Chapter 82: Chapter 80: Frustration from the Ex-Wife
Seeing the Jaeger-LeCoultre shopping bag in Jiang Xiaoqi’s hand, the staff member didn’t hesitate.
"Of course."
The staff member opened the barrier behind them and let the two in.
Lin Jiang smiled. ’Jiang Xiaoqi’s pretty quick-witted.’
The exhibition area was about the size of a basketball court. Each piece of porcelain was covered by a glass case with small spotlights inside, giving it a very high-end feel.
"Oh my god! It’s so expensive!"
The two had just entered when Jiang Xiaoqi let out a gasp of surprise.
"Brother Jiang, look at this plate from the late Ming Dynasty. It’s actually over two million! If a few hundred more years pass, I wonder if the bowls I eat from will be this valuable too."
"It’s possible," Lin Jiang agreed with a smile.
The two started to browse leisurely. After walking a full circle, they discovered that the two-million-plus porcelain piece near the entrance was the cheapest one there.
The most expensive one was over thirty million!
Although nothing looked wrong at first glance, Lin Jiang still felt that something was off.
There were over twenty pieces of porcelain on display in total. All together, their value had to be over two hundred million.
’For something so valuable to be displayed in a busy shopping mall with so much foot traffic, it just seems unreasonable no matter how you look at it. What if some brat gets mischievous and breaks a piece? The loss would be enormous.’
Even though they restricted who could enter, the barrier to entry wasn’t that high.
’The organizers wouldn’t do something so audacious, would they?’
With a focused expression, Lin Jiang stared at the thirty-million-plus porcelain piece in front of him and activated his X-ray Vision.
The internal structure of the porcelain appeared clearly before Lin Jiang’s eyes. The paste was pure white, and the craftsmanship was extremely fine.
But Lin Jiang didn’t know anything about porcelain, so he couldn’t make heads or tails of it.
He scanned the area again and found that every piece of porcelain was basically the same. Looking at their internal structures, they were practically indistinguishable.
Smacking his lips, Lin Jiang found the whole thing very strange.
’So many pieces of porcelain, spanning several dynasties... Each dynasty had a different peak, a different cultural development. How could the things they produced be so similar?’
"Hm?"
Just then, Lin Jiang’s gaze fell upon a porcelain vase. He walked over and stared at it for a good while.
’This piece of porcelain is different from the others...’
Lin Jiang looked closely...
He finally discovered that the cyan pattern on it seemed to be a fucking sticker.
But the sticker must have been very high-tech, enough to be almost indistinguishable from the real thing.
’Good thing I have X-ray Vision, or I really wouldn’t have noticed.’
’If they’re fakes, then that would explain it.’
The organizers must have created 1:1 replicas of these porcelain pieces, then set a small barrier to entry to draw traffic to the mall.
It was indeed a brilliant move.
"Teacher Qiqi!"
Hanghang’s voice came from behind Jiang Xiaoqi. Fan Kunpeng was following behind him.
Seeing Lin Jiang again, Fan Kunpeng was much more reserved; he had even deliberately hidden his flashy green watch up his sleeve.
But the look he gave Lin Jiang was not so natural.
Having lost so much face, it was hard for him to swallow his pride.
"Teacher Jiang, are you interested in porcelain too?" Fan Kunpeng asked with a smile, hiding his true feelings well.
"I’m just taking a casual look. Maybe it’ll be useful in the future; I could talk about it with the students in class."
"Well, if we’re talking about that, you’ve come to my area of expertise. I can give you a proper lesson."
Jiang Xiaoqi was baffled. ’I wasn’t asking you.’
"This piece of porcelain right here is from a Guangxu Imperial Kiln. The fine paste, the thick and heavy body, and this rippling glaze effect are all characteristic features of a Guangxu Imperial Kiln."
"Oh, I see."
"Dad, you’re so smart! Teacher Qiqi always used to teach us, but now you’re teaching Teacher Qiqi."
"That’s why you need to study traditional culture more in the future. When a person reaches a certain level, it’s not about competing with money anymore, but with culture and substance."
"I know, Dad."
"In a little bit, Dad will take you and Teacher Jiang on a proper tour of this place. You don’t normally get to see priceless porcelain like this."
Fan Kunpeng looked at Jiang Xiaoqi with a smile. "Teacher Jiang, let’s go look at the other pieces. This is a rare opportunity; we shouldn’t waste it."
"Brother Jiang, do you still want to look?"
Jiang Xiaoqi’s meaning was clear: if he didn’t want to keep looking, they should just leave.
"It’s all just a bunch of cheap fakes. There’s really no point in looking. Let’s go."
Lin Jiang’s words made the faces of everyone around them change.
"Brother Jiang, are you saying all the porcelain here is fake?"
Lin Jiang nodded. "All the pieces combined are worth over two hundred million. Even if there’s some exaggeration, they’re still incredibly expensive. The organizers aren’t fools. They wouldn’t display such valuable items in a shopping mall."
"That’s true. If one got damaged, it would be a huge mess."
"That’s going a bit too far. I’ve been studying porcelain since I was a child. I can tell if something is real or fake at a glance."
Fan Kunpeng was clearly unconvinced. "It’s impossible for these pieces to be fake. As for your reasoning, it’s a bit ridiculous. How could a huge mall like Henglong Square use fakes to deceive people? You’re judging a gentleman by your own petty standards."
"I think so too. How could such a big mall trick people with fakes?"
"So young, yet spouting such nonsense."
The crowd started murmuring and gathered together, causing a small commotion. A staff member hurried over, afraid they might damage the porcelain.
"Excuse me, everyone. Could you please spread out a bit? Try not to gather in a large group. And please keep your voices down so you don’t affect the viewing experience for others," the staff member urged as they approached.
