Chapter 105: Liu Haisu (Monthly Ticket Bonus Chapter 33)

The aroma filled the entire dining room, and the table was packed full.

There were meat dishes and vegetable dishes, all complete in color, aroma, and taste.

Ye Anning gripped her chopsticks tightly, tendons standing out on her wrists, her phoenix eyes shimmering with moisture from the steam, and fine beads of water condensing on her thick eyelashes.

Her chopsticks moved incessantly, her mouth chewed non-stop, her cheeks were puffed out like steamed buns, and the corners of her mouth, stained with rice grains, were glistening from the sauce.

This eating manner... is she like someone just released from prison?

Lin Sicheng held his chopsticks, pausing in mid-air.

Ye Anning seemed to notice something; she raised her head and gave a simple, honest smile: "Lin Sicheng, it's really delicious!"

Then, she continued as before.

Wang Qi Zhi gritted his teeth: Ye Anning, even pigs eat more gracefully than you.

He had just wanted to scold her when he received a kick on his lower leg.

Right.

He had forgotten for a moment that Lin Sicheng was also here.

Pretending not to see, Wang Qi Zhi lowered his head to eat.

Dan Wangshu picked up a slice of fish for Wang Youjian, her eyes filled with a smile: "Youjian, is it delicious?"

"Mm-hmm~ delicious!"

The little fatty nodded vigorously: "Brother, what kind of fish is this?"

Lin Sicheng smiled: "Warm-braised mandarin fish slices."

"What about the shrimp?"

"Just ordinary braised shrimp, but you have to fry them in lard first!"

"So delicious~ Brother, will you come to our house as a guest next week too?"

Lin Sicheng was caught off guard by the question: should he come or not?

He thought for a moment: "Okay!"

The little fatty beamed, and Dan Wangshu's lips curled up in a way that was almost imperceptible.

Wang Qi Zhi, on the other hand, was completely confused: didn't you just scold me for being impolite? How is it that in the blink of an eye, the mother and son are already planning to have Lin Sicheng come over to cook next week?

While he was suspicious, Dan Wangshu used serving chopsticks to put a shrimp into Lin Sicheng's bowl: "Qi Zhi said you are only twenty; you started school quite early?"

"Thank you, Madam!" Lin Sicheng smiled, "Not that early, I skipped a grade in the second grade of elementary school."

"Oh, no wonder. What month is your birthday?"

"November 20th!"

"That's coming up soon, then?" After saying this, Dan Wangshu seemed to suddenly remember, "Qi Zhi, what date is Anning's birthday?"

Wang Qi Zhi was still puzzled: You've raised her since she was little, you don't know Ye Anning's birthday?

"November 13th, isn't it?"

"Oh, so close, just a week apart?" Dan Wangshu looked quite surprised, "Sicheng, you'll be celebrating it then, right?"

"Ah?" Lin Sicheng was stunned: "I haven't celebrated it before!"

"Oh, is that so?" Dan Wangshu wasn't disappointed at all, "Anning basically doesn't celebrate either, but we definitely have to celebrate this year. We'll invite you then; you'll come, right?"

Lin Sicheng didn't think much of it: "I'll come!"

"It's a deal then; it's only lively when there are more people!"

Dan Wangshu pursed her lips and smiled, then looked at Ye Anning.

Ye Anning was sitting right next to her; her chopsticks subconsciously paused, and her eyelids drooped slightly.

Dan Wangshu nodded secretly: It's settled!

Upon hearing about the birthday, Wang Qi Zhi calculated it specifically and let out an "Eh": "I almost forgot: once this birthday passes, she'll be twenty-four. Is the girl in her zodiac year next year?"

Ye Anning paused and gave him a subtle glare. Dan Wangshu was about to grind her teeth to pieces, wishing she could slam the rice bowl in her hand onto Wang Qi Zhi's forehead.

Wang Qi Zhi, oh Wang Qi Zhi, why do you have to bring up the one thing that shouldn't be mentioned?

When you should be smart, you're stupider than a pig!

He received another kick on his lower leg, much heavier than the last, and only then did Wang Qi Zhi realize what was happening.

His mouth opened slightly, and a strange look flashed in his eyes: So that's why she was asking Lin Sicheng to come over as a guest next week and inviting him to celebrate Ye Anning's birthday. So that's what his wife meant?

As these thoughts turned, he looked at Ye Anning again.

She looks quite simple and honest, but the problem is, can Lin Sicheng really not tell if you're truly simple or just pretending?

Forget it, let nature take its course and leave it to fate.

He had no intention of interfering and buried his head in his meal.

After the little fatty finished eating, he went to do his homework, and Dan Wangshu brought out a wine bottle and glasses.

