Qi Baolin did not try to persuade him again, while Qi Baofu, perhaps having seen many situations like this, quickly regained his composure. He gave Chu Chen a thumbs-up and praised him, "Teacher Chu, you're truly impressive. You spotted so many flaws in this vase in no time at all. If only I had half your skill!"
Chu Chen modestly brushed off the praise. He felt nothing special about identifying the vase as genuine or fake. The counterfeiting techniques used on it were simply too crude. Any experienced antique enthusiast could see through them, so there was really nothing to be proud of.
Right afterward, Qi Baofu wanted to give Chu Chen a customary fee for his efforts. Chu Chen refused at first. He was helping people appraise things purely out of interest and to gain experience. As for appraising antiques for money, he truly had no interest in that.
When Qi Baofu saw that Chu Chen would not accept it, he insisted on forcing the money into his hands. In the end, Chu Chen had no choice but to take one hundred yuan. He refused to accept any more.
Perhaps because he felt bad that Chu Chen had charged so little, Qi Baofu then whispered a few words to Cao Jingde beside him. Cao Jingde frowned at first, but a moment later, his expression returned to calm.
Qi Baofu then turned to Chu Chen with a smile and said, "Teacher Chu, we're going to the countryside today to search through someone's house for antiques. Would you be interested in coming with us?"
Chu Chen had noticed Cao Jingde's expression earlier. After hearing Qi Baofu's words, he understood what had happened. Cao Jingde probably had not wanted him to come along at first. The reason was simple enough: he was