434: Chapter 409: Watching the Excitent 434: Chapter 409: Watching the Excitent “You all stop worrying about those and guess what today’s ‘Bet of Three Challenges’ is actually about.
Biyun Pavilion is also known for its affluence, and this ti it’s like the tip of the needle against the wheat awn, it’s going to be exciting!”
“…”
“See that?
My plaque’s na sounds good and looks nice, right?” Shi Qing’er said to Liu Hun with a grin.
Liu Hun could only nod perfunctorily, his eyes already caught sight of the lion dance team coming from the end of the old archway street, including Ding Shan, baldheaded.
After the lion dance teams from the two families clashed for a while, Ding Shan, holding a fan, ca over to Liu Hun with a laugh, “Mr.
Liu really is a man of his word!
To set up such a grand stage for Ding here today in this place!
Ding is flattered!”
“Ding Shopkeeper, you’re too kind, since we’re hosting, we must observe the proper etiquette.
Please have a seat!” Liu Hun gestured for Ding Shan to sit.
The two sat at the entrance of the shop, facing the spacious street.
Now the whole old archway street had stopped all business, waiting to watch these two’s ‘Bet of Three Challenges’, so they all cooperatively cleared the area for them, except for the two square ters in front of them, and it was packed with people all around, many even climbing trees and rooftops to watch the fun.
“Mr.
Liu, let introduce, this is Master Ji Yun from our Biyun Pavilion!” Ding Shan introduced an old man with long eyebrows and beard, who seed quite youthful, to Liu Hun.
Liu Hun shook hands with the old man, warming up a little, then introduced to Ding Shan, “Shopkeeper Ding, Master Ji.
This Mo Lao San, Master Mo, will be our…
manager of the shop from now on, and I hope you both can offer him your guidance.” Liu Hun hesitated for a mont, still not ntioning the na of the shop.
After the two sides got acquainted and exchanged pleasantries, Ding Shan finally spoke, “Since Mr.
Liu and Master Mo have shown such humility, I will no longer decline.” Saying this, Ding Shan stood up, took his folding fan, and made a bow in all directions, saying, “Our ‘First Bet,’ let’s bet on ‘Real Amidst the Fake’!” then gestured to his n to bring sothing.
Two workers imdiately carried a square table and placed it in the middle of the cleared space, then placed three items covered with red silk on it.
Ding Shan, with a proud look, said to the people around, “My fellow neighbors and friends of many years, we’re all experts in this line, and for this ‘First Bet’…” he walked up to the table, grabbed the red silk and said, “The bet is on porcelain!”
“Wow!” saying that, Ding Shan pulled away the hand, unveiling three fist-sized, lotus-shaped porcelain pieces that looked identical before the crowd.
“This is Ru ware porcelain!
Absolutely incredible!
Biyun Pavilion is truly lavish by starting with such a valuable piece!
Amazing!
Amazing!”
“It seems Biyun Pavilion is truly here to compete!
Bringing out Ru ware porcelain!
I wonder what Qingqing Zijin can bring out to match this, it’d be a joke if they can’t match the value of Ru ware porcelain.”
“Let’s watch this round!
Look at these three porcelain bowls!
Which one seems real?
From here I can’t really tell, they all look real.”
“…”
The surroundings were filled with antique connoisseurs who began discussing as soon as the Ru ware appeared, and the pride on Ding Shan’s face was even more intense.
Mo Lao San, seeing Liu Hun wanted to ask, imdiately explained, “Ru porcelain is one of our country’s Song Dynasty ‘Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun, Ding’ five famous porcelains.
As the foremost among the famous porcelains, Ru kiln holds the pri position.
Craftsn of Ru kiln, used precious agate in the glaze, creating Ru porcelain with typical features of ‘blue as the sky, smooth as jade, cicada wing patterns, scarce morning stars, sesa seed-shaped iron nails fully satisfying’.
There are only sixty-seven genuine pieces passed down to this day!
Excluding those in museums, Ru ware in private hands is even rarer than Yuan blue and white porcelain!
Considering there are only sixty-seven pieces extant outside museum collections, Liu Hun could imagine how valuable this item was.
“Mr.
Liu!
Three Ru ware porcelains, two false and one real!
Please appraise!” Ding Shan smiled smugly at Liu Hun, then returned to his seat.
Mo Lao San imdiately stepped forward, also bowing in all directions, knowing he would need to rely on this street for his livelihood from now on, thus naturally, the due etiquette was indispensable, he couldn’t act like a gangster anymore.
Ding Shan, watching Mo Lao San touching and looking, laughed and asked Liu Hun, “Mr.
Liu, do you know why it’s hard to authenticate Ru porcelain?”
Since Liu Hun was indeed ignorant of these intricacies, he asked Ding Shan, “Please enlighten , Shopkeeper Ding.”
Ding Shan, realizing Liu Hun was just the financial backer while the actual skill resided with Mo Lao San, was happy to show off in front of Liu Hun, thus he said, “The fewer the relic items, the fewer the references available for comparison, and thus the harder it is to authenticate.”
“That’s how it is, thank you, Shopkeeper Ding, for your teaching.” Liu Hun had just finished speaking when Mo Lao San ca back to the two of them and said, “I have already identified which one is the genuine Ru ware porcelain.”
“Oh?
Tell us, Shopkeeper Mo.” Ding Shan looked sowhat surprised, yet not very astonished.
