Chapter 6

In the world of antiques, there have been many Qianlong-era famille rose "nine-peach" celestial globes. While the names are the same, the patterns always differ. Yet, the brushwork on the celestial globe before her eyes was identical to the one in her memory.

Li Shanshan set down her bamboo basket and squatted before the stall, holding a Republic-era imitation of a Yongzheng-style famille rose dragon-pattern plate, her eyes drifting toward the Qianlong famille rose nine-peach celestial globe sitting next to it. The closer she looked, the more familiar it seemed; it was exactly like the one she had at home. Three years after she married, she had traveled abroad and purchased it at an auction for nine million. Ten years later, its value had increased tenfold, and by the year before her rebirth, it had been appraised at 150 million. Because of this, many praised her for her keen eye and investment acumen.

The stall owner greeted Li Shanshan as he would any ordinary customer. "Feel free to look, feel free to choose. I’ve got good things here." Everyone at the antique market said the same. It was a game of catching whoever they could.

Li Shanshan chuckled. "I bought five pieces of porcelain at the stall of that uncle over there for twenty yuan each. What are your prices? If it’s too expensive, I won’t buy."

"You mean Old Gao? How could his stuff compare to mine?" the owner said with immense confidence. "What you’re holding is from the Great Qing Yongzheng era. Do you know who Yongzheng was? A Qing emperor. The vase next to it is from the Qianlong era—his son. Qianlong was the longest-reigning emperor in history. These were all imperial wares—things used by the emperor himself. Ordinary people don't get to touch these."

Li Shanshan followed his lead, putting down the plate and picking up the celestial globe to examine it carefully. After a moment, she asked, seemingly casual, "How much for one?"

The owner coughed lightly. "One hundred yuan. Fair to young and old alike."

Though he claimed to be fair, he was actually a man who judged people by their appearance. Li Shanshan was dressed plainly, clearly an ordinary person, and she was young—a girl, not some old veteran who knew how to appraise antiques and hunt for treasures. He figured she was just buying it because it looked pretty. Thus, he didn't dare to ask for an exorbitant price; if he scared her off, he wouldn't make a sale. Had it been one of those old-timers, he certainly would have quoted a high price, as their selections were much more likely to be genuine.

Li Shanshan gasped. "That’s so expensive!"

"Not expensive, not expensive. How can something authentic be called expensive?" The owner gestured to the dozens of colorful porcelain pieces on his stall. "Look, just look at how beautiful they are. Put them in your home for flowers or fruit—they’ll add a touch of class."

"I'll take the vase," Li Shanshan said, handing him one hundred yuan and gripping the neck of the celestial globe. The owner’s hand moved even faster to take the money.

"Have a look at the others, why don't you? You bought the Qianlong one, why not buy one used by Yongzheng? Yongzheng was Qianlong’s own father," he continued to coax her. "The reign marks are written on the bottom. If you don't believe me, take a look."

Li Shanshan laughed. "Just because a date is written on it doesn't mean it's real, does it?" If it did, where would fakes come from?

She placed the celestial globe horizontally into her basket. Having crossed one thing off her list, she had the leisure to look at other porcelain. She didn't expect to find any more genuine pieces, but she discovered a pair of black-glazed bowls with gold-traced floral patterns tucked in a corner. They were also from the Qianlong era, and they were authentic. After asking the price—also one hundred yuan each—and some haggling, she got both for 150. With the treasures in hand, she slipped away.

No sooner had Li Shanshan left the second-hand market than a middle-aged man came running up to the stall, wiping away sweat. Scanning the area and not seeing the nine-peach famille rose celestial globe he had wanted to buy, he immediately asked, "Where is the celestial globe I looked at this morning?"

The owner replied, "Sold!"

"What?" the man’s voice rose in pitch. "You sold it? Didn't we agree you'd wait for me to go get the money?"

The owner rolled his eyes. "I didn't agree to anything! It’s just a vase. You kept grumbling and haggling, offering only sixty-six. A young girl came by, was decisive, paid a hundred, and walked away with it." Naturally, he sold to the highest bidder.

The man was practically livid. With a monthly salary of only three hundred yuan, was sixty-six yuan for a vase a small amount? It was certainly not. "That was an authentic imperial piece from the Qianlong era!" Seeing he couldn't get it, he felt there was no need to keep it a secret.

