A lucky cat fell from the sky.

Chapter 19 The Treasure Battle Begins

The lights in the hall dimmed, with only a few bright lamps crackling and shining in front of the hall.

Three elderly people were sitting at the front of the hall.

The man with the slicked-back hair sitting on the left is Su Ruocheng, the curator of the Longqiu City Museum. As the museum director, Su Ruocheng has a deep understanding of antiques, especially the history and culture of Longqiu City.

The bespectacled old man sitting on the right is Bai Li, a collector who came all the way from Linyang to participate in the treasure competition. Bai Li has a pair of magical eyes. It is said that he can determine the age of any treasure with just one glance, comparable to the most advanced electronic instruments.

The elderly man sitting in the center, with a ruddy complexion and dressed in a Tang suit, was naturally the number one boss in Longqiu City, Old Master Gu Rulong.

The three elderly men sat in rosewood chairs, each with a blue-and-white porcelain cup on their right. These were genuine blue-and-white porcelain cups, quite valuable, but they treated them as ordinary teaware.

After taking a sip of his tea, Old Master Gu's gaze swept across the entire room, and the once noisy hall fell silent.

Grandpa Gu cleared his throat: "Now I declare that the Gu Family Treasure Competition is officially beginning."

After he finished speaking, he looked down at the young people below.

Bai Li gave a wink to a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl standing to the side. The girl quickly picked up a sandalwood box and walked briskly to Grandpa Gu: "Uncle Gu, today is your birthday and also the day of the treasure competition. I am young and my eyesight is not very good, so I took a piece from my father's collection to give to you."

This little girl is named Bai Xiaochen. She is the daughter of Shenyan Baili, the God of Eyes. Shenyan Baili cherishes his only daughter and loves her dearly.

Grandpa Gu nodded, his face full of smiles: "Little Chen is so filial. Let me see what you took."

The sandalwood box was opened, revealing a jade galloping horse inside. This jade galloping horse was carved from red jadeite. The color and texture of the jade, combined with the jade craftsman's skill, perfectly and vividly depicted the galloping horse.

When Grandpa Gu saw the galloping horse, his eyes lit up, and he turned to Bai Li and said, "Brother, you're very thoughtful."

Bai Li chuckled: "What are you saying? I just heard that you recently received a Four-Unusual Monkey made by the monks of Jinsha Temple, so I thought of having Xiao Chun pick out a horse to give to you. With your mind tamed and your will restrained, your cultivation will surely reach a new level."

Grandpa Gu looked at Su Ruocheng again: "Brother Su, do you think this jade horse can be selected?"

Su Ruocheng smiled: "The materials and knife skills are all top-notch. Although it was made by a modern person, how can a modern person not surpass the ancients?"

Grandpa Gu smiled and said, "Bai Xiaochen, I'll take this jade galloping horse."

Two members of the Gu family came over and carefully took the jade horse away, thus acquiring their first treasure.

Watching from below, Wu Cheng thought to himself that this selection method was a bit like a singing competition on TV, where three mentors sit on the stage, listen to the singing, and if they think it's good, the mentors will turn around and ask, "What is your dream?"

The same applies to this treasure-hunting competition. Three big names in the antique collecting world are sitting at the top, and each treasure is a contestant. They will probably go through a preliminary round, then the semi-finals, and finally the finals.

Of course, looking at the people here now, there's no need for a preliminary selection process; their family background is the best selection criterion.

Those who can enter the Gu Family Treasure Competition are either rich or noble, and Wu Cheng is a unique exception.

With Bai Xiaochen's jade galloping horse as the starting point, the treasure competition officially began. The second person to present a treasure was a young master from the Chu family.

The young master presented a jade Go set. Although it was an antique, it was not very old and the craftsmanship was not very good, so it was not shortlisted.

The third attempt to present the treasure also failed.

The fourth and fifth attempts were unsuccessful.

The atmosphere suddenly turned a bit tense, and everyone felt a little uneasy. In previous years, most of the treasures in the Gu Family Treasure Competition could be shortlisted, and as long as they were shortlisted, they could exchange them for some good things from the Gu Family.

But this year is a little different.

Seeing the somewhat awkward atmosphere, Su Ruocheng laughed and said, "Brother Gu, it seems that your standards have been raised quite a bit by that set of Four Monkeys. The treasures that the children bring you are no longer worthy of your attention."

Grandpa Gu smiled, glanced around the room, and looked at Wu Cheng's side: "It's not that my standards have become too high, but my thinking has changed a bit. In the past, I only wanted to celebrate, and I would give back gifts to the younger generation, no matter how good or bad they were."

"Looking back now, this was more harmful than helpful to the growth of the younger generation. This time, I'm going to see which of the younger generation has real insight."

Su Ruocheng thought for a moment, then slapped his forehead and said, "Look at me, my Qian'er has also prepared a gift for you. You know, although I manage the museum, it's not my own private property after all."

"So we can't give anything valuable as a gift. Qian'er went to the antique market last time and found a nice piece of dragon coin. Brother, you mustn't laugh at the gift list Qian'er brought."

As he spoke, he took out a brocade bag and handed it to Old Master Gu.

Grandpa Gu opened the brocade bag, inside which was a long, narrow paper box containing a piece of ink.

Longbin is another name for ink.

This ink is indeed quite good, with a faint fragrance. Old Master Gu held it to his nose and sniffed it, his expression changing slightly: "Could this be the smell of ambergris?"

Ambergris, while not mysterious in theory, is simply the excrement of sperm whales after they eat giant squid. The excrement solidifies and floats ashore. It is extremely rare and highly sought after.

In ancient times, only emperors could use ambergris. Generally, the craftsmen who made ink for the emperor would put some ambergris in the ink blocks to highlight the emperor's nobility.

Therefore, no matter how rich Old Master Gu was, he never obtained ambergris.

"This must be an item used by the imperial court in ancient times, right?"

Seeing that Old Master Gu had figured out the origin of the ink, Su Ruocheng said, "It came from the palace, but the people selling these things in the antique market didn't know its value, which is why Qian'er got a bargain."

"Where is Qian'er? I haven't seen her come." Old Master Gu asked.

Su Ruocheng's face darkened: "There are some family matters, she might not be able to come. Please don't be offended, brother."

Grandpa Gu knew what family matters Su Ruocheng was referring to, so he didn't say anything: "Then give this return gift to Qian'er to take back with you."

"Su Qian'er, here's a piece of ambergris ink. It's good enough for the shortlist. I'll take it."