Chapter 295 Rules
Zhang Caifeng became a little nervous when she heard Gao Yang's words, "Are they all very expensive?"
"How should I put it..." Gao Yang thought for a moment and lowered his voice and said, "Ninety-nine percent of the items here are antique artifacts, but if you accidentally break an item, something from last week could become something from the Western Zhou Dynasty."
Zhang Caifeng's face changed.
Pei Shiqi said, "Don't be nervous. If you keep holding on to everyone like this, and the four of us move together, it will be easier to scratch other people and stalls. Relax a little."
Zhang Caifeng didn't even know where to put her hands and feet.
Su Xing patted the back of Zhang Caifeng's hand and said, "Don't be afraid. Let's go buy some flashlights first."
"Buy a flashlight?" Zhang Caifeng was puzzled.
"Old Four is quite knowledgeable!" Gao Yang gave Su Xing a thumbs up and raised his chin to signal everyone to look at some veteran players. "Buying those more professional antique and jewelry flashlights is one of the effective tools for judging authenticity and evaluating the quality of materials."
After a pause, she added, "Also, I can use it to pretend to be an expert, at least to let others see that I am not a complete newbie."
Pei Shiqi curled her lips and said self-deprecatingly: "At our age, people won't treat us as experts when we hold tools. They will think we are pretending to know something."
Gao Yang said: "That's perfect. Newbies are easily fooled, but they can also pretend to be a pig and eat the tiger to get something for free."
Pei Shiqi rolled her eyes. "You said that 99% of this is handicrafts. How can there be so many leftovers for us to pick up?"
Gao Yang: "It's not 100%, but there is still a chance."
Su Xing couldn't help laughing as he listened to his roommates bickering with each other.
A few girls walked into a small sundry shop and bought four flashlights.
The ghost market in Panjiayuan sells more than just antiques. Some areas sell walnuts, bracelets and other collectibles, as well as modern accessories, handicrafts, and even nostalgic toys, books, tapes, records and other items.
Of course, the most attractive stalls are those selling old items and antiques.
Su Xing and four other girls came out of the grocery store selling flashlights. Most of the stalls nearby were selling used books and toys.
There are many people visiting this nostalgic area, and the surrounding area is very crowded.
The girls were not very interested in the old books and toys, so they continued walking forward.
There was a section of road that was heavily congested. Zhang Caifeng saw that there was a used bookstall nearby and subconsciously wanted to just cross it without worrying about damaging anything.
Su Xing was quick to grab Zhang Caifeng and whispered, "No, it's taboo to cross other people's stalls in the antique market."
She was afraid that Zhang Caifeng would be embarrassed, so she didn't tell her the reason directly.
It is very impolite to step over other people's stalls. There is another reason, as Gao Yang said, if there are fragile items on the stall, it will be troublesome if they are accidentally kicked and broken.
Zhang Caifeng was a smart girl. She reacted quickly and blushed. “I know.”
They walked past the book and toy areas and saw some stalls selling accessories.
Then they heard a commotion not far away, as if someone was arguing.
A few girls moved over curiously and listened for a while. It seemed that two tourists were bargaining with a stall owner selling earrings. The stall owner agreed to the price they offered, but the two tourists seemed to think the price was too high and didn't want any, so the stall owner got angry.
Pei Shiqi was puzzled. "Although bargaining without buying is a bit... not very nice, the boss is really too mean."
Su Xing said: "Although the stall owners are not selling antiques, they have to follow the rules of the ghost market when setting up stalls. For an item, if you ask the price and bargain, and the seller agrees to the price you offer, it means the deal is done. If you bargain and don't buy, it means you are breaking the rules."
Pei Shiqi: "Is that so..."
Gao Yang looked at Su Xing and said, "Old Four, you've done a lot of homework!"
Su Xing smiled sheepishly, "Just, look up some information."
In fact, she knew all this mostly thanks to some bargain hunting novels and popular science videos she had read in her previous life, as well as the fact that she had recently borrowed a lot of miscellaneous books from the library.
Gao Yang asked Su Xing again, "Old Four, do you still know the rules? Tell everyone about them, so that we don't make any mistakes because we don't understand the rules."
She had been here with her family a few years ago. She was still young at that time and was just wandering around to join in the fun. Apart from being warned by the adults not to touch or bargain for things here, she didn't know much else.
Su Xing thought for a moment and said, "Here we also follow the saying 'Don't ask where a hero comes from, and don't ask where a treasure comes from'. Don't ask the seller about the cost and origin of the item. This can easily disgust the seller and may even touch their bottom line. Also, don't speak out. If you find that an item may have problems, you can choose not to buy it, but don't expose it in person. This is also an act that violates the rules of the ghost market. Also, don't say anything when other customers and stall owners are bargaining. If you also like that item, you can only start negotiating when others fail to make a deal."
Su Xing told her roommates about all the taboos she could think of, and the girls took them to heart.
There were some tourists behind them. Because these girls were young and beautiful, and one of them was particularly good-looking, they couldn't help but look at them a few more times. As a result, they were taught a lot of rules of the ghost market, and they subconsciously memorized some of them.
Panjiayuan is very large. In addition to the fixed stalls, there are countless temporary stalls. Even though the ghost market is open until one or two in the morning, it is impossible to visit all the stalls.
The girls quickly made their choice and headed straight for the area where antiques were sold.
There was a group of stalls selling ancient porcelain pieces. They were all quite interested and started to look around carefully.
Porcelain fragments are considered specimens of porcelain. Many people who collect antique porcelain started out with porcelain fragments.
Although some porcelain pieces are incomplete, they can clearly show the cross-section of the body and glaze, so that collectors can not only know the appearance but also the inside, which will make collectors' understanding of the characteristics of ancient porcelain more profound and comprehensive.
Moreover, ancient porcelain fragments are relatively cheaper than complete porcelain, have a higher chance of being authentic, and carry less risk, making them very suitable for novices to learn how to identify ancient porcelain.
Su Xing has recently read a lot of books related to porcelain identification, and now he wants to buy some ancient porcelain pieces as physical specimens.
The prices of the porcelain tiles sold at these stalls mostly range from tens to hundreds of yuan, with some costing thousands or even tens of thousands.
Several girls squatted down in front of a porcelain tile stall and began to pick and choose.
Zhang Caifeng picked up a bowl with the word "玉" on it and asked the stall owner, "Boss, how much is this?"