?"

Gu Ming pondered for several seconds before he realized who the "young man" was and who the "porcelain hammer" was, and he threw a punch at him.

Lin Sicheng dodged to the side, his eyes paused, and he squatted down again.

Gu Ming stretched his neck to peek, secretly curling his lip: waste paper was at least worth a little money, but this time it had turned directly into junk?

But he didn't nag anymore, thinking that once the six hundred yuan was paid, that would be the end of it, as long as Lin Sicheng could get home.

Lin Sicheng first took a look around: it was all roof tiles, and honestly, they all looked quite authentic.

Most were glazed tiles from the Ming and Qing dynasties, there were also Iron Tiles from after the Song dynasty, and there were even Changlewa from the Eastern Han and Four Symbols tiles from the Three Kingdoms period.

It was a pity that most of them were broken pieces.

Looking at the young stall owner, Lin Sicheng sighed: "The collection is quite complete, why isn't there a single whole one?"

"My old father passed away, and we're in a rush to split the family property; the good ones were sold long ago!"

Just as expected.

"What are the prices?"

"It depends on the dynasty. The most expensive are the Han tiles with characters, followed by those with patterns, and then the glazed ones. The ones without patterns or glaze are a bit cheaper! If you buy a lot, the plain tiles are free."

Lin Sicheng nodded and picked out a few pieces at random.

The couple nearby had finished paying, but they weren't in a hurry to leave.

Seeing the man staring at Lin Sicheng, the woman knew he wanted to buy that book. She first curled her lip, then looked at the broken tiles at Lin Sicheng's feet.

"Huh, why is he picking so many plain tiles?"

The man was also very puzzled.

As the name suggests, roof tiles are naturally used to block the Rain. The tile is like a "U" shaped trough, and the circular disc in front is the "dang".

And whether it's characters or patterns, they are only imprinted on the "dang", so only the "dang" has collection value. If it's just a smooth, broken tile, it's basically worthless.

Lin Sicheng, however, did the opposite; he would only pick two "dang" for every seven or eight plain tiles he picked.

Looking at the inscriptions on the faces of the "dang", they seemed to all be Han tiles. He then looked at the curvature and shape of the broken tiles, and the man had a flash of inspiration: "Is he going to craft a teapot?"

"What?"

"Among Purple Clay Teapots, there is a type called a Han Tile Pot, which is made by piecing together Han tiles. The 'dang' can only be used for the base and the lid, so they are used less; the tiles are used to shape the body of the pot, so they are used more."

"Is it very expensive?"

"It depends on the craftsmanship; a high-quality one can go for tens of thousands!"

"He even knows how to do this?"

"I don't know if he knows how, but he must have studied it!" The man sighed, "And he's very knowledgeable: if nothing else, look at the curvature of those tiles; they are the most suitable for piecing together a pot!"

The woman clicked her tongue: "How old is he?"

The two were whispering, and Lin Sicheng had already picked out more than ten pieces. It cost three hundred yuan in total, and the boss gave him a cardboard box.

After packing them up in a few movements, Lin Sicheng took it and casually shoved it into Gu Ming's hands. Just as he stood up, his eyes lit up with a "zing".

Good heavens, did he really find a treasure?

Seeing him squat down again, Gu Ming was confused: "What's wrong?"

"Picking a few more!"