Xuan De furnace!
As Bai Zhujing and I exchanged glances, we seemed to have guessed each other's thoughts from each other's eyes.
Shifting my gaze away from him, I looked at the Buddha statue again.
Finally, I confirmed that this Buddha statue was an artifact from the Xuande period of the Ming Dynasty!
This was because the Buddha statue and the Xuan De furnace were made using the same technique: the lost-wax casting method.
My father once said that to appraise an antique, one must let oneself travel back to that era with the antique and search for clues in history.
To appraise a Buddha statue, one must understand its "Dharma form."
Buddha statues from the Northern Wei Dynasty generally possessed lively expressions, full lines, and a tall, slender physique, holding the highest status among Buddhist statues of all dynasties.
After the Six Dynasties, Buddha statues gradually transitioned from divinity to humanity.
Buddha statues from the Tang Dynasty were mostly characterized by plumpness and beauty.
As for Buddha statues with collectible value, they would undoubtedly be from the Ming and Qing dynasties.
This was because during the Xuande period, Buddhism experienced a resurgence, and the Xuan De furnace was created to offer incense to the Buddha.
Consider this: if a Xuan De furnace is so extraordinary, how much more so would be a Buddha statue enshrined with it!
Seemingly noticing my expression, Sister Ying leaned over, "Xiao Fei, did you notice anything?"
I nodded and whispered, "Sister Ying, this Buddha statue is quite good..."
With my words, Sister Ying naturally understood my meaning, and a subtle smile appeared on her face.
As the auction began, people started bidding, but the increments were not very high.
It took a while before the bid reached 1.2 million.
"1.5 million!"
As the sudden voice rang out, all eyes turned towards Bai Zhujing.
I couldn't help but look at him too. I saw him smile slightly at me, as if to say that this Buddha statue was something he was determined to obtain.
As soon as his voice fell, Sister Ying's voice sounded, "1.52 million."
Bai Zhujing's smile remained as he continued to bid, "1.6 million."
With this price, the people present couldn't help but start discussing in low voices, and several of them seemed eager to bid.
"1.62 million."
Sister Ying's voice sounded again.
To be honest, as she called out this price, I couldn't help but feel nervous.
Over a million was not a small sum, and Sister Ying was able to bid this amount entirely because of me.
But if I had made a mistake in my judgment, then perhaps...
Thinking this, my palms began to sweat.
I suddenly regretted saying so much to Sister Ying just now.
"1.8 million!" Bai Zhujing's voice increased slightly.
I noticed that Sister Ying wasn't flustered at all at this moment; instead, her intention to acquire this Buddha statue seemed even more resolute.
"1.82 million," said Sister Ying.
Their rounds of bidding made the atmosphere particularly tense, and even the surrounding discussions faded away.
Bai Zhujing looked at Sister Ying, "Boss An, it seems you have a particular fondness for this Buddha statue?"
Sister Ying smiled, "Aren't you the same, Mr. Bai?"
Bai Zhujing smiled, glanced at me subtly, and then continued to name a price, "3 million!"
When this price was announced, Sister Ying was stunned.
Let alone Sister Ying, even others were taken aback.
From 1.82 million, they directly jumped to 3 million, an increase of a full 1.2 million!
Sister Ying hesitated. I saw her purse her lips, and after a moment, she didn't bid again.
"3 million, are there any other bids?" Zhou Yongxiang said into the microphone with an unperturbed expression.
After waiting for seven or eight seconds, he continued, "Since there are no further bids, this Buddha statue... is sold!"
After the final gavel strike, I suddenly breathed a sigh of relief, and for some reason, I felt much more relaxed.
Similarly, I also felt a bit dejected.
My father always said that an appraiser must never doubt their own judgment, for once doubt sets in, they will become indecisive when appraising things in the future.
This would cause them to miss many opportunities.
At that moment, I had indeed doubted my own judgment.
Primarily because the amount involved was too large. If something went wrong with this item, I wouldn't know how to face Sister Ying.
I felt a complex mix of disappointment and relief.
"Boss An, you admit defeat," Bai Zhujing said with a smile, cupping his hands. "With this gilded Buddha statue, coupled with the Xuan De furnace that President Zhang sold me earlier, I should be able to make a substantial profit this time."
Sister Ying didn't seem to understand the meaning yet, so I quickly leaned over and explained it to her.
After hearing my explanation, Sister Ying smiled, "Then congratulations, Mr. Bai."
"Thank you for yielding, thank you. I also have to thank Boss An for giving me the opportunity."
These words were incredibly irritating. I wondered if he would still be this happy if he discovered that the Xuan De furnace was fake.
But if no one could discover that the Xuan De furnace was fake, and he managed to sell it off...
Thinking of this, I couldn't help but give a wry smile.
I didn't know who would eventually see through the Xuan De furnace that my ancestors had faked using their secret techniques.
"Everyone must be very much looking forward to the final collection, right?" Zhou Yongxiang's voice echoed through the hall from the microphone.
"As for the item to be auctioned next, I cannot say exactly how much collectible value it holds. The reason it has been placed last as the grand finale is mainly because this item is related to a certain person."
Someone couldn't help but ask, "Who?"
"Shen Wansan," Zhou Yongxiang said.
This name was clearly familiar to everyone, and even Sister Ying reacted.
Shen Wansan was a famous wealthy merchant, both in ancient and modern times, and the history of his rise to fortune was often discussed.
When speaking of Shen Wansan, one cannot fail to mention an item: the Treasure Gathering Basin.
According to the "Taotie Collection of Strange Tales," Shen Wansan once went out and saw a fisherman catching over a hundred frogs. So, he bought all the frogs from the fisherman and released them all.
The next day, these frogs gathered in a ceramic basin. Shen Wansan found it peculiar and took the basin back.
When his wife used the basin, she accidentally dropped her silver hairpin into it, and the basin overflowed with silver hairpins, too many to count.
Thus, Shen Wansan used the Treasure Gathering Basin to amass unparalleled wealth.
Later, when Zhu Yuanzhang was building the Treasure Gathering Gate, he repeatedly failed. He found someone to perform a divination, which revealed that there was a monstrous beast under the city wall that devoured earth and that burying the Treasure Gathering Basin there was necessary to suppress it.
Therefore, Zhu Yuanzhang issued an imperial decree to confiscate Shen Wansan's Treasure Gathering Basin and bury it beneath the city gate. As expected, the city wall was completed thereafter, and the gate was consequently named "Treasure Gathering Gate."
When Zhou Yongxiang mentioned Shen Wansan, it naturally made people think of the Treasure Gathering Basin.
As expected, the third item to be auctioned was a golden key, and Zhou Yongxiang also stated that this golden key contained clues about the Treasure Gathering Basin.
Upon hearing this, I finally understood why he had previously declared that he couldn't say how much collectible value this item held!