Chapter 62: Can't Afford It

Authentic Jingyang Jinhua black brick tea; it doesn't look like much, but it tastes quite good.

But you can't just steep it; it must be boiled, with salt added, or perhaps even dried fruit.

Ye Anning held the Tea Cup to warm her hands, while Lin Sicheng sipped slowly.

"What does it mean to have 'an eye'?"

"The item must be authentic!"

"And what does 'hard-edged' refer to?"

"The provenance must be legitimate!"

"What about a 'bundle'?"

"An expert who has the eye but doesn't run a shop, only dealing in resales..."

The two whispered head-to-head, while Wang Qi Zhi sat to the side, listening very intently.

This was the jargon of the old-society Antique Trade, which he naturally didn't understand.

Including Lin Zhangqing, who likely wouldn't understand it either.

It certainly wasn't in any books, so where did Lin Sicheng learn it?

Subconsciously, he glanced toward the corner: the old lady was still leaning against the wall, looking as if she were asleep.

But he had a feeling that a sharp glint was piercing through those half-closed eyelids...

Before long, Zhao Xiuneng (the seller) carried a tray into the room and set it on the coffee table.

The group lowered their heads in unison.

A Blue and White Landscape Pattern Covered Jar, a rhinoceros horn carved "Rising Step by Step" Brush Pot, half a piece of Blue and White Jade Bi, seven Kaiyuan coins, and a long scroll that looked like Calligraphy and Painting.

Was even the tray holding these items an antique?

At first, Lin Sicheng was taken aback, thinking to himself: this is impressive—porcelain, horn, Jade, woodwork, ancient coins, Calligraphy and Painting... is nothing missing?

How extensive must this Boss Zhao's connections be?

The key was that every single piece was exquisite:

Official Kiln Blue and White Porcelain from the Tongzhi reign?

A rhinoceros horn brush pot from the late Qing or early Republic era... and carved by Sheng Fugong (a famous Qing dynasty horn carver)?

The Bi was Tang dynasty Jade, and the seven Kaiyuan coins were misprinted Hebei Coins.

The scroll was an oil painting, but a work by a famous master: the renowned calligrapher, painter, musician, and dramatist of the late Qing and early Republic, Li Shutong.

And that tray: a late Qing "colored Mother-of-Pearl Inlay" Old Rosewood Lacquer Tray; judging by the patterns, it came from at least a prince's mansion.

But after looking it over once, he frowned again: these items, it seemed... none of them were quite right?

The covered jar was too heavy, at least half again as heavy as a normal piece of the same type. He tapped it with his finger... tsk tsk, the base of the jar was real, but the body was pieced together from late Qing Folk Kiln Blue and White Porcelain shards.

The grain on the brush pot was a bit too raised: denser on the top half, sparser on the bottom... looking closely, haha, the bottom half was a donkey's hoof.

The copper coins were the same: real Kaiyuan coins thinned down and glued together.

Even that piece of Jade, and the tray underneath, were all much the same: half-real and half-fake, patched and pieced together.

After looking around like this, among the dozen or so items, large and small, only one Hebei Coin was real...

Lin Sicheng suddenly raised his head, glanced at the old lady, and fixed his gaze on Zhao Xiuneng's face.

Zhao Xiuneng feigned ignorance: "Look at the items, why are you looking at me?"

If I don't look at you, who should I look at?

Whether the old lady had ever worked a fresh excavation or how many times she had done so, he didn't know, but she was definitely a peer in the trade.

In the trade, they are called Scavengers of Broken Pieces; to put it bluntly: they specialize in collecting damaged items, patching and repairing them, and then selling them as authentic. The grime that had seeped into her fingernails and the rust that had seeped into her skin likely came from just that.

Sometimes they are also called Mountain Climbers: if they couldn't collect damaged items, they would sometimes go down into pits, specifically targeting pits that had already been looted to dig for broken pieces.

But these items were definitely not the old lady's handiwork: the skill wasn't there, the work was too crude; it was almost an insult to the grime on her hands and the rust on her face...

