Chapter 2

Chen Yi scratched his head, a look of anxiety on his face. He knew that Uncle Liu prepared 200,000 yuan in cash every day to buy antiques. What should he do? What did that fleeting thought in his mind just now mean? "Find the flaw." Wasn't that thing supposed to be an appraisal system, and it even came with ten appraisal talismans? Now it was asking him to find the flaw. What was the point of having an appraisal system then?

Thinking back to the electronic voice that had appeared in his mind earlier, Chen Yi ran to the table and looked at the beautiful scroll in front of him, shouting in his mind, "Appraise, appraise."

"Would you like to use the appraisal talisman on the scroll in front of you? Since this is a basic appraisal talisman, it can only appraise objects within the last 500 years. If the object is older than the talisman's time range, the appraisal will fail."

"Yes, yes, appraise, appraise." The moment Chen Yi heard the electronic voice in his mind, he shouted loudly, completely ignoring the rest of the message.

At that moment, a talisman with mysterious characters appeared in Chen Yi's mind, and it was directly imprinted on the scroll in front of him. "Appraisal in progress... Appraisal successful. Item information as follows..."

"Qi Baishi's Aquatic Insects and Fish Scroll (imitation); Manufacturing date: one year and three days ago; Original artist: Qi Baishi; Forger: unknown; Artistic features: Qi Baishi's depictions of insects, fish, birds, and animals are simple and vivid, with a simple and honest atmosphere. His fish, shrimp, insects, and crabs are humorous and innocent, full of rustic charm. This painting..."

"Strengths of the imitation: The shapes, composition, size, dynamics, ink tones, and signatures of the insects and fish in the painting are almost identical to the original."

"Flaws of the imitation: The ink is murky, and the transitions are unclear. The most significant flaw is the broken shrimp antennae, which are formed by dots rather than continuous lines, lacking the fluidity of a skilled artist. The insects and fish in the painting have form but lack spirit, appearing lifeless and devoid of vitality, making them mere shells..."

"Score of the imitation: 35 points. The insects and fish in the painting have form but lack spirit. The forger's painting skills are only about 30-40% of the original artist Qi Baishi's."

Seeing the text and images that appeared in his mind, Chen Yi was completely stunned. In his mind, three-dimensional images of the painting appeared, along with some text descriptions on the right side, even pointing out the flaws mentioned in the text.

What he didn't expect was that this painting was actually a work by the famous painter Qi Baishi. As a college student, he was not unfamiliar with Qi Baishi, but he was only slightly familiar with him. He had never actually seen Qi Baishi's works or the seals on them.

This... This appraisal system can really authenticate antiques. What's going on? Chen Yi looked at the things that appeared in his mind, feeling somewhat disbelieving. If so, these two old men must really be fraudsters.

"Ha ha, I'm here. I kept you two waiting. This bag contains 180,000 yuan in cash, 10,000 yuan per stack, 18 stacks in total. You can count it." At that moment, Uncle Liu walked out, holding a black bag. He took out a stack of money and shook it, seemingly to reassure the two old men.

As Uncle Liu walked past him, about to hand the bag to the two old men, Chen Yi snapped out of his thoughts about the appraisal system and anxiously looked at the painting again.

If Uncle Liu handed the bag to these two fraudsters, even if he told Uncle Liu about the flaws, they could run away with the money. The antique market was full of shops and alleys, and once they ran, the money would be gone for sure.

Chen Yi didn't dare to think more and blurted out, "Uncle Liu, the fish and shrimp in this painting look like they're dead."

"Nonsense. I've told you many times, the insects and fish painted by Old Master Qi Baishi look as if they're alive. Otherwise, do you think this painting would be worth 180,000 yuan? If they weren't alive, I wouldn't want it even for 100 yuan." Uncle Liu scolded without hesitation, seemingly to show off his knowledge.

Seeing Uncle Liu stop and hold the bag, Chen Yi quickly walked to his side, blocking the path of the two fraudsters to prevent them from grabbing the bag and running away.

"Uncle Liu, they look alive, but look, the shrimp's antennae are broken, and this crab's claws are also broken. The Qi Baishi painting you brought back from Mr. Wang's shop had intact shrimp antennae, not like this. If the antennae are broken, can the shrimp still be alive?" Chen Yi pointed to the shrimp and crab in the painting.

Although he could have directly described the ink techniques based on the appraisal system's prompts, he was just a one-month apprentice in the antique business. How could he understand the ink techniques of a painting? This was what Chen Yi had been struggling with. He hadn't figured out the appraisal system in his mind, and if others found out, it would be disastrous.

As for the Qi Baishi painting that Mr. Wang brought back, it was just a bluff. Uncle Liu had brought back countless paintings in the past month, and he probably didn't even remember if there was such a painting from Mr. Wang. So, Chen Yi wasn't worried.

Seeing Chen Yi's serious expression, Uncle Liu looked at the painting with some doubt. He knew more about Qi Baishi's works than Chen Yi and had seen and carefully examined some of them.

Initially, he was overjoyed to see a Qi Baishi painting and didn't notice the small flaws. But after Chen Yi's reminder, he carefully studied the animals in the painting, examining them from near to far and from far to near. He realized that the insects and fish in the painting only looked alive but lacked the vitality of the genuine Qi Baishi works, having form but no spirit.

