roccoschili Chapter 67: The Qing Dynasty Daoguang Emperor's Iron Pot Explodes the Entire Venue
Chapter 67: The Qing Dynasty Daoguang Emperor's Iron Pot Explodes the Entire Venue
When Tie Chi uttered that the pot from the Daoguang era was thrown out, the secretary's back straightened up by half.
The phone screen was facing up, and the recording was still running.
There was the sound of water, someone coughing, and Tie Chi's intermittent breathing. The old man looked like he had been pulled out of a water vat, his throat full of mud.
"The stove's properties are wrong... the pot's bottom... a folk kiln stove... Qing Dynasty, Daoguang period..."
The secretary looked at Cheng Xiaojin with a fierce look in her eyes, as if she had turned the tables on him.
Boss Lin didn't say anything.
He is waiting.
Cheng Xiaojin picked up the herbal tea and took a sip.
The edge of the teacup touched his fingertips, and a thin layer of white frost crept up from the porcelain rim, clinging lightly to the edge of the cup without spreading outwards.
He listened to the recording and pondered it for a moment.
"Old Tie's Mandarin has a distinctly vintage feel to it."
The secretary frowned.
"Did you hear me clearly?"
"I heard you clearly."
Cheng Xiaojin nodded.
"Qing Dynasty Daoguang period iron pot, folk kiln stove, the furnace properties are wrong, the terminology is quite complete, and the memorization of the script is also quite good."
The secretary pushed the phone forward.
"This is the judgment that Mr. Tie made after he regained his senses."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at Boss Lin.
"wide awake?"
He pointed to the carpet in the private room.
"She was spitting ash water here, yelling for the water tank, begging not to sell her, and calling for her parents to press her head down. She woke up after half an hour? Mr. Lin, does your club also offer mental health rehabilitation services? Open a department there, there are a lot of people in Panjiayuan who need it."
The secretary sneered.
"Stop stirring things up with these strange remarks. Old Tie is a well-known figure in the ironware industry in Southeast Asia. He says this thing is a pot bottom from the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty, and that's enough."
Cheng Xiaojin put down the teacup.
"Enough for what?"
"That's enough to prove you're selling counterfeit goods."
"Who are we proving this to?"
The secretary didn't answer immediately.
Cheng Xiaojin leaned forward slightly, his hands tucked into his sleeves, the ashtray pressed against his chest, feeling cold.
"Prove it to Fatty Sun? That fat guy avoids me whenever he hears my name. If you give him the recording, his first reaction won't be that I'm selling counterfeit goods, but that your boss Lin has been scammed by a swindler."
The secretary's face turned red.
Cheng Xiaojin continued, "Prove it to the Panjiayuan circle? The antique business values seeing is believing. If an old man who has just been possessed by a ghost shouts about a water vat one moment and about the Qing Dynasty's Daoguang era the next, and you release this recording, people will only ask three questions."
"First, did the iron enthusiast get it dirty during the inspection?"
"Secondly, just how bizarre are the things that General Manager Lin bought that could drive Tie Chi to this state?"
"Third, is Mr. Lin trying to renege on his debt and make up for 800,000 yuan with the nonsense of a crazy old man?"
The secretary gritted her teeth.
"That's just sophistry."
"Secretary, don't resort to insults and sophistry."
Cheng Xiaojin smiled.
"This is an industry standard analysis, and it's not free."
Boss Lin finally spoke.
"Boss Cheng, even industry rules can't hide the truth."
"the truth?"
Cheng Xiaojin took out the Qianlong Tongbao coin and placed it on the table.
The copper coin fell onto the table with a dull thud.
"The truth is, before Mr. Tie started handling the iron, you said he could read memories by touching it. After he started handling it, he read a water vat. Now he says he reads the bottom of a pot from the Daoguang period of the Qing Dynasty. Mr. Lin, which one do you believe?"
Boss Lin looked at him.
Before he could answer, Cheng Xiaojin pressed down again.
"If you believe in the Daoguang Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, how do you explain the water jar incident? If you believe in the water jar, then what is the Daoguang Emperor? If someone's mind is filled with resentment, and their words can be taken as expert opinions, then all the vendors at Panjiayuan would be going to have spirits possess them tomorrow. Who would still be practicing their eyesight then?"
The secretary is stubborn.
"What Tie Lao said about the furnace properties is correct."
"The furnace's properties won't be wrong, nor will its lifespan be tough."
Cheng Xiaojin glanced at the doorway.
"Is he still spitting out ashes? Is he still yelling 'Don't touch me!' Do you dare let him touch it one more time in front of Glasses King, Master Qi, and the three old shopkeepers of Panjiayuan?"
The secretary fell silent.
If the iron maniac touches it again, no one can guarantee what he will find.
If things go wrong, that vengeful female ghost might be summoned again, and she might publicly sell girls. If that happens, Boss Lin will really be in a difficult situation.
Cheng Xiaojin put the Qianlong Tongbao back into his palm. His palm was cold. He had spoken lightly, but his back was actually sweaty.
Iron Man's recording is a knife.
It might not kill him, but it can expose the fake goods and make everyone start to doubt. The antique circle is most afraid of doubt, and even genuine items cannot withstand everyone scrutinizing them with a magnifying glass.
Therefore, he had to define the recording as the ramblings of someone possessed by a demon and stick to it.
Mr. Lin looked at his phone and turned off the recording.
The private room fell silent.
The smell of gray water was still there in the carpet when Cheng Xiaojin suddenly heard the sound of water aerating from the fish tank outside the door.
There was a large fish tank in the lobby of the Houhai Club. He had seen it when he first came in. It contained more than a dozen koi, which were as fat as Sun Pangzi's relatives.
The sound of the water was quite ordinary.
