After recording the morning program, Su Wanru found Liu Yifeng. She needed to visit the company's headquarters and had a meeting in the afternoon, so she had to leave now.
Liu Yifeng knew she was busy and, thinking she hadn't driven herself, offered to give her a ride. However, Su Wanru refused, "No need. You still need to look after Tongtong. It's very convenient for me to take a taxi. I won't be coming over in the afternoon, but let's have dinner together tonight!"
Seeing Tongtong walking towards them, Liu Yifeng nodded, "Alright, we'll contact each other tonight then!"
Su Wanru waved goodbye to Tongtong and Xia Qianqian and left the recording studio with the audience.
"Miss Su is leaving already, won't you stay for dinner?" Xia Qianqian asked.
She's here on a business trip and has a lot to do, so she's heading back. We've agreed to be in touch tonight!
Xia Qianqian said nothing more. The three of them walked out of the recording studio together. Liu Yifeng remembered he needed to find Mr. Zhao to appraise the inkstone and found he had already left. He took out his phone and called him.
Zhao Dewang was about to attend a learning and exchange session with some judges.
Recently, they often took advantage of their free time to learn and exchange ideas with some professors and notable figures.
The recording today finished early, so they planned to have lunch while discussing.
When his phone rang, he took it out and saw it was Liu Yifeng calling. He answered immediately, "Hello, Yifeng, what's up?"
"Mr. Zhao, do you have time now?" Liu Yifeng asked.
He wouldn't dare disturb him if he was busy.
Zhao Dewang glanced at the people around him and immediately said, "It's nothing particularly important, it's fine. Just tell me what you need!"
Seeing that Mr. Zhao had time, Liu Yifeng said, "It's like this, last night Tongtong and I were wandering outside and accidentally stumbled into an antique shop. Tongtong's special guest, Qianqian, bought a flute for two hundred yuan. Tongtong asked the shop owner to give us an inkstone as a gift. This inkstone looks extraordinary, and a friend of mine today also said it's an antique, so I wanted to ask you to help appraise it."
If anyone else had said this, Zhao Dewang would have refused without a second thought. What good could a shop owner give away for something worth two hundred yuan? Asking him to appraise it would be a waste of his time.
But this was something Tongtong liked, and he had a hunch it was extraordinary.
So he told the three people to go ahead to the dining area and that he would join them after he was done. If he couldn't make it, he wouldn't attend today's exchange session.
The three heard him and left without waiting.
Zhao Dewang suppressed his excitement and asked Liu Yifeng on the phone, "Are you still at the TV station?"
"Yes, we just walked out of the recording studio!"
"I've just reached the lobby on the first floor. Why don't you come to my lounge, and we can appraise it there?" Zhao Dewang and the other judges all had private lounges arranged for them.
Liu Yifeng had been there once, so he knew the way. After hanging up, he took Tongtong with him.
He originally wanted to ask Xia Qianqian to come along, but Xia Qianqian felt out of place in such a setting and refused.
Using the excuse of not having slept well the previous night, she went to Director Wang's lounge.
Seeing that she didn't want to go, Liu Yifeng didn't insist. He held Tongtong's hand and carried the bag containing the inkstone.
Soon, he arrived at Mr. Zhao's lounge.
Zhao Dewang had arrived before them. Hearing the commotion, he opened the door before Liu Yifeng could knock. Seeing the father and son, he warmly invited them in.
"Tongtong, your performance during this period has been truly outstanding. Tomorrow is the grand finale, and the championship is yours without a doubt." Zhao Dewang was absolutely convinced of this.
This was why he had strongly recommended Tongtong to participate in this program.
If Tongtong ultimately became the champion, he would surely become a household name.
"The other brothers and sisters are also very good!" Tongtong was not arrogant or conceited. Apart from his exceptional abilities, the others were also very strong.
"Hahaha, Tongtong is still so humble. I just heard from your father that you liked an inkstone last night. Can Grandpa Zhao have a look?" Zhao Dewang asked with a smile.
Tongtong nodded repeatedly, "Of course! Dad, quickly show Grandpa Zhao the inkstone!"
Liu Yifeng immediately took out the inkstone, "It's this inkstone, Mr. Zhao, take a look and see if it's an antique."
The moment he took it out, Mr. Zhao's eyes lit up. Afraid he was mistaken, he put on his reading glasses, took the inkstone from Liu Yifeng, and became more and more excited as he looked.
The patterns and the material of the inkstone were undoubtedly ancient. So he asked the same question Su Wanru had asked, "Was this really a free gift from the shop owner?"
"Yes, he said the inkstone wasn't worth much. When he gave it to us, it was covered in dust. I cleaned it after we got back," Liu Yifeng replied.
"Then the shop owner lost out big time! Such a rare inkstone, and he didn't recognize it, treating it as scrap and giving it away. He's too unprofessional."
After hearing Mr. Zhao's words, Liu Yifeng also became excited, "So this is truly an antique, not a modern handicraft?"
Hearing Liu Yifeng's doubt, Mr. Zhao seemed a bit annoyed, "How could such a fine piece be a modern handicraft?
Look at the patterns, how smoothly they are carved, they are practically lifelike. This simply cannot be carved by modern machinery.
And the feel in my hand, the material, it cannot be a modern piece of art."
Liu Yifeng knew Mr. Zhao was knowledgeable and asked, "Then what era is this inkstone from?"
Zhao Dewang looked at it again carefully and then gave his answer, "With such exquisite craftsmanship, this must be a Duanxi inkstone from the Tang Dynasty. You father and son have struck gold.
Not many of these inkstones have been preserved, and they have great collection value."
Seeing that Su Wanru, Mr. Zhao, and Tongtong all spoke of it as a Duanxi inkstone, Liu Yifeng realized it was indeed a Tang Dynasty Duanxi inkstone. He was overjoyed. He never expected Tongtong to casually find such a treasure. This was truly a profitable find.
However, he wasn't interested in collecting. He felt that in his hands, this object was like a piece of scrap stone. Thinking this, he said, "I've never been involved in this line of work and don't understand it well, but I'm not interested in collecting. So I plan to sell this inkstone to someone who truly likes it."
Zhao Dewang immediately said upon hearing this, "If you want to transfer it, you can transfer it directly to me!
As you should know, I have collected quite a few scholarly items, but none of my inkstones are as exquisite as this one, so I want to collect it.
But don't worry, I won't cheat you on the price."
"How can I accept money from you, Mr. Zhao? If you truly like it, I'll give it to you. It didn't cost anything in the first place," Liu Yifeng said politely.