Chapter 62 Can't Afford It
Authentic Jingyang Golden Flower Black Hair Brick Tea may not look very appealing, but it tastes quite good.
But it can't be soaked; it has to be boiled with salt, or even with cardamom.
Ye Anning held the teacup to warm her hands, while Lin Sicheng slowly sipped the tea.
What does it mean to have one eye?
"The items must be genuine!"
"What does 'being tough' mean?"
"You must have come from a legitimate source!"
"Where's the baggage?"
"A discerning eye, but an expert who doesn't own a shop, only resells..."
The two whispered to each other, while Wang Qizhi sat beside them, listening intently.
This was a jargon used in the antique trade in the old society, which he obviously didn't understand.
Even Lin Changqing probably doesn't understand.
It's definitely not in the book, so where did Lin Sicheng learn it from?
Subconsciously, he glanced into the corner: the old lady was still leaning against the wall, looking as if she were asleep.
But I always felt there was a glint of shrewdness in those half-open, half-closed eyes...
...
Before long, Zhao Xiuneng (the seller) brought in a tray and placed it on the coffee table.
The group all lowered their heads.
A blue-and-white porcelain jar with a landscape design, a rhinoceros horn brush holder with the inscription "Rising Step by Step," half a piece of bluish-white jade disc, seven Kaiyuan Tongbao coins, and a long scroll that resembles calligraphy or painting.
Even the trays used to hold these items are old objects?
At first, Lin Sicheng was shocked and thought to himself, "Wow, this is amazing: porcelain, hornware, jade, woodware, ancient coins, calligraphy and paintings... they have everything!"
How extensive must this Mr. Zhao's connections be?
The key point is that they excel in everything:
Official kiln blue and white porcelain from the Tongzhi reign?
A rhinoceros horn pen holder from the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China... was it carved by Sheng Fugong (a famous horn carver of the Qing Dynasty)?
The jade disc is from the Tang Dynasty, and the seven "Kaiwan Tongbao" coins are misprinted double-sided coins.
The scroll is an oil painting, but it is the work of a famous artist: Li Shutong, a renowned calligrapher, painter, musician, and playwright in the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China.
And that tray: a late Qing dynasty "colorful mother-of-pearl inlaid" old rosewood lacquer tray. Judging from the patterns, it must have come from the Prince's Mansion at least.
But after looking at them once more, he frowned: These things... don't seem quite right?
The covered jar is too heavy, at least half again as heavy as a normal piece of the same type. Tap it with your finger... tsk tsk, the bottom is real, but the body is pieced together from fragments of late Qing dynasty folk kiln blue and white porcelain.
The grain pattern on the pen holder is a bit rough: it's denser in the upper half and sparser in the lower half... Upon closer inspection, haha, the lower half is actually a donkey hoof.
The same applies to copper coins: take a genuine Kaiyuan Tongbao coin, grind it thin, and then stick it together.
Even the jade piece and the tray underneath were almost identical: half real and half fake, pieced together.
After looking around, there were about ten items of various sizes, but only one coin with both sides facing out was genuine...
Lin Sicheng suddenly raised his head, glanced at the old lady, and fixed his gaze on Zhao Xiuneng's face.
Zhao Xiuneng pretended not to know: "Looking at something? Why are you looking at me?"
If I don't look at you, who will I look at?
Whether the old lady had ever been to the pit or how many times she had gone down there is unknown, but she was definitely a fellow practitioner.
In the trade, it's called "collecting broken pieces," or to put it bluntly: it involves buying damaged items, piecing them together, repairing them, and then selling them as genuine articles. That kind of grime seeping into your fingernails and rust seeping into your flesh is probably from this process.
Sometimes it's called climbing mountains: if they can't collect the stolen items, they'll sometimes go down into pits, specifically into pits that have been robbed, specifically to dig up the stolen items.
But these dishes were definitely not made by the old lady: her skills were lacking, her work was too rough, and they did a disservice to the grime on her hands and the rust on her face...
