Reborn Treasure Appraiser: I Really Didn’t Want to Be an Expert

Chapter 61 Do you want it?

They were driving on a county road with many large trucks, so Wang Qizhi and Lin Sicheng took turns driving.

Ye Anning sat in the back seat and started eating buns as soon as she got in the car. After finishing the buns, she ate some snacks and passed some to Lin Sicheng from time to time.

He didn't speak a word, but was quiet, peaceful and elegant.

After eating, I fell asleep... and slept for three hours until we arrived at Qishan.

Arriving at the county town, the two got out of the car, and Wang Qizhi opened the back door: "Eat and sleep, sleep and eat, just like a pig!"

Ye Anning closed his eyes and muttered, "Uncle, I can hear you."

Nonsense, if you can't even hear me like this, you might as well just die.

Wang Qizhi grabbed her ear and pulled her awake: "You still have to go pick someone up, make room for Lin Sicheng!"

"Oh~" Ye Anning quickly sat up straight and smiled embarrassedly.

Lin Sicheng got into the back seat and drove for a few more minutes before stopping downstairs of a building.

Then a middle-aged man came up, and Wang Zhiqi introduced him: the man's surname is Du, he is the director of the county museum, and he has worked in the Baoji Bronze Institute.

The chicken oil yellow that we are going to see today was introduced by him.

After getting in the car, Director Du gave directions and after about ten minutes, we arrived at a place called Zhoucun.

As soon as he got off the car, Ye Anning pointed to the distance and said, "Uncle, what is that for?"

A ridge, completely surrounded by netting, with many excavators and loaders parked below. A dense crowd of people could be vaguely seen on the ridge.

There seems to be police?

Wang Zhiqi was mumbling with Director Du, feeling rather impatient: "I'm busy, ask Lin Sicheng!"

Ye Anning rolled her eyes and made a face at Wang Qizhi's back.

Lin Sicheng smiled and said, "It's the Zhougong Temple!"

Ye Anning was startled: "Duke Zhou's tomb?"

"No, it was a fief of Duke Zhou, so many of his descendants are buried here. There are also tombs of other nobles from the late Shang and early Zhou dynasties... Over fifty tombs of varying sizes, making it the largest Zhou Dynasty tomb complex ever discovered!"

And the span is long enough: from the end of the Shang Dynasty to the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, nearly five hundred years.

There are also quite a lot of cultural relics, the most influential of which are more than 15,000 pieces of oracle bones from the end of the Shang Dynasty to the beginning of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty, among which there are more than 2,600 recognizable characters.

How many characters are there in the entire Chinese character system?
It is therefore very important, serving as a bridge between the past and the future. It can be said that without the oracle bones from the Zhouwang Temple, ancient writing experts would have had to translate them for at least a dozen more years before they could fully understand the Shang Dynasty oracle bone inscriptions.

The key is its impact on history: nearly half of its content is not recorded in "Records of the Grand Historian".

Secondly, over one hundred pieces of green-yellow glazed porcelain were unearthed, which means that China's porcelain production originated in the Zhou Dynasty at the latest... This is irrefutable evidence.

Next came more than 2,000 bronze artifacts, thousands of jade artifacts, and countless gray pottery... It is known as the largest archaeological discovery to date, and is as famous as the Yin Ruins.

Ye Anning listened with great interest. Director Du, who was walking in front, suddenly turned around, his face full of surprise: "How did you know?"

"I read it in the newspaper!" Lin Sicheng thought for a moment. "Since last year, China News Service has reported on it almost every quarter!"

"China News Service... is that foreign media?"

"There are also reports within the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences' Archaeology, the Provincial Institute of Archaeology's Archaeology and Cultural Relics, and Peking University's internal journals, but with a slight delay!"

Director Du was stunned for a moment, not knowing what to say.

The Zhouwang Temple site was originally organized by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and excavated jointly by the Provincial Institute of Archaeology and Peking University. Whenever there is a new discovery, these three units will definitely report it.

The question is, who will watch every issue?