But listening to it now, it sounds a bit too close to the sound of water bubbling in the recording.
Cheng Xiaojin did not turn around.
Boss Lin said, "I can play the recording for Sun Bingde."
"Let it go."
Cheng Xiaojin shrugged.
"If he believes me, he'll at most come and cause me trouble. Last time he came to my rented apartment, he gave me a whole room full of ink. It was a small gift but a big token of his appreciation. I was just worried about not having a chance to reciprocate."
"It can also be offered to buyers."
"Please put it down."
Cheng Xiaojin looked at him.
"But don't forget, the item is now in your hands. If word gets out that you spent 800,000 to buy a Qing Dynasty Daoguang-era iron pot, who will people laugh at?"
Boss Lin's face darkened.
The secretary whispered, "Mr. Lin, we can say he set a trap to cheat people out of their money."
"sure."
Cheng Xiaojin answered quickly.
"Then I'll say that President Lin asked Tie Chi to inspect the goods, and he found a female ghost to haunt him. He's trying to shift the blame for the filthy goods onto me, so we can both lose face and see who has the thicker skin."
After he finished speaking, he picked up his teacup and took another sip.
The herbal tea was so bitter that he wanted to curse, but he couldn't put the cup down too quickly because his hands were shaking.
A bluish-gray tinge crept from his fingertips into the crevice of his first vertebra. The skin under the gauze felt as if it had been soaked in cold water all night. The moment he touched the ashtray, the metal element of the Xin metal element sensed the evil influence. Opening the door was easy, but closing it was difficult.
He can now hear everything in the private room that contains water.
The cold tea in the teacup, the gray water in the carpet, the fish tank outside the door, and even the five marks on the secretary's wrist, still damp with moisture, were all making a constant, rhythmic sound.
Cheng Xiaojin gripped the Qianlong Tongbao tightly, forcefully suppressing the sound of water.
Boss Lin noticed that he didn't look well.
"Boss Cheng, you won't last much longer."
"That's true."
Cheng Xiaojin smiled.
"I really can't take it if I don't eat soon, Mr. Lin. Such a big club in Houhai, and they won't even refill a plate of melon seeds. Their hospitality needs improvement."
Boss Lin was not distracted by him.
"At the mouth of Panjiayuan, the city is full of original stakes. On a full moon night, without the third stake array diagram to guide you, you cannot return to the stake."
"That's why I'm sitting here talking nonsense with you."
"The night after tomorrow, at Liulichang, I will bring the array diagram as a guide."
Cheng Xiaojin put down his teacup.
"Bring it to the stationery and general store?"
"nearby."
"I need to test first."
"Can."
"The genuine article can't pass through my hands."
The secretary immediately replied, "No."
Cheng Xiaojin didn't even look at him.
"How can you test it without handling it? By smell? My nose isn't a dog's."
Boss Lin said, "I can only give you the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."
"A stick of incense?"
Cheng Xiaojin frowned.
"Mr. Lin, your business practices are quite old-fashioned. Are you perhaps planning to hold a sworn brotherhood ceremony next?"
"When the time comes, the array diagram will be withdrawn."
"What if I don't finish the tests?"
"That means you're not qualified to talk about the seventh one."
Cheng Xiaojin thought for a moment.
"I'll choose the location."
Mr. Lin shook his head.
"I'll decide the location: the back alley of Rongbaozhai at the west entrance of Liulichang, before midnight the day after tomorrow."
Cheng Xiaojin's heart skipped a beat.
The back alley of Rongbaozhai is not far from the stationery and general store, but it is separated by an old wall and two doors. The fact that Boss Lin did not place the order directly in front of the general store shows that he was also afraid that the seventh item was too sensitive.
Or perhaps he's already arranged for someone to be waiting there.
"How many people are you bringing?"
Cheng Xiaojin asked.
There are three of us on my side.
"You, Mr. Secretary, and the one who pulled out a gun?"
"Change players."
"Don't choose one that's too fierce, I'm a coward."
Boss Lin looked at him.
"What about you?"
"Me alone."
Boss Lin didn't believe it, and Cheng Xiaojin shrugged.
"If you don't believe me, there's nothing I can do. I'm poor and can't afford to hire bodyguards. At most, I can bring a crippled watch repairman, a braised pork vendor, and a drunk fortune teller. The lineup sounds shabby."
Boss Lin didn't respond to that.
"Boss Cheng, if you don't come by the night after tomorrow, the recording will spread throughout Panjiayuan."
"If I come, let me examine the array diagram."
"A stick of incense."
Cheng Xiaojin stood up.
"Half of the deal is done."
The secretary frowned.
What does "half a deal has been made" mean?
"I agreed to go, but I didn't agree to take you to the seventh incident."
Cheng Xiaojin carefully placed the ashtray in his hand and smiled at Boss Lin.
"Mr. Lin, don't be in a rush when doing business. If you want to get in the door, you have to see if the door recognizes you first."
Boss Lin watched him walk to the door.
"Boss Cheng."
Cheng Xiaojin stopped.
"Your father also said he would marry you back then."
"and then?"
"And then he didn't come back."
Cheng Xiaojin tightened his grip on the doorknob.
The next moment, he turned around and smiled.
"That means he's better at delaying dinner invitations than I am. Go find him and I'll remind him for you."
He opened the vermilion-lacquered door.
The lights in the hallway outside were yellowish, and the air was cooler than inside the private room.
The waiter stood at a distance, not daring to approach. Cheng Xiaojin walked out, her shoes making no sound as they stepped onto the thick carpet.
The large fish tank in the lobby is right next to the exit.
The dozen or so koi that were swimming so lively when we first came in are now all belly up.
The fish's belly is facing up, and its mouth is opening and closing.
It's like counting: "One, two, three..."