Chapter 33: I Am Not Selling Anymore

Lin Sicheng and Gu Ming were sworn brothers in the truest sense of the word.

Back in the nineties, every industry was in a state of chaos, the antique trade included. Unsurprisingly, the old man—Lin’s grandfather—had become a target. The situation had been perilous; had it not been for a stroke of luck involving Gu Kaishan, the old man would have lost his life. Ever since that day, the old man had gained a foster grandson. Consequently, when Gu Ming called him "Grandpa," it wasn't just empty talk. The two grew up together, and whenever Gu Ming asked for a favor, Lin would skip class to help him without hesitation.

The situation was simple: the girl Gu Ming was pursuing had an elder in her family celebrating a birthday. This elder had a penchant for antiques, and the girl had been searching for a suitable gift for quite some time. Gu Ming caught wind of this and volunteered, claiming that his foster grandfather and foster brother were both experts in the field. The girl was skeptical at first, so Gu Ming simply snapped a photo of his grandfather's old professional credentials. When the girl saw "Professor of Conservation at Xi'an University" and "Archaeology Expert," she was stunned.

A visit to the grandfather was out of the question as he was in the hospital, so the responsibility fell to the foster brother. Lin Sicheng was more than happy to help; as long as Gu Ming didn't end up with that woman from his past life, anything was fine. It was hard not to cheat when one was married to a woman who loved solo travel, obsessed over mahjong, and would play through entire nights on end...

As these thoughts drifted through his mind, the taxi came to a stop at the entrance of the residential complex with a squeal of brakes. Gu Ming and the girl were in the back seat. She had her hair in a ponytail, pale skin, and delicate, refined features.

"Xinfang, this is the Lin Sicheng I’ve told you about. He’s a senior in the Cultural Relics Conservation program at Xi'an University... Lin, this is Li Xinfang, my colleague from the hospital!"

The girl greeted him with natural poise, "Hello!"

So, it really wasn't the woman from his past life? Lin Sicheng felt a surge of relief. "Hello, hello! Have you two eaten yet?"

Gu Ming blinked. "We already ate on the way here. You haven't?"

*You jerk, you could have said something sooner instead of letting me stand at the gate for so long.* Muttering a silent curse, Lin Sicheng climbed into the front passenger seat. "I've eaten too. Where is the item? Let’s head straight there."

"It's at Xicang!"

Hearing "Xicang" made Lin Sicheng’s heart sink. He had been bracing himself to put on a good show to boost Gu Ming’s reputation, but Xicang... even Ma Weidu would leave that place empty-handed. If the girl had picked out the item herself, one could only imagine its quality. But that was fine. If all else failed, he would ask his senior fellow apprentice Hao for help—what kind of items didn't they have at Rongbaozhai?

With that thought, the taxi started up, and half an hour later, they arrived at Xicang. Perhaps because it was still morning, the air didn't smell as pungent as it had last time. There were very few people around, just a scattering of souls here and there. The girl led the way, and the three of them entered a jade shop.

The shop was much larger and brighter than Old Song’s place. It was lined with glass display cabinets and illuminated by bright spotlights. The materials were varied, and the shapes of the artifacts were eclectic. They must have visited often, as the owner greeted them the moment they stepped inside.

"Dr. Li, here for that string of court beads?"

"Yes, please bring them out so my friend can take a look!"

The owner nodded, then darted a glance at the person behind her, a flicker of disappointment crossing his face: *Why is the person she brought this time so young?* Youth meant lack of experience and a dull eye—what kind of judgment could he possibly offer? In the end, nine times out of ten, he’d just say, "I'm not quite sure..."

*Oh well, the customer is king, and I’m counting on this sale to get through the New Year.* With a silent sigh, the owner went into the back room and returned with a box.

Li Xinfang was direct, handing it over. "Lin Sicheng, I’ll leave it to you."

"My pleasure," Lin Sicheng replied, taking the box. It was palm-sized, slightly heavy, with a deep-toned wood and a faint, lingering scent of fragrant rosewood. The box itself was genuine—authentic Hainan yellow rosewood—and quite old, dating at least to the late Qing Dynasty. However, the carving and lacquer work were mediocre; it likely came from a small workshop.

