Seeing Zhou Xuan's boastful manner, Fang Dacheng was taken aback. If he were a liar, he wouldn't speak like that, would he? If you want to fool him, you can't just trick him with a few boastful words.
"Hehe, since you say so, sir, why not take it out and let me have a look?" Fang Dacheng thought for a moment and then said this to Zhou Xuan. Zhou Xuan's expression had already piqued his interest greatly.
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly, took the Guanyin statue out of his pocket, and of course, did not use the brocade box again, but gently placed the jade on the table.
Zhou Xuan used icy energy to transform and absorb a picture of ten thousand horses galloping. Next to it, he carved the French writer Buffon's "Horses" in regular script. The article about horses is 2,126 characters long. On the other side, the galloping horse picture, although there are not actually 10,000 horses, there are definitely at least 1,000. They are in all kinds of actions, some running and raising their hooves, some neighing with their mouths open, some leaping with all four hooves, in hundreds of shapes and all kinds of styles. And the text on the horse next to it is a famous work by a French writer. It can indeed be called a combination of Chinese and Western styles.
The most crucial point is that all these pictures and words are concentrated on that round piece of jade, which is not much bigger than a one-yuan coin. That's the most amazing thing!
Although Fang Dacheng wasn't a top expert, he had been in the industry for so long that his knowledge of jade far exceeded that of the average person. He could tell at a glance that the jadeite Zhou Xuan had brought out, while genuine, wasn't of the highest quality. It was about the same as the one he had just sold him. He smiled noncommittally, but upon closer inspection, he paused, noticing other patterns and designs on it. He took it and examined it carefully. Although the jade's quality wasn't particularly good, the patterns were quite strange. After a moment of stunned silence, he asked the shop's experienced craftsman to bring him a magnifying glass.
Fang Dacheng took the magnifying glass from the old man and looked at it again. He was immediately stunned and speechless!
After a long pause, Fang Dacheng blushed and then took out a magnifying glass to examine it carefully again. This time, he observed it much more meticulously, looking at it bit by bit.
Although Fang Dacheng is an uneducated man with little knowledge and would never know who the French writer Buffon is, this small piece of jade is carved with so many horses and at least several thousand words. It is a micro-carving. Regardless of the quality of the jade, this micro-carving is a fine piece!
In fact, Fang Dacheng was not entirely clear that jadeite cannot be used for micro-carving. No micro-carving master had ever done it with jadeite before, and even if micro-carvings were made with other materials, they could not contain so many images.
Zhou Xuan simply didn't have any materials or the best quality jade on him, so he bought a piece from this shop. Although the quality wasn't very good, it was still a genuine piece of jade. Furthermore, although his ice energy ability had only recovered to 10%, it wasn't difficult for him to transform and devour such a small amount of items.
Fang Dacheng immediately realized that he had a valuable item in his hand, but he didn't know how much it was worth. He was in the antique business, and when it came to fakes or counterfeits, he dealt with antiques with a certain age, making them indistinguishable to people. But micro-carving was completely different from antiques. As long as it could be carved, the material or age didn't matter. What mattered was the scene depicted in the micro-carving, the quality of the technique, and the level of craftsmanship. That was what mattered.
Fang Dacheng examined the jade micro-carving closely with a magnifying glass. The horses were lifelike and vivid, demonstrating excellent craftsmanship. There were countless pieces of jade. In addition, there were at least one or two thousand characters on the side. However, his magnifying glass was not powerful enough to see what the characters were. To see them clearly, he would need a high-magnification magnifying glass.
Fang Dacheng's own knowledge was ultimately limited. Although he knew it was a good item, he couldn't estimate its true value. He immediately said to the old man with the magnifying glass, "Old Zhang, Old Zhang, come and take a look. What do you think of this thing?"
Old Zhang had been wondering about this for a while. He had been standing next to Fang Dacheng without moving. When Fang Dacheng gave the order, he immediately took the magnifying glass and the jade from Fang Dacheng's hand and examined them carefully.
