"What are you talking about?"
Xiao i was helping to set up breakfast. Seeing Anning and Xiao Gen co down together, she smiled and asked.
Xiao Gen quickly replied, "We were talking about big brother’s condition. Miss Cui went to see him this morning and even sang for him."
Xiao i’s smile beca more genuine. "Thank you so much. Breakfast will be ready soon. Sister Ning, have a seat and rest for a mont."
Anning sat down and looked around. "Where are the Grand Marshal and Lady?"
Xiao i arranged the plates. "Dad and Mom had sothing to do and left early. Today, it’s just the three of us for breakfast. By the way, Sister Ning, is there anything you avoid eating?"
"No, nothing."
Anning got up and went to the dining table. Seeing breakfast consisted of fried eggs, slices of bread, and a few greens, she sat down and ate while asking, "Any plans for today?"
Xiao i sat opposite Anning. "A spaceship returned from the Mother Star a few days ago and brought back quite a few things from the ruins. It seems so were taken to the antique market, and I want to take a look."
Anning showed so interest. "Can I go with you?"
Xiao i nodded imdiately. "Yes, definitely, I would love that."
The two quickly finished breakfast. Xiao i said a word to Xiao Gen, then went with Anning to the antique market using a flyer.
It seed many people heard that a batch of items from the Mother Star had arrived at the antique market. Today, the market was particularly crowded.
When Anning and Xiao i arrived, it was already packed with people inside.
Anning put on a hat, covering part of her face, and went in with Xiao i.
The antique market was filled with many stalls. Xiao i and Anning browsed them one by one.
After a few stalls, Xiao i spotted a porcelain plate.
This porcelain plate was indeed beautiful, crafted with great precision. The plate was very thin, with a white base and blue flowers in a broken branch lotus pattern, which imdiately attracted Xiao i.
She crouched down to look closely.
The stall owner, seeing Xiao i young, laughed and said, "Young lady, you’ve got a good eye. This is truly beautiful. Let tell you, this is a Yuan Blue and White Porcelain from the ancient period of the Mother Star. It was already very expensive in the Middle Ages there, and it was scarce even then. Now it’s even rarer."
"Really? Can I hold it?"
Xiao i genuinely liked it and couldn’t help wanting to touch it.
The stall owner gestured, "Be careful."
Xiao i took a pair of gloves from her backpack, put them on, and then carefully picked up the plate.
The more she looked, the more she liked it. "How much is this?"
The stall owner was troubled. "Young lady, the price isn’t cheap, as you know, this kind of thing is really rare.... Okay, since you’re young, I’ll give you a discount. Just give a million Star Coins."
"Alright, I’ll transfer the money to you."
Xiao i put down the plate and was about to open her device to transfer money when Anning stopped her.
Anning smiled at the stall owner. "Brother, be honest with your business. Don’t just see soone young and try to rip them off. Also, don’t shave the wool too harshly. Two thousand Star Coins, if you agree, we’ll buy it. If not, forget it."
"What, two thousand? That’s really harsh! This is Yuan Blue and White. Even a million is cheap for it..."
The stall owner was not willing to budge, pointed at Anning, and exclaid urgently, "If you don’t have money, just stay away. Trying to buy Yuan Blue and White for two thousand, you’re dreaming."
Anning pointed at the plate. "If it were really Yuan Blue and White, a million would indeed be cheap. Even ten million wouldn’t be much. But is this Yuan Blue and White? This is clearly a mass-produced plate from Jingdezhen, but with your words, it becos Yuan Blue and White. I really admire your storytelling."
Anning clearly spoke the truth, making the stall owner’s face turn from red to white. "Alright, alright, take it for two thousand and leave quickly. Don’t hold up my business."
Xiao i’s mouth was agape, her face full of confusion.
Anning paid the money, wrapped up the plate, and took it with her.
She walked ahead with Xiao i, who was praising her. "Sister Ning, you’re amazing! You’re so good at bargaining. A million, whoosh, and it beca two thousand..."
She kept babbling questions. "Sister Ning, is this really Jingdezhen porcelain?"
Anning smiled without answering, walked a few more stalls, and then suddenly stopped.