The stall owner, along with the neighbors to his side and across the way, widened their eyes in unison. "It was a real antique?"

"Of course!" The man had been strolling through the market that morning; he had only carried a dozen yuan on him. Once he realized the globe was genuine, he had made up his mind to buy it and flip it to a wealthy tycoon for at least a million. Who knew someone would beat him to it?

The owner was equally filled with regret. "Good heavens! I only sold it for a hundred!"

The neighbor across the way suppressed his schadenfreude and comforted him: "The girl might not know what she’s got; she probably just thought it looked pretty. If she comes back, offer a high price and buy it back."

The owner gave a bitter smile. "That’s all I can do." Suspecting there might be other genuine antiques on his stall, he immediately packed up and stopped selling.

Upon learning that Li Shanshan hadn't left long ago, the middle-aged man asked for a description of her age, appearance, and clothing, then set off to chase her. The second-hand market quickly became bustling. The burly Old Gao and the neighbor Old Hu, both suspecting that what Li Shanshan had bought from them were also genuine, were struck with regret and followed suit, packing their stalls to find someone to appraise their remaining stock. The price difference between fakes and the real thing was like heaven and earth! If they had a real treasure in their hands, they wouldn't have to struggle as street vendors anymore.

Li Shanshan knew nothing of what had happened after she left. She returned to the warm hotel, took off her cotton coat to reveal only a sweater, and laid out the celestial globe, the black-glazed bowls, a sky-blue glazed cup, a jade bird, a jade figure, and some jewelry on the table, cleaning and wiping them down one by one. Spending a few hundred yuan for treasures that would be worth over a hundred million in the future—she was delighted!

After half an hour, everything looked brand new. The diamond ring, in particular, lacked professional cleaner, so she had scrubbed it with toothpaste. Although the setting remained slightly tarnished and hadn't fully recovered, the diamond sparkled brilliantly after being cleaned, becoming the brightest item on the table. The cushion-cut diamond was set in the center of a flower, with the band carved into stems and leaves—the entire piece made of gold. It was ornate and carried a distinct Victorian style. It was definitely an antique. The tarnishing was likely a chemical reaction from contact with other substances.

Li Shanshan guessed that, like the coral necklace, ruby earrings, and jade jewelry she had bought, it had once been owned by a high-ranking official or a wealthy merchant, only to flow into the hands of the public during times of war or special historical periods. Perhaps the old man had collected them all from the same source. They were truly good items. For one thing, the solid green jade saddle ring alone was currently worth about one hundred thousand; selling it for seven or eight million in the future would be no problem. The jade pendant, full of rich, vibrant green, was exquisitely carved and delicate, already worth hundreds of thousands today.

After all, the ultimate destination for every wealthy lady was jade! After the millennium, the price of high-end jade soared, increasing a thousand-fold. This ten-year frenzy created countless astronomical transactions, and the heat hadn't faded even after thirty years. It was a better investment than real estate. With this memory, Li Shanshan naturally couldn't bear to sell her new treasures for cash.

If there was no work tomorrow, she would have to go home and set up a stall. She sighed, packed up her treasures, put on her coat, and headed out for a bowl of shredded pork noodles, which cost one yuan and fifty cents. Compared to that, the asking price at the second-hand market hadn't been cheap at all! Perhaps they had all pegged her as an easy mark.

She didn't return to the second-hand market in the afternoon. Calculating her remaining cash, Li Shanshan headed to the wholesale market. She bought fifty pounds of pure cotton socks, fifty pounds of wool socks, and twenty pairs of leather shoes—the kind lined with fur. Short on capital, she stopped by a nearby bank to withdraw another thousand. She then hired a pedicab and, after pedaling for over an hour, transported the goods to the intersection near the largest machinery factory in Fengcheng, where the foot traffic was heavy. She laid out a tarp and a military-green canvas—also bought from the wholesale market—and began to call out.

Li Shanshan had specifically bought a loudspeaker. "Socks for sale! Socks and shoes! Pure cotton socks, ten yuan for eight pairs! Wool socks, ten yuan for five pairs! Warm, fur-lined leather shoes, comfortable and sturdy, waterproof in the snow, only two hundred yuan!"

