From Huang Shiling, the founding master of the "Yishan School" of seal carving, to Chen Julai, the master of seal carving hailed as "the foremost in three hundred years," and finally to Qi Baishi, whose "seal carving formed its own unique style."
Sun Fuzheng's many precious collections appeared one by one before Tang Yuan's eyes, and the prices of these seals, crafted by famous artists, were generally between 300,000 and 1,000,000 yuan.
As the fiery red sunset gradually succumbed to darkness, Sun Fuzheng's private collection hall welcomed another guest.
...
Tang Yuan stood in front of the glass display, having scrutinized the Shoushan Tianhuang Stone Beast Knob Seal before him for a long time. Finally, he made up his mind and turned to Sun Qiong, Sun Fuzheng's granddaughter, saying, "Qiong Jie, for the last seal, I'll choose this Shoushan Tianhuang Stone Beast Knob Seal carved by Qi Baishi."
The cheongsam-clad woman's eyes flashed with a hint of surprise upon hearing this. "Are you sure? This seal carved by Qi Baishi is quite valuable. I don't know the exact price, but it's probably close to a million."
"The inscription on this seal is 'Fortune and Longevity,' and I think the meaning is excellent. If there's an elder's birthday in the future, giving it to them would make a wonderful gift."
Tang Yuan's expression remained normal, showing no change due to its price.
"Alright."
"Since you've decided, I'll take it out for you."
Sun Qiong looked deeply at Tang Yuan. Even though she had grown up in a wealthy family, Tang Yuan's grand spending today still surprised her a little.
Including the Shoushan Tianhuang Stone Beast Knob Seal carved by Qi Baishi, Tang Yuan had selected a total of ten seals so far: two precious seals by Huang Shiling, two precious seals by Chen Julai, each priced above 500,000 yuan. The remaining five seals were also excellent pieces valued between 100,000 and 300,000 yuan, all possessing extremely high collection value.
Just these ten seals alone had a total value exceeding 4,000,000 yuan.
During this time, Tang Yuan's expression never changed, making her feel as if he wasn't choosing precious cultural artifacts, but rather picking cabbages at a market.
As for Wen Muxue, who had been accompanying Tang Yuan the entire time, she had gone from initial shock to complete numbness. She suddenly felt that those rich second-generation youths who used to show off their sneakers, luxury watches, and fancy cars in front of her were incredibly low-class.
Today, Tang Yuan truly showed her the level of spending power a top-tier young master possessed. Faced with seals easily costing hundreds of thousands or even millions, he bought them without even batting an eye, casually spending over 4,000,000 yuan on collecting seals, simply out of hobby.
"Wen Muxue, you must firmly cling to Tang Yuan's thigh!"
"This should be the thickest and largest leg you've ever encountered. If you can seize this opportunity, you can truly rise to prominence!"
Wen Muxue gazed at Tang Yuan's back, silently making up her mind.
...
After Tang Yuan had chosen ten seals, he didn't continue selecting, as these seals were already enough for him to complete the system task.
Following behind Sun Qiong, Tang Yuan quickly saw Sun Fuzheng again. At this moment, he was accompanying the guest who had arrived later.
"Finished choosing?"
"Let me see what Tang Xiaoyou has chosen?"
Sun Fuzheng saw Sun Qiong and the others approaching, and he greeted them with a chuckle. However, once he clearly saw the seals on the tray, his face immediately turned green. He looked at Tang Yuan, puffing out his beard and glaring, saying, "You brat, I told you to pick whatever you wanted, and you really don't stand on ceremony with me!"
"And you, you didn't even help me keep an eye on him. If he said he wanted it, you really just gave it to him!"
After Sun Fuzheng finished speaking to Tang Yuan, he immediately glared at Sun Qiong.
"Well..."
"You yourself said at the beginning not to be stingy, to be generous as a person, and that we should satisfy whatever Mr. Tang wants."
Sun Qiong couldn't help but show a hint of amusement at her grandfather's appearance, while also righteously retorting.
"Oh dear!"
"I was just being polite!"
Sun Fuzheng stamped his foot in distress, his expression filled with frustration.
As the grandfather and granddaughter bickered, Tang Yuan's attention shifted to the later arrival. This was a Madam in her forties. She was very well-preserved and appeared dignified, elegant, and graceful.
Tang Yuan had no particular thoughts about the Madam herself. What truly attracted him was the clothing she was wearing.
A pure white Tang Dynasty-style outer coat, adorned with silver-white auspicious cloud patterns, paired with a light brown long dress underneath. The light shone on the satin fabric, making her entire person seem to glow.
Regal!
Luxurious!
No matter their age, women are always very perceptive to gazes. Perhaps sensing Tang Yuan's gaze, the Madam turned her head and looked towards Tang Yuan.
Tang Yuan knew he had been a bit presumptuous. He nodded slightly in acknowledgment, then redirected his gaze back to Sun Fuzheng and Sun Qiong.
"The Shoushan Tianhuang Stone Beast Knob Seal carved by Qi Baishi is 1,000,000 yuan; the qingtian stone seal carved by Huang Shiling is 520,000 yuan; the Shoushan Furong Stone Beast Knob Seal carved by Huang Shiling is 560,000 yuan; the qingtian stonefour-sided seal carved by Chen Julai is 700,000 yuan; and the Shoushan stone personal seal carved by Chen Julai is 500,000 yuan. These five famous artist seals total 3,280,000 yuan."
"The remaining five excellent seals, from left to right, are 230,000, 140,000, 280,000, 320,000, and 170,000 yuan, totaling 1,140,000 yuan."
"Adding both together, the total is 4,420,000 yuan. I have been collecting seals for decades, and whether collecting or selling, I am known for being fair in the industry. If Tang Xiaoyou agrees with this price, you can take these ten seals today. If Tang Xiaoyou does not agree with this price, that's also fine, there's absolutely no need to feel any burden."
Seeing Tang Yuan look over, Sun Fuzheng wasted no more time. He pointed to the ten seals on the tray and quoted the prices to Tang Yuan one by one, speaking very generously.
"Qiong Jie, just swipe the card directly."
Facing Sun Fuzheng's quoted price, Tang Yuan didn't haggle at all and directly handed his bank card to Sun Qiong.
As for the price, as long as it wasn't too outrageous, Tang Yuan didn't care. The only thing he cared about was authenticity.
Tang Yuan chose to trust Sun Fuzheng for two main reasons.
The first reason was the internal screening of China Merchants Bank's ultra-high-end private banking. Tang Yuan believed that with China Merchants Bank's scale and reputation, it wouldn't do anything that would tarnish its brand for some petty gains. The fact that China Merchants Bank could select Sun Fuzhengthrough multiple screenings from its own resource pool indicated that Sun Fuzheng's reputation and credibility were qualified with China Merchants Bank.
The second reason was the da shou cang jia systemthat Tang Yuan himself possessed. Tang Yuanintended to submit these ten seals to the system as quest items. If there were any authenticity issues with these ten seals, he believed the da shou cang jia system would not fail to identify them.
With such double assurance, Tang Yuan had no fear of any scams or traps.
Is it real or fake?
When submitting the task, the system would know with a glance!
As for the price, for famous seal carvers like Qi Baishi, Huang Shiling, and Chen Julai, the prices of their works are actually quite transparent. A quick online search can give a general idea, so there's no such thing as exorbitant pricing.