Abilities

Chu Chen sighed inwardly. There was no other way; he would have to sell a Qing Dynasty imitation Wanli famille rose bowl from his collection to get by.

Chu Chen thought this to himself, but he still smiled at Aunt Zhang and said, "Auntie, you're right. We'll do as you say about the rent."

Afterward, the two exchanged a few more pleasantries before parting ways.

Chu Chen returned home and slumped onto the living room sofa, a wave of exhaustion washing over him. His earlier good mood from Beijing winning the Olympic bid was completely ruined by the rent issue. Where could he find 18,000 yuan on such short notice? Did he have to trouble Uncle Wu again?

Uncle Wu's real name was Wu Ziping. He was exactly sixty years old and owned a small antique shop in Panjiayuan, specializing in ancient ceramics. He was essentially Chu Chen's guide into the world of antiques. Their relationship dated back to Chu Chen's own past.

Chu Chen's childhood had been rather tragic. He was a bit slow as a child, and when he was five, he was accidentally abducted by human traffickers. He then traveled with them to the mountainous region of Shunde in Yan Province.

However, the traffickers had bad luck. A family they had arranged to sell him to suddenly backed out, leading to a conflict. Young Chu Chen managed to escape in the ensuing chaos.

But how could a five-year-old child find his way out of the mountains? Especially since he was unfamiliar with the area. Fortunately, because of his maternal grandfather, Chu Chen had exercised regularly since he was young and had a good constitution. After wandering for four or five days, he was found by his adoptive father, who took him home out of pity.

Chu Chen's adoptive father was named Liu Guomin. He was a lecturer in the history department at Capital University. Due to his family background, he was labeled a capitalist during the Cultural Revolution and sent down to this area for labor reform.

A few years after the Cultural Revolution ended, although he was rehabilitated, he was only a lecturer and had no connections. Coupled with his experiences during that tumultuous period, his spirit was broken, and he never returned to Beijing. He ended up teaching at a primary school in the mountains to make a living.

Although Chu Chen looked like a little beggar at the time, his clothing still vaguely suggested a good upbringing.

Seeing this, Liu Guomin surmised that the child had likely been trafficked. He had initially planned to ask him for clues later and then report it to the police, hoping to find his parents.

However, unexpectedly, Chu Chen fell seriously ill after arriving at his home. After recovering, he developed amnesia. Furthermore, the police were not yet connected by a network at the time, and reporting the case led nowhere. Liu Guomin had never married, so he adopted Chu Chen.

Chu Chen's current name also came from a small lock pendant he wore. The pendant was about the size of two adult thumbnails, carved from the finest mutton-fat jade. It depicted a lifelike lotus flower on the front and the characters "Chu Chen" on the back.

Perhaps because the pendant was so small and the traffickers didn't understand its value, they didn't take it, inadvertently leaving Chu Chen a clue to his origins.

It was as if an old saying held true: "Fortune hides misfortune, and misfortune conceals fortune." Although Chu Chen had lost his memory, he suddenly became intelligent and quick-witted. Liu Guomin, with his professional background, had a keen interest in antiques. Over the next few years, Chu Chen learned about forty to fifty percent of his adoptive father's antique appraisal skills.

It was a pity, however, that Liu Guomin's health was poor due to the persecution he endured. If not for the family's Tai Chi martial art that he practiced, he might not have lasted this long. Even so, by the time Chu Chen was fifteen, he had passed away.

Before Liu Guomin died, he left Chu Chen over two thousand yuan and told him to go to Beijing. When Liu Guomin first found Chu Chen, the boy had a Beijing accent, and his home was likely there. Going there might help him find his family.

Additionally, Liu Guomin gave him two letters, instructing him to deliver them to the recipients at the given addresses in Beijing, where he could seek refuge.

One letter was for Liu Guomin's sister. Due to some misunderstanding years ago, they had lost contact, but their sibling bond remained. The sister would likely accept Chu Chen out of consideration for her brother.

The other letter was for Wu Ziping. The Liu Guomin and Wu Ziping families were practically lifelong acquaintances. They had grown up together and were as close as brothers. Moreover, Wu Ziping's family were antique dealers, which meant Chu Chen's learned skills would finally have a place to be utilized.

After Chu Chen handled Liu Guomin's funeral arrangements and turned sixteen, he set off for Beijing.

However, when Chu Chen arrived in Beijing and found the address of Liu Guomin's sister, the house had a new owner. The current owner and neighbors knew nothing about where the previous family had gone.

Fortunately, Wu Ziping's address had not changed. When he heard Chu Chen's reason for coming, he was both saddened and overjoyed. Saddened by the death of his childhood friend, Liu Guomin, who was now separated by the veil of death. Overjoyed that Chu Chen had come to seek refuge with him. In his own words, "Old Liu's son is my son."

