Chapter 102: My Surname is Lin (Monthly Ticket Bonus 23)

Yang Zhigao was looking very carefully.

Lin Sicheng was likewise looking very carefully.

The engraving was extremely fine: flat carving supplemented by round carving, possessing great three-dimensionality, with distinct layers and exquisite, minute details.

The carved lines were polished extremely finely; with the naked eye, one could barely see any traces of the carving tools. The clothing and ornaments were elegant, with every fold and crease clearly visible. Looking at the whole: the proportions were balanced, the lines were fluid, and the image of the Guanyin was vivid and lifelike.

However, the engraving was very new, no more than a month old, and Lin Sicheng could even discern the school: it was typical Jieyang School knife work.

Looking at the jade again, the texture was fine and the emerald green color was overflowing; when light passed through, the green flowed, as if a pool of spring water were condensed upon a wrist.

Not to mention the transparency, it was also moist, with a faint texture as if it had been waxed and then polished.

Looking at it again with side lighting, the floccules were like snowflakes, or like scattered silk cotton, evenly dispersed, as if starlight were sprinkled within.

But they were very sparse, infinitesimal, appearing and disappearing.

At first glance, it was a standard Yang Green Floating Flower Ice Variety material. In the grading of Jadeite, it belonged to the second level, which is the Ice Variety.

If one were to subdivide the water and variety, it would rank third: after Imperial Green (Emerald), Glass Variety (High Ice), it was called Proper Ice, also known as Yang Ice.

Its characteristics were a fine texture, bright color tone, and a crystalline, warm, and moist appearance. Its drawback was a slightly lower transparency, where one could faintly see some minute crystalline structures—the so-called floating flowers or floccules—just like this piece.

If one were to estimate its value: with such a large form and such sufficient water content, it would be at least around three to four million.

But Lin Sicheng always felt something was wrong... It was not because he recognized Yang Zhigao and was biased, but because he truly felt something was not quite right.

First, the form was too thin: for a Guanyin forty centimeters high and nearly fifteen centimeters wide, the thickness was less than five centimeters. At first glance, it gave one a feeling of being thin and gaunt, having more than enough elegance but lacking substance.

This is very rare in large forms, especially in ornaments like Buddha statues.

Of course, it was possible the raw material was just that thin, but an ordinary master would design it into a bracelet, and then design the bracelet core into small items like Buddha pendants or plain pendants. Carved this way, the price could at least double.

Secondly, while it was bright, it was too dazzling: like General Manager Zhao standing behind it to shine a light, a true Ice Variety material would not reflect most of the light back like this; instead, half of it would shoot into the jade layer.

The key was that Lin Sicheng always felt this "dazzling brightness" was somewhat familiar; where had he seen it before?

Secretly suspicious, Lin Sicheng stood up.

The others were looking carefully and no one paid any attention, save for General Manager Zhao and the proprietress, who perked up.

One could not blame them for being vigilant; in truth, when looking at the Buddha statue just now, Lin Sicheng had left too deep an impression on the couple:

Of course, it was impossible for one person to know everything, to understand both wood and jade. But as the saying goes, once bitten by a snake, one is afraid of a well rope for ten years; this was a natural physical reaction, and they could not control it even if they wanted to.

Then, the couple looked at each other as if they had agreed upon it, a flash of vigilance crossing their eyes.

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment: Huh?

If you have nothing to hide, why are you nervous?

He was even more certain in his heart, but his face showed nothing at all. He feigned a bewildered look and glanced around: "Proprietress, where is the restroom?"

"Right here!"

"Okay, thank you!"

Lin Sicheng walked over nonchalantly, and even turned his head to smile at the proprietress.

But it was this turn of the head that made Lin Sicheng freeze for a second.

At this moment, he was standing at the side of the Guanyin Statue; he did not have the light Yang Zhigao was shining from the front, nor the light General Manager Zhao was shining from behind. Thus, he saw it more clearly:

The crystalline jade surface reflected an oily, moist luster, as if it had been smeared with lard, or even more like it had been coated with wax.

Tilting his head slightly, the deep green Buddha statue suddenly dimmed. The halo plate behind the Guanyin, the piece that looked like a leaf, actually revealed a strange gray?

It was fleeting, but Lin Sicheng saw it very clearly—it was gray. But this was Jadeite; how could it have a gray tint?

In an instant, a flash of light crossed his mind, and Lin Sicheng suddenly understood.

He finally remembered where that "dazzlingly bright" sense of familiarity came from.

A certain streaming platform's live broadcast room: a glamorous female model would shine a High-intensity Flashlight, and the Jadeite ornaments under the halo would emit a deep green light, truly as transparent as glass.

The male streamer would shout until he was hoarse: "Family, is it transparent? Is it watery?"

Of course it was transparent, because the ornaments were cut extremely thin, at most half a centimeter. If you picked up a rock and cut it that thin, you could see a few slivers of light through it.

And of course it was watery: because the back of the ornament was lined with tin foil, which was the exact same principle as General Manager Zhao standing behind the Guanyin to shine a light.

Was it Jadeite?

Of course it was, and it couldn't be truer.

However, it was the same trick as Qinghai Jade, Russian Jade, and Hetian Jade: the same components and composition, nearly identical texture, yet the price of the finished product differed by ten, or even twenty or thirty times.

