Treasure Sense

Both the seal blank and the jade pendant had one thing in common: they were genuine antiques. Could it be that he now had the ability to sense antiques from a distance? No! If that were the case, why wasn't he attracted to the genuine antiques placed on the other side? Could they all be fakes? That was impossible.

What was the reason? Chu Chen pondered carefully.

That's right!

Chu Chen had a flash of inspiration. It must be due to the distance. When he encountered the old man just now, he only felt that something was wrong with the seal blank when he was about half a meter away. And when he discovered the jade pendant, it was also about half a meter away from him.

So, to verify if this was the case, Chu Chen walked towards the other side, where the genuine antiques were displayed.

"Xiao Chen, are you planning to get some old items today as well?" Chen Dewang put down the seal blank he was holding and asked when he saw Chu Chen's actions.

Chu Chen said with a somewhat sheepish smile, "Just looking, I haven't decided yet. I'm just looking around."

"Alright, you decide for yourself. But don't worry about the price, it definitely won't let you suffer a loss."

After seeing Chu Chen nod, Chen Dewang turned back to his book.

While they were talking, Chu Chen's mind was filled with thoughts of his supernatural ability. Elder Chen's sudden question startled him half to death. He thought Elder Chen had discovered something unusual, which made him a little paranoid for a moment. When Elder Chen turned his attention back, he secretly breathed a sigh of relief, and his tense mood instantly relaxed.

Thinking about it, Chu Chen found himself quite amusing. Since he had gained his supernatural ability, his way of handling things had changed to some extent. Overall, he had become a bit timid, especially after finding that Zigang plaque by chance. He always felt that if he wasn't careful, others might discover his ability.

Now that he thought about it, it was unnecessary. He hadn't written "I have a supernatural ability" on his face. As long as he acted like a normal person, others wouldn't notice anything different about him.

On the contrary, if he suddenly acted differently than before, others would find it strange and pay attention to his behavior, greatly increasing the chance of his ability being discovered.

With these thoughts, Chu Chen immediately felt relieved. He just needed to be his old self. Even if he often found treasures by chance or won at gambling on stones, as long as he could explain his reasoning, others would not only not suspect him but would admire his knowledge and discernment, and envy his luck. This would also enhance his reputation.

In the world of antiques, reputation and collection are complementary. A great reputation means more collections, which makes it easier to conceal his supernatural ability.

At this moment, Chen Dewang suddenly felt that Chu Chen had become confident and cheerful again. Although he didn't understand why, he still sighed, thinking this was how a young person should be. Then he focused on his book.

Chu Chen was unaware of this scene. If he had known, perhaps his heart would have been filled with a mixture of relief and lingering fear.

When he walked to about half a meter away from the display cabinet filled with genuine antiques, Chu Chen was a little surprised. He hadn't felt that strange sensation at all, which made him doubt if his conclusion just now was wrong.

"Huh!"

Just as Chu Chen was staring at a gold-painted bowl, thinking, that strange sensation gradually emerged from his mind, growing from weak to strong, and finally becoming indistinguishable from the feeling he had for the seal blank and the jade pendant. This situation immediately gave him some ideas. After careful study, he finally understood what was going on.

This feeling of sensing antiques was, to some extent, controlled by his consciousness. If he subconsciously believed that an antique was genuine, this feeling would not appear. Conversely, if he didn't pay attention to an antique, the feeling could appear in time and alert him.

However, even for an antique he believed to be genuine, the feeling could still appear under his control. In short, this feeling was a sharp tool for finding treasures by chance and for appraisal. He thought that this feeling should be called Treasure Sense.

He considered that without Treasure Sense, Chu Chen would not only need discernment to find treasures by chance but would also have to hold the item to confirm it. Moreover, with many and miscellaneous items at small stalls, if he missed something, he would miss the opportunity in vain. Now, with Treasure Sense, such regrets would no longer exist.

Furthermore, not every place allows you to handle items for appraisal. Museums, for example, do not allow touching. Some might say that museum items are undoubtedly genuine, but that's not always true. Swapping of items in museums has not been unheard of.

There were also pre-auction exhibitions. Although most of them allowed handling, some, for special reasons, did not. In such cases, it would rely on the collector's own discernment. There were also other situations where Treasure Sense could avoid such awkwardness.

Of course, Treasure Sense was not omnipotent. It only played an auxiliary role. Chu Chen had experimented earlier, and similar to his supernatural ability's sensing range, as long as the item belonged to the Republic of China period, Treasure Sense could detect it. Therefore, it didn't mean that everything detected by Treasure Sense was a top-quality antique.

Moreover, Treasure Sense had a distance limitation. As mentioned earlier, the maximum sensing distance for Treasure Sense was half a meter. It couldn't sense anything further away.

