166: Chapter 166 Panjiayuan Antique Market

The high-speed train sped along, arriving at Binhai Station half an hour later.

Hu Tian carried his backpack out of the station, the night breeze blowing against his face, carrying a hint of the sea's saltiness.

Upon leaving the high-speed railway station, he hailed a taxi and headed straight for the Yunding No. 1 villa.

The taxi drove through the Binhai night, heading north along the coastal boulevard.

The roads were sparsely populated with vehicles, and the streetlights illuminated the path brightly.

Half an hour later, the taxi stopped at the entrance of the Yunding No. 1 villa complex.

Hu Tian paid the fare, picked up his backpack, and walked into the villa complex.

The security guard recognized him and nodded respectfully: "Mr. Hu, you have returned."

"Hmm."

Hu Tian nodded and walked toward his own villa.

The villa complex was very quiet, with only the streetlights and lawn lights emitting a soft glow.

Reaching the entrance of his villa, Hu Tian opened the door.

Inside the villa, the lights came on.

He checked the time; it was already past eleven in the evening.

Hu Tian placed his backpack on the living room coffee table, then took off his coat and hung it on the coat rack.

He walked over to the sofa, sat down, took out his phone, and sent a WeChat message to Zhou Waner: "Waner, I'm home."

Soon, Zhou Waner replied: "It's so late, get some rest early. See you tomorrow."

Hu Tian smiled and replied: "Okay, good night."

Putting down his phone, Hu Tian took a deep breath, then stood up and walked toward the bedroom.

Today was exhausting.

He had a flight tomorrow afternoon, and after arriving in Beijing, he still had to accompany Zhou Waner to Panjiayuan Antique Market, and then visit Elder Qin's collection.

Thinking of this, Hu Tian felt filled with anticipation.

The next morning.

Hu Tian slept until he woke up naturally, ate something, spent half an hour packing his luggage, and drove to Binhai Nanping Airport.

Two o'clock in the afternoon.

The plane landed on time at Beijing International Airport.

Hu Tian carried his luggage out of the terminal, and Zhou Waner was already waiting for him at Exit 2.

She was wearing a beige trench coat today, her long hair draped over her shoulders, looking exceptionally fresh and clean.

"Brother Tian!"

Zhou Waner waved from afar.

Hu Tian walked over and said with a smile: "Have you been waiting long?"

"No, I just arrived too."

Hu Tian adjusted his backpack and said: "Let's go, let's head to the hotel first."

The two took a taxi to a five-star hotel near the Beijing University Town.

The hotel lobby was decorated magnificently, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, emitting a soft glow.

Hu Tian walked to the front desk and checked in.

"Sir, you have reserved a deluxe suite, room number 1808."

The receptionist smiled and handed over a room card.

"Thank you."

Hu Tian took the room card.

The two took the elevator upstairs and first put their luggage into the suite's bedroom.

Hu Tian's room was spacious and bright, with a view of the Beijing University Town outside the floor-to-ceiling windows.

After tidying up a bit, Hu Tian changed into light casual clothes and walked out of the bedroom.

"Let's go to Panjiayuan Antique Market."

Hu Tian said, and the two went downstairs together.

Leaving the hotel, Hu Tian hailed a taxi.

They headed straight for Panjiayuan Antique Market.

The car drove through the streets of Beijing, and about forty minutes later, they arrived at Panjiayuan.

This is the largest antique market in Beijing, where thousands of people come to hunt for treasures every day.

Hu Tian and Zhou Waner walked into the market, and before them were dense stalls filled with all kinds of antiques, calligraphy and paintings, porcelain, jade, and bronze ware.

Zhou Waner looked very excited, holding Hu Tian's hand and saying: "I haven't been here in a long time; I must explore thoroughly today."

Hu Tian smiled without speaking.

In his mind, the Treasure Hunting Radar System had already been quietly activated.

In his field of vision, countless points of light appeared.

Most were dull points of light, representing fakes.

Occasionally, there were a few faint white lights, representing ordinary items, but they were of little value.

Hu Tian followed Zhou Waner as they walked slowly through the market, observing the surrounding stalls as they went.

Zhou Waner stopped in front of a stall selling copper coins.

The stall owner was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing an old jacket and sitting on a small stool smoking.

"Boss, how much for these copper coins?"

Zhou Waner squatted down and picked up a copper coin to examine it closely.

"These are all authentic, from the Qing Dynasty, fifty each," the stall owner said lazily.

Hu Tian glanced at the copper coins; the Treasure Hunting Radar showed they were all gray points of light, all fakes.

He didn't speak, just stood behind Zhou Waner, his gaze scanning the stall.

Just then, the Treasure Hunting Radar suddenly emitted a "ding" alert sound.

Hu Tian was startled and immediately focused his attention.

In his vision, in the corner of the stall, a worn-out porcelain bowl was emitting a dazzling purple glow.

Purple!

Hu Tian's heart rate accelerated.

In the Treasure Hunting Radar's rating system, white represents ordinary authentic items, blue represents common items, green represents boutique items, yellow represents rare items, purple represents epic grade, and gold/red represents legendary grade.

A purple glow meant this was an extremely precious treasure.

Hu Tian suppressed his inner excitement and pretended to look at the porcelain bowl nonchalantly.

It was a broken porcelain bowl with a chip in the corner, holding half a bowl of water, with a small yellow kitten lying next to it, lowering its head to drink.

The bowl's glaze was dull, its surface covered in fine cracks, looking like an ordinary broken bowl.

