Chapter 34

Wen Yaru asked his lover Aunt Liu to prepare a few small dishes, waiting for Wu Di to arrive. As soon as Wu Di stepped in, Aunt Liu smiled and led him to the living room, thanking him for giving Old Wen a glass seed pearl earring. Wu Di was very polite, and Wen Yaru laughed and scolded:

"Don't be so polite with this rascal. He charged me three million! Bring the thing, the food is on the table, go ahead and eat."

Wu Di smiled and took out a porcelain bottle, carefully handing it to Wen Yaru. Old Wen didn't take it, gesturing for him to put it on the table, and lectured:

"Do you know what 'porcelain doesn't pass hands' means? When appreciating porcelain, the previous person usually places the porcelain on the table, and the next person picks it up. If you take it directly from someone's hand and it falls and breaks, whose fault is it? Put it here and go eat."

Wu Di went to eat with a smile.

A moment later, Old Wen's voice came:

"Old lady, bring my tools, there's something strange about this thing."

Wu Di chuckled to himself. Of course it's strange; it's a genuine piece from the Song Dynasty, over eight hundred years old.

Wen Yaru examined it while muttering:

"Imitation of a Southern Song official kiln celadon six-petal flower-mouthed bottle, 13 centimeters high, the bottle is divided into six petals, with concave and convex lines on the body, a petal-shaped mouth, a long neck, a sloping shoulder, a hanging belly, and a flared foot. The surface is fully glazed, the glaze is thick and elegant, and the glaze surface is full of crab-claw-like crackle patterns. Purple mouth and iron foot! Wu Di, how much did you pay for this? It's so well imitated. I think it's either from the Song Dynasty or the Qing Dynasty."

"Five thousand yuan."

Wu Di's mouth was full of food; the home-cooked meal was really fragrant.

"Five thousand? You made a fortune, kid. It's so well imitated and in such good condition that someone would pay five million for it. Are you naturally suited for this line of work? Let me take another look, another look."

"The body color is like glutinous rice, with brown eyes, in a natural state, and black-brown spots can be seen on the exposed parts. The glaze has a jade-like feel, clear and green like jade. The glassy feel is not strong, the glaze surface is smooth and has a matte milky appearance. Bubbles are visible, like small beads tightly clustered together. The sound when struck is low. The shape is regular, beautiful, and has a sense of history... This, this is really genuine?"

Wu Di hadn't finished eating when Wen Yaru pulled him to ask where he got it. After hearing the story, his mouth opened wide enough to fit a large steamed bun, and he sighed after a while:

"Priceless treasure, priceless treasure. Wu Di, I really can't make a definitive judgment, but it's definitely an old piece. You must take good care of it."

"Uncle Wen, I just have a rental place. How about I leave it here? It's probably safer here."

"Don't have such ideas. I have good things in the store, but if this is genuine, it's too valuable. I can't bear the responsibility. By the way, don't you know Old Chang? Have him take a look tomorrow."

"Okay, Uncle Wen, you come along then."

Back home, Wu Di called Zhong Qi. The phone rang for a long time with no answer. He tried again and finally gave up. A few minutes later, Zhong Qi called back and said as soon as he answered:

"Let you taste the frustration of not answering your calls! What is it? Don't ask for anything that will get me out; I need to cultivate my mind and body!"

"Hehe, Fourth Brother, is Old Uncle Chang still in the mountains?"

"Yes, even Linlin was dragged back. Why are you asking? Missing Yang Yanzi?"

"Go away, or I'll let you face the wall alone."

"Hey, hey, don't be like that. What's up? I'll do anything to get out."

Wu Di told him about the official kiln porcelain, and Zhong Qi cursed:

"Damn, you must be the illegitimate son of some god. Your luck is unbeatable. Damn, you're already shameless enough to be called Wu Di. Tell me, should I change my name? What should I call myself? Is there a name more shameless than Wu Di?"

The next morning, after canceling the handover, Wu Di picked up Wen Yaru and Zhong Qi and headed straight for Yanqing.

Zhong Qi had worked in an auction house for a few years and had some discernment. On the way, he chatted animatedly with Wen Yaru, while Wu Di just focused on driving. They arrived at Old Chang's residence before ten o'clock.

