Chapter 6

Uncle Wu smiled and said, "You, don't be too modest. In our line of work, you either know it or you don't. However, what you said about not learning enough is true. Not just you, even I feel the same. China has a history of five thousand years, and there's so much to learn. Even if you learn until you're old, you'll never finish."

"Today, you did so well, so I have a reward for you. Next Tuesday, I'll take you to the old house in Yuncheng City, Shanxi Province. Remember, when we get there, you should observe more and talk less."

Upon hearing this good news, Chu Chen was delighted and exclaimed with joy.

In recent years, although Chu Chen had dug through old houses with Uncle Wu or others, they were all minor affairs. Now that Uncle Wu said this, it must be a century-old house, and it would certainly contain many fine pieces. Although the transaction volume would definitely be large, he wouldn't be able to do much, but it would be a rare and valuable experience in his collecting career.

Seeing how happy Chu Chen was, Uncle Wu smiled and said, "Look at you, so happy. In the past, I didn't take you to dig through large old houses because your knowledge wasn't enough. If you get envious, you might easily make mistakes. Now that you're no longer just a theorist, I'll definitely take you along in the future."

Chu Chen thought it made sense. As a newcomer in the antiques business, and with only half-baked skills, if he often saw large transactions, he might get envious. In such a state, he might easily jump into a high-quality imitation, which was not uncommon. From this, it could be seen that Uncle Wu had good intentions for Chu Chen.

Uncle Wu then asked, "By the way, Xiao Chen, do you have enough money? Do you need me to lend you some?"

Chu Chen, of course, didn't tell the truth and replied, "I still have some money, enough to get by. Don't worry about me, Uncle Wu. If I run out, I'll come to you for help."

Uncle Wu did a quick mental calculation. He had a general idea of Chu Chen's finances and estimated that it should be enough. He nodded and said, "Alright, if you run out of money, let me know. Otherwise, I won't be nice to you."

"Old Wu, have you heard back about the thing I asked you to do last time?" Just as Uncle Wu finished speaking, a voice full of urgency came from outside the door.

Immediately, a man in his forties, wearing a light gray short-sleeved shirt, and a bit chubby, rushed into the shop, drenched in sweat, and shouted, "Old Wu, quick, give me some water, I'm dying of thirst."

Uncle Wu took a bottle of mineral water and handed it to him, saying, "Old Zhao, can't you be a bit quieter? Every time you come to my shop, you shout and yell. My porcelain bowls and vases might break from your loud voice."

Old Zhao, whose real name was Zhao Xueyi, had a small shop in Panjiayuan. He was also a well-known antiques broker in Panjiayuan, with a good reputation. Many high-ranking officials liked to find their favorite antiques through him.

Uncle Wu and Zhao Xueyi were old friends. For porcelain needs, he usually asked Uncle Wu first before looking elsewhere.

Zhao Xueyi gulped down the entire bottle of mineral water and sighed in relief.

"Comfortable. Ah, Old Zhao, I've learned to cultivate my character and wouldn't usually be so loud, but I was forced by a customer."

Uncle Wu laughed and said, "Ha, I believe you'll cultivate your character as much as I believe a sow can climb a tree. But I'm curious, who could force you like this now?"

Zhao Xueyi, speechless, said, "Believe it or not, the person who forced me is none other than that stubborn girl from the Li family."

Uncle Wu was surprised and said, "You mean Li Beibei? Didn't her father send her to the army? How did she come back? Besides, she knows me, so why would she come to you to buy something?"

Zhao Xueyi laughed and said, "She said she couldn't stand the army and begged her father to arrange for her to be transferred. Now she's a police officer in the city. It's her father's birthday soon, so she came to me to find a three-fruit pattern bowl. As for why she didn't come to you, it's because she's too embarrassed."

Uncle Wu thought for a moment and understood why, smiling and shaking his head.

Chu Chen, curious, asked, "Uncle Wu, who is Li Beibei? I've never seen her. Why would she be too embarrassed to come to your shop?"

Zhao Xueyi, surprised by Chu Chen's question, said, "Oh, it's you, Xiao Chen!"

Chu Chen, with a black line on his forehead, said, "Uncle Zhao, you only noticed me now?"

Zhao Xueyi laughed and said, "Sorry, sorry, I was in a hurry and only focused on talking to Uncle Wu. I didn't pay attention. If you want to know about Li Beibei, ask Xiao Ke. She'll definitely answer you well."

Chu Chen, intrigued by Zhao Xueyi's amused expression, wondered if there was some entanglement between Wu Ke and Li Beibei. He decided to ask her when he had the chance.

"Xiao Chen, I heard you got the Tang Sancai camel from Old Xiang. When are you going to show it to Uncle Zhao?"

"Here it is!" Uncle Wu pointed to the pile of pottery shards, somewhat angrily.

