Chapter Eleven: The Antique Market (Three)

  The first part of the trading session is free bidding, where everyone bids on several items on the stage. After the transaction of the items on the stage is completed, they can be purchased at the trading tables around the stage.

  "The first piece of collection we are going to auction today is a snuff bottle with lotus nose from the late Qing dynasty, starting price 800. Those who are interested can go on stage to identify it and then bid!"

  As soon as the host's voice fell, many Tibetan friends rushed onto the stage. Tang Ling followed Wei Lao to the stage and saw that many people were holding various appraisal tools to identify them.

  "This snuff bottle painting is exquisite, the colors are vibrant, the material is fine, and the artistic conception is vivid, it's really good!" said an old man holding a magnifying glass.

  "Huh! This snuff bottle is an inside-painted one!" another person commented.

  "This brushwork looks like it's from the hand of Ye Ying, a master of inside painting from the late Qing dynasty! If it's really a work by Master Ye, then it would be worth a lot of money!"

  "Master Ye Ying? Isn't Master Ye mainly about flowers and birds? I think this snuff bottle is fake!"

  "Huh? There's an inscription on the bottom of this snuff bottle, 'Ye Ying zhu'."

  "Is this a genuine Ye Ying?" The old man with the magnifying glass shook his head, sighing, "What a pity! I thought I had found the real thing, but it turns out to be a fake!"

  "Fake goods? What did you say?"

  "One, Master Ye Ying and Master Ye Da are both mainly about flowers and birds. Two, Master Ye Da's works are all carved with his name, Ye Ying, with a small character on top, so his works are all carved with 'Ye' on top!"

  "That's right, Old Li said it was good, I have a Chunhua Yueye snuff bottle in my hand, which is indeed carved with Ye Guan Zhi Jin! That snuff bottle is worth 200,000 yuan! How much does this one cost? 800 yuan!"

  "Ah! It's a fake, it's worthless, it's worthless!"

  Everyone had a look around and most of them stepped down from the stage, giving up on bidding. Only a few people were left on the stage, still considering.

  Tang Ling saw that Wei Lao had no intention of stepping down and didn't move, standing on stage waiting for the bidding.

  There were not many bidders, and the Qing dynasty's snuff bottle was finally bought by Wei Lao for 1200 yuan. When Wei Lao paid the money, the crowd that had been surrounding the appraiser of the snuff bottle came over one after another.

  Wei Lao first looked down at Tang Ling, who had a faint smile on her lips. This little girl was indeed calm and composed. Everyone said it was a fake, but he took it anyway. To his surprise, the girl didn't even show any curiosity!

  "Isn't Little Tang curious?" He really couldn't understand this little girl.

  Tang Ling blinked her eyes, "How curious!" After a pause, she said, "But what I'm curious about is when can I have such unique insight like Grandfather Wei."

  As soon as Tang Ling saw the snuff bottle, she knew it was genuine. She relied on her "special ability", while Wei Lao was knowledgeable and had a keen eye for this kind of thing, which made Tang Ling admire him even more.

  Wei Lao burst out laughing, "As expected of the little girl I, Wei Lao, have taken a liking to! Xiao Tang is indeed one of a kind!" It's worth noting that even among adults, not everyone possesses the temperament of being able to remain calm like Tang Ling.

  "Old Wei, where did you buy this fake?" On this side of the antique market, these people all knew each other.

  "Haha, it's rare to come across Master Ye's work at such a cheap price, of course I won't let this opportunity slip away!" Wei Lao's tone was cheerful and his voice was full of confidence.

  "Oh? Does Old Wei have a different opinion?" Magnifying Glass Li's eyes lit up, knowing that Old Wei was also an old collector friend, perhaps he had some understanding of the snuff bottle.

  "I dare not say, but I know that Ye Ying started doing inside painting from the age of 13. To know that in ancient times, one had to come of age and perform the weak crown ceremony before being crowned with a small character, and Ye's crown is Ye Ying's small character after coming of age. The inscription on the bottom of this snuff bottle 'Ye Ying' indicates that it was his work before he came of age. Moreover, before Ye Ying became famous, his main works were lotus ponds, while the flower and bird paintings that are popular in the market now are all his works after he became famous!"

  "Old Wei's eyesight is better than mine!" This Old Li also has a lot of experience, but today he made a mistake.

  Wei smiled brightly and comforted Li, "Li, don't be modest. Ye Ying's early works are extremely rare, hardly any have been passed down. I only learned of it from Master Ye Hongyi at an auction, and that's because he's the heir to the Ye family's inner painting style."

  "So it was! So it was indeed!" Li Lao sighed with emotion.

  Tang Ling also listened carefully, as experience is not something that can be learned from books. Listening and observing more is what Tang Ling needs to do now.

  As everyone had walked past the treasure on the snuff bottle at He Tang Bi, they became even more cautious with the next few pieces of treasure.

  The next exhibits include a large ceramic plate with landscape and flowers from Jingdezhen during the Kangxi period, Wu Changshuo's "Ink Plum Blossom" from the Republic of China period, a bronze flower mirror from the early Tang Dynasty, a copper furnace from the late Tang Dynasty, and a large copper Buddha statue with a gold-backed throne from the Kangxi period, among which some are genuine and some are fake.

  Tang Ling followed Wei Lao, and every time they bid on an antique, Wei Lao would tell Tang Ling some knowledge about the antique. Tang Ling listened carefully, and Wei Lao became more and more enthusiastic, slowly Tang Ling also raised some questions based on the exhibits, which shocked Wei Lao! For someone like Tang Ling who didn't understand the industry, just by listening to Wei Lao's evaluation of the exhibits, she was able to discover some flaws in the fakes, which was rare! Wei Lao could only sigh in his heart, "The younger generation is indeed formidable!"

  Among the other exhibits, several pieces are genuine, but Wei Lao did not make another move. In his words, he only sought refinement in his collection, not quantity. The lotus pond snuff bottle is an early work by Ye Ying, which is rare on the market and has more collectible value.

  As for the hot bronze Buddha statue, it is indeed a genuine product. In the end, Li Lao won the bid with 500,000 yuan and hugged the Buddha statue with a smile, looking as happy as a child, presumably extremely fond of it!

  All the exhibits have been auctioned off, and at this time a middle-aged man walks onto the stage. The man is about 40 years old, slightly fat, and Tang Ling notices him because she sees his gloomy face and a faint black aura surrounding his body.

  Digression

  Who is this person?