Chapter 31: Appraising Treasures by Sound

Teacher An suggested buying more books and properly decorating the study. For other rooms, decorations like antiques, calligraphy, and paintings would be appropriate. Liu Jing agreed and accepted this advice. It was a sound suggestion, much better than those from the others.

The aunt had suggested filling the house with fresh flowers and plants and hanging celebrity photos on the walls. Sister Li insisted on prioritizing the decoration of the dance studio, practice room, music room, and kitchen. Only Xixi wanted to spruce up the rooms with snacks, toys, and clothes. Once the two men in the house reached a consensus, the matter was settled.

As they strolled along, the group found themselves at Panjiayuan. After wandering for a while, Sister Li frowned, "It's all junk here; what’s the point of looking?"

Teacher An was brimming with interest. "You don't understand; there are quite a few antiques in here. Take this porcelain, for example. Its decorative style is different from ordinary pieces, and the painting technique is unlike anything from the past dynasties..."

The vendor chimed in, "Oh! Sir, you have a sharp eye! This piece isn't from the Ming or Qing dynasties, nor the Tang or Song, and certainly not Yuan blue-and-white. This thing has history; I came across it by chance. If you don't mind me saying, it was unearthed from the tomb of an Eastern Han prince. Just think, two thousand years since the Eastern Han..."

Sister Li stepped back. "Old An, put it down quickly. Putting something like this in a new house is bad luck."

"My dear lady, that’s where you’re mistaken. This item has been consecrated by a high monk; there's no bad luck here. If you keep it at home, I guarantee..."

"Ahem, boss, this is a bit too much for our house to handle." Teacher An shook his head, running his fingers over the mark on the bottom of the vase; it was clearly modern. He put the porcelain down and pulled Xixi away.

"Big brother, you should at least ask the price..." the vendor shouted after them.

"Dad, I haven't seen enough yet." Xixi was dissatisfied; there were so many little trinkets on the stalls that were even more interesting than toys.

"There's more ahead..."

Teacher An didn't need to finish; Xixi trotted ahead and squatted before a stall, picking up a square bronze vessel. "Dad, this vase can be used for flowers."

"Oh! Young lady, that’s not a vase. That’s a 'zhi,' a vessel used for drinking in ancient times," the vendor explained hurriedly, carefully placing his hands underneath it as if it were a treasure.

"It's so dirty." Xixi set it down with an expression of disgust. Drinking from this thing would surely make someone sick.

"Haha, 'dirty' is exactly what it should be! This is from the Western Zhou period, something aristocrats used to drink from. It’s two or three thousand years old; if it were clean, that would be a ghost story," the boss laughed.

Liu Jing became interested upon hearing this. He picked it up to examine it closely, and the more he looked, the more authentic it seemed. Back in his old residence, he had seen plenty of these. This one was made of bronze; those made of animal horn were even more valuable.

"Boss, this isn't a replica, is it?" Teacher An teased. After seeing the porcelain earlier, he knew there were few genuine items on this entire street.

"Impossible! Who could fake this so perfectly? Look at the body, covered in the marks of time. Look at the rim, filled with stories. Look at this..." The boss was incredibly eloquent; within a few sentences, even Teacher An felt tempted.

Liu Jing was also moved. Combined with the memories of his past life, he felt he was about to strike gold. He activated his "Daily Appraisal," and his tears flowed uncontrollably.

[Note: Gold comes from the Li River, jade from Kunlun. Great beauty in Yichuan, home of ancient artifacts.]

"Hey! Little one, why are you crying? Did you prick your finger?" The boss panicked; if the kid got hurt, who would be to blame?

"I'm listening to the call of the Western Zhou; I'm moved to tears." Liu Jing put down the imitation bronze vessel. Possessing memories from the pre-Qin era, he had almost been fooled.

"Haha, this child is psychic. True ancient artifacts have an aura, and some people can feel the call of the ancients. This kid is remarkable; in the future..."

Teacher An didn't want to hear the vendor’s nonsense and asked Liu Jing, "What is it calling?"

"The Western Zhou says it’s from last week," Liu Jing replied, his eyes brightening as if a new world had opened up.

"Haha..." Teacher An laughed, understanding Liu Jing's meaning. He had wanted to buy it earlier, not because he thought it was a Zhou dynasty antique, but because he found it quite unique.

"Ugly girl, let's go. I'll buy you a real antique." Liu Jing was excited, and Xixi was overjoyed to be receiving another gift.

The two children explored stall after stall while Liu Jing examined antique after antique. The "Daily Appraisal" was free only once; the second time cost 100 points, so he would first appraise them by eye, and if they felt real, he would use the system.

