Chapter 204 Let’s make a price

Chapter 204 Let’s make a price

"There are so many. You don't know if you haven't entered this industry. I have been cheated by many people."

"Look at that bowl. It fell into the hands of a counterfeiter and they patched it up to ensure that not a single mark could be seen on the surface."

"If you sell it as if it's real, you can make dozens of dollars per transaction."

Hu Haoran casually pointed to a broken enamel bowl with a missing piece.

"Then the corner is missing, and it won't work even if you fix it."

Chen Jianye asked.

"Fill in what's missing with something else, then hand-paint it to make it look old, to make sure it looks just like the real thing."

"Even people who study antiques can easily fail if they come across this kind of stuff that is nine out of ten real and one out of ten fake."

Hu Haoran explained.

Chen Jianye picked up the broken bowl and looked at it in his hand.

I'm really fucking convinced.

Filling gaps, hand-painting patterns, and aging, each of these requires a lot of effort.

Anyone who can forge something deserves to have this job.

"If someone were to spend three hundred dollars to buy a fake antique, the whole family might lose the deal."

"So, let's make money honestly and not do dirty things."

"For the sake of our future generations of the Hu family."

Hu Haoran said quite proudly.

"Haoran, you did the right thing. Now I look at you with new eyes."

Chen Jianye gave a thumbs up.

People who can resist temptation and avoid cheating are worthy of respect.

"Okay, stop talking nonsense, Haoran, take a look at the goods you collected today."

Qiu Jibin urged.

"Here are the things I collected today."

Hu Haoran opened the drawer of the table and took out an exquisite small porcelain bottle.

"What the hell is this?"

Chen Jianye asked doubtfully.

He felt that this thing looked like a bottle of medicated oil.

But it looks more beautiful.

"Snuff bottles were made by craftsmen for those Eight Bannermen who were into sensual pleasures in the previous dynasty. Some of them loved to smoke."

Hu Haoran explained.

"Rich people really know how to have fun. If you hadn't told me, I would have thought it was used to hold pills."

Chen Jianye smiled.

"It's almost the same, actually. The princes and nobles put tobacco leaves in it, and when they want to smoke, they ask their servants to roll it up for them. When they don't want to smoke, they can just hold it in their hands and play with it."

"Throughout the dynasties, powerful people have enjoyed themselves in many ways."

Hu Haoran said with some indignation.

Chen Jianye felt that this childhood friend had the potential to be an angry young man.

Perhaps it was because of his study of antiques that Hu Haoran saw too many items used for the enjoyment of princes and nobles, so he had a deep understanding of the dissolute life of this group of people.

From the perspective of the working people, it is reasonable for Hu Haoran to hate princes and nobles.

Qiu Jibin took the snuff bottle, played with it for a few times, and smiled: "This thing is really comfortable to hold."

Seeing the excitement in Chen Jianye's eyes, Qiu Jibin handed the snuff bottle to him: "Jianye, try holding it."

"Be careful not to drop it. I bought this thing for a bargain price of twenty dollars."

Hu Haoran reminded.

"Well, I'll be careful."

Chen Jianye took the snuff bottle and held it in his palm, feeling an indescribable sense of comfort.

"Jibin, you can sell it for fifty yuan, the lowest is forty."

"If it gets any cheaper, we won't sell it. Let's each put down ten dollars and wait for a while before selling it. What do you think?"

Hu Haoran said.

"Okay, let's follow the old rules."

Qiu Jibin took out ten yuan from his pocket and handed it to Hu Haoran, who took it calmly and put it in his pocket.

"What's your old rule?"

Chen Jianye understood a little more clearly. It seemed that these were antiques that Hu Haoran had taken back, and the money spent was shared equally by him and Qiu Jibin.

After Qiu Jibin sold it, the two split the money.

As for how to divide it, Chen Jianye didn't know.

Chen Jianye saw clearly how to share the money spent on receiving the goods.

"Haoran will be in charge of checking for the right items, and we'll split the profits 50-50."

Qiu Jibin explained, and then said: "I made a mistake, it's also a 50-50 split."

Hu Haoran smiled bitterly and said, "It's really hard to bear it alone. If there is someone to share the burden with, I won't fall back into poverty because of a single misjudgment."

"So, you have a little story."

Chen Jianye was happy.

