"Shilong, Mr. Wei, tell me, how much is each of these three miniature carvings? Name your price first!" Huang Dazhong asked the question directly.
Lin Shilong glanced at Zhou Xuan and smiled, "These are all Brother Wei's things. As for the price, you can name your own!"
Zhou Xuan smiled at the people in front of him and said, "Mr. Huang, this isn't an auction house. To be honest, if I really wanted to bid the highest price, I would have let the auction company do it directly. Bringing it here, of course, I'm not planning to do it that way. What do you think it's worth?"
Zhou Xuan himself didn't mention the price, but instead asked a question.
Upon hearing Zhou Xuan's statement, Huang Dazhong and the others immediately realized that this man was no novice. They should forget about trying to take advantage of him; he was well-informed and, in his opinion, had only slightly underestimated the amount they had estimated.
"Two hundred million for one piece, what do you think?"
Lin Shilong narrowed his eyes. This was four times the price he had offered yesterday. He wondered what Zhou Xuan would think.
She glanced at Zhou Xuan, who still had a smiling expression.
Fang Dacheng, who was standing at the back, was so shocked that he almost bit his tongue. If two of these items were worth 100 million each, he would have to pay him at least several million in tips per item, right? He never expected that Wei Xiao, who seemed so inconspicuous, would actually have such a valuable treasure!
Zhou Xuan thought for a moment and said to Huang Dazhong and the other three, "Mr. Huang, Mr. Chi, I personally think that 200 million per piece is a bit low. However, since it is a friend introduced by Boss Lin, I should at least give Boss Lin some face today. 200 million it is!"
Then, turning to Lin Shilong, he said, "Boss Lin, you introduced this business to us. In front of Mr. Huang, Mr. Chi, Mr. Wu, and Mr. Zhang, I'll be frank: business is business, and friendship is friendship. For each transaction, I'll give you 10% of the total price as a catering fee!"
These three items total 600 million, and 10% is 60 million. Zhou Xuan gave Lin Shilong a referral fee of 60,000, which is no small amount. Even if Lin Shilong looks down on small money, he has nothing to say about this amount. It is definitely not a small amount!
Lin Shilong smiled and said, "Then thank you very much, brother. Four bosses, please take a look at the last item!"
As he spoke, Lin Shilong took out the small jade seal from the box and handed it to the four of them to look at.
To be honest, the first three items had already astonished Huang Dazhong and his three companions. After carefully examining the last one Lin Shilong gave them, they couldn't help but exclaim in surprise, "Wang Xizhi? The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering? The Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Gathering?"
"That's right, it's Wang Xizhi, the greatest calligrapher in the world, the Preface to the Orchid Pavilion!" Lin Shilong replied solemnly.
He intentionally saved this one for last because he felt it was more valuable than the other three. He deliberately left it until the end to avoid having it priced together with the other three, which would be unfair.
Huang Dazhong was even more shocked, and his body couldn't help but tremble!
This is an even more astonishing treasure! They really don't know what kind of person could make such a thing!
Zhou Xuan knew that he had given out four items, and Lin Shilong had kept one for himself. Zhou Xuan assumed that Lin Shilong wanted it, so he didn't ask. If Lin Shilong wanted it, he would just collect a little as a token gesture.
But Lin Shih-lung didn't take it for himself; he took it out last.
Huang Dazhong and the other three took turns looking at it again. This time, all four of them stared at each other, their faces flushed!
The four men whispered among themselves for a moment, and finally Huang Dazhong spoke up. He held up his right hand and gestured with his palm: "Five hundred million!"
Fang Dacheng almost lost his balance in the back. He was filled with regret. He hadn't expected that his momentary stinginess and failure to listen to Lao Zhang's advice would push this god of wealth into Lin Shilong's hands. Now he could only drink the leftovers and had to be humble. There was no chance that Lin Shilong would leave him with nothing at all!
Although Wei Xiaoyu didn't say anything, she was secretly shocked. This Zhou Xuan was incredibly good at making money! He spent two million, and in just one night, it became 1.1 billion. And that was without Zhou Xuan negotiating the price. It seemed that this was just a one-sided price proposed by the other party. If Zhou Xuan had raised it, there would definitely have been room for further increase. She never expected that such a casual move would have increased the price by five hundred times!
Zhou Xuan had other things on his mind and didn't care how much these miniature carvings could sell for, nor did he care to haggle with them over the smallest things. He was preoccupied with other matters, and these four miniature carvings were just bait. Whether he would fall for it or catch them depended on luck. Perhaps none of these four people were the ones he was looking for!
"Then let's keep the price. This isn't an auction, so there's no point in going up or down a bit. I just..." Zhou Xuan hesitated for a moment, then continued, "I just want to buy some antique porcelain, steelware, and the like to display at home and make them look impressive!"
