There was an old couple accompanying us to Houli Village. I heard the old man call the old lady Lao Tian and the old lady call the old man Lao Li. Both old men are energetic and have a childish face. The old man used to be a professor at the National University. The old lady used to be a lady from a wealthy family. They are both knowledgeable and knowledgeable.

Lao Li is a very talkative person. After he met us, he talked about the history of Luoyang and Kaifeng, the Chenqiao mutiny and the yellow robe that occurred in Kaifeng, and the Three Kingdoms Rebellion that occurred in Luoyang and Cao Cao who took the emperor to command the princes. He talked freely and spoke in a lingering manner. When I watched him spitting, I remembered the scene in the university class. Lao Tian seemed gentle and elegant. She always listened with her ears and rarely said a word. Although her face was full of wrinkles, her waist was straight. As soon as she saw her, she could guess that she was the eldest lady of a wealthy family when she was young.

When we walked to the east gate, we suddenly saw a sneaky man under the corner. When he saw everyone walking over, he opened his clothes and asked someone to take a look at what he was holding in his arms. Then he quickly covered his clothes and looked around. When he saw us coming, he showed us and asked quietly: "Do you want it?"

There was a plate hidden in his arms, and the exquisite patterns on the plate blinded Lao Li's eyes. Lao Li took a step forward and pulled the man's clothes and said, "Borrow a step to speak."

The man looked around and saw that no one noticed him anymore, so he walked straight to an alley, took out the plate from his arms, and handed it to Lao Li. We followed Lao Li.

Lao Li took the plate and exclaimed: "This is enamel porcelain."

The man said, "I don't know what colored porcelain is or not. I stole it from the master's room. If you want to buy it, hurry up. The master will find out after a long time."

Before Lao Li could speak, Shunwa said, "How about a silver dollar?"

The man was unhappy and said, "A silver dollar? You are fighting and begging for food."

Shunwa said, "Anyway, you didn't pay any money. If you steal someone's money, just give you a silver dollar."

The man left angrily and said as he walked, "I don't think you are the real buyers, so I won't tell you."

After the man left, Old Li patted his thigh with regret and said, "What a good enamel porcelain, what a great opportunity."

I couldn't understand Lao Li's words, so I asked, "What is enamel porcelain?"

Lao Li said: "Enamel painting refers to Western painting in the Qing Dynasty. China in the East is Chinese painting, focusing on freehand painting; Western painting, focusing on realistic. In 1715, an Italian painter named Lang Shining came to China as a missionary and was summoned by Emperor Kangxi. He was deeply admired for his portraits of Emperor Kangxi and later stayed in the palace for fifty years and became the imperial painter of the three emperors Kangxi, Yongzheng and Qianlong. The content of Western painting focuses on characters and scenery, while Lang Shining uses Western painting brushwork to draw the usual themes of flowers, birds, landscapes, and beasts in Chinese painting, creating a new school of painting."

I said, "This Lang Shining is a smart man. He gave birth to a second rotor using Chinese and Western paintings."

Lao Li asked: "What is a second rotor?"

I said: "In our hometown, we call the children born by Hui Uyghur and Han people the second rotor. Both the second rotor are beautiful and very smart." The second rotor is called a mixed-race child today.

Lao Li said: "Lang Shining's painting is indeed a second rotor."

Shunwa and the others laughed at each other when they heard this.

Lao Li continued: "At that time, Emperor Kangxi saw that Lang Shining's second-rotor paintings were very beautiful, so he set up an enamel piece in the palace and asked Lang Shining to teach these Chinese painters to paint. Later, Emperor Kangxi had an idea to print these enamel paintings on the porcelain he used. The enamel painters communicated with the porcelain masters of the palace construction office. After making the porcelain body, they painted the enamel and then fired it. This is the origin of enamel porcelain."

I said, "The emperor is really good at troublemaking. He even has to draw Western paintings when using a plate."

Lao Li said: "This is the emperor. It's his. What's the point of asking the enamel painter to draw a few paintings for him! Enamel porcelain is a treasure of the court, and is exclusively for the emperor and his concubines. Every time the enamel painter draws a painting, he must first pass the emperor's imperial appointment. The emperor said that this painting can be painted on the porcelain body before it can be painted; if the emperor denies it, he cannot paint it. Therefore, there is only one enamel porcelain in the world, and there is no repetition. Moreover, the porcelain body is still fired from a special kiln in Jingdezhen, Jiangxi Province and transported to the palace with a special truck. Think about how much it costs? After the enamel is painted on the porcelain body, it is fired at the palace construction office, and then transported to the palace after it is released. Think about it, how much is this enamel porcelain worth?"

Bingliuzi said, "That's so expensive."

Lao Li said: "So, when I saw that enamel porcelain plate, I said I would buy whatever I wanted."

When Lao Li talked about enamel porcelain, Shunwa kept listening. After Lao Li finished speaking, Shunwa said: "Enamel porcelain is from the palace, so why do we have it here? Our place is not a capital."

Lao Li said: "During the Qianlong period, the number of enamel porcelain in the palace gradually increased. Qianlong and later emperors rewarded some of the enamel porcelain to meritorious officials. Therefore, part of the enamel porcelain entered the wealthy house. Then, the British and French coalition forces invaded, the Old Summer Palace was burned, the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded, the Lao Buddha was unable to escape west, the Qing emperor abdicated, and the Qing palace was opened, and anyone could go in to get things, and the enamel porcelain was so enamel porcelain that had been dedicated to the palace in the past could be found among the people."

