Chapter 525: If You Know It, You Don't Need to Be Taught; If You're Learning, You Can't Be Taught (Bonus Chapter)

Over two hundred pieces; it really is quite worrying.

Because paintings are not like porcelain, which possesses a certain level of craftsmanship. This stuff relies purely on manual work; there are too many details, and even more places where they can be faked.

Even a quick-draw expert like Lin Sicheng wouldn't dare guarantee how fast he can examine each piece, or how many he can get through in a day.

If we can't finish today, don't we have to set a time to come back and look again next time?

If we can't finish next time, don't we have to come back the time after that?

Once you go back and forth, even if you don't want to get involved, the connection is already made.

Seeing the hesitant look on his face, Huang Zhi was both annoyed and amused.

Young man, is it really that daunting?

Setting aside the matter of status, inviting Lin Sicheng over this time was clearly priced; he is being paid.

Regardless of authenticity, regardless of size, it is three thousand per piece appraised. As for how much Lin Sicheng shares with Liu Yiling, that is his business.

So, shouldn't it be the more he appraises, the better?

What's more, this isn't just about money. If it were anyone else, just for the sake of building a good relationship with Huang Zhi and Huang Lan, they would be eager to come more often. But for Lin Sicheng, why does it seem like he's being asked to climb a mountain of swords and descend into a sea of flames?

He asked directly, "Teacher Lin, do you have some kind of misunderstanding about me?"

"General Manager Huang, you are overstating it!"

Lin Sicheng sighed, "It's simply because I'm busy; secondly, I am a rather introverted person and quite socially anxious, so I fear dealing with people the most!" Huang Zhi was lost in thought.

The first part was easy to understand: last time at the Police Station, Division Chief Liu specifically checked, and Lin Sicheng is not only a graduate student, but he also seems to be involved in some Artifact Research at Xida.

Besides that, he also seems to have dealings with several antique companies and some wealthy mining bosses in Shaanxi who enjoy collecting. The Xiling Seal Society auction last time was likely Lin Sicheng bidding on behalf of others.

But busy or not, you wouldn't refuse to earn money delivered to your doorstep, would you?

As for the latter part, Lin Sicheng's answer was a bit nonsensical, but Huang Zhi could understand: he is not good at handling interpersonal relationships and is afraid of offending him without even knowing it.

Rather than being held in contempt by him, it is better not to have contact from the start.

But Huang Zhi didn't believe it: given the scene at the Police Station that day, how could Lin Sicheng have even a hint of being introverted or socially anxious?

On the contrary: he was not only not introverted, but even worldly-wise to the extreme, more mature and experienced than many successful people in their forties or fifties who have been out in society for half their lives.

In any case, if it were him, he definitely wouldn't have handled that day's events as well.

So Huang Zhi suspected that Lin Sicheng must have misunderstood something, thinking he wanted him to do something.

But it's not strange; the old saying goes, "If someone offers a favor for no reason, they are either a traitor or a thief." He had sent him a card for no reason, then gave him a business card, and then contacted him so frequently afterward; he would definitely overthink it.

What's more, he did indeed have an agenda.

"You are so young, you still need to get out and socialize more. The ivory tower is good, but you can't stay in the ivory tower for your whole life, right?" Huang Zhi smiled, "Society isn't as complicated as you think!"

Society really isn't complicated; what I'm afraid of is that you are complicated...

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: "General Manager Huang is right!"

After chatting for a bit, Lin Sicheng put on his gloves.

The two had a very clear division of labor: they would look separately, each doing their own thing. If they encountered something they weren't sure about, the two would discuss it together.

Huang Zhi had his nephew fetch the paintings, and Huang Lan also came over to help. Lin Sicheng and Liu Yiling each occupied a long table, with assistants standing on the side handing over tools. They started with a big move: in front of Liu Yiling was a Painting of Shrimp by Qi Baishi, and in front of Lin Sicheng was a Painting of Shrimp by Qi Baishi. The two glanced at the paintings and then looked at each other.

If these two were real, not to mention tens of millions, four or five million would be easy.

After the founding of the country, Qi Baishi successively donated works to the Forbidden City, and after he passed away, his family also successively donated to the Forbidden City. Therefore, in the Forbidden City, Qi Baishi's works are not few.

And as the most influential painter of the modern era, Qi Baishi's works have always been a key focus of the Forbidden City's Calligraphy and Painting group's Artifact Research, so neither of them was unfamiliar with them. Liu Yiling first scanned it roughly, looking at the structural layout, as well as the brushwork and lines.

