Chapter 62: Beyond Affordability

Authentic Jingyang Jinhua black brick tea doesn’t look particularly appetizing, but it tastes quite wonderful.

However, it shouldn't be steeped; it has to be boiled, with salt added, or even spiced with black cardamom.

Ye Anning cupped her teacup to warm her hands, while Lin Sicheng slowly sipped his tea.

"What does 'having a glance' mean?"

"The artifacts must be genuine!"

"And what does 'having backbone' refer to?"

"The provenance must be proper!"

"What about 'carrying the bundle'?"

"An expert who possesses a sharp eye, yet doesn't run a shop, dealing solely in brokering trades..."

The two of them murmured head-to-head, while Wang Qizhi sat to one side, listening very attentively.

These were the trade jargons of the old-society antique market, which he naturally didn't understand.

Even Lin Changqing probably wouldn't understand them either.

They certainly wouldn't be found in any books, so where on earth had Lin Sicheng learned them?

Subconsciously, he glanced toward the corner: the old lady was still leaning against the wall, looking as though she were fast asleep.

Yet somehow, it felt as though a piercing, brilliant light was shining through her half-closed eyelids...

...

Before long, Zhao Xiuneng (the seller) walked through the door carrying a tray and placed it on the coffee table.

Everyone lowered their heads in unison.

There was a blue-and-white covered jar with a landscape motif, a rhinoceros horn carved brush pot themed "Rising Step by Step," half of a greenish-white jade bi disc, seven Kaiyuan Tongbao ancient coins, and a long scroll that looked like a piece of calligraphy or painting.

Even the tray holding these items—was that an antique as well?

At first, Lin Sicheng was slightly shaken, thinking to himself that this was quite impressive: porcelain, hornware, jade, woodwork, ancient coins, calligraphy and paintings... nothing seemed to be missing.

Just how extensive must this Boss Zhao's connections be?

The crucial point was that every single piece was exceptionally refined:

A Tongzhi-era imperial kiln blue-and-white?

A late Qing or early Republican period rhinoceros horn brush pot... crafted by Sheng Fugong no less (a renowned Qing dynasty horn-carving master)?

The bi disc was Tang jade, and the seven Kaiyuan Tongbao coins were misprinted "double-backed" mint errors.

The scroll was an oil painting, yet it was the work of a renowned master: the late Qing and early Republican period's famous calligrapher, painter, musician, and dramatist Li Shutong.

As for the tray itself: a late Qing "colored mother-of-pearl inlay" old rosewood lacquer tray; judging by the ornamentation, it undoubtedly originated from a Manchu prince's mansion.

Yet after looking through them once, he furrowed his brow: these items seemed... somewhat not quite right?

***

The covered jar was far too heavy, at least half as heavy again as normal porcelain of the same size. Tapping it gently with a fingernail... well, well, the base of the jar was genuine, but the body had been pieced together from late Qing folk-kiln blue-and-white porcelain shards.

The bone grain of the brush pot was slightly too prominent: denser on the upper half and sparser on the lower half... Look closer, haha, the lower half belonged to a donkey's hoof.

The copper coins were the same: a genuine Kaiyuan Tongbao had been ground thin and glued to another piece.

Even that piece of jade, as well as the tray underneath, were all much the same: half-genuine and half-fake, cobbled and pieced together.

Having inspected them all in a circle, among the dozen or so items large and small, only a single double-backed coin was authentic...

Lin Sicheng raised his head abruptly, cast a glance at the old lady, and then nailed his gaze onto Zhao Xiuneng's face.

Zhao Xiuneng feigned ignorance: "You're here to appraise the items, why are you staring at me?"

If I don't look at you, who am I supposed to look at?

Whether the old lady had ever dug into ancient tombs, and how many times she had done so, was unknown, but she definitely counted as an insider.

In the trade, this was known as "scavenging the fragments"—to put it bluntly: specializing in acquiring damaged artifacts, piecing and repairing them together before selling them off as genuine articles. The grime that had seeped into her fingernails and the patina embedded in her skin were likely acquired that way.

Sometimes it was also called "climbing the mounds": if damaged pieces couldn't be acquired through trade, one would occasionally venture into the tombs—specifically targeting tombs that had already been robbed, solely to unearth damaged relics.

However, these particular pieces were definitely not the old lady's handiwork: her craftsmanship wasn't at fault, but this work was far too crude, somewhat unworthy of the grime on her hands and the patina on her face...