Old Chang was tending to the flowers in the courtyard. Seeing the three visitors, he smiled:

"Hey, Zhong Qi, aren't you under house arrest? What, coming to your Uncle Chang for some fresh air?"

Zhong Qi wasn't afraid of Old Chang and ignored his joke, smiling:

"Wu Di found a good thing, and Uncle Wen can't tell for sure, so we brought it for you to look at."

"Oh, what is it?"

Wen Yaru bowed and said:

"Old Chang, I am Wen Yaru from Mingtangzhai in Panjiayuan. Wu Di found a piece of porcelain, and I can't tell for sure. He said he wanted you to take a look, so I came along."

Zhong Qi added:

"The brick inkstone with the Shitao landscape painting was bought from Uncle Wen."

Wen Yaru repeatedly expressed his humility and walked with Old Chang to the inner courtyard. Old Yang happened to come out of his studio and, seeing Wen Yaru, laughed:

"Little Wen, what brings you here?"

"Old Yang, you're here too. This is such an honor."

Old Yang explained to Old Chang:

"He is the second son of the famous Wen Daxian, now running a shop in Panjiayuan."

"Oh, the son of an old friend. Good, good, I'll remember that. Come by often."

Wu Di placed the porcelain bottle on the table and stepped back, letting Old Chang and Old Yang examine it. Because on the way, Wen Yaru was afraid Zhong Qi might accidentally break the bottle and didn't let him see it, Zhong Qi took a few steps forward and was shooed away by Old Chang like a fly, grumbling and sulking. Chang Linlin, who had just come out, smiled and comforted him, while Yang Yanzi playfully waved her fist at Wu Di, mimicking the shape of a diamond.

Old Chang's expression grew more serious as he examined the bottle. After half an hour, he sighed and straightened up, saying:

"Good piece! A Southern Song official kiln celadon six-petal flower-mouthed bottle, truly a good piece! There are probably fewer than fifty such well-preserved pieces from the Southern Song official kiln."

Old Yang quickly asked:

"Really? Old friend, are you sure?"

"Humph, my eyes may be old, but my discernment is still sharp. Look, the purple mouth and iron foot, the crab-claw crackle patterns, these are not the focus. Just look at the glaze, which is a clear characteristic of the late Southern Song period. Early Southern Song official kiln pieces were mostly thin-bodied and thinly glazed, while later pieces were thin-bodied but thickly glazed. The glaze on thick-bodied pieces can be applied in several or even dozens of layers, with the glaze thickness exceeding the body. The glaze color is mainly powder green, but there are also grayish-green, yellowish-green, and saffron yellow. The glaze surface has crackle patterns, mainly crab-claw patterns, but also ice-crack patterns, mostly sparse and light yellow. Look at this bottle, every detail is perfect, it's definitely genuine!"

Several people circled the bottle for a long time. Zhong Qi, bored, yawned repeatedly. Old Chang noticed and ordered an early meal. The old men usually ate lightly, but because of their arrival, two meat dishes were added, which tasted very good. After the meal, Old Chang, regardless of Zhong Qi's willingness, made them accompany Chang Linlin and Yang Yanzi to climb the mountain. Looking at the scorching midday sun, they all frowned and applied sunscreen vigorously, setting off for the mountain top with a sense of tragic determination.

As soon as they left, Old Chang waved his hand, and Old Yang took out the already framed landscape painting and the repaired Jin Yuan Kang brick inkstone, placing them next to the flower-mouthed bottle for appreciation, completely ignoring his granddaughter. According to him, young people nowadays lack exercise and the spirit of hard work and should engage in more physical activities.

There are policies at the top, and countermeasures at the bottom. Before climbing the mountain, Zhong Qi secretly went to Wu Di's car and took out a backpack, which turned out to be a camping tent. Wu Di was stunned; he didn't know he had this in his car.

Carrying the tent and snacks, the four set off for the mountain. Just outside the small gate was a sharp bend, and Wu Di finally understood why Chang Linlin and the other person had suddenly appeared in front of him last time. Not far from there, at a pavilion halfway up the mountain, Chang Linlin whispered:

"Beyond this pavilion, there are no cameras. We can find a place to hide."

They walked a bit further, found a gentle slope, and set up the tent in a shady spot. They rolled up the small curtains on all sides and huddled inside to play cards!