Shunwa said: "What you said is right, but I just think this person is a liar."

Lao Li said: "How do you know he is a liar?"

Shunwa said: "Many scammers here are specializing in cheating outsiders, and the excuses they use are all "stealing the master's home."

I smiled secretly. The first time I deceived the couple from the provincial capital, I said this.

Old Li waved his arms as if standing on the podium, saying, "Maybe he really stole the master's home. How could he lose such a good opportunity?"

Shunwa said: "If you insist on buying it, you will say ten silver dollars. If there is no more, it depends on what he says."

Lao Li and his wife and I came to the end of the alley again, Shunwa and Bingliuzi hid aside. The man saw Lao Li coming back, and a spark flashed in his eyes. He quickly walked to Lao Li and said, "Hurry up, I've been out for a long time, and the master will doubt it."

Lao Li said: "Ten silver dollars."

The man was unhappy: "What? Ten silver dollars? Are you ruining me."

Lao Li said: "There are ten silver dollars, no more."

The man looked around and said, "Forget it, I'll hurry back."

Lao Li bought a palace-made enamel porcelain with ten silver dollars. He was so happy that he thought he had taken a huge advantage. He looked around with the plate and explained to us the exquisiteness of enamel painting. He was very excited and looked at it, and we couldn't even put a word on it.

When she passed by an inn, Lao Tian suddenly noticed something strange. She shouted: "Look here, look here."

Following Lao Tian's eyes, we saw an enamel porcelain on the counter of the inn, which was exactly the same size as that in Lao Li's hand. There were plates of the same size. The plates were painted with magpies climbing branches, all with yellow backgrounds, black branches, green leaves, and flowers. Lao Li looked at the plates on the counter and then the plates in his hand, and was stunned.

Shunwa asked the inn owner: "How do you sell this plate?"

The inn owner said: "A pair of silver dollars, and there is one underneath."

Even if Lao Li is well-educated, he cannot fight against the evil spirits of the world. No matter how good his skills are, he can beat him up. No matter how powerful a boxer is, he cannot stand up to a piece of brick. Lao Li's experience provides the best footnote for civilization to be unable to fight against barbarism.

From the county town to Houli Village, it is twenty miles long, first there is a plain and then a mountainous area. The roads are getting narrower and narrower and the population is becoming less and less popular. Whenever there are figures on the surface, I believe with confidence that they are the people who sell us fake antiques, but they always pass by us and don’t even look at us at all. Strange, how could this be done?

The closer I got to Hou Licun, the ugly the Shunwa's face looked. He might think that I had been cheating on him before, deliberately scattering ten thousand words away, destroying their business.

However, I can't tell.

Strangely, after walking out of the county town, why didn’t I encounter fake antiques selling them along the way?

Lao Li called fake antiques fakes, and he said fakes were professional names for this type of fake antiques.

Lao Li quickly walked out of the haze of buying fakes. He talked very strongly and told us about the history of fakes.

He said that the Chinese nation is a smart nation, but he always uses intelligence to evil ways. The history of Chinese people making fakes is as long as the history of cultural relics. Since cultural relics were found and cultural relics could be sold for money, fakes have appeared. In the history of the growth of this nation, conspiracies and tricks have filled the blood of every dynasty and every industry. Lao Li called the Western nation a wolf-like nation and the Chinese nation a donkey-like nation. Wolves are tough and fearless, donkeys are timid and fearless, and they like to fight in their nests. They can't tie two ends to a trough, and donkeys always fight together, but when they encounter wolves, they are scared to run away from their lives.

Lao Li said that the history of Chinese making fakes can be traced back to the Spring and Autumn Period. Han Feizi recorded that Qi attacked Lu, Lu seeks peace, and Qi asked Lu to offer a Shang cauldron before the war could be stopped. Lu created a fake, presented it to Qi, and hid the real Shang cauldron. This is the earliest record of fakes in classics. During the Warring States Period, because everyone knew that antiques had collection value, antiques went to the market and traded. For Chinese people, there would be killings when there were transactions, and there would be counterfeits. Therefore, during the Warring States Period, fakes were made in large quantities among the people. At this time, fakes were all bronze ware.

In the Tang Dynasty, fake calligraphy and paintings began to have a market, and the originator was Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang Dynasty. Li Shimin asked Feng Chengsu and others to copy Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface" and sent it to ministers. False calligraphy and paintings began to appear in large numbers. This kind of fake production has been passed down to this day. There are four ways to make fake calligraphy and paintings: copying, copying, imitating, and making. Copying is to press rice paper onto ancient paintings and outline them one by one; copying is to draw according to ancient paintings; imitation is to draw another according to the style of the original author; making a random painting is to draw one piece with the name of the famous writer on the signature.

Lao Li said that throughout the dynasties, counterfeits have been constantly innovating technologically and their methods have become more and more superb. Nowadays, counterfeits are completely different from real and it is difficult to distinguish between real and fake. There are countless times more counterfeits on the market than real. Now, to find genuine products, you can only go to those remote villages.

I exchanged glances with Bingliuzi and couldn't help but laugh. This old Li said it well, but in fact it was all theoretical knowledge, and he would be dizzy when he entered practice. Just now, wasn't he cheated on someone in the county town with fake enamel porcelain?

Houli Village is very remote and is in the forest. Lao Li may have thought that Houli Village will have real antiques, so he asked us to take them there.
Chapter completed!