Chapter 490: A Major Incident is About to Happen

Peng Yanzhi stared at the wooden table, but his eyes lacked any focus.

He did not need to ask about the provenance of this item or who had appraised it; one look at Chen Shiquan's expression was enough: it was one hundred percent Ming Dynasty Hainan Huanghuali. Yet Lin Sicheng said there was a problem?

Seeing exactly what he was thinking, Lin Sicheng did not beat around the bush and said concisely, "Director Peng, this is Vietnamese Huanghuali!"

The four of them were stunned in unison: What?

They had assumed that the "problem" Lin Sicheng mentioned referred to whether it was new or old. They had never expected him to be talking about the material itself.

If one were to talk about appraising furniture, they were indeed laymen, but this was only relative.

At least they knew what Hainan Huanghuali rosewood looked like, and what Vietnamese Huanghuali rosewood looked like.

The former has a deep color and fine grain; the latter has a light color and coarse grain.

The former is lustrous, the latter is bright; the former is heavy, the latter is light.

There was no need to look at the cross-section, the pores, or the underside of the table. Just looking at the table surface and the worn edges: it was undoubtedly Hainan Huanghuali.

Fearing they had misjudged it, the few of them looked at it one after another: they were right—black veins, brown base, wheat-ear patterns, and an amber glow.

Seeing the few of them blinking their eyes, Lin Sicheng sighed: "You can't tell by looking!"

As soon as the words fell, the four pairs of eyes blinked even faster: having been in this line of work for so many years, they had never heard of an antique that couldn't be appraised by eye. It was merely a matter of whether one's skill was up to par and one's eye was sharp enough.

Besides, if you can't tell by looking, then how did you see it?

Lin Sicheng stopped talking: it wasn't that he didn't know, but that he couldn't say.

If one were to call it difficult, it was indeed difficult; this item was soaked in traditional Chinese medicine, and the core ingredients of the medicinal decoction alone numbered over a dozen:

Sappanwood, Amur Cork Tree, Gardenia, Black Tea, Walnut Shell, Pomegranate Peel, Galla Chinensis, Iron Powder, Potassium Permanganate, Sichuan Peppercorn, Ephedra, Cinnamon Twig, Perilla, Dried Ginger, Agastache, Dried Tangerine Peel, Szechuan Lovage Rhizome... and so on and so forth.

The formula was very complex, and the key was that not all the medicines were mixed together to soak; it was done in stages.

First stage: Dyeing, turning the light yellow or yellowish-green Vietnamese Huanghuali into a brownish-tan, or even the Red Sandalwood-colored Hainan Huanghuali. The key is that it doesn't just dye the surface, but penetrates straight to the heart of the wood.

Second stage: Removing acidity and increasing pungency.

Hainan Huanghuali is a fragrant wood; to put it simply: as it oxidizes internally, the fragrance of Hainan Huanghuali will slowly dissipate. If maintained well, even after several hundred years, one can still use methods like heating to stimulate the fragrance within. This is also one of the most effective methods for identifying Hainan Huanghuali.

But Vietnamese Huanghuali has an acidic scent. After the tree dies, the internal aromatic molecules dissipate along with the evaporation of moisture, and they can be completely gone in a dozen years at most. To make old Vietnamese Huanghuali furniture emit a fragrance similar to old Hainan Huanghuali, one must add fragrance.

Third, increasing weight. This is the easiest to understand: Hainan Huanghuali has high density, while Vietnamese Huanghuali has lower density.

Fourth, and the most ingenious point: soaking before baking to change the wood grain. Roughly speaking, it uses physical methods to make the pores of the Vietnamese Huanghuali finer. Once the pores are fine, the wood quality becomes finer and the texture becomes more lustrous.

Compared to this, how to make newly soaked imitation Hainan Huanghuali still possess the patina of a three-hundred-year-old Hainan Huanghuali piece was child's play for Yang Ashui.

