Chapter 3

Chuchen sighed inwardly. There was no other way; he would have to sell the Qing mid-period imitation Wanli blue and white five-color figure bowl from his collection to raise the money.

Chuchen thought this, but he still smiled and said to Aunt Zhang, "Auntie, you're right. We'll handle the rent as you suggested."

After that, the two of them exchanged some trivial words and then parted ways.

Chuchen returned home and plopped down on the living room sofa, feeling a wave of weakness. The good mood brought by the successful bid for the Olympics had been completely ruined by the rent issue. Where could he find eighteen thousand yuan in a short time? Should he trouble Uncle Wu again?

Uncle Wu's real name was Wu Zeping. He was exactly sixty years old and ran a small antique shop in Panjiayuan, specializing in ancient porcelain. He could be considered the mentor of Chuchen's antique career. To understand their relationship, one had to start with Chuchen's background.

Chuchen's childhood was quite tragic. He was a bit introverted as a child and was unfortunately kidnapped by human traffickers at the age of five. He was then taken to the Shunde mountains in Hebei Province.

However, the trafficker's luck was quite poor. The family he had originally arranged to sell Chuchen to suddenly backed out, leading to a conflict. In the chaos, little Chuchen managed to escape.

How could a five-year-old child possibly escape from the mountains, especially in a place he was unfamiliar with? Fortunately, Chuchen had been physically fit since childhood due to his grandfather's influence. After wandering for four or five days, he was found by his adoptive father, who took pity on him and brought him home.

Chuchen's adoptive father was named Liu Guomin, a lecturer in the history department of a university in Beijing. Due to his family background, he was labeled as a capitalist during the Cultural Revolution and was sent to the mountains for labor reform.

A few years after the turmoil ended, although he was rehabilitated, he was just a lecturer with no connections. Moreover, the experiences during the turmoil had left him dispirited, so he never returned to Beijing and instead taught at a primary school in the mountains.

Although Chuchen looked like a little beggar at the time, one could still tell from his clothes that he came from a good family.

Seeing this, Liu Guomin guessed that the child had been kidnapped. He originally planned to ask for some clues and report to the police to try to find his parents.

However, unexpectedly, Chuchen fell seriously ill after coming to his home and developed amnesia after recovering. At that time, the police did not have a networked system, so the case was eventually dropped. Liu Guomin, who had never married, decided to adopt Chuchen.

Chuchen's current name came from a small lock charm he was wearing. The charm, about the size of two adult thumbs, was carved from top-quality white jade. On one side was a vivid lotus flower, and on the other side were the characters "Chuchen" and his birthday.

Perhaps because the charm was too small, and the trafficker did not understand its value, it was not taken, leaving a clue for Chuchen to find his family.

As the saying goes, "Fortune harbors misfortune, and misfortune harbors fortune." Although Chuchen lost his memory, he suddenly became very smart and clever. Due to his expertise, Liu Guomin was very knowledgeable about antiques, and over the next few years, Chuchen learned about 40-50% of his adoptive father's knowledge in this field.

Unfortunately, Liu Guomin's health was poor due to the persecution he had suffered. If it weren't for his family's traditional Tai Chi, he might have passed away much earlier. Even so, he died when Chuchen was fifteen.

Before he died, Liu Guomin left Chuchen over two thousand yuan and told him to go to Beijing. When he first met Chuchen, he recognized his Beijing accent, so he believed Chuchen's family must be in Beijing. He might be able to find his parents there.

Liu Guomin also gave Chuchen two letters, instructing him to deliver them to the addresses written on them and seek help from the recipients.

One letter was for Liu Guomin's sister. Due to a misunderstanding, they had lost contact, but the familial bond remained. She would likely accept Chuchen for his brother's sake.

The other letter was for Wu Zeping. The two families were old friends, and they had grown up together like brothers. Moreover, the Wu family was an antique dynasty, which would give Chuchen a chance to use his skills.

After Chuchen handled Liu Guomin's funeral and turned sixteen, he set out for Beijing.

However, when he arrived in Beijing and found the address of Liu Guomin's sister, the house was already occupied by someone else, and neither the current owner nor the neighbors knew where the previous occupants had gone.

