Chapter 1: Rules

eir elderly family members are particularly fond of gathering around Su Xiaofan's stall.“Magpie Are you sure you didn’t hear a crow outside” The man, who Su Xiaofan called Big Brother, was about forty...Luochuan City, also known as Luoyi, has a history of over 5,000 years of civilization and over 4,000 years of urban history. It is one of the birthplaces of Chinese civilization and the eastern starting point of the Silk Road. Thirteen dynasties have built their capitals in Luochuan throughout history, and five major imperial city ruins remain to this day. Surrounding Luochuan are countless tombs, including the largest tomb group site in China, the Mengshan Ancient Tombs, located right in Luochuan.

Such a profound historical and cultural heritage has also created Luochuan's unique historical and cultural atmosphere. Luochuan is commonly known as "dig three feet into the ground, you'll find treasures." From ancient times to the present, it has been a gathering place for antique dealers of all walks of life, which has in turn boosted the prosperity of Luochuan's antique market. Just as everyone in Beijing talks about politics, when you arrive in Luochuan, you'll hear nothing but things related to antiques.

"Brother Gang, can you watch the stall for me I'm going to the restroom." At a stall in the Luochuan City antique market filled with various bronze wares, Su Xiaofan, who had just turned twenty, was feeling restless.

Su Xiaofan wasn't in a rush to the restroom, but his right eyelid was twitching uncontrollably. The last time he experienced this was when he was eleven years old, in fifth grade. Back then, for an assignment on doing good deeds, Su Xiaofan had insisted on helping an eighty-year-old woman who had just crossed the street. He pushed her back across the road and she fell hard, resulting in a chase from the woman's grandson down three streets. If he hadn't known the area well, he would have definitely gotten a beating.

“You’re so young, you wouldn’t have kidney deficiency, would you You’ve run to the restroom three times already.” Gang from the next stall laughed and scolded, waving his hand to signal Su Xiaofan to go quickly and come back.

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Gangge's full name is Zheng Dagang. In his early thirties, his family used to be a long-time resident near the antique city. When the antique city was demolished and expanded, it took their old house, and they were compensated with twelve sets of commercial housing. So Gangge suddenly became a second-generation rich kid. His family lived in two sets, and the remaining ten sets were rented out. Zheng Dagang, who had been interested in antiques since childhood, simply quit his job and set up a stall in the antique market.

In the antique market, there are fixed stalls and shops, but Zheng Dagang just liked to set up a stall and haggle with people. Back and forth, he became familiar with Su Xiaofan, who also had a free stall. For six days out of seven, the two mixed together. Only on Sunday did Su Xiaofan not come out to the stall, saying that he had to go home to take care of his sister.

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The toilet was inside the antique market. After passing through the fixed stalls in the antique market, Su Xiaofan went to the innermost toilet, soaked his feet, lit a cigarette and chatted with a stall owner about their business for a while. Then he slowly walked back, muttering to himself in his heart, "Brother hasn't done any good deeds since he was eleven years old. Today my eyelids are twitching unnaturally. I better pack up and go home early later."

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"Huh What are those people doing" As Su Xiaofan walked out of the antique city, he saw four or five people standing in front of his stall. After seeing one of them clearly, Su Xiaofan couldn't help but be stunned. He shrank his head and just wanted to turn around and go back, but it was too late.

"Xiaofan, did you pour this water all the way to the Pacific Ocean It took you so long to come back" The sharp-eyed Gang saw Su Xiaofan and his loud voice rang out first, "Come over here quickly, there's business, are you still going to do business, kid"

“Brother Gang, I…I don't have a stomachache, right” Seeing those people at the stall turn around, Su Xiaofan couldn’t help but groan inwardly. However, it was too late to run now, so he could only grit his teeth and walk over.

"Oh, big brother, it's you! I felt like I heard a magpie chirping as soon as I stepped out the door today. So there's a distinguished guest!" Su Xiaofan quickly walked over and beamed at one of them.

Don't even get me started, Su Xiaofan, who just recently shed his youthful appearance, has a remarkable physique. At 182 centimeters tall, he possesses striking sword-shaped eyebrows and star-like eyes. When he smiles, a hint of shyness remains on his face, like a typical young boy. This combination makes him stand out in the antique market. Little girls who come to the antique market with their elderly family members are particularly fond of gathering around Su Xiaofan's stall.

“Magpie Are you sure you didn’t hear a crow outside” The man, who Su Xiaofan called Big Brother, was about forty years old. He wasn't very tall and had a slender build. He wore his hair short and had bright eyes. A sly smile played on his lips as he stared at Su Xiaofan walking towards him.

“Where else could it be, big brother’s here, must be a magpie calling.” Su Xiaofan walked to his own stall, took out a pack of cigarettes, skillfully popped out a few, and scattered them in front of the people, opening his mouth and saying: “Big brother, are you here again today to take care of your little brother’s business”

"That's right, let's pack up the stall and go talk over there." The middle-aged man nodded and said, "This sun is really scorching. Let's find a teahouse to sit in for a bit."

Here's the translation:

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"Don't, big brother, my stall has just been set up for a short time, and I haven't made a single sale today." Su Xiaofan looked at the expressionless middle-aged man and couldn't help but shiver. He could smell it, these people in front of him all had that lingering earthy smell. When they last traded, Su Xiaofan had roughly guessed this person's identity.

