Accessories

After chatting with the chubby one and San Pao for a while, Fang Yi wandered back into the market. He needed to purchase more ornamental beads to conduct experiments later, aiming to discover the precise conditions under which his skill could imbue objects with the patina of age. 

This time, Fang Yi refrained from entering the shops and instead sought out stalls. To his surprise, he overheard several vendors discussing Gu Guoguang's situation. It seemed that nearly everyone was eager to cast stones at him, as Fang Yi heard not a single commendation for Gu Guoguang. 

Although the events of that day had stirred considerable commotion, in the vast antique market, many were familiar with the chubby one and San Pao, but few knew Fang Yi. The vendors regarded him merely as a student idly browsing, and thus did not take care to include him in their discussions. 

"Did you hear? Vice Director Wu was also taken in yesterday..." one vendor whispered conspiratorially. "I heard Gu Guoguang was promoted by him, and half of the money Gu Guoguang earned in this market was given to Vice Director Wu as tribute..." 

"Damn it, he deserves it! How much blood has that Gu siphoned from us these past few years?" 

Another vendor grumbled indignantly. Setting up a stall in the antique market required paying a basic stall fee, but there were also additional costs such as sanitation and fire safety fees. What was most infuriating was that Gu Guoguang had recently introduced a pollution discharge fee, as if this market were a factory producing waste. 

"Who can argue with that? The police came to investigate yesterday, and I shared all the details. I hope they give that scoundrel a lengthy sentence..." 

It appeared that Gu Guoguang was indeed widely despised; the entire antique market rejoiced at his arrest, and some bolder individuals even went to the police station to report his various misconducts. 

"What goes around comes around; the law of karma is indeed unforgiving..." 

Upon hearing the vendors' conversation, Fang Yi realized that Gu Guoguang had confessed to everything the very next day after his arrest. Not only was he guilty of bribery, but he had also used the proceeds of his corruption to bribe a certain official at the museum. Consequently, that official had also been apprehended the previous day. 

"Hey, gentlemen, are we still in the business of selling?" 

Noticing that the vendors were engrossed in their conversation and that no one had attended to him, Fang Yi picked out two strings of one hundred and eight small leaf red sandalwood beads, two strings of small golden beads, and four strings of star and moon bodhi beads. He then spoke up, "How about a thousand yuan for these eight strings, boss? Are you willing to sell?" 

Based on the sales over the past few days, star and moon bodhi beads seemed to be the best-selling items, followed by the small golden beads. Most buyers of small leaf red sandalwood beads were men, which is why Fang Yi only selected two strings as samples for his experiments. 

"A thousand for eight? Isn't that a bit low? How about fifteen hundred for you to take them away?" A young man, around twenty-seven or twenty-eight, rushed over upon seeing a potential sale. After glancing at the beads in Fang Yi's hands, he offered a price. 

"Come on, the star and moon beads are from Vietnam; your cost can't exceed fifty, right?" Fang Yi weighed the beads in his hand and remarked, "These small leaf red sandalwood beads are made from scraps. If I give you a thousand, you'll still make at least half. If you refuse, I'll just go to another vendor..." 

As the saying goes, a master leads you to the door; it's up to you to walk through it. After hearing so much knowledge about ornamental beads from Zhao Hongtao and Old Sun, Fang Yi could immediately tell that the star and moon bodhi beads were not sourced from Hainan. According to Zhao Hongtao, such items were commonly found in Panjiayuan. 

"Wow, we have an expert here..." 

Upon hearing Fang Yi's words and noticing the deep-colored golden bead bracelet on his wrist, the young man quickly understood. He cheerfully accepted the money from Fang Yi, saying, "I'll take the money; you can take the beads. However, prices have gone up this year; making a profit isn't easy, it's just a bit of hard-earned cash..." 

"Alright, could you get me a bag to put these in?" Since Fang Yi had a class with Zhao Hongtao later that afternoon, carrying these items was inconvenient. After receiving the bag with the beads, he decided to return to his residence first. 

"How much did those two drink yesterday? They're still not awake..." It was already past ten in the morning when Fang Yi opened the door to find Man Jun snoring on the sofa. As he stepped further in, he could hear Sun Chao's snores from the bedroom, equally loud. 

Fang Yi chose not to wake them and went upstairs to place the beads in his room. He had already decided that these experimental beads would ultimately be destroyed, as suddenly possessing seven or eight antique items would be difficult to explain. 

After securing the door and leaving the courtyard, Fang Yi returned to the market. He had only spent about half an hour away, and when he arrived back at the stall, the chubby one was energetically promoting their beads, occasionally lifting his shirt to wipe the sweat from his brow. 

"Business isn't as good today as it was yesterday..." Upon seeing Fang Yi return, the chubby one remarked, "It seems that artifacts are primarily purchased by men. Despite selling so many strings, aside from Officer Bai ordering one, they've all been bought by men..." 

"Huazi, that's a problem with your merchandise..." The chubby one's complaints caught the attention of Old Ma nearby. Originally, Old Ma had already begun calling the chubby one by that nickname, but after the incident, he reverted to calling him Huazi. 

"Brother Ma, aren't the items all the same?" The chubby one asked, puzzled. He had wandered around the market and noticed that the items sold by others were quite similar to those displayed in his glass case. 

"Did you notice that many vendors add accessories to their beads?" 

Old Ma, eager to befriend Fang Yi and the others, pointed to a nearby stall owned by Old Li and said, "Look at Old Li's star and moon beads; the Buddha head and the three sections are made of ivory, the waist beads are cheap agate, and the top bead resembles a crane's red crown. With these additions, girls are much more inclined to buy..." 

"Ah, you're right! Those accessories really do enhance the appearance!" 

Following Old Ma's gesture, Fang Yi and the others looked over and found that, indeed, as Old Ma had said, just by adding a few simple trinkets, the star and moon beads seemed to come to life, exuding a vibrant charm. 

What Fang Yi and the others did not realize was that accessories were an incredibly important component of ornamental crafts. 

To pair with the finest accessories, the cost could easily exceed the price of the beads by several or even dozens of times. Items such as sky beads, agate, turquoise, and amber were exceedingly precious even in ancient times. 

The merchandise Man Jun had acquired in the past consisted solely of plain beads. He had initially planned to procure some accessories to re-string the beads, but coincidentally, he encountered an opportunity in the antique business, leading him to stash this batch of ornamental beads in a corner of his shop until he met Fang Yi and the others. 

"Brother Ma, are those accessories expensive? Where can I buy them?" Upon seeing a girl wrap Old Li's star and moon beads around her wrist, the chubby one's eyes lit up, and he quickly asked Old Ma. 

"There are both expensive and inexpensive options. For beads like yours, some affordable accessories will suffice; a full set of accessories for a string of beads will cost no more than ten yuan..." Old Ma replied. "We have a wholesale market for these little trinkets right here in Jinling. How about I take you there this afternoon?" 

Old Ma's stall sold coins and imitation bronze artifacts, which attracted coin enthusiasts on weekends. Business was generally slow, and missing half a day at the stall didn't significantly impact his sales.