“After the rain, the sky clears and the clouds break…
The genuine Ru ware is indeed the one in the middle!” Mo Lao San asserted proudly.
“Bravo, bravo…” Ding Shan applauded Mo Lao San, grinning broadly, “Impressive!
Indeed impressive!
Shopkeeper Mo, truly possessing discerning eyes!
This round is yours to claim!”
“Amazing!
This skinny and malnourished-looking guy actually identified the Ru porcelain in less than two minutes!”
“You can’t judge a book by its cover.
Think about that Liu guy showing up so boldly on our Old Archway Street and picking a fight straight away with the greatest Biyun Pavilion.
If he didn’t have so skills, would he dare?
Both of these guys are tough nuts to crack.”
“You guys know nothing!
This ‘Triple Challenge’ first bets on ‘face,’ and the second on ‘underlying value!’ Biyun Pavilion bringing out Ru porcelain is to force Mr.
Liu to bring out sothing good.
Winning two out of three ‘challenges’ counts as a victory!
Only the winner can take ho the goods!
If it’s a tie, the betting continues, so let’s see what Mr.
Liu can co up with.”
The crowd around was eagerly anticipating what this newcor on Old Archway Street, Liu Hun, would present to dazzle them.
After the three Ru porcelains were removed, Ding Shan turned to Liu Hun and said, “Mr.
Liu!
It’s your turn now.
What treasures will you show to open Ding’s eyes?”
Liu Hun glanced at Mo Lao San; he had already handed over the items to Mo Lao San.
Naturally, Mo Lao San knew what to do.
He beckoned a few people to bring over three painting racks and then people hung up three pieces of calligraphy.
The keen-eyed crowd imdiately recognized the brilliance of the calligraphy.
“The waves behind the Yangtze River drive those ahead.
There’s always a higher mountain!
Truly a person who could devour competitors!
And revealing such extraordinary items right away!
Even bringing out calligraphy by Zhao ngfu!”
“I’ve been in the antiques business for so many years, and today has truly been an eye-opener, absolutely extraordinary!
First Ru porcelain, now Zhao ngfu’s calligraphy!
Both competitors are indeed wealthy and bold!”
“I think the calligraphy by Zhao ngfu is even harder to guess than the Ru porcelain, making it a notch tougher!”
“Wow, spectacular!
Mr.
Liu, this Zhao ngfu’s ‘Daba Stele’ is highly valuable for collecting,” said Ding Shan, his eyes revealing endless greed.
Liu Hun did not talk much, but Mo Lao San spoke, “Mr.
Ding!
Please assess!”
Ding Shan certainly wouldn’t act himself.
He clapped his hands and said to Ji Yun nearby, “Master Ji, please handle this.”
Ji Yun, with an air of Daoist grace, walked over and began carefully inspecting the three pieces of calligraphy.
anwhile, Ding Shan started to impress again, slowly bragging, “Zhao ngfu’s calligraphy style is forceful, elegant, with precise structure, mature strokes, known as ‘Zhao Style,’ ranking him among the ‘Four Masters of Calligraphy’ alongside Yan Zhenqing, Liu Gongquan, and Ouyang Xun.
Obtaining even a single character of his is a great fortune.
Mr.
Liu, if you brought this to Ding, I would be imnsely grateful.”
Liu Hun, hearing Ding Shan’s tone, which clearly indicated he held the winning cards and was certain of victory, couldn’t help but say, “Mr.
Ding, are you so sure you will win?”
“Absolutely!” Ding Shan said with his head held high, his eyes filled with a challenging look.
Soon, Ji Yun determined the authenticity of the calligraphy in the first challenge, resulting in a tie between the two competitors.
“Hey!
This first round actually ended in a tie.
These two really are evenly matched, a real back and forth!”
“To establish oneself on our Old Archway Street, wouldn’t you need real skills?
One brings out Ru porcelain, another Zhao ngfu’s calligraphy, both showing big moves and not taking it lightly!”
“This round is just a warm-up, betting on ‘face’, but the next items are the real test of skill.
You watch, the content that follows will surely astound everyone.”
Ding Shan stood up, laughing, and announced to all around, “This first round ends in a draw for both of us, and you all probably haven’t had enough excitent!
This second round…” Just then, Ding Shan clapped his hands, and his assistants quickly brought up a table covered with red silk with three large round things underneath, unknown to the onlookers.
“Mr.
Liu!
This second challenge…” Ding Shan said as he walked over to the table, casually pulled the red silk, and with a “whoosh,” revealed three stones that looked worthless, “is about gambling on stones!”
“Oh my god!
It’s stone gambling!
Such an event hasn’t been seen on our Old Archway Street for many years!
Just thinking about it is exciting!
What’s hidden inside these stones could be good or bad; it truly showcases one’s skill!”
“A single cut could make you poor or rich!
Both parties are really playing big today!
Just saw Ru porcelain and ngfu’s calligraphy, and now it’s stone gambling!
It’s thrilling!”
“This round might actually end without a winner.
All three stones are unwindowed; Biyun Pavilion presenting them, but can Ding Shan really be sure which one might reveal a jade?
I doubt it!”
“Old Li, your view is off.
After all, Ding Shan has been in the ga for many years, his house must have so hidden treasures, right?
I can tell as soon as Ding Shan makes a move.”
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