After about two or three minutes, she had an idea in her mind: Qi Baishi's characteristics are bold coloring, a combination of meticulous and freehand styles, a cold and detached style, strong colors, and brush and ink with extreme tension.

This one, however, was conventional, even revealing a bit of caution; nine times out of ten, it was a copy.

But it was copied quite realistically, and the painting skill was also good. For an average collector, it really might deceive them.

To avoid a misjudgment, Liu Yiling didn't dare to be lazy and looked at it carefully.

Lin Sicheng was direct; he didn't look at the painting, but looked at the paper first.

With just one glance, he reached a conclusion: fake.

However, the author's foundation was very deep, and it was copied quite similarly, with the brushwork at least fifty or sixty percent similar. For an average auction, it could be directly put up for auction as a genuine work of Qi Baishi.

As for whether anyone would be fooled, that he didn't know.

Lin Sicheng reached a conclusion in just a few seconds, but it wasn't easy to say he had finished looking. First, it would make Huang Zhi and Huang Lan feel he was too perfunctory, and second, it would make Liu Yiling look incompetent.

Furthermore, he was just here to go through the motions; the fewer he looked at, the better. For a moment, Lin Sicheng had nothing to do, so he could only stare at the painting to kill time.

But to be honest, although this painting was copied well, it could basically only be considered "drawing a tiger with a cat as a model"; it had no characteristics and nothing worth looking at. After watching for a little while, Lin Sicheng felt it was boring and started to zone out.

First, he calculated the date, roughly when the Center could do the seismic reinforcement. Then he calculated the instruments and equipment to see if anything was missing. Then he calculated how much money the few pieces he submitted for the Poly spring auction might fetch, and whether he should submit a few more.

At first, no one noticed, and they all thought he was seriously looking at the painting.

But as they watched, Huang Zhi noticed something was wrong: for a long time, Lin Sicheng hadn't moved, staring at a certain spot in the painting.

Could there be a problem?

While pondering, he lowered his head and took a peek, then his face turned strange: no way... is Lin Sicheng actually spacing out?

No, it seems like he has been like this from the beginning.

It couldn't be that he started zoning out the moment he began looking, right?

Just as he was suspicious, Liu Yiling straightened her back: "Teacher Lin, this piece of mine should be a copy: the painting method is wrong, the color blending is also wrong, the lines are too stiff, and there is not a hint of spirit. It should be a tracing copy..."

Lin Sicheng woke up as if from a dream: "Oh, this one of mine is the same, a copy. The flaw is very obvious: it uses bamboo fiber xuan paper from the Sichuan Zigong Paper Mill, and this paper only started production in the late seventies..."

Huang Zhi was shocked: "You can even tell which province, which city, and which mill the paper was made in?"

Lin Sicheng was very humble: "This is a basic skill; any Appraiser specializing in calligraphy and painting can tell."

Huang Lan didn't know what to say: she was still a hundred and eight thousand miles away from being a specialist, so of course she couldn't tell.

Liu Yiling didn't speak, but she muttered to herself: she could tell a part of it, but only a very small part.

One person saying one sentence, it was considered to have defined the nature of the two paintings.

He let his nephew take away the paintings and went to get the third and fourth ones.

Huang Zhi's heart stirred, and he probed, "Teacher Lin, is it only the paper that is wrong?"

Lin Sicheng was instead stumped by the question: since the paper was wrong, why bother checking if the rest was correct?

Qi Baishi passed away in '57, and this paper only started production in '78; it couldn't possibly be that this paper traveled twenty years into the past, could it?

However, since the person had asked, he certainly had to explain, otherwise it wouldn't be fair to the three thousand yuan given.

He tilted his head, struggling to recall: "The brushwork is too soft, the coloring is too pale, the shrimp skin is too dry... these points are exactly the opposite of Qi Baishi's style. Especially the last point: Qi Baishi's shrimp, one can see water vapor on the shrimp shells."

"So that's how it is?"

Huang Zhi replied with a feigned appearance, but in his heart, he let out a "Ha": sure enough, just after taking a look at the beginning, Lin Sicheng had started to zone out.

Otherwise, the painting had only just been put away, what was there for him to recall?

Huang Zhi remained calm, looking as if he had been taught a lesson.

The two began to look at the second painting.

