Chapter 1

In the early morning, a taxi screeched to a halt in front of a pawnshop called Daxing. As soon as the car stopped, a young man, dressed simply but with a sunny and handsome appearance, got out of the car.

While walking, the young man, who wore a relieved expression, thought to himself, "Thank goodness, thank goodness. There's still about a minute before work starts; I definitely won't be late this time."

The young man's name is Xue Chen. He had just graduated from the Archaeology Department of Haicheng University and was an apprentice at this pawnshop.

This time, he had woken up a bit late because he had been studying antique appraisal knowledge all night. To prevent being late, he had reluctantly taken a taxi.

After all, although the taxi fare was twenty yuan, if he were late, he would lose a two-hundred-yuan full-attendance bonus.

Two hundred yuan was a huge sum for Xue Chen, who had just graduated and couldn't even afford next month's rent.

Thinking about the crucial money being preserved, Xue Chen, who had been on edge in the car, finally relaxed and walked into the pawnshop with a light step.

Just as he was about to step into the shop, a voice accompanied by a series of hurried footsteps came from the other end of the street.

Instinctively looking in the direction of the sound, Xue Chen saw five or six well-built men in suits chasing a young man in sportswear.

The young man was running extremely fast and was heading straight toward him, about to collide with him.

This urgent situation left Xue Chen no time to think; he wanted to quickly dodge into the shop.

However, the young man was running too fast. Before Xue Chen could react, he was hit head-on.

The impact was quite strong, and Xue Chen stumbled backward for two or three steps before regaining his balance.

"Damn, can't you watch where you're going!"

After steadying himself, Xue Chen, while rubbing his sore shoulder, shouted at the young man's back, which was almost disappearing around the corner.

But as soon as he finished speaking, a look of anxiety appeared on his face. "Not good, I'm going to be late!"

With this thought, he didn't bother with anything else and quickly walked into the shop, then rushed to the time clock and pressed his finger.

When he saw the time on the machine, his face turned sour. Just because he was hit at the shop door, he was four seconds late, even though he shouldn't have been!

"Damn, this is just too unlucky!"

Standing dazed in front of the time clock, Xue Chen's mind was filled with frustration.

"Young people should go to bed early and get up early, and come to work early. Look at you, always being a few minutes late; it's not worth it," a voice suddenly came from the counter.

Xue Chen looked in the direction of the voice and saw the appraiser of their shop, Huang Pinqing, looking at him with a relaxed expression, his eyes filled with a sense of schadenfreude.

"I'm not sure if young people should go to bed early and get up early, but I do know that it's usually older people who go to bed early and get up early, living a monotonous and lifeless life."

Seeing Huang Pinqing making fun of him, the annoyed Xue Chen retorted without hesitation, then walked directly to the storage room to change his clothes and start his work for the day.

"You..."

Seeing Xue Chen dare to talk back to him, the fifty-something Huang Pinqing's face turned red with anger, but before he could say anything, Xue Chen had already closed the storage room door, leaving him to swallow his words.

"Old man, I can tolerate your dislike of me, but to provoke me at this moment, do you think I have no temper?"

In the storage room, Xue Chen, while changing his clothes, thought to himself.

Huang Pinqing had always disliked him because he had taken the place of his nephew in the job. He always found ways to cause trouble.

If it weren't for the fact that Huang Pinqing was his superior, Xue Chen wouldn't have just retorted; he would have done more.

"Hmm? What's this?"

While changing his clothes and cursing Huang Pinqing in his mind, Xue Chen suddenly noticed a palm-sized black ancient jade on his body, which he didn't remember having before.

The jade was engraved with many ancient symbols that he couldn't understand, and looking closely, it gave him a dizzying feeling.

Xue Chen felt a faint, dark black glow emanating from it after staring at it for a moment.

"Could this be something that guy deliberately threw on me?"

A strange look flashed in his eyes as he thought. He couldn't think of a better explanation.

Although curious about the ancient jade, Xue Chen didn't waste too much time on it. He put it in his pocket and took out a set of cleaning tools, then walked out of the storage room.

Since he had talked back to Huang Pinqing, he knew he had to work quickly to avoid trouble.

Seeing Xue Chen come out of the room, Huang Pinqing gave him a cold look and snorted.

Xue Chen was already used to Huang Pinqing's attitude. He glanced at him and was about to start working when his eyes caught a purple clay teapot in Huang Pinqing's hand, and a look of confusion appeared on his face.

He suddenly felt that the teapot looked different from when he had seen it yesterday.

Not only did it give him some intuitive visual information, but it also made him feel comfortable, a feeling that was faint but real.

"Am I a bit dizzy from the collision?"

Shaking his head in confusion, Xue Chen moved his gaze and began his daily task of cleaning antiques.

