Chapter 61

"By the way, Uncle Jing, you still haven't told me how much this string of Vajra Bodhi beads can sell for."

While waiting for the car at the entrance of Pan Garden, Su Xiaofan suddenly remembered this matter.

He had spent three restoration points to cultivate this string of Vajra Bodhi beads. If it couldn't sell for two million, Su Xiaofan would consider it a loss.

"Do you need money that badly, kid?"

No matter how Jing Shizhen looked at Su Xiaofan, he felt annoyed. How could such a precious magical artifact fall into this kid's hands?

"Yes!"

Su Xiaofan answered straightforwardly, "I still owe you 150,000. Now, my net worth is negative 140,000. Do you think I need money or not, Uncle Jing?"

"You really do need money."

Jing Shizhen was speechless at Su Xiaofan's words.

"For this Vajra Bodhi bead bracelet, I can give you three million if I buy it!"

Jing Shizhen thought for a moment and said, "I am a businessman, so I need to make a profit when I buy it.

However, you can sell it directly to Zhao Hengjian. You know his son and can contact him. This item... he should be willing to buy it for four to five million."

Jing Shizhen was a man of principle. If Su Xiaofan were to sell it, his base price would be three million.

But Jing Shizhen didn't want to take advantage of Su Xiaofan. He gave him a suggestion, and how to sell it was up to Su Xiaofan.

"Is this thing really worth four to five million?"

Su Xiaofan knew that magical artifacts were very valuable. He had even spent 1.2 million on the wind chime.

Although the two big finds Su Xiaofan made earlier were more valuable than this Vajra Bodhi, they were at least antiques that could be traded in the antique market.

But this string of Vajra Bodhi had no value in the antique market. Su Xiaofan didn't understand how it could be worth four to five million.

"This thing might be very useful to you in the future."

Jing Shizhen warned, "Think carefully. It's easy to sell this item, but it will be hard to find another one."

"Hard?"

Seeing Uncle Jing's serious expression, Su Xiaofan didn't have the heart to say that he had two more in his cultivation pool, which would be ready by noon the next day.

"Uncle Jing, as the saying goes, a hero can be brought down by a lack of money. I can't do anything without money."

Su Xiaofan thought for a moment and said, "I'll sell this Vajra Bodhi to you. Later, I'll go to the temples in Luochuan with Brother Gang. If we can find other magical artifacts, we'll sell them to Mr. Zhao."

"Do you think magical artifacts are like cabbages that you can just pick from the field?"

Jing Shizhen realized his cultivation in patience wasn't good enough. He was easily provoked by Su Xiaofan today.

"Uncle Jing, who knows? Just because you can't find them doesn't mean I can't!"

Su Xiaofan was constantly planting psychological suggestions in Uncle Jing's mind.

"You might be right. You might really find one."

Thinking about Su Xiaofan's recent experiences, Jing Shizhen was a bit puzzled.

First, it was the Yin Stone, then the two big finds, and now a magical artifact. Jing Shizhen really couldn't predict what Su Xiaofan would find next.

"Alright, I won't take advantage of you."

Jing Shizhen extended his hand and said, "Give me the item, and I'll have someone transfer you four million. I'll also write off the 150,000 you owe me."

"Oh, Uncle Jing, that... that's too much trouble."

While saying this, Su Xiaofan took the Vajra Bodhi bracelet off his wrist and put it on Uncle Jing's wrist. Even if Uncle Jing had only given him three million, Su Xiaofan would still have sold it.

"You look better wearing it. Your aura and the bracelet are a perfect match."

"Look at you, pretending. Let's go to the program site."

The car they were waiting for stopped at the entrance of Pan Garden. As the head of the program's expert panel, Jing Shizhen had to go over.

...

When Su Xiaofan and Jing Shizhen returned to the program's preliminary selection site, the other two experts were already busy.

Jing Shizhen didn't even have time to catch his breath before he was invited to the appraisal table to start appraising.

On the other hand, Su Xiaofan, who had the "ten times compensation for error" sign, became more relaxed today.

It wasn't that Su Xiaofan was lazy and didn't want to appraise. It was mainly because he had already appraised all the bronze artifacts in the preliminary selection yesterday afternoon.

There were still collectors with other items who occasionally wandered over to Su Xiaofan's table.

"Hey, sir, this isn't a bronze artifact, but it's a jade artifact. Isn't that also a mineral resource? Why won't you appraise it?"

"I can appraise it, but not with the ten times compensation for error."

Su Xiaofan waved his hand, and the staff removed the "ten times compensation for error" sign.