Previously it was Qi Baishi, this time it became Zhang Daqian.

Liu Yiling was looking at a Painting of Lady, while Lin Sicheng was looking at a classic work by Zhang Daqian: a Painting of Lotus.

Still the same as before, Liu Yiling was meticulous and thorough. But Lin Sicheng still gave this painting a death sentence with one glance. Fearing that Huang Zhi would ask more questions, he looked at the painting core again.

Although the brushwork was slightly stronger than the one imitating Qi Baishi, it was still just following a pattern, with no value for in-depth Artifact Research. Therefore, Lin Sicheng started zoning out again.

This time, Huang Zhi observed very carefully: after the scroll was unrolled, Lin Sicheng scanned it roughly, from back to front, from top to bottom.

The general order should be: backing, roller, silk border, painting core, colophon, and seals.

The steps were quite numerous, but it was just a hurried scan; how much time could it take?

The whole process was only a few dozen seconds. After that, Lin Sicheng started staring blankly.

Looking at Liu Yiling beside him, she was inch by inch, as earnest as one could be.

Huang Zhi didn't point it out and waited quietly.

Huang Lan couldn't be bothered: she was following Liu Yiling's steps, looking there as well.

After about ten minutes, Liu Yiling raised her head: "Teacher Lin, I have finished looking; this one should also be a replica."

"The flaws are obvious: Zhang Daqian's figure paintings mostly use Western-style focal perspective and light-dark contrast. But because the coloring is too thick and the colors are too bright, it is not very obvious, but this one is pure fine-brush work..."

Zhang Daqian also donated paintings to the Forbidden City, and with state acquisitions and donations from other collectors, there are about a hundred pieces in the Forbidden City.

And as a famous painter of the same period with equally huge influence, and greater international influence than Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian's works are also a key focus of Artifact Research for scholars at the Forbidden City.

Therefore, Liu Yiling would certainly not be wrong.

Taking a moment to glance over, Lin Sicheng secretly said "as expected."

He straightened his back with a feigned air: "Coincidentally, I have finished looking at this one too; it is also a replica. First of all, the ink is wrong..."

"Zhang Daqian had a characteristic: he was relatively frugal, so no matter who asked him to paint, or who he was gifting a painting to, he exclusively used foreign ink (industrial carbon black, a petroleum byproduct). If it was Splashed Ink and Color, he would definitely use chemical pigments to blend, because it could dry quickly and save time."

"But this one uses high-quality Pine Soot Ink, and inside it, Bovine Glue, musk, and Ice Flake have been added. The blue-green colors are the same; in this painting, high-quality azurite and malachite are used, and tung oil is used for blending..."

To put it nicely, Zhang Daqian was relatively frugal; to put it bluntly, he was stingy. Just the ink and pigments in this painting, plus the time for natural air-drying, would be enough for Zhang Daqian to paint ten more.

On this point alone, it is undoubtedly a replica.

Besides this, Lin Sicheng talked about the painting, such as the composition, the line drawing, and the splashing of ink and color, and what the gaps were compared to Zhang Daqian. Huang Lan was meticulous, recording everything in her notebook.

Huang Zhi remained calm.

Then came the fifth and sixth, the seventh and eighth, the ninth and tenth.

Each process was much the same: Liu Yiling was incomparably earnest, looking from the head of the painting to the tail. What she mostly discovered were issues in painting methods, techniques, schools, as well as creative characteristics and artistic styles.

While Lin Sicheng only looked for those few glances and then started staring blankly.

The focus was diametrically opposite: every time, Lin Sicheng would first point out the problems in the materials.

For example, the paper, the ink, the pigments, as well as the roller, the roller ends, and the silk borders.

Then, he would start to explain where the painting was wrong and where it fell short compared to the original artist.

And he would point it out for you to see: how the original artist's lines were drawn, how the base map was laid out, how the layers after splashing ink were achieved through Rendering, and how the areas where colors needed to transition were handled.

And how the imitator of this painting did it, and why it wasn't done well.

Huang Zhi could tell: what Lin Sicheng explained was at least much more intuitive and useful than what Liu Yiling explained.

Because Liu Yiling explained a whole lot, and he couldn't understand a single word. Lin Sicheng only explained a few sentences, and he could not only see it at a glance but also grasp it intuitively. This was quite magical. Because Huang Zhi didn't understand painting at all...

After watching a few more rounds, about two hours had passed, and Huang Zhi suggested taking a short break.

