"You want me to appraise it? Ah, Brother Li, you truly are cultured. When an expert speaks, one can tell. But I just arrived in Jiangcheng and don't have anything on me, so it's hard to give you a proper appraisal." Zhao Chen said with a smile.
Li Yang chuckled, "You're not bad yourself. When you used to visit my place, you'd get completely lost whenever my parents talked about antiques. Now you even know this is jargon. You've improved a lot; I truly have to look at you with new eyes."
"Appraise it" was jargon in the antique circle, meaning much the same as "take a look," but with a significantly different implication. "Take a look" was too casual.
If you presented something to someone and said, "Appraise it," you were implying it was a treasure and you were allowing them a chance to examine it. If you said, "Let me take a look," it meant you valued the friendship and held them in high regard.
If you asked someone to appraise your item, you were flattering them, praising their possession as a treasure.
Moreover, unless the friendship was quite close, people wouldn't typically allow you to appraise their genuine treasures.
"Heh heh," Zhao Chen said sheepishly, "After all these years, if I were still the same as before, wouldn't that make me too foolish?"
"That's true," Li Yang smiled and looked at him, "But speaking of which, why did you come back from the capital?"
"It's my old man. He wants to climb the social ladder again and thinks my acting career is a waste of time. He told me to look around and find some good items for him to give as gifts."
Zhao Chen took out a business card and handed it to Li Yang. "I originally intended to find you, but I went to the old house and found no one there. So, I came here for a meal, and I plan to visit this shop later."
"Brother Li, your family is a renowned antique lineage, and you're familiar with antiques. What do you think of this shop? Tell me about it."
"Tong Jian Tie Ma Lou (Bronze Sword Iron Horse Tower). This shop is even older than my Li family's Li Hao Antique Shop. It's quite an established antique store," Li Yang said, glancing at the business card. He smiled, "However, this shop is very specialized. For centuries, they've only dealt in and acquired Jinshi (metal and stone) antiques. That's why, over the years, the antique shop owners in Jiangcheng have coexisted peacefully with them."
Antiques have many classifications, and Jinshi is just one of them. This antique shop only collected this type. Regardless of their fame, they didn't infringe on anyone else's interests or block anyone's financial path, so naturally, everyone was willing to maintain a harmonious relationship for mutual prosperity.
After all, each generation's proprietor of Tong Jian Tie Ma Lou possessed considerable appraisal skills. The current owner was even known as "Jiangcheng's Foremost Jinshi Master." In the circle, it was said, "Jiangcheng's thousand-year Jinshi legacy, today we only look to Tie Ma Lou."
Zhao Chen said, "If that's the case, then the items in this shop are quite good?"
"More than good; in terms of Jinshi, they are absolutely the benchmark in Jiangcheng today," Li Yang said with a smile. "If you're going there, let's go together. I can also see how they conduct their business."
"That's great. Brother Li, I'll drive over now," Zhao Chen said happily.
Li Yang replied, "No need. Let's meet at the entrance of Tong Jian Tie Ma Lou."
"Okay, okay, okay. See you at the entrance later."
Tong Jian Tie Ma Lou, Jiangcheng's foremost Jinshi establishment – this reputation was not merely for show. As Li Yang stepped out of his car and looked up, he saw an ancient building six stories high. Instead of electronic lights, the entrance was adorned with incense burners made from premium spices, covered by intricately carved crimson lanterns. This created a striking contrast with the surrounding modern architecture.
"As expected of a 300-year-old establishment. I heard the candles in these lanterns are replaced three times a night, and each one costs over a thousand yuan."
"Oh my goodness, there are eight lanterns here. Three times eight is twenty-four. Doesn't that mean they burn tens of thousands of yuan a night?"
"I heard their business extends overseas, making thousands of yuan daily. They wouldn't care about such a small expense."
"Brother Li, is what they're saying true?" Zhao Chen asked in a low voice, overhearing some passersby.
Li Yang sniffed the air and indeed detected an extremely high-grade fragrance. He nodded, "These are indeed premium incense. They use at least thirty-seven traditional Chinese medicinal herbs like ginseng, reishi mushroom, poria cocos, and angelica. The cost of the ingredients alone is not low, not to mention the craftsmanship involved in making the incense. A thousand yuan per stick is indeed not an exaggeration."
"Clap, clap, clap, my amazing Brother Li! You didn't even look, just sniffed the air and could tell the ingredients of the incense. I'm truly impressed," suddenly, someone applauded, followed by a clear and pleasant girlish voice.
Li Yang turned his head and saw a woman in a floral dress, who looked exceptionally pure and beautiful when she smiled. He asked in surprise, "Miss Fang?"
"Hee hee, you still remember me?" Fang Xiaoqing walked over with a playful smile, extending her small, fair, jade-like hand towards him. "Let me reintroduce myself, my name is Fang Xiaoqing, a key member of the Antique and Jade Association."
"Brother Li, we meet again. It's truly fate."
"It is indeed fate," Li Yang shook her hand. Fang Xiaoqing's small hand was just like her appearance, feeling exceptionally refreshing and very soft to the touch. In the summer, holding such a small hand would completely negate the need for air conditioning or fans.
"Why are you here, Miss Fang?"
"Do you remember the zodiac tiger you sold to my maternal grandfather? I heard there's another zodiac bas-relief here. My grandfather was supposed to come personally, but due to some matters, he couldn't get away, so I came to take a look," Fang Xiaoqing said with a smile.
Li Yang gave a soft "Oh," "So that's how it is."
Then he was about to release her hand.
Unexpectedly, Fang Xiaoqing's lips curved upwards. She tightened her grip on his hand, spun around, and hooked her arm through his. "Brother Li, you have such sharp eyesight. Could you help me appraise something later, please?"
"Uh," Li Yang opened his mouth, surprised by her action. He was momentarily unsure whether to refuse or accept.
Fang Xiaoqing said softly, "Pretty please, Brother Li~"
"Oh dear, Miss Fang, please don't be like that. I'm getting goosebumps all over," Li Yang said, half-amused, half-exasperated.
"Then did you agree?"
"Alright, I'll take a look for you."
"Hee hee, I knew Brother Li was a good person and wouldn't make a girl sad or disappointed," Fang Xiaoqing said happily, smiling. She tilted her head and was about to kiss Li Yang's face.
This greatly surprised Li Yang. "No way, is this girl this forward and generous?"
Just as she was about to kiss him, she suddenly stopped, saying with concern, "I heard my grandfather say that if a girl is too forward with a boy, not only will she not get what she wants, but she'll also scare the boy away."
"So, Brother Li, I'll kiss you later."
With that, she moved her lips away and then pulled Li Yang's arm, leading him into Tong Jian Tie Ma Lou.