Chapter 76
"It's newly opened, how can it be reliable?" Chen Cheng looked at him with a sidelong glance, his tone also a little uncertain, "Don't tell me it's one of those black shop that cheats people out of their money."
"It shouldn't be possible. I think that place is quite legitimate," Chen Ming tried to recall. "There's a business license hanging at the door, and a sign from the Cultural Relics Appraisal Association. And if they can offer a 30% discount, even if the other offers are high, it's still a good deal. If it works out, we'll both feel relieved."
He leaned over, lowering his voice, his tone still filled with a hint of tentativeness, "How about this, let's go over and take a look, ask about the charging process, just to get to know the situation in advance. If you feel something is wrong, we can leave immediately. It won't delay anything anyway."
Chen Cheng said nothing, his gaze falling back on the darkened wooden box on the table. He stared at it for a long moment, his eyes heavy, perhaps weighing his options. He feared being ripped off if he went, but he was also unwilling to leave. The faintest hope in his heart, against the very real risk, these two considerations weighed repeatedly in his mind, and he couldn't make a decision quickly.
The only sound in the living room was the squeaking of the electric fan. Chen Cheng's gaze shifted from the wooden box to the room where Chen Ming currently lived. The yellowed walls and the wallpaper that was about to peel off. At the entrance, perhaps because the door had been opened and closed for too long, a deep dent had been made on the wall where the door handle was located.
Chen Cheng nodded silently, but his tone was filled with a warning, "Let's go to that house first, but remember, be smart when you enter the house, whatever they say is what you have to do."
"Don't worry, Boss. I know what I'm doing this time," Chen Ming assured him. "Then let's go now. It's early in the morning when there are fewer people and we don't have to queue."
"Wait a minute." Chen Cheng stood up and walked to the low cabinet next to the TV. He opened the drawer and found two blue plastic bags he had used before. He carefully put the wooden box into the bag and tied the four handles into a knot. "Wrap it tightly. It's bumpy on the road. If it gets bumped, it will be hard to tell what happened. Oh, and you have that appraisal report from last time, right? Take it with you. It might come in handy later."
"Okay, I'll go look for it," Chen Ming responded. He walked into the inner room and rummaged through a pile of miscellaneous items that were about to be thrown away.
The two drove around Jianguo Road several times before they found the Jinshizhai in an inconspicuous location. The entrance looked similar to what Chen Ming had just described, and it did look quite grand.
The three-story building was a standalone building, and the white marble paving at the entrance clearly reflected the massive, multi-layered crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. The ceiling height of this floor was also impressive; looking up, it felt as if the chandelier was suspended in mid-air, a considerable distance from the ceiling.
The shop had just opened, and it was morning, so the air still lingered with the faint scent of lemon, left by the disinfectant. The shiny glass door had been scrubbed spotless, and the golden doorknob gleamed faintly in the morning sun.
The entire interior space was very quiet, with only the hum of the central air conditioner and the occasional sound of doors opening and closing from the other end of the corridor.
The receptionist was wearing a tailored dark blue business suit, her hair neatly tied back, revealing her shopping-ready forehead. She was talking to someone when, out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone enter the door. She looked up and immediately gave a standard yet distant smile. "Hello, welcome to Jinshizhai. How may I help you?"
The voice is crisp, but each word, whether it is the pitch or the pauses in between, seems to have been precisely calibrated many times, which makes it seem thoughtful without unnecessary enthusiasm.
On one wall of the hall, there are several beautifully framed qualification certificates and authorization letters neatly hung. On the other side, there is a display cabinet as tall as the wall, which is illuminated by soft spotlights and a few downlights. Inside are many exquisite bronzes and several high-imitation replicas. In the two compartments that can be reached under the cabinet, there are several dried flowers that are so lifelike that they are indistinguishable from the real ones. The combination of heavy objects and exquisite branches makes the whole wall look neat and elegant.
They walked over and stood at the front desk, hesitating about how to start their conversation when a middle-aged man in a dark blue suit and a black and white striped tie came forward. His hair was neatly combed, and he had the same polite smile as the receptionist.
His eyes moved between the two of them, and he paused briefly on the plastic bag Chen Cheng was holding.
"You two are here for an appraisal, right?" he said softly. "I'm the account manager here. My last name is Wang. How can I help you?"
He took out two business cards from his pocket and handed them to Chen Cheng.
"Hello, Manager Wang," Chen Ming took a step forward and warmly shook the other person's outstretched hand.
