Chapter 8 gave too much.

Yan Ruyi asked He Zaixian, "Comrade, you just said you wanted to see me about something. What is it?"

He Zaixian said, "I have something I'd like to ask Comrade Yan for advice. Comrade Yan, could I possibly take a moment of your time and invite you to the tea room for a cup of tea?"

There's a teahouse on the street right behind them, called Yueming Teahouse.

He was afraid it wouldn't be convenient to say what he wanted to "ask for advice" on the side of the road, so Yan Ruyi readily agreed, "Okay."

He parked his bicycle on the side of the road and then followed He Zaixian to the teahouse.

The teahouse has two floors. He Zaixian was very familiar with the teahouse, and after entering, he asked the waiter to lead him to the second floor.

There were private rooms on the second floor, and He Zaixian asked for one. The room they were sitting in had a glass partition facing the main gate of the military compound.

He Zaixian ordered a pot of pre-rain Longjing tea and several plates of pastries.

He looked refined and wasn't the type to beat around the bush. After the waiter brought all the items and left, he got straight to the point and said to Yan Ruyi, "Comrade Yan, I would like to ask you to appraise a few antiques for me."

Yan Ruyi never expected that He Zaixian would ask her to appraise antiques.

He Zaixian said, “To be honest, I like collecting antiques, but my abilities are limited, and I often make mistakes. I just acquired a few pieces yesterday, but I don’t know if they are real or fake, so I would like to ask Comrade Yan to take a look.”

Yan Ruyi understood. He Zaixian was also present when she appraised the Song Dynasty celadon, which was why he approached her.

Since He Zaixian is an overseas Chinese, it's no problem to help him out out of kinship. So I said to He Zaixian, "It's no problem to help take a look, but I can't guarantee that I won't make a mistake. I can only give you a reference."

She didn't dare to make any promises too confidently, in case her skills suddenly malfunctioned.

So we need to get this straight up beforehand so that He Zaixian can be mentally prepared.

He Zaixian, however, had great confidence in her, saying, "I believe in Comrade Yan."

He Zaixian was present throughout the entire process, from when Zhao Zhonghou and his group arrived at the antique shop to when Yan Ruyi went to the cultural relics bureau with Xu Licheng.

Later, he asked an acquaintance at the Cultural Relics Bureau, and it turned out that the fragment was indeed a Song Dynasty celadon piece. The Cultural Relics Bureau took it very seriously and had already organized an archaeological team to investigate the area. His shock was no less than that of Xu Licheng and Jiang Dongming.

He had been in this industry for many years and considered himself to have some discernment, but compared to this young girl, he was far inferior.

He admitted that he didn't have the ability to recognize Song Dynasty celadon at a glance.

He had just acquired a rare item yesterday, but he was unsure of its value, so he wanted Yan Ruyi to take a look.

Since it wasn't convenient to take it out of the antique shop, he waited by the roadside and called out to Yan Ruyi when she rode her bicycle over.

He Zaixian opened the travel bag he had brought and took out five antiques: a sandalwood ruyi inlaid with jade, a stone three-legged round inkstone, a snuff bottle, and two seals, one made of jade and the other a relatively rare bronze seal.

Judging by the types of items, apart from the yellow-ground blue-and-white snuff bottle, the others are not considered rare. However, they are in good condition and exquisite, making them much more valuable than the ones collected by Zhao Zhonghou's father.

He Zaixian: "Comrade Xiao Yan, these are all, please."

Yan Ruyi could tell the age at a glance, but she still had to maintain the proper demeanor, picking them up one by one to examine them. "Ruyi is from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, the stone inkstone is a bluestone inkstone produced during the Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty, and these two seals, the bronze one is about 180 years old. Based on this time, it should be from the Jiaqing period. As for the snuff bottle and the jade seal, you must have really misjudged them."

He Zaixian asked eagerly, "What do you mean?"

"Judging from its shape and the decorations, this snuff bottle looks like it's from the mid-Qing Dynasty, but it's actually from the late Republic of China period. As for the jade seal, it's just a modern antique-style craft."

In the past two years, antique collecting has gradually become popular, and antique counterfeiting has also resurfaced.

Some expert forgers can create fakes that are almost indistinguishable from the real thing; you really need to have some skill to tell the difference.

After Yan Ruyi finished speaking, she saw that He Zaixian was stunned and didn't say anything. She thought that he didn't believe her judgment or that he was hurt by her last two sentences.

After all, they were bought with real money, probably costing a lot of money. In the end, one was a counterfeit and the other was an antique replica. Not only did they waste money, but they also wasted their feelings. They probably can't accept it for a while.

He comforted He Zaixian, saying, "Don't be too anxious. Maybe I misjudged you. Why don't you find an expert to make a diagnosis?"

What's there to be sure about? These five "antiques" have already been appraised, and they are exactly as Yan Ruyi described.

The reason for asking Yan Ruyi to appraise it was to test her judgment.

Although Yan Ruyi recognized the Song Tianqing porcelain at a glance, what if she just happened to be lucky? So he brought over the five "antiques" that had already been appraised, and Yan Ruyi still recognized them at a glance.

It's not surprising that Yan Ruyi could recognize the Ruyi, the inkstone, and even the two seals.

But Yan Ruyi recognized the snuff bottle at a glance as something from the late Republican era, without any hesitation, which shocked He Zaixian.

The snuff bottle is indeed from the late Republican era, but it is a piece of porcelain with added decoration.

