Chapter Thirteen: The Strange Girl Su Yaxin

  "This money is the gift from last time, and there's no special meaning to it. I hope you can accept it." Chen Qiang said it simply, but he was afraid that things might not be as simple as he said. If it were just about appraising antiques, many people would be willing to do it for a good price, so why did they have to find a newcomer?

  "Brother Chen, just say what you want to say. Otherwise, I won't accept it." Before understanding the intentions of Chen Qiang and his brother, Qu Wen would not accept this money. If he took the money and was asked to do something against his will, it wouldn't be good to refuse either.

  It seems like they saw through Qu Wen's thoughts, Chen Qiang and Qi Zhennan exchanged a glance and burst out laughing.

  Chen Qiang said: "We just want to make friends with you and also brought some small items for your appreciation."

  The Chinese people's fondness for collecting antiques has continued uninterrupted for thousands of years. Since the reform and opening up, with the continuous improvement of people's living standards, folk collections have gradually become popular, almost to the point of universal collection and playfulness. The driving force behind this collecting craze is the huge wealth brought about by the buying and selling of antiques. However, how many people who engage in collecting really get rich? Often, out of 100 items collected, not even one is genuine. To avoid losses, many people learn to identify antiques on their own or spend money to hire someone to do it for them. The identification fees charged by appraisers range from a few hundred to tens of thousands of yuan, and sometimes, even with money, you can't get an expert to do the appraisal.

  Qu Wen slanted his eyes at Hai De, seeing the pleased expression on his face, and roughly guessed what was going on. Most likely this kid had boasted in front of Chen Qiang and the others, taking all the credit for Gu Quan's accomplishments and making them believe it was true, thinking that Yue Feng Pawnshop had invited another young appraiser, so they set up a banquet to invite him over.

  "Since Brother Chen has said so, I'll give it a try. Hopefully, it won't cause any loss to the two of you. But let me say this first, I've only learned some superficial things, and what I'm about to say is just to keep up with the enthusiasm of the two of you." At this time, Qu Wen really had the idea of killing Gong Haide, but as a friend, he couldn't bear to embarrass him in front of others, so he could only force a smile.

  "Alright, just consider it a toast to the banquet. Whether you're right or wrong, I won't blame you." Chen Qiang said as he let the little beauty beside him take out two pieces of porcelain and place them in front of Qu Wen, one being a teapot and the other a type of vessel.

  Seeing these two things, Qu Wen immediately regretted it. He didn't understand why he was pretending to be a big shot. In the past few days at the pawnshop, he had been in contact with jewelry and calligraphy most of the time. Although Gu Quan would occasionally come to point out something, porcelain was completely beyond his comprehension. Despite holding it for half a day and opening his eyes wide, he still couldn't make sense of it.

  Qu Wen looked at it for half a day without saying a word, his face showing a difficult expression, making Chen Qiang and Qi Zhennan wonder if he was still too young and lacking in experience. Gong Haide's face didn't look good either, having previously boasted about Qu Wen in front of Chen Qiang and almost saying that there wasn't anyone like him in the past 500 years. But if Qu Wen's eyes were as dull as a dead fish, how could he be expected to say anything about the quality of these two pieces of porcelain?

  Su Ya Xin, who had been quietly sitting beside him, seeing Qu Wen's embarrassed expression, also became anxious and said in a fine voice: "The five-color foreign teapot is real, the Zun is fake."

  "Hmm, the five-colored teapot is real, but the Zun Vase is fake!?" Qu Wen was slightly stunned, then loudly exclaimed, and turned to look at Su Yaxin with a surprised gaze. Immediately afterwards, she thought that since Su Yaxin was Gu Quan's granddaughter, she must have learned some skills from him, so it wasn't strange that she could tell the authenticity of antiques.

  As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Qiang and Qi Zhennan also looked at him with surprised and admiring eyes.

  As the poem says, these two pieces of porcelain were brought by Chen Qiang and Qi Zhen Nan to test his eyesight. The five-color foreign teapot was made in the Qing dynasty, while the jue zun is a modern high imitation product. When they first bought them, they had trouble finding an expert to appraise them, but Qu Wen only took a glance before identifying the genuine and fake ones, accurately naming the porcelain pieces. This proves that Qu Wen's skills are better than those of the appraisal master. As for why he was frowning earlier, it is probably due to his serious and meticulous personality.

  However, what neither of them expected was that the one who truly saw through the truth was not Qu Wen, but Su Yaxin beside him. It's just that Su Yaxin's voice was too soft, almost whispering to herself in her heart, and except for Qu Wen, no one else heard Su Yaxin say anything.

  Chen Qiang and the others were shocked, while Su Yaxin was also extremely surprised. Just a moment ago, she had been hesitant, but now she had spoken out the truth, almost at the same time as Chen Qiang himself. It's worth noting that Su Yaxin had followed Gu Quan since childhood, and to some extent, she had learned about antique appraisal through osmosis for over ten years. Her eyesight might not be comparable to Fan Yongcheng's, but it was definitely no worse than Zeng Hongwei's. However, Qu Wencai had only been in the business for a few days, yet he could identify the authenticity of two porcelain pieces in such a short time. This left Su Yaxin wondering how she should react and feeling extremely shocked.

  Everyone was surprised and Qi Zhen Nan asked: "Ah Wen, how did you determine the authenticity of these two things?"

  "This... " The lyrics said it all, but he was momentarily at a loss and habitually scratched his head. He smiled foolishly: "You'd better ask Su Yaxin instead, she's Master Gu's granddaughter."

