C8 Appraisal

"He's just a poor kid who scavenges the Antique Market to make a quick buck. Pay him no mind."

Master Jia was quite displeased with Lin Luo for overshadowing him, so he took a jab at him.

"Scavenging to make money?"

Master Jia's remark sent the three buyers into peals of laughter.

"His tone was so assertive earlier; I thought he was some high-flying appraisal expert. Turns out he's just a poor kid rummaging through the Antique Market."

"What kind of expert dresses in rags and looks like a beggar?"

One of the buyers even started teasing Wu Guowen.

"Boss Wu, where on earth did you dig up such an 'expert' to evaluate your treasures? Aren't you worried he'll mistake your valuables for junk? Hahaha!"

All three buyers were ridiculing Lin Luo. How could a scruffy kid, who looked like a beggar, dare to say they didn't understand the Bronze Cauldron?

Wu Guowen didn't pay any attention to the buyers' jibes. He turned to Master Jia and instructed,

"Master Jia, could you please examine the age of this Bronze Cauldron and determine if it's sellable?"

"Consider it done," Master Jia replied.

With the professional appraisal tools in hand, Master Jia approached the Bronze Cauldron with confidence.

He had expected to easily discern the age and value of the Bronze Cauldron, thanks to his decades of experience. However, as the appraisal progressed, his confidence waned, replaced by a hint of difficulty.

He soon realized that neither the craftsmanship nor the inscriptions on the Bronze Cauldron could help him pinpoint its exact age.

Master Jia could only make an educated guess, estimating the cauldron to be an antique from the Tang Dynasty to the late Eastern Han Dynasty.

But such a vague conclusion was too embarrassing to share.

He was the preeminent appraisal expert in River City, and yet he couldn't determine the age of a Bronze Cauldron. If word got out, it would be a laughingstock.

"Well? Master Jia, any conclusions?" Wu Guowen inquired, approaching him.

"Well, you see..." Master Jia hesitated before responding, "Boss Wu, appraising antiques requires a lot of patience. It's not something to be rushed."

As he spoke, he pulled out a magnifying glass, seemingly able to discern the age of the bronze cauldron by examining its casting technique.

However, time had eroded the clarity of the cauldron's craftsmanship, and despite a lengthy examination, Master Jia couldn't make out any definitive results.

A half-hour slipped by quickly, and Wu Guowen, growing impatient, inquired, "Master Jia, have you reached a conclusion yet?"

"This..."

Master Jia hesitated, struggling to find the words. He was at a loss for a conclusive answer, as the bronze cauldron lacked any solid evidence of its age.

He was about to admit his inability to appraise the piece when Lin Luo suddenly stepped forward, declaring, "Isn't this a Tang Dynasty bronze cauldron? Why are you taking so long to appraise it?"

Lin Luo's impatience sparked an idea in Master Jia.

Since he couldn't determine the cauldron's origins, why not let Lin Luo take the fall, especially since he enjoyed the spotlight?

With that thought, Master Jia feigned expertise and challenged, "How do you know this bronze cauldron is from the Tang Dynasty?"

It wasn't just Master Jia questioning Lin Luo; the three buyers joined in the skepticism.

"Kid, if you lack the expertise, don't spout nonsense. Which eye of yours saw this is from the Tang Dynasty?"

"Exactly. Master Jia is the most renowned appraisal expert in River City's antique scene. How could you, a ragpicker, possibly have a keener eye than him?"

"You claim it's from the Tang Dynasty, then present your evidence. Enough with the empty talk!"

Prompted by these challenges, the other buyers and Master Jia, who was evaluating the bronze cauldron, also pressed Lin Luo for proof.

"You want evidence?"

Lin Luo approached the cauldron and pointed to the character for 'public' etched on the inner wall, saying, "Look closely. What style of script is this?"

The buyer with the jade ring scrutinized the character Lin Luo indicated and asked with a hint of confusion, "Regular script, but what of it?"

Master Jia sneered, "Kid, you're not seriously going to try to determine the age of this bronze cauldron based on a single character, are you?"

"You're nothing but a charlatan."

Lin Luo let out a mocking laugh and replied, "The regular script of the Tang Dynasty comes in three varieties, and the 'public' character here is written in the unique Yan style of the Tang era."

"Yan style regular script?"

Master Jia paused, examining the character 'public' closely. Indeed, the vertical strokes were heavy and the horizontal ones light—a characteristic of Yan style calligraphy!

Still, he refused to concede that Lin Luo was correct.

"A single character doesn't prove anything. Who's to say it wasn't cast this way by someone who didn't believe it would work?"

Lin Luo couldn't help but chuckle at Master Jia's stubbornness.

He then gestured to the script on the exterior of the bronze cauldron and challenged, "Now, take another look. What do you make of the pattern formed by these script characters combined with the surrounding motifs?"

Master Jia's jaw dropped as he followed Lin Luo's direction.

"This, this is..."

"Master Jia, you can't even recognize such a clear Tang Dynasty motif of flora and auspicious beasts. What kind of bogus expert are you?" Lin Luo taunted with a cold laugh.

Master Jia, outmatched, had no choice but to endure Lin Luo's sarcasm in silence, unable to muster a comeback.

He couldn't fathom how he had missed such a glaring Tang Dynasty feature, and how this disheveled man had managed to point it out. He felt as if his decades of life had been wasted, appraising treasures for years only to be outdone by someone barely in his thirties.

Lin Luo's definitive answer instantly transformed the three buyers' opinions of him.

They had initially pegged Lin Luo as a Divine Fraud, a con artist looking to deceive. Yet, to their astonishment, Lin Luo had discerned the cauldron's age without any specialized appraisal tools, relying solely on his eyesight!

This was the mark of a true expert!

Wu Guowen was equally taken aback. He had invited Lin Luo to appraise the cauldron, considering him a knowledgeable connoisseur, hoping to curry favor. Little did he expect that the bronze cauldron, which had stumped even River City's top appraiser, would be authenticated by Lin Luo!

Wu Guowen looked at Lin Luo with admiration and inquired, "Antique Friend, could you give me an estimate of my bronze cauldron's market value?"

Lin Luo examined the bronze cauldron and remarked nonchalantly,

"Bronze artifacts are consistently high in value, particularly those from the Tang Dynasty, which are exceedingly rare. It should fetch around fifty million."

Fifty million!

Wu Guowen inhaled sharply, astonished by the figure that far exceeded his expectations.

"Antique Friend, I'm truly grateful for your assistance in appraising the cauldron today. Without you, I might have simply donated it to the museum."

At the close of the event, Wu Guowen handed Lin Luo a safe brimming with cash.

"Please accept this one million as a token of my gratitude."

"There's no need. Six hundred thousand is all I require for my daughter's medical treatment."

Lin Luo attempted to return the surplus cash to Wu Guowen, but Wu Guowen insisted he keep it.

"Antique Friend, you must take this money. Without your expertise in determining the cauldron's age and value, I could never have sold it for such an impressive sum."

With Wu Guowen's adamant stance, Lin Luo ceased to protest. Expressing his thanks, he took the safe containing one million in cash and headed back to the hospital to settle his daughter's surgery bill.

But upon arriving at the hospital's entrance, he was confronted by several familiar figures who obstructed his path.

"Lin Luo, where's the money you owe me?"