Chapter 6

"Teacher Ye?"

Teacher Ye's words left everyone stunned. Lin Liang, Old Huang, and the others turned their heads, staring at him with wide eyes.

Teacher Ye was in his fifties, from a family of antique collectors. He had been exposed to antiques since childhood and had worked for ten years in Liuli Factory when he was young. One could say he had very rich experience in appraising antiques.

Old Huang could ignore what Liu Yiyang said, even thinking the young man was deliberately causing trouble, but he couldn't ignore what Teacher Ye said.

"Teacher Ye, what's going on?"

This time, it was Lin Liang who spoke. Old Huang hadn't even opened his mouth when Lin Liang rushed over.

He knew Teacher Ye better than Old Huang and understood that Teacher Ye never lied about antiques. Otherwise, with his level of expertise, he wouldn't just be working in an antique shop. If he were willing to lie and make false appraisals, many auction companies across the country would invite him, and his salary would be much higher.

"Manager Lin, please wait a moment!"

Teacher Ye shook his head and directly looked at Liu Yiyang, saying, "Little Liu, I want to know, how did you spot the problem with this dragon vase?"

The antique shop had dozens of employees across sales, procurement, finance, storage, and cleaning departments. Teacher Ye didn't work a full schedule, so he had only met Liu Yiyang a few times and didn't have a deep impression of him.

He could call Liu Yiyang by name because Lin Liang had introduced him earlier and called him multiple times.

"Teacher Ye, I just happened to read a book. When I saw this vase today, I decided to verify what I learned. Otherwise, I wouldn't have noticed the problem!"

Liu Yiyang stood up straight and spoke softly. His heart had relaxed a bit.

He hadn't expected Teacher Ye to stand up for him, but it was good that Teacher Ye could confirm that the book was correct and that his guess was right.

"Old Ye, don't ask about that. Tell us what's really going on!"

Teacher Zhang called out urgently. He wasn't a member of the national collectors' association, but he had previously worked at the Binhai Museum and was quite well-known locally.

Because of this, Xuan Ya Zhai had hired him at a high salary to appraise valuable items, especially porcelain.

Until now, he hadn't noticed any problems, so he was anxious and wanted Teacher Ye to explain clearly. They had worked together for several years and had a good relationship, so he didn't hold back.

"Old Zhang, we almost made a mistake this time!"

Sighing lightly, Teacher Ye continued, "We were all deceived by the surface blue-and-white, patterns, and glaze of this vase. The 'one dragon, five appearances' is indeed a characteristic of Shunzhi blue-and-white, and the forger did an extremely good job, almost fooling us!"

Teacher Ye kept saying "us," and Teacher Zhang's face turned red.

Teacher Zhang understood that if there was a problem, he would be the one who made the mistake, not Teacher Ye. Teacher Ye had already spotted the issue and was just being considerate of his feelings.

"The patterns and pigments are fine, right?"

Teacher Zhang took another careful look at the dragon vase, speaking softly. He was still confused.

Sometimes antiques are like that. No matter how much you know or how skilled you are, if you don't spot the flaw, you might be deceived and take the fake for real.

Even the most skilled experts can make mistakes. The forgery techniques nowadays are incredibly advanced.

In this era, among all the experts in the country, there probably isn't a single one who can say they've never made a mistake. This shows how sophisticated forgeries can be.

Teacher Ye shook his head and said softly, "Don't look at the patterns. Look closely at the top of the clouds!"

"The top?"

With doubt, Teacher Zhang examined the top of the clouds for a few seconds, and his face suddenly turned pale.

From his expression, everyone could tell he had spotted the problem.

Hearing Teacher Ye's words, Lin Liang, Old Huang, and the others also gathered around to look at the clouds on the vase.

Soon, Old Huang's eyes twitched, and Lin Liang furrowed his brow tightly.

Appraising antiques is like magic. You might not understand it no matter how many times you look, but once someone points it out, you realize how simple it is.

At this moment, both Old Huang and Lin Liang had spotted the problem.

Old Huang had traveled extensively for twenty years, and his eye for detail was naturally sharp. If he still didn't understand after Teacher Ye pointed it out, he would have wasted all those years.

Lin Liang had worked at Xuan Ya Zhai for ten years. While his skills weren't the highest, he could generally identify most items and had a lot of knowledge. He had been confused earlier, but after Teacher Ye's hint, he now understood.

"Old Huang, it seems we really can't take this vase!"