The reason Lin Sicheng did not say it was because this formula had a simplified version: it could soak new rosewood furniture into old rosewood furniture. Whether it was Huanghuali, Red Sandalwood, Yellow Sandalwood, or Acid Branch Wood, or Chicken-wing Wood.

The formula didn't need a dozen ingredients; three were enough: Sappanwood plus two others, along with the right temperature. It didn't even need to be done in stages; one pass was enough. If he dared to say it, within three months, the whole world would be full of "old" rosewood furniture...

Therefore, it was something that could not be said, but he could appraise it.

Touching the table surface and then weighing it with his hand, Lin Sicheng looked at Chen Shiquan: "General Manager Chen, this desk is indeed Vietnamese Huanghuali, but it is also indeed worth one million... Let me put it simply: this is indeed Ming-style Vietnamese Huanghuali furniture, but it was later modified by Yang Ashui, the Head Craftsman of the Imperial Household Department's Oil Wood Workshop, to have the appearance of Hainan Huanghuali, enough to pass for the real thing. So, one million is not high!"

Chen Shiquan did not play with rosewood; if one only mentioned Yang Ashui, he certainly wouldn't know. But if one mentioned the Head Craftsman of the Imperial Household Department's Oil Wood Workshop, he understood instantly: "This item flowed out of the Forbidden City?"

"No, this is Yang Ashui's craft after he left the palace following Puyi's abdication; it has nothing to do with the imperial palace. The reason this item is valuable is because of his skill in making the new look like the old..."

Pausing slightly, Lin Sicheng smiled again: "General Manager Chen, if you are willing to part with it, I will take it!"

Chen Shiquan hadn't even bothered to listen to the second half of the sentence; his mind was filled with four words: making the new look like the old.

Puyi's abdication... that was already in the 1910s, only eighty or ninety years ago.

But the Ming Dynasty, that was at least four hundred years from now. It meant that after this item was made by a carpenter using Vietnamese Huanghuali, it sat for three hundred years, and then was modified by Yang Ashui into Hainan Huanghuali?

He could understand the words, but Chen Shiquan could not grasp the logic behind it.

It wasn't just him who couldn't grasp it; Peng Yanzhi, Wang Qi Zhi, and Zhao Xiuneng couldn't either:

They had heard of Vietnamese Huanghuali imitating Hainan Huanghuali. But Vietnamese Huanghuali that had sat for three hundred years being imitated into Hainan Huanghuali while still retaining the aging traces from three hundred years ago, they had really never heard of it. Unable to explain it in a few words, Lin Sicheng looked at Zhao Xiuneng: "Senior Brother!"

Zhao Xiuneng understood instantly. With an extremely practiced movement, he pulled out a card in the blink of an eye: "General Manager Chen, where do I swipe?"

"General Manager Zhao... this?"

Chen Shiquan only then reacted: Lin Sicheng wanted to buy this flat-headed table?

Just as he was about to say something, Lin Sicheng waved his hand: "General Manager Chen, since Uncle Ye introduced us, if there were any hidden issues, I would certainly say so directly, so this has nothing to do with 'picking up a bargain'."

"The reason I am willing to buy it is, first, I want to verify if it is Yang Ashui's craft. Second, I want to conduct some Artifact Research..."

Chen Shiquan was half-believing: surely he didn't want to try and see if he could crack this method of making things look old?

To tell the truth, if it were really as formidable as Lin Sicheng said, that would definitely count as a skill worth a fortune every day; how could it be so easy to analyze and crack? But then again, even if it were real Hainan Huanghuali, one million was not low. Moreover, this item had been sitting for so long, and it was finally able to be sold; there was no reason not to sell it.

Even if it were out of consideration for letting the seller owe a favor, as long as someone made an offer, he would definitely sell.

Thinking this way, Chen Shiquan nodded repeatedly: "Thank you, Expert Lin..."

As he spoke, he shouted downstairs again: "Yunqing, call Yan Jie!"

Yan Jie was in finance; if he called Yan Jie, it meant he was going to collect payment.

