Chapter 53: Heading to the Ghost Market
Brother Long and his group were also very depressed at the moment, although they really wanted to find a master to help them sincerely. But they really didn't expect to meet such an unreliable master as Zhang Dadao, and they felt a lot of pressure to cooperate with such an unreliable master. Brother Long had never heard of anyone who could draw talismans like this, let alone see it . He secretly made a decision in his mind that if Liuzi drank the talisman and there was no significant effect, he would have to sink Zhang Dadao into the White Horse Lake.
Zheng Wen also once doubted whether he had made a wrong judgment. He was desperate and sought help from a "master", but now he doesn't seem like a normal person.
Liu Zi was confused by Zhang Dadao's trickery, but when he heard Brother Long's instructions, he immediately stood up and took Wu Datou out of a room to pick up a few things. Zhang Dadao also perked up, sorting out the talismans he had drawn while pricking up his ears to show concern.
Brother Long and Zheng Wen took the items and laid them out one by one. Brother Long spoke first, "We originally had seven pieces of porcelain, two pieces of bronze, and four pieces of ancient jade. Wenzi found a way to sell two pieces of porcelain, and now there are five pieces left. We were originally planning to find a black market to see if we could get a high price for them, but now it seems that this matter is a bit troublesome! Wenzi, tell me the details."
Zheng Wen nodded and said, "There should be quite a few private antique black markets in Hangzhou, but we have only one connection now, and it is run by the son of a provincial leader. That young master Wang is actually a cousin of Mr. Wang. I originally wanted to contact him through Mr. Wang, but now Mr. Wang is hard to see, so the matter has been delayed."
Brother Long nodded and said, "We originally had no access to other black markets, but I went to the ghost market this morning. I heard that the bosses behind the ghost market also set up a black market in private. Although it is not as large as Wang Shao's, the threshold is lower. I thought of taking two real things to the ghost market and offering a high price. If they can be sold, it would be great. If they can't be sold, it can also attract some attention and someone might contact us."
Liuzi and Wu Datou nodded after hearing this and said, "Brother Long, you decide!"
Zhang Dadao poked his head out to look at those things, but couldn't tell whether they were real or fake. He learned his skills in identifying antiques from what Lao Bangzi said. In terms of ability, he was actually very average, and he didn't understand much of what Lao Bangzi said.
Brother Long and the others did not dare to provoke Zhang Dadao again, fearing that he would start talking nonsense again. Seeing that no one had any objections, Zheng Wen said, "If we are going to take something, let's take something good. This is a gilded bronze statue of King Kinnara Bodhisattva. I think it should be from the Tang Dynasty. And this banana leaf round flower bowl from the Longquan kiln is a rare shape and is also a good thing. The original owner might be a Buddhist."
Zheng Wen paused when he said this, and replaced the tomb owner with the original owner. Zhang Dadao didn't hear anything wrong at all, and blinked his eyes at those things. This was the first time he saw a real antique, and Zhang Dadao was also quite interested. He was carefully observing the difference between these real things and those fakes.
Wu Datou also interrupted at this time and said, "The lighting in the black market is not good. I have picked up a lot of good imitations these days and will take them with me later. I also packed up the copper coins. I have carefully selected them. There are no valuable ancient coins or mother coins that Wen Zi mentioned. But the fake jade we bought last time was too bad. It looked like plastic to me!"
Zhang Dadao suddenly interrupted and said, "Are you stupid? Aren't we going to the ghost market? Wear some tattered clothes, and cover those fake jades with mud. Who knows, they might be used to cheat people! It's good that Liuzi is here. Look at how nice his clothes are, and how festive he looks! He looks like a country bumpkin."
"Hey, you..." Liuzi was angry again, and was about to get up to fight when Zhang Dadao suddenly raised his hand and poked him on the shoulder. The guy took a breath and went limp! His shoulder was just injured, and Zhang Dadao was a rude person, so he attacked the wound.
"Alright! We're all family, why are you making a fuss!" Brother Long shouted angrily, and then said: "It's settled, Liuzi and Datou set up the stall, and I'll try to get in touch with the people in the black market!" Brother Long said this and looked at Zheng Wen.
Zheng Wen smiled and said, "I'll go with Dadao. We can see if he can sell the high-end imitations that the school has made."
Brother Long nodded and said, "Let's move the things into the car first. It's almost time! The procedures are quite troublesome! Big Head, move the things!"
Zhang Dadao looked at the time in confusion and found that it was only around ten o'clock. But Brother Long and his group had already started, so he didn't sit still. He followed Zheng Wen to move the things downstairs. Zheng Wen didn't drive his car with a very auspicious name at this time, but a pickup truck. He put the things on the back bed and covered them with a cardboard box, and then Zhang Dadao sat in the passenger seat.
Zheng Wen helped Brother Long pack up their things and then got in the car. The pickup truck followed the van all the way, and soon Zhang Dadao saw Baima Lake for the first time. Under the night sky, the vast lake was even more peaceful. The breeze blew, bringing the rising water vapor from the lake, and the sound of frogs and insects, which was refreshing and cool. The car was not fast, and it drove along the small road for half an hour before arriving at the edge of an empty rice field.
There was a small light bulb hanging under a tree, with many flying insects flying around the dim light bulb. There were several men squatting under the light bulb, with a cloud of smoke on their heads, which looked quite psychedelic under the light.
The van in front stopped, and Brother Long approached and talked to the guys who were smoking. Then the group of people followed Brother Long, carrying some things.
Zheng Wen explained, "Don't move for a while, we're here for security check. The ghost market is afraid that there might be some thieves among the sellers, so we have to check the sellers first."
Zhang Dadao was dozing off at the moment, nodding his head intermittently, and he didn't know if he heard what Zheng Wen said. The men came over, holding various detectors in their hands and shining them along the sides of the two cars. After carefully looking at the people in the two cars, they waved their hands and left. Brother Long said a few words to one of them, then nodded and got in the car.
As the car turned and changed directions, Zheng Wen sighed, "They are really careful. No wonder they can create such a ghost market near the provincial capital! The real location is only now told to us. If there is really a surprise attack, there will be no time to arrange it!"
Zhang Dadao was now more sober, and squinted his eyes as he said, "This group of people don't know how to do business. If it were me, I would just pretend to be police officers and rob everyone who came! Set up a fake police station to scare everyone, and even squeeze out Nootropics! Anyway, they are local tyrants, and you dare not retaliate. The stupid ones may not even be able to find out. Why did you have to suffer this trick, making it like an airport, and you don't know how to pull a few dogs to pretend."
When Zhang Dadao said this, Zheng Wen also shuddered. After imagining it, he realized that if such a thing really happened, they would really be in trouble. He quickly shook his head and warned Zhang Dadao seriously: "Don't say this everywhere. If someone really learns it, we will have a hard time!"
Zhang Dadao waved his hand and replied nonchalantly: "Don't worry, there aren't that many people as smart as me! You should be thankful that there are people like you in the world, so that you can survive in this world! Hey? Look ahead, are we there yet?"