Knowing Lin Sicheng didn't like it much, Wang Qi Zhi opened one bottle, and the four of them each had a glass.

They just chatted, talking about school, Wang Qi Zhi's past interesting stories, and Dan Wangshu's current workplace.

Ye Anning suddenly remembered: "Lin Sicheng, do you have time tomorrow? Help me look at something..."

Before she could finish, Wang Qi Zhi flatly refused: "No time!"

Ye Anning pursed her lips: "I meant after school!"

"No time after school either!" Wang Qi Zhi put down his wine glass, "Ye Anning, I haven't even asked you yet: what kind of lousy job is this you have? Such a big company, and there's no one else..."

Before he could finish, he got kicked in the leg again. Wang Qi Zhi paused and curled his lip: "Bring it back to look at tomorrow. Lin Sicheng has things to do these two days and won't have time to go out, and he has to stay at school at night!"

Assuming there was something going on at the laboratory, Dan Wangshu and Ye Anning didn't think much of it.

They chatted for a while longer, talking about their first meeting and the internal reference book Lin Sicheng sold to Wang Qi Zhi. Dan Wangshu pointed to the curio shelf: "Sicheng, your eye for antiques is so good, why don't you help me look at these things and see how they are?"

Instantly, Wang Qi Zhi's heart tightened.

Suddenly, Lin Sicheng understood in his heart.

In the blink of an eye, the teacher and student exchanged a glance.

Dan Wangshu didn't notice, but Ye Anning saw it clearly and pursed her lips slightly.

"Okay, Mistress!"

After replying, Lin Sicheng stood up, and Dan Wangshu and Ye Anning also stood up.

Only Wang Qi Zhi remained calm and composed, holding his cup and slowly sipping wine.

As the book says well: Let the Wind blow from all eight directions, this old man remains unmoved...

There were quite a lot of items, three antique shelves, with almost no empty space.

They were also quite varied, from metal and stone seals to porcelain and ancient coins, everything one could expect to find. The key was, they were all quite authentic.

But it wasn't strange: Professor Wang's eye for antiques was not bad, and his experience was even richer; there weren't many things that could fool him.

Just as he was thinking this, Dan Wangshu took down a porcelain plate: "Look at this one first!"

"Okay!"

Lin Sicheng received it into his hands:

A round plate with a White Glaze base; the bottom of the plate was painted with a bundle of pine branches and a white crane standing on one leg.

The glazed surface was smooth and bright, the colors vivid, and the brushwork was excellent: the coloring was elegant and the brushstrokes were vigorous and graceful.

It was just a bit too new; the glazed surface clearly had a "thief's luster," and the painting was also overly realistic.

After looking it over roughly, Lin Sicheng turned it over to check the mark: Made in the Guangxu Reign of the Great Qing.

It was definitely not an item from the Guangxu period, but this piece was certainly not something that would make Wang Qi Zhi misjudge.

He was exceptionally certain: "Mistress, this is a new Famille Rose from the Republic of China, incorporating Western painting techniques and using lead-free Glaze Material, it just borrowed the Guangxu mark."

You saw that quite quickly?

From picking it up to reaching a conclusion, it only took two minutes.

Dan Wangshu nodded, skipped this shelf entirely, went to the middle, and then took out a piece of Gongting Kuchu, that is, a gourd.

This kind of thing is very rare because it is not practical, so it was rarely produced by the common people, hence it is also called "Gongting Kuchu."

The general method is that when the gourd is fruiting, it is clamped tight with molds of various shapes and engraved with various patterns, and after it grows naturally, it is cut and processed to become the desired utensil.

They are generally used as ornaments and are not carved, so they are elegant and clear.

Looking at this piece again: it is in the shape of a duck with a curved neck looking back, the middle is slender and curved into a neck, and it is matched with a duck's beak, vivid and lifelike, and the texture is natural.

Is it still a Kangxi mark?

There is only one point, it is a bit too old; although some places still have luster, it is not full, nor is it natural.

Likewise, Lin Sicheng believed that such an item should not be enough to make Wang Qi Zhi misjudge.

"A modern imitation, at the earliest no earlier than the founding of the country!"

"Ah, is it an imitation?" Dan Wangshu seemed very surprised, "How was it imitated?"

"First, washing: using sodium hydroxide or hydrogen peroxide to treat the surface, and after corrosion patterns appear, then roasting, then smoking, and then polishing with Fine Sandpaper. Then waxing and wiping to make the wood surface appear old, but still retain the effect of a patina."

Dan Wangshu was stunned: "That's quite complicated?"

"It is quite complicated!" Lin Sicheng turned around and put it back, "Otherwise it wouldn't be imitated so realistically!"