After pondering for a moment, Lin Sicheng picked out a Kaiyuan Tongbao coin from the collection, placed it in front of him, and then picked up his teacup.
Zhao Xiuneng was dumbfounded: He was the one who repaired the items, how could he not know which ones were real and which ones were fake?
The problem is, did this kid only sweep around once?
The two exchanged a glance, and Lin Sicheng smiled gently.
But the more he laughed, the more Zhao Xiuneng's eyelids twitched: "Pick two more!"
Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I'm not picky!"
Zhao Xiuneng pressed on, "Why?"
Lin Sicheng continued to shake his head: "Pull your hair down!"
Zhao Xiuneng opened his mouth, unsure of what to say.
I know you're an expert, but you can't be this good.
After a long while, he exhaled sharply: "Even a shaved head can have good stuff!"
"Of course!" Lin Sicheng nodded, glancing at the old lady behind him, "But it depends on who's doing it!"
It's no exaggeration to say that this 60-year-old man blushed bright red like a child.
Russian bastard...
This is the first time in my life I've been looked down upon by a kid who hasn't even grown up yet.
Wang Qizhi sat down next to him, picked up the six copper coins, looked at them once, glanced at the one in front of Lin Sicheng, and then put it back.
Of the seven copper coins, only the one in front of Lin Sicheng is real. Considering their conversation, what else is there to say?
Ye Anning also knew about antiques, but he considered his eye to be a little worse than his uncle's, so he didn't offer any trade evaluations, but simply picked up the oil painting.
Huh, Li Shutong?
Hmm, something doesn't seem right?
She narrowed her eyes, examined it carefully several times, and then glanced at Lin Sicheng: "It looks... like a grafted draft!"
Lin Sicheng paused, holding the salt spoon, and looked up in surprise.
It's not surprising that Wang Qizhi could tell that there was something wrong with the copper coins: his research is on the restoration of bronze artifacts, and if he couldn't tell that the six copper coins were glued together, how could he teach his students?
But Ye Anning... really didn't expect that.
Seeing his shocked expression, Ye Anning pursed her lips: "I studied cultural preservation at the China Academy of Art, and then I studied in Florence for a year!"
Wow, that's impressive! It's a combination of Chinese and Western techniques.
No wonder Professor Wang's older brother showed her that sunflower head at the flower and bird market last time!
Lin Sicheng nodded, his voice low: "Yes, it's grafting!"
It's roughly like this: a genuine work is divided into four parts, and then the real and fake parts are pieced together: one-quarter is painted with real material, and three-quarters are fake.
The process is not complicated: brushstrokes and color values are accurately copied using color scanning technology, then reproduced on an old canvas using inkjet printing, and finally the colors are aged... Therefore, compared to other methods, it is much easier to forge old oil paintings...
But the term "easy" only applies relative to traditional Chinese paintings. Someone capable of dismantling an original and then using advanced technology to repair it wouldn't be sitting here.
Lin Sicheng stared at Zhao Xiuneng, and the old woman's face flushed again: What kind of skill does he have? If he had that skill, why would he keep his mother cooped up at home?
I acquired this painting by chance.
With a long sigh, he picked up the tray and left the living room. Then, he brought out another tray.
This time there weren't so many, and the trays were just ordinary old poplar wood trays, with only three items on them:
A white jade cup, a scroll, and an inkstone.
Lin Sicheng looked at them one by one, his eyes twitching slightly.
Lu Zigang's Upper Mountain Corner Cup.
Li Dongyang's poem "Mr. Muzhai is about to embark on his journey and sent me a poem, so I followed his rhyme."
And the Chengni inkstone from Jiangzhou, a tribute inkstone for the Ming Dynasty imperial court.
I told you to stock up on good products, but I didn't say you had to stock up on this much.
After looking at it for a long time, Lin Sicheng shook his head: "I can't afford it!"
Zhao Xiuneng was skeptical: "I didn't say you had to buy them all!"
Lin Sicheng sighed: "I can't afford even one!"
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