Seal

After toasting with Chu Chen, Zhou Wenping asked, "Little Chen, are you free next week? I have a job digging up an old house."

"As someone in the antiques business, how could I not be free? But who is the client? Brother Zhou, why are you getting into matchmaking?" Chu Chen asked, a little puzzled.

"Heh, the owner of that house is actually my wife's great-uncle..."

"What great-uncle!"

Sister-in-law Zhou chimed in, "He's actually from our village. Their family used to be landlords, and my grandfather even worked for them as a long-term laborer."

"Mom, what's a long-term laborer?" Wen Hui asked curiously, pausing with the sweet food at her lips.

Zhou Wenping quickly explained, "A long-term laborer is someone who works all the time without pay. That's a long-term laborer."

"Get out of here, who talks like that? Aren't you afraid of corrupting your daughter?" Sister-in-law Zhou said with a playful scold.

"Ah, so Dad does housework all day without pay, does that make Dad a long-term laborer too!"

"Pfft!"

Wen Hui's words made everyone laugh. Zhou Wenping said to her awkwardly, "You're just a child, eat your food and don't talk nonsense."

Wen Hui immediately became unhappy upon hearing this, pouting her little lips and saying, "Hmph, stinky Dad, I'm not talking to you anymore."

"Ahem!" Zhou Wenping coughed awkwardly, shifting the topic back, "Like my wife said, that family used to be landlords and still had some things stored away that weren't destroyed. Something happened to their family, so they're looking for someone to appraise it and sell these heirlooms for some emergency cash."

"Everyone in their village knows I'm in this business, so they called me this afternoon to help them out. But I'm not sure what good items they might have, so I wanted to get your opinion."

Upon hearing this, Chu Chen readily agreed, "Sure, no problem. We definitely can't miss this opportunity. Even if there's no gain, we can still visit Xijing. I've been in the antiques business for so many years, but I've never been to Xijing, this ancient capital of a thousand years. I must take this chance to thoroughly explore their antique market."

Zhou Wenping was very happy when Chu Chen agreed and turned to ask Old Wu, "Old Wu, what do you say?"

Old Wu scratched his head and apologized, "Brothers, I'm sorry, but I have to go home with my wife next week. Unfortunately, I can't make it."

"Alright then, Guodong, are you going?" Zhou Wenping asked Li Guodong.

Before Li Guodong could answer, Chu Chen smiled and said, "That's right, Guodong, you have nothing to do during summer vacation. You can bring your girlfriend along too, it'll be a good way to deepen your relationship, and it'll give us a chance to meet her."

Upon hearing this, Old Wu joked, "Oh, Guodong, not bad. After being a monk for a few years, you're finally returning to secular life. Why didn't you bring her today for us to meet?"

Zhou Wenping picked up the wine bottle and said, "Exactly, this won't do. Do you still consider us friends? No, you have to drink three penalty cups."

Everyone egged him on to drink. Seeing this, Li Guodong had no choice but to drink the three penalty cups.

Perhaps it was the alcohol emboldening him, but after three cups, Li Guodong's face turned red, and he slurred, "Okay, I'll go. I'll definitely bring her with me, or I'll take your surname."

The crowd cheered. Chu Chen laughed and said, "Great! In the words of the Bashu people, you've got guts! For that, I'll toast you, Brother Li."

After that, they drank and chatted merrily, the atmosphere extremely lively.

********************************

The next day, Chu Chen woke up early as well. The meal yesterday lasted over three hours. In the heat of the moment, the drinking was also exceptionally intense. The four of them drank a total of eight 500ml bottles of Maotai. In the end, except for Chu Chen, who was still somewhat clear-headed due to his good constitution, everyone else was completely drunk.

Perhaps it was the good quality of the alcohol yesterday, or perhaps it was due to his special abilities, but Chu Chen didn't feel a headache upon waking up. Otherwise, the feeling of a hangover would have been unbearable.

Today, Chu Chen planned to get some inventory. After thinking it over the past couple of days, he still felt that setting up a stall was better. Street vendors have quite a few channels for information, and the antiques business is all about information. Moreover, mingling in the market would also provide more opportunities for lucky finds.

As for gambling on stones, to be honest, Chu Chen hadn't figured out his specific plans. It was fine to gamble occasionally, but if he gambled all day and won many times, he might arouse suspicion.

Besides, the quality of raw jade in Beijing is not as good as in the south. Good steel should be used on the blade. What Chu Chen wanted most now was to hitch a ride to the gambling on stones market in Diannan and see if he could get to know some informants.

He had always heard that good raw jade was kept at the seller's home. Without informants to guide him, people wouldn't sell to you. If he knew informants now, he wouldn't be getting inventory today; he would have already flown to Diannan to gamble on stones.

