Chapter 33: Trust Store Treasure Hunting

Lin Shengli walked while not being ashamed to ask for advice.

Until he arrived at the Wangfu Jing Trust Store not far from the department store.

He had successfully upgraded his 【Junior Appraisal Skill】 to 【Intermediate Appraisal Skill】.

Seeing the seven large characters "Wangfu Jing Trust Store" before him, he was filled with myriad emotions for a moment.

At that moment.

Trust stores were sprouting everywhere in Sijiucheng.

The trust store's business mainly consisted of consignment, acting as an intermediary to connect consignors and buyers, threading the needle and building bridges.

There were also cases where the trust store purchased items and then set its own prices for sale.

Here, the items for sale are generally secondhand goods.

If the item is on consignment, the trust store's selling price is determined through negotiation between the consignor and the store.

After the item is sold, the store collects a certain handling fee.

Here, the merchandise is varied and assorted.

From watches to clothing to handicrafts to furniture and even bicycles...

It can be said that if you can think of it, you can find it here.

Even what you cannot imagine can be found here.

These days.

Wages are low, supplies are scarce, and distribution is by coupon.

In order to buy good-quality, inexpensive items, browsing trust stores has become everyone's hobby.

Especially those who love collecting old items, such as Guan Yushan.

Guan Yushan has visited almost every trust store in Sijiucheng many times.

Because there are quite a few old items here.

Among them, there are also not a few treasures.

It is truly a "crouching dragon, hidden tiger".

If you have keen eyes and good luck, after browsing for a day you might just harvest several treasures.

Not like later times, when although trust stores can still be seen occasionally, the possibility of finding treasures is minuscule.

Lin Shengli also took this into account, which is why he arranged to meet Guan Yushan here.

Of course.

He currently does not even hope to find any treasures.

After all, he is still a novice in appraisal.

And Guan Yushan is obsessed with old items.

Even when there are good things, he is reluctant to give them to him.

He merely wants to witness this era's famous trust store in Sijiucheng.

This was all the rage for several decades, only later gradually replaced by pawnshops.

If possible, buying a few antique chairs on the side would also satisfy him.

Furniture made from precious woods such as huanghuali and zitan, even if he encountered Guan Yushan, he would not bear to part with them.

Those made from ordinary wood should be fine, right?

Of course.

Most importantly, he wants to learn appraisal techniques from Guan Yushan.

He is a person who possesses the 【Heaven rewards diligence system】.

Now, merely having listened to Guan Yushan talk a little, he has already triggered the appraisal skill.

According to the system's nature, following Guan Yushan, in the near future, possessing a 【Divine-level Appraisal Skill】 is just around the corner.

"Master Guan, please come inside; Manager Wang is waiting for you inside."

The private manager was receiving customers; upon seeing Guan Yushan, he hastily made a gesturing invitation toward the inner room.

Manager Wang is the public manager, the head of the store.

Guan Yushan has come here many times and is quite familiar with many people in the trust store.

At that moment.

The public-private joint operation is still ongoing.

A store has two managers, one public and one private.

Upon entering the inner room, Lin Shengli couldn't help but gasp in amazement.

A room full of furniture.

At least a three-hundred-square-meter warehouse, filled with various kinds of furniture big and small.

Guan Yushan looked around, then patted the table beside him and asked:

"Shengli, tell me, what material is this table made of?"

Lin Shengli examined it carefully and said:

"It's not huanghuali nor zitan; furniture made from those two woods is the most expensive."

"It seems to be very ordinary wood."

Guan Yushan nodded satisfiedly:

"Not bad, you can see that."

"Even a child can be taught."

"Take another careful look, see if you can tell what material it's made of."

This puts Lin Shengli in a bit of a bind.

Perhaps because his treasure appraisal skill has only just risen to intermediate level, he couldn't tell what material it was made of; he could only see that it was neither Huanghuali nor rosewood.

He stroked the table for a while, and just as he was about to speak honestly, a voice suddenly sounded in his ear:

【Made of fir wood.】

"Is that all?"

【Host, currently your appraisal skill is only intermediate; it can only give a rough idea, such as whether it's made of Huanghuali or rosewood.】

【Only by touching a piece of furniture for more than three seconds can you know exactly what material was used.】

【Upon reaching advanced level, touching a relic for more than three seconds lets you know its era and whether it has collectible value.】

【Upon reaching super level, touching a relic for more than three seconds can also tell you its future monetary value.】

【Upon reaching divine level, a single glance reveals everything about the relic.】

It seems we must quickly ascend to divine level.

Lin Shengli pretended to examine it for a while, then smiled faintly and said:

"If I'm not mistaken, this should be made of fir wood."

Guan Yushan furrowed his brow and looked at Lin Shengli with some surprise.

Yi Zhonghai asked, "Brother, is Shengli correct?"

Guan Yushan nodded and said, "I really didn't expect Shengli could tell that it's made of fir wood."

"No wonder he's a top graduate of Ha Gong University."

"Seems I really did underestimate him."

"Shengli, have you studied furniture before?"

"You just said you know nothing about relics."

Lin Shengli blurted out a lie, "Oh, my neighbor back home used to make furniture, so I guess I have a bit of knowledge about it."

Guan Yushan hummed and said, "That explains it."

"Shengli, it seems you have a talent in that area."

Yi Zhonghai said happily, "Brother, Shengli is clever; he won't embarrass you."

"By the way, brother, which dynasty's furniture is the most expensive?"

Guan Yushan: "There's no such claim."

"Whether the furniture is worth collecting or valuable depends mainly on the material, as well as its style and craftsmanship, among other things."

"You have to consider it comprehensively; for example, you say the Song dynasty is over a thousand years ago, right?"

"But its furniture may not be more expensive than Qing dynasty pieces that are only a hundred years old."

"The best woods are the Huanghuali and rosewood Shengli just mentioned."

"Huanghuali is just an alias; its scientific name is Dalbergia odorifera, and it also has many other names, such as rosewood, incense wood, and fragrant red wood, among others."

"Huanghuali is divided into Haihuang and Yuehuang; Haihuang is better than Yuehuang, and its price is much higher."

Speaking that, he paused, glanced at Lin Shengli, and then said:

"I've been studying old items since I was in my teens, especially furniture; that's what I've studied the most."

"However, up to now I can only tell whether a piece of furniture is made of Huanghuali, rosewood, or other precious woods."

"Which dynasty it's from, roughly how old it is."

"As for common wood, I can only discern a few types such as fir and rubber tree."

"I wonder how many kinds of common wood Shengli can identify?"