"Really?"
Madam Qiao asked eagerly, her face filled with joy, "How do I do it? I'll cooperate!"
Li Yu was greatly surprised. She didn't doubt Yang Chen's appraisal skills, but she didn't think Yang Chen would be more familiar with the operations of an auction house than she was. To have a curio worth thirty million auctioned for more than three times its price was an impossible task.
"Yang Chen, don't... please don't speak carelessly!"
Yang Chen understood Li Yu's concern that he might make promises he couldn't keep. He pointed to the blue-and-white porcelain on the etagere in the corner and said with a smile, "Ms. Li, Madam Qiao, this is a Ming Dynasty early period large blue-and-white vase. Its market price alone is over one hundred million. Raising one hundred million would be too easy."
Madam Qiao looked at the blue-and-white long-necked round vase on the etagere, and the smile on her face gradually stiffened.
"You say this blue-and-white vase is worth over one hundred million?"
"Yes, the body of this blue-and-white porcelain is smooth and delicate, its texture is pure white, there are fire-red spots on the foot rim, the glaze is thick and highly lustrous, and the white is naturally soft with a hint of blue, which is the 'bright blue glaze' characteristic of the early Hongwu and Yongle periods of the Ming Dynasty..."
"Enough!"
Madam Qiao raised a hand, suppressing the anger in her heart, and said, "This blue-and-white round vase was bought as a souvenir for a thousand yuan in Jiangxi when my husband and I traveled there years ago. This is a product of modern craftsmanship!"
"If you can't even distinguish such a crude modern replica, it makes me doubt your appraisal skills. I'm suspicious of your assessment of the fifteen antique items."
Saying that, she looked up at Li Yu and said coldly, "Ms. Li, please leave."
"I cannot entrust this batch of antiques to your auction house anymore. I will find someone else to re-appraise them!"
Li Yu looked up at the blue-and-white round vase on the etagere. Indeed, it looked ordinary in terms of glaze color and shape. She shook her head silently, "Although my appraisal level isn't high, at first glance, this blue-and-white vase looks wrong. With Yang Chen's abilities, he shouldn't make such a simple and obvious mistake. Could he be unwell again?"
"Yang Chen, this joke has gone too far. Apologize to Madam Qiao immediately."
She deliberately said Yang Chen was joking to prevent Madam Qiao from doubting his professionalism.
"Ms. Li, I'm not joking. This is truly a large blue-and-white vase from the early Yongle period of the Ming Dynasty!"
As he spoke, Yang Chen walked to the etagere and reached for the blue-and-white round vase on it. The moment his fingertips touched the body of the vase, a warm current flowed into his body. He felt as if he had been electrocuted and trembled.
In an instant, the airflow emanating from the blue-and-white round vase flowed through his meridians, finally filling his dantian.
"This... this warm current is merging with the airflow in my body. I feel my strength has become even greater!"
"What on earth is going on?"
Yang Chen held the blue-and-white round vase dazedly, unable to figure it out.
"Yang Chen... Yang Chen..."
Li Yu's voice called out to him, and Yang Chen finally woke up from his deep thought.
"Ms. Li, what is it?"
"You just..."
"It's nothing."
Yang Chen directly flipped the blue-and-white round vase over and pointed to the unglazed white fine sandy bottom, saying, "Madam Qiao, Ms. Li, the characteristic of Yongle blue-and-white is this fine sandy bottom, which feels smooth to the touch. Feel it if you don't believe me."
The two women hesitantly reached out to touch the bottom of the round vase. As Yang Chen said, it was very smooth to the touch, completely lacking the rough granular feeling of ordinary porcelain.
Madam Qiao asked doubtfully, "But... can just a fine sandy bottom prove it's Ming Dynasty blue-and-white?"
"Look here."
Yang Chen pointed to a red spot on the bottom and said, "This is not a firing flaw, but a characteristic of the early Yongle imperial blue-and-white – the fire-red spot.
Look at its blue-and-white patterns. The biggest difference between Ming blue-and-white and Yuan blue-and-white, and later Qing imitations, is that under certain light, there are triangular crystalline spots with a tin-light color that is actually silvery-black. The blue-and-white has an uneven tactile feel. The patterns drawn by this unique blue pigment have the unique ink wash painting flavor of Chinese art and cannot be imitated.
Touch it again if you don't believe me."
The two women touched the blue-and-white patterns on the round vase again. They indeed felt uneven to the touch, and the light reflected from different angles also showed different colors.
"This... could this really be Ming Dynasty blue-and-white?"
With so many details before her, Madam Qiao still couldn't quite believe it. After all, this blue-and-white porcelain had only cost a thousand yuan from a scenic spot. For so many years, she hadn't even dared to dream it would be worth over one hundred million.
"If you don't believe me... look at this!"
Yang Chen took out his phone, opened an app, and pointed to a report on it. "Look at this. This is a Yongle blue-and-white round vase sold at Christie's autumn auction last year. Does it look the same as yours?"
Madam Qiao took the phone and compared it carefully. She found that every detail of the pattern was exactly the same as hers.
"Could it be true?"
"Of course it's true!"
Seeing the doubt still lingering on Madam Qiao's face, Yang Chen said helplessly, "Madam Qiao, if you don't believe me, you can invite another expert you trust to appraise it and prove that what I said is true."
"Then... then alright. The president of the Antique Association is an acquaintance of my husband. I'll call him over now!"
Madam Qiao immediately took out her phone and dialed. The other party readily agreed to come over immediately upon hearing that it was an appraisal of Ming Dynasty blue-and-white.
In less than half an hour, the doorbell rang. Madam Qiao went to open the door herself. A moment later, she led an old man in an old-fashioned long gown inside.
"So he's the president of the Antique Association!"
Yang Chen was slightly surprised to see the visitor. This old man was none other than He Hongjian, the old man he had met at the charity auction last night.