Chapter Seven: The Unexpected Person

  July 17th, Tuesday. Today is the day to go back to Shanxi Province to clean up the old house. Chu Chen was so excited that he got out of bed early, dressed neatly, bought breakfast and strolled to Wu Shu's store entrance while eating.

  Yesterday, Chu Chen spent the whole day at home except for exercising and eating. He was originally going to stock up on goods, but thinking that he would be going to clean out the old house tomorrow, he didn't go and decided to save his money instead, figuring it might come in handy later.

  All day, Chu Chen looked through all the antique data in the house. Compared to before, his reserve of antique knowledge has increased a lot, only lacking some practice. Unfortunately, most of the materials were about porcelain, and there were only some jadeite jade materials, but in these two aspects, he is still completely theoretical.

  Chu Chen arrived at the entrance of Wu Shu's store just after six o'clock, and as expected, Wu Shu had not yet arrived. However, he also had a key to the store door, so there was no need for him to wait idly at the entrance.

  After going in, Chu Chen slightly tidied up the hygiene and then opened the computer to browse the web. His operation is now very skilled and it's hard to believe that he has only been learning computer operations for less than three days.

  That day, Wu Hui came back and saw Chu Chen operating skillfully. He was very surprised and asked if he had secretly come to learn earlier. Chu Chen boasted about himself, saying things like "genius" and "talented", which made Wu Hui envious and jealous. He went up and gave him a few sugar-roasted chestnuts.

  Before seven o'clock, Wu Shu also arrived at the store, and after preparing for a while, he took Chu Chen to gather with Zhao Xueyi.

  When they arrived, Zhao Xueyi and a man who looked over 50 years old were already there.

  This old man, Chu Chen, was not unfamiliar. He was the owner of a large antique shop in Panjiayuan called "Yuebao Pavilion", Zhu Dafu, also known as Zhu Boss, and Wu Shu was also an old friend.

  In fact, the antique business is not that big, at least in a place like Panjiayuan, people with some reputation all know each other. The antique business values relationships, as long as there's no deep hatred or dislike, generally everyone gets along pretty well.

  Zhu Dafu looks like he's only in his fifties, but this is because he takes good care of himself and is also a Tai Chi master. He is actually seventy-two years old this year.

  After Wu Shu and Chu Chen greeted them separately, Zhu Da Fu smiled at Chu Chen:

  "Xiao Chen, I have an impolite request. I heard that your Tang Sancai vase has a flaw. Well, no other meaning, just want to take a closer look."

  Zhu Dafu's attitude towards Chu Chen and Yan Yuese was not because he had something to ask of them.

  As mentioned earlier, Chu Chen's adoptive father had a family heirloom Tai Chi fist, which was also passed down to him when he was young. Over the years, except for those few days with Tang Sancai, he has been practicing diligently and has already reached a considerable level in terms of form, intent, and spirit.

  Chu Chen's residence was not far from Zhu Dafu. One day, while practicing Tai Chi in the park, he accidentally met Zhu Dafu.

  The two men practiced traditional Tai Chi, focusing on technique and striking. As a result, Zhu Daifu had some difficulty communicating with others. But when he saw Chu Chen's techniques, he was delighted and immediately approached him to exchange ideas after Chu Chen finished practicing.

  Chu Chen arrived and didn't have any gatekeeper's vision. Besides, it's the technological era now, no matter how good martial arts are, they can't compare to bullets.

  The martial arts trend is weak, after the adoptive father passed away, Chu Chen also lost his communication object. Now that he has met Zhu Da Fu, he is very happy too. In this way, the two became friends regardless of age, and later Zhu Da Fu knew that Chu Chen was Wu Shu's nephew, so he showed more affection, but correspondingly, Chu Chen became a younger generation.

  Chu Chen clapped his hands and said, "Uncle Zhu, I thought it was a big deal, but you're so knowledgeable, how can you be interested in that Tang Sancai of mine?"

  "I'm telling you, Xiao Chun, it's not that I don't want you to call me Uncle Zhu, but when others hear it, they'll think I'm a big shot or something."

  "Also, I don't claim to have seen much or know a lot, I'm just a few steps ahead of you. In our line of work, it's really tough to guard against counterfeiters, they're too powerful. Zhang Huo can be considered their ancestor, so his works are very worth referencing."

  Now that technology is advanced, there are indeed many more counterfeit products, and among them, high-quality counterfeits are countless. If you're not careful, you'll be deceived. Therefore, people in the antique industry will study the methods of making fakes, so as to avoid paying tuition fees for the same tricks.

  Chu Chen nodded and said: "Alright, when I get back, I'll take it to your store."

  Then Zhao Xueyi said to everyone: "Alright, now that everyone is here, let's set off."

  "Wu Shu asked in surprise: 'Just the four of us?'"

  Zhao Xueyi said as he walked: "There's also our old acquaintance, Director Zhao. He's currently in Jinyang, we'll meet up with him when we get there."

  Wu Shu saw Chu Chen's confused look and knew he didn't recognize Zhao, so he introduced him: "This is Zhao Qirui, the boss of Huit Trade, a billionaire who loves antiques, but usually does business through his uncle Zhao."

