There are four major antique markets in Luoyang: Cultural Museum City, Emperor Jia Liu, Sanyanju and Folk Museum. With the economic recovery and the rampant tomb robbery in recent years, these antique markets have developed rapidly like mushrooms after a rain.

There are all kinds of people who do "business" in these antique markets. Some people bring a bag on the ground and put a few things on it and start doing business. Most of them are vendors with fixed stalls. People with strength rent a storefront next to the street.

Every day, people come and go on the market, and cultural relics unearthed from ancient tombs are also sold in a semi-public state.

A shriveled old man in his fifties was introducing business to a middle-aged Hong Kong couple, pointing to a three-color horse in their hands and saying, "This one in your hand is a modern imitation, and the one next to it was just dug out of the tomb."

The couple's eyes were attracted by the pile of three-color horses on the stall next to them. The old man looked at the boss at the stall, and a hint of undetectable smile appeared on the corner of his mouth.

This kind of person has a unified name in this industry "child care".

Insiders all know that the local stalls in the market are all handicrafts made by modern people. Although they are also made to the point of being fake and real, insiders can still see the difference at a glance. "Crafts" are mainly used to fool tourists.

In fact, ninety percent of the cultural relics circulating in these markets are fakes.

Of course, it is not ruled out that some people have genuine products in their hands, but the number is very rare. Those who can reach the level of rare products are even rarer.

Those with counters and storefronts basically have real things in their stores - they just don't put them on the counter or sell them in the store - when they see a real customer who is really willing, they will show you some accessories or parts first. If they fall in love, they want to continue talking, so that they will show you the authentic products.

If you want to set up a store to create antiques in Luoyang, the store must have "treasures", which is called the treasure of the store.

If you want to do a big business, you will definitely not be able to make it. If you want to make a real guy, you either know people in your hometown, collect them from fellow villagers, or sell them from your peers. More people are bought from brokers.

Those who do authentic products are experts in the industry. They basically don’t go to those kind of stalls - they only trade through introductions from friends.

Those who are responsible for introducing customers and colluding with transactions are generally called brokers.

Unlike ordinary vendors, brokers have fixed sources of customers. They have a wide range of contacts and have contacts from all over the world.

The buyers in the market come from all over the country, from all directions. With the activeness in recent years, the popularity of the cultural and entertainment market has become increasingly high. Many large buyers with strong capital have also come here.

Most of these foreign buyers come from Guangzhou, Zhengzhou, Xi'an and other places. In recent years, there have been more and more buyers from Hong Kong, Macao and even overseas. They often have a lot of cash in their hands, and there are big bosses behind the scenes as financial backers.

Those larger merchants or brokers gradually formed long-term cooperative relationships with these big buyers.

Those who really do antique trading rarely pay attention to the antique market, because real babies will not be sold in the store publicly, and they are often blended in secret places.

Some high-value cultural relics are not capable of selling them, or they feel that there is risk in their hands, so they are held by the tomb robbers themselves. When they meet suitable customers, they will take their customers to directly look for the tomb robbers. When the business is negotiated, the broker will get commissions.

Of course, it does not mean that all the goods on site are real. Some people will work with tomb robbers to make plans, place some things with dirt in some broken tombs and take them out and tell you that they are real.

Buyers, sellers, child caregivers, brokers, tomb robbers... With the development of the market, tomb robbers are rampant. These various people have formed a complete industrial chain.

When doing business in the antique market, the emphasis is on "relying on your eyesight and buying fakes to accept your fate", which is also the industry rule.

Before the transaction, no one forced you to buy something. If you look at something good, do you buy it? Buy it! OK, then pay one hand and deliver the goods at the same time, and make the payment clear.

If you buy good babies at a low price, you will be lucky if you make money. Of course, this situation will basically not happen, and most of them buy fake goods.

When you buy fakes, you can only blame yourself for having no vision and being unlucky, and you cannot ask the seller to make trouble - let alone return the product.

Although there are no explicit regulations, the entire cultural and entertainment market has a default industry rule. Everyone does business under the constraints of industry rules and is in order. If someone breaks the rules, there will be special people to deal with you.

The Song brothers are the ones who "maintain" market order.

The Song brothers are not the work inspection and judicial system, they are actually the largest brokers in Luoyang City.

There are four brothers in the Song family, and the Song family brothers mentioned in the literary and entertainment industry refer to the eldest Song Biao and the third Song Qing.

The father of the Song brothers was originally a famous chef in Luoyang. His best dishes were three dishes: carp leaping over the dragon gate, steamed breeze and Luoyang swallowtail. He was very famous in Luoyang and was often called to receive foreign guests.

The eldest son of Song Biaozi inherited his father's business and had originally taken charge of a state-owned hotel. Old Song intended to teach his skills to inherit the mansion of a famous chef in Luoyang. Unfortunately, although I did not hide my own personalities, my son was not successful.

