Lin Ao would not easily admit defeat.
On the spot, he rented hospital equipment and placed the jixinpei under a microscope, magnified sixty times.
Immediately, the collapsed debris within the yin lines, connected to the projection screen of the electron microscope, was displayed before everyone's eyes.
Hiss…
Everyone gasped in unison.
Lin Ao’s face instantly turned flushed, sweat beaded on his forehead, and his eyelids twitched uncontrollably.
“Zhonglou, why are they all changing their expressions?” Xu Lie asked, seeing this.
On the large screen projection, only thick grooves could be seen.
Outsiders watched for the fun, while insiders saw the craft. He was purely an amateur, of course, he didn't understand.
“The tools used in the Han Dynasty to carve jade were made of different materials than today, called tuoji, pulled back and forth by two people, with the tip being a small iron disk.”
Li Zhonglou explained, “Under repeated pulling, the hardness of iron was used to grind away the parts of the jade to be carved, forming patterns.”
“Water was added during grinding to dissipate heat. Due to the shape of the grinding wheel, the lines produced were date-pit shaped, the沟底 (groove bottom) was uniformly ground and sandy, and curved.”
“And because the hardness of iron was not high, it would inevitably cause significant wear to grind away the jade. Therefore, a patina would form at the bottom of the grooves.”
“However, modern tools, in pursuit of efficiency, use electric tuoji to drive diamond-sand grinding wheels at high speeds.”
“Although the shape is not much different from ancient times, it rotates in a single direction.”
“The heat generated by high efficiency is also much greater than in ancient times, so the grooves have zipper-like cracks, and the groove bottom is dry and without patina, which is vastly different from the line grooves of ancient jade.”
“Ordinary imitations can be seen with the naked eye, but this jixinpei has exquisite craftsmanship and has been handled and maintained by hand, making it difficult to discern with the naked eye.”
These words, ostensibly said to Xu Lie, were actually conveying the result to everyone.
Those who came with Lin Ao all had tense faces and looked ashamed.
They dared not look Li Zhonglou directly in the eye.
Lin Ao’s face turned from red to green, and finally to a pale, bloodless white.
He had lost!
He lost to a bumpkin he completely looked down upon.
He lost completely, with no room for rebuttal.
He couldn't fathom how Li Zhonglou had seen through its authenticity at a glance.
He, the proud disciple of the head of the Antique Association, and from an antique family, had suffered such a great fall.
A stain on his life.
In his anger and shame, he could only vent all his resentment onto Li Zhonglou.
If it weren't for Li Zhonglou, why would he have lost face in front of everyone?
His eyes filled with hatred, so dense it was almost palpable, he shouted, “Li Zhonglou!”
“We are not finished with this. You just wait.”
Saying that, he turned to leave.
“Stop!”
Li Zhonglou extended his left hand and shouted, “Poor eyesight, and poor character too.”
“Have you forgotten your promise? Hand over the jixinpei.”
“You…” Lin Ao trembled with anger, gritted his teeth, and handed the jixinpei to Li Zhonglou.
He then stormed out of the hospital.
“Li… Master Li, we were blind and foolish. We never expected your discerning eye to reach such heights!”
“I want to become your disciple. Please name your price, Master Li, no matter how much it is, as long as you agree to take me.”
“Teacher, can you take a look at my collection? If you’re willing to grace my humble home, you can pick any one of my collections…”
…
As soon as Lin Ao left, his followers immediately relaxed their restraint and flocked to show their favor to Li Zhonglou.
Some even wanted to become his disciple on the spot.
Li Zhonglou glanced at them and said, “You want to be my disciple? You are not qualified.”
With that, he took Xu Lie and left.
Everyone was stunned, but no one dared to call Li Zhonglou arrogant anymore.
A master who could see through the imitation ancient craftsmanship of the jixinpei at a glance and send Lin Ao fleeing in shame, let alone be rude, what could they do even if he cursed them?
Leaving the hospital and on the way to the antique market.
