Chapter 61

An elderly man with white hair came out to greet them, and Li Er hurriedly ran over, "Grandpa Yue, I didn't fail you!"

Grandpa Yue turned to look at Lu Dongxing, his face showing surprise, and he hurriedly smiled, "Thank you, thank you! I didn't expect Mr. Lu to actually come in person!"

Lu Dongxing stepped forward, "Mr. Yue, you're too kind!"

He led the group into the living room, and Yang Bo noticed three teacups on the coffee table, with a faint smell of cigarettes in the air. He heard Lu Dongxing call out, "Aunt Wu, change the tea!"

Hearing a "Yes" in response, Yue Min finally turned to look at everyone and apologized, "I'm really sorry, there have been a lot of guests at my house these past few days. Even though I've tried to stagger their visits, the timing isn't always up to me. There are a few guests in the collection room upstairs, so I have to leave you for a moment!"

"Mr. Lu, I'm really sorry, Professor Cao, I'm really sorry!" Yue Min said apologetically.

Lu Dongxing didn't say much, "Mr. Yue, please go ahead with your business. We'll wait in the living room!"

Yue Min left, and Yang Bo relaxed a bit. He asked Li Er, "Is this a private collector?"

"This Mr. Yue, you probably don't know him, but he's a major collector in the province. He has many items, but unlike Mr. Lu, Mr. Yue doesn't have his own business, so he mostly sustains his collection through his collection. This villa was also earned through his collections," Cao Yuande explained.

"Grandpa Yue is almost eighty years old. None of his four children have taken over his business. With his age, his grandchildren have become restless, and some of the family's collections have even been sold by his grandson. So, he has given up," Cao Yuande continued.

Hearing this explanation, Yang Bo was amazed. He didn't expect that sustaining a collection through collecting could reach such a level!

Seemingly understanding Yang Bo's thoughts, Cao Yuande smiled, "Don't try to emulate him. Mr. Yue was able to do this because in the 1980s, it was easier to find good deals and genuine items. It's different now. I would say that most people who try to sustain their collections through collecting find it very difficult to succeed. It's better to focus on building a solid business foundation, and with that, everything becomes easier!"

Not long after, Grandpa Yue came downstairs with two people, saw them off, and then walked over, "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting!"

Lu Dongxing stood up and shook his head, "Mr. Yue, you're too kind. You've always been our role model in collecting! Seeing you so busy, why don't you rest for a bit, and we'll go upstairs later?"

Mr. Yue hesitated slightly but then shook his head, "No, let's go upstairs. There are still many people coming today."

The group followed Grandpa Yue upstairs. As they climbed the stairs, he stopped several times to rest. Yang Bo couldn't bear to watch and advised, "Grandpa Yue, why don't you arrange for one of your grandchildren to receive guests downstairs, and you stay in the collection room? Climbing the stairs is fine for a day or two, but it will be too much for you in the long run."

Grandpa Yue sighed, "Forget it, forget it!"

His voice was filled with sorrow and helplessness. Yang Bo wanted to say more but ultimately held back. After all, it was a family matter, and no matter how much outsiders said, it couldn't compare to a word from a family member. As the saying goes, "A wise son is suspected by his neighbor."

When they saw the room full of collections, Yang Bo was stunned. Each item was displayed behind glass cases, and the upstairs rooms were interconnected, making it feel like a small historical museum!

Yang Bo didn't follow closely behind Lu Dongxing. He guessed that given Lu Dongxing's wealth and personality, he would likely choose luxurious items. Seeing so many collections, Yang Bo couldn't help but feel excited and wanted to take a few pieces back!

Sure enough, before Yang Bo had taken a few steps, Lu Dongxing said, "Professor Cao, Brother Yang, come and take a look at this cloisonné!"

Yang Bo and Professor Cao walked over. What they saw was a cloisonné gourd vase, also known as copper胎掐丝珐琅 (copper胎enamel), which is made by welding soft flat copper wires into various patterns on a copper base and then filling the patterns with enamel glaze and firing it.

Through the glass case, it was difficult to authenticate, and Li Er, as the intermediary, understood that he should handle this potentially offensive task. "Grandpa Yue, can you open this case?"

Yue Min shook his head, "It's not that I don't trust you, but there have been too many people coming lately. If everyone makes such requests, it could damage the items inside. So, you can only open the case if you decide to buy the item."

Everyone understood that this was just an excuse, but no one could say more.

The blue enamel glaze, like glass, emitted a gentle light. Cao Yuande walked around the gourd vase twice and nodded to Lu Dongxing.

Seeing Cao Yuande nod, Lu Dongxing didn't even ask the price and said, "Let's open this cloisonné now!"

Yang Bo saw the light swirling and gradually converging on the neck of the gourd vase. The light halo was thick, indicating that it should be from the Yongzheng or Qianlong period. Yang Bo was suddenly startled because he noticed that the light halo seemed different from what he had seen before!

It was fragmented! The light halo was not a complete whole but was pieced together! This had never happened before!

"Wait!" Yang Bo shouted, stopping Lu Dongxing from taking the key to open the case.

Ignoring the puzzled looks from Lu Dongxing and others, Yang Bo turned to Yue Min, "Grandpa Yue, does that mean once the case is opened, the item inside must be bought?"

Yue Min looked at Yang Bo and nodded, "That's right!"

Yang Bo lowered his head slightly and asked, "Are the items in the glass cases priced clearly, or can they be negotiated?"

"Clearly priced!" Yue Min pointed to the small label under the glass case.

Yang Bo looked down and saw that the price tag read four million!

This price was much lower than the market price. He turned to Li Er, "Brother Li, weren't these things explained before?"

"Little Yang, these things were already explained, but you weren't there at the time, so you didn't know," Cao Yuande said, then asked, "Do you have any other questions?"

Yang Bo shook his head, "I just feel something is off."

"Feel something is off?" Cao Yuande was taken aback. He took Yang Bo's words seriously because Yang Bo had shown good skills recently, but this time his reason seemed a bit weak.

"Young man, you're still young and probably haven't seen many items. I bought this cloisonné twenty years ago for three thousand yuan. It was 1985, and you were probably just born!" Yue Min said with a smile.

Yang Bo frowned. He hated it when people used age and experience to pressure others, which was just being condescending!