Lin Sicheng didn't mind; he had been sitting there staring blankly the whole time. But Liu Yiling was different: in these two hours, she had been staring through the Magnifying Glass, and her eyes were already starting to feel sore.

Huang Zhi had his nephew make tea, and the four returned to the living room.

Subsequently, the nephew went downstairs, saying he was going to buy something, and Lin Sicheng didn't pay any attention.

He didn't know that Huang Zhi had his nephew take the paintings Lin Sicheng had appraised to the Artron Center for testing.

It wasn't that Huang Zhi didn't trust Lin Sicheng's integrity; moreover, he basically knew the background of his eldest sister's collection, and how much was real and how much was fake.

He just wanted to verify: for every painting, Lin Sicheng only took a glance; how high was this accuracy rate?

Thinking secretly, Huang Zhi pushed the fruit plate: "Teacher Lin, Teacher Liu, have some fruit."

"Thank you, General Manager Huang!"

Lin Sicheng didn't stand on ceremony and picked up a fruit fork.

Sitting idly for two hours, his mouth was indeed a bit dry.

After eating a few pieces of watermelon and pear with the fork, Huang Zhi offered a cigarette.

Lin Sicheng waved his hand: "Thank you, General Manager Huang, I don't smoke!"

"Good habit!"

After praising him, Huang Zhi put down the cigarette case and said, seemingly casually: "What does Teacher Lin usually busy himself with?"

Lin Sicheng paused: "I don't believe you haven't investigated me?"

At the age of just over twenty, he could pick up a bargain at a major auction, and even in terms of appraisal, he could outshine a full-time Researcher from the Forbidden City? The key was that Liu Yiling was not only not angry, but also appeared to be humbly seeking advice.

Lin Sicheng did not believe it, and Huang Zhi was curious.

Of course, it was merely curiosity, not a life-or-death enmity; at most, Huang Zhi would have an insider like Division Chief Liu look into it. He would not go to such great lengths to dig up everything about him.

Without using a very high level of authorization, Division Chief Liu could only find what the Xijing Police and Beijing Police wanted him to find. For example, that he was a graduate student at Xida and was also participating in a Cultural Relics Research project hosted by the school.

Or, for instance, his family background: his grandfather was a professor of archaeology and Cultural Relics Protection at Xida. He was also a well-known Ceramics Appraisal Expert in Shaanxi Province. Lin Sicheng had been influenced by this since childhood, so his appraisal ability was quite strong.

As for the rest, Division Chief Liu probably wouldn't deliberately investigate, and even if he did, he would definitely not dare to speak of it.

Turning these thoughts over, Lin Sicheng gave a rough explanation.

"So you mean, you started learning appraisal from a young age?"

"Yes, General Manager Huang. Influenced by my grandfather, I started coming into contact with it when I was very young!"

Lin Sicheng replied and showed them his hands: "Although I studied ceramics and appraise ceramics, ceramics and painting are inseparable, so I have also dabbled in Calligraphy and Painting..."

Huang Zhi and Huang Lan widened their eyes: "So you mean, this Painting Appraisal skill of yours is entirely self-taught?"

Lin Sicheng would have liked to find a teacher for himself, using an excuse like "Whether it's Ceramics Appraisal or Artifact Research, I learned it all from my grandfather." The problem was that he couldn't find such a suitable person at the moment. There was no other way; he could only say it was self-taught.

He nodded: "Yes, General Manager Huang!"

Looking at those strange hands, Huang Lan was stunned: If he was better than Liu Yiling just by being self-taught, wouldn't he be even stronger if he had a teacher? Huang Zhi was skeptical: no matter how little he understood, he at least knew the difference between painting on ceramics and regular painting.

Those who paint on ceramics are at most Craftsmen; they don't even count as painters. And those who can leave behind ink masterpieces that qualify as antiques must at least be "masters."

If one were to make a comparison, so-called ceramic painting doesn't even count as the surface of Calligraphy and Painting.

Therefore, because he had done a lot of Ceramics Appraisal and then learned Painting Appraisal, he didn't believe a word of it.

If it were that easy, why would those in the appraisal business bother to take on masters?

But then again: Lin Sicheng was only in his early twenties, yet he had a Painting Appraisal ability significantly higher than Liu Yiling's. If a teacher taught him, who was it?

With no leads, Huang Zhi did not delve deeper.

He only needed to know that Lin Sicheng's Painting Appraisal ability was indeed high and that his character was reliable.