"Young man, you're determined to accuse us of being fraudsters. Let's go, brother. Goodbye." The two fraudsters' faces changed slightly. Seeing Chen Yi blocking their path, they couldn't forcibly take the bag and had to resort to their previous tactic of feigning retreat.

Sometimes, one word can trigger a chain reaction. Hearing Chen Yi's reminder, Uncle Liu noticed that the painting felt different from before. Using his extensive knowledge, he found several flaws he hadn't noticed earlier. He laughed coldly, rolled up the painting, and stuffed it into their chests. "Ha ha, good acting, almost fooled me. Very impressive."

"If the price is too high, just say so. You say our goods are fake just because 180,000 yuan is too expensive? You're slandering us and trying to force a sale." One of the old men, named Zhu, said angrily.

Uncle Liu smiled. "Ha ha, do you want to continue your act here, or should I call the police? When they come, you won't be able to run."

"You, we didn't sell fake goods. What can the police do? A kid's crazy words can't be taken seriously. You're not very competent. Let's go, Uncle Li. We'll go to other shops and make you regret it."

Hearing Uncle Liu's words, the two fraudsters' faces changed, and they left, muttering curses. Before leaving, they shot Chen Yi a venomous look.

Uncle Liu smiled and said, "Take care, no need to see you off." If it weren't for the difficulty in determining the authenticity of antiques, he would have sent them to the police station in other industries.

When Uncle Liu stuffed the painting into the two fraudsters' chests, the electronic voice in Chen Yi's mind sounded again. "Successfully used the appraisal talisman to find the flaw and prevented Uncle Liu from buying it. Task completed. Reward: one appraisal point."

Chen Yi sighed in relief, not because of the completed task, but because he had prevented Uncle Liu from buying a fake, saving 180,000 yuan. He was amazed by the appraisal system and wondered what it was all about.

"Xiao Yi, thank you today. If it weren't for you, I would have been in trouble this month." Uncle Liu returned to the antique shop and thanked Chen Yi.

Chen Yi shook his head. "Uncle Liu, even without me, you would have found the flaws."

"Alright, stop flattering me. I, Liu Dalong, always repay kindness and grievances. If it weren't for your reminder, the 180,000 yuan would be gone by now. Here, this is 5,000 yuan as a reward, not part of your salary. Don't think it's too little or be shy. If you want to continue working for me, take it." Uncle Liu took out a stack of money from the bag, divided it in half, and shoved it into Chen Yi's chest without hesitation.

Chen Yi tightly held the 5,000 yuan. He knew that if he were an apprentice in an antique shop, this would be more than two months' salary. In other companies, reminding the boss not to be cheated was a duty of an employee. "Uncle Liu, this money..."

"Didn't you hear me? If you don't want to work here, take the 5,000 yuan and leave." Uncle Liu glared, then suddenly smiled and patted Chen Yi's shoulder. "Xiao Yi, take it. You deserve it. By the way, I remember you said you weren't good at paintings. Looks like you weren't being honest."

"Ah, Uncle Liu, this time it was just luck. It was the painting you brought last time. I found the broken shrimp antennae interesting, so I noticed it." Chen Yi laughed awkwardly. He couldn't say he had an appraisal system that helped him. Uncle Liu would probably call the psychiatric hospital right away.

Uncle Liu waved his hand. "Alright, don't worry about luck. You helped me, and that's that. Put the money away and get back to work."

Chen Yi nodded and put the thick stack of money in his inner pocket, close to his body. His family wasn't well-off, and 5,000 yuan was a significant amount. After putting the money away, he took a piece of cotton cloth and quickly went to a corner. The appearance of the appraisal system had made him feel like he was in a dream, and he needed to figure out what was happening.

In the corner, he wiped a piece of blue-and-white porcelain and shouted in his mind, "Appraise, appraise." A row of boxes appeared in his mind, and the first box contained the talisman that had appeared in his mind during the appraisal. There was a number 9 in the upper right corner of the talisman.

Does this mean there are nine more appraisal talismans? Just as he thought this, the talisman slowly enlarged and was imprinted on the blue-and-white porcelain in front of him. A yellow light flashed on the porcelain, and he heard the sound of a successful appraisal.

"Qing Dynasty Qianlong Eight Immortals Crossing the Sea Gourd Vase (imitation); Manufacturing date: two years and 35 days ago; Artistic features: During the Qianlong period, the porcelain industry reached unprecedented prosperity. Blue-and-white porcelain reached its peak, with a white and dense body, a bluish-white glaze, and a lustrous finish. The shapes and details were meticulously crafted..."

"Strengths of the imitation: The shape is well-proportioned, reaching about 60-70% of the original Qianlong piece."

"Flaws of the imitation: The body is rough and the glaze is grayish and impure. The most significant flaw is the unstable and uneven blue-and-white color, with unclear patterns..."

"Score of the imitation: 10 points. The overall flaws are numerous. Apart from the shape, the body, glaze, blue-and-white color, patterns, and inscriptions have significant issues, far from the original."

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