  Chu Chen was astonished. Hui Te Trading Company, a very famous import and export company in the capital city, rumored that its boss had great power, unexpectedly he also liked antiques.

  Four people stood in front of an old Santana, Zhu Dafu laughed and said: "I'm telling you, Zhao, with your hundreds of millions of assets, why don't you change to a better car?"

  Zhao Xueyi opened the car door and said, "You know what? This old car may not be the best, but I'm used to driving it. If I were to switch to a new one, I'd have trouble getting accustomed to it for a while."

  The three of them burst out laughing and set off together after getting on the car.

  The car had been driving for a while, and Zhu Dafu said to Chu Chen, who was sitting in the front passenger seat: "Xiao Chen, I think your spirit has changed a bit compared to the past few days. Could it be that you've made a breakthrough?"

  Chu Chen was taken aback for a moment, then smiled and said: "Uncle Fu, your eyes are really good, I just broke through to the Small Week Sky."

  Like Chu Chen's ancient Tai Chi boxing, there are three realms, namely Small Week Sky, Big Week Sky and Pre-Heaven.

  It sounds like the martial arts in Journey to the West, but without the fantastical elements of flying on rooftops and injuring people with leaves. However, if one reaches the Xiantian realm, living past 150 years old is still achievable.

  He only heard from his adoptive father that since the Qing Dynasty, no one in this sect had broken through to the Xiantian realm, let alone whether there were higher realms beyond Xiantian.

  Chu Chen's breakthrough to the Small Week Sky was inexplicable, yesterday he just practiced his fist and felt that the breath in his body was different, which was a sign of breaking through to the Small Week Sky. He was both surprised and puzzled at the same time, and finally guessed that it might also be influenced by his heterodox abilities.

  Zhu Dafu laughed happily and said, "Great, Xiao Chuan, you can also be considered a Tai Chi master. It's really the case that the waves behind the Yangtze River push forward the waves in front of it. I think back to when I broke through to the Small Week Heaven at the age of 40. If we were in ancient times, you would definitely break through to the Pre-Heaven Realm."

  Chu Chen apologized and said he didn't dare.

  Zhao Xueyi drove while saying: "That what you call Little Zhou Tian, is it really like the ones written in martial arts novels?"

  Zhu Dafu chuckled and said, "How is that possible? If it were like that, wouldn't one become a Superman? The martial arts world would not be as weak as it is now. However, by the time of the Small Week Heaven, at least one can live to ninety years old, and eight or nine adult men are still manageable."

  Zhao Xueyi said after hearing: "That's okay too, it's much more powerful than special forces, especially in our line of work. If we go to an unfamiliar place to collect goods and are 'bumped' into a trap by someone, we won't be completely helpless."

  The water in the antique industry is really too muddy. From ancient times to the present, there are not a few industries like "bumping porcelain". Therefore, when trading, eyes must be brightened, otherwise, if you are not careful, you may be deceived. The situation mentioned by Zhao Xueyi is also not uncommon.

  Later, Zhao Xueyi drove while introducing some information about the owner of the house they were going to visit. Chu Chen only understood after listening that this trip was not strictly a treasure hunt, but rather the owner, who was getting old, wanted to deal with his collection of many years and contacted Zhao Xueyi, which led to this trip.

  Afterwards, Zhu Dafu exchanged some experiences on boxing with Chu Chen, and then everyone talked about some interesting stories about antiques, and the carriage gradually quieted down.

  Four hours later, they found a service station to have a casual lunch and continued on their way. However, at this time, Wu Shu took over the driving, after all, four hours of continuous driving had left Zhao Xueyi extremely fatigued.

  This time they are going to a place called Shallow Show Town under Yunzhong City, which is not far from the previous service station. After passing by for an hour, they arrived at the agreed location with Zhao Qirui.

  Zhao Qirui's ride was a Benz. After Chu Chen and the others arrived at their destination, Zhao Xueyi got out of the car and walked to the front of the Benz to greet him. He then turned around and switched drivers, with one in front of the other, heading towards their destination.

  Zhao Xueyi said with a gloomy face while driving: "What bad luck, this time Zhao brought that money Changxing."

  "Ah, isn't Old Dong always the one who appraises things for you, Zhao? Why is it Lao Qian this time?" Zhu Dafu asked in surprise.

  Wu Shu said: "This is normal too. Lao Dong and Qian Changxing have a good relationship, maybe he had something to do this time, so he let Qian Changxing come in his place."

  This Qian Changxing is so detestable, Chu Chen also knows some of the reasons why.

  Qian Changxing also has some level of expertise in antique appraisal. In his earlier years, he relied on some connections to enter the Palace Museum and did appraisal work like Wu Shu.

  However, this person's character was not good, and he actually colluded with others to buy fake goods. He happened to be discovered by Wu Shu, and although he was spared from prison due to family pleas, his job was definitely gone. As a result, he harbored resentment towards Wu Shu.

  At that time, it was the beginning of reform and opening up. Qian Changxing relied on what he had learned to help people identify or pull strings. If he had been honest and down-to-earth, by now he would not have become extremely rich and noble, but at least he would have had a few hundred million. However, he did not change his ways and started doing business with others again.