Su Xiaofan was an expert in appraising bronze artifacts because he came from a bronze artifact village.

But if he didn't make any mistakes in appraising other items, it would be hard to explain. Su Xiaofan decided to be more low-key.

"Then forget it. I'll have Mr. Meng appraise it."

The person, not getting any advantage, went to the back to queue up.

With no one at Su Xiaofan's table, the program staff didn't mind.

The preliminary selection footage wasn't much in the final broadcast. The material needed for yesterday had already been shot, and it was very engaging. The program staff believed it would boost the ratings.

With no one asking for appraisals, Su Xiaofan didn't want to sit behind the table. He stood up and went behind the other experts to learn how they appraised items.

Su Xiaofan noticed that Uncle Jing was very quick in making conclusions after handling an item, usually taking only two to three minutes.

Moreover, Uncle Jing's appraisals were very accurate. Su Xiaofan stood behind him for over an hour, and Uncle Jing didn't make a single mistake.

The other two experts were slightly weaker.

They often needed to use tools like magnifying glasses, and it took them about four to five minutes to appraise an item.

One of them, Mr. Meng, even misjudged an item.

It was a鼻烟壶 with internal glass painting. Mr. Meng identified it as a late Qing dynasty item.

But Su Xiaofan saw that it was a modern craft from Boshan, Dandong Province.

Of course, Su Xiaofan didn't reveal this. This was just the preliminary selection.

After the preliminary selection was complete, the program staff would select some representative genuine and fake items for the special appraisal session, which would be shown on TV.

At that time, the experts wouldn't appraise items separately but would sit together to comment on the selected items.

Su Xiaofan believed that if this鼻烟壶 was selected, someone would definitely notice it during the formal session.

After a simple lunch with the program staff, the preliminary selection continued in the afternoon.

Su Xiaofan did appraise a few items in the afternoon, including a small vertical scroll of bamboo and rock by Zheng Banqiao.

When Su Xiaofan identified it as genuine, it immediately caught the attention of the other experts, who gathered around.

After a joint appraisal, the painting was confirmed to be genuine, and Uncle Jing offered a price of 20 million on the spot.

The program staff immediately signed an agreement with the collector, and the painting would be the highlight of the appraisal program during the formal recording.

Out of about a thousand items, about ten percent, or about a hundred, had collectible value.

Among these hundred items, only about ten had auction value.

This ratio was already very high and provided enough material for the formal recording.

By noon on the third day, the items for the formal recording had been selected.

Su Xiaofan also gained a new understanding of the appraisal program.

Previously, he thought the experts improvised on the spot.

But over the past few days, he learned that everything was scripted.

During the preliminary recording, the experts were prompted by the program staff when to speak.

All the items for the formal recording were reviewed by the four experts on the afternoon of the third day.

Sure enough, the鼻烟壶 was identified by Uncle Jing, but as a very distinctive fake, it was included in the formal recording.

The formal recording took place in a beautifully decorated studio at Yanjing TV.

The four experts sat behind a table covered with red velvet, with a long red carpet in front of them.

The collectors would enter the appraisal hall through an automatic door with dragon patterns and present their items.

Su Xiaofan had expected some interesting events, but he was disappointed.

From start to finish, everyone sat obediently in their chairs, and even the order of speaking was predetermined.

For the appraisal of bronze artifacts, Su Xiaofan would speak first, followed by the other two experts, and Uncle Jing would summarize.

When they saw items of high value, they would show appropriate shock, even though they had already examined these items thoroughly during the preliminary selection.

However, the final program effect was very good.

Su Xiaofan was very curious and went to the director to watch the playback, mainly to see if he looked good on camera.

All the items in the appraisal program eventually found their owners.

The painting by Zheng Banqiao, the collector decided not to auction it and sold it to Jingxin Hall for 14.5 million.

In addition to the painting, Uncle Jing bought six antiques, spending a total of 21 million.

Su Xiaofan finally understood why Uncle Jing participated in the program.

As an on-site appraisal expert, he had a significant advantage over other antique shops or collectors, and the best items were all acquired by Uncle Jing.

Although Su Xiaofan's account had increased by four million, he didn't buy any items from the program.

First, the items had already been appraised, and there were no leaks to find, making them not cost-effective for Su Xiaofan.

Second, some items that could be repaired at a low price had already been shown during the preliminary selection.

If Su Xiaofan bought and repaired them, it would be noticed by some people, leaving potential risks.

So Su Xiaofan didn't buy any items. The market was vast, and there were still many antique markets waiting for him to find leaks.