Chapter 27: Kiln-Transmutation Porcelain

Guan Xingmin scoffed: "If I could tell, I'd be a General Manager, why would I be in public security?"

He based this on logical judgment: with a colophon, a signature, and even a seal, the features were so obvious that if it were a real pot, how could it be bought back for eighty thousand?

"Old Hao, why don't you ask Professor Lin?"

"If Professor Lin couldn't tell, he'd be in public security!"

Guan Xingmin was both annoyed and amused, and pointed at him.

Lin Zhangqing smiled: "The pot shape is imitated extremely well, but Chen Mingyuan's calligraphy and engraving are a bit worse than this... Huh?"

He paused again: "Wait, this calligraphy is wrong!"

With a low cry, Lin Zhangqing picked up the pot and examined it over and over.

He looked for a while, then raised his head to think for a moment. Then he looked for a while more, and raised his head to think for another moment.

After doing this three times, he held the pot in one hand and simply closed his eyes, then traced in the air in front of him with his other hand.

It was just like drawing a Talisman, even more like it than Lin Sicheng.

Hao Jun had a strange expression: when they were at the shop, was Lin Sicheng like this too?

It couldn't be that this was the Lin family's secret, never to be passed on, could it?

No one made a sound; after drawing for three or four minutes, Lin Zhangqing opened his eyes, his pupils shining: "Chen Mansheng!"

Hao Jun was impressed to the point of prostration and gave a thumbs up: as expected of a grandfather and grandson.

Section Chief Guan seemed not to have heard clearly: "Who?"

"Chen Mansheng of the Mansheng Eighteen Styles, but the traces of the Yang-style Mansheng Pot are very heavy; it should be a pot jointly imitated by him and Yang Pengnian!" Lin Zhangqing stroked the pot body, unable to put it down, "A masterpiece!"

Mansheng Pots aren't exactly obscure, are they?

And on the contrary, as long as one knows a little common knowledge about Purple Clay Teapots, one knows the value of a Mansheng Pot.

Guan Xingmin swallowed, his Adam's apple sliding heavily: "Eighty thousand?"

"Authentic, but I didn't buy it, it was Junior Brother Lin!"

Hao Jun pointed proudly at Lin Sicheng, "How about that, this eye for detail is sharp enough, right? I took him there..."

Old Hao, you're joking, right? This is something worth several million!

Besides, in front of Lin Zhangqing, can you just spout such jokes?

Hiss, this expression... it doesn't seem like a joke?

His two sword-like eyebrows suddenly arched, the wrinkles at the brow ridges snapped taut, and Guan Xingmin's heart skipped a beat.

Did Lin Sicheng really scout this pot?

"Little Lin knew this was a Mansheng Pot?"

"He knew, otherwise he wouldn't have dared to spend eighty thousand!"

"Old Hao, I wasn't asking you!"

"Young people have thin skin, how could he be embarrassed to brag about himself?"

Lin Sicheng just smiled, and Guan Xingmin's eyes narrowed: It seems it's true?

Not bad, Old Lin...

He turned his head back and couldn't help but be stunned.

No... Old Lin, what is that look in your eyes?

This is your own grandson.

But looking at your expression, why are you even more shocked than I am?

Lin Sicheng certainly understands porcelain; after all, he was influenced by it from a young age, and before he went to university, he was so well-behaved and so eager to learn.

But this pot is an imitation, and it's imitated so well that relying solely on the shape, craftsmanship features, and pot-making style, it is basically impossible to point to Chen Mansheng and Yang Pengnian.

One must rely on the calligraphy style, the engraving characteristics, the seal style, or other features.

And I don't remember when Lin Sicheng studied calligraphy and Calligraphy and Painting?

It seems he did.

The Chicken Feather Duster he sold to Hao Jun, didn't that rely on knowledge of Calligraphy and Painting?

Lin Zhangqing put down the Purple Clay Teapot, thoughtful: "How did you judge it at the time?"

Lin Sicheng was concise: "Pottery clay!"

Hmm, the material?

Lin Zhangqing raised his eyebrows and picked up the pot to weigh it.

It was very light.

He tapped it twice more.

The external sound was very crisp, but the echo inside the pot belly was slightly muffled, indicating the body was not thin.

Then why would it be so light?

There is only one possibility: the pottery clay has low density, much lower than Yixing pottery clay.

