After working for half the morning, he finally managed to pack all the items in the storeroom that he could confirm were genuine into boxes and moved them to a small storage room in his main study.
Back in the storeroom, he looked at the three pieces that appeared to be Yuan blue and white porcelain for a while, then put the large bowl into a wooden box, intending to take it to the trust shop for inspection.
If any one of these three items can be confirmed as genuine, the other two are undoubtedly true.
Then he packed up the other two plates he wasn't sure about and planned to take them with him. Although both plates were marked as made during the Qianlong era, he felt they were imitations from the Republican era. If so, he would sell them directly to the trust shop later.
He carried three wooden boxes out of the storage room. Now the room was finally tidied up. After looking at it, he found that besides the five items that were left, there were thirty-two other items from the Qing Dynasty and twenty from the Ming Dynasty.
There are also nine known replicas from the Republican era, but these nine no longer belong to him; rather, they belong to…
Thinking of this, he turned his head and glanced at the eaves, where a neat row of porcelain bowls was placed.
That's right, those replicas have all become dog food bowls. The eight-pointed one is for eating, and the other, larger porcelain bowl has been used for drinking water.
This was one of Li Chu's quirky quirks. He remembered seeing posts online in his previous life about people collecting old items, and it turned out that their dogs were using bowls from the Yongle era and basins from the Xuande era.
Okay, his dog is also using an antique now, although it's a replica from the Republic of China era, it's still several decades old.
It should be fine for laymen who don't know anything about lakes.
When we changed their bowls earlier, the dogs disagreed and collectively refused to eat for a rare meal.
Li Chu didn't indulge them; if they didn't want to eat, fine.
Needless to say, by the next morning, they all obediently ate the rice from their new bowls.
Carrying the three boxes, he walked to the front yard and called Liu Dazhuang out.
"Dazhuang, come with me to the trust store over at the department store."
This shop is big, and there are experienced chefs inside who can help identify it.
"Boss, are you driving?"
"We won't open it; we can just walk there."
"Give me the box, I'll take it."
Seeing the little black cat following him closely, wanting to go out together, Li Chu raised his leg and gently kicked it.
Of all the dogs in the house, this one is the most mischievous. Whenever he goes out, unless it's for work, it always wants to come along.
"Go back to Xiao Hei, I'll take you for a walk after dinner tonight."
The guy grumbled twice, clearly still dissatisfied.
During the day, Li Chu tries his best not to take them out. When they do go out, he only takes them for a stroll in the alleys and avoids going onto the main roads. Even when he leashes them, he is worried that they might scare other people.
Luckily, the yard is big enough for them to run around freely, otherwise these dogs would be bored to death staying at home every day.
In the trust shop, when this master craftsman surnamed Cao saw the bowl placed on the table, his eyes widened in amazement.
Small Bookstore
He quickly grabbed a handkerchief from the table to wipe his hands, then carefully picked up the bowl and examined it closely, ignoring Li Chu who was talking to him.
It took Master Cao a long time to put the bowl back on the table.
"Dr. Li, where did you get this from?"
Li Chu is quite famous in this area; everyone in the neighborhood knows him.
One reason was his dog, and the other was the car.
"Old Cao, this should be Yuan blue and white porcelain, right?" Li Chu didn't answer his question, but asked directly.
Master Cao didn't mind; he was just asking casually and didn't expect anyone to respond.
"That's right, it's definitely a Yuan blue and white porcelain bowl with a qilin and lotus design. What's rare is that it's so well preserved. Doctor Li, you brought it over for me to see because you thought it looked a bit new, so you weren't sure, right?"
"Yes, I do think it's a bit too new."
"That's normal. It just means the person who kept it well knew it was a valuable item. Dr. Li, are you selling this bowl?"
"I don't have that plan for the time being."
Master Cao glanced at the bowl on the table again with some reluctance, nodded and said, "I know Dr. Li is not short of money, but if you ever want to help, as long as I, Old Cao, am still alive, you can ask for anything."
Li Chu raised an eyebrow and said with a smile, "Since Elder Cao likes it so much, then you can take it for 100,000."
The old man glanced speechlessly at the guy across the table.
"Dr. Li, I'm telling you to ask for whatever you want, but you can't ask for an exorbitant amount."
"Does Old Cao think it's not worth it?"
"I don't deserve to be called Doctor Li or Old Master Cao, just call me Master Cao." The old man smiled and waved his hand.
"If we're really talking about value, 100,000 is definitely worth it, and I even think you're underestimating it."
"Haha, I would only offer this price in front of Old Cao. If anyone else asked, I would never quote a price, because I never intended to sell it."
"Good, good!" The old man smiled and picked up the bowl, putting it back into the box.
"You'd better keep it safe, otherwise I'm worried I might want to look at it again."
As he spoke, he took the initiative to open the other two boxes on the table. The old man only glanced at the bottle before closing the box again.
"No need to look at these two, they're both Republic-era imitations. Take them home and play with them however you like."
Master Cao wasn't actually a porcelain expert, but once he made his assessment, no one would contradict him, including the experts in the palace.
He specializes in the restoration of ancient porcelain; in his own words, he's a clay enthusiast.
Now that he's older, his hands shake a bit, and he can no longer do those porcelain restoration jobs, but the apprentices he trained are still working there.
The old man was just bored at home, so he came here to help out.
If you ask him to explain how to identify these things, he probably really wouldn't be able to.
But just by glancing at it or touching it, he can definitely tell you whether it's real or fake.
Just like the last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, the expert said it was real, but after handling it for a couple of moments, he immediately said it was fake.
The expert spent a long time explaining why they believed it to be true.
In the end, all they said was, "I used to play with this a lot when I was a kid, but it doesn't feel right when I touch it."
Master Cao is now just like that guy; he's handled and seen so many things that he can tell the real from the fake with just a touch.
"Dr. Li, you must have other Yuan blue and white porcelain pieces, right?"
The old man suddenly asked in a soft voice.
Li Chu didn't react at all, he just shook his head: "Old Cao, to be honest, these things are rare and hard to come by. It would be great to have even one."
(Announcement: Dear readers, there will be three chapters updated tomorrow, August 25th, at 6:00 AM, 11:00 AM, and 5:00 PM. Thank you for your support and encouragement.)
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com