He was also a member of the local assistance team of the archaeological team, and he didn't know as much as this young man? Surprised, Du Hai looked at Wang Qizhi, who returned a reserved smile: "Be at ease, don't be anxious."

Ye Anning was really impressed: How much free time and how many books must he have read?

So, you failed every subject?
But we are not familiar with each other yet, so I don’t want to be too presumptuous, otherwise she will definitely ask... Really, she is so curious!

The road was paved with loess, covered with gravel, hard and smooth. Walking along the street entrance, I arrived in front of a house.

There was a tiled house with a gable roof, a red brick courtyard wall, and a closed iron gate. I shouted for a long time but it didn't open.

An old man sat on a small stool, squinting his eyes, leaning against the doorpost to bask in the sun. His hair and eyebrows were all white, his body was hunched, and he was leaning on a cane. He must be at least eighty years old.

"The old lady is the seller's mother. She's a little hard of hearing, so don't bother with her!"

Director Du said something and went to the side to call the buyer. Lin Sicheng looked at the old man with his eyes slightly narrowed.

There is dirt on his hands and spots on his face and neck. At first glance, I thought he was an old man with unhygienic habits and had age spots.

But Lin Sicheng knew at a glance that the dirt was rust and the spots were infiltration, all of which had seeped into the flesh... How many times had he dug this hole?
The key point is, she is still an old lady?
Subconsciously, Lin Sicheng turned around and looked at the mountain ridge in the distance.

Then she turned around and looked at the old woman's hand: Since the seller is her son, could it be that he is inheriting his mother's business?

So, could the item I’m looking at today be a fake?
Just as he was about to remind Wang Qizhi, the old lady opened her eyes.

His eyes swept back and forth, finally settling on Lin Sicheng's face. He grinned, revealing his bare gums.

"I'm so sorry for the baby. How old is he?"

Lin Sicheng was stunned for a moment: "Twenty!"

"Pour paste?"

Lin Sicheng's eyelids jumped: Has this old lady become a spirit?

This is jargon, and it's Guanzhong jargon: dao means to tinker, and gauging refers to splicing and repairing. Together, they mean to tinker with antiques and to repair antiques. Coincidentally, Lin Sicheng does both.

He smiled hurriedly: "You have good eyesight!"

"It's too late!" The old lady stood up with a smile and handed the crutch to Lin Sicheng, "Hold it for me, I'll open the door for you!"

As he spoke, he took out a bunch of keys and muttered:

"My son, don't be afraid. My son doesn't steal bones (tomb robbers), he only carries things (middlemen). His things (antiques) are all very solid (they are definitely obtained from legitimate sources). If you want to succeed, come here (come when you have time). I guarantee that you will get the magic pill every time (find a bargain every time)..."

Wow: I just stared at her for a few seconds, and the old lady guessed what I was worried about?
I met a master...

Lin Sicheng forced a smile: "Okay!"

It was all jargon, spoken in dialect, and Ye Anning didn't understand a single word. Wang Qizhi only understood a small portion, but when taken together, it still amounted to nothing.

The two men blinked their eyes, looked at Lin Sicheng, and then looked at the old lady: Isn’t the old lady hard of hearing? How come she can chat so well with Lin Sicheng?
Coincidentally, Du Hai finished the call and looked disappointed: "He said his mother didn't agree and asked us to come another day...Huh?"

Wasn’t it his mother who was blocking the door and not letting him in? How did he open it?
The old lady picked up the bench and stepped over the threshold: "Come in!"

Lin Sicheng nodded and returned the crutch, but as soon as he handed it forward, he subconsciously froze.

It was made of ordinary old elm wood, smooth and shiny. The end of the stick was tied with a piece of tire leather with wire, and the tip of the stick was inlaid with a piece of old jade.

There are no patterns on the fish, the fish body is covered with spots, and the jade has turned black.

The key is the shape: in all likelihood, this is a jade sword head from the Shang Dynasty.

The old lady glanced at Lin Sicheng and took it with a smile: "Son, do you want it?"

Lin Sicheng's eyelids twitched and he shook his head twice.

(End of this chapter)