He took a quick look and opened the lid. A faint, ghostly green luster caught his eye. *Court beads? Or Hetian jasper?* The texture was fine, the touch oily and smooth, the color soft—it was legitimate Hetian mountain jade. The pores were scattered like stars, the cloudy veins overlapped, and the traces of the carving tool were natural and fluid, clearly done by hand. There was a distinct matte film formed by long-term oxidation, and the jade around the string holes was slightly darkened, proving it had been handled and polished for many years.

If one only looked at the beads, they truly seemed authentic, dating back at least two hundred years to the mid-Qing Dynasty. There was only one discrepancy: the beads were somewhat small, and being made of jade, they were categorized as "miscellaneous treasures" among court beads, worn by officials of the fifth rank for civil service or fourth rank and below for military service.

He looked at the Buddha head and the pendant drops... Lin Sicheng paused, frowning. *Something isn't right.* These pieces didn't seem to be from the same era. He inspected them more closely: the Buddha head was mid-Qing, but the pendant drops were late Qing or Republican era. He pulled the cord apart to check—it was indeed a stone-blue silk cord, looking quite old, but the fibers were too frayed from wear. He leaned in and took a sniff, sighing inwardly: *Soaked in beef tallow!*

The real issue was that the scent of the beads themselves was off.

After studying them and sniffing them several times, he placed the beads back and closed the lid. Just as he was about to return them, he paused. "Would you sell just the box?"

Li Xinfang looked stunned. "Huh?"

*So that’s a no?* Fine, then. Lin Sicheng placed the box on the counter and pushed it gently toward the owner.

The owner’s eyelid twitched. *What is this kid trying to pull?* If he had asked for the price, complained that it was too expensive, or just said "I can't tell" in a noncommittal way, the owner wouldn't have cared. But for Lin Sicheng to ask about the box instead of the beads, acting as if he had seen right through the deception, made the owner feel like he’d just swallowed something foul.

*Playing coy, are we?* Even if he was, what if he started running his mouth the moment he walked out? If Dr. Li believed him, who would buy these "Qing Dynasty" court beads? As the saying goes, cutting off a man's livelihood is like killing his parents.

The owner narrowed his eyes. "Young man, do you see something? If you think there’s a problem, just say it. Don't be vague or hide your thoughts."

Lin Sicheng chuckled. "I do know a thing or two. Shall I be frank?"

"Go ahead, speak your mind!"

"Fine. The blue cord is made of silk, yes, but it was woven less than three years ago. To make it look old, it was rubbed with beef tallow and twisted repeatedly... The Buddha head and the pendant drops are authentic, but one is from before the Jiaqing era, and the other is from after the Guangxu era—a century apart..."

"The beads are real, too, but they aren't court beads. They’re Buddhist prayer beads... to put it simply, they’re for monks!"

With every word Lin Sicheng spoke, the owner’s face turned from pale to ghastly. When he heard "for monks," his expression turned a sickly shade of green. "These are authentic court beads for a third-rank official! How could they be for monks? Do you even know what you're looking at?"

"Is that so? I can also smell them..." Lin Sicheng smiled. "Yellow mellow wood, wormwood, white cloud, cypress, catnip, cloves... and three types of tea: Wuyi, Liu'an, and yellow tea, plus two types of fruit: red dates and walnuts. And five types of dried branches: peach, willow, mulberry, pagoda, and paper mulberry..."

"Go find an old master of traditional Chinese medicine. If there is even one ingredient missing from the scent inside those bead holes, I will buy these beads from you at whatever price you name."

The owner stood frozen, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word. He didn't know if all those scents were there, but he knew for a fact that before he acquired this string of beads, they had indeed been kept in a temple, hanging on a Buddha shrine for many years, absorbing the incense.

*What the hell is this guy?* He stared at Lin Sicheng, his lips quivering uncontrollably. "I... I'm not selling them anymore..."