At this time, the thin man had already packed up the bag, sighed dejectedly and was about to leave.

Chu Wan initially became interested, but she didn’t dare to be too aggressive at this time. I didn’t know the other party’s depth. If she showed any interest, the other party might take advantage of her.

This often happened in the antique market. People were always testing each other, and once the other party noticed your strong interest, they would start to back off. They would think that the item was valuable and would be afraid that they have quoted a low price, so they would start to raise the price in response.

To put it in a more mysterious way, antiques were priceless. The price was actually in the minds of the seller and the buyer. It was a process of measuring each other’s psychological endurance. When the transaction was completed, the true price of the item was finalized.

She remained calm and walked forward, saying, “I saw a big rock in your bag. My father asked me to collect some stones and put them in the yard. How much do you want for this?”

When the thin man heard this, he immediately glared at Chu Wan and said, “This is not just a big rock, this is something good!”

Chu Wan said unhappily, “You say it’s a good thing, but you couldn’t sell it. It’s already late, and everyone has left. You brought such a big stone here, do you still have to carry it back intact?”

She glanced at it and said calmly, “Maybe this will be caught by the Cultural Relics Bureau and eventually confiscated from you!”

Sure enough, her words dealt a heavy blow to the skinny man.

He lifted his bag gloomily and glanced at Chu Wan, “This is a Buddha statue, it’s very valuable!”

Chu Wan pretended to raise her wrist and looked at her nonexistent watch, then said, “A Buddha statue? We still have some time, open it and let me see. I don’t care if it’s a Buddha statue or not. I want to buy a stone with cultural significance, preferably one with words on it. It would make us look impressive when I put it in our yard!”

The thin man actually didn’t want to bother with Chu Wan, but he had no choice. After all, it was too heavy. He came from the suburbs and had to carry it back. He had been in the market for the whole morning, but only a few people took a look at it and no one asked the price.

He put the bundle down dejectedly and opened it. “Look carefully, this is a Buddha statue, a really old, Buddha statue.”

Chu Wan didn’t dare to look at it too seriously and just glanced at it casually.

But a few glances were enough.

This was an oval-shaped stone. At first glance, it looked like part of a stone pillar. However, there were five facets on the sides of the stone pillar, and all of them were carved with Buddha statues. The lines of the Buddha statues were smooth, solemn and exquisite—simply unparalleled. Even though they had experienced erosion by wind and rain, the extraordinary momentum of the line carvings has never been buried.

At a glance, the splendor of a thousand years ago came to mind, so beautiful that it took her breath away.

Chu Wan casually withdrew her gaze. She knew that the carvings on each of the five facets were of the Five Buddhas of the Vajra Realm, and that this so-called stone pillar must have come from a Tang Dynasty monk’s death pagoda. Tang Dynasty pagodas usually had a bluestone base and a Sumeru pedestal at the bottom, with the pagoda body above. This was one of the layers of the pagoda.

This kind of thing was not worth anything in the current antique market. It was not made of good material, just stone, and it was heavy and inconvenient to carry. Who would buy such a big stone that they cannot understand and put it at home?

No matter how beautiful the line sculpture was, could it be used as a decoration or as a stool or chair?

Although it has cultural connotations, no one cared about it now. Who would care about cultural connotations if they couldn’t even eat enough? As for the archaeological value, no one cared about it in the antique market.

For example, the stone bowls and jars from primitive society were of great archaeological research value, but if they were to be placed in Panjiayuan, people would probably think they were too heavy to be used as gifts.

Because the value of antiques was determined by people’s preferences. The more people buy them, the higher the value. Nowadays, not many people dared to buy genuine antiques that were broken or worn out, let alone a stone pillar with carvings.

Chu Wan thought for a moment and said, “3 yuan, I’ll carry it back, and I still have to hire a porter.”

The thin man’s eyes widened when he heard this and he pointed at the Buddha statue, “This is a good thing, from the Tang Dynasty. And you give me three yuan?”

Chu Wan said, “Why, it’s just one stone? Do you still want 30?”

She then pretended to leave. “Forget it, forget it. Then you can carry it back with you. I can save the money of hiring a porter!”

When the thin man saw this, he hurriedly said, “You should at least pay more!”

He was exhausted from this trip, having to ride a cart only up to a point and walk the rest of the way. He was hoping to sell the goods quickly to buy fertilizer, otherwise he would be scolded when he got home. He had already been here for two mornings, but no one was buying anything. Now there was nothing he could do.

