Chapter 321: Not Many Real Things

The autumn wind was slightly cool, and the willow leaves were golden.

Bright Red lanterns swayed with the wind, the street was hung with colorful flags, and the air was permeated with a festive atmosphere.

Two cars stopped at the entrance, several people got out, and subconsciously looked up.

Three stories high, with gray walls and green tiles, and a large vermilion gate tower. A huge horizontal plaque hung above the door: Qianjin Lu.

Beside it hung another vertical plaque: Qianjin Lu Metal Cultural Relic Restoration Center.

Through the glass of the revolving door, the lobby was magnificent and shimmering with light.

Zhao Xiuxian pointed and said, "Professor Wang, Teacher Lin, this is the place!"

"Not a small place?" Lin Sicheng looked around, "Teacher, have you been here before?"

"Never been, but I've heard of it!" Wang Qi Zhi nodded, "It's quite famous in Beijing, it can be considered a top-tier old brand."

"It has indeed been around for a long time, it's been open for nearly twenty years!" Zhao Xiuneng recalled, "It's said the founder was a Craftsman from the Imperial Household Department's Construction Office, but I've never dealt with them."

"Don't listen to his bragging; even our mother wouldn't dare claim to be a Craftsman from the Imperial Household Department. Big Brother, calculate it again: how old is the old lady, and how many years has this shop actually been open?"

Zhao Xiuneng shook his head, "It has absolutely nothing to do with the imperial court; they were just old-time artisans in Beijing during the Republic of China period. As for how high their skill level is, it's just alright..."

With that "just alright," Lin Sicheng had a rough judgment: the skill wasn't top-notch, but it was sufficient; the main thing was that the gimmick was strong and the publicity was good.

As they were talking, a greeter came out, wearing a sycee-shaped bun and a cheongsam with slits up to the thighs. She was quite pretty, her skin was quite fair, and she was quite retro, with a thick Republic of China style.

It was just that she was shivering from the cold.

Zhao Xiuxian introduced himself, and the greeter led them into the shop, and then led them to the second floor.

Zhao Xiuneng let out a "Heh": "Quite a high-and-mighty attitude, huh?"

Strictly speaking, they were here to help, but not only did the boss not show up, they hadn't even seen a Manager, which felt a bit disrespectful.

Zhao Xiuxian smiled self-deprecatingly: "We are all Scavengers of Broken Pieces (doing Artifact Restoration), but our business isn't as good as theirs, and our fame isn't as big as theirs, so naturally there's a bit of contempt."

"Don't drag me into this; if you want to blame someone, blame your own lack of ability!"

"Boss, I don't like hearing that: all year round, how many pieces do I even get to repair?"

Zhao Xiuneng let out a "Pfft": "Nonsense, with that half-baked skill of yours, you'd need someone to actually be brave enough to ask you to repair things!"

Zhao Xiuxian gnashed his teeth.

Lin Sicheng didn't really care: helping was a pretense, finding the item was the real goal, so there was no need to be too calculating.

Thinking this to himself, he looked around.

The exhibition hall was quite large, decorated in an antique style, and the curio cabinets were filled with objects.

Gold-inlaid jade, silver belt hooks, Engraving Flowers ewers, Gold-gilding tea sets. There were even filigree gold and silver, and wire-inlaid Bronze.

They were all imitations, likely made by the shop itself; at first glance, they were glittering and blindingly bright. But looking closely, the craftsmanship could only be considered average.

Lin Sicheng estimated these were likely the work of Apprentices. Judging by the part, the master's skill must be higher, but as Zhao Xiuxian said, it certainly wasn't top-tier.

Walking and looking, the group went up to the second floor. In the cubicle-style workstations, a dozen men and women wearing headlamps were repairing things.

Surrounding them were instrument rooms, quite complete: Laser Cleaner, electron microscope detection, and microscopic operation tables.

A man around forty years old came up to meet them and shook hands with Zhao Xiuxian.

