Too cheap, really too cheap.

Although Yang Jing knew that in the early 1980s, almost all kinds of old items with large doors were very cheap, he still did not expect that the 150-year-old purple clay teapot.

This is the work of Master Zhu Kexin. Although his works are not as valuable as those of Master Gu Jingzhou in later generations, he can easily find one of them, which is worth hundreds of thousands or even millions.

Master Zhu Kexin is eleven years older than Master Gu Jingzhou. He entered school at the age of seven and was appointed as the master of purple clay teapot master Mr. Wang Yisheng at the age of fourteen. He was a disciple for seven years and started working independently at the age of twenty. He immediately showed his unique talent in the making of purple clay teapots.

When he was twenty-one, Master Zhu Kexin married Shundi, daughter of the native Zhou Tomb Village, Fengdong Township. He was the kind old lady I just met outside. However, Yang Jing knew that although the old lady was in good health now, in fact, next year, in 1983, the kind old lady would die.

When Master Zhu was 28 years old in 1932, his work "Yunlong Cauldron" was 2.5 feet high. He participated in the Chicago Expo in the United States and won the "Special Award" and was promoted to technician. The work "Bamboo Tripod" designed in the same year was ordered by Soong Ching Ling when it was exhibited in Penglai Market, Shanghai (now Yuyuan Shopping Mall), and it is currently in the former residence of Soong Ching Ling in Shanghai.

Later, when the Anti-Japanese War broke out, the purple clay teapot industry plummeted, and Master Zhu's school was forced to suspend classes. Master Zhu had to go home to make a living. During those difficult days, Master Zhu mainly focused on making fish-turned dragon pots. Just now, he also mentioned Yang Jing the miserable life he had spent that period of time.

During those difficult days, Master Zhu also designed a new look for the purple clay owner Ji Sanda. According to the legend of Chen Mingyuan's "Shu Chai Sanyou Pot", the pot shape was simplified and designed into the pine, bamboo and plum "Sanyou Pot" that we see now. It is beautiful and appreciated by both the elegant and the masses, becoming a fine design among purple clay pots.

In 1945, the school was reopened and renamed the Su Provincial Ceramics Vocational School. Master Zhu was hired as a craft teacher and the school was closed in 1950. During this period, the design of "Yunlong Pot" gained a high reputation. The Yunlong Pot that Yang Jing saw just now was designed and produced by Master Zhu in that era.

After liberation, Master Zhu designed and produced the "Round Pine, Bamboo and Plum Pot", which is the "Round Sanyou Pot" that was talked about by purple clay enthusiasts in later generations. The "Round Pine, Bamboo and Plum Pot" he made was collected by the Jinling Museum. In 1958, Master Zhu's work "Squirrel Grape Pot" participated in the first National Arts and Crafts Exhibition held on the Meridian Gate Tower of the Forbidden City in Yanjing. After the exhibition, the pot was collected by Professor Gaozhuang of Changmei.

From the period after liberation to modern times, Master Zhu not only began to carefully teach his apprentices, but also created many exquisite designs, such as he once instructed his apprentice Mr. Xu Chengquan to design the "Laughter Baby Pot" and "Yun Yu Pot" became a popular product of long-lasting births; in 1963, he designed the "Wanshou Pot", "Gaofeng Coffee Set", "Welcome Wine Set", "Golden Bell Pot", and "Trophy Pot"; in 1964, Master Zhu designed the "Jade Belt Pot" and imitated the "Bao Pot" made by Chen Mingyuan, which is a real thing.

Later, Master Zhu designed the "Bowl Plum Pot", "Bowl Lotus Pot", "Bowl Bamboo Pot", "Half-scoop Pot", "Kexin Pear Style Pot", "Different Color Persimmon Pot", "Red Leaf Flat Bamboo Pot", and "Colorful Butterfly Pot". At the same time, he designed high-end products "Chunpu Pot", "Evergreen Pot", "Spring Color Pot", "Jin Song Pot", "Green Bamboo Pot", and "Gaoying Pot", creating a new style of pot-shaped and multiple decorations, which was popular among Chinese and foreign people and regarded as a classic by purple clay enthusiasts.

In 1982, this year, Master Zhu, who was 78 years old, recuperated at home because of his old age. From being a disciple to returning home to recuperating, he devoted all sixty-two years to the purple clay teapot, which is worthy of being called one of the "Seven Olds of Purple Clay" by later generations.

His works are definitely the best among purple clay teapots. Some of the fine works in later generations have been auctioned out, and the prices are all over seven figures.

For example, at the special auction of the Purple Sand Pot, a contemporary high-end Chinese craftsmanship, held in December 2012, a "bamboo drum pot" made by Master Zhu personally sold for a high price of 6.2875 million yuan; a Sanyou pot he made was sold for a high price of 4.25 million yuan at an auction in 2010...

The auction price of the purple clay teapot made by Master Zhu himself was indeed not as good as the works of Master Gu Jingzhou and Chen Mingyuan in later generations, but his works are definitely rare and top-quality purple clay teapots.