He couldn’t bear to throw it away, but he was exhausted from carrying it. The problem was, when he gets home, his wife would scold him if she sees that he had no money!

Seeing his sad look, Chu Wan couldn’t bear to make things difficult for him, but of course she didn’t dare to let her guard down.

She had learned lessons in this area. If she dealt with someone who only half understood the business, the price would become out of reach and the deal would definitely not be successful.

Because while it was true that these people have a sad and pitiful side, they also have a natural cunning in their bones. If they ever realize that you had a strong intention to buy, they would be reluctant to sell, thinking that they could raise the price.

She said, “I can only offer four at most. If you don’t want to sell it, forget it. I just wanted to buy a piece of rock. The painting on it looks pretty good. It would be nice for my sister to copy it and paint on it. If you insist on asking too much money, I will definitely get scolded if I buy it back!”

The thin man said, “10 yuan?”

“10 yuan? Forget it!”

With 10 yuan she could buy a nice jade pendant!

At this time, it was almost 8 o’clock, and Chu Wan was getting a little impatient seeing that the man was still wasting time.

After buying it, she intended to go to the Academy of Fine Arts and sell it to the art professors there. They were knowledgeable about the business, and she thought she could make a profit from the price. But this thing was too heavy and too troublesome. There were plenty of other businesses out there, so why did she have to do this one?

At that moment, she simply said, “Forget it, I won’t buy it. If I get caught later, I will be in a greater disadvantage.”

She turned to leave after saying that, and this time she really meant to leave.

The man looked to the west and saw someone running. He suddenly became anxious, and the veins on his forehead bulged. “4 yuan, 4 yuan, here you go, give me the money quickly! This Buddha statue is yours!”

Chu Wan said, “I won’t buy it.”

The thin man was furious. “3 yuan!”

Chu Wan: “… Okay.”

She immediately took out 3 yuan, and the man snatched the 3 yuan away, put them in his pocket and ran away.

When Chu Wan looked up, she saw people from the Cultural Relics Bureau coming over.

She was anxious. If she was caught and mistaken for a seller, it would be such a shame!

She suddenly had an idea, pulled the bundle aside, and then sat down on it as a stool!

The Cultural Relics Bureau came over very quickly. They investigated everywhere and the whole morning market was in chaos.

One of the men came up to Chu Wan and asked her questions.

Chu Wan was wearing her old, cotton-padded jacket with a green flower pattern today. When asked, she timidly said, “I’m waiting for my grandfather. He went out to play chess with someone and asked me to wait here.”

Although she was 19 years old and not too short, she was thin and wore a cotton-padded jacket. Her small face was the size of a palm, and her eyes were moist, making her look pitiful at first glance.

The comrade thought she was just an ignorant, little girl, so he warned her a few words, told her not to come here unless necessary, and then left.

Chu Wan heaved a sigh of relief when she saw them leave.

The stone pillar under her butt was bought for 3 yuan. It would be a pity to lose it. But it was too heavy, and it was difficult for her to lift it. She had no choice but to look for a porter. Fortunately, she finally found one and asked him to help bring her to the Academy of Fine Arts.

When she arrived at the entrance of the Academy of Fine Arts, she was not in a hurry. She just found a place with many people passing by, exposed the line-carved Buddha statue, and sat beside it, calmly waiting.

She was a little hungry at this time, so she bought 2 buns nearby.

Because it was an art college, there were many people here who know the value of goods. Students and teachers came to take a look one after another. The Tang Dynasty line carving was really beautiful, and some people asked about the price, but in the end, nothing happened.

Chu Wan was actually a little helpless. She knew that this line sculpture could be sold for a good price to a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts who knew the value of it, but she had to wait for the right person to come. If she couldn’t wait for that right person, she would have to find a cart to move it to Hu Huiyun’s house.

Maybe in the end this stone pillar will end up being used as a chopping board.

That’s 3 yuan!

She sighed, wrapped her cotton jacket tightly around herself and told herself not to be so greedy next time. She must find something simple and easy to carry. Her small body really couldn’t afford it.

Fortunately, in the afternoon, 2 young men came with an old man. The old man was about 60 years old, with gray hair on his temples. He was wearing a suit and looked quite elegant. He looked at it with interest and tentatively asked about the price.