Chen Yunqing hurriedly called the person, while Lin Sicheng picked up the wooden table and walked downstairs.

Wang Qi Zhi even tried to persuade him: "Sicheng, there's no need to be so rushed; let's eat first, it won't be too late to move it later!"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "Teacher, it's not that I'm rushed, but I want to verify something... General Manager Chen, please help me get a knife. If you have a UV lamp, bring one of those too..."

Chen Shiquan and Peng Yanzhi were stunned in unison: he wanted a knife, and a UV lamp?

A knife was definitely for taking a sample; as for the UV lamp, it should be for heating.

Heating to release fragrance is one of the most direct methods for identifying fragrant woods like Hainan Huanghuali and Red Sandalwood. But to be honest, it doesn't always work.

Because the time was too long: a full four hundred years; how much fragrance could still be inside this wood?

They just hadn't expected that Lin Sicheng bought this item really for the sake of researching the craft?

The logic was simple: for an item worth over a million, let alone cutting it with a knife, even if it were accidentally bumped, tens of thousands would be gone...

Chen Shiquan notified the housekeeper to get a knife, and Lin Sicheng carried the wooden table as the group moved to the first floor.

The housekeeper brought a kitchen knife, which wasn't very easy to use. But as it happened, there was a steak knife that came with the dining cart, and Lin Sicheng asked for one. It had serrations and was very easy to use; one cut down, and it left a deep groove.

"Squeak~ squeak~ squeak~" A harsh sawing sound echoed through the hall.

Zhao Xiuneng and Wang Qi Zhi were a bit better off; after all, it wasn't their first time seeing Lin Sicheng wreak havoc: he would smash antique porcelain worth over a hundred thousand without a second thought, and melt down gold artifacts worth hundreds of thousands just as easily.

But Peng Yanzhi and Chen Shiquan wore expressions of constipation; every time the table knife sawed, their eyelids twitched.

Lin Sicheng, was he actually not taking a sample from the table leg, which had the least damage and was the easiest to repair?

He was sawing the crossbeam, and he was sawing it directly?

That was the piece between the two table legs, the one with the least wear and the highest integrity.

If he messed this up, it would be hard to even patch...

In their astonishment, Lin Sicheng had already sawed the crossbeam into three or four segments, each nearly three or four centimeters long.

After sawing them off, Lin Sicheng tossed the wood blocks into a teapot and let Zhao Xiuneng take it to the tea table to boil.

The group was confused, but they followed along.

Only half a pot of water was poured in, and it soon began to boil, the color deepening bit by bit. Immediately, a fragrance with a hint of pungency drifted out. The few of them looked at each other in dismay.

They hadn't seen much old Hainan Huanghuali furniture, but who in the antique trade hadn't seen Huanghuali?

In the past two years, most shops in antique markets everywhere sold bracelets turned from Rosewood. So, they were all too familiar with the scent of various Rosewoods.

This scent, which was fragrant yet pungent, was clearly Hainan Huanghuali.

But Lin Sicheng remained calm, boiled it for a few more minutes, and turned off the heat.

After letting it cool slightly, he poured half into a bottle, asked Zhao Xiuneng to help him store it, and left the remaining half in the pot.

Wang Qi Zhi didn't understand: "You're taking this back too?"

"Yes, Teacher, taking it back to test the traditional Chinese medicine ingredients?"

What the hell, traditional Chinese medicine?

He pointed to the remaining half cup: "Then what about this half?"

"Shine a UV light on it!"

As he spoke, Lin Sicheng asked the housekeeper to help lower the curtains. Suddenly, the living room plunged into darkness.

Faintly, one could barely make out the outlines of people.

Then, with a "click," Lin Sicheng pressed the switch for the UV lamp.

At first, the few were still puzzled, thinking that if he wanted to see the color of the wood shavings after soaking, he could just look with his eyes; what could a UV lamp show?

But immediately, the group widened their eyes in unison: the surface of the water in the cup was actually reflecting a green fluorescence?

No... isn't this nonsense?

