"If you are sincere about selling, let me have a good look," I said.
The man eyed me like I was a thief. "Of course, I'm sincere about selling…"
"If you want to sell, then let him have a proper look," Hong Yunpeng said with displeasure.
He was already burly and stout, and his blunt way of speaking made the man even more hesitant, almost as if he wanted to leave.
Fortunately, at this moment, Wang Yang came over and spoke in a local dialect.
Upon hearing this, the man looked at Wang Yang in surprise. "Are you from Shui County too?"
Wang Yang smiled. "I have a relative there, so I'm half a Shui County person."
As he spoke, he invited the man to sit at a nearby tea table and poured him a cup of tea. "May I know your surname, sir?"
"Tian."
"Brother Tian, you might not understand, but selling antiques is different from selling other things. Antiques primarily rely on inspection," Wang Yang said with a smile. "If you don't let people inspect the goods properly, who would dare to buy them?"
I have to admit, Wang Yang was quite skilled. With just a few words, he had completely appeased the man.
Finally, the man was willing to let me examine the chicken-head mug closely.
As I held the cup, I first looked at the glaze, and then at the mark.
Looking at porcelain is a very profound art that requires examining it from all angles.
The patterns, material, patina, inscription, and so on, all needed to be examined carefully and repeatedly.
After about seven or eight minutes of inspection, I was finally able to determine that the chicken-head mug in my hand was a kiln-fired imitation from the Yongzheng period.
According to current market prices, this cup could fetch around three hundred thousand yuan.
If a buyer who was fond of collecting chicken-head mugs appeared, the price could even go higher.
I returned the cup to the man surnamed Tian and asked, "How much are you asking for it?"
He immediately replied, "Two hundred thousand!"
"Two hundred thousand?" I chuckled. "My fellow villager, you're truly asking for the moon."
Wang Yang gave me a look, as if asking if the cup was real or fake.
I couldn't say it directly, so I made an "okay" gesture.
He nodded thoughtfully, but I wasn't sure if he understood my meaning.
"Brother Tian, may I have a look at your cup?" Wang Yang asked with a smile.
The man surnamed Tian nodded. "Of course."
Wang Yang took it and examined it. "The craftsmanship is good, but it's too new… In my opinion, this is likely a replica from the Republic of China era."
"Impossible!" the man surnamed Tian said. "This has been passed down from my ancestors. I heard from my grandfather that our ancestors served in the imperial court and obtained this cup by chance… It couldn't be from the Republic of China era."
Wang Yang smiled. "I just thought it looked like it. Brother Tian, please don't get agitated."
He fiddled with it again, then suddenly froze and sighed. "Alas!"
His sudden surprise and sigh made it impossible to figure out what he was up to.
"What's wrong?" the man surnamed Tian asked.
"The cup is a good cup, but it has a flaw," Wang Yang said.
"Where?" The man surnamed Tian was startled and leaned closer.
Wang Yang pointed to the body of the rooster. "Look, the color here is wrong. How can this wing be this color?"
"What's wrong with it?"
"Brother Tian, to put it frankly, there's genuinely a problem with your cup, and we can't accurately assess it. Why don't you go to a professional appraisal company and have someone authenticate it?"
Wang Yang continued, "I know someone who can introduce you. Usually, appraising porcelain like this costs over ten thousand yuan. I can ask him for a discount, and seven or eight thousand should cover it."
In 1999, a decent job only paid five or six hundred yuan a month.
This man surnamed Tian didn't seem like someone who could afford to spend thousands or tens of thousands.
"That expensive? What happens if it turns out the item isn't valuable?" the man surnamed Tian asked.
Wang Yang laughed. "Then the appraisal fee would be wasted… Antiques are like this, Brother Tian. It's like winning the lottery; no one can say for sure if it's real or not. So, the most important thing is to be practical. If someone wants to buy it, we sell it."
The man surnamed Tian pondered for a while before saying, "Then how much do you think this can be sold for?"
Wang Yang pointed at himself and smiled. "You're asking me?"
"Yes."
"If I were to buy it, I'd just use it as a decorative item. Whether it's real or fake wouldn't matter. If you sell it to me for three hundred yuan, I'll take it."
Hearing this, I was stunned.
This guy was too ruthless!
At this moment, it wasn't appropriate for me to interject, so I could only pretend to be calm and stand aside.
"Three hundred?" The man surnamed Tian said with a dejected face. "I spent quite a bit of money coming from Shui County. If it weren't for my son needing to get married, I wouldn't be willing to sell this item..."
"Alas," Wang Yang sighed. "Brother Tian, we're fellow villagers, and I get along well with you. How about this, I'll add a bit more."
"How much more?"
"Hmm…" Wang Yang hesitated for a moment. "One thousand yuan. Consider it making a friend."
The man surnamed Tian shook his head. "That's too little. Why don't you add a bit more?"
After going back and forth like this, Wang Yang finally offered three thousand yuan, stating he wouldn't add a cent more.
The man surnamed Tian also hesitated repeatedly, saying he wanted to check other places.
Wang Yang said, "Alright, Brother Tian, you can go and check elsewhere. If you get a higher offer, then sell it quickly."
The man surnamed Tian bowed gratefully and left.
Seeing him leave, my heart was filled with urgency, but at this point, I couldn't bring him back.
"Why did you let him go?" I asked Wang Yang.
"You mean that thing is worth at most three thousand yuan?"
I was taken aback. "When did I say that?"
He made an "okay" gesture towards me, and I was instantly at a loss for whether to laugh or cry.
"I meant 'okay', you know what 'okay' means? It's English, meaning good."
Wang Yang was slightly taken aback, and Hong Yunpeng also came over. "Xiao Fei, according to what you mean, that thing is real?"
I sighed and nodded helplessly.
"How much is it worth?"
I said, "Three hundred thousand and up."
Hong Yunpeng blinked his eyes twice, and Wang Yang also frowned.
I looked at Wang Yang. "Don't you also know how to appraise treasures? Didn't you see it?"
"When did I say I knew how to appraise treasures?"
"That day at An Yuan Tang, didn't you want to win the grand prize?"
Wang Yang shot me a look. "The peach blossom cup I chose back then was originally mine. I sold it to Bai Zhujing, so how could I not know if it was real or fake?"
I was a bit dumbfounded. "So, you don't understand treasure appraisal at all?"
Wang Yang pursed his lips. "You can't say I don't understand it at all..."
I finally understood. This guy was a complete swindler!
"What do we do now?" Hong Yunpeng was even more anxious than I was. "Did we just let the duck that was practically in our mouths fly away?"