Chapter 431: Chapter 418: Antiques

“Thank you, Auntie.” Fang Hou carried the wooden basin full of water outside.

Noticing Miao Erdan crouching at the entrance of the courtyard, peeking out, Fang Hou’s eyes flashed and he chuckled, “You want to see the horse?”

“I do…” Miao Erdan hesitantly nodded his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.

He obviously wanted to look, but didn’t dare to, fearful of startling the horses.

“It’s okay, don’t be scared, I’ll show you.” Fang Hou said to Miao Erdan, and walked out of the courtyard, placing the basin of water in front of the horses.

The horse sniffed and plunged its head into the basin to drink with loud gulps.

Fang Hou patted the horse’s wide head and gently fondled its sleek mane, beckoning Miao Erdan, “Seriously, they’re not scary at all, these horses are super gentle.”

Seeing the horse quietly drinking water and looking incredibly docile, Miao Erdan felt somewhat less anxious and boldly walked over to Fang Hou, crouching down beside him, and stared at the horse as it drank.

Once the horse finished drinking, Fang Hou returned the basin inside the courtyard, “Thank you, Auntie.”

“It’s nothing major, you’re too polite.” Mrs. Zhang laughed, “I haven’t even thanked Manager Cheng for the food he sent over…”

As Mrs. Zhang was speaking, she took out a coarse porcelain bowl, “Are you thirsty? Would you like something to drink…”

“Aunt Zhang, could I take a look at your bowl?”

Before Mrs. Zhang could finish, she was interrupted by Fang Hou, startling her. She quickly handed the coarse porcelain bowl to him.

Fang Hou took the coarse porcelain bowl and scrutinized it carefully – top to bottom, left to right, inside and out. He tapped it with his hand to hear its resonance, nodding in approval for quite some time.

Seeing Fang Hou’s serious expression, Mrs. Zhang got scared and raised her voice, “Is something wrong with the bowl?”

“It’s not just wrong, it’s majorly wrong.”

Fang Hou frowned and handed the coarse porcelain bowl to Mrs. Zhang, “Look at this porcelain, although it’s coarse, it doesn’t seem new. It feels ancient.”

“Look at the bottom, this imprint doesn’t seem arbitrary, it doesn’t seem from our dynasty.”

“The more I look, the more it seems to me that this is an antique from the previous dynasty, worth a lot of money!”

“Is this for real…” Mrs. Zhang looked incredulously at Fang Hou and took a moment before responding, “That shouldn’t be right, I remember I bought this bowl from the town market for cheap because of a chip. Here is the chip.”

“Christ…” Fang Hou’s eyes flickered, “The seller didn’t recognize this artifact and sold it randomly.”

“Aunt Zhang, I’m not joking with you. With my eye for detail, I can guarantee that this isn’t just any bowl — it’s an antique!”

“And I won’t lie to you, Aunt Zhang. I usually don’t have many hobbies, but I do like to collect things like bottles, jars, and bowls. This bowl really caught my eye. Would you consider selling it to me for a reasonable price?”

“Huh?” Mrs. Zhang was taken aback by Fang Hou’s proposition. She looked at the bowl in her hand then back at Fang Hou, “Can I sell this for good money?”

“Not only is it worth money, but it’s also worth a considerable amount.” Fang Hou scrutinized the bowl’s shape and weight, “From my estimation, it should be worth at least one tael of silver.”

One tael of silver?

Mrs. Zhang gasped in shock.

When she was not working in the workshop, and only growing sweet potatoes at home, a year’s harvest would not earn her one tael of silver. And this inconspicuous bowl was worth a tael?

So it turned out that she had been eating out of a tael of silver this whole time?

The thought made her hands tremble and she quickly put the bowl down.

“Aunt Zhang, considering I helped you discover this bowl, could you give it to me for a discount, please?” Fang Hou asked with a cheeky grin.

“Fine, fine, only if…” Mrs. Zhang hesitated, “You’re sure you won’t regret it?”

“What if you get home and realize this bowl’s worth was just one coin? You’ll suffer a huge loss, won’t you?”

“Absolutely not!” Fang Hou was extremely confident, patting his chest, “I might not have other qualifications, but I won’t be wrong when it comes to bowls! You can rest assured!”

“Okay, then.” Seeing Fang Hou’s confidence made it seem like there was no trick, so she nodded, “I’ll leave it to you.”

“Would nine hundred coins be okay?” Fang Hou asked tentatively.

“Sure, take it.” Mrs. Zhang was quite generous.

“But I didn’t bring that much money with me today, only about two hundred coins. So, how about this: I have half a leg of pork in my carriage and a lot of preserved duck eggs. I’ll give them to you instead of money. Judging by the weight of the pork, it should be enough.”

Fang Hou looked tentatively at Mrs. Zhang.

“Done.” Mrs. Zhang seemed to agree without thinking and nodded immediately.

“Great, I’ll get to work moving things for you then.” Fang Hou was overjoyed at Mrs. Zhang’s prompt agreement and quickly unloaded the contents of the bamboo basket from his carriage, placing it in Mrs. Zhang’s courtyard.

“Aunt Zhang, take a look at this pork and tell me if it’s enough, along with these preserved duck eggs.”

“It’s enough.” Mrs. Zhang quickly nodded. But instead of looking at the pork and eggs in the basket, she seemed a bit worried, looking at Fang Hou, “If you feel like you’ve lost out afterward, you can return the bowl…”

“Oh, don’t worry, I won’t lose out. I’ve been in the Cheng family for many years, my eye for good stuff is sharp.” Fang Hou grinned, “Aunt Zhang, it seems like good things often come in pairs. You should check your house. There might be more pottery like this one. The next time I visit, I can check for more potential treasures.”

Fang Hou spoke as he took a cloth from his carriage and gently wrapped the bowl Mrs. Zhang had given him, tucking it away like a precious gem.

“Alright Aunt Zhang, I’ll be leaving now. Remember to check your house for more pottery like this. But don’t let others know about this. If everyone starts looking, those with higher bids will win, and I might not be able to buy any more. Please keep this a secret for my sake, Aunt Zhang.”

Fang Hou provided several reminders before leaving.

“Alright, don’t worry, I won’t mention it to others.” Mrs. Zhang nodded in agreement.

After watching Fang Hou leave in his carriage, Mrs. Zhang looked at the preserved duck eggs and large slab of pork’s leg in the courtyard, still feeling somewhat dazed.