Zhou Xuan was lost in thought, so naturally he wouldn't just leave. He smiled and nodded, while Wei Xiaoyu was too quiet, not uttering a sound, and simply sat silently next to him.
Fang Dacheng told Zhou Xuan what he had said, then hurriedly went out and headed towards Lin Shilong's shop.
Lin Shilong's Changhua Antique Shop is far larger than Fang Dacheng's. The shop itself is four times the size of Fang Dacheng's. Of course, in terms of other goods and capital, the difference is like heaven and earth.
At this moment, Lin Shilong was looking at a hand-sealed booklet in his shop. It was a fake, a counterfeit, but of course he knew it was fake. He was just bored and wanted to look at the words in the booklet.
Fang Dacheng hurriedly walked into his shop. The shop assistants and the old master craftsman who used to inspect the goods all knew him. They were all acquaintances from the same street and industry. Lin Shilong didn't even raise his eyes. He didn't take Fang Dacheng seriously at all.
"Hey, Mr. Fang, what brings you to Changhua? Is there something you need to pawn for working capital?"
A shop assistant teased him, and Fang Dacheng blushed. He knew it was mockery, but he didn't dare to say anything. The shop assistants in Lin Shilong's shop were doing it on purpose. As the saying goes, even when beating a dog, you have to consider its owner. Fang Dacheng didn't have the guts to offend Lin Shilong.
"Boss Lin, I'm here to discuss a business deal with you, something to make money!" Fang Dacheng quickly said to Lin Shilong inside with a smile.
Lin Shilong glanced sideways and said calmly, "What business do you want to discuss? Just say it directly, stop wasting time!"
"Yes, yes, yes!" Fang Dacheng quickly said with a fawning smile, "Boss Lin, it's like this, I have a jade micro-carving, it has..."
As he spoke, Fang Dacheng gestured with his hand, indicating the size of a copper coin. "It's this big, and it's carved with at least a thousand spirited horses, none of them the same. There's also a text next to it, at least two thousand words long, something about 'Buffon's Treatise on Horses,' an article specifically about horses. I liked it the moment I saw it, but..."
Lin Shilong was taken aback, then sat up straight with a jolt, his eyes flashing as he stared at Fang Dacheng and said, "What did you say? Jadeite micro-carving? There are a thousand horses and Buffon's horses telling stories?"
Fang Dacheng didn't know much about micro-carving, but Lin Shilong was quite different. Lin Shilong was over forty years old, worth over 100 million yuan, knowledgeable, and had a particular passion for collecting. He was surprised when he heard Fang Dacheng talk about jadeite micro-carving. In terms of micro-carving techniques, jadeite is hard, it's corundum, suitable for carving ordinary shapes, but absolutely unsuitable for micro-carving. Technically speaking, it's impossible. Moreover, Fang Dacheng had just mentioned that he had carved over a thousand horses and a piece of writing about horses on a piece of jadeite the size of a copper coin. That piece of writing had over two thousand words!
Let alone jadeite being unable to be made into micro-carvings, even if we talk about objects that can be made into micro-carvings, it would be difficult to carve more than a thousand horses and more than two thousand characters completely on an object the size of a copper coin. This carving technique is something that even the most skilled micro-carving masters today cannot do. Regardless of the quality of their skills, at least in terms of quantity, they simply cannot achieve it!
"Do you think it's true or false?" Lin Shilong asked, stunned for a moment.
Fang Dacheng quickly nodded and said, "It's true, absolutely true. I saw it with my own eyes. The picture of a thousand horses looks so real when you look at it with a magnifying glass. The words are like printed words in a book. It's really a good thing. It's just that the jade is of poor quality. It's oily green!"
"Where is it? Take me there right now!" Lin Shilong stood up, seemingly impatient, quite unlike his initial disdain for Fang Dacheng.
Fang Dacheng didn't move. He smiled awkwardly and said, "Well... Mr. Lin, I... offered 500,000, but they didn't agree to sell. Besides... hehe..."
Lin Shilong frowned. He understood Fang Dacheng's meaning perfectly well. Fang Dacheng had come to him because he couldn't get the deal but wanted to make a quick buck. However, he gave a cold laugh when Fang Dacheng offered 500,000.
"Five hundred thousand? How dare you say that? If that miniature carving is as you describe, they wouldn't even give you five hundred thousand!" Lin Shilong chuckled. "Fang Dacheng, I understand what you mean. How about this: if I like it, I'll give you one million as long as I buy it, no matter the cost. If the miniature carving is of high quality in all aspects, as long as I buy it for less than ten million, I'll give you a two million commission. Is that acceptable?"
Fang Dacheng was stunned for a moment, then his face lit up with joy. He said repeatedly, "Good, good, good. If that's what you say, Mr. Lin, then I'll take you there right away. It'll be right here in my shop!"
However, Fang Dacheng appeared pleased on the surface, but inwardly he was still somewhat annoyed. It seemed he had been too petty; he hadn't listened to Lao Zhang and had agreed too easily. If Lin Shilong had spent ten million to buy it and even offered him a two million kickback, it was easy to imagine that the miniature carving would have earned him at least one or two million. For Lin Shilong, earning two or three million wasn't very meaningful. If he had approached Lin Shilong earlier to discuss cooperation, providing the information while Lin Shilong provided the money, and Fang Dacheng would have taken a third of the profits, perhaps he would have earned much more!
Fang Dacheng is the kind of person who is greedy and insatiable. Before he started, he thought that he would be satisfied if he could earn one or two million, but now he wants to earn more.