Although Chu Chen's mistake this time was due to a top-notch imitation, which was understandable, Uncle Wu was still angry that Chu Chen hadn't consulted him beforehand.

Chu Chen, thinking about it, felt he had indeed let Uncle Wu down, so he looked a bit embarrassed.

Zhao Xueyi immediately walked behind the counter and, upon seeing the pottery shards, exclaimed, "Ah, how did it end up like this!"

Chu Chen explained the whole story again.

After listening, Zhao Xueyi took out a magnifying glass and carefully examined the key shard, sighing, "The craftsmanship of this fire clay is truly amazing. If it weren't for these two characters, I would have made the same mistake. Xiao Chen, you shouldn't feel ashamed. Even paying tuition doesn't count, since it's a Republican-era imitation."

Chu Chen, puzzled, asked, "Uncle Zhao, have you never seen Old Xiang's Tang Sancai camel?"

Zhao Xueyi put down the Tang Sancai shard and said, "You know Old Xiang's temper. He usually doesn't like us brokers, saying we're all money-grubbers. How could I have the chance to see that camel? It's a pity it's broken, or I could have recovered some of the cost."

Chu Chen replied, "Uncle Zhao, even if the camel wasn't broken, I wouldn't have sold it. It's too genuine."

Uncle Wu and Zhao Xueyi were surprised, then nodded in approval.

Zhao Xueyi patted Chu Chen's shoulder and said, "Good, with your character, Uncle Zhao will definitely take care of you in the future."

"Ha, Old Zhao, there's something I need your help with now."

Uncle Wu pointed to the three-fruit pattern bowl and said, "Xiao Chen, tell Uncle Zhao your appraisal of this bowl again."

Zhao Xueyi, intrigued, said, "Alright, I want to hear how good Xiao Chen is."

Chu Chen smiled awkwardly but wasn't nervous. He cleared his throat and clearly repeated the conclusions he had made earlier.

After listening, Zhao Xueyi clapped and said, "Not bad. Based on this, Uncle Zhao agrees to take you to the old house the day after tomorrow. Old Wu, is this what you were talking about?"

"Old Zhao, you're quick. What do you think of this three-fruit pattern bowl?"

Zhao Xueyi picked up the imitation Xuande red underglaze bowl and said excitedly, "This bowl, although a Qing mid-to-late period imitation of the Kangxi era, is no less than the original Kangxi. It's in excellent condition, definitely suitable. Let's go to my shop and get rid of that young lady quickly. I'll lose years of my life if she keeps bothering me!"

"Ha, Old Zhao, you have your day too." Uncle Wu smiled, packed the bowl in a gift box, and instructed Chu Chen to watch the shop. Then he and Zhao Xueyi left.

With Zhao Xueyi's loud voice gone, the shop became quiet.

Chu Chen recalled the feeling when he used his ability earlier, confirming his previous conclusions. The time it took to absorb the aura represented the age of the antique, and the strength of the aura indeed represented its value. For example, the three-fruit pattern bowl, although its aura was shorter than the previous five-color figure bowl, was much stronger.

Chu Chen also noticed that his neural reaction speed had significantly increased. In the past, he wouldn't have been able to distinguish such subtle differences in half a second.

Since he had one more chance to use his ability today, and there were no particularly valuable ceramics in the shop, Chu Chen used it on a Qing mid-period blue-and-white plate from a folk kiln, confirming his previous judgment.

He was secretly delighted. With such an ability, how could he not find good deals?

Chu Chen then found himself with nothing to do. He noticed the computer was still on, showing the news page he had seen earlier, and became interested.

Chu Chen hadn't used a computer much before. Although Uncle Wu had encouraged him to learn, he hadn't been interested and hadn't paid much attention. Fortunately, there was a basic computer operation manual next to the computer, which he could use to learn and practice. So he picked up the book and started reading.

However, the more he read, the more surprised he became. He could now read at an incredible speed, and everything he read was clearly remembered in his mind.

Before long, he finished the hundred-page book. When he recalled it, he found that he had remembered everything, even the punctuation marks, and could recite it backward without any mistakes.

Closing the book, Chu Chen was shocked. Could this be the legendary photographic memory? It was too incredible! This must be a benefit of his ability.

Chu Chen was overjoyed. With this photographic memory, it would be a great advantage for him. Although his ability greatly helped with antique appraisal, he still needed to rely on his own skills most of the time, except for the three daily chances.

Now, with photographic memory, learning about antiques would be much easier. Not only in ceramics, but also in jade, paintings, and other areas, he could expand his knowledge. This would greatly increase his chances of finding good deals, which couldn't help but excite him.

"Our people, today we are happy, our people, today we are happy..."

Chu Chen hummed the song and, following the instructions in the book, started operating the old computer. (Please support by collecting and recommending!)

Mobile users, please read at .

Page Flip AD Start

Page Flip AD End