"General Manager Zhao!"

"The boss looks a bit unfamiliar, what is your surname?"

"Li Jiansheng is my master!"

The man replied, then looked left and right.

He first looked at Zhao Xiuneng, then looked at Wang Qi Zhi, his gaze never resting on the faces of Lin Sicheng, Zhao Da, or Zhao Er.

"General Manager Zhao, which one is the master?"

Feeling that introducing Lin Sicheng directly would be a bit conspicuous, Zhao Xiuxian pointed to them one by one: "All three of them are!"

Three?

The man only then realized that although he was the youngest, and even younger than the two men behind him who were clearly lackeys, Lin Sicheng was standing the furthest in front.

Suddenly, a strange look flashed in his eyes: Zhao Xiuxian, are you kidding me?

Just thinking it in his heart, the man didn't say anything and pointed to an independent workroom nearby: "Let's look at the items first!"

"Fine, let's look at the items!"

Afterward, they went in, and the man had the Apprentices bring the items.

Zhao Xiuneng and Wang Qi Zhi exchanged a look, their expressions somewhat playful.

By now, the man hadn't even introduced himself, let alone asked for their names. He hadn't even poured a cup of water?

He clearly didn't take them seriously at all, planning to just brush them off and send them away.

It wasn't like they were really here to help repair things, but if they were, the two of them would definitely have picked up Lin Sicheng and left: with this shitty attitude, why would I repair anything for you?

Of course, it was also because they were peers, and this shop's fame and scale in the industry were much higher than Zhao Xiuxian's Baizhai, so they subconsciously felt contempt.

If it were a customer, it definitely wouldn't be this kind of face.

Thinking this to himself, the three young men carried in several boxes and placed them on the table, and the man cupped his hands: "I'll leave it to you!"

This final cupping of hands was quite interesting; translated, it meant: if you have the skill, show it; if not, get out.

Zhao Xiuneng glared: Second Brother, how did you handle this?

Zhao Xiuxian looked aggrieved: You were in such a rush, and the difficulty was so high; if I wanted to find out useful Information, didn't I have to find a way and suffer a little grievance?

Coming here to help without even discussing payment, and the key was that the master who was going to do the work was so young; anyone would have to wonder: how much real skill can he have?

Contempt was inevitable.

Seeing the two brothers exchanging looks, Lin Sicheng shook his head slightly: This really couldn't be blamed on General Manager Zhao; even if they came up empty-handed today, and it had nothing to do with Ma Shan or that tomb in Yixian, they still had to be very grateful.

He signaled, Zhao Da opened the leather bag, and Zhao Er took out gloves and handed them over. Fang Jin took out some of the tools he often used.

Lin Sicheng put them on carefully, and the man opposite was stunned: After all this, is this really a master?

The posture was certainly confident enough, but looking at his face, he was only in his early twenties. At this age in this shop, he wouldn't even qualify as an Apprentice; he'd only be good for dusting, sweeping the floor, and managing the Treasury.

But since the items had already been brought over, he would let him take a look first to see if he could identify them correctly. As for whether to repair them or not, that would be decided after looking.

With these thoughts, Lin Sicheng opened the first box and took the item into his hands.

It was an Inlaid Gemstone Gold-Inlaid Hetian Jade Bear; the item was not large, but exquisite and unique. The jade quality was good, and the craftsmanship was even better—typical handiwork of the Palace Internal Affairs Office Jade Workshop during the Qing Dynasty.

Although the soil encrustation was not heavy, it was clearly Raw Pit Goods at a glance, having been dug up for only two or three years.

Therefore, the timeline did not match up first; looking at the soil rust, it was clearly unearthed from a dry sand pit tomb. Shaanxi, Gansu, Ningxia, Shanxi, or even Inner Mongolia and XJ were all possibilities, and it could even have been unearthed in northern Hebei, but it was the only thing that could not have been unearthed in Baoding, south of the Yanshan Mountains.