A few traces of disappointment appeared on Dan Wangshu's face.

Lin Sicheng didn't see it, but Ye Anning saw it very clearly, pursing her lips and smiling silently. Then she turned her head and blinked at Wang Qi Zhi.

Wang Qi Zhi glared at her: Why didn't your aunt follow the script?

Ye Anning gave him a look: How would I know? But you deserve it.

Letting you give Lin Sicheng a secret signal, how is it now?

Moving forward again, Dan Wangshu took down a Lacquer Box, and Lin Sicheng took a look: A carved Black Tea flower-covered box?

He had been doing Artifact Research on lacquer for a while, but this was his first time seeing a lacquerware piece.

Looking closer: the lid was decorated with over a dozen camellia flowers, with oval leaves interspersed among them, overlapping front and back, with a full layout and full of vitality.

The vertical walls were decorated in turn with chrysanthemums, roses, camellias, peonies, and pomegranates, arranged in pairs, alternating between looking up and looking down.

The craftsmanship was highly representative: a typical Ming Yongle multi-layered red lacquer Carving Flowers box, with thick lacquer layers and rounded carving.

It was a pity, it was an imitation: lacquerware also ages, and having been placed from the early Ming Dynasty to now, the color could not possibly remain so vivid.

It should be a product from the late Qing Dynasty, but the common people could not imitate this level of exquisiteness; at the very least, it was a palace imitation.

Taking another look, the words "imitation" were on the tip of his tongue, but accidentally catching sight of Ye Anning's half-smiling expression, Lin Sicheng thought of a clever solution in his haste, and his tongue took a turn:

"Mistress, this is a Qing imitation!"

"Ah?" Dan Wangshu's eyes lit up, "Roughly which reign?"

That's right, which reign?

At most after Guangxu, but he definitely couldn't say that.

With a change of thought, Lin Sicheng moved it forward by two hundred years: "At least the three generations of the Qing, it looks like it's before Qianlong..."

"Oh, really?" Dan Wangshu was even happier, "Your teacher also said it looks like a Kangxi Imitation!"

"Yes, yes, yes, it is exactly a Kangxi Imitation!" Lin Sicheng nodded vigorously, "If you hadn't mentioned it, I wouldn't have remembered... the teacher still has a sharp eye!"

Ye Anning gritted her teeth, lowered her head, and her facial features crumpled into a ball.

There was no other way; if she didn't do this, she would laugh out loud.

The more she endured, the more painful it was, and she cursed inwardly: Lin Sicheng, you are really something, this is your Mistress, and you are coaxing her like this?

Of course, the one to blame most was her uncle: too much!

Just as she was cursing, seeing Dan Wangshu take down a picture frame, Ye Anning's heart stirred, and she leaned in a little closer.

It was an oil painting: a quiet young girl wearing a fox fur shawl, standing quietly under a tree.

But there was no title, no colophon, no signature, and no seal; there was only the painting.

Looking closer: the overall tone was cool, yet the color expression was intense, and the lines were bold and unrefined. The brushwork was extremely heavy, yet it subtly revealed a sharp edge, possessing quite a bit of the charm of "a heavy sword has no edge, great skill is not crafted."

The main color tone was black, supplemented by gray and yellow, with rich layers, sharp contrast, and a very strong visual impact.

What was strange was the composition of the base layer: it looked like splashed ink in a traditional Chinese painting, followed by washes and outlines. Only afterwards were oil painting techniques used to adjust the details.

Especially the handling of the lines: outlining, leaving blank space, and texturing with washes—typical center-tip brushwork.

Looking at it this way, it became a typical "Western painting with Chinese methods": the splashed-ink Landscape Pattern technique of traditional Chinese painting, fused with the light and shadow techniques of Western Impressionism.

The key was the blending of color and ink, where the freehand spirit of the East intertwined with the three-dimensional sense of the West, possessing both visual expression and a flowing charm.

To be able to paint to this level, it must certainly be a famous master.

And it felt very familiar.

Lin Sicheng closed his eyes and thought for a moment, then suddenly opened them. His gaze swept over Dan Wangshu and Ye Anning, and a flash of light flickered in his pupils.

He looked again at Wang Qi Zhi on the sofa, who was sitting steady and composed, looking perfectly at ease.

Seeing Lin Sicheng staring at him, Wang Qi Zhi slowly picked up his Tea Cup: "Look at the painting; why are you looking at me?"

Ye Anning curled her lips: Uncle, do you think Lin Sicheng is giving you a secret signal?

He was surprised: This shouldn't be; when did Teacher acquire this level of discernment and skill?

Just as he was secretly amused, Lin Sicheng let out a breath: "Liu Haisu!"