Volume 1, Chapter 360
"No problem at all. If Mr. Wei wants antiques like porcelain or bronzes, I'll take care of it!" Zhang Jing replied to Zhou Xuan, then got up and took a box from a suitcase beside him. He placed the box on the table, opened it, and inside was a bottle resembling a blue-green vase with a design. ()
Zhou Xuan recognized it as a piece of blue and white porcelain at first glance. Both the surface and the glaze were very pure. Although he didn't use ice gas to test it, the surface still looked good. This Zhang Jing actually brought a piece of blue and white porcelain!
Zhang Jing spread his hands and smiled at Zhou Xuan, saying, "Mr. Wei, what do you think?"
Zhou Xuan couldn't help but feel that Zhang Jing had a mysterious aura. He was in no way inferior to business giants like Huang Dazhong, Chi Xiqian, and Wu Xiulin, yet he was completely unknown, which was rather strange.
Zhang Jing didn't tell Zhou Xuan that the bottle was blue and white porcelain or anything like that. He just let him look at it and decide for himself whether it was good or bad. In the antique business, no matter how familiar or good the people are, they don't care about relationships. They only care about their eyesight. In on-site transactions, everything depends on eyesight and skill. Whether you find a bargain or get a bad deal is your own business. There's no question of debunking fakes afterward. There's no such thing as debunking fakes in the antique world.
However, based on Zhou Xuan's estimation and his first impression of the blue and white porcelain, it was still an authentic piece. He had seen many blue and white porcelains before.
Zhou Xuan took the blue and white porcelain vase in his hand. He had already looked at the blue and white surface at first glance, but when he held the vase in his hand, he looked at the bottom of the vase. After turning the vase upside down, there was a bright red seal on the bottom that read "Made in the fourth year of Chenghua of the Ming Dynasty". The seal mark was in a wide and upright style, with a "plump" feel to it.
This is indeed a genuine Ming Chenghua blue and white porcelain. On blue and white porcelain, there are usually marks indicating the firing year of the porcelain by writing, engraving, or printing. Zhou Xuan knew that this was called a reign mark, which is generally divided into two types: reign marks using the emperor's reign title and reign marks using the Heavenly Stems and Earthly Branches.
Blue and white porcelain is one of the mainstream varieties of porcelain and also a part of Chinese culture. In modern times, a genuine piece of blue and white porcelain can fetch at least 20 million yuan at auction, making it extremely valuable.
The earliest period of blue and white porcelain was in the early Tang Dynasty. Blue and white porcelain became the mainstream of porcelain in the Ming Dynasty, and the blue and white porcelain from the Ming Dynasty has the highest collection value.
Zhou Xuan initially did not use ice to test it, but relied on his naked eye and experience to observe it. Based on his experience, he believed that the blue and white porcelain was genuine.
It looked pleasing to the eye, with bright blue and white glaze on the porcelain bottle, the glaze penetrating the porcelain. After looking at it for a while, Zhou Xuan used his ice energy to test it, and he was surprised by what he found!
This blue and white porcelain piece is actually a fake!
It is made by piecing together fragments of ancient blue and white porcelain, then using cobalt material to fill the seams, and the glaze used is also an ancient glaze. After firing, it is aged using high-tech methods. No matter if you look at the surface with your naked eye or use instruments to test it, you cannot tell that this piece of blue and white porcelain is fake. Zhou Xuan is very clear about this. There are many experts and masters who have fallen for this kind of trick.
Zhou Xuan was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed!
This thing is the same as the one Fu Yuanshan saw; it was made using the same technique. He was right; it was indeed a micro-carving that brought out the person behind it!
Zhang Jing had been secretly watching Zhou Xuan the whole time. When he saw Zhou Xuan's stunned expression, he felt a pang of anxiety, thinking that Zhou Xuan had seen through the deception. But he didn't believe it. Even if you used instruments to measure this thing, you couldn't detect it, let alone look at it with your eyes. Then he saw Zhou Xuan's delight, and he immediately felt relieved. Zhou Xuan's expression meant that he must really like it.
Actually, Zhou Xuanxi was happy because he had found a clue. After going through many hardships, he finally found a clue. Although there was no final conclusion yet, it was better than the clue being lost. Moreover, there was that masked ghost man behind this matter who was extremely terrifying to Zhou Xuanxi!
"I really like this blue and white porcelain piece!"
Zhou Xuan pretended to be very fond of it, holding it in her hand and examining it carefully. "I wonder what price Mr. Zhang is asking for?"
Zhang Jing chuckled and said, "Of course, of course. If Mr. Wei likes them, I have a few more items. You may ask Mr. Wei to take a look before making a decision."
Zhou Xuan immediately agreed, "Okay, let's do it this way. If I like all of Mr. Zhang's collection, how about we exchange some items? I'll offer these miniature carvings as my tokens, how about that?"