After a rough appraisal, Lin Sicheng flipped the Jade Bear over.

It must have suffered external damage; this half of the Gold Foil had completely vanished, not a single Gemstone remained, and the jade surface was pitted and scarred, with a pit here and a groove there.

The difficulty of Artifact Restoration was not small: the jade surface was easy to repair; just take Hetian Jade powder to fill it in and smooth it out. The Gemstones were also easy to inlay; Turquoise and red Agate were relatively common items.

The only difficult part was the gold inlay: the original grooves had been mostly destroyed, so one had to fill them in and then re-carve the grooves in the original places before inlaying the Gold Foil.

The difficulty lay in the fact that the groove shape had to be carved into a dovetail groove—narrow at the top and wide at the bottom—and the bottom had to have a hook groove for the Gold Foil to catch the edge, otherwise it would fall off within a few days of being applied.

If it were the original artifact, it would naturally be easy to carve. But here, it was filled-in jade powder, and the difference in the coefficient of expansion between it and the original jade was very large; one careless move and it would chip, and it was not impossible for the entire Jade Bear to shatter into several pieces.

Lin Sicheng pondered for a moment and put the Jade Bear down: "It can be repaired, it's just quite time-consuming!"

The man was stunned for a moment and let out a "Ha": Have you looked clearly, and you just say it can be repaired?

Previously, he had thought that since Zhao Xiuxian was considered an expert, he wouldn't dare bring someone over unless they had some level of skill, or at least some discernment.

It turns out he was a layman?

Don't look at this thing as small and seemingly simple; there were no more than three people in the shop who could and knew how to repair it.

Never mind a kid whose hair hasn't even grown out yet, why don't you ask Zhao Xiuxian if he understands it?

The man suddenly didn't want to talk anymore and waved his hand, letting the shop assistant put the Jade Bear away.

Lin Sicheng could roughly guess, but he didn't care and opened the second box.

Just as he got it in his hands, his eyes lit up: A Gold Filigree Inlaid Turquoise Plate?

At first glance, it was just a gold plate, but only by looking closely or using a Magnifying Glass could one see how exquisite it was and how complex the craftsmanship was:

The wall of the plate was not flat, but woven from gold wire; at a thinness of one millimeter, it had a full five layers of scrolling grass patterns.

Each decorative pattern was composed of as many as dozens of hexagonal honeycombs with hole spacing of only half a millimeter, and each honeycomb was woven from gold rope with a diameter of only 0.1 millimeters. Each gold rope was in turn twisted from eight gold wires.

Calculate it, how thick is each gold wire?

Fine workmanship was secondary; the key was the difficulty of the craftsmanship: just for the frame weaving, each layer had at least three hundred scrolling grass patterns. One had to weave so many patterns to be the same size and the same three-dimensional shape, then stack them layer by layer and weld them layer by layer.

Then, Gemstones were inlaid into the filigree, followed by edging with gold sheets and Engraving Flowers.

For just such a Bowl, three or five Craftsmen working together would need time measured at least in "seasons." Let alone pure gold wire, even if it were woven from bamboo strips, it would be beautiful to the extreme.

Therefore, many antiques are expensive not because they have been kept for many years, but because they were expensive the moment they were created.

But unfortunately, this one was not.

Although it was pure gold wire and the Gemstones were real Gemstones, and the scrolling grass patterns, honeycombs, and even the gold rope and thick wires were identical—fine to the point of being impossible to be finer—it was a modern imitation.

To put it bluntly, the filigree was programmed by computer and woven by a machine.

Even the damaged parts were artificially created; Lin Sicheng made a blind guess: it should be that the parts where the edges were finished couldn't be done by machine, and the person who made this Bowl didn't have the skill, so they could only deliberately cause damage and simply turn it into a damaged vessel.

If it were a modern handicraft, it would be worth at most a few thousand or ten thousand. But if it were a genuine piece, let alone just a broken edge, even if only half a bowl remained, it would be worth five or six hundred thousand.

