Bamboo pole man

When Yang Bo returned to Good De Zhai, the shop door was already open. Yang Bo wasn't too surprised and was quite calm.

"Yang Bo, where have you been?" Guo Baba sat imposingly in the middle of the hall, holding a cup of tea in one hand and asking.

"Oh, I went out for a walk. It's a bit stuffy to stay in the room all day," Yang Bo explained.

Guo Baba was slightly taken aback. Usually, when he asked Yang Bo a question, Yang Bo would reply rather meekly. How could he be so calm and composed today?

Yang Bo walked towards the upstairs, wanting to put away the String - Patterned Jue he was holding.

However, Guo Baba, with sharp eyes, noticed the object with green rust in Yang Bo's hand and quickly stopped him, "Yang Bo, wait a minute!"

Seeing that Yang Bo stopped, he smiled and said, "What rare item do you have in your hand? Can you show it to me?"

Yang Bo hesitated for a moment and placed the String - Patterned Jue on the table.

Guo Baba smiled, "It's been two years since you came to the shop. Is this the first time you've made a purchase?"

Yang Bo didn't respond, neither confirming nor denying.

Guo Baba didn't mind and even thought this was normal. He rolled up his sleeves, took out a magnifying glass, and started to examine the String - Patterned Jue carefully.

A jue is a kind of drinking utensil, equivalent to a wine glass nowadays. However, the shape of a jue is more refined. For example, the String - Patterned Jue Yang Bo obtained has an oval - shaped belly, a spout at the front for pouring wine, a pointed tail at the back, a handle on the side, two mushroom - shaped posts beside the spout, and three triangular feet under the belly.

After studying the green rust for a long time, Guo Baba finally looked up and said, "I don't study bronze ware much. I really can't tell whether it's genuine or fake."

Yang Bo had been with Guo Baba for two years. Seeing Guo Baba's actions, he could guess what Guo Baba meant. When Guo Baba was speaking just now, his left eyebrow raised, indicating that he wasn't telling the truth.

However, Yang Bo didn't want to discuss this with Guo Baba. He only wanted to earn 850,000 yuan as soon as possible so that his father could recover soon. So after hearing Guo Baba finish speaking, Yang Bo picked up the String - Patterned Jue, nodded slightly, and turned to go upstairs.

Seeing that Yang Bo ignored him, Guo Baba became a bit anxious, "Hey, I can't tell, but I have friends who can. Why don't you give this item to me, and I'll help you sell it."

Yang Bo, who was already on the stairs, turned around when he heard Guo Baba's words, "No, thank you. I'll think about it."

Guo Baba quickly said, "Oh, you child. To be honest, I think there's a good chance this String - Patterned Jue is genuine. So I want to ask a friend to take a look. You're short of money now. If it is genuine, I can help you sell it."

Yang Bo looked at Guo Baba without saying a word. He didn't believe Guo Baba would be so kind - hearted.

Sure enough, he heard Guo Baba continue, "You know, I have a wide network. For such a small matter, I can find a friend to solve it in no time. If the deal is made, just give me 10% as a commission."

Yang Bo immediately glared. If this String - Patterned Jue was indeed from the early Shang Dynasty as he thought, even though bronze items are not easy to sell nowadays, it should still be able to sell for ten to twenty thousand yuan. Ten percent would be one to two thousand yuan, which he definitely couldn't tolerate. You know, to save five yuan, he had eaten egg - fried rice for over half a year!

Yang Bo shook his head, "No, thank you. I'll handle it myself."

Rejected several times, Guo Baba also became impatient, "What's wrong with you? I'm helping you sell things. Don't you even want to pay a little commission? It's not certain whether your String - Patterned Jue is genuine or fake. Even if it is genuine, I, Master Guo, may not even be willing to deal with it!"

Yang Bo stared at Guo Baba and smiled, "Anyway, since you're not willing, Boss, forget it."

Guo Baba was dumbfounded, wondering what was wrong with Yang Bo. Did he not want to work here anymore?

While they were talking, a man as thin as a bamboo pole walked in. He walked into Good De Zhai and was surprised to see the confrontation between the two.

Guo Baba reacted quickly and shouted at Yang Bo, "Yang Bo, serve tea, good tea!"

Then, Guo Baba greeted the man with a big smile, "Professor Cao, what wind has brought you here today?"

The thin man, Professor Cao, glanced at Yang Bo and smiled. Just as he was about to greet Yang Bo, he saw Yang Bo shaking his head, which made him surprised. So he had to smile at Guo Baba and said, "Boss Guo, I'm free this weekend and wanted to look around. I also hope to find some small items by the way."

"Professor Cao, look at what you said. If what you find are just small items, then what we find are nothing," Guo Baba said, cracking a joke that wasn't very funny, but he was a bit proud in his heart. It seemed that his small shop had a good reputation, attracting Professor Cao Yuande to come.

Yang Bo, however, was quite disturbed. He didn't expect it to be the thin man he saw at Ji Ya Tang that night. Since the plan to earn 850,000 yuan hadn't been completed yet, he didn't want to expose himself, nor did he want Guo Baba to know about this. After two years of living together day and night, just as Yang Bo knew Guo Baba, Guo Baba also knew Yang Bo's habits. Suddenly becoming rich or continuously finding valuable items would inevitably arouse suspicion from others, which he didn't want.

Yang Bo brought up a pot of Longjing tea. Guo Baba waved at Yang Bo, "Go and clean up. Professor Cao is a guest from afar and is going to visit our shop today. We must leave a good impression on Professor Cao."

Yang Bo was just about to leave as he didn't want to stay.

Unexpectedly, Cao Yuande said, "Don't be so polite. Cleaning up later won't be too late. I think young people should have more exposure and get in touch with cultural relics more."

Guo Baba quickly replied, "Yes, yes. Professor Cao is right. Young people should learn more."

"Thank Professor Cao quickly," Guo Baba said sternly to Yang Bo.

Guo Baba's attitude changed so obviously from being respectful to being arrogant that Cao Yuande couldn't help frowning and looked at Yang Bo, wanting to ask what the relationship between the two was.

Yang Bo didn't leave. Reluctantly, he just stared at Cao Yuande.

Cao Yuande felt a bit embarrassed, "Boss Guo, education should be the main method for young people."

After saying that, without waiting for Boss Guo to speak, he asked again, "Standing outside just now, I heard you two talking about the String - Patterned Jue? Is it a bronze String - Patterned Jue? Of course, I didn't mean to eavesdrop. I just happened to hear it outside the door."

Guo Baba was stunned and quite unhappy. He thought that his antique shop had attracted Professor Cao, but he didn't expect that it was because of the casually - heard String - Patterned Jue.

Yang Bo was also surprised and felt helpless. He originally planned to take the String - Patterned Jue to Ji Ya Tang, but he didn't expect that the thin man would come into the shop because of this String - Patterned Jue.