Seeing Li Zhonglou fiddling with the jixinpei, Xu Lie asked, “Is this thing very valuable?”
“If it’s the real deal, at least this much,” Li Zhonglou held up three fingers.
“Thirty thousand?”
“Three million!”
Li Zhonglou laughed, “This thing is not just an imitation of ancient craftsmanship, it’s also ancient jade re-carved with modern techniques!”
“Although it’s not worth three million, it’s still worth two to three hundred thousand. It’s laughable that Lin Ao is so short-sighted and blind.”
“Hiss… So expensive?” Xu Lie’s eyes widened like brass bells, and he gasped.
He had seen antiques a few times with Li Zhonglou.
But each time it left him thrilled.
A small jade pendant, the real one could be worth five million, and the fake one twenty-three thousand.
It was truly incomprehensible.
“Gold has a price, but jade is priceless since ancient times. In fact, what I care about isn’t this jade, but the person who carved it,” Li Zhonglou showed a profound smile. “With such skill, he should have been famous throughout China, inscribing his own mark.”
“Why not earn money in a straightforward manner, but instead make imitation jade?”
“Why don’t you ask that guy named Lin?” Xu Lie asked, puzzled.
“He thought he found a treasure, but in reality, he was exploited. The other party would definitely not tell him these things,” Li Zhonglou knew that Xu Lie was not in the industry.
He was unaware of many rules and tricks.
He didn’t say more, planning to show it to Huang Yongshou later.
Since he was a broker, let him find a seller.
By the time they reached the Confucian Temple, it was almost eleven o’clock.
Huang Yongshou was waiting at the entrance. After the two got out of the car, he immediately led them to a restaurant with antique-style decor.
He booked a private room and said with a beaming smile, “Boss Li, has Chen Zhenghe gotten any good stuff?”
He was so shrewd.
When Li Zhonglou asked Xu Lie to get Chen Zhenghe's contact information, it was definitely to find a bargain.
If it weren’t for Xu Lie, the war god, suppressing him, he might not have been willing to give it.
Since Li Zhonglou came to him again, it meant he had found something.
“You knew long ago that Chen Zhenghe was involved in tomb robbing, right?” Li Zhonglou asked directly.
“This…” Huang Yongshou’s face froze, his eyes darted evasively, and he stammered.
He was a broker and naturally knew the rules of the antique industry. The so-called tomb robbing actually meant grave robbing.
Legitimate antique dealers and collectors would not accept items from tombs.
Because it was illegal.
Unlike inherited items.
Although there were also legal issues with inherited items, such as bronzes and rhinoceros horns, they were few.
All items from ancient tombs were cultural relics, and regardless of the dynasty, none were allowed to circulate.
But since ancient times, many people had become rich by digging graves and robbing tombs.
Even his master and senior disciples had descended into countless tombs to find that one treasured item, and had even been falsely accused of grave robbing.
Li Zhonglou did not want to interfere with such matters.
But Chen Zhenghe was different. He had taken advantage of Old Chen’s find, and because Chen Zhenghe had accidentally caused Jiang Tao’s downfall, he had to help him out of reason and sentiment.
“What is this this, just say it!” Xu Lie glared.
Huang Yongshou immediately caved, “Brother Xu, Boss Li, there are rules in this industry.”
“I helped him sell things, and I could indeed see that many of them were from tombs.”
“Besides, he’s just a small fry. The people behind him are the ones with a big background.”
Upon hearing this, a sharp glint flashed in Li Zhonglou’s eyes, “That’s what I’m asking. Tell me.”
“I’ve met that person once. He’s not in Qinzhou now. I heard he’s doing big business,” Huang Yongshou lowered his voice. “Have you noticed the jade cicada that Chen Zhenghe is wearing?”
Li Zhonglou nodded, “The carving is average, it should be a buried jade from Mingqi.”
“That was given to him by that person last year when he visited Qinzhou,” Huang Yongshou said. “Speaking of which, that incident had something to do with you!”
“Me?”
Li Zhonglou looked surprised.