Chapter 20: The Expert Makes His Move (1)

  After dinner, Bao Guoqiang invited Gu Quan into his own room and asked him about the matter of Qu Wen.

  "Master, how did you pick out Quwen that kid? His luck is also quite good. I don't know how long he's studied, but he can already read baojiang."

  Patina is actually "luster", which refers to the layer of brightness on the surface of ancient objects. Any object that has been through years and months will form a natural luster on its surface over time. It can also be said that patina is slowly polished out by the grindstone of time, and it's hard to distinguish if you don't observe carefully. Real patina luster is subtle and warm, quiet and unassuming, giving people a sense of gentle closeness, like an ancient gentleman, humble and kind, and always feeling comfortable when in contact with it, like being caressed by spring breeze.

  On the other hand, if it's a brand new object, its surface won't have "patina", and the luster that appears is sharp and revealing at first glance, just like a businessman who is good at boasting and showing off to the world. Using a term specific to the antique industry, this is also called "thief light".

  "Believe it or not, he's only been learning for twenty days and can already read baozhuan."

  "What! Master, you're not fooling me, are you?!" Bao Guoqiang's mouth was wide open, almost big enough to hold a duck egg.

  "When did I ever cheat you? It was twenty days ago, starting from the day he entered Qifu's pawnshop."

  At the time, Gu Quanzhong briefly told the story of how Qu Wen entered the company, and finally talked about his personal examination of Qu Wen: "I deliberately selected five genuine and three fake porcelain pieces from Qifu, and those three fake porcelains were high-quality imitations that could deceive people. You know what happened in the end, it only took ten minutes for him to pick out all the genuine ones!"

  Bao Guoqiang heard that and only felt a dizziness in his mind: "He's really a genius!" At the same time, he muttered to himself: Is this guy still human?!

  "Genius is not necessarily that formidable, I'd say he's a freak, or rather, a ghostly talent. This kid accidentally saved Yaxin when he first joined the company, and later on, who knows how, made her develop feelings for him. I think his character is quite good, so I want to cultivate him well, and in the future, I can entrust Yaxin to him with peace of mind." Thinking of his beloved granddaughter's happiness, Gu Quan's face involuntarily revealed a hint of a smile.

  Bao Guoqiang suddenly realized that he was looking for his grandson-in-law, no wonder he attached so much importance to it, even the tone of speech was different. He always scolded and ordered himself and his second brother, but when it came to Qu Wen, he asked questions, although the tone was still a bit stiff and serious, but compared to them, it was much better. It seems that pleasing this future little brother is a very necessary thing.

  "Master, how do you plan to cultivate him?"

  "This young man's talent is extremely high, his learning ability is very strong. Using ordinary methods will only delay his progress, so I plan to take him to Panjiayuan, Liulichang, and even to the folk, countryside to show him real operations."

  "Master, you mean to go to Taobao in person?"

  Due to his age and physical condition, Gu Quan has not been out and about for many years, let alone going into the countryside to dig up treasures. Now, in order to get Qu Wen's poem, he is willing to risk his own health and bring it out.

  "Master, it's not that the disciple is saying you're wrong, but taking him to roam around in the capital city would be enough. If we really need to go to the countryside to dig up treasures, why don't let me and Eldest Brother do it instead? After all, the two of us are often on the move among the common folk, and we're more familiar with the current routes, so we definitely won't delay Quwen's child."

  Gu Zhong knew his own physical condition, in the past when he was young, it was a year-by-year calculation, after passing one year and expecting another. Now it's day-by-day calculation, living an extra day is an extra day. If not for his poor health, he would have rushed to the countryside long ago. In folk markets, it's easier to learn things than in Panjiayuan. Many hidden rules and secrets are learned through experience, which can't be learned just by walking around Panjiayuan.

  "Let's talk about this later, have you been in touch with Lao Er recently?"

  Gu Quan's second apprentice, Xia Junliang, also made a living in the antique business. However, he was more successful than Bao Guo and owned properties in Beijing, Hong Kong, and Shanghai. He spent most of his time in Hong Kong and rarely returned to mainland China.