Pondering silently, Lin Sicheng picked out one of the Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, placed it in front of him, and then picked up his teacup once more.

Zhao Xiuneng was dumbfounded: he was the one who had repaired these items; which ones were real and which ones were fake, how could he possibly not know?

The problem was, this young rascal had merely swept his eyes over them once?

The two men locked eyes, and Lin Sicheng gave a soft smile.

Yet the more he smiled, the more Zhao Xiuneng's eyelids twitched: "Pick two more pieces!"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I won't pick."

Zhao Xiuneng pursued relentlessly: "Why not?"

Lin Sicheng continued to shake his head: "Scavenged fragments!"

Zhao Xiuneng hung his mouth open, at a loss for words.

I knew you were an expert, but you don't have to be an expert to this terrifying degree, do you?

After a long while, he let out a heavy breath: "Scavenged fragments can include good goods too!"

"Of course!" Lin Sicheng nodded, casting a glance at the old lady behind him, "It just depends on who did the scavenging!"

Without any exaggeration, this sixty-year-old elder turned as red as a tomato, blushing right down to her neck like a child.

What the hell...

Having lived to this age, it was his first time being looked down upon by a wet-behind-the-ears kid?

Wang Qizhi sat quietly to the side, picked up the six copper coins to examine them once more, glanced at the single coin sitting in front of Lin Sicheng, and then silently put them back.

Out of the seven copper coins, only the one in front of Lin Sicheng was genuine. Combined with the conversation between the two men, did the rest of the items even need any explanation?

***

Ye Anning also understood antiques, but considering her appraisal skills were somewhat inferior to her uncle's, she refrained from making any premature judgments and simply picked up the oil painting.

Oh? Li Shutong?

Hm, something seems a bit off?

Her eyes narrowed slightly as she examined it meticulously several times over, before glancing sideways at Lin Sicheng: "This looks... like a grafted draft!"

Her hand holding the salt spoon paused, and Lin Sicheng raised his head in astonishment.

It wasn't strange that Wang Qizhi could spot the issue with the copper coins: his field of research was the restoration of bronze artifacts; if he couldn't tell that those six copper coins had been glued together, how could he possibly teach students?

Yet Ye Anning... was truly somewhat unexpected.

Noticing his look of utter shock, Ye Anning pursed her lips: "I majored in Cultural Heritage Conservation at the China Academy of Art, and then went to Florence for a year of advanced studies!"

Impressive, she was versed in both Eastern and Western conservation methods!

No wonder that last time at the bird-and-flower market, Professor Wang's elder brother had asked her to examine that sunflower-patterned dish!

Lin Sicheng nodded, his voice dropping low: "Yes, exactly—it's grafted!"

Roughly speaking, a genuine artwork is split into four parts, and then spliced together using both real and fake fragments: one-quarter genuine painting, three-quarters forged.

The technique isn't overly complicated: using color-scanning technology to precisely replicate brushstrokes and color values, reproducing them onto an old canvas via inkjet printing, and then artificially aging the colors... which makes forging ancient oil paintings relatively much easier by comparison...

Yet even so-called relative ease only applies when compared to traditional Chinese paintings. Anyone capable of splitting apart a genuine masterpiece and seamlessly patching it back together using high-tech methods would certainly not be sitting here.

Lin Sicheng stared intently at Zhao Xiuneng, whose face flushed red once more: what the hell did he know about splitting paintings? If he possessed that kind of craftsmanship, why would his elderly mother have kept him cooped up at home?

This painting was merely something he had acquired by sheer coincidence.

With a long sigh, he took back the tray and walked out of the living room. Moments later, he emerged with another tray.

This time there weren't as many items, and the tray was just an ordinary old poplar wood one, holding only three pieces:

A white jade cup, a scroll, and an inkstone.

Lin Sicheng inspected them one by one, the corners of his eyes twitching slightly.

Lu Zigang's Shangfang mountain-form rhinoceros horn cup.

Li Dongyang's calligraphy scroll, *Master Muzhai is About to Board the Boat, Bestowing a Poem in Rhyme as a Farewell*.

And a Ming dynasty imperial tribute inkstone: the Jiangzhou Chengni inkstone.

I asked you to bring out good goods, but I didn't tell you to bring out treasures of this caliber!

After staring at them for a long time, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I can't afford these!"

Zhao Xiuneng found it hard to believe: "I didn't say you had to buy all of them!"

Lin Sicheng sighed: "Even if it's just one piece, I still can't afford it!"