Zhao Xueyi

Uncle Wu said with a smile, "You, don't be modest. In our line of work, you either know it or you don't. But saying you haven't learned enough is correct—not just for you, but for me too. China has five thousand years of history; there's far too much to learn. Even studying until old age, you'll never finish."

"You performed so well today, so I have a reward for you. Next Tuesday, I'll take you along to Yunzhong City in Jin Province to dig through an old estate. Just remember, when we're there, talk less and observe more."

Hearing about this opportunity, Chu Chen was so thrilled he kept shouting in agreement.

Over the past few years, Chu Chen had gone digging through old estates with Uncle Wu or others, but those were all small-scale affairs. Now that Uncle Wu was saying this, it had to be a centuries-old mansion with plenty of fine pieces inside. Even though the transaction volume at such an event would be huge and he wouldn't have much to do, just witnessing it would be a rare experience in his collecting career.

Seeing how excited he was, Uncle Wu chuckled, "Look at you, so worked up. The reason I didn't take you to big estates before was that your knowledge wasn't up to par. I didn't want you getting envious when you saw things and easily falling for fakes in your usual dealings. Now that you're no longer just a theorist, I'll definitely bring you along from now on."

Chu Chen thought about it and realized it made sense. For a newcomer in the antiques trade who was only half-trained, regularly seeing large transactions would stir up envy, if not outright greed. That kind of mindset often led people to jump headfirst into high-quality fakes when they got excited—a common occurrence. From this, he could see how much Uncle Wu cared about him.

Uncle Wu then asked, "By the way, Xiao Chen, do you have enough money on hand? Need me to lend you some?"

Chu Chen naturally wouldn't tell the truth, so he replied, "I still have some money left, enough to get by. Don't worry, Uncle Wu. If I run into trouble, I'll come to you."

Uncle Wu did a quick mental calculation; he had a rough idea of Chu Chen's finances and figured it should be about right. He nodded and said, "Alright, if you're short on cash, just tell me. Otherwise, I won't be easy on you."

"Old Wu, any word on that thing I asked you about last time?" No sooner had Uncle Wu finished speaking than an urgent shout came from outside the door.

Then, a chubby middle-aged man in a light gray short-sleeved shirt, drenched in sweat, burst into the shop. In his booming voice, he said, "Old Wu, hurry up, give me some water first. I'm dying of thirst."

Uncle Wu grabbed a bottle of mineral water and handed it to him. "Old Zhao, can you keep it down? Every time you come to my shop, you yell so loud you're going to shatter my porcelain bowls and vases with that voice of yours."

Old Zhao, whose real name was Zhao Xueyi, ran a small shop in Panjiayuan, but he was also a well-known antiques broker there with a solid reputation. Many wealthy and influential people liked to go through him to find their treasured pieces.

Uncle Wu and Zhao Xueyi were old friends. When it came to porcelain needs, Zhao always consulted Uncle Wu first before looking elsewhere.

Zhao Xueyi chugged the entire bottle of mineral water in one go, let out a sigh of relief, and said, "Ah, that feels good. Hey, Old Wu, I've been learning to cultivate my temperament lately, so I don't usually shout like this. It's just that this customer really pushed me to the edge."

Uncle Wu laughed. "Haha, I'd sooner believe a pig can climb a tree than believe you've learned to cultivate your temperament. But I am curious—who could push you this far?"

Zhao Xueyi rolled his eyes. "If you don't believe me, fine. Who else could it be but that spoiled brat from the Li family?"

Uncle Wu was surprised. "You mean Li Beibei? Didn't her father send her to the military? How is she back? And she knows me, so why would she come to you to buy something?"

Zhao Xueyi chuckled. "She said she couldn't stand the military, begged Old Li shamelessly to arrange a transfer, and now she's a little police officer at the Municipal Public Security Bureau. Old Li's birthday is coming up in a few days, so she came to me to find a Three-Fruit Pattern Bowl. As for why she didn't come to you—she couldn't swallow her pride."

Uncle Wu thought for a moment, figured out why, and shook his head with a smile.

Chu Chen, listening on the side, asked curiously, "Uncle Wu, who is Li Beibei? I've never seen her. Why would she be too embarrassed to come to your shop?"

Hearing Chu Chen speak, Zhao Xueyi paused, then said, "Oh, Xiao Chen, it's you!"

Chu Chen's face darkened. "Uncle Zhao, you're just now noticing me?"

Zhao Xueyi laughed heartily. "My bad, my bad. I was in a hurry and focused on talking to your Uncle Wu, so I really didn't pay attention. If you want to know about Li Beibei, go ask Xiao Ke—she'll give you a thorough answer."

Seeing the amused look on Zhao Xueyi's face, Chu Chen grew even more curious. Could there be some feud between Wu Ke and Li Beibei? He'd have to ask when he got the chance.

"Xiao Chen, I heard you snagged Old Xiang's Tang Sancai camel. When are you going to let Uncle Zhao take a look?"

"Here it is!" Uncle Wu pointed at the pile of pottery shards, somewhat annoyed.

Even though Chu Chen had been fooled by a top-tier high-quality fake this time, which was somewhat understandable, Uncle Wu was still irritated that Chu Chen hadn't consulted him beforehand.