The most crucial thing, actually, was the lack of money. If he had money, he could directly participate in bulk transactions at the public auction. Chu Chen believed that with his abilities, he would definitely make a fortune. If he was lucky, making hundreds of millions wouldn't be difficult.

Thinking of this, Chu Chen hesitated. Should he go gambling on stones or get inventory? After thinking about it, he decided to give up the temptation of gambling on stones. After all, any slight disturbance in the gambling on stones market could spread too easily. If he won yesterday and won again today, it would inevitably attract the attention of some ill-intentioned people.

Ultimately, Chu Chen's reputation was too small. If he had a big reputation, winning frequently wouldn't be strange. This was also why he thought of going to Diannan to gamble on stones. The base number of raw jade there was large, so winning wouldn't be strange. Moreover, winning several times would only earn him praise for his good eye, and his reputation would grow.

The place where Chu Chen was going to get inventory was the Beijing Antiques City, just a wall away from Panjiayuan. This channel was introduced by Uncle Wu.

Beijing Antiques City should be considered the largest antique and art trading center in Asia. Its formation time is similar to Panjiayuan. Both places are old antique markets in Beijing.

Even though it wasn't the weekend, Chu Chen saw crowds of people and a lively scene when he arrived. However, the shop he was going to was a bit secluded, so he didn't have to jostle with others. Otherwise, on such a hot day, the feeling of being squeezed would be quite unpleasant.

As he was nearing the shop, an old man suddenly stormed out of an antique shop, angrily saying, "What nonsense! This is clearly an heirloom passed down in my family, and they insist it's a modern replica. If you have no discernment, why open an antique shop!"

This situation seemed to be the old man trying to sell an antique, but the appraiser didn't think highly of it, leading to a conflict with harsh words. At first, Chu Chen didn't pay much attention. After all, such things were common in the antiques business. Although some antique shop appraisers made mistakes, most of the time, the items brought by customers were not genuine.

However, when Chu Chen's peripheral vision caught sight of the item in the old man's hand, he felt something was off and quickly called out, "Old sir, please wait."

"What is it? What do you need?"

The old man stopped, his tone a bit stiff. He clutched the item in his hand and looked at Chu Chen warily.

Chu Chen smiled and said to the old man, "Old sir, I mean no harm. I just wanted to ask if you're looking to sell the item in your hand. If possible, could I have a look at it?"

The old man looked at Chu Chen with suspicion, "You want to buy it? If you want to buy it, let's be clear, this item is not cheap."

Chu Chen nodded, "Alright, but if the item is good, we can discuss the price."

The old man had originally come to sell something. Seeing that Chu Chen seemed easy to talk to, he walked to the side of the road and handed the item in his hand to Chu Chen.

This old man might not be in the antiques business and didn't know that antiques shouldn't be handled directly. Chu Chen frowned slightly at this and had no choice but to carefully take the item and examine it closely.

It was a seal made of green jade, about six centimeters tall, with a black substance on it that looked somewhat unsightly at first glance.

However, as soon as the item was in his hands, Chu Chen's heart leaped with joy. Without even using his special abilities, he knew it was indeed an antique. Perhaps it was because of this black substance that the people at the antique shop had missed it.

This black substance has a special term in the antiques world called "oil-rubbing." It was very popular from the Song Dynasty to the Ming and Qing dynasties. Specifically, it involved using hot processing methods to infuse black substances, such as "ebony powder," into the jade, giving it an antique aesthetic, also known as "blackening."

This method is also often used in modern fakes. However, ancient methods had certain limitations. Due to their imperfect processing techniques, the jade would have cracks. After prolonged handling by ancient people, sweat would seep into these cracks, creating a yellow patina. This yellow patina contrasted sharply with the black patina.

From this point, it could be seen that this seal should be an old item. Chu Chen couldn't understand why the owner of that shop hadn't noticed such obvious characteristics. Was the person's skill level low, or did they just glance at it and make a judgment?

Next, Chu Chen began to carefully observe the characteristics of this seal. The first thing he noticed was the black patina from the oil-rubbing spreading down from the top, which was solemn and majestic.

The entire seal material was square, with a fine and clear texture. The top part with the black patina was carved into a dragon knob. The dragon's body was coiled, with its head in the center, exuding majesty. The dragon scales were individually discernible, and the facial features were exquisite. The craftsmanship was excellent, representing a perfect combination of jade material and skillful work.

Observing the carving of the dragon knob, it should be characteristic of Ming Dynasty artisans. Looking at the dragon's carving with a magnifying glass, one could see many striations. These striations were traces polished by a water-powered grinding wheel and diamond sand in ancient times, consistent with the characteristics of the Ming Dynasty.

From the points above, it could be basically concluded that this item should be a Ming Dynasty oil-rubbed green jade dragon-knobbed seal. Using his special abilities also confirmed this conclusion.