The years when I was reborn as a giant in the antique world

By the second semester of his junior year, Yun Zhou had repaired more than one hundred pieces of porcelain.

In addition to blue and white glazes and single-color glazes, there are also five-color, pastel, and bucket-colored porcelains of medium and low complexity. Each piece of porcelain has been repaired flawlessly, and the number is particularly impressive.

The upper part of Duobao Pavilion has been filled with porcelains of various types and dynasties, and the number of collections has reached an astonishing 134 pieces!

Among them, official kiln porcelain accounts for more than half, and even top collectors cannot reach such a high-quality rate.

The young man at this time is worthy of the title of great collector and master of porcelain restoration, but he is currently less than 22 years old, and his growth rate is terrifying.

The number of his collections is more than that of many collectors in their lifetime, and the value is far higher than that of other big collectors. It can be called a miracle in the collection world!

Master Feng sighs every time he comes here. Compared with his little apprentice, he is nothing more than a top collector.

Of course, this was just an occasional joke. He was even more gratified that he had taught such an outstanding apprentice, and it was an honor to see him achieve unique achievements.

In two years, large and small pieces of broken porcelain piled up in the corners of the studio, and there were more than 7000 pieces, all of which were single pieces that could not be put together after selection.

After being cleaned, they are sorted and packed in translucent plastic boxes with foam around them. They are very well preserved and can be checked at any time.

These shards are not useless.

After repairing, Yunzhou will identify one by one according to the patterns, colors, and textures painted on the broken porcelain pieces, and even some supplementary patterns can be referred to on other broken porcelain pieces, which greatly improves the familiarity with porcelain. degree and ability to date.

Coupled with the sensitivity to color acquired through porcelain restoration, there is nothing that can trick him now.

When Yunzhou went to see Mr. Du, he would occasionally go to the antique market to look for anything to miss.

When he came to a stall selling porcelain, he picked up a 'Qing Yongzheng powder enamel poppy flower pattern bowl'.

The carcass of this bowl is light and thin, and three poppies are floating on the inner wall of the bowl. The pink and white stamens are in full bloom, and another one is in bud.

The outer wall is painted with alum red and white poppies with pink petals, lined with green leaves.

However, he didn't need to observe carefully, as soon as he got started, he knew it was fake.

The decorations of poppies are extremely rare in Yongzheng official kilns, so they must be carefully drawn.

Although he doesn't know which court painter painted it, but the rendering technique must be much higher than the current one, not at the same level at all.

At the same time, Yongzheng famille rose is famous for its fineness, even the hairs on the branches and stems are depicted in detail, and the beauty of the brush and the exquisite layout cannot be imitated by others.

This bowl looks exquisite, but in fact the color transition between the petals and stamens is obviously unnatural, the color of alum red is not correct, the lines of the branches are stiff, and the detail is not enough.

He can tell at least five deficiencies without looking at the soles and inscriptions, but only from the color.

Not to mention that he has restored several pieces of Yongzheng famille rose porcelain, and he knew that the thickness and gloss of the glaze were not right.

Thinking of this, Yun Zhou couldn't help being stunned for a moment, when did it become so easy to identify porcelain?

The pastel poppies flower pattern bowl in front of him is nakedly displayed in front of him like an open book, and the answer is self-evident.

This feeling, like being reborn, made the young man himself feel a little unbelievable.

Is this the difference between a veteran and a novice?

Thinking that I suffered a lot in the antique market a few years ago and bought fake blue and white jars, everything was like a dream.

The stall owner saw that he was young and well-dressed, so he kept recommending him: "The little handsome guy has good eyesight. This is a pastel porcelain bowl used by Emperor Yongzheng. Look at this bottom model - 'Made in the Yongzheng Year of the Qing Dynasty'. The color is bright and exquisite. , a proper official kiln boutique."

Then he glanced around and lowered his voice, "Don't tell me, you said that the turmoil in the last years of the Qing Dynasty was stolen from the palace by the guards in the palace taking advantage of the chaos, and it came to me after several twists and turns. This number—”

He tapped it with four fingers vaguely, and it seemed to be the case, "If you want, you can add a little, and make a small business to make money."

Yun Zhou was a little funny, it was lunch time, and there was obviously no one around, but the stall owner put on an appearance that he was afraid of being heard by others, and his face was secretive, which was indeed quite bluffing.