But Hu Tian's Treasure Hunting Radar clearly showed that this bowl was emitting a dazzling purple glow.

System Rating: Epic Grade.

Hu Tian took a deep breath, trying to keep himself calm.

Zhou Waner was still bargaining with the stall owner, completely unaware of Hu Tian's abnormality.

"Boss, these copper coins are all fake, right?"

Zhou Waner said with a smile, "You can tell at a glance."

The stall owner was stunned for a moment, seeing that the other party was a young girl, and then smiled awkwardly: "Little girl, you..."

Zhou Waner stood up and brushed the dust off her hands: "Forget it, let's go look elsewhere."

"Wait."

Hu Tian spoke up suddenly.

Zhou Waner turned her head and looked at him in confusion: "What's wrong?"

Hu Tian pointed at the broken porcelain bowl and asked casually: "Boss, how much for this bowl?"

The stall owner followed his finger, saw the broken bowl used to feed the cat, was stunned for a moment, and then laughed: "This? It's just a broken bowl, I use it to feed the cat, not for sale."

"I just find this bowl quite interesting."

Hu Tian said, "Name a price."

The stall owner looked at Hu Tian, then at the broken bowl, and hesitated: "This bowl is really worthless; if you really want it, take it for five thousand."

"Five thousand?"

Hu Tian deliberately frowned, "This bowl is missing a corner and has cracks, how about ten?"

When the stall owner heard Hu Tian say ten, he bristled.

"Ten? Are you kidding me!"

The stall owner stood up from his small stool all of a sudden, his cigarette butt falling to the ground, "Even though this bowl is a bit broken, it's still an old item. Are you trying to brush off a beggar with ten?"

Hu Tian chuckled inwardly but looked innocent on the outside: "Boss, didn't you just say it was a broken bowl? And it's missing a corner, with so many cracks, I have to repair it when I get back. Ten is already quite a lot."

"But it can't be ten!"

The stall owner got anxious, "At least three thousand!"

"Three thousand?"

Hu Tian shook his head, his tone tinged with disinterest: "Forget it, let's go."

As he said this, he made a move to pull Zhou Waner away.

Zhou Waner was confused, completely failing to understand why Hu Tian was interested in that dirt-covered broken bowl.

"Hey, hey, don't go!"

Seeing the deal about to fall through, the stall owner quickly called them back, "Young man, business is business, it's negotiable. Name a real price, how much can you take it for?"

Hu Tian stopped, turned around, pretended to think for a moment, and held up one finger: "Fifty, no more."

"Fifty? Aren't you bullying me!"

The stall owner was so angry his face turned red, and the veins on his neck bulged, "At least one thousand five, no less! This is an old item!"

"One thousand five? I might as well go to the supermarket and buy a brand new bone china bowl."

Hu Tian scoffed and turned to leave, "One hundred, this is my bottom line. If not, forget it."

"One hundred?"

The stall owner's eyes widened, as if he had heard something absurd, "Are you here to smash my stall? Eight hundred, at least eight hundred! I won't sell it for a penny less!"

The two went back and forth bargaining like this, and surrounding stall owners and customers were attracted, watching the tug-of-war with interest, and some even started to jeer.

Zhou Waner stood aside, watching Hu Tian and the stall owner arguing until their faces were red, unable to help wanting to laugh, thinking this wasn't shopping, it was like buying scallions at a vegetable market.

Finally, after more than ten minutes of extreme tug-of-war, both sides finally reached an agreement on the price of two hundred.

"Fine, fine, fine, two hundred it is!"

The stall owner looked pained, as if he had cut his own flesh, "My bad luck, running into a tightwad like you who knows how to bargain."

He picked up the kitten from the bowl and put it on the ground, poured out the dirty water, wiped off the dirt with his sleeve, and handed it to Hu Tian.

Hu Tian took the bowl, looked at it carefully, and was overjoyed inside.

The moment his fingers touched the bottom of the bowl, the Treasure Hunting Radar System in his mind suddenly lit up, a purple light screen unfolded before his eyes, and detailed information appeared line by line.

[Item Name: Ru Kiln Sky-Blue Glazed Lotus Petal Pattern Bowl] [Era: Northern song dynasty · Xuanhe Period (1119-1125 AD)] [Origin: Fired at the Northern Song Official Kiln Ru Prefecture kiln site, originally an item for imperial court use. After the Jingkang Incident, it fell into the hands of the public, changed hands for hundreds of years, and eventually became a common household item.]

[Condition: The rim has chips, the glaze has fine crackle patterns, but the glaze color is pure, the body is delicate, and there are three sesame seed nail marks on the bottom, consistent with typical Ru Kiln characteristics.]

[Historical Value: Ru Kiln is the head of the five great kilns of the song dynasty. Extant pieces are extremely rare; there are fewer than one hundred complete Ru Kiln artifacts in the world, mostly stored in major Museums. Although this bowl is damaged, it still holds extremely high historical research value.]

[Market Valuation: 18 million - 24 million RMB (If it were a complete piece, the value could reach over 50 million).]

[Remarks: Ru Kiln is famous for its glaze color "the sky-blue after rain as the clouds break." The glaze of this bowl is as warm and moist as jade, which is a typical representative of the Ru Kiln sky-blue glaze. Although damaged, for collectors, it is still a rare treasure that is hard to come by.]

Hu Tian's gaze remained fixed on the purple light screen in his mind, the information continued to unfold, and a restoration plan was generated accordingly.

[Restoration Difficulty: ★★★★☆ (High Difficulty)]