Chapter 49

Xie Xuan really seemed to be cut out for this line of work. After listening to Qin Feng's explanations, his mind became more active.

Although Xie Xuan didn't talk much when he was with Qin Feng, he occasionally chimed in during Qin Feng's negotiations with shop owners, and his words were always to the point.

"Brother Feng, I never thought there was so much to it."

As the saying goes, insiders see the subtleties, while outsiders see the spectacle. With Qin Feng leading the way, Xie Xuan began to appreciate the nuances and no longer found visiting antique shops a tedious task.

"There's a lot more to learn."

Qin Feng smiled. In fact, during this morning's leisurely stroll, he was also turning his theoretical knowledge into practice. When he was learning these things, he didn't have the same conditions as now.

"By the way, Brother Feng, what exactly are you looking to buy?"

Seeing that Qin Feng seemed to be in a good mood, Xie Xuan boldly asked a question. They had been wandering for half a day, and Qin Feng had only spent about fifty yuan, but he had spent a lot of time haggling.

"Let's just keep looking and get familiar with the market!"

Qin Feng smiled and said, "Although Shishi is a good place, it's located in the heart of North China, close to Beijing and Tianjin. Without a solid foundation, it's hard to develop here. We'll earn some capital and then leave!"

"Alright, Brother Feng, I'll follow your lead."

Xie Xuan nodded. If his parents heard this, they would be furious. They begged him to stay, but he followed Qin Feng eagerly with just a word.

For the entire day, Qin Feng roamed around Baifu Street. Apart from buying those few pendants, he didn't buy anything else.

In the evening, the three of them had a bowl of noodles by the roadside. Qin Feng picked up some lard from a pork stall at the market, and then they returned to Xie Xuan's sparsely furnished house.

"Brother Feng, what are you doing?"

Seeing Qin Feng smear the lard on the so-called "small-leaf rosewood" bracelet, Li Tianyuan and Xie Xuan both widened their eyes. They had heard of putting oil on shoes, but not on wooden beads.

"I'm giving it a coat of polish." Qin Feng said, reaching down to the ground and rubbing his hands in the dust. After his palms were covered in dust, he placed the bracelet between his palms and rubbed it vigorously.

After about five minutes, Qin Feng stopped and wrapped the bracelet in a rag, rubbing it vigorously. This process lasted for over an hour.

"This bracelet seems different now!"

Li Tianyuan had long grown impatient and was already fast asleep, but Xie Xuan stayed by the side. When the rag was opened, his eyes lit up.

The bracelet, which had originally been somewhat dull, now had a very clear and transparent luster. Under the light, the wood grain seemed to come alive, looking very beautiful.

Moreover, a thick layer of polish seemed to have formed on the surface of the bracelet, giving it a beautiful and understated charm.

"Xiao Pang, you need to remember, this is called 'polishing'!"

Qin Feng glanced at Xie Xuan and said, "We don't have the materials right now, so I just did a quick job. The luster will last for about three to five days. Tomorrow, we'll buy some sandalwood and process it further!"

"Brother Feng, are you making it look old?" Xie Xuan's expression was excited as he asked, "If it's made to look old, it must be worth a lot, right?"

When Xie Dazhi bought the bronze artifacts, they were all identified as high-quality fakes. Xie Xuan had heard his father talk about it often, so he was familiar with the term.

"Is this? Making it look old?"

Qin Feng laughed and threw the bracelet onto the mattress, saying, "Xiao Pang, do you know what 'making it look old' means? This thing isn't even worth the effort to make it look old..."

Making something look old means using specific methods to make an object appear as if it's from an earlier time, making its surface more like the original.

Unlike the restoration of antiques, the techniques for making things look old are often used for tourist souvenirs and to deceive. In simple terms, it's counterfeiting.

However, counterfeiting also has different levels. If it's high-quality imitation or restoration, the cost can be very high, sometimes even exceeding the value of the original.

For example, during the reigns of Emperor Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, due to the emperors' love for porcelain, the imperial workshops replicated a batch of Song and Ming Dynasty porcelains, using the same materials and techniques as the originals. The resulting porcelains were exquisite.

This can also be considered counterfeiting, but the value of the replicated items, both at the time and later, was not lower than the originals, and some were even more valuable.

Such counterfeiting was only possible in the imperial court and was not widespread, so it had no representative significance.

The most common method in the antique market is to use chemical agents, burning, boiling, and burying to make fake items look real, using these methods to pass off fakes as genuine.

Qin Feng simply applied some lard to the bracelet and rubbed it with a rough cloth, which was just a touch of making it look old. However, his technique was a secret passed down by Zai Shi, and even experts would find it hard to distinguish the real from the fake within three days.

"Brother Feng, do you mean we're going to sell this?" Xie Xuan hesitated and said, "This thing