Old Zhang was a technician hired by Fang Dacheng to appraise products at the shop. Of course, given Fang Dacheng's salary and the size of the shop, he couldn't hire the best. However, Old Zhang was very experienced, having worked for decades, and had a small reputation in the area.
Old Zhang only glanced at it, then froze, his hands trembling slightly. Fang Dacheng quickly reached out and supported his hands, exclaiming, "Old Zhang, don't fall!"
Volume 1, Chapter 351: The Price of Cabbage
Fang Dacheng was naturally afraid; he couldn't afford to pay for the broken jade miniature carving.
Old Zhang's hands were indeed trembling a bit, so he quickly sat down, took a soft cushion from the sofa and placed it on the table to support his hands, before taking the magnifying glass to examine the object carefully again.
Upon seeing this, Old Zhang's face turned pale!
The texture of this jadeite micro-carving, that is, the texture of the jadeite itself, is not very good. This is the only thing that puzzled him. Generally speaking, the skill level of this micro-carving should be that of an exceptional master. When a master makes a work, he not only has to make the work well, but also has to select the material and its quality. With the level of this master, he should have selected a top-quality jadeite. How could he have used such an ordinary oily green jadeite?
Even if it's just a piece of jadeite, this miniature carving is a treasure beyond his imagination. To his knowledge, no master has ever created such a miniature scene, and no one has ever made a miniature carving using jadeite. That's what makes it even more precious!
However, the magnifying glass in Lao Zhang's hand didn't have a very high magnification, so it wasn't very clear. It was like watching a book or a TV series, and just when you were getting to the exciting part, it suddenly ended. You felt that itchy feeling of missing out!
"Xiao Chen, go and borrow that 200x magnifying glass from Huachang store and use it!"
Old Zhang quickly instructed Xiao Chen, an employee in his shop, to go to the antique shop next door to borrow a magnifying glass with higher magnification so he could see the miniature carving more clearly.
There are no fakes or counterfeits for this item, because to be able to vividly carve so many scenes into an object that is only slightly larger than a coin, regardless of whether the object is precious or made of good material, is already a remarkable item. In addition, given that jade cannot be miniaturized, it is even more remarkable and rare.
Fang Dacheng and Lao Zhang were completely focused on the miniature carving, paying no attention to Zhou Xuan or the other man. Zhou Xuan, of course, didn't care. There was nothing to worry about since Fang Dacheng couldn't recognize him. He knew the prices he had made for his previous miniature carvings. Although the material of this carving was somewhat inferior, the technique and value of the carving were not low. With Fang Dacheng's current strength, he certainly couldn't acquire it. However, he could find someone else, someone with more ability, to cooperate with. This might lead him to the person he was looking for, and perhaps he could also find some clues about those who made fakes.
When Xiao Chen borrowed the magnifying glass back, Lao Zhang quickly took out the high-magnification one and looked at it again. This time, he could see it much more clearly.
Old Zhang was no dabbler like Fang Dacheng; he possessed considerable skill, experience, and knowledge. As he examined the miniature carving more closely, he became increasingly astonished. He could see more clearly now that the more than a thousand horses were all vividly alive, seemingly about to leap out of the picture and come to life. The painting itself was already extraordinary, let alone the miniature carving, which was countless times more difficult. To create such a piece, one needed to have mastered both painting and miniature carving techniques to a high level; neither could be lacking!
Looking at the right side again, I could finally see the words clearly, but it was still very difficult. It would be better if I had a magnifying glass with a higher magnification.
"The Horse, Buffon: The noblest conquest mankind has ever achieved is the conquest of this magnificent and fierce animal—the horse: it shares the hardships of the battlefield with man, and the glory of battle; it, like its master, possesses a fearless spirit, and it bravely faces danger; it is accustomed to the sound of clashing weapons, loves it, pursues it, and is inspired with the same excitement as its master; it also shares its master's joy: in hunting, in martial arts, in racing..."