"The money I earned from collecting garbage in the first year was basically lost to antiques."

"Later, my skills improved a bit, and I teamed up with Jibin, and that's when we slowly started making money."

Hu Haoran still feels a lingering fear when he thinks of his miserable situation a few years ago.

"If I want to buy this snuff bottle, what price can you two give me?"

Chen Jianye changed the subject and asked.

"Jianye, don't let it get to the point of being depressed."

Hu Haoran waved his hands quickly.

"What's wrong? You two don't have to go find the seller. Isn't that good?"

Chen Jianye looked confused.

"I know you have money, but that's not how you spend it."

"Snuff bottles are pure hype. Maybe in a few years they will be thrown on the ground and no one will want them."

"If you really want to collect some antiques, buy those from before the Ming Dynasty. Those antiques have been tested over time and will not depreciate in value."

Hu Haoran advised.

"So that's what's going on. I thought you wouldn't sell me."

Chen Jianye laughed.

He knew that with the economic development, the playthings of the children of the rich and powerful, such as snuff bottles and bird cages, not only did not drop in price, but instead doubled in value.

Snuff bottles, in particular, have become one of the important symbols of the art of the previous dynasty and are known as "miniature artworks that integrate multiple crafts from various countries."

"We are childhood friends. If you really want it, I will definitely sell it to you first."

"The main thing is that we can't cheat you. Even if we make money from you, we have to explain it clearly to you."

Hu Haoran is a straightforward person and speaks very clearly.

"I just played with it for a while and found it very comfortable to hold in my hand."

"You two should discuss it and name a price."

"No matter whether I make a profit or a loss in the future, I won't sell it. I'll just treat it as an object for fun."

Chen Jianye said seriously.

"That......"

Hu Haoran and Qiu Jibin looked at each other.

The original minimum price the two agreed upon was forty dollars.

Now Chen Jianye wants to buy it, and he also knows the price of the snuff bottle.

If I sell it to Chen Jianye for 40 dollars.

The two were worried that they were earning too much and Chen Jianye would be unhappy.

"Don't be so hard on me, just sell it to me for forty dollars."

Chen Jianye took the initiative to speak.

I never intended to take advantage of them by relying on our childhood friendship.

Friendship is friendship, and feelings are feelings.

One yard owned by a yard.

Qiu Jibin looked relaxed.

He wanted to sell it to Chen Jianye for forty dollars, but it was really difficult to ask for it.

Since Chen Jianye took the initiative to ask for 40 yuan to buy it, Qiu Jibin was ready to go along with it.

"Others want to buy it, and the reserve price is forty."

"If you want to buy it, I definitely can't sell it to you for 40 yuan. How about 35 yuan? Is that okay?"

Hu Haoran also breathed a sigh of relief and took the initiative to lower the price by five dollars.

Qiu Jibin glanced at Hu Haoran and said nothing.

"Okay, thirty-five is thirty-five."

Chen Jianye put the snuff bottle directly into his pocket and took out a stack of money.

He ordered thirty-five yuan and handed it to Hu Haoran.

"light and spacious."

Hu Haoran grinned, took out twenty yuan from the thirty-five yuan and handed it to Qiu Jibin.

"What do you mean? You're the only one giving Jianye a discount, and I don't need to share the cost, right?"

"Who are you looking down on? Am I the one who's short of $2.50? Give me $17.50."

Qiu Jibin said with an unhappy look on his face.

"Haha, I knew you were a face-saver, so you would definitely share the pie with me."

Hu Haoran took back the twenty yuan, counted out seventeen yuan and fifty cents, and handed it to Qiu Jibin again.

"We are not concerned about our reputation, but we are not short of money."

Qiu Jibin took the money, held his head high, and pretended to be very cool.

"If you two come across any good stuff in the future, you can ask me first."

"To be honest, I'm quite interested in this kind of stuff. I buy it to pass it down as a family relic, not to make money."

Chen Jianye said with a smile.

"Okay, I'll definitely come to you first if I find reliable goods in the future."

Hu Haoran agreed readily.

For him, having another wealthy buyer is a good thing.

It doesn’t matter even if the price offered to Chen Jianye is slightly lower than the market price.

Because Chen Jianye paid in cash, and it was fast.

When it comes to doing business, nothing is more valuable than cash flow.