Chapter 438-Chapter 439 There is a Universe in the Belly

"Brother Li, can you show me this tooth carving first?"

Zhuang Rui didn't know what Li Yunshan was thinking, and he didn't know that Li Yunshan was afraid that the dead old man would scold him for betraying his father. He didn't feel bad about it. Zhuang Rui just simply liked this work, which could be called a large ivory Buddha statue, and wanted to get it.

Just playing around.

"Okay, of course. You'd better come over and take a look. This thing is not light in weight..."

This object is not small, and the ivory carvings are relatively fragile. Li Yunshan invited Zhuang Rui to come to his stall to have a look. He was still thinking about whether this thing should be sold, and if so, how much it should be sold for.

?

After hearing this, Zhuang Rui was not polite and stepped directly across the stall, walked to the box, took out the ivory carving that was almost as high as the box, and placed it on the ground.

In this way, the entire ivory carving ornament is completely displayed in front of Zhuang Rui's eyes. The King Kong figure on this angry-eyed diamond ivory carving has one foot on the ground and one foot slightly raised. The shape of the face is extremely exaggerated, and the mouth is wide open.

, with his nostrils facing the sky, his eyes glaring forward, holding a Vajra in his right hand, his chest exposed with strong muscles, and his clothes and belt fluttering in front, which is very beautiful.

Zhuang Rui once read some books about ancient Buddhist sculpture illustrations. This ivory sculpture should be a typical Buddhist statue from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. It adheres to the exaggerated and freehand style of traditional Chinese sculptures and is in line with modern people's expectations of human body health and beauty.

Aesthetic.

I just don’t know how this statue, which should belong to my own country, ended up in Myanmar. It is said that in the past, only China bullied Myanmar, but Myanmar did not have the strength to go to China to burn, kill, and loot.

Observing the details carefully, Zhuang Rui can see that the sculptor of this work has extremely profound skills. The knife is in place without being sloppy. The lines are simple and smooth, the details are clear and natural. The most special thing is that the work is covered with knife marks, and there are no traces of it.

The carving marks were carefully polished away, and the ivory characteristics were fully revealed.

This kind of bare-faced and true-to-life treatment not only increases the power, magnanimity and appeal of the work, but also shows the author's full confidence in his own carving skills.

Zhuang Rui could conclude without using spiritual energy to identify that this ivory Buddha sculpture was definitely an old object. It should have been from the Qing Dynasty at the earliest, because not to mention the scarcity of ivory in modern times, even during the Republic of China, there were craftsmen with such skills.

Those are rare and can be called master-level craftsmen.

Zhuang Rui turned his back to Yang Hao and others and released spiritual energy towards the tooth sculpture. As expected, as soon as the spiritual energy penetrated into the surface of the tooth sculpture, Zhuang Rui discovered that it contained rich purple spiritual energy, "Ming Dynasty! At least the Ming Dynasty.

Item..." Zhuang Rui was extremely happy and wanted to take it into his bag.

"Eh? Why are there cracks?!"

Zhuang Rui did not use his spiritual energy deeply. He found a crack about five centimeters in size under the arm on the side of the ivory carving, and it extended inside. It seemed that it had been repaired before, and it seemed that a small circular door had been opened there.

, and then closed the door again.

"Damn, what is this?"

Zhuang Rui's eyes continued to look in along the small door, and he was suddenly shocked, because the chest of the Buddha statue had actually been hollowed out, and in that small space, there were two

A wax pill.

"Damn, what on earth is this?!"

Naturally, this thing could not withstand the perspective of Zhuang Rui's spiritual energy. The spiritual energy instantly wrapped the wax pill. Zhuang Rui found that inside the wax pill were two small paper balls kneaded together. This made Zhuang Rui dumbfounded. Even though he was powerful,

There was no way to tell what was written in the ball of paper.

