Chapter 65 Traitor

The most authentic Qishan Saozi noodles come in a huge bowl the size of a human head, with a layer of clear red oil floating on the surface of the soup.

Red carrots, white tofu cubes, yellow egg skin, green chive leaves, black wood ear mushroom strips, and slightly yellow alkaline noodles... like colorful pearls piled on a yellow jade rope.

Steam rose from the bowl. The aroma of vinegar mixed with spiciness wafted into my nostrils, and my Adam's apple bobbed involuntarily. With a gentle flick of the chopsticks, "slurp," half of the noodles in the bowl disappeared.

After only three or four bites, only soup remained in the bowl, so Lin Sicheng took a second bowl.

The uncle and nephew sat opposite each other, absentmindedly stirring the noodles.

They were very hungry, but there were even more things to complain about: the two of them were stunned from beginning to end, and they could hardly keep up with the train of thought, let alone interrupt.

An old woman with a face covered in rust, speaking slang.

Even the walking stick is inlaid with Shang jade. You can only see rare items in museums. They are sold out at a constant price.

And those dozen or so antiques that, although restored, can still be considered treasures.

What's even stranger is Lin Sicheng.

She speaks fluently than an old lady, knows historical allusions and figures like the back of her hand, and can spot a fake restoration at a glance.

Even if Shang Yubai gave him millions, he wouldn't be tempted in the slightest.

Even if you suspect something is a scam, or worry that the item's origin is questionable, shouldn't you struggle with that thought for a moment?

But thinking back to that time, Lin Sicheng didn't even hesitate...

What surprised Wang Qizhi the most was the mouth box that the old lady took out at the end: how rare must it be that she paid millions of dollars to have Lin Sicheng repair it?

After waiting patiently for Lin Sicheng to finish his second bowl, Wang Qizhi quickly reached for his chopsticks:

What was in that last box?

He was really starving, so Lin Sicheng picked up his third bowl and slurped down a mouthful of noodles: "Chicken Cup!"

"What?"

"Chicken Cup!"

Wang Qizhi's hand holding the chopsticks trembled, causing ripples to spread across the soup. He stared in disbelief.

As is well known, there are only about a dozen chicken cups in existence: ten in the National Palace Museum in Taipei, one each in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in the United States, the David Foundation in the United Kingdom, and a Swiss museum.

These are thirteen pieces, but private collections would never exceed five... How many are there in total?

But now, two more have suddenly appeared? Even if these two are broken...

He was about to say it was impossible, but the words wouldn't come out.

I was far away and the light was a bit dim, so I couldn't see very clearly. I only knew that there was a bird on the top porcelain piece of the box.

But Wang Qizhi could see the other items clearly: Lu Zigang's jade carving, Li Dongyang's handwritten notes, the imperial inkstone bestowed by the Ming emperor... especially that Chengni inkstone, which was as real as could be.

So, if it's not a chicken cup in the box, what kind of porcelain is it that would cost millions to repair?

If we think about it this way, the old lady's claim of being a "successor of the Imperial Household Department's workshop mending craftsmen" is most likely true.

If she wasn't a craftswoman skilled in mending, her hands and face wouldn't be rusted like that... unless that old woman had been in the pit thousands of times (never seen the light of day, never been exposed to oxygen).

If you're not a descendant of a metal mender, it's impossible for you to be able to mend porcelain, wood, bronze, and jade so well.

It's impossible for someone who isn't a descendant of a mending craftsman to steal the chicken cup from the palace... even if it was broken...

But why insist on having Lin Sicheng do the work?

After a moment's thought, Wang Qizhi's eyes widened: "You know how to fix it?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I don't know how yet, but I can learn?"

Wang Qizhi scoffed: How do I learn?

Let alone chicken cups or doucai porcelain, more than 80% of the Ming porcelain restoration techniques have been lost. Where did Lin Sicheng learn them?

If she could learn it, the old lady would have learned it herself; there was no need to ask Lin Sicheng.

Wang Qizhi looked at the wooden box at his feet, puzzled. "But the old lady seems convinced that you can definitely learn it?"

Lin Sicheng sighed inwardly: Because I really do.

He never repaired the chicken cup, but he repaired the doucai cup quite a bit, just by practicing more...

Lin Sicheng remained silent for a long time: "She must have smelled the faint blue scent on me!"

After replying, Lin Sicheng put down his chopsticks and pointed to the blue spot on his right fingernail, "Professor Wang, this is mending lacquer. I mixed it on a whim when I was applying blue lacquer the other day, and a little bit got on it and I can't wash it off..."

Wang Qizhi nodded: "I know, and then what?"

Wang Qizhi himself glued those two fish on. Feng Lin reminded him that Lin Sicheng had instructed him that the lacquer couldn't be washed off his hands...

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "The real lacquer for mending porcelain refers to the lacquer used by the Ming Dynasty imperial kilns to repair blue and white porcelain. It was later passed down to the Qing Dynasty and used specifically to repair blue and white porcelain left over from the Ming Dynasty..."

Because the glaze formulas were similar and both required cobalt, the Imperial Workshop improved upon them and used them for enamel repair... However, the specific formulas were lost during the Republic of China era..."

After a slight pause, Lin Sicheng emphasized, "Professor Wang, I'm not lying to you. This isn't genuine metal lacquer; it's just something I concocted based on some literature... But for some reason, the old lady is convinced that this is the real metal lacquer..."

"Based on this, she deduced that if I knew how to mix celadon lacquer, I would definitely be able to repair Ming blue and white porcelain; if I knew how to repair Ming blue and white porcelain, I would definitely be able to repair doucai porcelain (doucai porcelain is blue and white with overglaze decoration); if I knew how to repair doucai porcelain, I would definitely be able to repair chicken cups..."

Lin Sicheng spread his hands and sighed, "That's why I didn't want that inkstone, but the old lady wouldn't believe me and insisted on giving me a box of porcelain shards so I could practice first..."

Lin Sicheng spoke quickly, urgently, and at length, initially leaving Wang Qizhi somewhat bewildered. But upon hearing the last sentence, his hand trembled involuntarily, and his chopsticks fell into the noodle bowl.

His lips twitched uncontrollably, and he almost blurted out: "Lin Sicheng, you're talking nonsense!"

I'm your teacher, and you just try to fool me like this?

It's so tiny, about the size of a millet grain, and I hadn't even noticed it for several days.

But the old lady recognized it at a glance; how sharp must her eyes be?

So, she can still accept the loan?

Even now, Wang Qizhi is still thinking, if the box really contained a chicken cup, would the old lady have just taken it out so casually?

Looking back now: What a load of rubbish!

The saying "old age brings wisdom" is perfectly embodied in this old lady:

Why did the old lady hand her cane to Lin Sicheng?

Test his eyesight.

Why did you use Shang Yu to lure Lin Sicheng?

Test his character.

The jargon, the hidden gold in the sleeve, the more than ten restored items, and the three treasures that followed were all found in Pantuo Road.

Explore Lin Sicheng's background, and at the same time, investigate his abilities and even his character.

So, in just over an hour, how many tricks and schemes did that old woman employ?

Only when she was absolutely certain, at least 90% sure, did she take out the chicken cup.

Wang Qizhi gritted his teeth:

Therefore, the old lady is a descendant of the Imperial Household Department's metal menders.

So, the chicken cup was in that small box.

Therefore, Lin Sicheng's fingernails were covered with green lacquer.

So, this wicked disciple, who never uttered a single truth from beginning to end, really would make a chicken cup...