After a while, Lin Liang slowly said, "This dragon vase definitely has a problem. It's almost certainly a modern forgery. Knowing it's fake, we can't possibly buy it."

"Manager Lin, can you keep this a secret for me?"

Old Huang had completely lost his earlier confidence, and cold sweat was forming on his forehead.

He had spent 1.4 million on this batch of goods, with this dragon vase alone costing 1 million. It was something the seller was eager to liquidate. He had seen it as a good deal and, given the quantity, had decided to buy it outright.

This dragon vase hadn't disappointed him. Lin Liang had been most interested in this piece. Shunzhi imperial kiln pieces were rare, and this treasure, if kept in the shop, would be a valuable asset and could be sold for a high price.

His earlier excitement was partly due to acquiring such a valuable piece.

Now, the valuable piece had turned into a forgery, and he felt terrible.

After some thought, Lin Liang slowly said, "Old Huang, if no one asks, I won't say anything. But if they do, I'm sorry, you know how Xuan Ya Zhai's reputation was built!"

"Yes, yes, I understand. What about the rest?"

"The rest?"

Lin Liang looked up and glanced at Liu Yiyang. Not only he, but also Teachers Zhang and Ye, looked at Liu Yiyang.

"Uncle Lin, don't look at me. But I think the rest are all good!"

Liu Yiyang quickly waved his hands, feeling uncomfortable under so many eyes.

Of course, he was still very happy. He had helped the shop avoid a loss, which was a way to repay Uncle Lin, who had been very kind to him.

Hearing Liu Yiyang's words, Lin Liang immediately turned around and said softly, "Old Huang, I can take the rest, but the price can only be 450,000!"

"450,000, okay!"

Old Huang's face changed several times, but he finally nodded in agreement.

450,000 wasn't a high price, but he wouldn't lose money. He had bought these items for 400,000, so he would just make a little less profit.

He had no choice but to agree. If Lin Liang exposed that the Shunzhi vase was a forgery, he would be in big trouble. The vase would be stuck in his hands, and losing 1 million would be painful, though not ruinous.

This transaction went smoothly. The cashier processed the payment, and Lin Feng made the records, but Old Huang looked dejected.

Lin Liang was also secretly relieved. This forgery was highly realistic, and it was hard to spot. Just because they couldn't identify it didn't mean others couldn't.

Many experts in the country could spot it. If he had bought it and sold it, and it was later identified as a forgery, it would damage Xuan Ya Zhai's reputation.

He could imagine the consequences. If someone spent 1 to 2 million on a fake, they would definitely come to the shop.

While no antique shop guarantees authenticity, selling fakes can severely damage a shop's reputation.

Especially for old customers who trusted the shop, if they found out it sold fakes, they would never come back, causing significant losses.

Many reputable antique shops have declined due to such mistakes, either closing down or becoming small shops that deceive people.

"Little Liu, come to my office!"

After handling the matter, Lin Liang immediately beckoned Liu Yiyang and took him to his office.

Teachers Zhang and Ye also went with them. Lin Feng wanted to follow, but he had work to do, and Lin Liang didn't call him, so he had to stay outside and keep busy.

Earlier, Lin Liang and the others had spotted the problem, but Lin Feng couldn't see anything wrong. If not for the crowd, he would have pulled Liu Yiyang aside to ask.

"Little Liu, this time, we owe you a lot. The loss would have been small, but the damage to our reputation would have been huge!"

Lin Liang personally made tea and poured a cup for Liu Yiyang and Teachers Zhang and Ye.

The two teachers had no objections to Lin Liang's words. Liu Yiyang had indeed spotted the problem first. If he hadn't pointed it out, they might have bought the vase.

Even if they had bought it and later found the problem, it wouldn't have mattered that Old Huang was a regular customer. The loss would have been theirs, as Old Huang was just a dealer and didn't value reputation like they did.

In a sense, Liu Yiyang had saved the shop from a loss of over a million.

"Uncle Lin, you're too kind. I just happened to read about this and compared it when I saw the vase today, which helped me spot the problem!"

Liu Yiyang spoke softly. The issue had been pointed out before, and even Teachers Zhang and Ye had heard about it.

The flaw was just too subtle, and the other ten pieces of porcelain were genuine, which had somewhat misled them, leading to their incorrect judgment. It was Liu Yiyang's reminder that helped them find the problem.

...

Why it was a forgery will be revealed in the next chapter!

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