His subsequent actions proved that Wu Ziping genuinely cared for Chu Chen. He constantly inquired about his well-being and personally taught him antique appraisal techniques, holding nothing back.

However, Chu Chen was quite independent and, for other reasons, unwilling to live with Wu Ziping or work in his shop. He thus conceived the idea of becoming an antique peddler.

Wu Ziping was not angry about this. Instead, he advised Chu Chen on how to source goods and introduced him to brokers who dealt with old houses. This moved Chu Chen deeply. On several occasions when he misjudged items and lacked funds, Wu Ziping lent him money. Over the years, their relationship became like that of an uncle and nephew.

Chu Chen hadn't troubled Wu Ziping for a long time. Now, going to ask him for money made him feel ashamed, as if he were facing his ancestors. He gritted his teeth. Fine, he'd sell the famille rose bowl after all.

He retrieved a porcelain box from the bedroom and placed it on the living room coffee table, preparing to admire it one last time before it was gone forever.

Opening the box, a exquisite famille rose porcelain bowl came into view.

The bowl had a rim diameter of 14.5 centimeters, an open mouth, a curved belly, and a ring foot. The entire surface was coated with a bluish-white glaze, smooth and lustrous. The inner and outer edges of the rim were decorated with a blue and white geometric pattern. The inner rim featured a famille rose floral pattern. Inside the bowl, two blue and white geometric bands enclosed a colorful dragon and phoenix motif. The outer wall was painted with blue and white figures. The base bore a six-character kaishu inscription: "Made in the Wanli Reign of the Great Ming."

Judging by its patina and other characteristics, this was likely a Qing Dynasty imitation of a Wanli blue and white famille rose figure bowl. This famille rose bowl was in excellent condition, with vividly rendered figures that perfectly captured the bowl's artistic conception. Its current market price was estimated to be between twenty and thirty thousand yuan.

This bowl was the first "lucky find" Chu Chen had made under Wu Ziping's guidance. He had only paid two hundred yuan for it back then, making it exceptionally meaningful to him. Although its value wasn't extremely high, he had kept it carefully preserved.

Looking at the famille rose bowl, Chu Chen sighed. If it weren't absolutely necessary, he would never choose to sell this bowl. Now that it was still in his possession, he would take a good look at it.

With a hint of dejection, Chu Chen picked up the bowl with his left hand.

At that moment, a peculiar sensation traveled from his hand. Chu Chen was astonished to find a trace of energy being absorbed into his left hand from the bowl. This energy made him feel as if he had eaten an ice pop on a hot summer day – refreshing and lingering.

After recovering from this state, Chu Chen was immediately startled by the sudden anomaly, nearly dropping the bowl. He wondered if he had encountered a ghost, or if the sensation was just a hallucination.

Chu Chen pondered. Although the state lasted less than half a second, all the sensations were clear; it was definitely not a hallucination. He raised his left hand and examined it, but found nothing unusual. His left hand was still his left hand, not some magical touch. He then looked at the bowl from all angles, also finding no issues.

Chu Chen thought, "Heh! This is truly strange!"

After thinking for a long time, Chu Chen couldn't come up with an explanation. He finally guessed that perhaps this energy flow only occurred upon the first contact. If that was the case, he could find something to test it and find out.

Chu Chen quickly went to the several baskets in the living room, which contained various porcelain antiques. Of course, these were all crafts, his livelihood.

He took a deep breath and slowly picked up a porcelain vase with his left hand. To his great disappointment, there was no reaction. He then tried several other porcelain pieces, but the results were the same.

"What's going on?"

Chu Chen frowned, pacing back and forth in the living room, confused. Had that momentary phenomenon been a fleeting occurrence? After pacing back and forth for about the time it takes to eat a meal, he suddenly stopped.

"Right! Everything I picked up just now were merely crafts, not genuine antiques. That ability might only manifest with real antiques."

Having figured this out, Chu Chen was troubled again. He didn't have any genuine antique porcelain items around him. Without an object to experiment on, he was stumped. It seemed he would have to go to Uncle Wu's place to try.

With this thought, Chu Chen eagerly prepared to head to Uncle Wu's antique shop. After taking a few steps, a flash of inspiration struck him. No, he might not have other antiques, but he definitely had ordinary ancient coins, right? Although these weren't worth much, they were undeniably antiques.

Chu Chen immediately returned to the baskets. Before testing, he silently chanted.

"It must succeed, it must succeed!"

Then, without hesitation, Chu Chen picked up a Kangxi Tongbao coin from the basket. Instantly, a much weaker energy than before flowed from the coin and was absorbed into his left hand, just like before. However, the energy was so faint that if he hadn't concentrated, he wouldn't have noticed it at all.