68: Chapter 68 New Cooperation

After leaving Baozhen Pavilion, Qiao Yichen walked dozens of meters further down the street and entered the second shop.

This shop was smaller. The owner was a middle-aged man in his forties, sitting behind the counter scrolling on his phone. Seeing someone enter, he looked up but did not get up.

As usual, Qiao Yichen first looked around the items in the shop before stepping forward to state his purpose.

After hearing him out, the owner reached out and asked to see the photos.

After looking at them, what he said was almost the same as what the old gentleman had said—the item looks good, but without an appraisal report, there is no basis for negotiation.

Finally, he added, "If you can get an appraisal from the Provincial Cultural Relics Bureau or recognition from a major auction house, bring it over, and then we can talk."

Qiao Yichen thanked him and left.

The third shop, the fourth shop.

The process was largely the same, and the result was identical.

Qiao Yichen stood under the eaves, looking at the wet bluestone pavement, and let out a soft breath.

Four shops, four owners, they said almost the same thing—words he could practically recite:

"The item looks old.

But without an appraisal report, we can't set a price.

Get a report first, then come back to discuss."

He glanced down at his phone.

It was already four in the afternoon.

There were still two and a half hours until dinner with Wang Xiao.

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However, it wasn't a complete loss.

At the third shop, the owner casually mentioned, "Renhe Old Street, as the oldest antique trading district in the city, has a permanent appraisal institution stationed here. Walk forward, and you'll see it after the intersection."

Qiao Yichen followed the direction and found the row of single-story buildings with uniform signage—the "Provincial Cultural Relics Appraisal Center Renhe Old Street Service Station."

He pushed the door open to a small reception hall. Various qualification certificates hung on the walls, and display sample albums were exhibited in glass cabinets.

A young man in a gray work uniform came up to greet him.

"Hello sir, how may I help you?"

Qiao Yichen explained his purpose: he needed an appraisal for a Huanghuali inlaid with precious stones cabinet.

The young man nodded, pulled out a service guide from a drawer, and spread it out on the counter.

"We have several types of services here; you can choose based on your needs."

He pointed at the items on the guide, explaining them one by one:

"The first type is remote photo appraisal. You send photos over, and after the expert reviews them, you get a verbal conclusion, no certificate issued. Suitable for preliminary judgment."

"The second type is on-site physical appraisal. An expert examines it in person, but still no certificate is issued. The conclusion is more reliable than photos, but it cannot be used for transactions."

"The third type is physical appraisal plus certificate issuance. The expert examines it in person, signs, and affixes the institution's official seal, resulting in a formal appraisal report. This can be used for transactions and auctions."

"The fourth type is specialized testing for material and craftsmanship. Huanghuali material identification, precious stone inlay craftsmanship analysis, scientific dating—thermoluminescence, spectroscopy, all can be done."

He paused and flipped to the last page.

"The fifth type is comprehensive appraisal—eyeball test, certificate, and scientific testing, the complete package. Suitable for high-value collections. The conclusion is the most authoritative, recognized by both auction houses and collectors."

Qiao Yichen listened without hesitation.

"The fifth type. But I need the expert to come to the location," he added. "The item is at a friend's house; moving it over is inconvenient."

The young man nodded, "On-site visits are possible, but the fee is calculated separately. An expert's daily attendance fee is ten thousand, not including the appraisal fee. The appraisal fee follows the standard for the fifth type, between eight thousand and fifteen thousand, depending on the complexity of the collection."

Qiao Yichen quickly calculated in his mind—a little over twenty thousand for an authoritative report.

The cabinet was valued at over two million; this money was worth spending.

"Deal."

Seeing his promptness, the young man picked up the phone and started contacting experts. He made several calls in a row to coordinate the time and confirm availability.

Qiao Yichen sat on the sofa in the reception area waiting. The rain was still falling outside, and the sky had darkened a bit more than before.

About twenty minutes later, the young man put down the phone and walked over.

"Sir, the expert can come tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock. After hearing your description—a Huanghuali inlaid with precious stones square cabinet—he considers it a high-value collection requiring a full set of eyeball testing plus scientific analysis—he recommends proceeding with the appraisal fee standard of thirteen thousand. Plus the ten thousand on-site fee, the total is twenty-three thousand. Is that acceptable to you?"

"Acceptable."

The young man handed over a consignment agreement. Qiao Yichen took it, quickly skimmed through the terms, and signed his name at the bottom.