And these purple clay teapots that can be worth millions in later generations are only one hundred and fifty-one now...

Seeing Yang Jing in a daze, the old man thought the price was high, so he said a little embarrassedly: "Xiao Yang, if you think it is expensive, you can lower the price for you..."

These words woke Yang Jing up from his daze. He waved his hand and said, "Master Zhu, you misunderstood. I don't think the price is high. On the contrary, I think the price is too cheap. You may not know that if a purple clay teapot made by a master like you is sold in the UK, a pot can be sold at least 1,000 pounds, so the price you give is too low..."

The purple clay teapot made by Master Zhu himself naturally would not appear on the counters of British stores. Yang Jing said this just an excuse.

Yang Jing, who had been shuttled through more than 30 years later, naturally knew that these real masters had never enjoyed any blessings in their lives. Whether it was Master Zhu Kexin in front of him or Master Gu Jingzhou who had never met, Master Ren Ganting, Master Wu Yungen and other masters who were born in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, they were in the era of warlord separatist rule, and society was in turmoil and uneasy when they were in their prime, they caught up with a series of wars. Although they also caught up with the New China, everyone knew what the country was like when the founding of the People's Republic of China was.

Like these seven masters among the "Seven Olds of Purple Clay", Master Jiang Rong, who lived in the new century and truly enjoyed a good life. Master Gu Jingzhou only lived in the 1990s, but at least it was considered as the beginning of the prosperity of China. Master Zhu Kexin, who died in 1986, did not even enjoy the wonderful life brought by the reform and opening-up for a few years...

These real masters have been really hard in their lives, so that their works were only sold for more than 100 times at this time, but there is nothing we can do about it. In the early 1980s, these masters had only 181 works, and many people still thought it expensive.

But Yang Jing is not a person of this era. This price is too cheap for him. The most important thing is that although Yang Jing plays with antiques, he is not a person without a bottom line. Although antiques people regard "picking up bargains" as the supreme behavior, Yang Jing's bottom line is that we can pick up bargains without bottom line for foreigners, but for these very respectable masters, we cannot have bottom line.

You can say that Yang Jing is stupid, or that he is stupid and does not pick up any mistakes, that will be punished by heaven and earth! But in some things, Yang Jing is unwilling to break through his own bottom line, which is his principle of being a human being.

My grandfather once told Yang Jing more than once that in the antique industry, what you need is a thick-faced, but you must also be at ease. Because you are not thick-skinned, you cannot pick up bargains, but in the same way, even if you pick up bargains, you must have a bottom line, that is, you should pick up what leaks should be, and you should follow your own heart. Yang Jing has always put this teaching in the most important position in his heart.

What my grandfather said is not just a standard in this industry. Yang Jing believes that this is also a principle of how grandfather delivers to himself how to be a human being.

It was like Huang Benchu, a Chinese fellow who had just obtained the holy ring and met in the Alfie market in London. If Huang Benchu ​​hadn't sold his inner snuff bottle to his voluntary price cuts because of his fellow villagers' face, if he hadn't given him a pen to wash it for free, how could Yang Jing have pointed out to him that Yudian Duan inkstone was wrong?

That is actually Yang Jing’s principle of being a human being - if you treat me well, I will treat you well.

If Huang Benchu ​​was not good to Yang Jing at that time, but instead treated others, he would not take the initiative to lower the price and not give him a pen to wash it for free, Yang Jing would not be too lazy to point out the Duan inkstone for him, but would just pick up the bargain and leave.

But that day, Yang Jing could really feel that Lao Huang really treated himself as a fellow villager. How could Yang Jing do such a thing without any limit? Besides, he had just sold those three Picasso sketches at that time, and he was not short of money at all, so he did that.

Similarly, in Yang Jing's eyes, the works of these masters are all inheritance of Chinese civilization. This price is actually an insult to their works. Isn't the inheritance of Chinese purple clay culture worth only 180 yuan?

Therefore, Yang Jing's "good man disease" was recurred, and he planned to give this real master a little compensation.

Yang Jing also knew that even if he bought all the pots that Master Zhu allowed him to buy for him at a price of one million, he would definitely have huge profits and collection value when he took them back. But now, let alone one million, even if you give Master Zhu a price of ten thousand yuan per hand, would he dare to ask for it?

Let’s take a step back, even if Master Zhu accepted this price, would you really think that giving Master Zhu such a high price in this era is for him? No, that is actually harming him!

In this era when the average monthly salary is only about 30 yuan, Yang Jing spent 10 million to buy Master Zhu’s ten purple clay teapots. How do you ask Master Zhu to deal with the money? In this era, 10 million is enough to get the national security department to dispatch it.

Master Zhu and his wife are so old, how can they withstand the troubles of those people? And he came here with the identity of a foreign overseas Chinese. This identity may be fooled by Master Zhu, but he will definitely not withstand the careful investigation by relevant national departments!

Therefore, no matter which aspect you consider, it is absolutely undesirable to give Master Zhu a high price.

But similarly, if you buy a purple clay teapot at the price given by Master Zhu, it would be too sorry for the master's skills.
Chapter completed!