This is an antique shop that is grand yet elegant.
Inside the shop.
The scent of sandalwood pervades the air, and ink wash paintings hang on all four walls.
Jiang Feng, Chu Feifei, and Mu Yanluo stepped inside and imdiately felt a sense of antiquity.
The boss inside was entertaining a custor and didn't cast his gaze upon them right away.
The boss stood behind the counter, dressed in traditional Tang-style clothing, holding a snuff bottle in his hand, shaking his head as he said, "Snuff bottles were popular in the Qing Dynasty. The archives from the Qing Dynasty record that the emperor's rewards to ministers often included snuff bottles. During Qianlong's reign, the grand corrupt official He Shen was confiscated by Jiaqing, and among the thousands of items seized, there were more than two thousand snuff bottles. This shows that the use and collection of snuff and snuff bottles in the Qing Dynasty have beco a fashionable and civilized trend!"
A young man standing outside the counter listened obsessively and nodded repeatedly.
The Tang-clothed boss continued, "Young man, this white jade snuff bottle of yours has dozens of colors in its surface design. It's colorful and magnificent, demonstrating the craftsman's exquisite skills in craftsmanship and porcelain-making, artistry, and so on. Ha ha, it's quite a seamless forgery, but, there was still a slight oversight!"
"Boss Qiu, are you saying... that my snuff bottle is fake? I... I spent tens of thousands to buy it..." The young man's voice trembled, and his face grew paler.
"Snuff bottles from the Kangxi, Yongzheng, and Qianlong periods each have their characteristics. Snuff bottles from the Kangxi and Yongzheng periods are elegant, simple and unadorned; those from the Qianlong period are more focused on bright colors, with a harmonious combination of shape and decoration, making them trendously artistic. Your snuff bottle..."
The young man stretched out his neck, listening intently.
"Ha ha, speaking in terms of style, it should be from the Qianlong period, but with a flat bottom slightly concave and the DIY black border 'Kangxi Year Made' seal characters in fine script on the bottom. Isn't this unrelated and contradictory?"
"Moreover, jade snuff bottles were popular during the Qianlong period. Before Qianlong, most jade snuff bottles were fakes!"
"Ah!!! Made a blunder, made a blunder!" The young man was so desperate that he almost cried, beating his chest in lantation.
"Ha ha, paying a tuition fee is pretty normal in the world of collectibles, young man. Look more, act less. Once you're certain, then take action."
The Tang-clothed boss smiled proudly and returned the snuff bottle to the young man, "If you wish to sell this fake snuff bottle to my store, I'll offer you the highest price... 3,000 yuan."
"3,000 yuan? I bought it for 60,000! Forget it, forget it, Boss Qiu. I'll just keep it at ho to play with."
The young man held the snuff bottle and left with a heart full of grief.
"Heh, fool." The Tang-clothed boss sneered.
At this point, he noticed Jiang Feng and the two won entering the shop, and hurriedly circled the counter to greet them.
However, this trio puzzled him.
Jiang Feng's attire was plain and unremarkable, like an ordinary worker in society's lower rung. How could he appear with two peerlessly beautiful won?
Moreover, the two beauties seed like fairy-like figures in paintings. Even without revealing their nas, the boss saw that their extraordinary temperant set them apart from ordinary won!
Especially Chu Feifei, whose noble aura made it seem like her face clearly spelled out "wealthy—beautiful—elite!"
This kind of wealthy gullible girl was the easiest to deceive. His business often had few custors for months, but when it did, he could make a fortune from a single sale!
"What can I help you with today? My humble store has jade artifacts, calligraphy and paintings, copper pieces... You na it, we have it, even so rare items."
Tang-clothed Boss Qiu bead as he spoke to the trio, his gaze fixating on Chu Feifei.
"No need for courtesy. I'm just accompanying a friend here. You may ask him." Chu Feifei gestured towards Jiang Feng.
"Friend?"
Boss Qiu was startled!
That fellow who looked like a laborer was actually this young, rich, beautiful woman's friend?!
Could it be that he also knew sothing about antique appraisal, and the rich young lady brought him along to hunt for treasures?
Boss Qiu was aware that so high-born young ladies liked to play around, and often, there were ill-intentioned fraudsters from the world of martial arts, trying all ans to gain their trust, so they could bamboozle and cheat them out of a al ticket.
To him, Jiang Feng was precisely such a person!
Perhaps his treasure identification skills were limited, but his ability to fool the rich and pretty was impeccable!
"Ahem, alright, 'friend', what do you need?" Boss Qiu suppressed his disdain and asked Jiang Feng.
"Just looking around." Jiang Feng didn't pay any attention to that envious and jealous look from Boss Qiu, sweeping the store with his eyes quickly and found himself quite disappointed.
Real stuff, my foot!
They're all counterfeit and knock-offs!
Shaking his head with disinterest, he was about to leave with Chu Feifei and Mu Yanluo.
"Hey, don't leave—" Boss Qiu beca anxious upon seeing this and hurried to call out again.
Just at this mont, a middle-aged man, with a ragpicker-like appearance, walked hurriedly and mysteriously into the shop.
The middle-aged man entered, naturally ignoring Jiang Feng and his two companions, nervously holding a rolled-up painting, and went directly to Boss Qiu: "Boss, Boss, please take a look at this painting."
"Oh? What painting?" Boss Qiu was just lanting the loss of a potential lucrative custor. Seeing this cautious-looking person, his eyebrows arched.
"Boss, this is a family heirloom painting, Zheng Banqiao's 'Bamboo and Stone Painting'!"
The ragpicker's face was grave: "Ah… Ancestors said it's an heirloom, to be passed down from generation to generation, no matter what, even if it ans selling our pots and pans, it cannot be sold! But recently, my son has taken a liking to a girl from the city and insists on getting married, planning to buy a house in the city. I have no other way. We can't scrape together the money at ho, so I brought out the heirloom to sell."
"What? A painting by Zheng Banqiao?"
Upon hearing this, Boss Qiu's voice trembled!
His face lit up with excitent.
What kind of day is it today? Was he destined for a stroke of luck?
Zheng Banqiao's 'Bamboo and Stone Painting', if it's an authentic piece, how much would it be worth?
Zheng Banqiao, a distinguished art figure in China's history.
One of the primary representatives of the "Yangzhou Eight Eccentrics."
Famous for his three excellences "poem, calligraphy, painting."
Expert at painting flowers, wood, and stones, especially orchids and bamboo.
Most of his life's works were of bamboo, followed by orchids and stones.
Not many of Zheng Banqiao's works have survived to the present day, so each is incredibly valuable.
Boss Qiu's mind buzzed with streams of terrifying figures, and these figures were astronomical numbers!
In 1756, Zheng Banqiao created [Bamboo Stone], auctioned at 46 million yuan in 2011.
In 1762, Zheng Banqiao created [Double Pine Orchid Bamboo Painting] scroll, auctioned at 36 million yuan in 2010.
In 1763, Zheng Banqiao created [Peak Stone Map], auctioned at 51 million yuan in 2014!
…
In other words, if this junk collector truly has a Zheng Banqiao masterpiece as a family heirloom, it's an item genuinely worth tens of millions!
Boss Qiu, who road the antique and collector's circles for most of his life, had never handled such an invaluable treasure!
Instantly, he ignored the naive little lamb, Chu Feifei, and quickly brought the ragpicker to a table to examine the painting.
Seeing this, Jiang Feng suddenly changed his mind and brought Chu Feifei and Mu Yanluo over to take a look.
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