Chapter 133: His vision is just average?

Why would someone help you find something if they don't offer some benefit?

So Lin Sicheng returned the bronze fish.

Furthermore, this thing is of no use to him except for being donated. It's as if Lin Sicheng got Li Jinqian to do him a favor worth two billion without spending a penny.

But not only did he help, Li Jinqian also wanted to give him two more items. Could they be the ones that Tulinsi grew up to look good?

Of course, it's because the gang desperately needs such talent. And it's not just a current shortage, but a long-standing one.

Even before the investigation, Chen Wei and Li Jinqian had engaged in activities where they bought items worth tens of millions of yuan for hundreds of thousands or millions of yuan.

But don't be surprised, over 90% of tomb raiding gangs fall into this category. Chen Wei and Li Jinqian are already considered among the most outstanding...

Lost in thought, Lin Sicheng stood up.

Li Jinqian also stood up, and after a moment's thought, said, "How about I take Brother Lin to the warehouse to take a look?"

Lin Sicheng smiled and gently shook his head: "This place is just fine!"

No need to guess, the so-called warehouse must be full of ripped goods.

The situation is different here: these were mostly obtained by Chen Wei and Li Jinqian through legitimate channels. One reason was to cover their tracks, and another was to exchange information with their peers. Most importantly, however, it was for money laundering and gift-giving.

Of course, it is estimated that about 49 of them were unearthed artifacts traded on the fringes of policy. There are also some more sensitive items that qualify as first-class cultural relics, like that bronze fish.

These kinds of specimens can only be collected or used as research specimens.

The rest are mostly available for purchase and trading.

After a casual glance, Lin Sicheng sighed, "Manager Li has a good eye!"

Li Jinqian smiled modestly: "I wouldn't call it keen observation; it's all thanks to my friends for their consideration!"

Of course.

In ancient times, Chen Wei was the "top boss of the tomb raiding world in seven provinces and cities," and Li Jinqian was his second-in-command. With connections in both the legitimate and underworld circles, his friends in the underworld naturally gave him face.

After a moment's thought, Lin Sicheng walked to the stand.

This set mostly contains rubbings, which involves taking ink or pigment, applying it to a stele or vessel, and then using Xuan paper to transfer the text or pattern from it.

So-called epigraphers, apart from studying a limited number of physical objects, actually use this type of object as their main research sample.

There are many sources, but only one can be found here: ancient tombs.

Lin Sicheng wasn't particularly interested in this type of product, so he just glanced at it. But as soon as he lifted his foot, he stopped and looked at the middle shelf.

A square sheet of Xuan paper, three feet long, was covered with rubbings of characters, and at the very top was a strange-looking animal.

It has scales and claws, and at first glance, it looks like a crouching crocodile. In fact, it is Fu Xi, the eighth son of the dragon in legend.

Also known as the Chihu, it loved literature and was therefore placed on stone tablets, often as a decorative pattern outside epitaphs.

It's not surprising to see this pattern on the rubbing, but what's strange is the inscription: "Land rent is fixed; descendants may not increase the amount, and no interest may be accrued on any overdue rent, lest it further burden the villagers. But one must collect it promptly and diligently to avoid losses..."

If I remember correctly, this should be the family rules of the Zheng family of Pujiang, Zheng Yimen, which stood for eight hundred years from the Song to the Qing dynasties and was personally bestowed the title of "First Family in Jiangnan" by Zhu Yuanzhang.

Lin Sicheng had seen the relevant cultural relics before, including Ming and Qing dynasty Zheng family woodblock prints in the Palace Museum. But this was the first time he had ever seen a rubbing of a plaque.

Looking at the tortoise-like creature on top of the monument, Lin Sicheng suddenly realized: This must be an epitaph.

But I never heard of the Zheng Yimen family cemetery in Pujiang being robbed in my previous life, so where did this rubbing of the stele come from?

The crucial point is that the theft involved thousands of...

Seeing Lin Sicheng looking at it so intently, Li Jinqian glanced at him and asked, "Brother Lin, do you like this kind of thing?"

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "I like anything that's good."

The two laughed it off and walked a few more steps before Lin Sicheng stopped again.

This one, however, became a silk fabric.

Brocade, damask, satin, gauze, silk, brocade, gauze, and even half a bolt of tapestry.

It's hard to pinpoint the exact dynasty, but they're all at least before the Qing Dynasty. The key piece is a straight-collared, front-opening shirt.