As for the reason for the formation of Treasure Sense, Chu Chen speculated that it might be a change that occurred after absorbing too much spirit energy. Otherwise, why didn't he sense Treasure Sense when he encountered the Zigang plaque before? From this point, it could be concluded that supernatural abilities could be upgraded. He was now eagerly anticipating what new functions his ability would have the next time it upgraded.

With excitement and joy, Chu Chen picked out one genuine item and then casually selected a few fakes. Afterward, he approached Chen Dewang and said:

"Elder Chen, I've picked out the items and placed them over there. Please take a look."

"Alright."

Chen Dewang put down his book and came to the pile of selected items with Chu Chen. After just a casual glance, he said to Chu Chen:

"Xiao Chen, is that all?"

At this moment, Chu Chen's heart was not as calm as it appeared on the surface. This was because Chen Dewang had not noticed that the jade pendant was not a fake. He was now conflicted, wondering whether to pocket the jade pendant, which had a profit margin of up to ten times.

However, Chu Chen ultimately gave up this temptation. After all, Chen Dewang had taken great care of him over the years. For example, once when Chu Chen made a mistake and didn't even have the money to pay for the goods, Chen Dewang had extended credit to him without a second word. Given all this, if he pocketed the jade pendant this time, he wouldn't be able to live with himself.

Chu Chen did not immediately answer Chen Dewang's question. Instead, he picked out the jade pendant and handed it to him, saying:

"Elder Chen, what do you think of this jade pendant?"

Chen Dewang took the jade pendant and observed it briefly before smiling, "Good. Xiao Chen, I haven't misjudged you. This jade pendant must have been accidentally placed there by my grandson when he was organizing things the day before yesterday. This kid, he doesn't pay attention to details. I'll deal with him when I get home."

Chu Chen smiled and said, "Young people, they're all like that. I wasn't much better when I was young. Elder Chen, I just selected a bird feeder, could you please get it out for me to look at?"

"Oh, you're talking about that blue and white bird feeder, right? Alright, I'll get it for you." After saying that, Chen Dewang walked over, took out the bird feeder, and placed it on the table.

Chu Chen had also carefully examined this bird feeder earlier. It was a D-shaped bird feeder with a smooth exterior. The interior was painted with blue and white scrolling floral patterns. The brushwork was bold, and the blue and white colors were rich and vibrant, exhibiting distinct characteristics of Wanli period blue and white porcelain.

The bird feeder was inscribed with a six-character "Great Ming Wanli Year Made" in regular script, clearly indicating it was from the Wanli reign. The clay, patina, cobalt blue pigment, and shape all confirmed that it was an authentic old item from the period, very much worth collecting.

Placing the bird feeder back on the table, Chu Chen said, "Elder Chen, that's all. That's all I need."

Chen Dewang put the jade pendant back with the other items and said, "Alright, these will be twenty thousand yuan for you."

Chu Chen was stunned for a moment, saying in surprise, "Elder Chen, did you miscalculate? How can this only be worth twenty thousand yuan?"

Although the items Chu Chen selected were all modern fakes, they were all high-quality. The wholesale price for these alone was almost ten thousand yuan, and the bird feeder was estimated to be worth around ten thousand yuan as well. Was the jade pendant a gift?

Chen Dewang replied with a smile, "Xiao Chen, you've been in this business for quite some time now. You should know that in our line of work, we rely on discernment. If you hadn't reminded me just now, I wouldn't have noticed at all. If I were to re-evaluate the price, wouldn't that break the rules of the antique trade?"

Chu Chen waved his hands and quickly said, "This actually has nothing to do with you."

"Isn't my grandson representing me!"

Chen Dewang glared and waved his hand, "Alright, it's settled then. If you really feel embarrassed, just come and patronize my business more often. In fact, this is also a reward for your honesty."

Seeing that Chu Chen was still hesitant, he angrily said, "What? Still not willing? If you're not willing, I'll take it back! Don't come to me for goods anymore."

"Alright, alright! I accept, okay!" Chu Chen had no choice but to quickly agree.

"That's more like it," Chen Dewang said with a smile.

Next, the two of them packed up all the goods they had taken this time. After all, they were all fragile items, and they couldn't be placed carelessly. Once everything was packed, Chen Dewang called for delivery workers. Then, Chu Chen greeted him and got into the delivery truck, and they went home together.

As Chu Chen sat in the car, he sighed inwardly, thinking that people really ought to have a conscience. Like today, if things had turned out differently, if he hadn't told Chen Dewang about the jade pendant, and Chen Dewang had found out the details later, there would have been a rift between them. How could their relationship be even closer now?