Chapter 322: The Watch Made by Nan Huairen

No one spoke; the atmosphere was somewhat eerie.

Two people, four eyes, sizing each other up from top to bottom.

Young, surprisingly young; under the fluorescent lights, one could still see a layer of fine fuzz on his face.

He was good-looking, with handsome features, a tall and upright build, and bright, spirited eyes.

His temperament was also unique; among the seven people, old and young, large and small, one would unknowingly ignore the others and let their gaze fall upon his face.

But to say his eyes were like torches, insightful to the finest detail, and that his eye for antiques was more seasoned than Yang Xin, who had been studying under him for nearly twenty years, Li Jiansheng found somewhat hard to believe.

Because in this line of work, talent alone is useless; without twenty or thirty years of accumulation and sufficiently rich experience, one cannot eat from this bowl.

Right, perhaps it was just a smoke bomb; the one with the sharp eyes and ability was someone else, not this kid...

Secretly turning this over in his mind, Li Jiansheng scanned the room, his gaze landing on the face of Zhao Xiuneng.

The age was quite fitting, and judging by the rust on his hands, he was definitely an expert. Although it was his first time seeing the man, Li Jiansheng had heard of him: looking at this face, it was seven or eight parts similar to Zhao Xiuxian, clearly his elder brother who was a local tyrant in Xijing.

He had indeed heard that this man's skill as a Scavenger of Broken Pieces was not bad, but he only specialized in porcelain. As the saying goes, different trades are like mountains apart; letting him take a look to judge new from old was no problem. But to say he could see that an item from the Qianlong era had been placed into a Republic of China era tomb only after being buried in the Qianlong era—that should be impossible.

With that kind of eye, he wouldn't have let his own brother's business go from bad to worse, becoming a laughingstock in the industry.

For a moment, Li Jiansheng was a bit unsure, and he secretly gave his Partner a wink.

Decades of being partners meant their tacit understanding was no joke; Feng Shizong immediately understood: those few items on the table were indeed as the young man said—one genuine, one fake, and one half-genuine, half-fake.

Huh, that's rare?

His eyes lit up: "What is your surname?"

"Not expensive!" Lin Sicheng looked at the hand he had extended. "Boss Feng, I once thought your shop had set some rules: for instance, not being allowed to shake hands with guests, or not being able to say one's name when a guest asks for a surname. So, I thought it best to avoid it!"

In an instant, half of Wang Qi Zhi's Fire Qi dissipated.

Zhao Xiuxian asked the man for his surname, and the man didn't even respond. He himself shook hands with him, and the man didn't even lift his hand.

Instant retribution, coming quickly, and Lin Sicheng returned it even faster: since you don't talk about courtesy, then let's just not talk about it at all!

Feng Shizong's hand froze in mid-air, and he looked at Yang Xin behind him: a man in his forties, his face turning red, then green.

He understood; that was exactly what Yang Xin had done just now.

He gave a dry laugh: "It's all a misunderstanding, we don't get to know each other without a fight!"

"You are the boss, as long as you're happy!"

Regardless of what their motives were, Zhao Xiuxian bringing him here was indeed for the purpose of repairing items. Moreover, Lin Sicheng had never thought of collecting any fees; it was equivalent to helping for free.

As a result, not only did they not take it seriously, but they also felt Zhao Xiuxian had ulterior motives.

Sure enough, the old saying was right: the more you offer to help, the more people think you are worthless.

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal and looked at the old man with his arm in a sling, "You are the master craftsman; this broken hand should have been broken for over a month, right?"

"Your disciples are of mixed quality, their skills are truly not presentable, and the guests are urging you urgently, so you posted a message to the world, asking for fellow practitioners of the Scavenger of Broken Pieces to save the day. But now that people have been invited, you treat them like thieves?"

Li Jiansheng was startled, yet felt it was inexplicable.

What startled him was that no matter who asked, he always said his hand had been broken for over two months, including to Feng Shizong. In fact, it hadn't been broken before; he just didn't want to get involved in the muddy water, so he deliberately wore a cast. Later, when Feng Shizong became suspicious, he had no choice but to break it.

All in all, it had been exactly a month and a half.

No matter how sharp a person's eyes were, they couldn't tell at a glance how long a bone had been broken; he figured it was just a lucky guess, and Li Jiansheng didn't pay it any mind.

What he found strange was: among the seven people, old and young, although Zhao Xiuxian's reputation in the circle wasn't very good, he at least had some fame. Moreover, his elder brother was a famous local tyrant in the Northwest; why was this young man, who looked impossibly young, the one stepping forward to hold the fort?