At this time, Zhuang Rui felt like he had been scratched by a cat. It was extremely itchy. People are all curious. The things inside this Buddha sculpture were obviously hidden inside by future generations, and

This mystery must be inside the two wax pills. This secret that is right in front of you cannot be revealed, which makes Zhuang Rui feel uncomfortable.

"Boss Zhuang, you can sell it, but this thing has been in my house for many years. In our domestic terms, it is an antique. The price cannot be calculated according to the price of these handicrafts..."

After Li Yunshan struggled for a while, he decided to sell it. After all, this thing was kept at home and could not be used as food. Moreover, he grew up in an environment where he was surrounded by Chinese people, including his mother, who is also Chinese.

My daughter, unlike those Burmese people, does not believe in Buddhism, so she does not feel there is anything wrong with selling this Buddha statue.

If such a large and exquisite tooth carving was placed in a Burmese home, it would be enshrined like a treasure and worshiped day and night. However, in Li Yunshan's home, it was just kept under the bed for decades. The old man was bored during his lifetime.

When I was in school, I occasionally took it out to "remember those days".

"Well, Brother Li, there is no problem with this. Let me take a closer look. It seems that the tooth carving has been repaired..."

Zhuang Rui's thoughts at this time were all on the ivory carvings. According to the habit of bargaining for items, he answered casually. However, as soon as he said the words, he regretted it. If the stall owner saw any clues, then

You'll be at a huge loss yourself.

"Oh, you're talking about the cracked mark, right? It was there when I was a child. Maybe my grandfather accidentally cracked it before. This shouldn't affect it, right?"

After hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Li Yunshan couldn't help but feel a little nervous. Since he decided to sell, he naturally wanted to sell it at a high price. If Zhuang Rui used the crack as an excuse, Li Yunshan really didn't know how to negotiate the price. After all, he

I know nothing about antiques.

"It doesn't matter. The overall shape of this tooth carving is very good. It's normal to have a few flaws. I'll take another look. Brother Li, please estimate the price first and we'll talk about it later..." After taking a few deep breaths,

Zhuang Rui calmed down.

Zhuang Rui now focused his attention on the repair surface. He found that the repair surface and the materials used inside should be made of milky white silicone. After a long time, it would also turn slightly yellow. If it were not for the use of spiritual energy,

Seeing it, it is really not easy to detect it simply by looking at it with your eyes.

This made Zhuang Rui even more curious. You must know that latex was only popular in the early part of the last century. This material could not have been available in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.

The wax pill inside this ivory ornament is a unique method of transmitting secret messages in ancient China. It seems that since the Qing Dynasty, secret messages sealed with fire paint have been used. These two completely unequal things are combined in

At the same time, Zhuang Rui was also a little confused as to what secret was hidden in this.

"Let's talk about buying it..."

Zhuang Rui made a decision in his heart. He would never be able to recognize the fonts in the paper ball inside the wax ball with his aura alone. If he wanted to understand, he could only take out the wax ball, and first he had to let the ivory Buddha

Just make it your own.

"Brother Li, I won't hide it from you. This ivory Buddha sculpture should be an old thing from before the Republic of China. It can be regarded as an antique. I like this object very much. It would be good to have at home. Please give me a price. If it is suitable,

Let’s make a deal…”

Because of Li Yunshan's initial attitude, Zhuang Rui was afraid that he would no longer be willing to sell it. In order to show his sincerity, he bluntly said that this object was an antique. However, Zhuang Rui was a bit cunning about the age. He only said that it was from before the Republic of China.

But it did not say that this object was from the Ming Dynasty. Of course, the Ming Dynasty was before the Republic of China.

"This... I don't know much about it. If you really want it, little brother, just give me this price..."

After Li Yunshan lowered his head and thought for a while, he stretched out two fingers.

Seeing Li Yunshan's gesture, Zhuang Rui asked: "Twenty thousand dollars? This is a bit expensive..."