The young man smiled slightly, and the two dimples on his cheeks made the stall owner shake his head.This young man looks really good-looking. Could it be some celebrity?

Then the other party asked, "When did you collect this bowl?"

The stall owner came back to his senses, and pretended to be authentic: "It's been a long time, I collected it four or five years ago. The man in the family lost money in gambling, and the debtors came to him. There was no choice but to sell the treasure passed down from his family."

Yun Zhou also imitated him and lowered his voice, "I don't think it's right, you only received this piece of porcelain two months ago."

While the other party was in a daze, he put down the porcelain and left gracefully.

After he left, the stall owner realized that he had met an expert!

This piece of porcelain was made after he bought a high-quality imitation two months ago and went back to make it old.

After hundreds of years of wind and sun, historical turmoil and other external environmental influences, ancient porcelain must be different from freshly fired porcelain. It must be aged to look trustworthy.

First buried in the ground for more than a month or even a few months, so that it is contaminated with the smell of mud, and then the new mud on the surface is removed, and a little sand or loess with a long history is stained on the exposed body at the bottom. This is the unearthed porcelain. do old.

According to the degree of corrosion, there are soil rust, water rust and so on.

Secondly, there will be changes in gloss on the overglaze porcelain with a long history.

New porcelain is very bright when it is first fired, but after a long period of natural erosion, the luster will weaken, and a very thin transparent film will be formed on the surface, with astigmatism, commonly known as "clam light". ①

The stall owner uses the method of polishing and waxing, rubs some wax on the surface of the porcelain, rubs it with linen cloth, and then rubs it with silk cloth to continuously polish it to achieve a natural luster like "clam light".

In addition, he also ground some traces of use on the surface of the porcelain, which was still spotted by experts.

Thinking of the young face of the other party, the stall owner shook his head in his heart: He really can't look like a person, his eyesight is worse than that of many veterans!

Not only can you tell the fakes, but you can even know when they were cooked, which is amazing.

After strolling around the antique market, Yun Zhou fully understood what old man Du said: as long as his eyesight is strong enough, no routine will work.

Perhaps the grade of imitation products on the market is not high. He can basically distinguish many porcelains by just looking at them and touching them. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything to miss.

Another 3 months passed, and the latest batch of broken porcelain arrived. After opening Yun Zhou, he flipped through it, and couldn't help frowning slightly.

This was the case last time. The tiles of folk kilns accounted for almost 80% of the total, and there were only a few pieces of complete porcelain that could be pieced together.

But it was not easy to think of the other party, so I just reminded him and didn't say much.

However, the quality of the one sent this time was even worse. It also contained a lot of unfired and deglazed pieces of porcelain, which was far inferior to the quality of the previous few times.

In the past two years, he has bought broken porcelain pieces from Porcelain City seven or eight times, and has maintained a stable cooperation with Jin Qiang, giving him a lot of trust.

However, the quality of the tiles this time was greatly reduced, and even a piece of repairable porcelain could not be picked out.

Yun Zhou took a photo of the unfired porcelain pieces and sent them to Jin Qiang, and said bluntly: "The quality of the broken porcelain pieces this time is not good."

Jin Qiang has earned 5 to [-] yuan in the past two years by collecting broken porcelain pieces. He cherishes this business very much. When he saw the news, he immediately went back to the video, and said with a bitter face: "Boss, it's not that I'm lazy. Now the broken porcelain pieces are too much. It's not easy to pay."

The stalls in the ghost market were basically searched out, so he changed to other places and bought one by one with his friends on weekends.

In recent years, as the antique industry has become more and more popular, some people who buy broken porcelain pieces have also appeared on the market, and they specialize in buying some porcelain pieces with a deposit for appreciation.

In addition, Jin Qiang has been buying broken porcelain pieces in large quantities, some people want to make more profits and are not easy to sell.

In short, the price of ancient porcelain pieces has begun to rise.

And it has risen a lot, almost doubled.

After Yun Zhou finished listening, his voice was exceptionally calm: "Why didn't you say it earlier?"

Jin Qiang wiped the sweat from his forehead: "Well, I want to try my best to mediate first, and I will tell you if I can't receive it."