"Tomorrow afternoon at two o'clock, this address." He wrote Liu Yanran's home address in the remarks column and pushed it back.

When he left the Appraisal Center, it was already almost six o'clock.

...

Qiao Yichen walked quickly back to the parking lot at the street entrance, started his car, and drove toward the east side of the city.

At 6:25, the car stopped in front of a Japanese restaurant.

The restaurant was not large, tucked away among a row of ground-floor shops. Its facade was low-key, with only a dark wooden sign bearing the two characters "Sushi - Gen."

Qiao Yichen pushed the door open, stated the reservation name, and was led by a waiter to a booth further inside.

Less than five minutes after he sat down, the door was pushed open again.

Wang Xiao walked in, wearing a dark gray casual jacket. His hair was a bit shorter than the last time they met, making him look spirited.

He scanned the interior, saw Qiao Yichen, and walked over to sit down.

"Yo, you got here first."

Qiao Yichen smiled and pushed the menu toward him. "Just arrived."

Wang Xiao took the menu and casually flipped through a couple of pages, then suddenly seemed to remember something and looked up: "Right, when you sent the message this morning, I was driving and almost missed it."

Qiao Yichen poured him a cup of tea: "It's the weekend, I figured you must be busy."

Wang Xiao ordered the food. Qiao Yichen didn't look at the menu, only saying, "Brother Wang, you're familiar with this place, you decide."

Wang Xiao didn't stand on ceremony, flipping through the menu and quickly ticking off several items—a sashimi platter, grilled eel, beef tongue, tempura, and finally ordered a pot of sake.

"I come here often," Wang Xiao handed the menu to the waiter. "The ingredients are fresh, and the prices are reasonable."

The drinks came first. Wang Xiao poured a cup for himself and one for Qiao Yichen, then raised his glass: "Here's to you, Brother Qiao, congratulations on the opening of your studio."

Qiao Yichen clinked glasses with him, and they both drank it down.

Wang Xiao put down his cup, picked up a slice of salmon, and said while chewing: "Last time you told me the paperwork for the studio was almost done, I thought we'd have to wait a few more days. Didn't expect it to be this fast."

Qiao Yichen refilled his wine: "Brother Wang, speaking of which, I owe you an apology."

He lifted his own cup. "The studio situation turned out to be more troublesome than I thought."

Wang Xiao waved his hand: "Normal, normal. Starting a company, that's the process."

He paused, then shifted the topic, "But now that your studio is set up, our previous verbal agreement—"

Qiao Yichen nodded: "Understood. From now on, we'll deal business-to-business."

"Exactly," Wang Xiao took a sip of wine. "For our previous collaborations, you used your personal account, which made accounting difficult on my end. Now that you have a studio, signing contracts, issuing invoices, and using corporate accounts will save everyone trouble."

Qiao Yichen replied: "That's what I was thinking too."

Wang Xiao put down his wine glass and pulled a sheet of paper from his briefcase, pushing it in front of Qiao Yichen: "Take a look at this."

Qiao Yichen took it. It was a handwritten form listing four slots, each with an annotation about the platform, date, and tag.

Wang Xiao pointed at the form and explained each one:

"The first one is the information feed of a news App, 3 days, user preference is male, suitable for digital and automotive content."

"The second one is a short video splash screen, 4 days, high traffic, suitable for general entertainment content."

"The third one is a female lifestyle App, 3 days, precise user profile, suitable for beauty and fashion."

"The fourth one is performance advertising on an e-commerce platform, 4 days, the tag is women's clothing, females aged 25-35."

He paused and looked up at Qiao Yichen: "These, like before, are leftover slots from major clients."

Qiao Yichen's gaze paused for a moment on the fourth slot.

Women's clothing, 25-35 years old—that perfectly matches Lin Wei's Taobao shop.

He remained composed, merely nodding.

Wang Xiao smiled: "Straightforward. I like cooperating with people like you; no beating around the bush."

The two clinked glasses again.

After three rounds of drinks, most of the food was gone. Wang Xiao glanced at his phone, stood up: "Alright, Brother Qiao, that's it for today. I have something tonight, so I'll be heading out first."

Qiao Yichen also stood up: "Take care, Brother Wang."

Wang Xiao patted his shoulder: "We'll find time to sign the formal contract later."

With that, he strode toward the exit. When he reached the door, he turned back, waved at him, and disappeared into the night.

Qiao Yichen glanced at the time—7:45—and dialed Liu Yanran's number.