Hu Shu's face turned somber as he asked Zhang Yixing to lend him the Douli Bowl for a few days to appreciate, temporarily keeping it in the 'Ancient Moon' museum.
Zhang Yixing did not refuse.
Hu Shu was so enamored with the Douli Bowl that he could not sleep that night and immediately sent people to investigate Lin Chuan's background. Finding out that Lin Chuan was just a web novel writer who owned an antique shop in Anling City called 'Goldstone Edge', Hu Shu began to harbor a deep appreciation for talent.
Of course, his intense desire for control also led him to a bolder idea.
Originally, for the next day's 'Ceremony for the Return of Overseas Cultural Relics', he had planned an 'accident', but the appearance of the Douli Bowl made him alter a few details slightly.
He wanted to make Lin Chuan destroy the 'Qing dynasty Chinese tangled branch pattern thin-walled jade vase', which would put Lin Chuan in a difficult position, burdened with a huge compensation.
Then, he would step in to compensate on behalf of Lin Chuan, making him owe Hu Shu a great favor.
By doing so, he would be able to destroy the counterfeit jade vase and willingly make Lin Chuan work for him, killing two birds with one stone.
In Hu Shu's eyes, Lin Chuan's value far exceeded that of an authentic 'Qing dynasty Chinese tangled branch pattern thin-walled jade vase'!
Because, once Lin Chuan was under his influence, he could create even greater value!
When it came to antique forgery, Lin Chuan was an absolute professional!
And the current situation, in Hu Shu's view, was proceeding exactly as he had anticipated.
As for the outside world's belief that the 'Qing dynasty Chinese tangled branch pattern thin-walled jade vase' was a replica, he was confident that no one would be able to tell.
It was, to date, his most satisfactory counterfeit.
In the drawing room.
The fragrance of Dahongpao tea curled up, filling every corner of the room.
Whoosh—
Gao Qinglin took a deep breath, downing the tea in his cup to calm his slightly complex emotions.
"In the future, you should build a good relationship with Lin Chuan. As for the trivial matters, you should not mind them," Hu Shu said casually.
When Hu Shu spoke, how could Gao Qinglin not listen?
"Yes, Mr. Hu," Gao Qinglin nodded and agreed.
"By the way, your current way of antique appraisal is still superficial, I recommend you read a book which will be very helpful to you," Hu Shu said with a smile.
"Which book?" Gao Qinglin asked.
"It's a web novel called 'Last Week's Antique', written by Lin Chuan. I'm reading it too, but I'm not going very fast; I'm still in the first half," Hu Shu laughed.
"Since Mr. Hu recommends it, I will certainly read it with great attention."
Gao Qinglin had his reservations about Lin Chuan, but he could only comply with Hu Shu's opinions and guidance.
The night deepened, with scattered stars above, and only the brilliant moon hung high, emitting pale moonlight. A gentle breeze rustled, and the sporadic chirping of insects added to the quietness of the night.
Dawn broke, and the brighter rays of the morning sun replaced the moonlight, illuminating every corner of the city.
As expected.
Modu Cultural Relics Bureau announced that Lin Chuan would restore the 'Qing dynasty Chinese tangled branch pattern thin-walled jade vase', and the public reacted with shock.
In the backyard of Modu Museum, Lin Chuan had a small workshop for 'atoning for one's crimes'.
Workshop members: Lin Chuan, Old Bai, Youyou.
Lin Chuan was responsible for the restoration, and Old Bai assisted him.
Youyou was in charge of ordering takeout.
The sun filtered through the half-open curtains, softly touching every corner of the room. On the spacious workbench in the center, various restoration tools and materials were laid out, and a desk lamp beside it cast a warm yellow glow on the jade, highlighting its lustrous quality.
Lin Chuan, dressed in work attire and wearing white gloves, was meticulously cleaning the fragments at the crack of the jade vase.
Old Bai, assisting him, grumbled, "Bro, a lot of so-called antique enthusiasts outside are already bad-mouthing you. Maybe we should just announce that this piece is a fake!"
Lin Chuan chuckled and then hummed, "If we just announce it, that would make it too easy for the folks we're scapegoated for!"
"Can this really flush them out?" Old Bai asked.
"This is Plan A; if it doesn't work, we have Plan B."
Lin Chuan smiled, paused his work, his gaze resolute, "The Antique Forgery Gang, I've got their number, not even Jesus could save them!"
Old Bai also fervently said, "Bro, I support you!"
