Unexpected Discovery

The craftsmanship of these two chairs alone is enough to make one's eyes light up, but they still need to be verified to confirm they are indeed made of Rosewood.

First, one must observe their "color" and grain. We know that Rosewood furniture has a surface color of noble purplish-red or purplish-black. The grain is not "disordered," and there are very few or almost no patterns. Golden star-like or fine S-shaped curled ox-"hair" patterns can be seen.

If viewed under a 60-100x magnifying glass, the pores can be seen to be filled with golden Rosewood essence, resembling a vast starry sky with twinkling starlight.

Although both these chairs are works from the Qing Qianlong period, their condition shows that their owners throughout the generations have preserved them quite well. Despite a slight grayish-white color on the surface, the aforementioned characteristics can still be vaguely discerned.

Furthermore, the velvety curled grain and the delicate, smooth, skin-like feel of Rosewood furniture are qualities that other woods cannot replicate. Thus, it can be concluded that both five-screen armchairs are made of Rosewood.

With this, both the Pear wood table and the Rosewood five-screen armchairs can be considered priceless. Moreover, since the three pieces of furniture form a set, their value increases significantly.

At this moment, Grandpa Li returned carrying two brocade boxes, one large and one small. He smiled and said to everyone, "How is it, do you all like my set of furniture?"

Everyone exchanged glances. The items were excellent, but Grandpa Li wouldn't sell them separately, which made things a bit difficult.

At this point, Zhao Qirui coughed and said to the others with a smile, "Don't mind me, I'm not interested in furniture or similar items this time. You all discuss it amongst yourselves."

As soon as he finished speaking, the atmosphere among everyone immediately relaxed. Things became easier after that. Zhao Xueyi was a porter, so he wasn't a contender. Uncle Wu, although he liked it, couldn't gather that much money on short notice. Furthermore, he dealt in porcelain, so he lacked some confidence in competing with others.

Therefore, as expected, this set of furniture went to Zhu Dafu.

However, Chu Chen also witnessed an "interlude" during this time. After Zhao Qirui spoke, Qian Changxing, who was beside him, seemed to have an intention to purchase as well. But with just a glare from Zhao Qirui, he stopped himself from speaking.

Later, Qian Changxing appeared somewhat indignant. Although the expression flashed by, Zhao Qirui, being the boss of a large company, had sharp eyes and noticed it. Afterward, his gaze towards Qian Changxing became even more displeased. However, Qian Changxing seemed unaware of this.

Chu Chen inwardly sneered, "This Qian Changxing is truly an idiot, too self-important. No wonder Uncle Wu and the others dislike him."

Afterward, while they were negotiating the price, Chu Chen took the opportunity to survey the room.

This room should be a place Grandpa Li specifically used to store antiques. It was very clean, but now, apart from the three pieces of furniture from earlier, it was empty. It was likely as Grandpa Li had mentioned, that other collectors had taken them.

As his gaze swept over to a corner of the wall, Chu Chen noticed a Buddha statue placed there, which piqued his curiosity. However, due to the dim lighting there, Chu Chen couldn't see clearly from his spot. So, he walked over to examine it up close.

Upon closer inspection, Chu Chen felt very disappointed. This Buddha statue was less than forty centimeters tall, in the common seated pose on a lotus pedestal. It was carved entirely from ordinary camphor wood, and the carving was also quite ordinary. Judging by its patina and carving technique, it should be an item from the late Qing to early Republican period, which explained why it was placed in the corner.

But since he had looked, he might as well look thoroughly. As Chu Chen tried to turn the Buddha statue around, his mind stirred. He felt his left hand suddenly sense two energies within the Buddha statue.

One, needless to say, was likely the Buddha statue itself. The other energy, however, made Chu Chen fantasize, Could something be hidden inside this Buddha statue?

With this thought, Chu Chen didn't hesitate and immediately activated his special ability. As expected, two energies were drawn into his left hand. One energy was short and very weak, while the other was long and very strong, arguably the most powerful energy he had ever felt.

This immediately invigorated Chu Chen's spirit, and he began to examine the Buddha statue carefully. However, he couldn't find anything wrong with it, inside or out, front or back. This was normal; if it were that easy to find, it wouldn't still be here.

But at this point, the price negotiation was almost settled. If they saw his current actions, they might suspect something was wrong with the Buddha statue, so he had to speed up. If he still couldn't find the problem, he would have to acquire the Buddha statue first.

Perhaps luck was on his side, as Chu Chen soon found a very fine crack with his magnifying glass at the junction of the Buddha statue and the lotus pedestal, barely visible to the naked eye. This should be the source of the problem. So, he took a deep breath, calmed his emotions, picked up the Buddha statue, and walked towards everyone.

At this time, Zhu Dafu had already finalized the price with Grandpa Li. In the end, Zhu Dafu acquired the precious set of furniture for 450,000 yuan. Both parties seemed satisfied with this price, as evident from the smiles on their faces.

After placing the Buddha statue on the ground, Chu Chen scratched the back of his head and said to Grandpa Li with a simple smile, "Old Grandpa Li, my mother is a devout Buddhist, and I usually don't have the money to buy her a good Buddha statue. I happened to see this one here and thought she might like it. Could you let me take it back to fulfill my filial duty?"