She had bought the shoes for fifty yuan a pair. The style and quality were good, and she planned to sell them for around 150; the 200-yuan asking price was to leave room for bargaining. During her wholesale trip, she had compared products; you get what you pay for, and these were genuine leather. A worker whose cotton shoes had been soaked through in the ice and snow heard her call, walked over, and picked out a pair of leather shoes and ten pairs of wool socks, handing her 220 yuan. He didn't bargain at all.

City people were just so nice! As nice as the old men at the market, Old Gao and Old Hu. Li Shanshan’s eyes crinkled with a smile. A good start.

Unexpectedly, not long after the worker left, he brought back several colleagues, all pointing to the leather shoes. Some even bought two pairs at once, and in a flash, a dozen pairs were gone. Li Shanshan widened her eyes. Were the shoes really that attractive?

"Will you be here tomorrow? I see you don't have size 44," said the only tall worker who hadn't managed to buy a pair, looking regretful. "I want to buy two pairs of size 44."

Li Shanshan immediately replied, "I will! Are you sure you want size 44?" She had specifically bought common sizes—women’s 37 and 38, men’s 42 and 43—planning to wear them herself if they didn't sell. Even though she was only sixteen, she was already 1.7 meters tall and wore a 37, while her father wore a 42. A shoe being one size too big was fine; one could use insoles or wear thick socks.

The worker who hadn't bought shoes said, "Yes, I wear 44. And bring me a pair of women’s size 39 as well."

"You got it! Don't worry, I’ll be here at the same time tomorrow." It was the peak time when workers got off their shifts, and being close to their residential area meant workers, their families, and passersby weren't in a hurry and had the leisure to shop. Morning wouldn't have worked; everyone was rushing to get to work!

Regardless, the shoes sold incredibly fast. By the time she had sold only a hundred pairs of socks, the shoes were sold out. With an investment of one thousand, she had made three thousand. Some customers tried to bargain, but seeing business was good, she didn't budge, selling them all for two hundred. After selling socks for a while longer, she packed up at six, shouldered the large bag, and hopped on the nearest bus. She got off after two stops and switched to another bus back to her hotel to shake off anyone who might be tailing her.

Once she had made money, it was time to spend! Li Shanshan put her things back in the hotel, went out to eat, made a phone call back to her village, and then headed to the Fengcheng Department Store. She needed to buy the skincare products, sanitary pads, and toilet paper she needed most. In her past life, before she met Zhou Yulin, she had used "knife paper"—the kind weighed by the pound—during her period. Peddlers often wandered the streets in the countryside selling it tied with red nylon rope, so back then, she hadn't even known what sanitary pads were. She had constantly stained her pants and felt incredibly embarrassed. In this life, she absolutely could not repeat that mistake.

After buying the paper and pads, she passed by the shoe counter. A casual glance made her realize why her business had been so good. On the shelf sat the exact same style of shoes she was selling—same manufacturer, Wenzhou leather, genuine cowhide, sheepskin lining—but the men’s were priced at 380 and the women’s at 350.

My goodness! She had been far too conservative.

Shaking her head, Li Shanshan left the shoe counter and headed to the skincare section. Relying on her youth and fast metabolism, she didn't blindly pursue expensive foreign brands, choosing only domestic ones. Clam oil to moisturize and prevent chapping, the whitening classic "Leishi" pearl powder, the perfect "Hazeline" snowflake cream, the classic little blue tin of Nivea cream, "Maxam" silver ear pearl nourishing cream, the timeless "Pechoin" snowflake cream, the "Xiafei" gold-label whitening honey endorsed by Pan Hong, the "Dabao" SOD honey that would become a household name...

She needed to care for her whole body, so she bought several varieties, planning to rotate them. Cleansers, body washes, shampoos, and hand creams were all selected from domestic brands—cheap and effective. That night, after a hot bath, she applied a thick layer of Nivea cream to her hands, face, feet, and entire body; the texture was like cream—delicate, dense, and melting upon contact with the skin.

It was hard to tell if it worked after just one day. The next morning, Li Shanshan took the sixty pairs of leather shoes she had wholesaled, along with the remaining socks from yesterday, and hired a pedicab to the same spot. She found customers already waiting for her. Before she had even set up her stall, five pairs were sold. And the tall worker who had requested the size 44 men’s and 39 women’s shoes hadn't even arrived yet!