Chapter 4: Inheriting the Ancestral Legacy

Look at the content again: "I, a commoner, rose from Shangluo..." I, a commoner, rose from Shangluo—if this isn't Li Zicheng, then who is it?

Continuing to look: "Mindful of the world... the fifteenth year, having crossed the Yellow River to the north, led the troops to submit... merits are recorded... now that the world is settled, rewards are granted... enfeoffed as a Second-Rank Earl... you are exempt from two deaths, your son exempt from one, to repay your merit... respectfully decreed in the first year of Yongchang."

Just looking at the last two lines, anyone who is literate knows what this is.

Looking at "Yangcheng" and "fifteenth year, crossed the Yellow River to the north, led the troops to submit" in the third line, anyone who knows a little Ming history knows:

Lin Yangcheng, one of the Thirty-Six Families of the late Ming, known as the King of Contending the World. In the fifteenth year of Chongzhen, the Yellow River burst its banks, and Lin Yangcheng had no other plan. He led his troops to Kaifeng and submitted to Li Zicheng.

Therefore, this is the Dan Iron Certificate bestowed by Li Zicheng upon the King of Contending the World, Lin Yangcheng, after he declared himself emperor.

Commonly known as: Death-Exemption Gold Medal.

Look at the regulations: about twenty centimeters high; if unfolded, it should be about forty centimeters wide. If it matches the precise Ming ruler, it is exactly "six cun and five fen high, one chi and two cun and five fen wide."

"History of Ming": "Earl, second rank, six cun and five fen high, one chi and two cun and five fen wide..." It matches the Second-Rank Earl on the certificate perfectly.

So, if this Iron Certificate is authentic, at least from now on, Ming historians won't have to argue anymore: Li Zicheng enfeoffed Lin Yangcheng as a Second-Rank Earl, not a Duke...

The more he remembered, the more certain Wang Qi Zhi became, and the veins on his forehead throbbed faster.

He was so close at the time, just separated by one stall, why didn't he see it?

No, he did see it.

When this kid bought this tile, he was standing right next to him, but the rust was too thick, and there were only a few scattered characters on the tile; it was impossible to tell what it was.

He even thought at the time, why is this kid buying this thing?

It wasn't until it was dropped by that big black guy just now that many characters were revealed...

The more he thought, the more amazed he was: "How did you figure it out at the time?"

"I didn't!" Lin Sicheng pointed to one of the lines: "God watches over, truly seeking to relieve the suffering."

"At the time, there were only the two characters for 'God', and I was curious: do temples have iron tiles, and do churches have iron tiles too? Anyway, it wasn't expensive, only forty yuan, so I bought it..."

Wang Qi Zhi: "Heh!"

Do you think I believe you?

Just now, as soon as the rust fell off and so many characters were revealed, this kid didn't even blink, which shows that when he bought it, he knew what it was.

Look at the one next to it: "Deceive the heavens to cross the sea, make a feint to the east and attack in the west..." Buying an antique, and you even used the Art of War?

His eyes lit up: "Are you selling? I'll offer a high price!"

Lin Sicheng curled his lip: What kind of good dream are you having? This is only a few characters?

For every extra character cleaned, the value for Artifact Research increases by one point, and the collection value rises even more sharply; it might even double in the end.

"Don't be in a hurry, let me find a place to clean the rust first, and I still have to verify its authenticity!"

Of course it must be cleaned, and it certainly must be verified, but Wang Qi Zhi was very certain: just looking at the iron quality and the rust, he knew this thing couldn't be fake.

He coaxed him: "I am an Expert, I'll help you clean it!"

Lin Sicheng glanced at him.

"Don't believe me?"

"It's not that I don't believe you!" Lin Sicheng paused, "This is an iron object!"

"I know, so what?"

Lin Sicheng sighed: "You specialize in Bronze!"

Don't think that just because they are all metal Cultural Relics, the techniques for Artifact Restoration are worlds apart. How could Lin Sicheng dare to let him clean it?

Wang Qi Zhi was dumbfounded and stunned for several seconds: "How did you know?"

"Look at your hands: the fingertips are black; this is caused by frequent contact with copper rust substances like cuprous sulfide and stannic oxide... You work in Baoji, right?"