An hour later, Xixi left Panjiayuan happily with a phoenix hairpin. Whether it was real or fake was unknown, but after spending 100 points of "Entertainment Vitality" to appraise it, Liu Jing bought it for two hundred yuan.

[Note: The head of the hairpin is not a phoenix; deep affection often seems like indifference.]

Over the next few days, Liu Jing visited Panjiayuan daily, only to be gradually disappointed. His dream of using the appraisal system to find treasures was shattered. However, it wasn't a total loss; while finding hidden gems was difficult, verifying the authenticity of existing items was possible. If once wasn't enough, he could appraise it two, three, or four times... as long as he had enough days, the system's description would eventually reveal the truth. After all, the appraisal notes were different every time.

The three of them had stayed in Yandu for over ten days and were finally set to leave. Teacher An had classes to teach, Xixi had school starting, and Sister Li’s long-rehearsed "Chu Rhyme" was ready to be performed. Liu Jing saw them off at the train station, bidding them a reluctant farewell.

"Wenqiong, I’m leaving Liu Jing in your care. If he’s naughty or disobedient, just spank him." Teacher An’s expression was complex; because of this child, their family had changed. He didn't know if the future would be good or bad, but for now, things were not bad at all. Everything was moving in a positive direction, and it was all thanks to the child before him. Without him, the family might have fallen apart.

"Brother-in-law, don't you worry, I'll definitely spank him." The aunt nodded.

Teacher An took a deep breath. Hearing her say that didn't make him feel reassured at all. His sister-in-law's way of speaking was becoming more and more like Liu Jing's.

"Drink less alcohol, and I'll be more at ease than anything. If you two are together, who knows who will be taking care of whom." Sister Li was much more direct.

The aunt blushed. "Zhang Min was in a bad mood that day, so I drank with her. Who knew she had such a high tolerance..."

Sister Li felt a surge of anger at the memory of that day—the floor covered in liquor bottles, white spirits, red wine, and beer, with the two of them holding a "plenary session" right in front of Liu Jing.

While the adults chatted, the two children said their goodbyes.

"Little Baldy, are you going home for the New Year?" Xixi was somewhat reluctant; aside from when he was teasing her, the "blockhead" was actually quite decent.

Liu Jing touched his shiny head, unhappy with the nickname. He was currently filming "Tai Chi Master," playing the young Zhang Junbao, a little monk. In this film, Jet Li played the adult Zhang Junbao, with Michelle Yeoh and Fennie Yuen as the leads; Liu Jing had already finished his scenes. Originally, "Tai Chi Master" was supposed to start before "The Heaven Sword and Dragon Saber," but due to scheduling adjustments for Jet Li and Liu Jing, it was filmed afterward. Once they finished this one, "New Legend of Shaolin" was waiting, where they would play father and son, providing plenty of opportunities to be on screen together.

"Of course I'm going home. This is a gift for you. Study hard and catch up to me soon." Liu Jing took off his backpack and handed it to Xixi.

"A whole bag of gifts? That's great!" Xixi was delighted, but as she took it, she felt suspicious. Upon opening it, she became furious.

"Why is it all books?" Xixi raged. There wasn't a single toy, no new clothes, no jewelry—he could have at least stuffed two hundred yuan in there.

"Besides children's books, there are practice papers for the entire elementary school curriculum. Produced in Haidian, they're hard to come by. Since you have a brother as smart as me, you have to be diligent; don't embarrass me at school. If anyone bullies you, tell me, and when I get back to Jiangcheng, I'll flip their whole family over." Liu Jing rambled on like an old father seeing off his children on a long journey.

"What's this?" Xixi wasn't listening at all and was digging through the backpack. She actually found something that wasn't a book.

"That disc is 'Jurassic Park,' a Hollywood blockbuster that just premiered in Hong Kong. It made over sixty million at the box office; Wong Jing and Stephen Chow are all stunned. That one is 'Home Alone,' also a Hollywood film, quite interesting. And these are 'Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse,' 'Tom and Jerry'..."

"I thought you didn't watch cartoons? You said they were childish."

"Because I looked down on them, I had to watch them carefully."

"And what's this?" Xixi didn't give up and pulled out a few photos.

"Photos of Gigi Lai, Fennie Yuen, and Chingmy Yau. They left them for me as a keepsake. Take them home and put them in an album for me. Don't let Sister Li find them, or she'll confiscate them."

"I’d rather collect stamps."

"Well? Are they prettier than you?"

"Goodbye."