Thinking back, Chu Chen did feel a bit guilty about disregarding Uncle Wu's concern, so his expression turned awkward.

Zhao Xueyi immediately walked behind the counter. As soon as he saw the shards, he exclaimed in shock, "Ah, how did it get smashed?"

Chu Chen then recounted the whole story from start to finish.

After listening, Zhao Xueyi pulled out a magnifying glass, picked up the key shard, and examined it closely. As he looked, he sighed, "Zhang Huo Ni's craftsmanship is truly incredible. Without these two characters, even I would have been fooled. Xiao Chen, there's no shame in being taken this time—it doesn't even count as paying tuition, since it's a Republic-era imitation after all."

Chu Chen asked in confusion, "Uncle Zhao, haven't you seen Old Xiang's Tang Sancai piece before?"

Zhao Xueyi put down the shard and said, "You know Old Xiang's temper. He never liked us brokers, said we reeked of money. I never had a chance to see that camel from him. It's a shame it got smashed—otherwise, you could have recouped some of your losses."

Chu Chen replied, "Uncle Zhao, even if the camel hadn't been smashed, I wouldn't have sold it. This piece was just too convincing."

Uncle Wu and Zhao Xueyi were taken aback, then quickly understood and nodded approvingly.

Zhao Xueyi patted Chu Chen on the shoulder. "Good. With this kind of character, Uncle Zhao will definitely look out for you from now on."

"Ha, Old Zhao, there's actually something I need your help with right now."

Then Uncle Wu pointed at the Three-Fruit Pattern Bowl and said, "Xiao Chen, tell your Uncle Zhao the conclusions you reached about this bowl."

Zhao Xueyi, intrigued, said, "Alright, let me hear how skilled Xiao Chen really is."

Chu Chen smiled sheepishly but wasn't nervous. Clearing his throat, he repeated the conclusions he had just drawn, speaking clearly and articulately.

When he finished, Zhao Xueyi clapped and praised, "Not bad. With this, I'll agree to let you come along for the estate dig the day after tomorrow. Old Wu, was that what you were talking about?"

"Old Zhao, you catch on fast. So, is this Three-Fruit Pattern Bowl suitable?"

Zhao Xueyi picked up the imitation Xuande Underglaze Red Bowl, his face lighting up. "This bowl, even though it's just a late mid-Qing Dynasty imitation of Kangxi's own era, isn't much worse than the originals. Top-notch quality, definitely suitable. Come on, let's go to my shop right now and get rid of that little miss. If she keeps pestering me, I'll lose years off my life!"

"Haha, Old Zhao, even you have your days." Uncle Wu laughed, packed the bowl in a gift box, told Chu Chen to mind the shop, then picked up the box and left with Zhao Xueyi.

With Zhao Xueyi's loud voice gone, the shop immediately quieted down.

Chu Chen recalled the feeling of using his ability earlier, which confirmed his previous conclusions. The time it took to absorb that aura represented the age of the antique, and the strength of the aura indicated its value. For example, this Three-Fruit Pattern Bowl, though its aura was shorter than the earlier Wucai figure bowl, was far more intense.

He also noticed that his neural reaction speed had improved significantly. In the past, he definitely wouldn't have been able to distinguish such subtle differences within half a second.

He still had one last chance to use his ability today, but since there were no particularly valuable pieces in the shop, he used it on a mid-Qing Dynasty folk kiln blue-and-white plate, which also validated his earlier judgments.

At this moment, he secretly rejoiced—with such an extraordinary ability, how could he still worry about missing out on a good bargain?

Next, Chu Chen found himself with nothing much to do. He noticed the computer beside him was still on, the screen displaying the news page from earlier, and he grew a bit interested.

Chu Chen had never used a computer before. Although Uncle Wu had told him to learn, he hadn't been interested in the thing back then and never bothered with it. Fortunately, there was a basic computer operations tutorial book next to the machine, which let him learn while he practiced. So he picked up the book and started reading.

But the more Chu Chen read, the more astonished he became. He could now read ten lines at a glance, and more importantly, everything he read was clearly etched into his memory.

Before long, Chu Chen had finished the hundred-plus-page book. When he recalled the contents and compared them to the text, he had indeed memorized everything—not even a single punctuation mark was wrong. He could recite it backward from memory without a single mistake.

Closing the book, Chu Chen was deeply shaken. Was this the legendary ability to never forget what one has read? How incredible was that! This was definitely another benefit brought by his supernatural power.

Now Chu Chen was grinning from ear to ear. With this photographic memory, it was like a tiger gaining wings. Although his supernatural ability had already been a huge help in appraising antiques, after all, aside from those three daily chances, he still had to rely on his own skills the rest of the time.

Now that he had this perfect memory, learning about antiques became much easier. And not just porcelain—he could also branch out into jade, calligraphy, painting, and other fields. This would greatly increase his chances of stumbling upon bargains in the future. How could Chu Chen not be thrilled?

"We common folks, today we're gonna be happy, we common folks, today we're gonna be happy..."

Chu Chen hummed a tune as he followed the instructions in the book and began operating the old-fashioned computer. (Please bookmark and recommend!)