  "Recently got in touch with him and heard that he has several collections ready for Christie's auction."

  As for his second apprentice, he has a better talent than the eldest son, and his vision is also more accurate than the eldest son. However, he attaches too much importance to fame and wealth, lacking the temperament that a scholar should have, simply treating what he learns as a means of making money, and running wherever there is money to be made around the world.

  But Xia Junliang has his own views, no matter what industry it is, people are the foundation, life needs money, collecting antiques requires even more money, if there's no money, where does the capital for collecting come from? It can't be that after working hard and saving up, you just collect a bunch of things to decorate your home.

  For this matter, Gu Quan scolded Xia Junliang severely. After that, Xia Junliang ran to Hong Kong to do his own thing, so as not to embarrass Master Gu in the mainland circle. However, during holidays and festivals, he would send some gifts to Gu Quan to show respect for his master.

  "This guy is still only concerned with making money, this collection, collecting is just to collect and hide it away, otherwise it becomes a transaction, a profit-driven businessman, what's the point of even talking about collecting."

  Bao Guoqiang did not dare to argue, nor did he express his agreement. In his heart, he still leaned towards his junior brother. Just collecting things without eating was useless; if he couldn't provide a good living environment for his family, let alone buy a quadrangle courtyard in the capital. Collecting these things is subjective, and whether it's for a good purpose or not, it all comes down to being human-centered; otherwise, it's just an inanimate object. Like his master, who had a large pile of things at home but lived only slightly better than ordinary people, which was far from enough for modern people.

  "Master, if not, let Qu Wen come to my store for a few months. There are more opportunities to learn in Beijing than in Longcheng." Upon learning of Qu Wen's talent, Bao Guoqiang had the intention of winning him over. Although his store front was not as large as Chen Qifeng's, its value was by no means lower. Taking out a good item could be worth tens of millions.

  "You told me it was useless, just talk to Qifu directly. How can I explain to him if you take away his employee who followed me to Beijing?"

  "This is also true, I was too impatient..." Bao Guoqiang didn't finish speaking, implying that he would eventually dig him over.

  Accidentally received a good ink, and absorbed the spiritual energy on it into his body, had a good sleep, and followed Gu Quan to Panjia Garden again the next morning. Coincidentally, today was a rest day, and compared to yesterday, there were at least twice as many people, no matter where he went, it was crowded with people.

  Gu Zhong didn't rush to make a move, instead walking slowly along the way. He stopped at each stall for a few minutes, scanning everything with his eyes as if he was sightseeing on horseback. If he saw some old items that seemed to have some value, he would stop and take a closer look.

  After walking for half a day, Gu Quanzhi neither bought nor said anything, leaving Qu Wen puzzled. What's the point of this? Unable to bear it any longer, he asked in a low voice: "Master Gu, what's the use of just wandering around here? Didn't we see several old items earlier that didn't meet your expectations?"

  Gu Quan smiled: "Old objects, that also depends on the value, not all old objects are valuable, but also look at its quality, transmission quantity, rarity. Just like ancient bronze coins with a large casting volume, there are tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of them circulating today, and you can buy them by walking around the antique market, what's the value in that?"

  Qu Wen thought about it and said that it wasn't wrong, some time ago there was a report that in J Province, 1.5 tons of ancient Song Dynasty copper coins were unearthed, most of which were taken away by the local cultural relics bureau, while villagers nearby also dug up or privately stored many, suddenly revealing such a large number of ancient copper coins, greatly impacting the market for Song Dynasty ancient copper coins, causing their value to plummet several times.

  "Then isn't one's own connoisseurship also unreliable, what if you encounter something with age but no value, wouldn't that be a loss? Qu Wen thought to herself, breaking out in cold sweat, fortunately yesterday she hadn't spent money recklessly, and was lucky to have encountered a treasure. At the same time, it also sounded an alarm for herself, wanting to truly establish herself in the antique business would require real talent and learning."