As he turned this over in his mind and was just about to say something, Lin Sicheng turned his head to look at the woman in her early thirties.

"You are the owner of the goods; were those few items just now all yours?"

The woman's eyes lit up.

Surely no one had told him, and Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng hadn't introduced her; how did he know?

While she was suspicious, Lin Sicheng gestured: "That yellow piece, is it also yours?"

The woman hesitated for a moment and nodded.

Lin Sicheng pointed again to the box he had just looked at: "It's been here for quite a while, right? Are you in a hurry for it?"

The woman nodded again.

Being in a hurry was good.

"Have you considered changing places?" Lin Sicheng smiled. "You might not believe it, but my skills are super good!"

The woman was stunned and covered her mouth, laughing. Her figure was extremely voluptuous; wearing a trench coat on the outside and a thin base layer inside, she trembled and swayed.

Being treated like this by a greenhorn, no matter how deep Feng Shizong's city-dwelling nature was, he couldn't keep a straight face.

His smile disappeared bit by bit, and he said with a cold face: "Kid, do you understand the rules?"

"I really don't understand the rules here!"

Lin Sicheng pointed at Zhao Xiuxian, "But I didn't lie to you. General Manager Zhao brought me here really to help you hold the fort and, incidentally, to let me see the world. But I didn't expect to have my hot face pressed against a cold butt?"

You treat us like thieves, nothing more than fearing that General Manager Zhao will Lower Out of Cage (poach business) or Steal Cold Rice (snatch clients). General Manager Zhao's business has indeed not been very good these years, and being so attentive, it's understandable that you would think that way. Including not offering a seat, not serving tea, and not introducing yourselves, these are all nothing.

But my teacher is, at the very least, a Senior Researcher at the National Cultural Research Institute, a full professor at a key national university; when he goes to the National Museum of China or the Forbidden City, even the Deans and Museum Curators wouldn't dare say they wouldn't shake his hand.

He took the initiative to shake hands with your disciple... oh no, with your shop manager, but let alone lifting a hand, this Shop Manager Yang didn't even spare a glance. In that case, stealing a little cold rice wouldn't hurt."

Halfway through, several people were startled, staring at Wang Qi Zhi: A Senior Researcher at the Cultural Relics Research Institute?

Looking at this slovenly appearance, acting as if he were the most important person in the world, it didn't feel very likely?

Just as they were secretly pondering, hearing the second half of the sentence, several people's faces sank: You call this stealing? You are damn well robbing in broad daylight!

Daring to break ground on the head of Tai Sui!

Feng Shizong narrowed his eyes, his gaze piercing over like a knife. Li Jiansheng was more direct, pointing a finger: "Young man, you've never mixed in the underworld, have you? Don't you see what kind of place this is?"

"Master Li, you don't need to threaten me; I actually understand this routine quite well! You don't need to lecture me either; as long as it's something you know, I actually know a thing or two."

"Not big in age, but quite big in tone?" Li Jiansheng gave a "Heh," "Forget it, you haven't even grown your hair out yet, what am I arguing with you for? Get out..."

Seeing his disciple standing still with a cold, gloomy gaze, he snorted coldly: "Yang Xin, what are you dazing for?"

He knew what Yang Xin wanted to do, and Feng Shizong knew it too, but there were guests present, and business came first.

Otherwise, how would they have let this kid leave so easily?

Yang Xin nodded, and just as he lifted his foot, the woman blocked him: "Wait, don't be in such a rush to chase people away."

Knowing this person had a big background, Yang Xin didn't dare move and looked at Feng Shizong.

Feng Shizong gave a slight shake of his head.

This person was the shop's biggest client and also an investor, so they certainly had to show some respect.

The woman looked at Lin Sicheng with a smile: "How did you know those few gold pieces were mine, and also know that the yellow goods were mine too?"

"Not only is my craftsmanship good, but my eye for things is also quite good..."

Before he had even finished speaking, the woman started laughing again.

Lin Sicheng emphasized it again: "Really!"

He was dead serious and very solemn, but the woman laughed even harder instead.

She could also tell that this kid wasn't being glib and truly wanted to prove it to her, but she just couldn't help but laugh.

But immediately after, she couldn't laugh anymore.

Lin Sicheng cupped his hands and then made two gestures.

One was crossing eight fingers, with the remaining two thumbs sticking out a bit, forming a cross.

Then, with a shift, the two thumbs were placed together and slightly bent.

The first one was greeting her: "Chutou, nice to meet you."

The second one was indicating his own identity: he was a Zhangyan, and furthermore, the Big Top of the Scavenger of Broken Pieces.