"The Kaolin Clay content is low; this is not Yixing clay."

Lin Zhangqing turned the pot over to look at the base,

"Yet it is a typical sedimentary clay-based siltstone, and the Hematite content is also very high; it must belong to the same geological unit as the interlayer mineral veins of Huanglong Mountain in Yixing (the origin of Yixing pottery clay)..."

After a moment of thought, Lin Zhangqing's eyes lit up: "Changxing, Liyang... no, it's Liyang: Chen Mansheng served as County Magistrate in Liyang..."

Guan Xingmin suddenly realized.

To put it plainly, the pottery clay used for this pot did not originate too far from Yixing, such as in Liyang, which borders it directly.

And as it happens, Chen Mansheng served as County Magistrate in Liyang, and it was also in Liyang that he recruited Yang Pengnian and fired the first Mansheng Pot.

Lin Sicheng must have used this to deduce that it was a Mansheng Pot.

"But the reason doesn't seem sufficient!"

Guan Xingmin shook his head, "For instance, why couldn't it be Changxing? Changxing is closer to Huanglong Mountain, its pottery clay composition is more similar to Yixing clay, and there are records of firing Purple Clay Teapots dating back to the mid-Ming dynasty. In contrast, Liyang is completely obscure..."

"It is precisely because the Changxing pottery clay is so similar to the Yixing pottery clay that it proves this is not a Changxing pot!"

Hao Jun used what he had just learned, pulled out a Flashlight, and a blue light shone out, "Lao Guan, do you see that? This pot contains copper. Changxing has no copper mines, and Yixing has even fewer, only the neighboring Liyang has them..."

Guan Xingmin stared, his neck stretching forward.

No, what on earth is this thing?

A Purple Clay Teapot glowing blue... I've learned something new today!

He was indeed in the police force, but that didn't mean he didn't understand: at the very least, he was a legitimate graduate of a Cultural Relics Protection major. It was just that he was specially recruited right after graduation and had been doing this line of work ever since.

Therefore, his experience could not be called anything but rich; on certain levels, he might have seen even more than Hao Jun.

But to be honest, he had truly never seen a Purple Clay Teapot that glowed blue.

So how should this be classified: a Purple Blue Sand Pot, or a Blue Purple Sand Pot?

Seeing Guan Xingmin stunned and dumbfounded, Hao Jun leaned in: "Lao Guan, if it were you, and you didn't know this was a Mansheng Pot, would you buy it?"

How could that be possible?

Never mind eighty thousand, even if it were only eight thousand, he would still have to consider it.

Huh, that's not quite right?

Hao Jun said he was the one who took Lin Sicheng there. That meant he had seen this pot long ago. But why was it Lin Sicheng who picked up the bargain, and not old Hao?

Guan Xingmin looked up suspiciously and observed the expressions of the two: one was calm and composed, the other was acting shifty.

Haha... old Hao had really missed the mark.

Nine times out of ten, Lin Sicheng had tipped him off, and more than once, but he hadn't listened, or perhaps he hadn't believed it.

But to be honest, if it were himself, he might not have believed it either: he was too young.

So, that was why old Hao was preparing him in advance: don't let the pot call the kettle black, if it were you, Guan, it would be the same!

Director Guan held back his laughter: "So you didn't buy it?"

Hao Jun nodded with a sheepish smile.

"Lin Sicheng didn't tip you off?"

"He did!"

"How many times?"

Hao Jun was like a clam, keeping his mouth shut.

"Haha... then you deserve it!"

Just as he was enjoying himself, Lin Zhangqing put down the pot, looked at Hao Jun, and then looked at Lin Sicheng.

His expression was very surprised, yet it also carried a hint of solemnity.

Hao Jun understood roughly and smiled nonchalantly:

"Professor Lin, Lin Sicheng said that this pot is very likely a unique piece. If it settles for two years before going to auction, it could fetch at least five or six million... I didn't let him say the rest, so you don't need to feel bad about it..."

Old Hao was magnanimous, and Lin Sicheng was even more so.

If it were Guan Xingmin, he would definitely hesitate for a moment: this was six million, what if old Hao wanted to split it in half?

"It is indeed not low!" Lin Zhangqing nodded, "After all, it is Kiln-transmutation Porcelain!"

Guan Xingmin and Hao Jun were both stunned, their scalps tingling: what the hell?