She was walking with her head down, planning to stop by Qinan Restaurant first and leave her things there.
After all, carrying a lump of “wood” around was surprisingly tiring.
Just as she was about to continue on, someone called out to her.
It was Master Li from Qibaozhai.
He had spotted the object in Shen Sangyu’s hands and instinctively called out to her.
“With that hood on, I almost didn’t recognize you!”
“Uncle Li, good afternoon!”
Shen Sangyu greeted him enthusiastically, her small face glowing with a sincere smile.
Li Ming was momentarily stunned by her smile.
How had it only been a few days since he’d last seen her?
Why did the little girl look even prettier now?
Was this what people meant when they said a girl changed dramatically as she grew up?
In her previous life, Shen Sangyu had loved hanging around Qibaozhai, so Li Ming could be considered half her teacher and the person who had first introduced her to the world of antiques.
Without giving it another thought, she grabbed Li Ming and pulled him toward Qibaozhai.
“Uncle Li, I found a treasure. You have to take a look for me…”
Shen Sangyu leaned toward Li Ming and whispered conspiratorially.
“What have you been digging up this time?”
“Just a little something…”
To be fair, Shen Sangyu really did have a natural talent for this.
Her eye for antiques was unusually sharp.
Using her scholarships and New Year’s money, she’d spent years picking up little treasures here and there and had even managed to build up a small personal fund.
So Li Ming didn’t dare underestimate the “treasure” she was talking about.
Qibaozhai had been designed years ago by a specialist in traditional Chinese architecture.
The entire building was modeled after a pagoda.
It had only three floors.
The first floor, immediately inside the entrance, was lined with display cases filled with porcelain, gold and silver pieces, and similar items.
Most of them dated no earlier than the mid-Ming Dynasty.
The second floor housed more advanced antiques and collectibles, such as huanghuali furniture, chicken-blood stone seals, and strings of white jade beads.
As for the third floor, Li Ming had specifically designed a private examination room.
It was mainly used to authenticate antiques.
Some items, such as porcelain and bronze artifacts, could now be examined with X-rays, which was often more accurate than relying solely on the naked eye.
Shen Sangyu placed the object in her hands on Li Ming’s desk on the third floor.
Unfortunately, hers couldn’t be examined with an X-ray.
This time, she could only put Uncle Li’s eyesight to the test!
When the black “wooden” object landed on the desk, Li Ming was still visibly startled.
“This is the treasure you were talking about?!”
It wasn’t really his fault.
The thing was shaped almost exactly like a cow’s hoof.
It was also covered in a thick layer of dried mud.
Not only did it fail to look like an antique, it looked like a piece of junk!
“Uncle Li, wait a second. Let me clean it first.”
Shen Sangyu ignored his reaction and got to work.
She didn’t dare wipe it with a cloth.
Instead, she turned the water pressure down to the lowest setting and carefully washed away the layer of dirt little by little.
The water running off the object gradually became clear.
At last, Shen Sangyu and Li Ming could see the entire object clearly.
It had a smooth surface.
At first glance, it really did resemble a piece of finely polished boxwood.
But Shen Sangyu noticed something.
Once the mud covering the surface had been washed away, the object in her hands became remarkably light.
It also gradually warmed beneath her touch.
She was certain.
This thing was absolutely no ordinary object!
“Let me see! Let me see!”
Li Ming noticed what was happening and hurried over.
He carefully took the object from her and began examining it under a small flashlight.
He turned it over and over in his hands, his mouth repeatedly letting out astonished exclamations.
“Treasure… This really is a treasure! The entire surface has this caviar-like grain…”
“Mm… It even smells faintly like bezoar… Pores… Bamboo patterns…”
“That’s it! That’s it!”
As he spoke, it seemed as though Li Ming had finally confirmed something.
He immediately looked up.
“Sang Sang, how much did you pay for this thing?”
“Three…”
“Three million? It’s worth it! Absolutely worth it! Sang Sang, you’ve really struck gold this time!”
Before she could finish, Li Ming excitedly interrupted her the moment he heard the number.
The corner of Shen Sangyu’s mouth twitched.
Uncle Li really thought highly of her.
Where was she supposed to get three million in personal savings?
“Uncle Li, it’s thirty thousand!”
“Th… thirty thousand?!”
Behind Li Ming’s thick glasses, his eyes were filled with disbelief.
“A Ming Dynasty rhinoceros horn cup… You… you got this for only thirty thousand?”
“And it’s made using openwork carving, with six dragon motifs carved into it…”
Li Ming was so excited that his words were practically tumbling over one another.
Not wanting to make things any easier for him, Shen Sangyu pointed at the rim.
“Uncle Li, look here. Isn’t there an inscription? And it’s in seal script…”
Li Ming put down the flashlight.
He picked up a magnifying glass from the side and brought it close to his glasses, carefully examining the tiny inscription.
“…Is… is that You Kan?”
The characters were carved in raised relief and were extremely small, which was why Li Ming hadn’t noticed them at first.
Perhaps the shock had been too great.
Li Ming gradually calmed down.
“Sang Sang… let me make you an offer. If you ever decide to sell this thing… would you consider Uncle Li first?”
He seemed somewhat embarrassed.
Even asking the favor made him stumble over his words.
That was exactly what Shen Sangyu had been hoping for.
The only person around her who could probably get in touch with serious private collectors was Uncle Li.
And she trusted his character.
“Sure!”
“As for the price, don’t worry…”
Li Ming gathered his courage and was just about to continue persuading Shen Sangyu when she promptly answered.
“Sure!”
“Really… really?”
Li Ming looked stunned.
“Sang Sang, don’t worry. Your Uncle Li will definitely find this treasure a good collector.”
He made the promise with complete confidence.
Shen Sangyu wasn’t particularly concerned about the exact price.
Rhinoceros horn cups were already priceless in the sense that their value couldn’t easily be measured by the market.
And with the seal-script inscription of You Kan, a renowned master from the late Ming Dynasty, this piece should be worth around fifty million yuan at the very least.
At auction, that might only be the starting bid.
If it caught the eye of a particularly enthusiastic collector, it could potentially sell for well over a hundred million.
But Shen Sangyu had acquired it purely by chance.
If the Shen family hadn’t currently been facing such a difficult situation, she might have kept it for herself.
After all, she’d already absorbed the object aura inside it.
“Uncle Li, I only have one request.”
Shen Sangyu thought for a moment before speaking carefully.
“I hope it can find a Chinese collector. As for the price, I’ll leave that up to you.”
Li Ming was stunned when he heard her only condition.
He had never expected her request to be that.
But for him, it wasn’t difficult at all.
“Leave it to your Uncle Li. I’ll have everything taken care of within a week!”
Li Ming patted his chest confidently.
Shen Sangyu naturally trusted him.
Otherwise, she wouldn’t have dragged him straight up to the third floor in the first place.
With the matter of finding a buyer settled, Li Ming seemed to have gained even more confidence in Shen Sangyu’s eye for antiques.
He took a bundle wrapped in red cloth from one of the display shelves nearby.
“I’ve got something here too. Why don’t I test your eye while we’re at it?”
Li Ming unfolded the red cloth.
“Come on… Take a look.”
It was a vessel roughly forty centimeters tall.
It wasn’t particularly large.
Yet Shen Sangyu immediately sensed an overwhelming imperial majesty and an immense weight of history emanating from it.
She didn’t dare touch it with her bare hands.
“Is it a bronze wine vessel?”
Judging purely from its shape, that was the only rough conclusion she could make.