Hu Yuan really couldn't bring himself to say it, so he turned to look at Old Zhong beside him.
But Zhong Lao also turned his head and looked into the distance, as if he didn't care about anything.
Helpless, Hu Yuan could only awkwardly say, "Thirty to forty thousand."
Although everyone saw more than half of the jade, according to normal market prices, it would only be worth 30,000.
They naturally didn't quite agree with Hu Yuan's valuation.
"Brother, your eye for jade was clearly good just now, but this jade isn't even that big, so how come it's only worth 40,000?"
Someone directly came out and asked a question.
"What do you know? This jade is full of water, so it's naturally more valuable. Moreover, jade like this is a once-in-a-century find. Although it's just ordinary jade, its unique condition is enough to increase its value. The 40,000 that Hu Yuan mentioned is already a low estimate. If a buyer who really likes it were to offer 200,000, they would probably be willing to pay it."
Upon hearing the man's question, Old Zhong immediately became agitated and couldn't help but retort.
However, he felt awkward after he finished speaking, as everyone's eyes were on him.
Especially Hu Yuan and Hailan Mingxue.
Just a moment ago, he was dismissive of the Hailanmingxue stone, but now he's so agitated because of someone else's questioning of it.
If he's not embarrassed, then who is?
Of course, the others were unaware of this; they were simply startled by what Elder Zhong said.
After Hailan Mingxue realized what was happening, she immediately shook the stone in her hand, but she didn't see anything unusual.
"You can't tell if there's water inside jade just by shaking it; you have to look for subtle changes in color."
Having already overcome his initial awkwardness, Professor Zhong simply adjusted his mindset and began explaining the science behind the scenes.
Everyone nodded in agreement; they had never heard of such a saying before.
"Haha, it seems I'm having a really good day. In that case, let's hurry back. I need to find a buyer to sell this stone as soon as possible."
Like Hu Yuan, Hai Lanmingxue was only after money, not a collector. So she only wanted to exchange it for more money, not to keep it.
At jade gambling sites, there are usually people who specialize in buying jade, and even the bookmakers will buy back the jade that customers have cut open, and the prices are generally very fair.
But Hailan Mingxue's jade was too special, and these people really didn't dare to make a bid casually.
So we could only let them leave.
"Actually, you don't need to rush to sell. Just like what Mr. Zhong said, if you find a buyer who really likes it, you can sell it for 200,000. So I advise you to find a skilled craftsman to take out the jade and carve two Guanyin or Buddha statues. That way, it might be worth more money."
After leaving the jade gambling site, Hu Yuan whispered a reminder to Hai Lanming.
After hearing this, Hailan Mingxue also felt that what Hu Yuan said made a lot of sense, so she immediately put the stone away and figured out what to do with it.
“Mr. Zhong, we’ve seen enough of the sights. You must be tired from your journey. Why don’t you go back to the hotel and rest? We can come back to the antique exchange tomorrow.”
Hu Yuan felt there was no point in continuing to browse; the really good stuff wouldn't appear until tomorrow anyway.
Zhong Lao's thoughts were similar to Hu Yuan's, so he nodded in agreement.
The next morning, the three of them went to the antique market together again.
There are even more people here than yesterday, and the number of street vendors has doubled.
Moreover, some people only carry one or two items in their hands and wander around the market selling them.
In the hands of these people, Hu Yuan saw all sorts of fakes, especially porcelain and bronzes.
Perhaps because it is more difficult to forge paintings, calligraphy, and wooden antiques, most people choose other antiques to forge.
Of course, I occasionally see one or two genuine Qingming period artifacts, but they don't seem to have any collectible value, so I don't sell them.
In today's peaceful times, the collectible value of antiques is equivalent to their transaction value.
Therefore, Hu Yuan had to choose to sell items with sufficient collectible value.
"Hey, this bottle is quite interesting."
Hu Yuan suddenly stopped and stopped a guy carrying an octagonal vase.
"My friend, you really know your stuff. This is a high-end item."
The man spoke in a thick, muttony accent, and said happily.
Old Zhong frowned slightly, showing his disgust for the thing.
"Although I don't know much about antiques, I have heard of the fame of the Ge ware octagonal vase with tubular handles. Don't be ridiculous."
Even Hailan Mingxue couldn't help but remind Hu Yuandao.
"I know this is a fake, but it's quite well made. Many details have been imitated. It must have been made by a master forger. To be able to do this, one must be a master, and it would take at least five years to make one."
Hu Yuan still had a smile on his face. He didn't care whether it was genuine or fake. He wasn't there to expose counterfeits; he just wanted good stuff.
"Nonsense! This is a genuine octagonal vase with pierced ears. If you don't understand, don't talk nonsense, and don't touch my vase. That's an insult to my vase."
When that guy gets angry, his muttony accent makes him even funnier.
"Why bother? Even if it's a fake, it's a top-quality fake. Name your price."
Hu Yuan patted the man on the shoulder and chuckled.
"Five hundred thousand, not a penny less."
The man held up five fingers, still somewhat angry.
"I...you don't actually think this is an octagonal vase, do you? Let's renegotiate the price."
Exquisitely crafted fakes are naturally worth a lot of money, but 500,000 is really outrageous.
Even if it were made exactly the same, it wouldn't be possible to reach such a high price.
"I won't sell to people like you who don't understand."
However, that guy's stubbornness suddenly flared up again, and he grabbed the bottle and was about to leave.
Hu Yuan and his two companions were truly exasperated by this stubborn guy.
"Alright, let's go. It's just a fake, no need to waste time."
Old Zhong had been waiting impatiently, so he immediately took the opportunity to urge Hu Yuan.
"You guys keep insulting my bottle. What do you want? I've already said it's real. If you're not going to buy it, don't talk nonsense or you'll cut off your tongue."
The guy had already walked more than ten steps away, but he still heard what Old Zhong said and immediately turned back to curse angrily.
Logically speaking, everyone should know that this is a fake and shouldn't be so agitated, because the real octagonal vase with tubular handles has long been in a museum. So why is this guy so angry?
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