Chapter 10 Basin Scene

  Name: Song Pei

  Sex: Male

  Age: Over fifty (on the surface)

  Occupation: Owner of Bogu Xuan Shop

  Address: No. 71 Beixingli, Bomei Village

  "You can take a look around." The boss was enthusiastically greeting the man in a suit, who looked somewhat comical in his blue coarse linen robe, with a dry tobacco pipe still hanging from his mouth. No matter how you looked at him, he didn't seem like someone who could open up such an antique shop.

  Before stepping into this ancient and fragrant shop, even a businessman like Han Dan couldn't help but have some romantic fantasies about the ancient-style pillars and swaying curtains, such as an ethereal old man in a green robe or a retired noble with an air of old aristocracy. However, reality was right before his eyes, and the rare romanticism was deconstructed into fragments. Han Dan's eyes soon returned to their usual calm and introspective state, with a hint of sharpness hidden beneath.

  "These are all treasures that are hard to find in ordinary shops, I see that you're a connoisseur, so I won't introduce them one by one. You take your time to look around, and I'll go to the back room for a while. If you find something you like, just ring this copper bell."

  "Ah, yes," he said from behind the wooden lattice, "except for the item at the bottom of the cabinet, everything else in this room is available for your appreciation, sir. However, due to its rarity, I hope you can refrain from touching that particular item. Thank you in advance, sir."

  The pungent smell of the drought smoke was gone, and in the somewhat dim hall, only Han was left alone. He loosened his tie, put down his bag, and took a good look at the scenery inside the house.

  Han Shan was a successful businessman, having climbed to the position of department manager at a well-known European and American company by his early thirties. His wife was very virtuous, although she had previously worked for a joint venture company before marrying him, but after marriage, she willingly gave up her career to focus on being the woman behind this successful man. To outsiders, this marriage seemed perfect and happy, and Han Shan himself thought so too, although occasionally he would feel a bit bored. In the company, there were many examples of marriages breaking down due to neglect of family for work, and those who had been divorced multiple times would often say a few sour words when they saw Han Shan, but Han Shan mostly just smiled and let it go. Behind his polite demeanor, however, lay some different emotions. Adversity was something that, for someone who had always been smooth sailing, sometimes seemed like a distant, alluring light on the other shore.

  Han was on his way back to the company after visiting a client when he accidentally stumbled upon this place, and his initial reaction was astonishment. This market called Bomei Collection was an unheard-of place, with a crowd of people rushing about, yet still exuding an air of strangeness and mystery. Whether it was the sudden appearance of the massive buildings under the vast sunset or those unheard-of, unseen treasures, even the people in the market had strange expressions on their faces, and when they brushed past each other hastily, just a subtle glance would evoke an indescribable feeling in Han's heart, like a mix of shock and sweetness, like... the taste of opium!

  Han put down the jade Buddha in his hand, and the whole body of the jade was green. The carving of the Buddha statue was fine and simple. The best craftsmen can often give birth to extraordinary spirituality in the most ordinary strokes, and this jade Buddha is obviously not an ordinary product. In fact, it's not just this jade Buddha, but also those items that seem to be randomly placed without any safety protection facilities, each of which is not a rare treasure that can be easily seen on the market. On the wall, there are rough paintings of flowers and birds by the Eight Great Masters of the Tang and Song Dynasties, and the true works of the Eight Great Masters are scattered on the desk. The delicate white jade pendant rests in a dark-colored low basin, the blue porcelain vase, the golden silk crown, the copper-patterned horn cup... How many years will it take for one person to spend all his wealth to collect so many things?

  If one considers it from the perspective of smuggling or tomb raiding, then it can be said to make sense. Han Shuang came to this conclusion in his heart, that the reason for the existence of this market is so secretive, is probably due to the goods channel, in other words, this is a real black market, and all the inexplicable phenomena can be explained clearly. However, if such rare treasures are just ordinary goods within this antique shop, then what would be the kind of thing that is considered the treasure of the town? Han Shuang suddenly became very interested in the unsellable items mentioned by the shop owner.

  He turned to look at the inner door leading to the back room, and suddenly had the urge to sneak a peek. For humans, the more something is forbidden, the more it tends to pique their curiosity. Han Dan also put aside his dignity as a large company manager, walked to the edge of the red wood cabinet, squatted down, and gently opened the closed cabinet door. Originally thinking he would see some dazzling treasures, when his eyes landed on an oval-shaped earthenware basin, Han Dan was truly surprised.

