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3Chapter 17Businessman from France
They both turned around at the same time and saw a blond and blue-eyed foreigner standing at the door.
He has a high forehead and deep eyes, but he has a long face, which makes him look a little strange.
The foreigner came over with a smile, took off his hat, and said, "Beautiful lady, I like the Buddha statue in your hand very much. Can you please transfer it to me?"
He behaved quite like a gentleman, but he kept staring greedily at the Buddha statue in Yuan Qianyun's hand.
Yuan Qianyun suddenly felt unhappy, but she was a little shy when facing strangers, so she just kept the Buddha statue in her arms.
Lin Ran took the lead and said to the foreigner: "Sir, when buying things in our store, it is a first-come, first-served basis. This girl picked it first and cannot give it to you."
Yuan Qianyun couldn't help but gain courage when he saw Lin Ran standing in front of him.
He said to the clerk: "How much does this Buddha statue cost? I want it."
Just as the clerk was about to speak, Lin Ran smiled and replied: "20 yuan."
Lin Ran said for the clerk that the actual price of this Buddha statue was eighty. It was fired in two parts, so it should be charged double the price.
But it was the boss who set the price, and the clerk nodded quickly to confirm that this was indeed the case.
He took out a cardboard box, helped Yuan Qianyun wrap the Buddha statue, and put a label on it with the price of the item.
Then he pointed to the road behind: "Just go to the pawn shop entrance and check out."
Lin Ran accompanied Yuan Qianyun to check out. He wanted to continue walking with her, but Yuan Qianyun refused.
Yuan Qianyun blinked his big eyes and said: "Although I still want to go shopping, my grandma is waiting for me at home and I have to go back early today. I also want to give this gift to the old man."
"Besides, I see you are so busy." Yuan Qianyun glanced back and smiled, "It's a good thing that business is booming, come on!"
"Don't worry, I'll do it with ease!" Lin Ran nodded solemnly and sent her to the door of the store.
He was about to go back to receive other guests, but was pulled back by the foreigner.
"Boss, do you still have the handicrafts just now?" he asked politely.
The clerk explained: "Sorry sir, it was the last one just now."
"What a pity!" the foreigner sighed.
"You might as well take a look at the other Buddha statues in the store?" Lin Ran said to him with a smile.
"No, I just want to buy the Buddha statue just now. Is that really a handicraft? I have seen it in the Eiffel Museum before! That is Mingkong Bodhisattva! Is that right?"
The foreigner sounded very excited.
Mingkong Bodhisattva?
Lin Ran felt a little baffled. According to folk wisdom, Bodhisattva has no name.
During the Ming Dynasty, ordinary people were prohibited from firing fine porcelain in private.
Glazed and three-colored pottery is expensive among the people and is not popular. It is mainly favored by officials and businessmen.
The main craftsmanship of Su Sancai is similar to that of Liao Sancai, except that the production scale is smaller and the level of skill is higher.
Buddha statues made of plain tricolor are generally used in Buddhist halls, pagodas and external temple components.
It is rarely used for burials. After several Buddhist exterminations, very few Bodhisattva names are remembered.
In the previous invasion, the French took the three-color seated Bodhisattva back to their country.
Until 2002, when China joined the WTO, it also established the Cultural Relics Recovery Association, which allocates hundreds of millions of funds every year specifically to redeem cultural relics from overseas.
The names of various Bodhisattvas were probably added privately by the French who did not understand Chinese culture.
Lin Ran did not deny it, but looked at the other party seriously: "This is just a handicraft, and what you see in the museum should be the real thing."
"Your craftsmanship is so great! I want to cooperate with you." The foreigner took out a business card. There was only a golden name and phone number on the black business card, and his job was printed below.
His name is Ham, a businessman from Carcassonne, France.
"Do you know Carcassonne? We have the largest castle in the world!" Ham proudly introduced.
Of course Lin Ran knew about this medieval castle, which was the prototype of many castles in anime and fairy tales.
In addition to the castle, Carcassonne is most famous for its many specialty shops.
Ham seemed very enthusiastic, and Lin Ran felt that the French businessman in front of him might be a springboard for him to enter the international market!
So, I invited him to sit down at the teahouse and wanted to talk to him.
"Is this your tea? Do you have milk and sugar?" He looked at the oolong tea that was served and took a sip, seeming a little uncomfortable.
Lin Ran smiled and said: "In China, we don't add that stuff to our tea."
"Then you really should try our cheeses, you'll fall in love with them." Ham said politely.
Ham asked Lin Ran: "I have visited your handicraft store and found that there are many things in it that are only found in our museums. Have you been to our country?"
Lin Ran shook his head and said with a smile: "Those things belong to us. We don't have to go to your museum to know what they look like."
"That's not what I meant." Ham quickly explained, "Those are indeed your things, but business comes and goes. We paid for it, and it's our thing, isn't it?"
This gangster logic is the basis for their fortune!
Lin Ran didn't intend to argue with him, but looked at him with a smile: "Mr. Ham, if you have anything to say, you might as well say it directly."
"I like your handicrafts very much and hope to open a store selling your products in France." Ham expressed his intention.
"You know, museums also sell some low-imitation works as souvenirs, which vary from size to size. It's such a shame." Ham said with an annoyed look.
Of course, museums cannot ruin their own jobs, but they want to make money, so they will make some peripherals to sell.
Originally, the museum was supposed to be a place to display history and teach and educate people.
However, foreign countries have turned museums into a means of making money. This trend is not yet available in China, but after joining the WTO, it has gradually been learned by other museums.
"However, your handicrafts are exactly the same as the exhibits in the museum, so there must be a huge market for them." Ham is a typical straight-tempered foreigner. After a brief lack of interest, he turned into a cheerful person.
"What do you mean?" Lin Ran probably guessed what Ham was thinking.
But when talking about business, he doesn't want to directly reveal his trump card, but asks for the other party's opinion.
"I hope to import some ceramics, calligraphy and paintings from you and sell them in my country! They are so beautiful!" Ham was not stingy in his praise.
France in this era was a developed country. Most civilians had already lived a life of not having enough to eat and began to pursue spiritual life.
Therefore, in their country, many civilians have hobbies of painting and handicrafts, and naturally there are also a large number of collectors.
The museum is even more crowded with people!
But once you get used to seeing local cultural relics, you will inevitably become interested in cultural relics from other countries.
Especially in this country from the East, ceramic techniques and coloring methods are fundamentally different.
Hans just came to join in the fun today, and originally thought that all the goods sold in this store were shoddy goods.
After all, in his opinion, China's more "authentic" handicrafts are kept in treasure appraisal shops to deceive uninformed customers.
I didn't expect that there would be such an honest person as Lin Ran. As a professional crafts dealer, he actually transformed from an antique dealer. Naturally, he could see that some flaws in the crafts were deliberately made by the makers to prevent the crafts from being stolen. Abuse, pass off inferior goods in the antique market, and disrupt order.
but...
His handicrafts are native to China, and those who know the art can spot the problems at a glance.
But it’s different abroad!
They will only be attracted by the magical colors and will not understand the story behind it at all.
Besides, there is an exchange rate difference. If you buy from here, you will make money no matter what!
Ham made up his mind to build a good relationship with Lin Ran and become a partner.
Lin Ran was also thinking about something.
Ham is not only a springboard for him to enter the international market, but also a good helper for him in exchanging cultural relics from French museums!
He also decided to cooperate with Ham, but he had to add some restrictions!