I don't know why, although the other party looked so young and didn't get angry, he felt a sense of oppression coming from the other party, and a few drops of cold sweat unconsciously appeared on his forehead.

He didn't know what the other party used the broken porcelain pieces for, but each time they collected thousands of pieces, such a huge amount was really rare.

How can ordinary people afford to double this base number——

While explaining, Jin Qiang felt uneasy in his heart. It's over, it's over, such a good business may not be done.

The price of broken porcelain pieces has increased so much. It used to be 3 to 4, but now it has become 6 to 8. Four times a year, that is 30!

According to this situation, it is likely to rise further in the future.

Jin Qiang quickly calculated in his mind, secretly startled.

He never thought that in a place like the Millennium Porcelain City, pieces of broken porcelain could become sweet pastries. It was really unpredictable.

Just as I was thinking, I only heard the clear voice of the young man, "It's okay, continue to accept. As long as the quality is good, the price can be doubled."

Jin Qiang couldn't help being stunned for a moment, and then said pleasantly: "No problem!"

Hey, the rich are really rich and powerful, and they don't care about spending an extra 10,000+ a year.

Thinking that there are still a lot of pastel, five-color, and bucket-colored enamel porcelains that have not been repaired in the studio, Yun Zhou said: "In the future, let's send it every four months. The single quantity does not need to be that much, but the quality must be guaranteed.

If the quality is good, a bonus of 2000 yuan will be added each time, if the quality is not good—"

The young man looked directly at the other party with his beautiful eyes, with a serious expression, "There will be no next time."

Jin Qiang showed his big white teeth and said with a smile, "Don't worry!"

As long as the money is in place, everything is not a problem.

Yun Zhou finally added: "Also, don't forget to take a video before mailing, and let us know in advance if you have any questions."

The other party responded again and again, and his heart blossomed with joy.

The employer didn't mind the price increase, and even added a few thousand yuan in bonuses for nothing. Hey, where can I find such a good thing?

He will definitely do a good job and never give up this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

After hanging up the video, Yunzhou asked the porcelain maker in Porcelain Capital a few words, and was completely relieved to learn that the recent price increase of broken porcelain pieces was true.

He also thought about whether to switch to another person.

However, firstly, he doesn’t understand the local market; secondly, he has cooperated with Jin Qiang many times, and he understands that the other party seems to be a little slippery, but he has connections, means, and is willing to endure hardships in order to make money. Others may not be able to do better than him. better.

The difference of 10,000+ is only a drop in the bucket compared to porcelain worth millions or tens of millions, so he naturally doesn't care.

Furthermore, the price increase of broken porcelain pieces is also reasonable.

Prices are rising every year, and the price of antiques is rising even more rapidly, setting records time and time again. There is no reason why broken porcelain pieces do not increase in price.

Not to mention double the increase, even if it increased ten times, he would still make a fortune!

Money is one aspect, and more importantly, it improves the ability of porcelain restoration and appreciation, which is the best of both worlds.

After solving this problem, the next step is the inspection and practice in the second semester of the junior year.

Antique appreciation is a niche major in S University, practice is more important than theory, and it takes up a lot of credits.

From the second semester of the junior year to the second semester of the senior year, nearly a year is the practical content.

Set aside one month for students to find internship units. Starting from March, submit an antique appreciation report to the school system every two months, and attach photos of your own appreciation of antiques. .

The duration of the internship should not be less than six months. At the end, the internship unit must stamp and sign. There will be a telephone check at that time, and fraudulent behavior is not allowed.

But this is not difficult for students of this major.

"Xiao Zhouzhou, young master, Yifan, it seems that we will see each other next year."

Hong Hai hugged his roommates one by one, with a bit of reluctance in his tone: "I wanted to try elsewhere, but my father rejected it, so I can only stay in the antique shop at home. Sigh, it's so boring, how about you?"

Xu Ze looked a little heavy, "The old man is not in good health, and I will try to manage the company from the middle of the year."

Since his freshman year, he has followed his grandfather to learn store operation and management. He has inspected each branch more than once, and he has also seen the store managers and company executives of each branch. However, when this moment really comes, he still feels that The pressure is enormous.

"Master, take it easy, you'll be fine." Hong Hai patted his slightly stiff shoulder.

The eyes of the other two roommates were also full of encouragement, and Yunzhou's tone was full of trust, "Young master, I believe you will be able to manage the company well."

