Chapter 121: The Great Ming Xuan De Furnace

  Next to the hotel is a square, where the spring breeze in March blows gently from time to time, giving people a refreshing feeling.

  There was a musical fountain in the square, which was spraying water at this time. Many people were sitting or standing nearby, watching the scene in front of them. Suddenly, Li Yang felt a surge of emotion.

  "Liu Gang, don't you think I'm a bit too cunning?"

  Liu Gang was taken aback, looking at Li Yang's slightly solemn face in surprise, shaking his head and saying: "How can that be, Brother Li? Dealing with those scammers requires extreme measures!"

  Li Yang nodded and said, "What you said is right, Old He also told me this before. Now that I think about it, although the time spent with Old He was not long, he has helped me a lot. If it weren't for his teachings, I wouldn't have been able to come up with this trick to get back the money that Xiao Chan was cheated of!"

  Liu Gang looked at Li Yang and didn't say anything.

  Li Yang's words are not wrong, before that he only slightly understood the ancient jade, and everything else was a mystery to him. If it weren't for He Lao's careful guidance and a large number of professional books for Li Yang to read, even if Li Yang wanted to make a move, he wouldn't know where to start.

  Three hundred thousand is not a lot. Li Yang can give Li Can another three hundred thousand, but the money sent out and the money taken back after being cheated have completely different meanings.

  The most important thing is that He Lao always hated fakes and cheaters, and Li Yang was also infected by He Lao's influence, so he set up this trap to punish those cheaters. The first reason was to get back the money that Li Can had been cheated of, and the second reason was to teach those cheaters a lesson.

  Crossing the square, Li Yang continued to walk forward. The road he was walking on now was by a river, and the water had a slightly fishy smell, fortunately without the stench of the sewers in other places.

  Most cities in the Central Plains have a long history, and Lingbao is no exception. The street Li Yang is walking on now is an old street, and it's not easy to see such old streets in the city anymore. No one knows when they will disappear.

  The old street is facing the small river, and there are many shops along the street. In addition to several restaurants and fishing gear stores, there are also two antique shops and a painting shop, one of which is still open.

  It was unexpected for Li Yang to see an antique shop in business here, and he couldn't help but walk into the store.

  The storefront is not small, much larger than Li Cang's antique city, and there are many things inside, but they are a bit messy.

  It's almost 7:30 in the evening now. There is no customer in the store, and a man in his forties who was watching the store immediately stood up when he saw someone coming in.

  Li Yang glanced around and saw that about half of the porcelain and ceramic figurines on the counter were fake, with machine-made decorations and colors that differed fundamentally from those of genuine handmade ceramics.

  "Two yuan, what would you like to see?"

  The shop owner walked out with a smile and poured two cups of tea.

  Because he was attending the Jade Stone Association's event, Li Yang wore his best clothes, and with a steady temperament on him, gave off an air of nobility. These antique enthusiasts not only looked at objects but also at people; after sensing that Li Yang was no ordinary person, the shop owner immediately came out to entertain him.

  "Isn't there anything good? Don't want these!" Li Yang pointed at the things that could only be called handicrafts, and said with a smile.

  The shop owner stretched out his thumb and smiled: "I didn't expect you to be so young and yet a connoisseur, of course we have good stuff, I don't know which type you want to see?"

  There are many types of antiques, such as porcelain, jade carvings, calligraphy and paintings, and the Four Treasures of the Study. People who like antiques usually have a special fondness for certain categories, so the shop owner asked this question.

  "Jade!"

  Li Yang thought for a moment, then opened his mouth to speak. To be honest, Li Yang himself didn't know what he liked the most, as he had been in contact with antiques for too short a time. If he had to say which type he was slightly fond of, it would only be jade artifacts.

  "Ah, Jade, you've come at just the right time! I just received a nice piece of antique jade a few days ago, take a look!"

  The middle-aged man smiled and took out a small box from the bottom of the cabinet, slowly taking out a piece of jade. This was a white jade belt buckle, with a smooth and lustrous color, thick and moist glaze, and a natural and elegant shape, looking like a rare and precious ancient jade masterpiece.

  Li Yang was slightly stunned, he just casually asked, didn't expect the shop owner to actually take out a piece of ancient jade, hastily took the jade pendant from the shop owner's hand and carefully examined it.

  It's hard to tell whether Li Yang is genuine or fake at first glance. Li Yang directly used his special ability to envelop the small jade button, and the next moment, Li Yang couldn't help but shake his head.

  This white jade is not bad, but it's Russian jade, the quality is quite ordinary, and the forger used chemical reactions, this piece of jade can be said to have no value at all.

  The jade's authenticity and color are both fake, but under special abilities, these fakes have no hiding spots at all. It can be said that the level of forgery of this piece of jade is not high, it's just that Li Yang's current eyesight is limited, relying solely on his eyesight, he can't distinguish between true and false things.

  "How's it looking?" The store owner asked in a low voice as he saw Li Yang shaking his head.

  "I couldn't see it clearly!" Li Yang said with a light smile, putting the jade back and pushing it towards the shop owner again.

  In recent years, collecting has become more and more popular, but the good things left by our ancestors are not many. It's not easy to pick up bargains, and it's even harder to find them in this antique shop. Not being cheated is already a good thing.