  "What, Old Gu's granddaughter!" Qi Zhen Nan and the others simultaneously shifted their gaze over, this elegant and quiet beauty was actually the antique appraisal master, Old Gu's granddaughter.

  "It's true, Su Ya Xin just started working at the company two months ago and is now in the business department." Gong Hai De's girlfriend, Yue Feng Dian, who was at the front desk, confirmed Qu Wen's words.

  Gong Haide suddenly burst out laughing, gave Qu Wen a wink and said in a low voice: "No wonder you insisted on sharing some benefits, it turns out that you had already made your own calculations. It's unbelievable that after only four years, you've become an expert at picking up girls. I wouldn't be surprised if you majored in Picking Up Girls in college!"

  "Get out of here! Don't give me any lip, I only found out afterwards too!" Qu Wen cursed in a low voice, with an air of righteousness.

  "As Gu Lao's precious granddaughter, Su Yaxin must be an expert in the field. Why don't we let Miss Su tell us how to determine that the five-color foreign teapot is genuine and the Yu Zun is fake?" Ignoring Qu Wen, Gong Haide turned around and flattered Su Yaxin.

  Su Ya Xin's personality is gentle and weak, not good at talking to strangers. Every time she recites an essay or gives a speech on stage, she becomes extremely nervous. It was because of this that Gu Quan arranged for her to be in the business department, hoping to temper her courage. Now that she has to explain in front of everyone, she is at a loss and involuntarily turns her head towards Qu Wen beside her.

  "It's nothing, just speak directly." The two people looked at each other, slightly embarrassed, but Qu Wen quickly adjusted her mood and encouraged Su Yaxin.

  "Whatever, I said..."

  "Speak up, with me around, at least that little kid surnamed Gong wouldn't dare laugh at you."

  In Qu Wen's view, it was just an ordinary conversation, but in Chen Qiang and others' eyes, it had another meaning. Anyone would think that they were a loving couple, and Su Yaxin completely regarded Qu Wen as her closest confidant. So, the fact that Old Man Gu took Qu Wen as his apprentice was absolutely true. Think about it, his precious granddaughter had become Qu Wen's girlfriend, and all his skills would eventually be passed on to Qu Wen. It could be said that Qu Wen was talented, and in just a few days, he had won over Su Yaxin, the great beauty.

  Youth is great! Chen Qiang and Qi Zhen Nan have another reason to admire Qu Wen.

  "First, let's talk about this five-color teapot...” Su Yaxin habitually paused: “Actually, this statement is not very accurate, because this pot and traditional Chinese teapots are not very similar. Judging from the pattern and shape on top, it should be an export porcelain produced by the imperial kiln in the mid-to-late Qing dynasty for foreign markets, and it looks more like a vessel for drinking coffee and milk... In the Qing dynasty, only the dragon painted by the imperial kiln could have five claws, while those in folk kilns had four claws, which is actually a python rather than a real dragon. Look at the dragon on top of this pot, each foot has five claws, so it should be a product of the imperial kiln. Then there's the glaze color on top, called "five-color" in the industry, which is a new type of glaze produced by Jingdezhen kilns during the Ming and Qing dynasties, developed from the colored glaze of the Song and Yuan dynasties. Because there was no blue glaze in the Ming dynasty, it could only be replaced with celadon, which later became famous as "celadon five-color". In summary, combined with the pot's packaging, painting style, and the inscription on the bottom that says "Made in the Guangxu year of the Qing dynasty", it should be a work from the Guangxu period of the Qing dynasty. As for the one behind, this out-zun vessel is not difficult to identify at all. It's a type of vessel, imitating the shape of ancient bronze vessels, with an open mouth, slightly bulging belly, and outward-sloping feet. The neck, abdomen, and legs are each decorated with a spearhead, hence the name "out-zun". Out-zun vessels are most famous for those produced by Jun kilns in the Song dynasty, but this vessel's shape is completely imitative of Jun kiln products. However, the glaze color on top is too bright and shiny, and the glaze surface is too thin, unlike the rich and thick glaze of Song dynasty Jun kilns. Moreover, it lacks the unique style and characteristics of Jun kilns, such as the "ant walking on mud" pattern, so it's obvious that it's fake without even needing to look closely."

  Su Ya Xin initially was a bit shy, but as the explanation went deeper, her words became more fluent, completely like someone talking about their favorite topic that they are very interested in and understand well, speaking smoothly and effortlessly.

  It wasn't until Su Yaxin finished speaking that the others came back to their senses, amazed by the girl who was so focused and enthusiastic when talking about her interests, with a clear and pleasant voice, as if she were a beautiful painting unfolding before them.

  "Brilliant, brilliant! You're indeed Old Gu's granddaughter, with profound knowledge and sharp insight!" Chen Qiang was the first to applaud, and immediately a warm round of applause erupted in the private room.

  "Come on, let's have a drink to celebrate Miss Su Yaxin's wonderful explanation!" Qi Zhennan, although a rough man, was also won over by Su Yaxin's temperament and knowledge, and loudly said with his cup raised high.

  "To victory, for Su Mei's beauty, let's have a drink!"

  Everyone's praise made Su Yahen so shy that she couldn't lift her head, and she secretly glanced at Qu Wen beside her, only to see him giving her a big thumbs up.

  Su Ya Xin smiled slightly back, her smile as beautiful and captivating as flowers blooming in March.