It appears neither yellow nor brown, and is quite wrinkled. However, this is typical everyday clothing of Southern Song Dynasty literati, with Song Luo (jacquard silk fabric) accounting for more than 60%, representing the highest level of silk weaving during the Song and Yuan Dynasties.

It's a national first-class cultural relic. There's no need to even check where it was unearthed or who wore it. Sending it to the National Silk Museum would make it a prized possession.

Even on the black market, it would fetch at least tens of millions. If it were auctioned overseas, it could easily sell for hundreds of millions, and Lin Sicheng would be more than willing to part with it.

But here, it's displayed openly on the shelf.

Let's look at the price: 1.2 million.

Seeing him standing still, Li Jinqian blinked: "Zhao Boyun!"

Lin Sicheng was taken aback.

Sure, at least this time we know where it came from.

Zhao Boyun was a seventh-generation descendant of Zhao Kuangyin. His highest post was as deputy magistrate of Changzhou County, Suzhou. He died in the ninth year of the Jiading era of the Southern Song Dynasty and was buried in Huangyan County, Taizhou.

Therefore, they sold it as the official robe of a county magistrate in the Southern Song Dynasty, which was worth about a million.

But this thing is the same as the bronze fish; once you buy it, you either donate it or donate it—collecting it is out of the question. Lin Sicheng was just curious for a moment, just wanting to feast his eyes on it.

Further on, Lin Sicheng even saw coffin boards of the ancient She ethnic group in Jingning and Taishun: because they were engraved with phoenix patterns.

It must be said that Chen Wei and Li Jinqian's business scope is truly extensive: this kind of coffin must be a hanging coffin suspended in a cliff cave.

Further on, Lin Sicheng paused, staring at the few porcelain bowls on the shelf.

It's very small, with a waist diameter of only about five centimeters, slightly larger than a teacup, but shaped like a jar.

A typical Northern Song Dynasty Cizhou ware jar with iron-rust decoration, the body of the jar is covered with feather-like patterns in alternating brown and white. At first glance, it looks quite beautiful, but once you hold it in your hand, you can tell that the jar is rather rough and bumpy.

It looks like the glaze was ruined during firing.

Touching the inner wall again, there are twelve spiral ridges, which seems to be due to uneven humidity, causing the porcelain body to deform after being suddenly heated in the kiln.

It's likely that Chen Wei and Li Jinqian were even less aware of the specific function of this item, which is why they priced it so low: 120,000 for the four jars.

But this thing is made with a special apricot glaze from Cizhou kiln, and it has only one function: cupping.

After being burned, it is soaked in more than 20 kinds of medicinal materials such as cinnabar, realgar, and mugwort ash for 100 days. The medicinal properties will only be released when heated to above 60 degrees Celsius.

Very few people knew how to use it, except for imperial physicians. So, let alone in modern times, even in the Song Dynasty, very few people would recognize this thing.

But with this thing, Song Dynasty imperial physicians were able to extract malaria parasite eggs.

The truly valuable stuff is even more unpredictable; the residual human blood cells inside the jar might even contain DNA data from a Song Dynasty emperor.

Even disregarding that, these are genuine imperial artifacts from the Song Dynasty court. From historical, medical, and scientific perspectives, these four jars are quite valuable.

Lin Sicheng nodded: "I'll take it!"

Li Jinqian leaned closer to take a look: "Brother Lin likes this kind?"

"Not bad!" Lin Sicheng said calmly. "The craftsmanship seems quite unique. I'll take it back and study it!"

What are the characteristics of the process?

It was clearly burned to a crisp, okay?

Li Jinqian was secretly suspicious, and then he saw Lin Sicheng pick up a rhinoceros horn cup.

It is entirely black, with faint blood streaks visible between the bone and jade, as if it were stained with blood.

The item is quite old, around the mid-Ming Dynasty, but unfortunately, in pursuit of the "red jade" texture, it was dyed with blood before carving, ruining a perfectly good rhinoceros horn cup.

But Lin Sicheng stared at it for a long time, and finally waved his hand: "I'll take it!"

Li Jinqian glanced at the tag: 260,000?

"Brother Lin, this horn cup has been dyed!"

Lin Sicheng nodded: "I know!"

You knew that, yet you still bought it?

Zhao Xiuneng practically raved about this guy, but it seems his judgment is just so-so.

With just one glance, Lin Sicheng knew what Li Jinqian was thinking, and simply smiled.

It is true that it has been dyed, but this is a blood-stained rhinoceros horn cup from the Ming Dynasty.

What a steal!