Pondering secretly, Lin Sicheng picked one from the Kaiyuan coins, placed it in front of him, and then picked up his Tea Cup again.

Zhao Xiuneng was dumbfounded: he was the one who had repaired the items; how could he not know which was real and which was fake?

The problem was, this kid had just scanned them once?

The two locked eyes, and Lin Sicheng smiled lightly.

But the more he smiled, the more Zhao Xiuneng's eyelids twitched: "Pick two more!"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "No picking!"

Zhao Xiuneng pressed on: "Why?"

Lin Sicheng continued to shake his head: "It's the work of a Scavenger of Broken Pieces!"

Zhao Xiuneng stood there with his mouth open, not knowing what to say.

I know you're an expert, but can you really be that much of an expert?

After a long while, he let out a sharp breath: "Scavengers of Broken Pieces have good goods too!"

"Of course!" Lin Sicheng nodded and glanced at the old lady behind him, "But it depends on who is doing the scavenging!"

It was no exaggeration; the sixty-year-old woman, like a child, had her face flush bright red in an instant.

Damn you...

Having lived this long, was this the first time she had been looked down upon by a wet-behind-the-ears brat?

Wang Qi Zhi, sitting to the side, picked up the six copper coins and looked them over, then glanced at the one in front of Lin Sicheng, and put them back.

Out of seven copper coins, only the one in front of Lin Sicheng was real; combined with their conversation, did the rest of the items even need to be discussed?

Ye Anning also understood the Antique Trade, but considering her eye was not as good as her uncle's, she didn't venture a comment, merely picking up the oil painting.

Huh, Li Shutong?

Ha, that doesn't seem quite right?

She narrowed her eyes, examined it carefully several times, and then glanced at Lin Sicheng: "It looks... like a Grafting of the base draft!"

The hand holding the salt spoon paused, and Lin Sicheng looked up in astonishment.

It was no surprise that Wang Qi Zhi could see the problem with the copper coins: he specialized in Artifact Restoration of Bronze, and if he couldn't tell those six copper coins were glued together, how could he teach students?

But Ye Anning... he really hadn't expected that.

Seeing his shocked expression, Ye Anning pursed her lips: "I studied Cultural Relics Protection at the China Academy of Art, and then went to Florence for a year of advanced studies!"

Impressive, she studied both Chinese and Western methods?

No wonder last time at the flower and bird market, Professor Wang's older brother asked her to look at that Sunflower Plate!

Lin Sicheng nodded, his voice very low: "Correct, it is indeed Grafting!"

It's likely that one genuine work was split into four, then spliced with fakes: one-quarter uses the genuine painting, and three-quarters are forged.

The process isn't complex: use color scanning technology to precisely replicate brushstrokes and color values, reproduce them on an old canvas via inkjet printing, then treat the colors to look aged... so by comparison, forging ancient oil paintings is much easier...

But "easy" is only relative to traditional Chinese painting. Someone capable of peeling apart a genuine masterpiece and using high-tech methods to fill in the gaps would never be sitting here.

Lin Sicheng stared at Zhao Xiuneng, and the old man's face flushed red again: he couldn't peel a damn thing! If he had that kind of skill, why would he be cooped up at home by his old lady?

This painting was just something he happened to acquire.

With a long sigh, he took away the tray and left the living room. Immediately after, he brought out another tray.

This time there wasn't as much, and the tray was just an ordinary old poplar wood tray, with only three items placed on it:

A White Jade Cup, a scroll, and an Inkstone.

Lin Sicheng looked at them one by one, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.

Lu Zigang's Shangfang Mountain Horn Cup.

Li Dongyang's "Mr. Muzhai Is About to Board the Boat and Sends a Poem as a Gift, Rhyming in Sequence."

And a Ming dynasty imperial tribute inkstone: Jiangzhou Chengni Inkstone.

I told you to bring out good goods, but I didn't say to bring out things this good?

After looking for a long time, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I can't afford these!"

Zhao Xiuneng didn't quite believe him: "I didn't say you had to buy them all!"

Lin Sicheng sighed: "Even for just one piece, I can't afford it!"

Sorry, the next chapter will be a little late!