  "Boss, it's okay if you can't see this one clearly. You have a high level of taste, I have another treasure in the store, take a look!"

  The shop owner casually took back the ancient jade and ignored the goods outside, walking straight into the inner room.

  Two minutes later, the shop owner walked out with a small box in his hands, and judging from his careful appearance, it really looked like he was holding a treasure.

  "Boss, look!"

  The shop owner opened the box with a slightly complacent tone, and Li Yang was immediately attracted by what was inside.

  This is a three-legged Xuande furnace, which is well-preserved. The material is light yellow copper, lighter and brighter than ordinary copper color.

  The surface of the furnace can be seen to have been gilded, Li Yang carefully held it in his hand, with a soft and pinchy feel, and a heavy texture.

  Li Yang tapped it lightly, and the sound was bright and long-lasting, very pleasant to hear. Turning it over to look at the bottom, there were the words "Made in the Xuan De year of the Great Ming dynasty" cast on it, with a font that was both square and round, deep and powerful yet also relaxed and natural.

  Li Yang nodded silently, and his special ability instantly enveloped the Xuande furnace. Immediately, eight layers of pale yellow light circles appeared on the surface of the furnace, and judging from the light circles alone, this thing was indeed an old object.

  However, Li Yang's face was somewhat strange, and he shook his head repeatedly.

  Eight-layered pale-colored glaze, almost five hundred years of history, indeed a Ming dynasty piece, but absolutely not cast during the Xuande period, at least several decades apart, Li Yang's foundation for studying antiques is to firmly remember the relevant common sense of historical periods.

  In the mid-to-late Ming dynasty, there were many imitations of Xuande furnaces, among which there were no lack of fine works. This kind of old imitation is also very valuable now, and this one in front of us can be said to be a fine work, it would not be a problem to auction for hundreds of millions at an auction, unfortunately, this Ming dynasty Xuande furnace is not complete, its two ears were added later.

  The entire stove body is an eight-layer light circle, but the two ears only have two layers of light circles. Under the stereogram, the welding marks are clearly visible.

  Apart from the fake ears, the body of the stove has also been repaired. There is a very long crack on the body that extends all the way to the bottom, and one of the stove legs was broken off and reattached. A good Xuande stove was thus brutally destroyed.

  Li Yang only regretted and didn't say anything. The ears of this Xuande stove have two layers of bright circles, proving that it was at least sixty years ago when they were installed. This shows that the forger and the shop owner had nothing to do with each other.

  "How much?"

  After sighing, Li Yang asked in a low voice that this Xuande furnace has these defects and is no longer worth its original value. But after all, it's an old plaything. Until now, Li Yang still doesn't have a single genuine antique in his hands. Having learned so much knowledge about antiques, Li Yang had long wanted to collect a few pieces for himself.

  "Boss, you're a big shot, I'll give you a fair price, 600,000!"

  The shop owner smiled mysteriously, Li Yang was taken aback again, and it was 600,000 yuan. He seemed to have a good relationship with 600,000 yuan today.

  "Don't think it's expensive, this is a genuine Ming Dynasty Xuande stove, the treasure of my shop. If I wasn't short on funds recently and if you weren't a connoisseur, I wouldn't have taken it out!"

  The owner said one sentence and you understand, you are a connoisseur, but in fact, it is intentionally numb to Li Yang. This kind of thing is very common in the antique circle, sellers always like to flatter buyers first, and even blow them up as experts.

  Unfortunately, the shop owner met Li Yang. Li Yang's real eyesight was not good, but under his special ability, anything fake could not pass through.

  "Five thousand!"

  Li Yang didn't respond to the seller's words, and directly quoted a price. The Xuan De stove is made of copper, which is different from ceramics. Although this Xuan De stove is severely damaged, it still has some value. Sixty thousand is absolutely impossible, and fifty thousand is already not low.

  "What's wrong with you, boss? You're still haggling over the price. This is a genuine product! If you don't have any sincerity, then just take it away!"

  The shopkeeper stared with wide eyes and put the Xuan De stove into a box, looking very dissatisfied.

  "It's true that the thing is genuine, but not entirely so. At least those two ears aren't, and if the base hasn't been broken before, and the body hasn't cracked before, then the two ears are still original. Six hundred thousand isn't expensive at all, I'll take it right away... what a pity!"

  Li Yang watched as the shopkeeper put away the Xuan De stove, sighing repeatedly. The shopkeeper had just finished putting it away when his body stiffened and he stood there in shock, staring at Li Yang.

  "It seems you also know, so why are you still quoting such a high price? 50,000 is already not a small amount!"

  Li Yang immediately said that the boss's expression had already revealed everything, he must have known about the defects of the Xuan De stove in his hand, but he was selling it as a perfect Xuan De stove.

  "Boss, I really didn't expect it, you're so young and yet so formidable. You said it right, not a single word was wrong, but I'm also helpless!"

  The owner sighed and admitted it after being exposed by Li Yang at once.

  "Boss, to be honest with you, I spent 200,000 yuan buying this thing. At the time, I was blinded by greed and didn't notice any problems. By the time I realized it, it was too late. My store is small, and I couldn't even sell this thing if I wanted to. To this day, I'm still losing money on it!"

  The shop owner said while secretly glancing at Li Yang, as if he had made up his mind, "Boss, if you really like it, take it for 100,000 yuan. I can recover some of my investment!"

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