How could such a thing still exist inside wood that is hundreds of years old?

Unless it had been injected with glue, boiled in wax, or even worse... treated with acid?

But that kind of thing is only used when aging jade, like Jadeite. If it's wood, how do you inject glue, boil wax, or wash it with acid? Lin Sicheng let out a sharp breath: as expected, the exclusive craft of the Jinmen Yang School.

Who said it was impossible to be mistaken?

He had the housekeeper raise the curtains and turned the lights back on, but the others remained staring at the cup, their expressions blank.

What was a bit of fluorescence worth?

The color of the wood blocks had actually faded?

It was no longer that deep brown, but a light yellow.

The fragrance had also faded; it was no longer that pungent scent, but a smell like Dried Tangerine Peel with a bit of Sichuan Peppercorn added.

The key was the grain on the cross-section of the wood: originally extremely faint and as fine as hair, it was now thick and chaotic.

The black veins and wheat-ear patterns seen before were not even a trace to be found.

Without needing a reminder, anyone who had seen Rosewood antiques knew what this was: Vietnam Huanghuali.

The group stared at the cup as if they had seen a ghost.

Lin Sicheng had clearly just boiled it in water, but it felt to them like he had performed a magic trick: perfectly good Hainan Huanghuali had suddenly become Vietnam Huanghuali? Wang Qi Zhi bared his teeth as if he had a toothache: "Sicheng, how was this done?"

"Medicinal liquid, to be precise: traditional Chinese medicine."

The group looked at each other, not knowing what to say.

They had heard of dyeing (the surface), pyrography (imitating texture), and veneering (pasting Huanghuali or Red Sandalwood skins onto Acid Branch Wood or Chicken-wing Wood furniture), and even deep-frying (to increase oiliness and density), but this was the first time they had heard of: soaking in traditional Chinese medicine?

The most critical part was: color, weight, and fragrance were one thing, but how were the texture and quality changed?

Especially Peng Yanzhi; precisely because he was the most professional, he was even more shocked:

As the old saying goes, there is a specialty in every trade. Peng Yanzhi was skilled in Ceramics Appraisal and also appraised Calligraphy and Painting; he was definitely a rare expert in the appraisal world who crossed trades and categories. At the very least, there were some commonalities between porcelain and painting: if you want to appraise Colored Porcelain, you must at least understand traditional Chinese painting first.

But as for how much ceramics and furniture had in common, it could be summarized in one sentence: the two had absolutely no connection at all.

The materials were different, the craftsmanship was different, and the techniques were even more different. Even the historical traces and aging marks bestowed by the passage of time were completely unrelated. Peng Yanzhi had always felt: asking an ancient ceramics expert to appraise furniture was definitely making things difficult for them.

Then how could Lin Sicheng do it?

It even gave people the feeling: his foundation was higher than his appraisal of porcelain?

At least when appraising porcelain, he still used his eyes. But the aging technique on this Flat-headed Table in front of them could not be seen with the eyes at all... Thinking back to the phone call the Museum Curator had made to him, Peng Yanzhi's pupils couldn't help but shrink: Nanmu Wood Wood Studio, heh?

Before, he had been a bit skeptical: it was possible that Nanmu Wood Wood Studio had fakes. After all, that was a unique attribute of this industry: even state-run Museums couldn't avoid it, let alone private Antique Trade businesses?

But to say that a time-honored brand passed down for three generations and several decades had always been buying fakes was absolutely impossible.

People who collect are just rich, not stupid.

But what about now?

The more he thought about it, the stranger it became, and gradually, a bad premonition arose in his heart: Nanmu Wood Wood Studio, was something major about to happen?

The group had different thoughts, but none of them asked anything further.

Peng Yanzhi and Chen Shiquan knew that even if they asked, Lin Sicheng wouldn't say.

No matter how curious Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng were, they wouldn't ask here: this was like a martial arts manual; only a fool would shout it to the world. The few of them were surprisingly tacit, as if this Flat-headed Table had never appeared at all.