Chapter 3

As the three-dimensional image of the object in front of him appeared in his mind, along with some text on the right, Chen Yi opened his mouth wide, pinched his thigh hard, almost screaming in pain, before he finally believed he wasn't dreaming.

"Hey, what are you howling for? Get to work. When I told you to clean, I didn't just mean to clean; I wanted you to familiarize yourself with the information about various antiques. Pay attention when you clean," Uncle Liu scolded upon hearing Chen Yi's scream.

"Ah, Uncle Liu, five thousand is too much. I pinched myself to see if I was dreaming," Chen Yi quickly found an excuse.

Uncle Liu couldn't help but shake his head and smile, "You're only good for this much. Study hard in the antique shop. There will be plenty of opportunities to find great deals, and I guarantee you'll become a millionaire."

"Yes, yes, Uncle Liu," Chen Yi nodded, but he smiled and shook his head. Finding a great deal was no easy task. Uncle Liu, whom he considered a master of antiques, had only found a couple of small deals in the past month and had been scammed several times. As for himself, a mere apprentice who had only been in the antique shop for a month, finding a deal was like looking for a needle in a haystack.

"A task has been issued. As a great appraiser, you should not worry about finding deals or money. Use the remaining eight appraisal talismans to find a deal."

"Success conditions: The selling price of the item must be at least ten times the purchase price, and the value of the item must be at least 1,000 RMB. Otherwise, the task fails. Reward for success: 20 appraisal talismans and 1 appraisal point."

"Task deadline: one day."

Hearing the electronic prompt again, Chen Yi scratched his head, almost going crazy. He still didn't understand how this appraisal system appeared or what was going on, and now it was issuing tasks.

Finding a deal, Chen Yi almost wanted to curse the system. Was finding a deal so easy? It had to be at least ten times the purchase price, which was already a big deal. Even Uncle Liu hadn't found many such deals, and as for himself, an apprentice who had only been in the antique shop for a month, finding a deal was like looking for garbage.

Suddenly, he saw the eight appraisal talismans in his mind. Chen Yi blinked. Now he wasn't just a simple apprentice. With this mysterious appraisal system, finding a deal seemed easy.

Chen Yi's initial fear of the appraisal system gradually turned into acceptance. After all, he was a well-educated young man who had read a lot of fantasy novels. Now that the appraisal system was in his mind, he had to accept it, even if he didn't want to.

Looking at a piece of porcelain nearby, Chen Yi hesitated for a moment and then slapped an appraisal talisman on it. Soon, he heard the sound of a successful appraisal and the appraisal information slowly appeared in his mind.

"Qing Kangxi Blue and White Dragon Pattern Vase (imitation), production date: 105 days ago; artistic features: During the Kangxi period of the Qing dynasty, the economy and trade were highly developed, and blue and white porcelain achieved remarkable success, known for its fine glaze, bright blue, diverse and ancient shapes, and beautiful patterns..."

"Advantages of the imitation: None."

"Defects of the imitation: Uneven thickness of the glaze, many impurities, extremely poor quality blue pigment, significant differences in shape from the genuine article, and very rough dragon patterns..."

"Score of the imitation: 3 points. This porcelain has significant differences in glaze, shape, blue pigment, patterns, and inscriptions compared to genuine Kangxi porcelain. It has no advantages and is barely considered a fake."

Chen Yi looked at the blue and white porcelain in front of him. In the past month, he had learned a lot of antique terminology, but he had no practical experience. What he thought was a beautiful piece of porcelain wasn't even a fake. This was too hard to accept.

Looking at the seven remaining appraisal talismans and the rows of antiques, Chen Yi hesitated. After working in Uncle Liu's shop for a month, he knew Uncle Liu's level. He estimated that there were no genuine antiques in the entire shop, and even if there were, he probably wouldn't find them with just seven talismans.

If he used up the seven talismans and still didn't find a deal, and couldn't complete the task, would the system become unusable? Without appraisal talismans, he couldn't appraise anything.

"Xiao Yi, I'm going to visit an old friend. I'll be back in one or two hours. Do you want to stay in the shop or go out for a walk?" Uncle Liu put over 170,000 RMB in the safe at the back and then came out to ask Chen Yi.

Under normal circumstances, Chen Yi would stay in the shop, taking care of business to gain Uncle Liu's favor and learning a bit by cleaning antiques. But now, with the task, he felt that staying in the shop wouldn't help, even with dozens of talismans. He decided to try his luck at the antique market and complete the task before returning to watch the shop.

"Uncle Liu, lock the shop and give me the key. I'll go send the 5,000 RMB back home and then come back," Chen Yi thought for a moment and said.

Although he had only been in the shop for a month, Uncle Liu had left him alone many times. Perhaps it was a sign of trust, but more likely, it was because the shop was full of fakes that weren't worth much, and most were porcelain, which would be hard to move all at once.

Hearing Chen Yi's words, Uncle Liu smiled and pointed at him, "You're a filial son. Don't send it all back; keep some for yourself. Buy something to nourish your body. Look at your thin frame. Go ahead, here's the key. I'll lock the door in a bit."

Chen Yi felt a warm feeling in his heart, nodded quickly, and ran out of the Treasure Hall, planning to complete the task first and then return to watch the shop, sending the money home after work.

As one of the most famous ancient cities in China, Haoyang has many historical sites and a strong ancient atmosphere. This is why Haoyang Antique Market has become the largest antique market in the surrounding cities.

In the antique market, there are antique merchants selling family heirlooms, collectors looking for treasures, and tourists browsing around.

For some collectors, the antiques on the street stalls are more appealing than those in antique shops, and the chances of finding a great deal are higher. Only the most confident collectors frequently visit antique shops to look for treasures.

"Hey, young man, are you here to look for treasures? I have everything from Qin dynasty bricks to Han dynasty tiles, from Tang tri-color pottery to Qing dynasty blue and white porcelain. Come and take a look. I guarantee you'll be satisfied. You might even find a great deal."

Chen Yi's young face and the way he looked around like a novice made some of the stall owners greet him, as if they saw a fat sheep.

These words made Chen Yi smile. The stall owners' persuasion skills were far inferior to Uncle Liu's. It was obvious that they were not very convincing. If they had Qin dynasty bricks or Han dynasty tiles, they wouldn't be setting up stalls.

However, Chen Yi still looked around the stalls, hesitating. After all, he only had seven appraisal talismans, and finding a deal as a one-month apprentice was quite difficult.

If he had an unlimited number of talismans, he wouldn't hesitate and would just use them. Completing this task would give him 20 more talismans, which made him a bit excited.

Looking at the porcelain on the stalls, Chen Yi shook his head and focused on some miscellaneous items. Porcelain was the most common type of antique, and there were countless imitations. To find a deal, he needed to look for antiques with a higher chance.

After a while, he stopped at one stall. The items on this stall were very diverse, mainly jade, and some other items like coins and beads.

Chen Yi wasn't interested in the rusted coins. In the past month at the antique shop, he had seen many people bring coins for Uncle Liu to appraise, but most were ordinary circulation coins worth only a few yuan.

If there were no value restrictions on the items, he might have taken out a hundred-yuan note and negotiated with the stall owner to buy a batch of coins at a very low price. Buying them for one yuan and selling them for ten would meet the tenfold requirement, but the value had to be over 1,000 RMB, which made Chen Yi want to cry.

Indeed, in the antique market, 1,000 RMB was the minimum value for a deal. Anything lower wasn't considered a deal.

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