150: Differences

Upon arriving at Bowen Antique Shop, the moment Ye Su stepped inside, Wan Yuanliang looked up.

"Brother Liang."

"Looks like you've got something good again."

Seeing Ye Su holding large and small items in both hands, Wan Yuanliang knew another deal had arrived.

"It's nothing special, just a wooden Buddha statue I picked up, and I thought I'd bring it by to see if you wanted it, plus a purple clay inkstone."

Ye Su took out the inkstone first, handed it to Wan Yuanliang, and then began to tear the newspaper off the Buddha statue.

Since they were already so familiar with each other, Wan Yuanliang didn't bother with superficial pleasantries and immediately picked up the inkstone to examine it.

"It is indeed a purple clay inkstone. Judging by the craftsmanship, it should belong to the late Qing Dynasty."

Although Wan Yuanliang was examining the inkstone, more than half of his attention was drawn to the large object in Ye Su's hands.

When Ye Su completely tore off the newspaper, Wan Yuanliang's eyes lit up. He put down the inkstone and eagerly took the Buddha statue to examine it in detail.

According to Wan Yuanliang's judgment, that [Late Qing Dynasty · Purple Clay Inkstone] could only sell for twenty to thirty thousand, with very limited profit, certainly not as much as the wooden Buddha statue Ye Su brought out later.

"Looking at the craftsmanship, this is first filled with color, then outlined with gold, which is the typical [Diaotian] technique. The lacquer layer on the wood carving isn't thick either; it should be a Mid-Qing Dynasty lacquered gold seated Shakyamuni statue."

The conclusion Wan Yuanliang gave was identical to that of the antique stall owner:

"We're so familiar, I won't play any games. I'll take both items for 140,000."

One [Late Qing Dynasty · Purple Clay Inkstone] and one [Mid-Qing Dynasty · Lacquered Gold Seated Shakyamuni Statue]—he would only make a few ten thousand in profit when reselling them later.

Wan Yuanliang believed the price he offered was already very fair.

It was only because of Ye Su; if it were a stranger, Wan Yuanliang would have had to cut the price by another ten thousand.

But to Wan Yuanliang's surprise, upon hearing such a generous offer, Ye Su shook his head:

"Twenty thousand for the inkstone, 210,000 for the wooden Buddha statue. How about that?"

"210,000!" Wan Yuanliang hurriedly shook his head. "No, that price is ridiculously high!"

Wan Yuanliang had no objection to selling the purple clay inkstone for 20,000.

But a Mid-Qing Dynasty wooden Buddha statue, and not even one made by a famous master, could never sell for 210,000.

"We're both in the business, and you definitely know that a Mid-Qing Dynasty gold-lacquered wood carving of this size would cost at most a little over 100,000. There's no way it could sell for 210,000, right?"

Wan Yuanliang was puzzled. Given Ye Su's expertise, how could he quote such an unprofessional price?

Could it be that he was short on cash recently, which is why he was asking for such an exorbitant amount?

If he were short a hundred thousand or eighty thousand, it wouldn't be a problem for him to lend it to him, but he couldn't treat his dude like a sucker, right?

Ye Su smiled slightly: "A Mid-Qing Dynasty · Gold-Lacquered Wood Carving of this size is indeed worth about 120,000 or 130,000, but this wooden Buddha statue is from the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Asking 210,000 isn't too excessive, is it?"

"The Ming Dynasty Wanli period?" Wan Yuanliang took the Buddha statue, examined it carefully again, and then shook his head with certainty:

"This Diaotian technique was prevalent in the Qing Dynasty, and with about seventy or eighty layers of lacquer, it really looks like it's from the Mid-Qing Dynasty, right?"

Wan Yuanliang secretly rejoiced in his heart:

You kid, you finally have a time when you've misjudged something!

"Trust me, this really is a wood carving from the Ming Dynasty Wanli period."

"dude, I'm running a business here, after all. I can't just take your word for it, can I?"

Wan Yuanliang still insisted on his own judgment and did not waver just because of Ye Su's words, "Trust me."

Having collaborated for so long, this was the first time their opinions had diverged, which also exceeded Ye Su's expectations.

"The Diaotian technique you mentioned first appeared in the Wanli period. At that time, the lacquer layers began to thin, which leads some people to confuse it with Qing Dynasty wood carvings."

"Hmm..."

If it were anyone else, it would be fine, but it was Ye Su sitting in front of him, and his tone was so certain that Wan Yuanliang's confidence began to waver, and he picked up the Buddha statue again to examine it carefully, feeling unsure.

Seeing this, Ye Su continued to explain to Wan Yuanliang, using the information he had looked up while squatting in the bathroom that morning: "Look at the brocade pattern background again; it's the typical Ming Dynasty [ 卍] character brocade, not the Qing Dynasty [ ten] character brocade."

"Hiss..."

Ye Su spoke so convincingly that Wan Yuanliang hesitantly drew a cold breath, and his eyes became increasingly unsure.

After a moment of hesitation, Wan Yuanliang put down the Buddha statue: "How about you wait a moment? I'll call my dad."

Ye Su had long wanted Wan Yuanliang to call his dad, but he was worried that doing so would be disrespectful, so he had to explain it to Wan Yuanliang himself.

Now that he heard him offer to call Wan Bowen, Ye Su immediately nodded: "Of course."

Wan Yuanliang picked up his phone, found [Dad] in his friend list, and made a video call.

After the phone rang several times, Wan Bowen's voice came from the other side: "What's wrong?"

"Someone brought a [Beijing-style Lacquered Gold Seated Shakyamuni Statue] into the shop. I think it's Mid-Qing, but the other person says it's from the Wanli period. I can't make up my mind, so I wanted you to take a look."

Wan Yuanliang didn't reveal in advance that the Buddha statue was brought by Ye Su.

"Alright, flip the camera over and let me see."

"Zoom in a bit."

"Show me the details."

"Flip it over."

"Let me see the bottom."

After Wan Yuanliang followed the instructions and operated it for a while, Wan Bowen on the other end of the phone concluded: "The item is indeed from the Wanli period; the other person is not wrong."

"It really is!"

Wan Yuanliang looked at the Buddha statue, then at Ye Su, with a hidden sense of frustration in his eyes.

He thought he had finally caught Ye Su making a mistake, but in the end, he was the clown...

"What price did they ask for?"

"210,000."

"That's fine, the price is about right. The person is indeed an expert."

Wan Yuanliang was dejected and just wanted the old man to shut up and stop praising him.

"If possible, get the customer's contact information so that if he has anything to sell in the future, he can bring it to the shop."

"No need," Wan Yuanliang replied listlessly. "The item was brought by ASu."

"Oh." Wan Bowen had an expression on his face that said, [That's not surprising then].

Oh?

You old geezer, what the hell are you "oh-ing" about!

"Alright then, you two continue talking."

Without waiting for Wan Yuanliang to reply, Wan Bowen had already hung up the video call.

"You heard it yourself. 210,000, no problem. Plus the inkstone, that's 230,000 in total. I'll draft the contract for you."

"Good."

"Sigh." While drafting the contract, Wan Yuanliang sighed: "I've been practicing for so long, yet I still misjudged it and couldn't recognize that this wood carving was from the Wanli period."

"It's fine," Ye Su consoled. "I just picked this up from the Guangchang Ceramic Jade Stone Craft Market. The stall owner was the same as you; he also thought the wood carving was Mid-Qing, which is how I was able to snag a bargain."

"Stop talking, that doesn't console me at all."

You're using the fact that you snagged a bargain to console me—is that how you console people!