After learning this, Song Biao couldn't master the essence of the three dishes. Although he could be as good as a chef, he was still very far from his father's grandmaster level.

According to Lao Song's comment, this son lacks talent. If he could practice hard for decades, he might be able to reach his own level. But what's so bad is that his attitude towards learning skills is not correct enough.

Song Biao served those nobles all day long. After a long time, he gradually became dissatisfied and sighed that his fate was unfair. He was born to his parents. Why do you sit there and eat delicious food and drink and call me? I have to stand here and serve me with my eyebrows and eyes down and be kind to you?

Song Biao is an ambitious and ambitious person. He never wants to be a chef for the rest of his life.

Like my father, who worked hard for decades and finally got the title of master, is just a chef, and he will serve others all his life. What is the future of this industry?

Thinking about this, Song Biao threw away the iron job of chefs in state-owned hotels, intending to find another way out and become a self-employed person.

I have set up stalls and sold them. Like most people, starting a business is difficult. After struggling with small businesses several times, I have also encountered obstacles everywhere. I have lost a little savings.

In a fit of anger, he simply did nothing and stayed at home all day thinking about how to get rich. He did nothing for a while and was struggling to get the point. Until one day when he went shopping, he saw an old country farmer who came to the city to sell the fields and suddenly got his tricks: he made up antiques.

With the recovery of the mainland economy, some cultural relics dealers from "old Guangzhou" (from Guangdong) began to gather in Luoyang, looking for their respective agents and purchasing antiques hidden in farmers' homes. They were generous, and the country people never thought that these rags that no one wanted could be worth so much money, so many people became rich overnight.

But the cultural relics collected in the family were quickly purchased, and people began to think of digging graves. There was even a rumor in the countryside that "If you want to be rich, dig an ancient tomb and become a household in ten thousand overnight."

That period was the golden age of tomb robbers, and there were many myths of making money overnight. Most people turned a blind eye to this kind of business. Although the risks were high, they were lucky and could build a building to pick up their wives in one night."

Song Biao was ahead in this wave of wealth. After his unremitting personal efforts, he finally became a well-known "agent" - a big broker in Luoyang.

Before becoming a big broker, Song Biao was just a small vendor. His first step in starting a business was to start from the grassroots level - to purchase cultural relics from streets.

The local farmers have a good impression of the Song family boss. He is kind and greets people when he comes to the village, asks cigarettes, and chats with the old men and women for a long time. He does things in a regular manner. If he doesn’t force buying and selling, he will be as much as he should.

In this way, Song Biao successively acquired many treasures at low prices and sold them to make a small fortune.

Song Biao would not satisfy such a small fuss. With this "startup capital", he collected a batch of treasures that had just been dug out of the tomb from a tomb robber, and then sold them to Lao Guang from the south at a high price. His wealth grew at a multiple rate and accumulated his first pot of gold, which was out of control.

As the business grew bigger and bigger, buyers from all over the country began to take the initiative to ask him to do business and buy things.

This principle is the same in all walks of life. Everything is difficult at the beginning. As long as you go out first, after you grow your capital and strength, your business will come to you on your own initiative.

Because of his "fairness" and "rules" in his work, Song Biao gradually established a reputation in the tomb robber industry, and everyone asked him to be his "agent".

Song Biao was too busy alone. At this time, his third brother Song Qing, under the introduction of the boss, also began to intervene in this industry.

Song Qing is different from his brother Song Biao. Although Song Biao has problems with his professional attitude in the cooking industry, Song Dad still holds great hope for him and has never given up. He thinks that this child is of good quality. If he is tempered, he should become the head of the family in the future.

Although Song Biao has faded out of the cooking industry, Song Dad still came to the boss's mansion with crutches every now and then to "lobby and educate" him. Song Biao had no choice but to serve him well every time, eat and drink, and then coax him away carefully.

Song Qing did not have such good "treatment". He has been a naughty since he was a child. He fought and stole and refused to change his teachings. Dad Song had given up his discipline. He had long seen that this kid was destined to go on the road of crime when he grew up.

Dad Song didn't miss it this time. After growing up, Song Qing became a standard gangster. He took out bags, fought, and teased Miss Hua at the train station all day long. No one could take care of him and was arrested several times.

If the second son of the Song family had not been in the office, his head would have fallen several times during the crackdown.

Song Biao felt that it was not that bad for his third brother to eat and drink all day long. He was successful in his career and had the obligation to support him. Although "antique business" is not an open business, it is better than being a hooligan at the train station every day.

After entering the industry, Song Qing quickly showed his unique talent in this industry. In addition to his elder brother's business, he actually developed his own new career.

At that time, Song Qing had a group of maids under him, responsible for contacting people familiar with each village and asking for clues. As soon as he heard that the tomb robbers in a village had succeeded, he would take a group of maids to the other party's home the next day and ask to buy it at a low price, so the other party had to surrender.