Lin Sicheng's Tea Cup was running low, so Huang Zhi picked up the teapot to refill it and asked casually: "Last time at the Police Station, I heard you say you were going to set up an appraisal studio in Beijing. When are you doing that?"

It wasn't just a studio, but a Research Center of over a thousand square meters. It included appraisal, Artifact Restoration, and Artifact Research.

But the Police had asked at the time why he had hired Feng Sanjiang and Hu Hai.

The Center was opening within the jurisdiction of the Police Station, and they would be dealing with each other soon, so there was no need to hide it. And because Hu Hai and Feng Sanjiang were both "wild cards" who could only do appraisal, Lin Sicheng had said he was preparing to establish an appraisal studio.

Therefore, Huang Zhi hadn't heard it through rumors, but had seen it in the police record.

"Soon, I've already chosen the location!"

It wasn't a secret; Huang Zhi could find out if he wanted to, so Lin Sicheng gave a rough explanation.

"It's in the same building as the Yachang Center, but not in the same block; renovations have already begun!"

"So fast?" Huang Zhi was surprised, "Then what about your studies?"

Lin Sicheng answered immediately: "Our school is quite flexible. There are no hard requirements for class hours during the graduate stage, as long as you can complete the project tasks and Thesis on time."

"Secondly, this studio is a partnership between several people, supported by several seniors in the field. The daily management and operations are handled by others." Huang Lan suddenly interjected: "Are those two swindlers also Partners?"

Lin Sicheng smiled and shook his head: "Of course not, they are just employees!"

Huang Lan didn't believe it, and neither did Huang Zhi: knowing full well that these two were troublemakers, who knows when they might run into opponents even more difficult and harder to talk to than the two of them.

If they were just employees, why would Lin Sicheng go to such great lengths to protect them?

But Huang Zhi was not focused on that; he didn't delve deeper and changed the subject: "Will you appraise the paintings?"

As he spoke, he glanced at Huang Lan.

Lin Sicheng knew exactly what was going on.

He had been wondering, Huang Zhi wasn't into collecting, so why was he fixated on him?

So it was for his sister?

He felt quite sympathetic, but Lin Sicheng didn't have the energy or the time.

He nodded: "I will!"

But it wouldn't necessarily be him doing the appraisal.

Huang Zhi smiled: "That's good!"

After drinking another cup, Lin Sicheng picked up his gloves, and Liu Yiling stood up as well.

Lin Sicheng spoke bluntly: "Teacher Liu, you've been looking for a long time, take a rest for a while!"

Liu Yiling paused and nodded.

Having looked at more than ten pieces in a row, she had indeed reached her limit.

The eye strain was secondary; the main thing was that it was too mentally taxing.

The key was that it was even more draining on her spirit.

Afraid of holding Lin Sicheng back, and even more afraid of embarrassing him, Liu Yiling was fully focused on every piece, not daring to be the slightest bit careless.

She didn't dare miss a single inch or detail; her brain was spinning at high speed. As long as it involved knowledge she knew, she would recall it three times and cross-reference it three times.

It could be said that today, Liu Yiling had definitely used twelve percent of her true ability.

Human strength has its limits; if she kept looking, she might make a mistake.

"Teacher Lin, I'll assist you!"

Lin Sicheng smiled: "Good!"

Actually, there wasn't much to assist with.

But when Lin Sicheng called out, Liu Yiling didn't hesitate at all and agreed to come over. Even when Lin Sicheng clearly told her that he might use her as a shield, Liu Yiling still didn't offer a single word of refusal.

If he didn't do something, Lin Sicheng's conscience wouldn't be able to take it.

He put on his gloves; his nephew hadn't returned yet, and this time it was Huang Lan who went to fetch the paintings, bringing back seven or eight scrolls at once.

Lin Sicheng spread them all out.

While spreading the paintings, he took a rough glance and had a general idea in his mind: compared to the previous dozen or so, the brushwork, pen strength, and artistic standard of these few were clearly a level higher. But as expected, they were still imitations.

Of course, this was only a rough estimate, not one hundred percent certain, so Lin Sicheng still examined them one by one.

However, this time he explained as he looked.

Lin Sicheng held a high-magnification lens in one hand and a UV lamp in the other: "Teacher Liu, look here, at the edge of the painting's core paper; magnified twenty times, can you see the fine and dense orange-yellow spots?"