"...It cannot raise its tail like a lion, but its tail, though hanging down, suits it well. Because it can swing its tail from side to side, it effectively uses it to drive away flies, which bother it greatly, because its skin, though tough and covered with thick, short hairs, is still very sensitive."
From top to bottom, there are more than 350 characters per vertical line, six lines in total, and the whole text has 2,126 characters.
Old Zhang hadn't read the article, but he knew it was an article specifically about horses. He didn't care whose article it was; all he cared about was how many things were carved on this miniature sculpture!
These characters number over two thousand, and the number of horses exceeds one thousand. All of this is gathered on a piece of jade no larger than five-tenths of a football field. The exquisite details of the image, the skillful and mature brushstrokes, and the meticulous and regular script of the carved characters demonstrate the style of a master. In addition, the difficulty of carving jade is inherently limited. All of this can only mean that this is a priceless treasure.
While marveling at the sight, Old Zhang couldn't help but steal a glance at Zhou Xuan, the real master of the shop, who was idly looking at the items on the shelves in their shop, completely oblivious.
Old Zhang and Fang Dacheng exchanged a glance, secretly astonished. But they didn't know if Zhou Xuan knew the value of his miniature carving. If he did, then they were just wasting their time. Given the value of the carving, they simply couldn't afford it or pay the price. However, if Zhou Xuan didn't understand, they could get a huge bargain and make a fortune. Perhaps this one piece alone could make Fang Dacheng even richer than before!
And didn't Zhou Xuan also say that he wanted to sell this item?
This gave Fang Dacheng a glimmer of hope. The two of them stood there for a while before Fang Dacheng cautiously stared at Zhou Xuan and asked in a nonchalant manner, "Sir, hehe, what's your surname? Judging from your accent, you don't seem to be a local."
Fang Dacheng didn't ask about the price first, but instead chatted with Zhou Xuan about other things. Zhou Xuan naturally understood that this guy was testing his strength.
To be honest, Zhou Xuan had previously framed him, but it was all a charade. He used his ice-energy ability to set a trap for him. This time, although it was also a setup, the item he made wasn't fake. Based on his previous experience, he knew that if this miniature carving were to be sold, it would fetch at least over 100 million yuan, which Fang Dacheng couldn't afford.
"My surname is Wei. I am from the South. I came here for two reasons: first, to travel, and second, to see if there are any good antiques. I am not interested in anything else but collecting treasures!"
Fang Xiaolin also noticed something unusual at this point, and realized that Zhou Xuan, who seemed so ordinary, was definitely not ordinary. She had really misjudged him.
Although she didn't know the value of the jade miniature carving, she could tell from the expressions of Lao Zhang and Fang Dacheng that it was definitely not simple. Although Lao Zhang and Fang Dacheng pretended to be indifferent, they couldn't fool her. In the antique shop, all year round, countless such dramas were staged. What they did was to say that the things they were selling were worthless, while saying that the things they wanted to sell were worth a fortune!
After pouring the brewed Pu'er tea into the teacups, Fang Dacheng quickly invited Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu to have some tea: "Mr. Wei, please, please have some tea!"
The tea was murky black, the color of Pu'er tea, but the teaware and brewing method were both subpar, resulting in a very bitter taste.
Fang Dacheng's tea is mediocre; he probably doesn't really know much about tea. Fang Xiaolin's tea-brewing skills are also far inferior; she simply pours boiling water into the tea leaves.
Although Zhou Xuan didn't understand tea ceremony, he had interacted with many tea masters. Usually, some collectors also knew a lot about tea ceremony. Zhou Xuan had drunk tea with them and listened to them talk about tea ceremony. Fang Xiaolin's tea was incomparable to theirs.
Zhou Xuan only took a small sip and put it down. This Fang Dacheng was just trying to cover up his true intentions. His purpose was just to test his miniature carving.