After a rough glance, he put it down casually: "This one doesn't need repair!"

The man paused: "Why?"

Lin Sicheng was concise: "A fake!"

What the hell?

He stared at Lin Sicheng for a few moments, then turned his head to stare at Zhao Xiuxian.

General Manager Zhao, are you actually capable or not?

You kept promising the boss that you were definitely bringing an expert this time, and as a result, you brought a hack?

Look at the color of this gold wire, look at this workmanship, where could it possibly be imitated?

Not to mention anything else, can't you even see the rust color in these Gemstone petals?

If it weren't for the fact that the boss and his master both knew Zhao Xiuxian, the man would have kicked him out on the spot.

He gave a forced smile, a "Hehe" sound, and waved his hand again, letting the shop assistant take the box away.

Lin Sicheng opened the third item.

Huh, a Gold Engraving Flowers Inlaid Pearl Ruyi-style Incense Burner?

Compared to it, this piece was more exquisite than that Bowl, with higher technical difficulty and longer time consumption. Because this item not only required filigree, but also engraving, inlaying, and Kingfisher Feather Inlay.

The point was that the Ruyi had to be hollowed out, so initially, every petal was engraved separately. Then they were welded one by one to form the patterns.

The key was that the base was too thin, barely half a millimeter, yet it had to produce the effect of High Relief and hollowed-out relief with an average depth of three millimeters, which could not be engraved into shape at once.

To avoid cracking the body, it could only be repeatedly tempered, with only a little bit engraved at a time. Therefore, the engraving process alone would take more than two months. To build the whole thing, it would take at least half a year.

And what was even stranger was that this item was actually half-real and half-fake?

If dated, the original artifact should be from around the middle of the Qing Dynasty, no earlier than Qianlong and no later than Jiaqing. But it was estimated that it was not preserved well, and the gold wires of the left and middle burner boxes had large-scale fractures.

For the sake of restoration, the peony made of Enamel and Kingfisher Feather Inlay on the lid was dug out, after which it was re-filigreed, the foil was welded, and the Enamel was re-applied.

But the craftsmanship was not up to par; whether it was the later-added gold wire or the later-applied kingfisher feathers, whether in terms of fineness or aesthetics, there was a world of difference compared to before.

It was welded quite firmly, but the technique was too poor; not to mention the coarse weld spots, the materials used were also not good. Including the later-added gold wire, it contained too much lead, and the gold looked grayish and whitish, so one could see the difference at a glance.

As for the Enamel, it wasn't Lin Sicheng bragging, but he could apply it better than this even with his eyes closed.

If he were to infer: the original artifact came from the Zaozuochang and later flowed out of the palace. It was roughly repaired once during the late Qing and Beiyang periods, but it was not the work of palace Craftsmen, but the handiwork of folk artists.

Therefore, it still had nothing to do with that tomb at Mu Mausoleum or with Mashan.

"This one is a bit difficult!" Lin Sicheng pondered for a moment, "I have to dismantle this later-added part, then take apart the entire lid, re-filigree it, and everything—including the Enamel peony and this layer of Gemstones on the inner ring—has to be re-inlaid..."

At first, the man was still nodding, meaning "You know it's difficult, that's good." Immediately, he froze again, his eyes staring straight at Lin Sicheng.

"Replacements, which ones are replacements?"

Lin Sicheng pointed: "Just the incense boxes on the left and in the middle; these two pieces on the lids that have turned gray and white should be folk craftsmanship from the early Republic of China!"

Haha, replacements, Republic of China?

The man let out a laugh, but his face remained expressionless: "Brother, do you know what Raw Pit Goods are?"

"I know, things just dug out of a tomb!"

"Then do you know what period tomb this stuff came from?" The man gestured, "Mid-Qing!"

Lin Sicheng nodded, "Then it must have been repaired during the Republic of China, and then buried in a Mid-Qing tomb!"

Are you talking bullshit?

