Chapter 55

In the evening, Su Xiaofan moved out of the guesthouse at Yanjing University.

The benefits that Jing Shizhen secured for Su Xiaofan were quite good.

In addition to a 60,000 yuan appearance fee, all of Su Xiaofan's expenses for food, accommodation, and travel during his stay in Beijing would be reimbursed by Yanjing TV.

The hotel where Su Xiaofan moved to in the evening, near Yanjing TV, had a special agreement with Yanjing TV, so Su Xiaofan didn't need to pay. After he left, Yanjing TV would settle the bill with the hotel.

After settling in, Su Xiaofan had a video call with his sister.

Upon learning that her brother had managed to become a guest expert on Yanjing TV, Su Xiaoxiao was so surprised that she almost dropped her phone.

In Su Xiaoxiao's view, Su Xiaofan was just a big liar.

Over the phone, Su Xiaoxiao repeatedly warned Su Xiaofan not to exaggerate too much, or he might end up in legal trouble.

Actually, neither Su Xiaofan nor Su Xiaoxiao was very familiar with the treasure appraisal shows.

Even those with no knowledge of antiques could often become experts on TV.

Whenever a field became popular, some illegal activities would inevitably arise.

Some people would use the title of "expert" to collaborate with unsuspecting TV stations to appraise treasures in the public, then claim that some modern crafts were priceless antiques.

The purpose of these people was to "whitewash" fakes, but what was the benefit of "whitewashing" fakes? The real scam came later.

Many people, after learning that their "collections" were priceless, would want to sell them.

However, the antique collecting industry is one that heavily tests personal ability.

From knowledge to insight and capital, all are essential, and most people lack these conditions, so they could only blindly follow the "experts' " advice.

Thus, these "experts" would come forward, offering to provide free appraisal certificates for the treasure holders.

The appraisal certificates were free, but to participate in an auction, one had to pay an auction commission and for promotional operations, which would add up to a significant amount.

Depending on the value of the collection, this amount could range from a few thousand to tens of thousands of yuan.

The treasure holders, convinced by the "experts" that their items were priceless, would see a bright future, believing that millions would soon be deposited into their accounts once the items were auctioned.

Thus, the tens of thousands of yuan auction commissions would not bother them, and they would often pay without hesitation.

After collecting commissions from dozens or even hundreds of people, the organizers would disappear overnight.

Therefore, in the past few years, all kinds of experts had appeared on treasure appraisal shows.

Even though Yanjing TV was relatively rigorous, it had also engaged in the practice of smashing treasures to attract viewers.

Given the current focus on ratings, inviting experts like Su Xiaofan was not incomprehensible, especially with Jing Shizhen's endorsement.

After hanging up the video call with his sister, Su Xiaofan had a good night's sleep.

The next morning, Su Xiaofan woke up a bit late and didn't go out. He decided to have breakfast and lunch at the hotel.

【Vajra Bodhi Beads, cultivation complete!】

【Low-grade magical artifact: Vajra Bodhi Beads!】

After finishing his meal and returning to the room, two lines of information appeared in Su Xiaofan's mind.

"Hmm, the cultivation pool can turn ordinary items into magical artifacts?"

Looking at the Vajra Bodhi Beads that suddenly appeared on his wrist, Su Xiaofan's eyes lit up.

A low-grade magical artifact, and not a damaged one like before. Thinking of Uncle Jing and Zhao Hengjian's enthusiasm for magical artifacts, Su Xiaofan felt a surge of excitement.

He focused on the other three items in the cultivation pool.

His dragon-shaped jade pendant still needed a bit more than a day to complete cultivation, while the Bagua Mirror and the Jade Guanyin would take two more days.

"It feels a bit different, but how do I use this magical artifact?"

Su Xiaofan carefully examined the Vajra Bodhi Beads on his wrist.

Compared to when he first bought them, the beads seemed to have gained a touch of vitality, naturally drawing people's attention.

However, Su Xiaofan was still clueless about the functions of the magical artifact. He planned to ask about it after formally becoming Uncle Jing's disciple.

However, the Vajra Bodhi Beads arrived just in time.

People in the antique trade often wore something, and the beads would help Su Xiaofan maintain his presence during the appraisal in the afternoon.

...

At around 1 PM, the car sent by the production team to pick up Su Xiaofan stopped in front of the hotel.

Yanjing TV's treasure appraisal event was actually recorded in two locations.

Today's recording was the preliminary selection, which would only include some initial segments. The items that passed the preliminary selection would then enter the studio for the final appraisal recording.

In fact, the preliminary selection was the true test of the experts' abilities.

Each expert had to identify genuine antiques from hundreds or even thousands of items, and the appraisal time for each item was very short.

Mistakes were inevitable, and the purpose of the preliminary selection was to roughly distinguish the genuine items.

In the final appraisal recording, the four experts would collectively evaluate and provide the final appraisal results.

The venue for the preliminary selection was a rented sports arena.

Inside the arena, a row of long tables was set up, which served as the appraisal area for the experts.

In front of the long tables, temporary passages were set up for the treasure holders to queue.

At the entrance to the venue, large promotional posters of the experts were displayed, along with their brief introductions.