The former was Burmese Material, the latter was Guatemala Material. The former required blasting deep mines, and digging ten tons might not even yield one piece. The latter, however, was mined in open pits, as easy as picking them up. Therefore, the price of the raw stone differed even more: over fifty times.

But its recognition in China was extremely low; even now, in 2007, let alone collectors and consumers, even slightly smaller jewelers didn't know what Wei Material was.

It wasn't until 2020, when the first major Jadeite case in China was exposed, that Wei Material slowly became known to people.

But before that, if you were cheated, you could only accept your bad luck; the so-called "no refunds after sale" meant even reporting it to the police was useless.

So, the extremely new engraving?

And that extremely subtle, yet extremely strange eye contact between Yang Zhigao and General Manager Zhao?

Plus Chairman Yang's usual tactics... Haha, this was a trap Yang Zhigao had specifically set for Fang Jingxian.

The key was that this jade was so well-made that even the old master would fall for it a second time if he came. If it were Professor Wang, he would probably fall for it even faster, let alone Fang Jingxian?

But unfortunately, he had encountered him, and there were so-called old and new grudges. If he could swallow this, he might as well travel back in time and be a turtle...

After finishing in the restroom, Lin Sicheng returned to the office and sat down.

Seeing his expression remained the same, the couple's wariness began to fade.

The others were still looking carefully and did not notice.

After another few minutes, Yang Zhigao straightened his back: "The water and color are transparent, like mist on glass. The green is pure enough, lush and verdant... A top-grade Proper Ice Floating Flower Yang Green material; how many years has it been since I've seen one?"

As if a giant stone had landed, Fang Jingxian let out a sharp breath: "Many thanks, Chairman Yang!"

"General Manager Fang is too polite!" Yang Zhigao slowly finished wiping his hands and picked up his Tea Cup, "You discuss the rest!"

"Okay... Boss Zhao!"

General Manager Zhao was very direct, hands on his hips: "Five million..."

The word "million" had just left his mouth: "Tap, tap~"

Several people turned their heads in unison; Lin Sicheng seemed to have just realized it, curling his fingers: "Sorry, I was distracted!"

Thinking it was unintentional, Fang Jingxian smiled and turned back: "General Manager Zhao, that's too high!"

"Four point eight..."

Before the word "eight" could be spoken clearly, "Tap, tap~"

With his heart and eyes entirely on the Guanyin Statue, Fang Jingxian still didn't pay it any mind: "Four point eight million, still too high!"

"General Manager Fang, it can't go any lower... How about this, I'll concede a bit more: four hundred..."

This time it was even faster, he didn't even finish saying four hundred and something: "Tap, tap~"

General Manager Zhao's eyelids couldn't stop twitching, and Fang Jingxian finally began to catch on: one tap could be called unintentional, but what about two or three times?

Moreover, every time it happened at the exact moment General Manager Zhao was quoting a price...

Suspicion in his heart, his gaze dropped and landed on Lin Sicheng's face. Immediately, Fang Jingxian's pupils shrank: You'd better not buy it... That was exactly what he meant.

Yang Zhigao didn't understand what was going on, he just felt this little bastard was so annoying.

Based on his understanding, Fang Jingxian was absolutely determined to win today: if General Manager Zhao went all out, he wouldn't dare say four million, but three point seven or eight million would definitely seal the deal.

But suddenly this little bastard popped up and disrupted the rhythm in one go...

He suppressed his anger: "What are you tapping for? If you can't sit still, get out!"

"Fine, I'll go out!"

Lin Sicheng stood up with a smile and reached out his hand leisurely: "The check!"

A check? He wanted a check...

What did that mean?

If it were only to appraise one Buddha statue, the appraisal fee certainly wouldn't be worth thirty thousand, but what if a Jadeite ornament worth millions were added?

Fang Jingxian suddenly reacted, hurriedly grabbed his bag, took out the check, and handed it over.

Lin Sicheng tucked it into his pocket without a trace of worldly concern: "Do you know what that is?"

Fang Jingxian shook his head blankly.

Lin Sicheng smiled again: "It doesn't matter if you don't know, what kind of item are you looking for?"

Suddenly, a flush appeared on Fang Jingxian's face: "A birthday gift, I need a birthday gift... Any price is fine!"

"Good!"

As the words fell, Lin Sicheng had already turned around.

Fang Jingxian glanced at the Guanyin again, gritted his teeth fiercely, and followed.

Yang Zhigao's eyes went wide, not knowing what kind of act this was.

But General Manager Zhao knew that his two deals, worth at least five or six million, had been ruined by this little bastard.

Suddenly, his face turned livid with rage, and he slammed his palm onto the coffee table with a "thud": "You little brat!"

"Haha?"

Lin Sicheng remained smiling: "Jinghong Guy, why don't you curse again and let me hear it?"

General Manager Zhao was stunned for a moment and suddenly shut his mouth.

Yang Zhigao was even angrier, so angry his lungs felt like they were about to explode, because he was the boss behind the scenes. But he couldn't lash out, so he could only stare coldly and harbor secret malice.

"Chairman Yang, are you very angry? It's right to be angry..."

Lin Sicheng turned his head and let out a laugh: "Let me introduce myself, my surname is Lin, the Lin of Lin Zhangqing..."

Yang Zhigao was stunned, his scalp tingling: This tone... and this look?

Who the hell is this?