"This is a relatively professional method for aging painting paper; traditional methods usually involve dyeing with tea or smoking with incense, and high-end ones involve UV light. But this specific type is steamed with acorn shells (the fruit husks of the sawtooth oak) and hematite..."

"Paper aged in this way is extremely close to the characteristics of naturally aged painting paper, and it is very difficult for ordinary visual appraisal to detect. Even under high magnification, seeing these orange-red spots, one would only think they are traces left by natural aging."

"Even if you perform instrument testing, you would think it was caused by pigment splashing. Because traditional Chinese painting pigments use hematite and plant-based oils for coloring, both of which contain similar components, it is very easy to overlook..."

Liu Yiling knew of this aging method, but she did not know how to appraise it.

She knew even less that by magnifying the cross-section of the painting paper's edge and then shining a UV lamp on it, one could see the orange-yellow spots unique to hematite.

The teacher was indeed right: Lin Sicheng had the techniques, and he truly taught them.

She firmly memorized it in her mind, her face full of gratitude: "Thank you, Teacher Lin!"

Lin Sicheng didn't mind at all: "Don't mention it!"

This was something Sheng Guoan had taught him in his previous life. The reason Liu Yiling didn't know it was simply because Sheng Guoan hadn't researched it to that point yet and was still in the exploration stage.

Therefore, even if he didn't teach her, Liu Yiling would be able to learn it later; it was merely a matter of learning it a few years early.

Since even the paper was artificially aged, then they were undoubtedly imitations.

Lin Sicheng picked out another one: "Look at this one again, it's still the cross-section of the painting's core paper..."

"Don't look at the frayed edges, look at this hole eroded by mold... Magnify it again, look: is it quite neat, and is the color quite uniform?" "The person doing the aging didn't have the patience to wait for the mold to erode it into spots and then into holes. Furthermore, they were afraid of losing control of the fungal colony and completely ruining the painting, so as long as there are such holes in an imitation painting, most are cut out with precision instruments, and then mold is cultivated to dye the spots." "Therefore, there is a characteristic of mold spots and imitation paintings: the edges of the mold-eroded holes are relatively neat. Secondly, there is a color difference in the cross-section: the cut holes are only yellow on the inside and outside, but white in the middle. However, holes naturally eroded by mold, as long as there are yellow mold stains, are inevitably yellow from the inside to the outside, and appear in a radial pattern..."

He had said quite a lot this time, and Liu Yiling was a bit confused.

She hurriedly took out paper and a pen: "Teacher Lin, I'm sorry, let me take some notes."

Actually, it was very simple; just remember three keywords: imitation paper holes are neat, mold spots have color differences, and there is no radial pattern.

But because Huang Lan was also taking notes, Lin Sicheng explained it again.

Huang Zhi didn't understand: it felt quite simple; what was there to take notes on?

But Liu Yiling not only took notes, she also looked terrified and extremely grateful.

Subconsciously turning his head, Huang Zhi looked at his older sister again: Huang Lan's eyes were shining, and the pen in her hand was writing rapidly.

Huang Zhi realized belatedly: Lin Sicheng, is he teaching skills on the spot?

Amazing, Student Lin, you are acting as a teacher for an Expert from the Forbidden City?

Moreover, what he was teaching were definitely secret techniques.

Otherwise, Liu Yiling wouldn't be so excited and thrilled.

For a moment, Huang Zhi was both shocked and curious.

When Liu Yiling and Huang Lan finished taking notes, he really couldn't help himself: "Lin Sicheng, what you explained must be an extremely practical appraisal method, aren't you afraid of it being stolen by people outside?"

Lin Sicheng smiled: "Just some small tricks, not worth calling it stealing."

The truth was, those who could do it didn't need to learn; they understood it at a single hint, like Liu Yiling.

Those who didn't understand, even if they wanted to learn, wouldn't be able to, like Huang Lan.

Because Painting Appraisal requires looking at too many details, and looking at the aging degree of the painting paper is only one of them.

And it is a relatively unimportant one at that.

Just consider one point: scammers also care about efficiency and cost.

To be able to use such a troublesome method to age painting paper and to be able to reach such a meticulous degree, one can see how realistic the imitation level of this painting is.

At the very least, the two he had just looked at would have no problem at all deceiving the eyes of Guan Xingmin.

For someone like Huang Lan, it would be deceiving her with her eyes closed. So, even if she learned it, it would be useless, and she would basically never use it.