This is clearly contamination from anti-corrosive elements like cinnabar, lead, and arsenic in the tomb, causing the gold to deteriorate.

It's the same principle as a woman's gold necklace turning black after being worn for a long time because she likes to wear oil or powder.

"Since it's difficult, then forget it!"

He hadn't intended to ask Zhao Xiuxian for help anyway, and the man couldn't be bothered to argue. With a "snap," he closed the box lid and cupped his hands toward Zhao Xiuxian: "Boss Zhao, thanks!"

That's it?

Zhao Xiuneng let out a "ha," laughing out of anger.

Zhao Xiuxian froze; his face went pale first, then red, instantly turning red to the roots of his neck.

It wasn't that he hadn't been looked down upon or laughed at before, but that was because his skills were lacking and he had exposed his shortcomings.

Being outmatched in skill, he deserved it.

But today, he had truly brought an expert along, and he had come knocking on their door, eager and fawning. Not only did he not see what he wanted to see, but he was also toyed with as if being humiliated?

What, no humiliation?

They had been here for half a day, and they didn't even know what this dog-day person was called or what his surname was.

The more Zhao Xiuxian thought about it, the angrier he got; Lin Sicheng, however, wasn't very angry, just a bit puzzled.

It was truly haunted; everything was fine in Xijing, but the moment he arrived in Beijing, it was as if he had activated a taunt skill, encountering such shitty things constantly?

It was like this at the Xiling auction last time, and it was like this when he encountered a scammer at Panjiayuan last time. Today, he wasn't even picking up leaks or authenticating, just looking at a few loose items, and it was still like this?

Seeing his depressed expression, Wang Qi Zhi chuckled, "Hehehe."

No matter how mature for his age he was, he was only twenty-two, and he had such delicate skin—if people didn't look down on you, who would they look down on?

Then why wasn't it like this in Xijing?

As the saying goes, people rely on clothes and horses on saddles. If Lin Sicheng didn't drive General Manager Zhao's Mercedes-Benz, didn't drive his Jeep Grand Cherokee, and didn't bring Zhao Da and Zhao Er, why not let him try driving his grandfather's beat-up Santana out?

Besides, eight out of ten times he went out, he had someone with him. If it wasn't him, it was Hao Jun, or else it was Guan Xingmin. They were all prominent figures in the Xijing antique circle; who didn't recognize them?

After laughing a few times, Wang Qi Zhi gave Zhao Xiuxian a look, meaning don't be impatient, let's see the items first.

Then, he reached out his hand: "Boss, didn't you say there was still a piece of 'Yellow Goods' (boutique, treasure)?"

The man was stunned for a moment, his face looking strange. He looked at Wang Qi Zhi, then at Lin Sicheng: So after all this, you guys came here to Steal Cold Rice (poach business)?

No wonder the boss and the master both said that Zhao Xiuxian was like a weasel wishing a chicken a Happy New Year—he had no good intentions!

Let alone shaking hands, the man didn't even offer a smile: "If you can't understand these few pieces, looking at that would be a waste of time!"

Wang Qi Zhi still had his hand extended, his smile frozen on his face: Screw you?

See?

I knew you definitely wouldn't be able to smile!

Lin Sicheng sighed: "Teacher, let's go first!"

Wang Qi Zhi suppressed his anger: That's right, we are cultured people; we talk about civilization and reason.

Can a place that dares to accept Raw Pit Goods be a proper place?

Just you wait!

Secretly fuming, the group stood up. Just as they exited the workshop, two men and a woman entered the stairwell.

The men were older, both in their fifties or sixties; one was quite thin, and the other had his arm in a sling, as if he had been injured.

The woman was younger, in her thirties, with a delicate figure and a charming, graceful air.

Seeing Zhao Xiuxian, the thin one stepped forward: "General Manager Zhao, apologies, a client arrived unexpectedly, so I had to attend to them!"