"Xiaofan, what's going on here" Zheng Dagang, standing nearby, sensed something was amiss. He initially thought these people were interested in the items at Su Xiaofan's stall, but after hearing their conversation with the middle-aged man, he realized they were not here for good.

Su Xiaofan had been running a stall in the antique market for two years, Zheng Dagang always treated him like his little brother. Now that something happened, he naturally wouldn't back down. He stepped forward, putting himself between Su Xiaofan and the others, and said: "Several big brothers, let's talk this out. Xiaofan is young, if he has offended anyone, I will apologize for him."

“It wasn't a big deal, just another business transaction I wanted to make with him.” The middle-aged man at the head shook his head and said, “Last time I bought something from him. He said it was from the Western Zhou Dynasty, and I spent 8,000 yuan on it. Who knew it was just from last week You think he should give me an explanation”

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"Well, I see. "

Hearing the middle-aged man's words, Zheng Dagang let out a sigh of relief. "I'm saying, Brother, you seem to be an expert too. Bronze wares belong to prohibited cultural relics. If he dared to display them on his stall, he would be caught within ten minutes. How could he possibly have ancient Western Zhou artifacts Those are national treasures! In my opinion, this is a case of a willing seller and a willing buyer. You can't blame Xiao Fan for this."

Though Zheng Dagang spoke, a smile couldn't help but spread across his face. The antique market was a place full of tall tales; you could pick any vendor at random, and they’d claim the chipped teacup on their stand was once used by Emperor Qianlong. It was perfectly normal for someone like Su Xiaofan to hype up the objects on his stall.

Especially Su Xiao Fan and vendors like him, who operated temporary stalls. After selling an item, they took no responsibility whatsoever. There were no receipts or warranties. Because the goods sold on street stalls weren't expensive, buyers were mostly looking for entertainment. They generally knew the items were fake, so over ten years of setting up his stall, Zheng Dagang hadn't encountered any customers returning for refunds. However, in the antique market, disputes occasionally arose within the shops.

And even if things got heated, Zheng Dagang wasn't afraid. Don't look at the fierce expressions on these few people's faces, but Zheng Dagang was a local tough guy. He had been running around this antique market since he was wearing diapers. If the other party wanted to be rough, Zheng Dagang would yell and half the stall owners in the market could be called over. These four or five people were really nothing to him.

"My things weren't bought from a stall," the middle-aged man waved his hand at Zheng Dagang and said, "Brother, he knows what's going on. I just want to have a chat with him. Rest assured, this is your turf, I won't cause any trouble here."

"Huh What's going on" Zheng Dagang turned to look at Su Xiaofan, "Did you make crafts look old and sell them as antiques That's not according to the rules in your place."

Zheng Dagang had known Su Xiaofan for several years and was basically familiar with his situation. He knew that Su Xiaofan came from the famous bronzeware village in Luochuan City, and the biggest and most important rule of the bronzeware village was that they couldn't sell the bronze wares they made as genuine artifacts. Moreover, they had to explain to customers that they were handicrafts.

But whoever broke this rule, the old man who created the Bronzeware Village would not show mercy. At best, they would be expelled from the village; at worst, sent directly to the authorities. As the saying goes, wealth moves the heart. Over these decades, there have been people who have had thoughts of breaking the rules, but they were all personally handed over to the authorities by the old man. The most serious case resulted in a fifteen-year sentence. After that, no one dared to break the rule again.

In the antique business, when buying things at a stall, you can bluff your way through it. Expertise depends on individual eyesight, and no one dares to display genuine bronze wares at stalls. Both buyers and sellers know the goods are fake. However, if Su Xiaofan were to sell privately, Zheng Dagang wouldn't dare guarantee whether he was breaking any rules. You see, in Luochuan City, cultural relic smuggling is a common occurrence. With Su Xiaofan's craftsmanship, it's really difficult for ordinary people to distinguish authenticity from fakes.

"I didn't break any rules." Upon hearing Zheng Dagang's words, Su Xiaofan became a little flustered and quickly spoke up: "Sir, didn't I tell you before I couldn't tell if that item was genuine or not. It might have been an artifact. You insisted on buying it, so how can you come looking for trouble now"

"But the receipt you gave me says it's from the Western Zhou Dynasty!" The middle-aged man widened his eyes, pulling out a receipt from his pocket. He felt a little embarrassed now; he had been in this line of work for over twenty years and hadn't expected to be outsmarted by a young guy like this.

“Did you issue a receipt” Zheng Dagang was taken aback and immediately glared at Su Xiaofan. This kid usually seemed so cunning, how could he make such a blunder at this crucial moment How could they possibly issue receipts to customers And even specifying the year Wouldn’t that just invite trouble when people came looking for them

"Big brother, you must be mistaken. When did I ever give you a receipt for Western Zhou artifacts" Su Xiaofan let out a wry smile and gestured at the receipt in the middle-aged man's hand with his chin, signaling Zheng Dagang to take a look.

"West This...this is four, all around" Zheng Dagang didn't reach out to take the receipt. Instead, he used his hand to shield his forehead from the midday sun and glanced at the receipt. At this glance, Zheng Dagang couldn't help but laugh. He just said it, Su Xiaofan, this kid, how could he leave such a handle for others It turned out that he had dug a pit for the other party on the receipt.

Let me know if you have any other text you'd like translated!shops, but Zheng Dagang just liked to set up a stall and haggle with people. Back and forth, he became familiar with Su Xiaofan, who also had a free stall. For six days out of seven, the two mixed tog...