Before entering the venue, Su Xiaofan looked at his own introduction: "Disciple of Master Jing Shizhen, young bronze craftsman, and experienced antique dealer."

Judging from the titles alone, Su Xiaofan was undoubtedly the weakest, but even these few points made him feel a bit embarrassed.

The other two experts, apart from Jing Shizhen, were familiar to Su Xiaofan from TV appraisal shows. They were genuinely talented, but their character was unknown.

Su Xiaofan was the first to arrive at the venue. About ten minutes later, Jing Shizhen and the other two experts also entered.

Jing Shizhen introduced Su Xiaofan to the other two experts, who, despite being twice his age, did not put on any airs.

Just the title of "disciple of Jing Shizhen" was enough to earn him a seat here.

In the eyes of the other experts, Jing Shizhen was grooming his disciple to gain more practical experience in antique appraisal.

The atmosphere at the appraisal site was relaxed. Apart from Su Xiaofan, the others had their own thermoses, sipping tea and chatting.

Su Xiaofan was not intimidated. Having worked in the antique market, he was knowledgeable about antiques and could easily hold a conversation with the experts.

Outside the sports arena, a long queue had already formed.

Yanjing TV had been promoting and publicizing the event for a month in advance.

The treasure holders who came to the site were not just from Yanjing.

People from surrounding provinces like Dabeisheng and Daodongsheng, and even further north, had brought their items to the appraisal site.

"Uncle Jing, there must be a thousand people outside. How many antiques is that?"

While smoking in the restroom, Su Xiaofan glanced outside and was stunned by the long queue.

"Normal."

Jing Shizhen said nonchalantly, "A thousand people would have about one or two thousand items. If we can find three or five high-quality pieces, that would be quite good."

As mentioned earlier, there was a significant gap between ordinary people and the antique collecting industry. They often had no idea what constituted an antique.

Many people would bring items that seemed old from their homes for appraisal.

Once, someone brought a pig-feeding iron basin, insisting it was a treasure passed down from the Qing Dynasty.

The four experts unanimously concluded it was just an ordinary iron basin, and it took the security guards to persuade the person to leave.

So, a large number of people coming for appraisal did not mean a large number of genuine items. These were two different concepts.

"Uncle Jing, can we finish all the appraisals today?" Su Xiaofan asked.

"Impossible. Today, the four of us can appraise three to five hundred items at most."

Jing Shizhen shook his head and smiled, "We'll continue the preliminary selection tomorrow and the day after."

"Xiaofan, during the preliminary selection, you need to be quick. If you're unsure about an item, set it aside and first eliminate the obviously fake ones."

Jing Shizhen explained the key points of the preliminary selection to Su Xiaofan.

The preliminary selection did not require high accuracy; it was mainly about filtering out fakes.

After the three days of preliminary selection, Jing Shizhen and the others would re-evaluate the items they deemed genuine or were unsure about.

From these, they would select a dozen or so representative antiques and fakes to enter the final appraisal recording.

After all, the show had limited time. In an hour or so, they could only appraise and comment on a dozen or so antiques.

"Experts, we can start now."

The doors of the sports arena were opened, and the people waiting for appraisal rushed in.

The Yanjing TV production team was experienced. The temporary passages they had set up ensured that only one person could stand at the front at a time.

With the staff's guidance, those holding fragile items kept a safe distance from others.

Thus, the arrangement was orderly, and despite the noise, there was no chaos.

While queuing outside, the people had already chosen their preferred experts.

As soon as the doors opened, long queues formed in front of Jing Shizhen and the other two experts.

To Su Xiaofan's embarrassment, only one person stood in front of his table, and that person had been squeezed out of Jing Shizhen's queue.

"Cough, what item do you want to appraise?"

Su Xiaofan cleared his throat and looked at the wooden box the person was holding.

"Can I go to the back of the queue?"

The person, in his early thirties, looked at Su Xiaofan with distrust.

"Sure, but you might have to wait until tomorrow."

"Alright, I'll let you appraise it."

The person glanced back and placed the wooden box in front of Su Xiaofan. "This is a bronze candlestick. I've checked, and it should be from before the Han Dynasty. Can you tell me how much it's worth?"

"Damn, what a coincidence."

Wearing gloves, Su Xiaofan opened the wooden box and was momentarily stunned. He didn't need the repair system to identify this item.

"Sir, I'm sorry, but this is a modern craft."

Su Xiaofan could recognize the product of his village by smell, and he could even tell which family made the candlestick.

"That's impossible. My grandfather bought this for 18,000 yuan, and it's been in our home for seven or eight years. Are you even qualified to appraise it?"

The person shook his head and raised his voice, drawing the attention of Jing Shizhen and the others.

"Xiaofan, do you want me to take a look?" Jing Shizhen asked.

"Uncle Jing, if I can't identify a bronze item, I shouldn't be sitting here."

Su Xiaofan shook his head, picked up a small flashlight from the table, and shone it on a specific spot on the candlestick.

"Come, do you recognize this character?"

Su Xiaofan called the person to the table and pointed to the spot illuminated by the flashlight.