Chen Cheng remained motionless, scrutinizing Manager Wang from head to toe, from his polished shoes to his perfectly pressed suit, to his expressionless smile. He'd seen this kind of deliberately pretentious person many times before, and he twitched his lips in a vague sneer.
Chen Cheng was still thinking in his mind, but Chen Ming beside him could no longer hold back. He quietly touched him with his elbow, with a slightly awkward yet flattering smile on his face, and kept signaling at him with his eyes.
Chen Cheng glanced at Chen Ming, and in that anxious look, he carefully placed the dark blue thing in his hand on the reception table covered with red velvet, slowly untied the drawstring, and opened the lid of the wooden box.
"This is the bowl. We want you to see if it's genuine and how much it's worth."
Manager Wang's smile remained unchanged. He fished a pair of white gloves from his inner pocket, donned them, and carefully lifted the bowl from its wooden box. He examined it carefully, then asked the receptionist who had brought the tea to turn on the lamp on the reception desk. He then placed the bowl under the light and examined it repeatedly, rubbing his fingers over the signature on the bottom of the bowl and the glazed edge. Suddenly, as he stared at the bowl, a fleeting, elusive flash of surprise crossed his eyes.
"This bowl looks quite interesting. The shape and the glaze are both very pleasing." Manager Wang put the bowl back into the wooden box and said to the two people, "Our appraisal services are mainly divided into several levels. You can take a look. The fees and response time for different levels are also different."
As he spoke, he took out several beautifully printed price lists from the bottom drawer and pushed them in front of the two brothers.
"This is the most basic appraisal. This one is a little higher, and can issue a basic appraisal certificate. The fee is 800." He pointed at the first two columns above. "But it will take five to ten working days to get the results."
He paused briefly, his eyes sweeping across Chen Cheng and Chen Ming's faces, observing their reactions, before continuing to introduce them. "Of course, if you're in a hurry, you can also choose our expedited service, which is this column. It includes the basic appraisal fee and the appraisal certificate, but you need to pay an additional 2,000 yuan for the expedited fee. We will give you a preliminary verbal conclusion before closing time. If you need a complete written appraisal report, such as year, kiln, quality analysis, market valuation reference, etc., then because this kind of report will be more authoritative than an ordinary appraisal report, whether you want to sell it, get insurance, or use it as proof of assets, it will be useful. However, this appraisal report will cost you an additional 1,200 yuan."
The two brothers looked at him and huddled together to discuss in a low voice.
"Boss, how do we do it? It will take five to ten days to get it out if it's slow," Chen Ming said first.
Chen Cheng glanced at him and said, "Last time, we waited for that appraisal report for almost a week."
"How do we do that?"
"Didn't you promise Mom yesterday that you would send her back the day after tomorrow at the latest?"
Chen Ming tutted his words, "I just said it casually."
"What else can we say? Hurry up!" Chen Cheng took a deep breath. "We need that detailed report too. Otherwise, how can I believe what they say? And if it's true, how can we negotiate the price with others?"
"Yes, yes, you are right, boss," Chen Ming nodded repeatedly.
Chen Cheng saw Manager Wang and asked, "Manager Wang, we need this urgently. If we need it expedited, how long will it take for the detailed report to be ready?"
Manager Wang replied: "We will put your order in the front row and it will be ready in three working days at the latest."
"Okay, that's it."
Manager Wang smiled and stood up. "The total is 4,000. The appraisal and expedited fee is 2,800, and the report is 1,200. Please follow me over here to complete the registration procedures."
After paying, Manager Wang led them to the appraisal room at the far end of the left corridor. The room was small, with a row of glass cabinets against the wall. Inside, various porcelain pieces and jade fragments of varying ages and materials, as well as several metal antique specimens, were placed in various categories.
The square table in the center of the room was covered with a thick layer of dark green velvet. A pile of unidentifiable instruments and testing tools lay scattered around a silver arm lamp. An elderly man, perhaps in his sixties or seventies, sat at the table. He wore a dark gray Mao suit and gold-rimmed glasses. His hair was combed back, and his gray goatee was neatly trimmed, exuding a scholarly elegance.
He had just turned the page of his appraisal book when he heard the sound of a door opening. He slowly looked up, his eyes focused and calm. His serious, scholarly demeanor inexplicably reassured the initially nervous Chen Cheng and Chen Ming.
"Teacher Wu, sorry to bother you," Manager Wang said respectfully. "This is our Wu Yu. Teacher Wu, formerly a cultural relic restorer at the Provincial Museum. Teacher Wu, these two gentlemen have a green jade bowl that we've expedited. Could you please take a closer look at it?"
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