The so-called Chutou is the leader in a grave-robbing gang or cultural relic smuggling gang who specializes in handling the remaining goods. If ranking, they are about sixth or seventh.

Zhangyan are mostly the big bosses in grave-robbing gangs, either the first-in-command or the second-in-command. They are experts in Surveying Mountains, Surveying Water, finding tombs, judging tombs, and seeking the golden well (the center of the tomb chamber, the best position to open a Tomb Tunnel). They are also responsible for identification, dating, and valuation.

If they are in a legitimate profession, they are Appraisers with extremely high discernment.

Scavenger of Broken Pieces refers to broken artifacts; to be a Scavenger of Broken Pieces means being an Artifact Restoration expert; Big Top means the Big Boss. To dare to call oneself this, not only must one have good hands under one's command who can hold their own, but one's own craftsmanship must inevitably be extremely high.

The woman narrowed her eyes: But how old are you?

The problem was, these two gestures could not be faked; even Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng didn't recognize them.

More crucially, having cooperated for five or six years, even Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng didn't know her true identity, only thinking she was a dealer who specialized in flipping fresh, broken goods.

Yet this kid pointed it out in one sentence?

The woman was half-doubting, looking him over seriously.

She didn't just look at Lin Sicheng, but also at the people beside him.

Knowing what she was doubting, Lin Sicheng pointed at Zhao Xiuneng: "This is my Senior Brother, surnamed Zhao, Zhao Xiuneng. He sits in command of Sanqin and doesn't come to Beijing often, so you might not have heard of him."

He then pointed at Zhao Da and Zhao Er: "These are my two disciples!"

The woman was stunned, her gaze circling the faces of the father and his two sons, and she suddenly realized: So he was a student who brought his own skills to a master?

Hmm, that wasn't right. To be precise: this family surnamed Zhao had a broken lineage and had to change their allegiance.

To put it another way: although they had family-inherited craftsmanship, these two younger ones—who looked like the third generation at a glance—couldn't learn it and had to seek out a famous master. After completing their studies, they could no longer call it family-inherited, but had to report this kid's name.

Why didn't he introduce Zhao Xiuxian? Because Zhao Xiuxian's craftsmanship wasn't refined and he hadn't yet entered the inner sanctum; he didn't count as a legitimate successor at all.

The key was also: she had asked Zhao Xiuxian to repair things before, knew the background of his elder brother, and knew even better what Lin Sicheng meant by "sitting in command of Sanqin."

He was not only a true local powerhouse but also a legitimate successor to the Craftsman of the Qing Imperial Household Department.

So, how high must this kid's craftsmanship be?

Seeing her eyes darting to Wang Qi Zhi's face again, Lin Sicheng introduced him: "This is my teacher, a university teacher, not in this line of work!"

The woman was startled again: "You haven't graduated from university yet?"

"Just graduated, I'm reading for a postgraduate degree this year!"

Her lips twitched twice, but the woman remained half-doubting.

"Seeing me as too young, I know you don't believe it. But I'm not lying to you, whether it's my eye for things or my craftsmanship, I am indeed quite high-level."

Seeing Lin Sicheng being dead serious, the woman wanted to laugh again, but felt it wasn't appropriate, so she pursed her lips.

Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng exchanged a look: Lin Sicheng had always been as humble as he could be and as low-key as he could be; when had he ever boasted like this?

It seemed they had found the right person.

No, to be precise: they should have found the right place.

This Qianjin Lu either had a connection to Mashan or a connection to that woman who set the trap. Especially this woman right in front of them; nine times out of ten, she was the direct person involved.

Otherwise, Lin Sicheng wouldn't be so serious and put in so much effort.

While thinking to himself, Lin Sicheng looked left and right.

In the middle were three rows of workstations, on the left and right sides were instrument rooms, and in the front and back were standing racks filled with objects.

Some silver or copper, polished copper or tin, some with gold inlay, or silver-gilding, or broken artifacts, or objects that had been repaired, or only half-repaired.

Lin Sicheng took a rough look, then turned his head to look at the shop manager: "You are Master Li's eldest disciple?"

Yang Xin was stunned and didn't speak.

Looking at his hands, Lin Sicheng pointed again: "That gold-inlaid silver Bodhisattva statue was repaired by you, but you didn't learn it well: the Hammering craftsmanship is only average, the patterns are stiff, the lines are scattered, like a dog chewed on it."

"The silver-inlay and Gold-gilding craftsmanship are even worse: the original Gold Foil was only half a hao (0.15 millimeters). Although you could hammer it that thin, you couldn't embed it that steadily or that flatly."