Fortunately, Wu Zeping's address had not changed. When he heard Chuchen's story, he was both saddened and delighted. He was saddened by Liu Guomin's death, feeling the loss of a lifelong friend. He was delighted to have Chuchen come to him, saying that Liu Guomin's son was like his own.

In the years that followed, Wu Zeping proved to be genuinely fond of Chuchen. He cared for him and taught him the skills of antique appraisal, sharing everything he knew.

However, Chuchen was an independent person and, for other reasons, did not want to live with Wu Zeping or work in his shop. He decided to become a small antique dealer.

Wu Zeping did not get angry about this. Instead, he taught Chuchen how to source goods and introduced him to brokers who could help him find old residences. This deeply moved Chuchen. Whenever he lacked money, Wu Zeping would lend it to him. Over the years, their relationship became like that of an uncle and nephew.

Chuchen had not troubled Wu Zeping for a long time. Now, if he asked for money, he would feel ashamed. He gritted his teeth and decided to sell the five-color figure bowl.

He took a box containing porcelain from his bedroom and placed it on the coffee table in the living room, intending to appreciate it one last time before selling it.

Opening the box, a beautiful five-color porcelain bowl came into view.

The bowl had a diameter of 14.5 centimeters, with a wide mouth, a curved body, and a ring foot. The entire surface was covered with a bluish-white glaze, which was smooth and lustrous. The rim was decorated with a blue and white line, and the inner rim was adorned with colorful floral patterns. Inside the bowl, two blue and white lines framed a colorful dragon and phoenix design. The outer wall was decorated with blue and white and colorful figure patterns. The base bore the six-character inscription "Made in the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty."

From its patina and other characteristics, this appeared to be a Qing mid-period imitation of a Wanli blue and white five-color figure bowl. The bowl was in excellent condition, with vivid figures that enhanced its artistic value. Its current market price was between 20,000 and 30,000 yuan.

Chuchen had acquired this bowl for the first time with Wu Zeping's guidance, paying only 200 yuan. It was significant to him, though not highly valuable, and he had always kept it well-preserved.

Looking at the bowl, Chuchen sighed deeply. If it weren't for the desperate situation, he would never have considered selling it. He decided to take one last look while it was still in his possession.

With a hint of sadness, Chuchen picked up the bowl with his left hand.

At that moment, a strange sensation came from his hand. Chuchen was surprised to find that a faint breath of air was being drawn from the bowl into his left hand. The sensation was like eating an ice cream on a hot day, refreshing and delightful.

When Chuchen recovered from this state, he was startled by the sudden anomaly, almost dropping the bowl. He wondered if he had encountered a ghost or if it was just an illusion.

After some thought, Chuchen realized that the sensation, though brief, was very clear and could not have been an illusion. He examined his left hand but found nothing unusual. It was still just a hand, not a golden hand. He then examined the bowl but found no issues.

Chuchen thought to himself, "What a strange phenomenon!"

After much contemplation, Chuchen could not figure out what had happened. He speculated that the sensation might only occur with the first contact. If so, he should try it with something else to confirm.

Chuchen hurried to the living room, where several baskets of various antique items were stored. These were all crafts, his tools of the trade.

He took a deep breath and slowly picked up a porcelain vase with his left hand, but there was no reaction. He tried several other pieces of porcelain, but the result was the same.

"What's going on?"

Chuchen frowned, puzzled, and paced back and forth in the living room. Could it be that the phenomenon was just a fleeting moment? After about the time it takes to eat a meal, he suddenly stopped.

"Right! The items I picked up were all crafts, not genuine antiques. The ability might only work with real antiques."

Realizing this, Chuchen was stumped again. He had no real antique porcelain on hand, so he couldn't conduct the experiment. He would have to go to Uncle Wu's shop to try.

Thinking this, Chuchen was about to head to Uncle Wu's antique shop. He had taken a few steps when a thought struck him. He had no other antiques, but he did have some ancient coins, which, though not valuable, were still antiques.

Chuchen returned to the basket and, before the experiment, silently repeated to himself, "It must work, it must work!"

Then, without hesitation, he picked up a Kangxi Tongbao coin. Instantly, a faint breath of air, much weaker than before, was drawn from the coin into his left hand. The sensation was so subtle that he might have missed it if he hadn't been paying close attention.

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