What does this mean? It means that the snuff bottle was originally a plain piece, but later people added patterns and colors to it and sold it as an antique.

Without a keen eye, it's really not easy to distinguish porcelain pieces with added enamel decorations, especially those decorated by experts.

His snuff bottle is a replica of a style from the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty, made on a bisque base. To put it bluntly, it's a high-quality replica. He had to consult several renowned experts in antique appraisal, who knocked on it, listened to it, and shone a light on it to identify it.

But Yan Ruyi recognized him just by looking at him. How could he not be shocked?

To have such talent at such a young age is a gift from God!

He Zaixian quickly said, "No, no, no, I believe Comrade Yan. Comrade Yan, there's one more, could you please take a look?"

After saying that, he took out a mahogany square box from his travel bag. It was wrapped in black velvet, layer upon layer. After unwrapping it, a white porcelain plate as white as jade was revealed. He carefully took it to Yan Ruyi.

Yan Ruyi understood that everything just now was a setup, something He Zaixian used to test her.

This white porcelain plate is the real highlight.

If I hadn't answered those five questions correctly, I probably wouldn't have even taken out this white porcelain plate.

She wasn't angry, after all, they weren't familiar with each other and it was their first time meeting, so why should the other person believe her?

He Zaixian took out a pair of white gloves and gave them to Yan Ruyi. Yan Ruyi took them, put on the gloves, picked up the porcelain plate, glanced at it, and put it back.

"The white porcelain from the mid-Tang Dynasty is about 1100 years old, which means it should be from around 884 AD."

Among Tang Dynasty porcelains, Tang Sancai (three-color glazed pottery) is the most famous; when mentioning Tang porcelain, Tang Sancai is always mentioned.

In fact, Tang white porcelain is no less than Tang tri-color glazed pottery.

Tang Dynasty porcelain was divided into three main categories: Southern Celadon, Northern White Porcelain, and Tang Sancai (Tang tri-color glazed pottery). Northern White Porcelain was a type of white porcelain.

In terms of value, white porcelain far surpasses Tang tri-color pottery. However, Tang tri-color pottery is admired by later generations because of its rich colors and festive appearance.

He Zaixian's white porcelain plate has five pointed petals and no other decorative patterns. The glaze is fine, clean, and smooth. It is a genuine treasure, no wonder he cherishes it so much.

He Zaixian now looks at Yan Ruyi as if she were a deity. Since Yan Ruyi says it is Tang white porcelain, then it is Tang white porcelain!

He recently bought this white porcelain plate from a street vendor for 20 yuan, but he was unsure if it was genuine. He asked several people in the industry to take a look, and some said it was a genuine Tang Dynasty white porcelain, while others said it was a fake. There was no consensus.

Today, with Yan Ruyi, the decision has been finalized.

If this porcelain plate were sold at an overseas auction house, it would fetch at least 100,000 yuan, based on current market prices.

Although he didn't intend to auction it, he was overjoyed to have found such a treasure for only 20 yuan, and he thanked Yan Ruyi repeatedly, saying, "Comrade Yan, thank you so much."

He had come prepared, taking out 300 yuan from his wallet and pushing it in front of Yan Ruyi, saying, "Comrade Yan, this is my thank-you fee, please accept it."

Yan Ruyi was just helping out, but she didn't expect He Zaixian to give her money, and so much at that. She was taken aback and quickly declined, saying, "I don't want the money."

He Zaixian pushed the money towards Yan Ruyi again, saying, "This is what Comrade Yan earned through her own abilities. It is rightfully yours, so please don't refuse it anymore. Moreover, I have a favor to ask of Comrade Yan, and I hope she can agree to it."

After thinking it over, Yan Ruyi felt that He Zaixian's words made sense. After all, she had earned it through her own abilities.

While her superpowers were indeed a gift from God, she also put in a lot of hard work when she was in school, especially in areas like history, culture, and artifact appreciation. Her teachers praised her for her comprehension and excellent learning.

If that's the case, why doesn't she want it?

Her second brother worked in a furniture factory. After work, he would secretly take on side jobs, making furniture for others to save money for himself, without them knowing.

Luo Huihui's older brother works at the No. 3 Radio Factory. He can repair electrical appliances, and when he's not working, he repairs radios and such for people. He earns a lot of money. The TV in Luo Huihui's family was bought with the money her older brother earned from doing side jobs.

If they can make this money, then she can too.

She didn't take up her work hours; outside of those eight hours, as long as it's not illegal, she can do whatever she wants.

Moreover, He Zaixian isn't stupid; the fact that he gave her so much shows that she deserved it.

With that thought in mind, Yan Ruyi stopped refusing and accepted the money without hesitation, saying, "Then I won't stand on ceremony with you."

Seeing that Yan Ruyi had accepted the money, He Zaixian breathed a sigh of relief.

He was genuinely afraid that Yan Ruyi wouldn't accept it. If she didn't, he would be too embarrassed to approach her again.

He's an antique collector, but his eye for antiques isn't that good, so sometimes he inevitably makes mistakes.

Like that snuff bottle, he spent a lot of money to buy it, but ended up being cheated.

So he will inevitably need Yan Ruyi's help again in the future. He doesn't have the nerve to keep asking others for help for free.

Money makes things easier; his principle is that anything that can be solved with money, he will solve with money.

The more money you spend, the easier it is to get things done.

A note from the author:

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Someone threw money at me!!!

It's the weekend, so I'm sending out random red envelopes. Everyone has a chance to win!