If the other party refuses to listen, he will bring out his second brother's name and threaten him to sue him and not sell me anything? Okay, I will tell my brother that I will arrest you tomorrow.

This trick has been tried and done. His second brother has repeatedly taken the blame for him, which is also a headache. However, his mouth is on others, and no matter how anyone says he can do it. The two brothers have fought several times, and finally threatened to cut off their brother's relationship. Song Qing promised not to ruin his second brother's reputation anymore.

Losing the "blessing" of the second brother does not necessarily mean that Song Qing has restrained himself, but his business has been carried out more radically.

He had two horses under his command: Chen Hao and Hao Yubo, who were also the kind of stubborn and had a hot temper. When he was anxious, he even beat his father.

The second general of Hum and Ha often brings a double-barrel hunting rifle to various villages to collect cultural relics. If you don’t accept it, you will do it and take life and death lightly. You almost have a life-and-death life and death. After entering, you will have a life-and-death meal for several years, you will still be a "hero" after you come out.

With such a cruel subordinate, no one in the Luoyang cultural and entertainment industry dares to win over his sharpness.

Of course, there are people who are ignorant of the storm when the world is big, and there are people who are not wise enough to get into trouble in the cultural and entertainment industry.

Once, a subordinate of Song Laosan spent 3,000 yuan to buy a pair of plum bottles and a porcelain bowl from a second-dea dealer. Later, it was identified as a fake cultural relic.

Song Laosan was furious and ordered Chen Hao and Hao Yubo to lead a group of thugs, holding iron sticks and sharp knives to the Xigong Mingyuan Hotel, breaking one of his legs, forcing him to return 3,000 yuan, and then paying another 3,000 yuan.

This violent practice undermined the industry rules of selling cultural relics "relying on your eyesight, buying fakes and accepting your fate". For a while, no one dared to sell fakes to the third brother again.

Because Song Laosan made a fuss, some tomb robbers were exploited by him and asked Song Biao and Song Boss to plead with him.

Boss Song is also righteous and will always respond to all requests. Although Boss Song is domineering and arrogant, he only sells the boss's face.

No matter how stiff the situation is, things will be easy to deal with as soon as the boss takes action, so the final result is that Boss Song often buys the tomb robber's things that "no one dares to sell to me Song Laosan" at a "slightly higher" price.

Song Biao also had a group of horsemen under his command, and the head horse in charge was called Tonga, and Tanga had more than 30 people under his command.

Unlike the gangsters who are good at fighting and causing trouble, Tong Jia himself is also a professional tomb robber. Among the people under his command, each of them has a few "working" under his command. So in terms of counting, there are at least one or two hundred people who are directly and indirectly obeying Song Biao.

After the business grew bigger, Song Biao was no longer satisfied with buying and selling, so he began to find some tomb robbers to make a fuss.

The literal meaning of supporting a pot is to build a stove and live at home.

When doing weddings and funerals, some places have to entertain a large number of diners and do not have a fixed stove. Before cooking, they temporarily build a triangular trunk, put cooking utensils such as pots and cook large pots. This method is called "supporting pot". Before eating, the pot is set up, and after cooking, the rice pot is removed and buried, which is simple and convenient.

Later, tomb robbers called the team organizing tomb robbers "supporting pot".

If "the pot cannot be supported", it means that the tomb robbery has not succeeded and failed, and the slander is also called "leave a waste".

Not everyone can support a pot. The owner of the pot must be responsible for organizing personnel and provide all personnel expenses, including tobacco, alcohol, diet, tools, etc., which are not small.

Therefore, people without certain strength cannot afford to support the pot. Tomb robbing is not a sure thing. Many times they will go to waste. There are many people who have been digging for three years without any results, and "supporting the pot" to the bankruptcy.

It is far from enough to have money alone. You must have connections, you can enjoy both black and white, and you must have a buyer with strong capital to ensure that you maximize your profits.

For example, some small bosses with no strength have finally made a fuss, and they are lucky enough to sell some goods. They are forced to buy and sell by Song Laosan, or are "grabbed" by others. After a while, it would be great if they can not lose money.

The antique industry has to go through a lot of hands from buyers to sellers. The more times you handle, the thinner the profit. The second-hand dealers, the three-hand dealers, and fifteen-six-hand dealers basically eat from others, and sell them to lose money, and there are many people who are losing their hands.

However, the Song brothers have the strength to "make the pot". They not only have close contact with various tomb robbers, but also master the most important buyer resources.

After years of development, buyers in Luoyang have been divided into several major factions - let’s not talk about those who are small-scale, but the most powerful ones are divided into three groups.

The first route is Li Dana, a cultural relics dealer in Macau. It is said that the financial owner behind him runs a casino, so this person is generous and often buys goods directly with big bags of small bags of cash.
To be continued...