Chapter: 5535

Ye Cheng smiled slightly and asked him, "Zhang Eimaokui, did you bring back what I told you to bring?"

Eimaokui nodded repeatedly, took out a handbag from the car, and said to Ye Cheng, "I brought everything you wanted, Master Ye."

"Good." Ye Cheng beckoned him to come in.

Ye Cheng and Zhang Eimaokui entered the villa's living room. Eimaokui quickly opened the suitcase and pulled out several pieces of wood of varying sizes and thicknesses, all of which were as black as coal.

As he took out these pieces of wood, he introduced them to Ye Cheng, saying, "You said you wanted lightning-struck wood, so I've been able to find all the reliable ones since yesterday. Most of what we sell on this market is fake, human-made goods that are hard to distinguish from real lightning-struck wood. So don't worry about these pieces of wood looking a bit rough and not being very old. I can guarantee their authenticity with my head."

Ye Cheng nodded slightly, roughly examining the wood he had taken out, then nodded and said, "These are indeed lightning-struck wood, although their quality is a bit lacking. However, it meets my expectations."

Eimaokui listened in confusion, unaware of what Ye Cheng meant. He subconsciously asked, "Master Ye, why do you think the quality being a bit lacking actually meets your expectations? I'm afraid that these things won't meet with Your approval..."

Ye Cheng smiled and said, "This is something I'll explain later. It's hard to put into words."

As he spoke, Ye Cheng asked him again, "Did you find the old wrench I told you to look for?"

"Ah, I found it!" Zhang Eimaokui hastily pulled out two jade ratchets that looked very old from his pocket and handed them to Ye Cheng, saying, "Master Ye, take a look at these two jade ratchets. They are all from the Qing dynasty's early period. They're genuine items, but the quality is not too good. It's just ordinary yixing material."

Ye Cheng nodded slightly, took the two jade ratchets, and looked them over before saying, "These things look like they've been sitting in a pit for years. Do you think they've been excavated for at least three to four decades?"

Zhang Eimaokui raised his thumb in praise, exclaiming, "Master Ye, your eyes are indeed sharp! These two ratchets are indeed from an old excavation site. I estimate that it's been at least three to four decades since they were unearthed."

Ye Cheng said, "I want to find something that's been freshly excavated. The better the newer, the better. Ideally, it should look like something that just came out of the ground a month ago. Can you help me with that?"

"This...," Zhang Eimaokui said awkwardly, "Master Ye, I'm afraid we're in trouble with this matter... Over the past few years, there are fewer and fewer of us who make a living from this line of work in Jinling, and most of what comes out is broken or damaged. Genuine items like these jade ratchets are really hard to find."

As he spoke, Zhang Eimaokui asked Ye Cheng, "Master Ye, may I ask one question? Why do you need to find freshly excavated items?"

Ye Cheng said, "Zhang Eimaokui, you're currently working for Hong Wu, which means you're also my man. So, I won't hide it from you. I want to use these freshly excavated ratchets to deceive people. If they're old excavation sites, it'll be difficult to deceive others."

Zhang Eimaokui listened with a puzzled expression and subconsciously said, "Master Ye, why do you want to use genuine items that are decades old to pretend they're freshly excavated? To be honest, these days, tomb raiding is strictly regulated. People like us who deal in antiques don't dare to touch freshly excavated items for fear of getting into trouble with the authorities. But if it's an old excavation site, then it's a different story altogether. After all, things that are three to five decades old can be whitewashed to look new again."

Ye Cheng waved his hand dismissively and said, "Just don't ask why. Tell me if there's a way to do it."

As he spoke, Ye Cheng pointed at the wooden stakes and said, "And I also want to use these for something else. Ideally, it would be nice if people could get the sense that it just came out of the ground. Do you have any ideas?"

Zhang Eimaokui thought for a moment and said, "Master Ye, to be honest, this matter is simple. I'm from a background of forgery, which you're aware of. We're good at making new things look like freshly excavated items. Sometimes, we can even make ceramics that are just fired in the kiln look like they came from an ancient official's tomb during the Qing dynasty. Of course, this kind of forgery is easy for newcomers and those who aren't too skilled, but it won't fool seasoned experts."

As he spoke, Zhang Eimaokui changed the subject again and said, "But you're planning to use genuine items from the Qing dynasty to make them look like freshly excavated ones. This is much simpler. If I may be so bold, I'll take care of the coloring process first, then dig up some soil from a rural village nearby, add some pig innards inside, and bury it with the item overnight. Finally, I'll sprinkle some urine on top. The next day, when you dig it up, it will look like freshly excavated items."

Ye Cheng asked him, "Can this method be detected?"

Zhang Eimaokui shook his head. "If you're using new things to make them look old, people will definitely notice the flaws. But since you're putting genuine items inside, who can detect that? Even if experts come with carbon dating equipment, they'll determine that the item is from the Qing dynasty based on the coloring process and its own aroma – whether it has a faint earthy smell, bloodlike smell, or stench of death. As long as we do this right, they'll think it's newly excavated."

Ye Cheng nodded and said with a smile, "Okay, then you're in charge of handling this matter."

Zhang Eimaokui looked puzzled and asked, "Master Ye, what do you want me to do exactly?" JrNovels.com