While talking, he frowned, but he was just pretending. He said that if this thing is verified in China, if its inheritance and origin can be found out, it would be normal to sell it for seven to eight million, but this is

Doing business requires bargaining, so Zhuang Rui naturally wanted to lower the price.

It's just that Zhuang Rui didn't notice that after he said the price of twenty thousand dollars, the pupils in Li Yunshan's eyes shrank for a moment. This is a normal reaction when people are surprised. Li Yunshan didn't dislike Zhuang Rui's lack of money, but the price.

He was frightened. What he meant by two fingers was only two thousand dollars.

You know, ivory carvings are very common in Myanmar. Although the ivory material of this ornament is not small, there are some larger objects than this in Myanmar, and the price is only one or two thousand US dollars, and Myanmar’s per capita income

It's very low, one to two thousand dollars, enough to cover a family's expenses for several years.

Li Yunshan sets up a stall here to do business, and the money he earns in a month is only a few hundred US dollars. If Zhuang Rui said it is 20,000 US dollars, it is also a huge sum of money for Li Yunshan.

"Little...little brother, it can be cheaper, if you want...otherwise, would you like to see 18,000 lines? My things were passed down from my grandfather. If my grandfather were still alive, I would not sell them...

…”

Li Yunshan was so excited that he stuttered a little. He was afraid that Zhuang Rui wouldn't buy it, so he took the initiative to lower the price by two thousand dollars and said that it was a relic of his grandfather.

"Eighteen thousand..."

Zhuang Rui muttered something in his mouth, then looked around the Buddha statue again, nodded heavily, and said: "It is fate to meet Brother Li. Eighteen thousand, just eighteen thousand, but

Brother Li, can this thing be taken out of the country? If I were confiscated by the customs again, I would be wronged..."

Zhuang Rui didn't know whether Myanmar banned the export of such items. If it was true, as he said, it would be really worthless to buy it and then have it confiscated.

"No, no, let's do this. Little brother, wait a moment, and I will help you issue an invoice for the handicrafts..." Li Yunshan actually didn't know whether the export of this thing was prohibited, but he knew that in Myanmar,

As long as you have an invoice issued by a state-owned store, you can definitely take out the gadgets you buy.

Li Yunshan greeted a familiar stall owner at the stall next to him and asked him to help take care of it, and then he happily ran to the state-owned store at the entrance of the Shwedagon Pagoda.

"Brother Zhuang, is it worth buying this thing for more than 200,000 yuan?"

Yang Hao saw Zhuang Rui caressing the ivory Buddha statue up and down, and asked with some confusion. In his impression, most of the things sold in these tourist attractions were fake. Zhuang Rui took out the

If you go out with 200,000 yuan, you might be killed by Li Yunshan.

As the saying goes: fellow countrymen, a shot in the back, most of the people who come to Myanmar for tourism are Chinese. If Li Yunshan would treat the Chinese differently, Yang Hao would not believe it anyway. Businessmen are chasing profits and slaughtering them.

Just one of our own people.

"It's worth it, of course it's worth it. Such large and complete ivory carvings are rare in China. The price of ivory carving crafts has also risen sharply in recent years. If you take it back, it might double..."

Zhuang Rui did not dare to say more. If he said that this thing was worth seven or eight million according to its age and inheritance, it would definitely scare Yang Hao. Zhuang Rui had a feeling in his heart that such a large thing

The objects will definitely be recorded in some domestic documents.

"Hey, Brother Zhuang, you have really good eyesight. It's so easy to make money..."

Yang Hao stuck out his tongue and said with envy that although he and Zhuang Rui had not known each other for a long time and had only met three times, every time they met, Zhuang Rui's net worth was like a rocket.

, rising suddenly.

While the two were chatting, Li Yunshan hurried back, holding a rectangular box made of bamboo. The size seemed to be just right to hold the ivory Buddha statue. This is a bamboo box special to Myanmar. This box is also
To be continued...