Chapter 490

In any case, there are plenty of people who will go out of their way to inquire about this.

He placed the box on the somewhat rotten wooden tabletop.

Immediately after, he slowly placed the item wrapped inside onto the table.

This thing appeared to be a long object; it was hard to tell what kind of cultural relic it might be, but handling it with care would certainly not be a mistake.

Fang Yang was almost certain of this.

Under the expectant gazes of the people in the livestream and the cameraman, Fang Yang slowly removed the covering from the object, and then they saw a radish hidden inside.

Yes.

It was exactly the kind of radish everyone thought of, the kind you could buy at a vegetable market.

"No way, this... this is simply a joke."

The cameraman complained while moving the camera closer to film the radish.

At a rough glance, one was indeed startled, but upon closer inspection, one would realize that this material could not possibly be just a radish.

"Is this modern craftsmanship or ancient craftsmanship? It looks so lifelike and vivid."

The cameraman remarked, "I really almost thought it was just an ordinary radish a moment ago. And there seems to be a locust on this radish; it makes me think of the cultural relic excavated earlier, the Jade Cabbage—it was shaped like a cabbage and also had two insects on it. Could this be the same type of object?"

【Ivory Radish】

【27 cm long, weighs 165 grams】

【A cultural relic from the Qing Dynasty, over 300 years old】

【...】

"This is a Qing Dynasty item, a radish carved from ivory. The radish transitions from an ivory-white to a watery red."

"The radish leaves are emerald green, and the veins are particularly clear. This is much more detailed than the previously carved Jade Cabbage. It looks very interesting, and even the root is naturally curved."

"There are even radish whiskers on it; in terms of detail, it has achieved a perfect reproduction."

"Look, there is even brown soil on it."

Fang Yang couldn't help but praise it.

"No matter how you look at it, this is a cultural relic with great collection value, and the insect on it is not a locust, but a katydid."

"The external features of a katydid are quite different from those of a locust."

"..."

Following Fang Yang's explanation, the cameraman moved the camera closer once again.

This time, he zoomed in on the katydid Fang Yang mentioned for others to see; it was exceptionally clear.

One could even see the fine hairs on the katydid's legs, its plump belly, and its protruding hook.

【Popularity】 +1+1+1+1.

—【Can this cultural relic be replicated with modern technology? It is simply too lifelike!】

—【Look into 3D printing.】

—【Machine carving and hand carving feel different. Besides, machine carving is much cheaper. Hand carving is actually clearer than machine carving; machines currently cannot reach this level.】

—【What kind of joke is that? Don't pretend to know if you don't. You should know that current four-axis linkage high-precision machine tools can directly kill hand carving by several streets. That's how the World Cup trophies are made. Why don't you try doing it by hand?】

—【Hey, have you considered the cost? My teacher is a clay sculpture master, and I have been to national-level master studios. Do I need to make things up? In any case, it must be much cheaper than hiring someone. Apart from the reputation, machine carving is definitely not as good as hand carving. I'll just leave this statement here. If you have nothing better to do, please take a machine-carved piece and compare it with a hand-carved one. Machine carving is just a bunch of digital programs; hand carving is definitely more detailed than machine carving.】

—【What is there to argue about? Clearly, the cultural relic itself is more interesting. And even if it were really copied, how many people would go to see it?】

—【Exactly, and the most awesome thing about this is the katydid, plus the two whiskers. Sigh, it is simply too beautiful.】

—【It is really very strange, why would such good ivory be made into a radish?】

—【Turning the magical into the rotten, hehe, it's quite good.】

—【Uh... wouldn't it be better to just carve ivory into ivory?】

—【If this thing were dropped on the road, I might not pick it up.】

—【I would. It looks clean and very fresh; it must be crunchy.】

333, Uproar in the livestream, is there a private deal?