She pulled Xiao i down and nonchalantly asked the stall owner, "Brother, how much are these things on your stall?"
The stall owner looked at Anning. "Which one do you want to buy?"
Anning looked left and right. "How much for everything together?"
The stall owner was stunned, and so was Xiao i.
The stall owner furrowed his brows. "You want it all?"
Anning nodded. "I think they all look nice. I don’t know what they are, but I like them. I might as well buy them all. Brother, it should be cheaper to buy in bulk, right?"
"Ha." The stall owner chuckled. "You think this is a wholesale market."
"Well, there has to be a price."
Anning persisted. "So, would you please tell what these are? I’m really clueless here, never seen these before. You seem knowledgeable, so tell us about them and let us learn a thing or two."
The stall owner didn’t actually know what they were. He had just picked up so unnoticed trinkets to sell here randomly.
"You’re testing now."
The stall owner laughed. "Alright, I’ll be honest with you. I don’t recognize these things either. If you want them, take everything for a hundred thousand, or forget it."
"Seventy thousand."
Anning started bargaining. "I really like them, but since we don’t know what they are, and they’re just dusty and inconspicuous, you’re asking for a bit much at a hundred thousand. If you agree to seventy thousand, I’ll pack up and take them right away."
The stall owner thought for a mont. These were really not worth much, so he waved his hand. "Fine, take them."
Anning transferred the money, packed everything into boxes, and called a delivery robot to send them to the Xiao Family ho.
As they left, Xiao i asked Anning, "Sister Ning, what are those things?"
Anning smiled. "I’ll explain at ho."
They strolled a bit more. Xiao i bought so small trinkets, and the two took the flyer back to the Xiao Family ho.
As soon as they walked in, Xiao i eagerly asked Anning, "Sister Ning, what did you buy?"
Anning put the items on the table, placed the plate Xiao i bought on there as well, and said, "About this plate first, it’s mass-produced in Jingdezhen. I was just tricking the stall owner. However, this isn’t Yuan Blue and White either. It’s blue and white porcelain from the late Qing Dynasty, so buying it for two thousand was truly a steal, thanks to the stall owner’s lack of knowledge."
"It’s from the late Qing Dynasty?"
Xiao i was quite surprised and kept examining the plate. "I know a bit about the late Qing Dynasty, just that Hua Country was weak and invaded by the powers."
Anning nodded. "That’s true."
She then took out her purchased items and started to clean them one by one.
Xiao i was clearly curious about the things Anning bought, pointing at an earthy item, asking, "Sister Ning, what’s this?"
Anning laughed. "This is a Xun, an ancient musical instrunt from the Mother Star dating back to ancient tis. It should be an antique, over ten thousand years old, surprisingly well-preserved."
She picked up a white bone-shaped object. "This is a Bone Flute, a musical instrunt from the primordial period of the Mother Star."
Anning introduced the items one by one. "This is a gourd flute, this is a wooden fish, this is a Pan Flute, and this is a sheng... These are all very ancient instrunts."
"All musical instrunts, huh?"
Xiao i propped her chin on her hand, her eyes shining. "Sister Ning, can you play them?"
Anning nodded. "I can play a bit, but we need to clean them first since they’re not clean right now."
"I’ll go get the cleaning agent!"
Xiao i hurriedly ran to the storage room.
She returned with the cleaning agent, and together with Anning, they began cleaning the instrunts.
While cleaning, Anning introduced Huaxia folk music to Xiao i, explaining the guqin and guzheng among others, detailing each instrunt’s characteristics, how they are played, and the stories behind them, and so on.
Anning, being especially articulate, rely introduced the instrunts but kept Xiao i engrossed. "The Lute is an instrunt introduced from foreign tribes, already popular in the Tang Dynasty. An ancient poet nad Bai Juyi wrote the ’Lute Recital,’ which includes lines like: ’The large strings clatter like rain, the small strings whisper like confiding; clatter and whisper multiplied, like pearls, big and small, falling on a jade plate...’"
Xiao i was entranced. "The description is beautiful. I’d love to hear a lute song."
User Comments
0 comments from readers