Xu Ze looked at them, his stern eyebrows softened, and the corners of his lips curled up, "I will."

Handed down jewels have been harvested in recent times in the Burmese public offerings, and the unique dragon stone-filled green jadeite and glass-like emperor green jewelry are the treasures of the store, and the brand value has always remained in the top three.

However, Lingyue Jewelry, which is also a giant in the jewelry industry, fell into a slump because it lost the bid king two years ago in the public market in Myanmar. The cash flow was unable to turn around, and it completely fell out of the top ten and quietly withdrew from the public's field of vision. .

Generally speaking, the development momentum of handed down jewelry is good, and there is nothing to worry about.

Xue Yifan's parents are both professors of archaeology, with a wide range of connections.

He will first go to a private museum for an internship. After gaining experience, he will prepare for the city museum's career compilation exam, and strive to do work related to cultural relics protection as soon as he graduates.

"By the way, Xiao Zhouzhou, where are you going? Why don't you come to my antique shop for an internship?" Hong Hai asked.

"Brother Hai, thank you." Yun Zhou smiled slightly, "But I already have a plan, and I will stay in City S, which is closer to home."

He made an agreement with Shopkeeper Wu of Zhenbao Pavilion, and he will be an apprentice with him for half a year. The salary for the internship is optional, just to gain experience.

Shopkeeper Wu said on the spot that it was absolutely impossible, and that what should be given must be given.

Just kidding, the chicken blood red sandalwood pen holder that the other party gave him was bought by an old customer after two days in the store, and the price was directly offered 40!

Taking such a big advantage, how could it be possible not to pay the internship salary?

Not only must it be given, but it must also be paid according to the salary of a senior apprentice.

He immediately explained the situation to the boss.

The boss has other properties, and usually entrusts him with full power to take care of the store, not to mention that it's not a big deal, so he readily agreed.

After leaving school, Yun Zhou packed up his things and reported to Zhenbao Pavilion the next day.

Shopkeeper Wu smiled all over his face: "Xiaozhou, I've drawn up the contract, take a look. The monthly basic salary is 6000, with five days off and two days off..."

This treatment is very generous for an intern student. He will not be paid as an apprentice for several years.

Of course, this salary is nothing to Yunzhou, it just shows an attitude.

In addition to the salary of the internship, the five days off and two days off can be said to be preferential treatment in the antique industry.

For example, shopkeeper Wu himself basically stays in the store 365 days a year, all year round.

Although it takes a long time, most of the time when there are no customers, it is usually relatively leisurely.

What's more, he still has 30% of the shares in the store, so he is naturally very concerned.

Let Yun Zhou come over for an internship, firstly, because of the generous gifts and affection from last time, and secondly, he is a student of Mr. Du, so he should be treated well, and maybe he will be a big collector again in the future.

After all, the other party's luck is really good, and he has seen four or five cases of picking up leaks.

But for item identification, he has no hope.

After all, you are young, a student who has not yet graduated, and lacks experience.You can come for an internship, but you can't let him smash the signboard of Zhenbao Pavilion.

Yun Zhou had no objection to the terms of the contract, and quickly signed it.

No one came all morning.

It is still mid-February, the weather is relatively cold, and it is not long after the Chinese New Year, so there is really not much business.

Shopkeeper Wu and Mr. Du drank tea and played chess, enjoying themselves.

Yun Zhou was looking at all kinds of antiques on the shelf, and from the current point of view, he has gained something new, which is completely different from the feeling three years ago.

And so it went until the afternoon.

At this time, a middle-aged man hurried in with a large box in his arms.

He is about 40 years old, with a strong build, wearing a black cotton coat, with a little cotton exposed at the edge.His skin was dark and chapped due to the wind and sun all year round, and there was a sense of impatience between his brows.

When shopkeeper Wu saw a customer coming, he immediately went up to greet him and invited him to chat while drinking tea.

After Yunzhou heard it, he was ready to make tea.

The middle-aged man said harshly: "I don't have time to drink Laoshizi's tea, I'm in a hurry, let's see how much this treasure is worth?"

With that said, he took out a pair of blue and white book lamps with lotus patterns from the box and placed them on the counter.

Yun Zhou and shopkeeper Wu looked stunned at the same time, the book lamp is not a common type.