Chapter 8: Selling a Duster

Didn't you see it?

Li Zhen gave her a strange look, and only then did Xiao Yuzhu realize: she had spoken without thinking.

Subconsciously, she blushed: "I didn't see it!"

Lin Sicheng nodded with a straight face.

"Lin Sicheng, I didn't see it!"

"You didn't see it, you didn't see it, what are you so proud of, and why are you being so loud?"

Xiao Yuzhu clenched her fist and shook it at him.

Lin Sicheng chuckled: "I have things to do, I'm off."

"Doing what?"

"Selling a Chicken Feather Duster!"

"Selling it to whom, your grandfather?"

Hey, this mouth of yours is venomous, isn't it?

Dirtier than cursing someone's mother.

Lin Sicheng raised an eyebrow: "What if I manage to sell it?"

"I'll eat it!"

Involuntarily, Lin Sicheng thought of Gu Ming, who was always sponging off others.

He looked up at the sun crossing over the city wall: "I'm going to sell the duster, and even if you want to eat it, you won't get the chance. How about this, whoever loses treats the other to lunch: three bowls of mutton soup!"

"Aren't you quite rich?"

Lin Sicheng laughed: "Fine, Little Shell!"

"That's more like it!"

With just a few words, lunch was settled, and Lin Sicheng walked away happily, tucking the duster under his arm and holding the Buddha statue.

The two girls followed behind, whispering: "Yuzhu, aren't you going to buy your materials?"

"Buying them this afternoon is fine, but Senior Sister, aren't you curious?"

Curious.

And not just ordinarily curious.

Li Zhen had stayed on at Xida after graduating from the Archaeology Department as a postgraduate, so she certainly had professional standards. But no matter how she looked at it, that was just a broken Chicken Feather Duster with half its feathers missing and a filthy black handle.

Who was Lin Sicheng planning to sell it to?

She thought for a moment: "Little Shell isn't cheap!"

"I know." Xiao Yuzhu blinked, "I've been thinking about it for a long time, I definitely want to eat mutton soup, I was just trying to scare him!"

Li Zhen pursed her lips.

Lin Sicheng walked at a steady pace with the two girls following behind, but as they walked, Lin Sicheng stopped again.

Li Zhen looked up: that Expert Sheng and General Manager Chen were blocking the aisle, their eyes fixed intently on the Buddha statue in his hand.

With a "whoosh," Lin Sicheng stuffed it into his shorts pocket.

The two people opposite were stunned: why was he acting like they were thieves?

It was also a coincidence; it wasn't long before Teacher Sheng finally came to his senses: that small Buddha statue, it seemed a bit off?

The object was definitely old, but the key was the style and carving, which really did fit the style of Tibetan Buddhism.

But because of his preconceived notions, the two lines of text on the ribbon didn't look like Tibetan, so he hadn't looked closely.

The more he thought about it afterward, the more wrong it felt, so Teacher Sheng hurried back, but unfortunately, the item had already been bought.

Coincidentally, he ran into him again: wasn't this the young man who had been looking at the stall earlier?

Sheng Shijian organized his wording and said with a serious face: "Young man, that item of yours is not right!"

Ha, the main event is here?

Lin Sicheng smiled: "It's fine, I have plenty of money!"

The two were stunned for a moment, not knowing how to respond.

After a long while, that General Manager Chen cleared his throat: "Young man, you really know how to joke? Do you know who Teacher Sheng is: a famous expert in lacquerware and wood carving in this province!"

"Oh, is that so? I've long admired him!"

While saying he had long admired him, Lin Sicheng walked around the two of them. Purely out of instinct, General Manager Chen reached out to block him.

Lin Sicheng paused and frowned: "What, you want to rob me?"

The two were taken aback: wait, why was this different from what they had imagined?

He was in his early twenties, barely had any facial hair, and was clearly still a student. When hearing he was an expert, shouldn't he be terrified and full of admiration?

