The Panjiayuan antique market of this era was like a rural fair; it was still in its embryonic stage, far from the clamor and prosperity of later generations.
Mainly because, in this era, the vast majority of people had only just solved the problem of basic food and clothing. As for things like antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, they didn't have the slightest bit of interest.
Consequently, most of the people wandering through the market at this time were those "great idlers" with a bit of spare cash.
As the old saying goes, "Gold in times of chaos, antiques in times of prosperity."
As the economy took off across the board following the opening up, the antique trade grew increasingly prosperous, and the number of people participating in the industry grew as well.
However, most people entered this trade not because they loved cultural relics or wanted to conduct research, but because they harbored a beautiful dream: to "pick up a great leak" and make a fortune.
Of course, there were indeed many whose dreams came true, but compared to the total number of people involved in the trade, they were negligible.
Fortunately, the antique trade never lacked fools acting as "bag holders" who entered the industry voluntarily. Therefore, those who entered the trade at this time—even if they didn't become overnight millionaires or immensely wealthy—all managed to achieve a modest comfort and never lacked money to spend.
The day would come when people realized that these antiques were actually useless; by then, the final batch of "bag holders" would be left clutching their antiques, wanting to cry but unable to shed a tear.
After entering the market with a ragged burlap sack on his back, Wang An didn't rush to ask every vendor if they bought watches. Instead, he looked around slowly and leisurely, like a tourist.
When dealing with stolen goods, especially high-end items like luxury watches, asking around blindly was useless.
Even a veteran player who had been immersed in the antique trade for years might be able to tell the quality of a watch's materials and craftsmanship, but they might not necessarily recognize the exorbitant value of a famous brand.
After all, "cultural relics, antiques, calligraphy, and painting" were a broad category containing many sub-categories. While there were connections between them, many were completely unrelated.
If they couldn't give a proper price, it was all for nothing.
Thus, after strolling past about twenty stalls, Wang An finally saw an antique stall that, besides the usual porcelain, ancient coins, prayer beads, and carvings, most importantly, had several pocket watches and wristwatches that looked quite old.
Wang An stepped toward the stall.
After pretending to examine the items for a long time, Wang An picked up a wristwatch and asked the owner
"Boss, how much for this watch?"
If Wang Li or Mu Xueli had heard Wang An say this, they would have been extremely surprised.
Because Wang An was using a Tianjin accent. Although it wasn't perfectly authentic, it didn't sound wrong; after all, the Tianjin dialect, like the Northeast dialect, isn't completely uniform, with each area having its own characteristics.
As long as Wang An didn't use the Northeast dialect and prevented the other party from figuring out where he was from, it didn't matter whether it was authentic or not.
When dealing with stolen goods, one had to pay attention to every single detail.
The owner clearly recognized Wang An's accent and said with a face full of smiles
"Oh, is this gentleman from over in Tianjin?"
Wang An replied casually
"Yeah, that's right, I'm from Tianjin."
As he spoke, Wang An continued to examine the watch, appearing as if he couldn't bear to put it down.
Seeing Wang An's state, the owner likely thought he was a serious buyer and began to hype up the watch.
He claimed which Manchu prince had worn it, how it was passed to which Manchu princess, why that princess sold it to someone else, and how it eventually ended up in his hands by a twist of fate.
In short, he wove the watch's provenance so smoothly that it sounded completely natural.
While the story was well-constructed, Wang An wasn't listening at all, merely nodding perfunctorily.
It wasn't until the owner opened his mouth wide and shouted a sky-high price of 3,000 yuan that Wang An spoke
"Boss, I have one of these watches too. Do you buy them?"
Upon hearing this, the owner's expression instantly turned cold. He snatched the watch back and said irritably
"So I've been talking all this time, and you're just playing games with me?"
Wang An quickly offered a conciliatory smile
"What's this about? Even if the deal doesn't go through, the friendship remains. Why are you getting angry?"
Waving his hand, Wang An turned and left without lingering for a second.
In truth, stalls that sold a bit of everything—like these—were not Wang An's primary target. The reason he stayed to chat was simply to try his luck.
Given the number of watches, Wang An felt he would have to sell them off in batches; it would be extremely difficult for a single person to take them all.
After leaving that stall, Wang An visited several more that sold watches. Unfortunately, most of them were like the first owner: interested in selling, but with zero interest in buying.
The only antique stall owner who was interested in the watches offered a mere 50 yuan for a watch that was easily worth over 1,000.
Facing someone who only wanted to "pick up a great leak," Wang An simply smiled. He didn't even look back as he walked away from the owner's so-called "high price" of 80 yuan.
It was fine for people in the antique trade to want to find a bargain, but Wang An's time was too precious to waste arguing with him.
Having gained experience from these interactions, Wang An didn't even want to stop his pace when he encountered similar stalls, skipping them entirely.
In Wang An's view, these stall owners were just small-time operators selling things of little value. Getting them to buy one watch was hard enough; getting them to buy a portion or all of them was absolutely impossible, mainly because they lacked the financial strength.
Thus, after walking to the end of the street, Wang An failed to find a single vendor who seemed to have the capacity to buy.
Looking around once more, Wang An became completely disappointed with Panjiayuan.
While bored, Wang An struck up a conversation with a vendor to find out where in Yandu one could buy and sell precious second-hand items. From this person, he learned a place name: "Haiwang Village."
Yes, Haiwang Village.
According to the vendor, compared to the small-time fair that Panjiayuan was now, Haiwang Village was currently the only proper large-scale antique market in Yandu.
Wang An handed over a cigarette, and after getting the exact address, he turned and walked back to where he had parked without hesitation.
Wang An had made up his mind: even if he couldn't sell a single watch, he would never come back to Panjiayuan again.
This place was a waste of time!
At least in the short term, it was truly a waste!
It must be said that although Wang An, as a reincarnated person, knew many things, there were still significant discrepancies when compared to the actual places and things of this era.