There are many ways of gambling on appraisal, and the types vary from place to place.
In Yan Jing, the most popular is shefu, which is also called "A Hundred Paces Through the Yang" in Jiangdong.
The rules are more or less the same: a pile of antique objects are placed, and people are asked to find the fakes, or the genuine items, or the most valuable items.
What Ma Xiuyong wanted to gamble on appraisal with me, in his words, was "half real, half fake."
He had a very exquisite tea set, which he seemed to have pieced together himself. There were eighteen teacups, a tea tray, a tea bowl, and some miscellaneous tea-brewing utensils.
He said that one item in this tea set was a fake, and if I could find it, the appraisal gamble would be mine.
Of course, there was a time limit. He gave me the time it took for one stick of incense to burn, which was half an hour.
To be honest, seeing the dazzling array of tea ware laid out before me made my head spin.
To find the fake, one would have to appraise every single item.
Half an hour was far from enough time.
Because these tea wares were of different years and craftsmanship, it was a complete mishmash.
Moreover, a fake that Ma Xiuyong would favor would naturally not be ordinary, otherwise, he wouldn't have collected it.
Therefore, the difficulty in finding the fake hidden among the tea wares can be imagined…
My father told me that gambling on appraisal not only tested a person's appraisal skills but also, more importantly, their state of mind.
To have a chance of winning in an appraisal gamble, one must understand what kind of person the "house" is.
What kind of person is Ma Xiuyong?
He likes to drink tea, and he likes to collect tea ware. On the surface, he is amiable, but in reality, he is extremely conceited.
For such a person, if he "holds the house," he would naturally have great confidence that others could not win.
Since this is the case, the fake among the tea wares in front of me would also be something he was highly confident I wouldn't be able to find.
"Brother Xiang, are you ready?" Ma Xiuyong asked with a smile.
I adjusted my mindset, took a deep breath, and nodded.
Seeing this, he lit the incense in his hand and inserted it into a nearby censer: "Then let's begin."
After saying this, he sat leisurely to the side and started smoking.
I quickly scanned the tea wares in front of me, identifying each one carefully.
I started with the smaller, inconspicuous items, like the tea spoon. I examined it back and forth for a long time before I determined it was made of nanmu wood.
Although I couldn't tell its age, I was sure it wasn't a fake.
After all, nanmu wood itself is a very precious wood.
After I had carefully identified several items, the incense had already burned more than half away.
If I continued at this pace, I estimated I wouldn't even be able to examine all the items by the time the incense finished.
I couldn't help but feel a bit nervous, and my heart was in a flutter.
To calm myself down, I started reciting the Tao Te Ching.
When I was young, my father often made me recite the Tao Te Ching when he was teaching me appraisal, as I would often get distracted and dislike studying.
At that time, he told me to recite the Tao Te Ching, and I don't know why, but every time I recited it, the杂念 (miscellaneous thoughts) in my mind would lessen significantly.
I still use this method to this day; whenever I feel anxious, I will recite it.
After about five or six minutes, I clearly felt my inner self calming down little by little.
My thoughts also began to become clearer.
If I were to examine each item one by one, I would surely lose.
Ma Xiuyong must have thought of this as well.
So this method was wrong. Then how could I find the fake within the limited time?
Given Ma Xiuyong's conceited nature, he would certainly not create a dead end for me.
Thinking of this, I glanced at him. I saw him smiling, his expression still very leisurely.
I slowly closed my eyes, no longer looking at the items on the table, but continuously calculating in my mind.
A person who is extremely conceited would certainly want me to lose convincingly.
But how could he make me lose convincingly?
As I pondered, I suddenly opened my eyes and looked at the tea set on the table, a slight smile curling at the corner of my lips.
This Ma Xiuyong is indeed a cunning old fox!
"Brother Xiang has found the answer?" Seeing me smile, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes as he asked.
I nodded and said, "In fact, it didn't take nearly as long as one stick of incense. It's just that I was led astray by Brother Ma at the beginning."
Upon hearing this, he was slightly taken aback and looked at me thoughtfully: "Brother Xiang, why don't you tell me your conclusion."
Seeing that he was still not convinced, I pointed to the tea tray on the table: "My conclusion is that this tea tray is the fake."
Upon hearing my answer, the smile on Ma Xiuyong's face froze instantly!
When the appraisal gamble began, Ma Xiuyong told me to find the fake among these tea wares.
The tea wares he mentioned naturally included the tea tray.
It's just that I didn't pay attention to this tea tray at all at the beginning, as it was the largest item on the table.
This tea tray couldn't even be considered an antique; it was just an iron tray.
I think anyone could tell that the tray couldn't be an antique.
And precisely because of this, I immediately dismissed the tea tray and started examining the other tea wares.
All of this was planned by Ma Xiuyong. He is an extremely conceited person, and he knows my abilities well.
Even if I hadn't displayed anything in front of him, based solely on the fact that he knew who my father was, he could deduce that I must have some attainments in appraisal.
Since he had a general understanding of me, for Ma Xiuyong to win, he had to ensure it was foolproof.
How to make it foolproof?
If he added a small fake item among the tea wares, he himself would not be confident of winning.
So he played a trick and directly placed the most obvious fake before me, which was the tea tray.
A tea tray that could be identified as fake at a glance would naturally be automatically ignored by me.
After all, based on my understanding of him, I would think that a fake that he favored would be extraordinary, so I didn't notice the tea tray at all at first; in fact, I didn't even glance at it.
If I hadn't remembered my father's teachings later, I would have suffered a terrible defeat this time.
Imagine, after I lost, when Ma Xiuyong announced the result, how frustrated I would have been!
At that time, my state of mind would also be damaged, and it would likely take a long time to recover with proper care.
I know Ma Xiuyong didn't intend to harm me, but unfortunately, his personality is such that his actions tend to be excessive.
Fortunately, I adjusted my mindset, remained unaffected, and ultimately found the flaw in his scheme.
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but recall a sentence my father often repeated to me: "Antiques are easy to appraise, but human hearts are difficult to fathom…"
Indeed, who can truly fathom the human heart?
Take this Ma Xiuyong, for example. He doesn't want to harm me, but if I had lost this round, our relationship would surely have soured, and we would have become enemies.
"I am ashamed, I am ashamed." Ma Xiuyong seemed to realize this as well, and a hint of guilt appeared in his eyes. "Brother Xiang, you have won. I am convinced by this loss."