Chu Wan glanced at him and recognized him.

This was a Chinese who lived in the United States, Master Xia, who once followed Nan Huaijin to study Buddhism. In the 1990s, he returned to his roots and founded a calligraphy and painting academy to promote Buddhist painting art. His paintings became very famous in the Buddhist community and art festivals. He once painted a set of ‘Buddha Statue Collection’, which was known as the ‘portrait version of the Tripitaka¹.’

When she saw this person, she suddenly felt that she was so lucky.

What was a bargain? This was a bargain.

In fact, she bought this stone pillar just to make a few dollars of hard-earned money.

But it turned out that she was a bit lucky.

The same Buddha sculpture had different values in the hands of different people.

Chu Wan immediately relaxed, sat back and waited for someone to take the bait.

Master Xia came to China this time, obviously he has not settled down yet, he just came back for tourism and visited the Academy of Fine Arts by the way. The people accompanying him should be teachers from the Academy of Fine Arts.

Master Xia looked at the five-faced Buddha carefully and was obviously very interested. He tentatively asked for a price.

Chu Wan directly asked for a high price of 200 yuan and made it clear that she would not agree to a jiao less.

The two young men nearby were shocked when they heard this. “Isn’t this just killing people? What do you think this is?”

Chu Wan listened and said calmly, “I need these 200 yuan. This comrade needs a Buddha sculpture. This is a win-win situation for everyone.”

The young men were obviously afraid that Master Xia would suffer a loss, and felt that it would be embarrassing for him to be ripped off here, so they severely disparaged the stone pillar.

Chu Wan smiled. “Comrade, I see this old comrade is very interested in my Buddha sculpture. I believe that in his hands, this Buddha sculpture will be put to the greatest use, and the artistic value it creates will far exceed 10 or even a hundred times the price of 200 yuan. If you devalue this Buddha sculpture, you are devaluing this old comrade’s vision and ability.”

Finally, she said slowly, “What you see is a piece of stone, but what he sees is a treasure of Tang Dynasty art.”

The young man scoffed, “Then what do you see?”

Chu Wan said as a matter of course: “Of course what I see is 200 yuan.”

The two young men and the onlookers all burst into laughter, and the onlookers also laughed and whispered. Some people said that the girl was crazy about money. Selling a stone for 200 yuan was really audacious!

But Master Xia didn’t laugh. He looked at Chu Wan seriously and said, “Little girl, what you said makes a lot of sense. The value of this Buddha sculpture is determined by each person’s heart. If you want to sell it for 200 yuan, I think it’s worth it. I’m willing to pay it.”

When the people around heard this, they were shocked. They didn’t expect that someone would be willing to pay 200 yuan for such a piece of stone. The two young men who were accompanying them were also surprised and even blushed.

They had just disparaged the Buddha sculpture like that, but Master Xia said it was worth it, and they suddenly felt a little embarrassed.

At that moment, Master Xia wanted to make the payment directly, but he did not have that much RMB. Chu Wan said that foreign exchange certificates would also be fine, so he finally gave her 150 foreign exchange certificates and 50 RMB.

After Chu Wan got the money, she didn’t dare to stay for long and turned around to run away.

Master Xia stopped her and said sincerely and solemnly, “Young Miss, I should thank you today for allowing me to have a connection with this Tang Dynasty line sculpture. Could you please leave your name?”

Chu Wan smiled and said, “No need to be polite, old comrade. I should thank you. 200 yuan is very useful to me. As for my name, forget it. I am a country girl, and I am afraid that my humble name will offend you.”

After saying that, she left quickly.

One day in the future, she might be able to deal with Master Xia again, but it would probably be a long time later.

Pearls and Jade Beside Me in the ’80s translated by Maela @ whitemoonlighttranslations.com

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T/N: I don’t understand the explanation for what stone ‘line carving’ is but ‘lacquer line carving’ is a specific variant of it and is considered an ‘intangible heritage’ with 1400 years history. 

Here’s a video on lacquer line carving. It’s beautiful and amazing.

Just to give you an idea, here’s a modern ‘death pagoda’ I pulled off google, factory made.

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FOOTNOTE:

1. The Tripitaka are the discourses of the Buddha, collected in the 1st century and arranged into the 3 divisions of sermons, monastic law, and metaphysics.  ↩︎