—【If it's dyed, what's there to be surprised about? If it's cleverly carved by utilizing the object's original colors, that is what you call masterful craftsmanship.】

—【Elephant: Come, come, you grow a colorful tusk and let me see?】

—【Not to mention the material, this knife work is absolutely superb.】

—【I really can't tell at all that this is fake.】

—【Yeah, this radish is exactly the same as a real one. It's too realistic; it can truly be called a work of exquisite craftsmanship.】

—【Actually, modern times can also produce something this good, except for the material.】

—【Personally, I think this katydid is just gilding the lily; it wasn't needed at all.】

—【If no one told me this was an excavated cultural relic, just by looking at this radish, I would definitely think it was real.】

—【Sigh, it just looks like something I can't afford to eat, what's there to talk about?】

"We previously excavated ivory products used by the Yongzheng Emperor, such as a cooling mat. We have many explanations regarding ivory."

"So now, let's talk about something we haven't mentioned before."

"Ivory symbolizes peace; it has a very good connotation."

"Its history can be traced back to the Qin Dynasty; at that time, it could already be mentioned in the same breath as the He Shi Bi."

"Later, during the Song Dynasty, ivory was already being presented as a royal tribute."

"In the Ming and Qing Dynasties, ivory-carved items could only be used by royalty and nobility."

"As I said before, the status of ivory in our Huaxia country is very high."

"And this object in our hands, besides the carving technique, also used another technique, which is coloring."

"Coloring is the application of pigments to cover and coat the product."

"This is also the reason why the radish would lose its color."

"However, this cultural relic in our hands, the ivory radish, has been preserved very well."

"The colors are bright and very delicate."

After briefly explaining this cultural relic, Fang Yang packed it up again, then placed it securely into the wooden box, and handed it to the third town resident.

The resident was only stunned for a moment at first, then held the cultural relic firmly in their palm.

They walked one after another directly toward the direction of the town mayor's house.

Their speed was not fast, but in a short while, they arrived at the mayor's house.

At this time, the mayor made a small request: "Little Mr. Fang Yang, could you let this person turn off the camera? Some things are not suitable for others to hear."

The mayor was very gentle and refined, and the request he made could not be considered excessive.

After hearing this, Fang Yang nodded immediately.

Seeing that Fang Yang had nodded, and with everyone's eyes fixed on him, the cameraman felt it wouldn't look good if he didn't agree, so he nodded in consent as well.

The cameraman suddenly turned off the camera at this moment. Fang Yang and the cameraman could both imagine how much of a stir this would cause on the internet later.

However, they didn't care too much about it.

Although many people praised Fang Yang for this action, in reality, there were also many people who were dissatisfied with Fang Yang's actions.

For example, that profession that still hasn't been buried in contemporary society.

Grave-robbing dogs!

If Fang Yang had doubts at the beginning and couldn't help but associate this town with grave robbing, after talking to the mayor and these townspeople, such suspicions no longer existed.

It turned out that this town had hidden quite a few cultural relics since very ancient times. Those relics were kept in very safe places and had been passed down to this day, and the quantity was exceptionally large.

As Huaxia country developed faster and faster, and with the increasing importance placed on cultural relics, this gave them the idea of handing them over.

But just as this idea emerged, another incident occurred, causing their plan to be shelved for several years.

"What happened?"

Fang Yang raised an eyebrow and asked.

"Theft."

When the mayor said this, it was as if he was recalling some unbearable situations, and he directly stated certain things.

The mayor said that an old friend he knew had handed over treasures to the state, and as a result, his home was immediately targeted by thieves—and not just once or twice, but many times.

Those people seemed to have observed the place many times; things were turned over repeatedly, and they even smashed quite a few items.

From then on, no matter what good items the other party obtained, he was unwilling to hand them over. Instead, he preferred to keep them in his home, even if he could never sell them or do anything else with them for his entire life; he would rather pass them down to his descendants than hand them over to the state.

Fang Yang quickly understood the mayor's concerns. After their group reached an agreement, the camera was turned on again, and the livestream was now in chaos because of what had just happened.