  Is this a rare item? He reached in and took out the rectangular earthenware pot, placing it under the bright red lantern to examine it closely. The pot was simple and unadorned, without any hint of luxury or uniqueness. If there was anything special about it, it would be the small wooden castle built in the center of the pot filled with black soil. It was unclear what era the architecture belonged to, but upon closer inspection, the craftsmanship was quite exquisite. The carved window frames, gilded signboards, flying eaves, and glazed tiles were all incredibly lifelike. Han Shan tried to push open the tiny door, which was about the size of a fingernail, and to his surprise, it swung open easily. As he peered inside, he saw what appeared to be a shadowy figure flitting by, but when he looked again, there was nothing. Han Shan leaned in closer, incredulous, and saw that the tiny hall was paved with delicate stone slabs, complete with tables, chairs, screens, and lanterns - it was like a miniature version of an ancient city. What was even more astonishing was that the fruit and food piled on the table seemed to be alive, and he could even smell the aroma of roasted meat wafting from within the tiny hall.

  Han Shan couldn't help but applaud, this craftsmanship is indeed clever and beyond the ordinary. No wonder the shopkeeper was unwilling to part with it. Several plans flashed through his mind as Han Shan calculated how to get the boss to let go of it. After a moment's thought, Han Shan left behind a check and took away the earthenware basin. The transaction was smooth, without any trouble, and the black market boss wouldn't think of using legal means to protect his rights. This is exactly what businessman Han Shan had counted on, and this is why he was invincible in business. Of course, Han Shan didn't know that the shopkeeper in the back room was smiling as he watched him carry away the earthenware basin.

  No one knew why Han Dan suddenly became so careless about his work, including his wife. Han Dan's appearance was very normal and he didn't have depression or physical health problems, but he started to play truant and became perfunctory at work, even disappearing for several days without going to the office.

  Although his wife, Shu, was worried, she couldn't find out what was wrong with her husband. She only knew that from a certain day on, he brought back an unremarkable clay pot and began to become increasingly distant and unfamiliar. The couple, who had always been polite and courteous to each other, now grew more and more estranged and cold. Han Shan started to change completely from that day on. At first, he just slept late and got up early, spoke little, but later he would lock himself in his study every day and refuse to come out. Once, his wife was so worried that she burst into the room and found him sleeping soundly with his arms around the clay pot on the cold granite floor, no matter how loudly she called him, he wouldn't wake up. She was so anxious that she called 120 for an ambulance, but Han Shan woke up with a stretch when he heard the sirens. No one knew why, but the changes continued to happen and became more and more intense.

  Han Shan had already moved all his bedding into the study, and his work at the company had been neglected for a long time. If it weren't for Shu's efforts to persuade him, he wouldn't have received such a generous treatment of being allowed to take a leave of absence with pay. Han Shan's parents were worried about their son's health and came all the way from the countryside, but Han Shan refused to see them, locking himself in the study every day. Except for the three meals Shu sent in, which he would eat at irregular times, he seemed to have vanished into thin air, disappearing from everyone's life. However, after a few months, even the food Shu sent in was no longer touched by him.

  The first person to become aware of the situation was Shu. She found someone to break open the lock on the study door, but when the door opened, apart from the messy room, there was no sign of her husband anywhere, except for a small ceramic basin carefully placed on the desk, not a single trace of human life could be seen. Her husband had vanished into thin air in his own home and never appeared again...

  In the third spring, Shu finally gave up the idea of searching for her husband everywhere, sold their residence and found a new small house to live alone, and also found a new job to continue her pre-marriage career.

  That was one afternoon when Shu was sweeping the room at home and inadvertently turned out the earthen pot that her husband had treasured before he went missing. In addition to the castle in the simple earthen pot, streets, rivers and other strange things appeared, and the peach blossoms were blooming brightly, making Shu's heart beat fast, and she accidentally dropped the pot on the ground and shattered it into pieces. Although she was reluctant to part with it, Shu could only sweep up the remains and throw them away in the trash can of the residential area.

  The story on this side has come to an end, of course. On the other hand, when a ceramic basin reappeared in Bogu Xuan, and someone pushed open the carved wooden door and walked into the dimly lit hall, the old farmer-like shopkeeper, who was holding a tobacco pouch, would start another story...

  Here is the Bo Mei market, the largest market in the world, selling everything imaginable. If you gentlemen are interested, you can follow the road as the sun sets in the west and you will surely arrive!