As soon as Zhou Ming left, Zhu Yulin shook his head and said, "He's got some skill for spotting treasures, but he's too young and impatient. Still, he got lucky—stumbled on a good piece right away."
Then he suddenly turned to look at Lin Xiao.
Lin Xiao had examined the piece earlier—so why didn't he buy it?
If it were truly valuable, Lin Xiao wouldn't have let it go. Even with his discerning eye, something worth over a million yuan wouldn't be dismissed lightly.
Thinking this through, Zhu Yulin asked, "Mr. Lin, that chicken cup… was it fake?"
Lin Xiao replied, "It was real."
"Real?" Zhu Yulin was puzzled. "Then why didn't you buy it?"
"Why would I? It's not worth much."
Zhu Yulin nearly spat out blood. "Even if it's 'not much,' it's still over a million!"
The online viewers agreed—Lin Xiao's standards were way too high.
"Over a million and it's not worth it?"
"Boss Lin's really starting to float, huh."
"If you weren't going to buy it, you could've told us—would've been a nice little gift for your fans!"
Lin Xiao replied, "Who told you it was worth over a million?"
Zhu Yulin said, "It's a Qianlong-era fencai chicken cup, and you said it's real. Isn't it worth over a million?"
Lin Xiao shook his head. "Not that expensive. The piece is real, but the painting was added later. Eleven thousand for that? He got scammed a little."
"Later-added decoration…" Zhu Yulin blinked. "So it's a chicken cup with aftermarket painting?"
"Exactly," Lin Xiao said. "If it were really worth that much, you think I'd pass it up? A million isn't pocket change. Nobody's above money. But unfortunately, it's a piece with modern-painted enamel over an antique base. Sure, it's worth maybe seventy or eighty thousand, but these types of items are tricky. The people who want them think it's too expensive, and those who can afford it think it's beneath them. So, yeah—it's not worthless, but it's tough to resell."
"Ah, I see now."
Zhu Yulin nodded in understanding. If Lin Xiao was right, then Zhou Ming's "amazing deal" wasn't really a deal at all. Selling that Qianlong chicken cup—if it sold at all—would be a challenge.
Any bad feelings from earlier quickly vanished, replaced by a wave of satisfaction.
"What does 'aftermarket decoration' mean?"
"All this jargon is flying over my head."
"It means the porcelain base is old, but all the decorative patterns on it were added recently using modern chemical paints. Ancient ceramics used mineral pigments. You can tell the difference if you look closely."
"Ohh, so it's like a fusion of old and new?"
"Exactly. Is it still considered an antique?"
"It is, but not a valuable one."
"Boss Lin's eye is sharp as ever."
"That guy really thought he scored a major find, but it's just a repainted piece. He's basically paying tuition!"
The stall owner overheard their conversation but didn't seem fazed, calmly waiting for his next customer.
He wasn't even sure whether the piece had aftermarket painting or not—he just knew it was from the Qing dynasty.
That chicken cup had cost him only 8,000 yuan. Selling it for 110,000? Huge profit!
Lin Xiao moved on to the next stall. There wasn't anything particularly rare or valuable at this one.
Sure, there were some small hidden gems, but the profits would only be a few thousand to maybe tens of thousands.
To him, that kind of margin wasn't even worth his time.
"Yo, Lao Zhu, you're here too?"
A cheerful voice called out. A man around the same age as Zhu Yulin walked over and greeted him.
Zhu Yulin looked up in surprise. "President Xu? You're here treasure hunting too?"
Then he turned to introduce Lin Xiao. "This is President Xu Yuanfu of the Jinling Antique Association. And this is Mr. Lin Xiao."
"Hello, President Xu," Lin Xiao nodded politely.
President Xu assumed Lin Xiao was one of Zhu's protégés. He gave a friendly nod but didn't say much more.
As the three walked together, President Xu said, "Zhou Ming just called me. He says he scored a big find and wants me to take a look. Honestly, he's not really asking for an appraisal—he wants me to help him find a buyer."
Zhu Yulin asked, "Oh? So when are you going to check it out?"
President Xu replied, "He says he's at Chaotiangong too. I told him to come find me. Should be here any minute."
Just then, Zhou Ming's cheerful voice rang out behind them.
"President Xu! Master Zhu!"
Zhou Ming had left earlier but called President Xu and found out he was here—so he turned around and came back.
He didn't plan to send the chicken cup to an auction house. Auctions took months and charged high fees—not to mention taxes.
It was way easier to have someone in the community introduce a buyer. Worst case, he'd give a little commission—no taxes, more profit.
Zhou Ming walked up with a big grin. "What a coincidence, running into both of you!"
President Xu glanced at the chicken cup in his hand. "This is the treasure you found?"
"Yep. Qianlong-era fencai chicken cup. Please, have a look."
He handed the cup over.
President Xu took it and examined it closely.
As he studied it, his expression slowly shifted.
Lin Xiao watched with a quiet smile. Zhu Yulin smirked, saying nothing.
He had already noticed the subtle change in President Xu's expression—he'd figured it out.