"Let's focus on the restoration first; quite a few journalists out there are keeping a close watch on us," Lin Chuan replied, his eyes going back to the jade vase.
"Okay."
Old Bai nodded in agreement.
There are many skills involved in jade restoration.
Such as gold and jade inlay, crack bonding, filling in missing parts, gilding craft, and so on.
But, the restoration of the thin-walled jade vase was extremely difficult.
Because the thinnest part of the vase's body was only one millimeter, thin as cicada wings, repairing it required a great deal of effort.
Luckily, there are a lot of commonalities between cultural relic restoration and antique forgery in essence.
Lin Chuan was adept at the task.
The most crucial aspect was that the thin-walled jade vase itself was a replica, which allowed Lin Chuan to be more unrestrained in the restoration process.
Indeed, it proved that only those who dare to stand up on a bicycle understand a more sophisticated method of riding, which makes the bike more responsive.
The same applied to repairing the thin-walled jade vase.
Let go, and repair boldly!
However, Lin Chuan intentionally slowed down the restoration pace, aiming to wait for the suspected members of the Antique Forgery Gang.
What surprised Lin Chuan was that, for several days, not a single suspicious individual appeared.
On June 18th, as night fell,
Bright moonlight filtered through the curtains, casting a large diamond-shaped patch of light inside the 'atone for one's crimes' cultural relic restoration studio, where the trio awaited inside.
The atmosphere was somewhat gloomy.
Old Bai looked at the workbench, where a restored thin-walled jade vase sat, and frowned slightly, "Bro, we haven't seen any suspects these past few days, if we don't soon, we'll become the suspects."
Youyou beside him nodded, "We already are suspects."
Lin Chuan was also puzzled.
Theoretically, the Antique Forgery Gang shouldn't be able to sit still without any movement, letting a skilled connoisseur repair a damaged replica.
"There are two possibilities now, one is they know about our plan, and the other is they have great confidence, firmly believing we cannot discern the vase is a forgery," Lin Chuan analyzed.
"I think it's the latter," Youyou stated her opinion.
"Why?"
Lin Chuan raised his eyebrow, curiously asking.
Youyou thought for a moment, her brow slightly furrowed, and said, "Is it possible that you think too highly of them?"
"This... are they not smart enough?"
Lin Chuan was taken aback.
Old Bai was also somewhat puzzled and echoed, "Sis-in-law, they've kept their composure these days, isn't that exactly what makes them tough to deal with?"
Youyou gently shook her head and pointed a finger towards the thin-walled jade vase:
"What I mean is, in the field of antique forgery, they're not on par with Lin Chuan, they simply do not know Lin Chuan can tell it is a replica, but Lin Chuan is overestimating their intelligence by treating them as equals, thinking they would understand his level."
These past few days,
though she was only responsible for ordering takeout, she had been diligently studying antiques and cultural relics in her spare time, consulting Lin Chuan occasionally.
But the more she understood, the deeper she realized the depths of Lin Chuan's expertise, profound as the sea.
In the antique circle, it wouldn't be an exaggeration to describe him with the phrase, "Of all the talents under heaven, Lin Chuan possesses eight measures."
Old Bai was somewhat understanding Youyou's unique logic but was not quite convinced: "So you mean, stupidity plus blind arrogance have made them believe they are beyond concern, hence no movement?"
"Stupidity isn't quite the right word, but relative to Lin Chuan, the meaning is roughly the same."
Youyou nodded her head.
It's like a MOBA game where you predict the opponent's movement for your skill shot, but they don't move at all!
Not because they predicted the caster's prediction but because they don't even know that others would predict!
After hearing this theory, Lin Chuan was also briefly stunned.
He looked at Youyou beside him and suddenly felt that what she said made some sense: "It seems I indeed have overestimated them."
During these few days of restoring the thin-walled jade vase, Lin Chuan discovered the vase's replication craftsmanship to be exceptionally exquisite, rare in the world.
If he had not made a mistake with it before and learned to determine authenticity through the play of light and shadow, it would have been very difficult to identify it as a replica.
But the Antique Forgery Gang had missed one point.
—How could there be a freak like Lin Chuan?
"So, what should we do next?" Old Bai pondered and asked.
Lin Chuan's gaze fell on the thin-walled jade vase, and after a moment's thought, he said, "Since they 'are not smart enough,' we can only lower a dimension and release the message that we can tell 'it is a replica'!"

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