But looking at this kid, he was calm and indifferent, and even... carried a hint of contempt.

Could it be that he took them for scammers?

"Young man, Teacher Sheng is a real Expert!"

"A real Expert can't block the road either, right? Are you going to move or not? If not, I'm calling the police!"

Seeing him take out his phone, looking like he was really going to call the police, General Manager Chen's face darkened.

Sheng Shijian shook his head slightly, and he stepped aside.

Lin Sicheng walked straight ahead, and Xiao Yuzhu followed behind with an excited face: this is more like it, I thought Lin Sicheng had changed his personality?

Li Zhen was thoughtful: "Is he like this at school too?"

"Yeah, he's always arrogant and doesn't care about anyone. Of course, he's still quite respectful to teachers."

No wonder he has no friends?

After saying a few words, Xiao Yuzhu hopped over to catch up with Lin Sicheng: "Lin Sicheng, he really is a real Expert, maybe there really is a problem with your item!"

"It's fine, I have money, I'm willful!"

Xiao Yuzhu puffed out her cheeks: How could this person be so infuriating when he speaks?

Lin Sicheng just smiled: Experts are also divided into different ranks.

For someone like Sheng Shijian, who knows the truth but identifies fakes, then sets up a trap to buy things back at the price of a counterfeit, how high can you expect his moral standards to be?

If you don't want to fall into a trap, then stay as far away as you can.

Amidst these reflections, the three of them exited the city gate tower and arrived across the street.

After walking only a few steps, an antique-style storefront came into view: Rongbao Zhai!

Xiao Yuzhu and Li Zhen were both stunned for a moment: Since they were studying subjects related to Cultural Relics, how could they not know what kind of place Rongbao Zhai was?

But they couldn't figure out how Lin Sicheng dared to come in.

If the master saw that broken Chicken Feather Duster, would he kick them out on the spot?

Just as they were shocked beyond belief, a male shop assistant in his early thirties walked over to greet them: "Hello, what would the three of you like to look at?"

"I'm not looking at items, can you appraise this?"

What on earth?

The shop assistant was stunned for a moment, peering again and again, looking and looking: A Chicken Feather Duster?

This thing did indeed belong to the category of cultural playthings, but he had only heard of it; this was his first time seeing one with his own eyes.

Looking closer: it was just ordinary chicken feathers, an ordinary bamboo pole, and quite a lot of the feathers had fallen off.

The patina was quite old, and at the end of the bamboo pole, a name was engraved: Master Qiuming.

The characters were quite neat, and the Engraving was good, but the shop assistant thought for a long time and couldn't recall who "Master Qiuming" was.

He hesitated slightly: "We can appraise it, but there is a fee, one thousand."

The implication was: Don't go back on your word if the item turns out to be wrong in the end?

"I know!"

Lin Sicheng nodded and took out his wallet; the shop assistant was startled and hurriedly called for the cashier.

"Please wait a moment, I will go invite the master!"

"Alright!"

Seeing him take out ten bright red banknotes, Xiao Yuzhu's eyes went wide.

"Lin Sicheng, aren't you here to sell the duster?"

"Appraise first, then sell!"

"No... one thousand yuan is enough for the three of us to eat two meals of small shellfish."

"Don't worry!" Lin Sicheng patted the duster, "It will definitely be worth more than one thousand!"

Li Zhen coughed lightly: "How about we let Professor Lin take a look first?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "He specializes in porcelain!"

It was true that he specialized in porcelain, but with his experience and eye for detail, couldn't he at least provide some oversight?

At the very least, they wouldn't have to waste money.

Li Zhen thought for a moment: "The appraisal fee is one thousand!"

Lin Sicheng smiled: "I know!"

It was quite expensive, but he wasn't here just for the appraisal, was he?

There are many places in Xijing that collect miscellaneous cultural playthings, but if you ask where the appraisal level is the highest and where the prices are the most fair, if Rongbao Zhai claims second place, no one dares to claim first.

Not just in Xijing, but in the entire country.