Chapter 53

Update time: March 30, 2013

After sitting down, Meng Fei said smugly, "Brother, don't look down on my shop. There are plenty of treasures inside. Otherwise, why would it be called the Treasure Pavilion?"

Zhang Yang smiled, took a sip of tea, and asked, "Brother Meng, if you have good stuff, show it to me. To be honest, I've never seen real antiques before."

"Little brother, you can't do that. Nowadays, it's the era of everyone being a collector. If you haven't played with antiques, visited Panjiayuan, or found treasures, you can't even greet people properly. Let me tell you, in Beijing, with its 20 million people, at least 5 million have bought things from Panjiayuan. Do you know what that means? Market, this is the hottest market right now. If you don't invest in this, what will you invest in? Wait, I'll get you some treasures to see."

Zhang Yang listened with a smile. When Meng Fei left, Zhang Yang got up and walked to the exhibition hall outside to take a look.

Xiao Li was a young man in his early twenties, a helper in the shop. Seeing Zhang Yang come out, he hurried over and asked, "Boss, what would you like to see? Let me introduce it to you."

"No need, you go back to work. I'll just take a look around," Zhang Yang said.

Not knowing what his eyes could see, Zhang Yang curiously used his ability.

To Zhang Yang's surprise, his eyes didn't change much; he could still see through things. However, whether it was the calligraphy on the wall or the antique vases in the display cabinets, they still sat there quietly, showing no signs of anything unusual.

Zhang Yang closed his eyes in disappointment and opened them again, returning to his usual state.

Could he have guessed wrong? Could his eyes only have the ability to see through things, not to discern the authenticity of antiques? If so, there was no need for him to stay here any longer.

"Little brother, come in and take a look at this treasure," Meng Fei called from inside.

Zhang Yang walked in without showing any emotion and saw a yellow seal on the table.

"Brother Meng, what is this?" Zhang Yang asked curiously.

Although he couldn't determine the authenticity of antiques with his eyes, which disappointed him greatly, when he saw the antique Meng Fei brought out, Zhang Yang was still a bit excited.

He believed that whatever Meng Fei's intentions were, what he brought out now was genuine.

That meant he had a chance to see real treasures.

These weren't the ones he saw on TV, but the real thing. It was no wonder Zhang Yang was excited.

"Little brother, take a good look. This is the pride of my shop. Countless collectors want to buy it, but I haven't sold it," Meng Fei said proudly.

Zhang Yang asked, "Can I hold it in my hands?"

"Of course, I brought it out for you to appreciate," Meng Fei said.

Zhang Yang picked up the seal from the table. It was a yellow seal, about six to seven centimeters high, and about three centimeters wide and long. The surface of the stone had a thin layer of stone skin. Holding it in his hand, it felt smooth and fine. The seal was carved with patterns on all four sides. Zhang Yang examined it carefully and saw a plum blossom on the top, with branches, twigs, flowers, stones, bamboo, and two birds.

"Brother Meng, what are these birds?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Little brother, your eyes are sharp. These two birds are magpies, and they are the value of this seal," Meng Fei said.

"Flowers, birds, bamboo, and stones, all are there! Brother Meng, what kind of treasure is this?" Zhang Yang asked.

Meng Fei smiled and said, "This is a seal made of Tianhuang stone, called the Plum and Magpie Contending for Beauty Tianhuang Stone Seal."

"What is Tianhuang stone?" Zhang Yang asked.

Meng Fei laughed and said, "Little brother, it seems you really don't know. Tianhuang stone is the most precious variety of Shoushan stone from Fuzhou. It is warm and smooth, making it an ideal material for seals. You might not know, but let me tell you about its origin. In Shoushan, Fuzhou, there is a water field about one kilometer long and two hundred meters wide, which is the only place where Tianhuang stone is found. In ancient times, it was said that one liang of Tianhuang stone was worth three liang of gold, but now it's worth three jin of gold."

Hearing this, Zhang Yang's face changed, and he asked in surprise, "Does that mean this seal is worth more than ten jin of gold?"

Because he still had some gold bars to deal with, Zhang Yang used gold as a comparison. Ten gold bars meant this small seal was worth over a million.

"Haha, of course. Little brother, you don't understand antiques, but such good things are hard to come by even if you spend money. Do you know how much the most expensive Tianhuang stone seal sold for at an auction?" Meng Fei deliberately teased Zhang Yang.

"How much?" Zhang Yang asked.

"Over forty million! Now you understand, right?" Meng Fei said.

Zhang Yang was shocked. He had a few million, but it was all external wealth, not earned through hard work. Even with his透视eye, he had spent a lot of effort and energy to earn this money. This small thing sold for over forty million.

Seeing Zhang Yang's surprised look, Meng Fei modestly said, "Of course, my seal isn't worth that much. But I won't sell it for less than ten million."

Zhang Yang couldn't hold back any longer and used his ability to look at the seal. He wanted to see what made it so valuable.

Closing his eyes and opening them again, Zhang Yang felt a white light emanating from the seal, with faint yellow traces on it. When he focused his eyes on the Tianhuang stone seal, the dizziness he hadn't felt in a long time returned.

Zhang Yang quickly realized this was the dizziness he experienced when his eyes were unbalanced.

The seal seemed to have a kind of spiritual energy that entered Zhang Yang's eyes. The energy was very small, but as it entered, Zhang Yang's dizziness worsened. Soon, the energy disappeared, and Zhang Yang felt as if he had a serious illness, breaking out in a cold sweat.

Meng Fei also noticed that Zhang Yang's face was pale and quickly asked, "Little brother Zhang, are you okay?"

Zhang Yang closed his eyes to rest for a moment, then opened them and forced a smile, "I'm fine, just shocked by Brother Meng's words. This small thing is worth over ten million, it seems my money isn't enough for anything."

Meng Fei didn't think much of it, assuming Zhang Yang was just overwhelmed by the shock.

"Unfortunately, this thing is from the Republic of China era. No matter how much it's auctioned, it will only be worth this much. If it were a few hundred years older, its value would double," Meng Fei said regretfully.

Zhang Yang's heart stirred, and he asked, "Brother Meng, you mean this thing is from the Republic of China era, only about a hundred years old?"

Zhang Yang had a vague sense of something, as if there was a layer of paper that he couldn't break through.

"Less than a hundred years. Little brother, think about it. Antiques from within a hundred years are already worth this much. With China's five thousand years of history, there must be many valuable things. That's why I say this industry is worth investing in. And from the current market, this is just the beginning. As more people become wealthy, collecting will become even more popular, and of course, the profits will increase. Guess how much I paid for this seal?" Meng Fei asked.

Zhang Yang thought for a moment and said, "At least a few million?"

Hearing that Meng Fei wouldn't sell it for less than ten million, Zhang Yang estimated that he must have bought it for a good price.

"Haha, little brother, you guessed wrong. Five hundred thousand, I bought it for five hundred thousand," Meng Fei said.

Zhang Yang's breathing quickened. Bought for five hundred thousand, now not selling for less than ten million, that meant a profit of twenty times. At this moment, Zhang Yang was truly tempted. Even without considering revenge, this profit margin was enough to make him interested.

Seeing that he had successfully piqued Zhang Yang's interest, Meng Fei felt a sense of satisfaction. In fact, this Tianhuang stone seal, though valuable, wasn't as exaggerated as he said. The seal was worth money, but to be worth tens of millions, it had to be a national treasure. His seal wasn't quite at that level, but it could still fetch a few million. He naturally had to exaggerate to get Zhang Yang interested.

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