"There was no other way, so you had to cut corners: you deepened the grooves and thickened the Gold Foil, making it three times thicker. Afraid the client would find out, you mixed thick Jin Red Flag, preparing to use gold lacquer to seal the traces. But you didn't master the heat, the mercury seeped into the body, and the item is considered ruined..."

Lin Sicheng smiled again: "Lost quite a bit of money, didn't you?"

Yang Xin gritted his teeth, glared at Lin Sicheng, and looked around wildly.

If it wasn't for someone in the shop telling him, how could this kid know so clearly?

But it was hellish: except for the master, even the boss didn't know; how did these damn people know?

Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng were both shocked and suspicious.

Having worked together for so many years, it was impossible for Li Jiansheng to hide anything from him. It was only out of consideration for Yang Xin's years of diligent and conscientious work that Feng Shizong had never questioned it.

They could guarantee that only the three of them knew about this matter. Even if someone had overheard them when they mentioned it, at most they would only know that this item had been ruined by Yang Xin during repairs; they would never know the details so clearly:

Cutting corners, carving deep grooves, thickening the Gold Foil...

Excessive mercury, the temperature of the Jin Red Flag was too low, and the mercury had seeped into the silver base...

The key was that this kid had only glanced at it from afar, without even touching it. It felt as if he had watched Yang Xin ruin the repair with his own eyes.

Just as the two were stunned and suspicious, Lin Sicheng pointed at a Copper-body Painted Enamel flower vase. Just as he was about to say something, he let out an "Eh?"

Walking a bit closer to take a look, Lin Sicheng had a strange expression on his face: "No wonder?"

"This is Guang Enamel, produced in Guangzhou, specifically supplied to the Thirteen Hongs for export to foreign countries during the mid-Qing Dynasty. The Glaze Material contains arsenic, making the colors more vibrant, but the zinc content is extremely low, so it is harder and has poorer ductility."

"Master Li was unaware, or perhaps he didn't notice, and treated it as an official-use enamel repair. As a result, not only did he fail to fix it, but he actually caused a large chunk to collapse, and it collapsed all the way to the base."

"And this piece has seven full layers of glaze from the base to the surface. It's a pity Master Li's craftsmanship didn't reach that level; he could only repair three layers. So what could he do?"

Lin Sicheng smiled slightly: "Just like his apprentice, he cut corners: he padded another layer of copper base onto the original, but he didn't master the dimensions and padded it too thick, so he could only apply two layers of glaze, otherwise it would bulge out."

"But Master Li, to be honest: a customer capable of buying this kind of thing has a sharp eye. If you want to hide it like this, I'm afraid it's going to be tough..."

The flesh on his face twitched uncontrollably, his lips trembled, and before he could finish speaking, Li Jiansheng let out a violent roar: "You motherfucker, bullshit..."

Feng Shizong, however, looked as if he had been stunned: No wonder Li Jiansheng had finished the repairs long ago, yet kept stalling when asked to deliver the goods—it turned out he was afraid of being exposed?

No... even he himself didn't know, so how did this kid know?

And he even knew that Li Jiansheng's craftsmanship could at most repair three layers?

But regardless of how he knew, he could not let him continue speaking.

Feng Shizong's eyes turned cold, and just as he was about to say something, the woman narrowed her eyes.

His heart skipped a beat, and he obediently shut his mouth.

The woman looked at Lin Sicheng with interest: "Is there more?"

"There is, but I can't say anymore, otherwise I'm afraid I won't be able to walk out of this door today."

Lin Sicheng replied with a smile, then pointed to a Qing Dynasty silver-gilt and Gold Bead Accumulation saddle: "There are well-repaired ones too, like this piece. It uses the Ming Dynasty temperature-controlled Granulation technique. The gold beads are extremely uniform; for 0.3 beads, the margin of error is no more than 0.01..."

"The solder powder is well-mixed, and the welding is even better: the gaps between the gold beads are of uniform size, and the three-layer bead mesh forms a gyroscope structure, which is more stable than the original..."

Pausing for a moment, Lin Sicheng looked at the workstations, where a dozen men and women were all craning their necks to watch the show.

Scanning the room, he smiled at a man in his thirties: "Master, your craftsmanship is good, not inferior to your master's, and it's a huge cut above your Senior Brother's..."

Pausing again, he looked at the gold-gilded object under the man's hands, and Lin Sicheng let out an "Eh," "That's not right. Looking at the Granulation and bead-accumulating skills under your hands, it seems you are even stronger than your master... Haha, hiding your talent? It seems you also know that you'll never get ahead in this place. Would you like to consider changing places?"

Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng's faces turned green: How could they not know that Wu Quan's craftsmanship was a huge cut above Yang Xin's?

But in this line of work, having high skill isn't enough to take the lead; one must be loyal and, more importantly, keep one's mouth shut.

At this point, they no longer had the slightest doubt: this little bastard not only had a sharp eye, but his craftsmanship was even higher.

Without a sharp eye, one couldn't see where these items were broken. Without high craftsmanship, it would be impossible to know how these items were repaired, fixed, and how corners were cut just by glancing at them from afar.

But that was secondary; the key was that his heart was even more ruthless: do you think he was just trying to steal a client?

He was telling Ren Danhua clearly: this place isn't very reliable, you need to keep your eyes open.

If this woman's business were lost, the income of Qianjin Lu would drop by at least thirty percent...

So it was no exaggeration: if Ren Danhua weren't here, Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng could have pulled out a knife on the spot and stabbed Lin Sicheng to death right there.

But let alone moving, they didn't even dare to say a harsh word. Because the woman was not only a client but also half an owner. Otherwise, based solely on Li Jiansheng's craftsmanship, the business here wouldn't have grown so large.

And if the business went bust, parting ways was secondary; the point was that once this woman made up her mind to be ruthless, her methods would be even more vicious.

In these ten minutes or so, she had used her eyes more than once to threaten Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng: obediently shut your mouths and let him finish...

"It seems your craftsmanship is indeed quite good, and your eye is even better!"

The woman nodded, "May I ask, who is your master?"

Lin Sicheng answered cleanly and decisively: "Zhao Laotai!"

Ren Danhua was stunned for a moment, then the corners of her mouth curled up.

The circle was only so big, and there were quite a few people who could be called top-tier among the Scavenger of Broken Pieces, but not that many. As long as one was in this line of work, one basically had an idea.

Zhao Laotai's craftsmanship was high, but she only specialized in porcelain. Even if she were a master of all trades, she would never have reached the level of being able to tell that a piece was a piece of Guang Enamel just by looking at it from afar without touching it.

Or even, like having X-ray vision, being able to see that Li Jiansheng had collapsed the original glaze, padded a layer of base, and only repaired two layers of glaze?

Besides, if he were really a student of Zhao Laotai, what reason would the old lady have to let her two grandsons change their allegiance?

But the woman didn't expose him, and gestured: "What about the yellow goods?"

Feng Shizong and Li Jiansheng were extremely unwilling, yet they didn't dare not to listen. The two gritted their teeth secretly and gave Yang Xin a look.

Yang Xin didn't dare to make a sound, and obediently opened the safe and took out a small box the size of a fist.

The woman took it and passed it forward.

Lin Sicheng didn't shy away at all and took it directly.

It was heavy in his hand, with no flowers or patterns, but the whole body was lustrous and moist, white with a hint of yellow.

Ivory?

Tsk, even the box containing the item was a genuine Imperial Household Department ivory piece; how precious must the item inside be?

Thinking secretly, Lin Sicheng opened it: a Pocket Watch!

A gold casing, a gold Sesame Chain, and a Three Abundances Pattern painted on the gold base: peach, pomegranate, and Buddha's hand.

But it wasn't well-preserved; the color of the glaze surface had basically faded, and one could barely make out the outlines of the original pattern.

The same went for the gold case and gold chain: the color was dull, having lost its luster.

Lin Sicheng took a look, and a few doubts arose in his heart: it was indeed a Raw Pit Goods, but it definitely hadn't been buried for as short a time as half a year; it had been dug up for at least two or three years.

And an item like this would at least be of the level of an Imperial Concubine, and more likely an Emperor or Empress; it was impossible for it to be buried in the tomb of an ordinary Concubine.

More critical is the rust layer and corrosion mechanism: only in a weak acid environment will enamel fade. If it were a weak alkaline environment, regardless of whether it had ten layers of glaze or eight, it would have peeled off long ago.

Therefore, it has nothing to do with Mu Mausoleum or that tomb of the Mashan thieves.

Thinking secretly, Lin Sicheng pried open the watch cover; following this, he was first stunned, and then his heart could not stop a beat.

In the middle of the watch hands was a line of letters: FerdinandVERBIEST!

If spelled out: this is the English name of Nan Huairen, who was an official of the Imperial Observatory and Taichang Temple Minister during the Kangxi era, a Grand Master of Palace Leisure, Kangxi's mathematics and Scientist teacher, and a famous Qing dynasty Scientist, astronomer, and Belgian missionary.

Hahaha... a watch made by Nan Huairen?

(End of this chapter)