Chapter 43 Hearing about the Ghost Market
Zheng Wen was startled by Zhang Dadao's sudden reaction. His hands trembled and the car twisted on the road. He gasped and said, "Don't joke like that, okay? Fortunately, there are no other cars, otherwise we would both die here!"
Zhang Dadao curled his lips and asked, "What do you mean? You don't want money?"
Zheng Wen shook his head and said, "I mean, you're making money too slowly by doing this. Do you remember when I asked you to tell my fortune?"
Zhang Dadao simply spread his hands and said, "I can't calculate the lottery numbers, and I can't calculate the stock index either."
“Uh uh uh~” Zheng Wen grabbed his hair a few times in a frenzy and shouted, “Listen to me!”
Zhang Dadao nodded and said carefully: "It's not okay to go into a casino to change your luck."
"Who told you this!" Zheng Wen simply stopped the car on the side of the road and said, "I'm talking about something else. Isn't it May Day? There's a place nearby where there will be a temporary market. I'm studying cultural relics, and if I'm lucky, I can make some money. You understand?"
Zhang Dadao shook his head, "I don't quite understand? What market? Smuggled pirated CDs?" Zhang Dadao's eyes lit up, and he wondered if he could ask Zheng Wen to help get some authentic Japanese martial arts discs.
"Hoo~" Zheng Wen was choked and took two deep breaths before saying, "You are deliberately making trouble, right? I'm talking about the Ghost Market! Does the Ghost Market know?"
Zhang Dadao nodded calmly and said, "You should have said it earlier! You know it too well! It's a ghost market! The kind that sells fakes in the dark. Oh! You want to sell fakes! By the way, you are studying cultural relics, and there must be high-quality counterfeits in the lectures at school to train your eyesight. If you steal some and sell them, you will become rich!"
Zheng Wen was stunned, and said dully: "It can be like this? Why didn't I think of it?"
"Well? You don't plan to do that?" Zhang Dadao asked curiously. He was also interested at this moment. After all, our Master Tianshi had learned antique appraisal in the mental hospital. He was naturally interested in this close contact opportunity.
Zheng Wen sighed and said, "To be honest with you, our major is different from archaeology . We mainly learn identification and restoration. Usually, many students go to the flower and bird market to find bargains, but now 99% of the antiques on the market are fakes. Only in this ghost market and some private black markets can you see some unearthed and smuggled antiques that are not allowed to see the light of day."
Zhang Dadao nodded and said, "Can you take me there? Take me there and I'll calculate it for you! Also, is this black market spontaneous?"
Zheng Wen nodded and said, "Yes, it's on the other side of Baima Lake. It's inconspicuous with the traffic under the cover of the animation festival. My friends are here to sell things. They have some good stuff, and Mr. Wang wants to buy those things through me first. But my friends seem to have found a way to participate in the black market auction. You know, things in the ghost market can't be sold at a high price."
"I don't know?" Zhang Dadao said innocently, "I don't care how much your friend sold. Let's be partners. You go to school to get some high-quality imitations, and then find me a pickle jar. We'll split the profit 20% to 80% after deducting the cost! I'll show you what real deception is!"
Zheng Wen was a little stunned. He had never expected that he would be forcibly requisitioned by Zhang Dadao first. However, he was not in a hurry. He just shook his head and restarted the car. After a while, the car arrived in front of a row of farmers' houses. In recent years, urban expansion has turned many original rural areas into urban villages. In cities like Hangzhou, farmers in urban villages have lost their fields, but have gained other livelihoods. They have turned their houses into rental houses, and the rent alone is nearly 100,000 yuan a year. In addition to the dividends from the commercial development of the village land, the annual income of many illiterate old men and women easily crushes bachelor's and master's degree holders.
Zheng Wen got out of the car, took Zhang Dadao, who was holding the futon, up a staircase, and knocked on the door rhythmically.
"Which one?" A deep voice with a heavy accent sounded.
"It's me, Ah Wen. Sixth brother, open the door, I brought a friend here." Zheng Wen replied.
There was silence for a while, and then there was a rustling sound. Zhang Dadao looked around, curled his lips and whispered, "The feng shui is too bad!" Zheng Wen also saw some of Zhang Dadao's character at this time, and ignored him.
After a while, the door opened. A man with messy curly hair and stubble poked his head out. He was stunned when he saw Zheng Wen and Zhang Dadao. He opened the door and said, "Xiao Wen, why are you dressed like this? If you don't know, you would think you saw a ghost."
Zhang Dadao touched his nose and interrupted, "What's there to be afraid of ghosts? I'm a professional ghost catcher and zombie collector. Do you want some service? I'll give you a discount since we know each other!"
The man was stunned again. He ignored Zhang Dadao and stepped aside while asking Zheng Wendao, "Why is there a little Taoist priest here?"
Zheng Wen said, "My friend, I'll talk to Brother Long later." After entering the door, he saw a coffee table in the middle of the living room. There were some things under the window and door, covered with green oilcloth. The sofa and TV were both old models, and there were a lot of leftover takeout lunch boxes and instant noodle buckets on the coffee table.
Zhang Dadao sat down on the sofa with his legs crossed. Zheng Wen looked around and asked, "Where are Brother Long and Wu Datou?"
The curly-haired guy called Brother Six was wearing a torn vest with the words "Golden Dragon Fish" written on the back. He scratched his head and said, "Brother Long went to check out the location, and Datou brought some things to the flower and bird market to check out the price."
Zhang Dadao crossed his feet and said disdainfully: "When it comes to selling antiques, the market price is meaningless. To make money, you can either cheat laymen or find treasures to cheat experts. Money can't buy what you like, and if you find a good thing, there will naturally be experts willing to pay a high price! In fact, if you have a good thing, it is best to send it to an auction house. The hype they put up is really professional, and there is no disadvantage except that it takes a longer period of time to collect the money."
The Sixth Brother was a little stunned. He nudged Zheng Wen and asked, "What is the origin of this little Taoist priest ? Is he from the same industry?"
Zheng Wen was also dumbfounded, and shook his head and said, "I don't know, I just met him today! Da Dao, where did you learn all these tricks?"
Zhang Dadao said with a smile: "Don't you have to know a little about the five elements, eight works, three religions and nine classes when traveling in the martial arts world? Not to mention the thousands of tricks of bees, hemp, swallows and sparrows, even moving mountains, looting, witchcraft, exorcism, raising ghosts and casting spells, we all know a thing or two!"
The sixth brother was stunned for a moment, then asked carefully, "Are you a great immortal?"
Zheng Wen pushed him aside and sat down next to Zhang Dadao. Just as he was about to speak, he heard two short and one long rhythmic knocks on the door. The Sixth Brother hurriedly said, "Brother Long is back!"
Zheng Wen stood up to stop him, and said as he went to open the door: "I'll do it!"
As soon as the door opened, two sturdy middle-aged men came in, with dark skin like old farmers. When he saw Zhang Dadao, his eyes froze, and Zheng Wen quickly leaned over to whisper a few words in his ear, and he nodded to Zhang Dadao. Zhang Dadao's eyes suddenly lost focus, and in his eyes, the middle-aged man who had just entered the door became an ugly strange dog with short hind legs, spotted skin and round ears.