Wang Qi Zhi looked suspicious: "There are so many units that do Artifact Research on Bronze, why couldn't it be in Xijing?"

"You are an Expert, of course you know: different hydrology, different climate, different strata, different soil quality; the acidity, alkalinity, and oxidation factors of the soil will be different. Consequently, the corrosion composition of the unearthed vessels will be different..."

Wang Qi Zhi's scalp tingled: I certainly know, because I really am an Expert. But how old are you, on what basis do you know this?

Seeing him stunned, Lin Sicheng smiled again: "Don't worry, once it's cleaned and appraised, I will definitely contact you!"

Wang Qi Zhi nodded blankly.

Lin Sicheng poked Gu Ming, and Gu Ming, like a zombie, walked out of the bank in a daze.

Dan Wangshu had long been stunned; looking at Lin Sicheng's back, her face was full of disbelief: "What kind of family is this kid from?"

Wang Qi Zhi was still in a daze, his mouth faster than his brain: "It probably doesn't have much to do with his family... just like your dad, so capable, aren't you three siblings all good-for-nothings?"

"Wang Qi Zhi..." Dan Wangshu let out an angry roar and pinched the man's old waist.

"Ouch... I was wrong..."

Along the way, Gu Ming was like a sleepwalker.

The two had played together since they were toddlers; who didn't know whom?

But it felt like, suddenly, he didn't recognize him anymore?

"No... how did you suddenly become so sharp-eyed?"

"Nonsense, did I go to college for nothing?"

Gu Ming let out a "Heh": "Go to college, what did you study? You only took seven courses in one semester, and you failed three... If it weren't for our grandfather putting in a word, you would have been held back two grades in three years..."

Lin Sicheng choked: It is often said that you can lead a horse to water but you can't make it drink; it could be said that these three years were completely wasted, it would be a miracle if he hadn't failed.

But the past is the past, and now is now.

"What do you know? Do you know what Cultural Relics Protection is, what Appraisal is? These are not the same thing at all... If I hadn't taken too many elective courses in Appraisal, how could I have failed?"

"But you can't just slack off for a moment and then be able to pick up a bargain?"

"It's not like I only learned Appraisal after going to college? I've been following my grandfather since I was little, and I learned it just by watching."

Gu Ming was half-believing: "I didn't watch any less, how come I didn't learn it?"

Lin Sicheng smiled without a word; Gu Ming was stunned for a moment, then clenched his fists.

Although Gu Ming was two years older, when it came to intelligence and comprehension, Lin Sicheng could top three of him. In any case, from childhood to adulthood, it had always been Lin Sicheng using his brain while he used his hands; there had never been an exception.

To say that Lin Sicheng had suddenly become enlightened, and could even rely on this to make money, felt a bit sudden and unreliable.

But the ten thousand yuan on Lin Sicheng's card and the two pieces of tile he was carrying couldn't possibly be fake, could they?

Gu Ming thought for a moment and pointed at the Iron Tile: "What about this? How much can it sell for?"

"Maybe eight or ten thousand!"

"Bullshit!" Gu Ming gritted his teeth, "Do you take me for a blind man?"

When he withdrew the ten thousand yuan, that person hadn't even blinked. But upon seeing that piece of Iron Tile, he had trembled all over with excitement.

Gu Ming suspected that the Iron Tile wouldn't even be covered by one hundred thousand.

What kind of concept was one hundred thousand?

Old Gu, as a deputy director, would have to work for four years without eating or drinking. Uncle Lin, being one Level One higher, would need at least three years.

Yet Lin Sicheng had managed it in just half a day?

Suddenly, Gu Ming's eyes lit up, looking at the dense collection of antiques as if they were stacks of bright red banknotes.

"Want to look around some more?"

"No more looking." Lin Sicheng shook his head, "Shall we go to the supermarket to buy groceries and a case of liquor?"

Gu Ming blurted out: "Grandpa likes Moutai best!"

"Alright, then Moutai it is!"

"A case costs several thousand; are you really buying it?"

What else?

All the skills he possessed were inherited from his grandfather; what was buying a case of Moutai for him?