Chapter 405: Song Ru Kiln

Jing Zeyang was stunned for quite a while, and it wasn't until Fang Jin patted him that he reacted.

He muttered, "Those two women wouldn't go and report us, would they?"

Fang Jin couldn't help but laugh: "Brother Jing, how could that be?"

Last night, Lin Sicheng had specifically analyzed it for them: as long as they didn't go to the Dongfang Building, it didn't matter who they ran into on the street. At most, they would just greet them, rather than grabbing and dragging him back to the song and dance troupe.

The logic was simple: setting aside the leadership, everyone else—from Editor-in-Chief Lan and Dean down to Yu Jingsi and Yang Lin—shared the same stance as Lin Sicheng: only with greater influence could the benefits be maximized.

Therefore, no matter how anxious the leadership was or how hard they pushed, they still needed the people below to be willing to cooperate.

While lost in thought, the group got into the car, with Jing Zeyang driving.

It was nearly nine o'clock, past the morning rush hour, but the road was still somewhat congested; it took nearly an hour to cover just over ten kilometers.

It wasn't the weekend, but Panjiayuan was still bustling. The market was packed with people, and the air was a mixture of dust, the smell of sweat, and the unique, musty scent of antiques. Stalls were pressed against stalls, people were squeezed against people, shouts rose one after another, and the objects shimmered with a hazy light.

Knowing that he wasn't the protagonist today, Jing Zeyang didn't crowd forward. Fang Jin had self-awareness; with his eye for antiques, even if he carried a million in his pocket, it wouldn't be enough to cover the losses, so he didn't crowd forward either.

The two of them hung at the very back, chatting idly.

"Cousin Lin is quite good to his employees, actually accompanying them on a shopping trip?"

"Brother Jing, these two aren't ordinary employees: they were following Junior Brother Lin even before the studio was established, back when there wasn't even a single office."

"Oh, founding members?"

"Of course!" Fang Jin gestured with his chin, "In the beginning, Senior Sister Li was the assistant, and only later did she manage the office."

Jing Zeyang suddenly realized: no wonder?

He just felt that this person named Li Zhen had more of a tacit understanding with Lin Sicheng, and they interacted more naturally.

He said thoughtfully: "Exchanged by Wang Sanshu?"

Fang Jin looked terrified, as if to say: How did you know?

Jing Zeyang gave a strange smile: My friend, I have eyes.

Whether it's a man or a woman, if they develop feelings for someone of the opposite sex, no matter how careful they are or how deeply they hide their thoughts, that look and emotion, which is different from the ordinary, will occasionally reveal itself.

Just like now, the two were separated by a step, not standing very close, and their communication was quite normal—the tone of ordinary colleagues or ordinary friends.

But every so often, Li Zhen would secretly glance at Lin Sicheng's profile, the emotion in her eyes so thick it could be spun into silk.

Jing Zeyang just couldn't figure it out: if even he could see it, how could Ye Anning not?

Living together day and night, intimate as they were, was she really not worried?

Of course, he only thought about it in his heart; Jing Zeyang wasn't stupid enough to ask Fang Jin.

The five people strolled aimlessly along the aisle. Xiao Yuzhu was very excited, finding everything she saw novel. But unfortunately, her eye for antiques was limited, and she hadn't correctly identified a single real item.

However, she had self-awareness and would ask Lin Sicheng before touching anything; without exception, Lin Sicheng shook his head every time.

Li Zhen was slightly better; after all, she had followed Shang Yan for several years, so both her experience and her eye for antiques were much higher than Xiao Yuzhu's.

At least low-imitation goods couldn't fool her, and even when encountering high-imitation ones, she could spot the suspicious points.

Once or twice, she even picked out two real items, though they were the kind that, aside from being a bit old, had basically no value.

But neither of them intended to pick up any bargains; they were just looking for the novelty.

As they walked, there was a commotion ahead; many people had gathered in a circle, and the sounds of arguing could be vaguely heard.

Xiao Yuzhu stopped in her tracks: "A fight?"

"Doesn't look like it," Lin Sicheng tilted his head to listen, "Seems like someone found a treasure."

Upon hearing "found a treasure," Jing Zeyang stood on his tiptoes, half-believing and half-doubting: "Really?"

It wasn't his fault for being suspicious: anyone who frequently visited Panjiayuan knew that if you wanted to listen, you could hear eight hundred stories of people finding bargains in a single day, each version different from the last. And they were all vivid, with noses and eyes.

But the number of times one had actually seen it could be counted on one hand.

Jing Zeyang had wandered around Panjiayuan plenty, but the only times he had seen someone find a bargain were the times he was with Lin Sicheng.

It would be a lie to say he wasn't curious; in the past, he would have rushed over to watch the excitement. But since the incident hadn't happened long ago, Jing Zeyang didn't dare to crowd in. Lin Sicheng didn't crowd in either, taking Li Zhen and Xiao Yuzhu to watch from outside the crowd.

However, he was tall and could see quite clearly: it was a large shop with a gold-gilded plaque hanging over the door: Rao Yu Zhai. Just by the name, one could tell it specialized in selling porcelain.

To one side of the main entrance, standing against the wall, was a lean, middle-aged man wearing a worn-out gray cotton coat. Standing next to him were two men and one woman, looking quite spirited and dressed neatly; they were likely the shop's manager, clerk, and greeter.

The three of them didn't look very happy, but their tone was still polite: "Master, it's not that we are making things difficult for you: with the entrance blocked like this, how are we supposed to do business?"

It was indeed not making things difficult for him: it didn't matter that he stood there, the key was that he had also laid out a rare item.

With so many people passing by, anyone with even a little bit of knowledge would definitely ask a question; one thing led to another, and more and more onlookers gathered, blocking the shop entrance completely so that no one could get in at all.

The man in the worn-out gray cotton coat had a face full of sorrow; he bowed with a hunched back: "Manager, my wife is waiting for money to save her life, please do me a favor, let me sell it and I'll leave!" Looking at the item on the ground, the manager looked hesitant: "Master, to be honest: this item of yours is truly hard to sell!"

"Good goods don't fear being late!" The man sighed, "How about this, I'll go a bit lower, will your esteemed shop take it?"

The manager was stunned for a moment, then shook his head: "Sorry, the master is not here, and the boss is not here either; I cannot make the decision!"

"Then please do me a favor, I'll just display it until twelve o'clock; whether it sells or not, I promise to clear the space." The man wore a smile on his face, "Manager, it might not necessarily be bad for business: perhaps there will be customers who don't like my item and turn around to enter your esteemed shop..."

There was indeed a slight possibility of that, but it was minimal.

Checking his watch again, it was a quarter past eleven; there wasn't much time left until twelve.

The manager told him to move slightly to the side, clearing the position at the main entrance, and arranged for the greeter and the clerk to keep watch so that the onlookers wouldn't block the door. The man picked up the item and moved to the side, and the people around him surged forward as well. When he set it down again, Lin Sicheng finally saw the full picture of the item: a piece of blue cloth was spread on the ground, and only one item was placed on it: a Sky Blue Glaze sunflower-style Brush Washer.

The entire body was covered in crackles, with fine Ice Crackle patterns filling the inside and outside.

The spur marks were a powdery white, the ring foot was slightly shallow, glowing with a warm white.

The key was the glaze color: blue with a hint of pink, pink with a hint of green...

After taking a few looks, Lin Sicheng cupped his chin: why did it feel like this thing was a Song Ru Kiln?