Everyone was stunned at first, especially Uncle Wu, whose eyes flashed with a strange look. Zhao Qirui appeared even more disappointed. Then, everyone began to examine the Buddha statue. It appeared to be made of ordinary camphor wood, and the carving was also ordinary. Fortunately, it was an item from the late Qing dynasty, making it an old piece, suitable for ordinary households to worship.

Grandpa Li looked at the Buddha statue, then at Chu Chen, and said, "This Buddha statue, my grandfather obtained it back in the day." He paused here, then looked at Chu Chen. However, Chu Chen still had a simple smile on his face and showed no unusual expression, which made Grandpa Li somewhat disappointed, thinking he might have been overthinking it.

So, he smiled again and said, "However, no one in our family believes in Buddhism anymore. Since you are so filial, I'll let you take it."

Chu Chen's heart immediately relaxed. When Grandpa Li was staring at him just now, he had been so nervous that he almost showed his emotions. Fortunately, he controlled himself in the end. Suppressing his excitement, Chu Chen thanked Grandpa Li with a simple smile tinged with gratitude, and finally acquired the Buddha statue for one thousand yuan.

At this moment, Qian Changxing, standing aside, said disdainfully, "Wu Ziping, your nephew has very poor taste. He even wants such an ordinary Buddha statue. Has he never seen the world before? Shall I introduce you to one?"

As soon as he said this, the atmosphere in the room became extremely awkward, and a sense of anger arose in everyone's hearts.

Chu Chen and the others, needless to say, already had a poor impression of him. First of all, these words offended Grandpa Li. He had just said that this Buddha statue was obtained by his grandfather; by saying this, wasn't he implying his grandfather had no taste? How could this not anger Grandpa Li!

As for Zhao Qirui, he was angry that Qian Changxing spoke without considering the occasion. If you have a disagreement with someone, you can settle it elsewhere, but now you are the appraisal master I, Zhao Qirui, invited, representing my position. Speaking like this is just causing trouble for me for no reason!

Seeing that he had become the target of everyone's criticism, Qian Changxing immediately realized that what he had said was problematic and felt regretful. Why is it that after not seeing Wu Ziping for several years, I can't control my temper? Is Wu Ziping incompatible with me? What bad luck.

Seeing the situation, Qian Changxing retreated to the side with an embarrassed expression.

Zhao Qirui coughed, breaking the awkward silence, and said to Grandpa Li, "Hehe, Old Grandpa Li, what treasures are in these two boxes of yours? How about letting us feast our eyes?"

Grandpa Li exchanged pleasantries with a smile, then opened the boxes. Upon seeing the contents, everyone exclaimed in amazement.

The smaller of the two large and small boxes contained a Doucai bowl.

Doucai, also known as "dou cai," is a decorative technique for porcelain that combines underglaze blue and white with overglaze enamel colors. Doucai porcelain was first fired in the kilns of Jingdezhen during the Chenghua period of the Ming Dynasty. It is renowned for its novel decorative patterns and elegant colors, representing a significant achievement in the history of Chinese ceramic craftsmanship.

It combines underglaze blue and white with overglaze polychrome to decorate the same piece of porcelain, creating an artistic expression where the underglaze blue and white and overglaze polychrome compete with each other, making it highly aesthetically pleasing.

This Doucai bowl has the inner and outer rims decorated with Sanskrit script and cloud-and-dragon patterns respectively. The center of the bowl and the outer wall are painted with Doucai lotus pond mandarin duck patterns. Its accurate name should be Doucai Lotus Pond Mandarin Duck Pattern Bowl with Recessed Foot.

Judging by its patina, clay quality, painting, and glaze color, it should be a Doucai bowl from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, imitating the Doucai porcelain of the Ming Dynasty.

And inside the larger brocade box was an exquisitely beautiful White Jade Eight Auspicious Symbols Ruyi. It was this Ruyi that caused everyone's astonishment.

Ruyi is an ancient Chinese artifact symbolizing auspiciousness, evolved from the ancient back scratcher. The earliest Ruyi had a handle shaped like a finger, indicating places the hand couldn't reach, and could be scratched as desired, hence the name Ruyi. Later, it gradually evolved into a "hu" (also called a court hu) for recording events, and finally evolved into a purely decorative antique, becoming the Ruyi of today.

This Ruyi is about forty centimeters long, carved from a single piece of Hetian white jade. It is massive, with lustrous jade, a soft and winding shape, exquisite carving, and a refined polishing. It is a rare treasure.

The head of the Ruyi is shaped like a Ganoderma lucidum, with its edges following the form. In the shallow relief in the center, surrounded by the precious treasures of a parasol, lotus, knot, and goldfish.

The raised part of the Ruyi handle has an openwork panel containing a white canopy, a vase, and a conch shell. The openwork panel at the tail of the handle contains auspicious symbols and bats. The front and back of the handle are adorned with interspersed cloud patterns, flowing freely. This Ruyi is carved with clear and distinct patterns, fully embodying auspicious meanings, and possesses the style of imperial court use. (Seeking collection and recommendations!)