Bullshit; even if a client arrived, couldn't you have made a phone call to let us know? It was clearly that he didn't take him seriously.

Like master, like servant; that's why this bastard, whether he was the store manager or the assistant manager, had such an arrogant attitude.

"There's nothing to apologize for," Zhao Xiuxian suppressed his anger, "Boss Feng manages his subordinates well, with proper etiquette and diligent thrift... Oh right, Boss Feng, may I ask, what is this manager's surname?"

"Oh, his surname is Yang, he's Old Li's apprentice..."

After replying, Boss Feng froze for a moment, looking past Zhao Xiuxian's shoulder toward the back.

Behind them was the workshop; apart from the one at the workstation, there wasn't even an extra stool.

There were a few boxes on the table, and nothing else.

This clearly meant they hadn't offered a seat, hadn't served tea, and, in fact, hadn't even made a proper introduction?

Feng Shizong turned his head and exchanged a look with his Partner: It was likely that when the two of them were talking about Zhao Xiuxian yesterday, Xiao Yang had overheard them.

In this circle of Artifact Restoration, Zhao Xiuxian's reputation was actually not very good; he lacked skill but loved to take on business.

He couldn't repair things well, yet he stubbornly clung to the rules, and his vast family fortune had already been squandered seven or eight-tenths away.

Anyway, few people in the circle respected him, and they all called him "Zhao the Coward."

At the time, Old Li had even said: Zhao the Coward is so proactive, could he be here to poach clients? He had thought it wasn't impossible, so he had even specifically given instructions.

But even if he heard it, and even if he was on guard, they were colleagues after all; you couldn't be so obvious about it, could you?

Secretly changing his train of thought, he smiled: "Young people are hot-headed, the hospitality was lacking, General Manager Zhao, please don't take it to heart. Come, sit, let's continue looking at the items!"

Zhao Xiuxian let out a "Heh": "No need, I've just looked at a few pieces, it seems Boss Feng doesn't have many genuine items here either!"

These words were not very pleasant to hear, but Feng Shizong was fine; knowing he was in the wrong, he still kept a smile on his face.

But the man could not hold back; he pointed at the box on the table, then pointed at Lin Sicheng: "Boss, General Manager Zhao said he brought three master craftsmen, so I took out three pieces: the Inlaid Gemstone Gold-Inlaid Hetian Jade Bear, the Gold Filigree Inlaid Turquoise Plate, and the Gold Engraving Flower Pattern Inlaid Gemstone Ruyi-style Incense Burner."

"But from beginning to end, the one who handled them was this person... He said the first piece is not hard to repair, just takes a bit of effort. The second piece is a fake and doesn't need repair at all. The third piece is a bit difficult and requires dismantling the part that was already repaired."

"I asked him when it was repaired, and he said it was during the Republic of China... and that it was buried in a mid-Qing tomb after being repaired during the Republic of China... Finally, when they insisted on seeing the gold items, that was when I showed them the door!"

An item from the Republic of China buried in a mid-Qing tomb—what kind of fairy tale is this?

And they even wanted to see the gold items?

Feng Shizong's expression faded: Zhao the Coward, are you really here to poach my clients?

Cursing in his heart, he glanced at Lin Sicheng again: At this age, you let him handle them?

It was no wonder the shop manager didn't take them seriously.

Feng Shizong was baffled, both angry and amused, but the two people behind him both changed their expressions simultaneously.

The one with his arm in a sling was Feng Shizong's Partner, and also the shop's head master craftsman; the items had been there for nearly three months: which was real, which was fake, and which was half-real and half-fake—how could he not tell?

But the trade has its rules: no matter how fake, once repaired, they must be sold as genuine; the fewer people who know, the better. Therefore, he had never mentioned it to either the Partner or the apprentices.

The woman was the owner of the goods; those few items were all sent by her. Whether they had undergone Artifact Restoration and when they were repaired, she knew clearly.

The two were stunned for a moment, staring straight at Lin Sicheng...

(End of chapter)