In Fang Dacheng's shop, Zhou Xuan didn't talk to Lao Zhang. He just looked at the goods on the shelves. Lao Zhang didn't explain anymore. None of them were genuine, so there was no point in talking. The other person didn't like them either. He could only wait quietly for Fang Dacheng to bring Lin Shilong.
When Lin Shilong and Fang Dacheng arrived, Lin Shilong was not as calm and composed as usual. He hurriedly urged Fang Dacheng, afraid that the person would lose his temper and leave his shop.
The two rushed back to the shop, covered in sweat, but once inside, Fang Dacheng felt relieved to see Zhou Xuan and Wei Xiaoyu sitting there unharmed.
Volume 1, Chapter 353
"This is Mr. Lin Shilong!" Fang Dacheng, not even bothering to wipe his sweat, quickly introduced him to Zhou Xuan, and then introduced Lin Shilong, "This is Wei..."
Only then did he realize he didn't know Zhou Xuan's name, and his gaze immediately fell on Zhou Xuan's face.
Zhou Xuan's surname was just an unintentional mention of Wei Xiaoyu's surname. When Fang Dacheng asked for his name, he realized he had no clue and wasn't prepared. He glanced at Wei Xiaoyu and casually replied, "Wei Xiao!"
Fang Dacheng quickly greeted Lin Shilong with a smile, "Mr. Wei Xiao!"
Wei Xiaoyu felt a sweet warmth in her heart. Zhou Xuan, with his personality, was actually thinking of her and mentioning her in everything he did today. Did that mean he had feelings for her?
Lin Shilong stared intently at Zhou Xuan, but Zhou Xuan looked very ordinary. His age was hard to guess because he had a full beard and looked like he was either in his thirties or his twenties. His eyes weren't very bright, while the woman next to him, although not particularly beautiful, had very lively eyes.
In fact, Zhou Xuanbing possesses a kind of inner energy that allows him to conceal his true nature, making it difficult to discern anything special about him from his appearance.
"Mr. Wei, hello, hello, it's a pleasure to meet you!" Lin Shilong extended his hand and shook hands with Zhou Xuan.
Zhou Xuan also reached out and shook hands with him, and then the two sat down on either side.
Lin Shilong glanced at Fang Dacheng again, and Fang Dacheng quickly said to Zhou Xuan, "This... Mr. Wei, Mr. Lin wants to see your jade micro-carving!"
Zhou Xuan casually took it out of his pocket and gently placed it on the table in front of Lin Shilong.
Lin Shilong naturally wouldn't stand on ceremony. On the way here, he had been thinking about what Fang Dacheng had described, wondering what kind of treasure it would be.
When Zhou Xuan took it out and placed it on the table, Lin Shilong's eyes were already fixed on it. The naked eye couldn't see those subtle details clearly, but the patterns on the jade were already very exquisite and moving. As soon as Zhou Xuan pushed it in front of him, he immediately reached out and picked it up, and then grabbed the 200x magnifying glass on the table and examined it carefully.
Fang Dacheng was especially nervous because Lin Shilong had said that he would only buy the miniature carving if he liked it and was satisfied with it, and only then would Fang Dacheng receive his reward. Moreover, as long as the price he paid did not exceed ten million, he would receive two million, but if it exceeded that amount, he would receive at least one million. In other words, as long as Lin Shilong was willing to buy it, he would be able to earn at least one million. How could he not be nervous?
As Lin Shilong examined the jade, he carefully moved it up and down to see the patterns in other areas. In just over ten seconds, sweat beaded on his forehead and nose!
I was so nervous, it was almost indescribable!
This thing was more attractive and fascinating than the images he got from Fang Dacheng's words. His knowledge was naturally beyond Fang Dacheng's. He also understood micro-carving. Although he couldn't carve, he understood its value. A few years ago, he bought an ivory carving of the Great Compassion Mantra micro-carving. It had about two hundred characters and was only a few centimeters in size. It was a work by Master Guo Yueming. He spent 1.75 million US dollars on it!
It's worth nearly 12 million RMB. And what he has in his hand now is a real piece of art, with over a thousand horses. The artistry and craftsmanship are exquisite. There's also a 2,126-character essay about horses next to it, written in meticulous regular script, with each character perfectly round and square. It's all done by a master. But all of that isn't the most important thing. The most important thing is the micro-carving. To shrink so many images and characters onto that small piece of jade is something that even the best micro-carving masters today would find difficult to do!
Another technical challenge is micro-carving on jade, which is an impossible task. Who can do it?
Based on these points alone, this miniature carving is quite valuable. As Fang Dacheng said, the only drawback is that the jade itself is not of the best quality glass, but considering its other advantages, this point can be ignored.
It is very difficult for any work of art to be perfect. It can be said that no one has ever been able to achieve this throughout history. Perhaps that master sculptor did it on purpose, intentionally leaving a flaw in the treasure so that it would be more precious.
Lin Shilong was both excited and sighing. He never expected that in his life of collecting, he would encounter such a treasure today. It was ridiculous that Fang Dacheng had asked for 500,000 yuan. If he were the owner of this treasure, he would probably slap him across the face immediately!
Lin Shilong estimates that if this miniature carving were purely for business purposes, from a commercial perspective, he could acquire it for 50 million and still make a profit of 100 million. Of course, if it were for collection purposes, he would want it no matter the price. For collectors, the price doesn't matter when it comes to rare items.