Chapter 78

Chapter 76: The Antiques of the Black Tiger Gang

"Brother Liu, the antiques I collected before have been sorted out. Do you want to take a look?" Wang Haitao, who was standing to one side, said at this moment.

Hearing this, Liu Dong's eyes lit up. At this time, apart from carving, he was most interested in antiques. Moreover, after absorbing so much knowledge about antiques from Old Li's notes, he indeed needed practical items to train his appraisal skills. Therefore, when he heard Wang Haitao's words, he nodded readily.

"Do we not go down the stairs?" After following Wang Haitao for a few steps, Liu Dong asked in surprise.

"Hehe, after your big win, I bet many people on the first floor want to meet you, the gambling god who made 30 million. If you want to go down and be admired like a monkey, then we can take the stairs."

Hearing this, Liu Dong, seeing the half-smiling expression on Wang Haitao's face, awkwardly touched his nose and said, "Then let's skip that!" At this moment, he also knew that with the departure of the people on the second floor, his performance at the gambling table had definitely spread.

Moreover, those who could come to the casino were naturally true gamblers with a real interest in gambling. Even those who came to play a few rounds would be very interested in high-stakes gambling. Considering the crowd in the first-floor hall far exceeded that on the second floor, if not for someone stopping them, these people would have already rushed up to admire him, the new millionaire who made 30 million at the gambling table.

Seeing the unnatural expression on Liu Dong's face, Wang Haitao couldn't help but smile. This was the first time he saw such an awkward expression on the face of this young man, who was calm beyond his twenty years.

In the Black Tiger Gang's casino, besides the stairs on the second floor, there was also an elevator. However, this elevator was generally only used by the Black Tiger Gang's internal casino staff to transport cash and chips. At this moment, Wang Haitao led Liu Dong out of the casino through this elevator.

After turning a few corners in the sealed corridor, they arrived in front of a security door with a password lock. When Wang Haitao personally entered the password and pressed his fingerprint, there was a light 'click,' and the tightly closed alloy security door cracked open with a gap of just a few millimeters.

Seeing this, the Black Tiger Gang members standing on both sides of the security door immediately stepped forward and pushed the alloy door open with force.

"Brother Liu, let's go in!"

"Sure!" Hearing this, Liu Dong, who was already curious about this place, followed Wang Haitao inside.

After entering, Liu Dong realized that this place was not as spacious and grand as he had imagined, filled with antique art. The space behind the security door was only about twenty square meters, rectangular in shape. Apart from a one-meter-wide aisle in the middle, there were four steel display racks on both sides, each about five meters long and divided into four layers.

Currently, these racks were filled with items, but what surprised Liu Dong was that most of the items on these steel racks were not the antique art he was eager to see, but luxury items like gold watches and jewelry.

Seeing the expression on Liu Dong's face, Wang Haitao couldn't help but smile and said, "Brother Liu, you're into antiques, and you know that this field really tests one's eye for detail. My brothers are good at fighting, but they are far from matching even a fraction of your skills in antique appraisal. Therefore, the items we accept as collateral are mostly gold, silver, and jewels, which are easier to value. I'm afraid this might disappoint you!"

In fact, Wang Haitao was only telling half the truth. The reason there were so few antique art pieces here was that a large part of them had been given away. After all, in today's political arena, the era of giving large sums of cash is long gone. Antiques, which are elegant, can continue to appreciate in value, and carry relatively low risk, have become the best gifts in the political arena. Wang Haitao naturally catered to this. Therefore, the genuine art pieces from the casino were mostly given away. Of course, he couldn't directly tell Liu Dong this.

"Brother Wang, you flatter me! I'm just a beginner in antique appraisal!" Liu Dong wasn't being modest; this was his true situation.

However, Wang Haitao wasn't really concerned about this. He was more focused on how to build a good relationship with Liu Dong. Especially after Liu Dong won 30 million from Han Lei, it was impossible to pull him into the Black Tiger Gang. Therefore, he needed to do everything possible to make both sides true friends. Otherwise, with Liu Dong's gambling skills, if he came to his casino every day, he would be in for a loss!

Of course, Liu Dong didn't know what Wang Haitao was thinking. Even if he did, he wouldn't care, as he had already decided that unless necessary, he didn't want to involve himself in the casino anymore. Although making money here was fast and easy, it was too easy to get addicted. He didn't want to become a pure gambler; what would be the point of such a life? Moreover, it was too easy to offend people here.

Under Wang Haitao's lead, the two turned a corner and came to a display rack on the right side of the wall. This was where the antique art pieces that Liu Dong was interested in were placed.

Although there were ceramics, paintings, and bamboo, wood, and ivory carvings, there were not many, only about twenty pieces. However, these items shared a common feature: they were old and worn. Liu Dong didn't mind this, as items that had survived for hundreds or even thousands of years were naturally not in the best condition.

"Brother Wang, can I take a closer look?" Liu Dong had long memorized the rules of the antique trade. Even though he knew Wang Haitao wouldn't refuse, he still asked. Of course, he didn't have white gloves, as he was still a beginner. However, Wang Haitao wouldn't mind this.

"Hehe, no problem, brother, feel free to look!" Wang Haitao said indifferently. The so-called antiques displayed here were mostly damaged or not very valuable. Even if Liu Dong accidentally broke one, it wouldn't matter.

With permission, Liu Dong, with a mix of joy and caution, picked up a dark red ceramic piece from the second layer of the steel rack. Among all the categories of antiques, he liked ceramics the most, not only because of their beautiful appearance and long history but also because many templates in carving were based on ceramic shapes.

The name of the ceramic piece in Liu Dong's hand was 'Rose Red Track Famille Rose Vase.' Of course, he knew this thanks to Old Li's notes, which included a description of rose red ceramics.

This vase, about fifteen centimeters tall, had a flared mouth, a slender neck, and a beautiful body. On the outwardly bulging body, there were 'Magpies on a Branch' patterns, with red flowers, green leaves, and twisted branches, all vividly depicted. The dark red body was adorned with flowing lotus patterns, and the white glaze on the mouth and base, though aged, remained smooth and fine, without any roughness. In ancient times, except for the imperial kilns, the civilian kilns could hardly produce such exquisite items. Moreover, the 'Da Qing Daoguang Nian Zhi' (Made in the Daoguang era of the Qing Dynasty) inscription on the base seemed to confirm Liu Dong's judgment.

"Brother Liu, how is this ceramic piece?" Wang Haitao asked.

"Good stuff, it looks like a fine piece from the Daoguang era imperial kiln!" Liu Dong said, admiring the vase in his hand.

"Hehe, Brother Liu indeed has a good eye. However, although it is a fine piece from the imperial kiln, it's not very valuable! If it were from the Kangxi or Qianlong era, it would be much more valuable!"

Hearing Wang Haitao's words, Liu Dong didn't say anything. In the current domestic antique market, especially for Qing dynasty imperial kiln ceramics, the ceramics from the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong eras were in a different league in terms of value compared to those from other Qing dynasty eras.

For example, if this rose red track famille rose vase were from the Qianlong era, it could fetch four to five million, but as a Daoguang imperial kiln piece, it would only be worth a few hundred thousand at most. This was the difference.

There was no way around it; the Qing dynasty's economy and overall national strength declined during the Jiaqing and Daoguang eras. At this time, the production of ceramics could not be as lavish as during the Kangxi and Qianlong eras, leading to a decline in the quality of ceramics and a decrease in the number of genuine masterpieces. Naturally, the prices also dropped.