The first item he picked up was a blue-and-white porcelain paperweight. Although the label next to it said it was an official kiln porcelain from the Ming Dynasty, Xue Chen, who had worked in the pawnshop for about half a year, knew very well that this seemingly old item was actually a fake made within the last three years.

Despite knowing it was a fake, Xue Chen focused on cleaning it, as doing every task seriously was his life principle.

Just as he was staring intently at the blue-and-white pattern on the paperweight, something strange happened again.

Xue Chen felt a blue and purple light flash over the paperweight from top to bottom at an incredible speed. In this light, many symbols he didn't recognize appeared and disappeared.

The light lasted for a very short time, so short that Xue Chen thought he might have been hallucinating. But at that moment, a piece of information appeared in his mind without warning.

"Fake Ming Dynasty official kiln blue-and-white porcelain paperweight. The glaze, texture, feel, and firing technique are far from the real thing. The seal on the bottom is especially inconsistent with the official kiln seal. Appraisal result: a low-quality fake made within the last three years."

"What... What's going on?"

Xue Chen was dumbfounded, unable to understand what was happening to him.

"Could it be... that ancient jade!"

In his confusion, Xue Chen suddenly thought of the mysterious ancient jade he had just received that morning.

Thinking this, he quickly took the jade out of his pocket and looked at it, seeing the same blue and purple light flash over it.

"Sure enough!"

Seeing the light, Xue Chen shouted in his mind and eagerly picked up an antique fan he knew was genuine, focusing all his attention on it.

"Qing Dynasty Kangxi period Yangzhou paper fan. High-quality materials, exquisite craftsmanship. The painting on the fan is by a famous artist of the time, but the fan itself is slightly damaged, which affects its value."

As Xue Chen focused on the fan, a piece of appraisal information appeared in his mind with the blue and purple light.

In addition, he clearly felt a comfortable aura emanating from the fan.

The series of strange events convinced Xue Chen that the ancient jade he had obtained by chance had the ability to appraise antiques.

Moreover, when it encountered genuine antiques, it would resonate with them and give him a comfortable feeling.

"Absolutely no one can know I have this ancient jade."

Xue Chen glanced at Huang Pinqing at the counter, saw that he wasn't paying attention, and quickly put the jade back in his pocket.

At the same time, a strong sense of joy spread through his body.

As a professional in the antique industry, he knew that with this ancient jade, his life would change dramatically.

He was sure that he would no longer feel heartbroken over a two-hundred-yuan full-attendance bonus, nor would he have to tolerate a third-rate appraiser like Huang Pinqing.

"After work, I'll go to the antique street in Haicheng. With this ancient jade, I should be able to find one or two genuine antiques at a low price. Then I can resell them to experts and no longer worry about money." As he thought, a smile appeared on Xue Chen's face.

"Sir, are you here to buy or sell something?"

Just as Xue Chen was lost in thought, Huang Pinqing's voice sounded again.

A middle-aged man, dressed in a suit and shirt and wearing wire-rimmed glasses, walked into the shop.

"This is a snuff bottle passed down from my ancestors, at least two hundred years old. Can you take a look and tell me how much you can offer?"

As he spoke, the man took a wooden box from his briefcase and placed it on the counter.

Seeing a customer, Huang Pinqing immediately perked up. He carefully opened the box, picked up the snuff bottle with his right hand, and examined it closely with a magnifying glass hanging from his neck.

After about two minutes, he looked up at the man and said, "Your snuff bottle is indeed an antique, but it's from the late Qing Dynasty, used by wealthy families, not the imperial court. The patterns on it are also quite ordinary.

Fortunately, you have preserved it well, with no damage to the inside or outside of the bottle. Based on current market prices, I can offer you fifty thousand yuan. What do you think?"

"Master, my snuff bottle is indeed not an imperial one, but it's not as ordinary as you say.

Even modern snuff bottles, if well-made, can sell for tens of thousands of yuan. My snuff bottle, being from the Qing Dynasty, should be worth more than fifty thousand yuan," the man said, a look of dissatisfaction on his face.

"Ha, you said it yourself. The snuff bottles that can sell for tens of thousands of yuan are well-made, but yours is quite ordinary.

Let me offer you one more ten thousand. If you agree, we can make a deal," Huang Pinqing said, turning his small eyes and putting on a pained expression.

"This..."

The man looked hesitant, but a quick, cunning look flashed in his eyes.

Just as he was about to speak, a voice suddenly sounded, "Old Master Huang, shouldn't you take another look at this snuff bottle?"

The voice belonged to Xue Chen, who had walked to the counter.

"Another look? What do you mean? Are you questioning my ability?" Huang Pinqing's eyes narrowed, and he looked displeased.

"I just think this snuff bottle isn't worth sixty thousand yuan," Xue Chen said firmly.

Author's note: This is my first time writing, please support me.