Chapter: 6318

Zhang Er Mi was agog: "I've heard that your team is the most professional in the south, but I never had the chance to really see it until now. It's indeed impressive."

Professor Cheng hastened to humble himself: "We're just doing what we have to do to make a living."

As he spoke, he asked: "By the way, Er Mi brother, what brings you here today?"

Zhang Er Mi pointed to Shao Changkun beside him and introduced him: "This is my good friend, Mr. Mu Cang from Suzhou, who deals in antique goods. I brought him here to see if there's anything he might be interested in."

Professor Cheng was puzzled by Shao Changkun's background but thought that Zhang Er Mi treated him with such respect and deference that he must be a big shot, so he greeted him with respect: "Ah, Mr. Mu Cang! I've always heard of the legendary Mu Cang from Suzhou. I never thought you'd actually turn out to be someone from Suzhou. Congratulations!"

Shao Changkun nodded and smiled, then spoke up: "This time around, we're a bit in a hurry. Let's just take a look at what's available for now."

"Ah, yes!" Professor Cheng pointed to a farm house nearby and said with a smile, "That's where our workshop is. There are all sorts of good things there, let me take you over!"

Upon arriving at the farm house, everything seemed ordinary on the surface, but Professor Cheng directly led them into an abandoned cowshed that had been hollowed out from the inside. After clearing away the dry grass on the ground, a wooden board was revealed, which opened up to reveal a downward passageway.

It turned out that they had dug out the entire underground space from the cowshed entrance.

Shao Changkun followed him down and couldn't help but marvel at the magnitude of their work: "You've really done an impressive job, digging such a large area!"

Professor Cheng humbly said, "We in our line of work are used to digging tunnels and caverns. We're not afraid of hard labor. As long as we don't get into any trouble, that's all that matters."

As they spoke, the three of them had already made their way down the dirt stairs to the large underground hall. The hall was large, with an area of over a hundred square meters, but it was surprisingly simple and rustic, with exposed yellow earth walls and wooden support beams, making it look like a coal mine.

The person noticed Shao Changkun's concern and said with a smile, "Mr. Mu Cang, don't worry, it may seem rough at first glance, but it's actually very safe. The depth of our digging is shallow, and the soil above us is only about one meter thick. How much weight can that carry? This wooden support structure is sufficient. We've used it before to dig tunnels ten meters deep without any problems."

Shao Changkun relaxed a bit after hearing this and began to observe their surroundings more carefully.

The space, over a hundred square meters in size, was filled with several workbenches, emitting a strong stench of decay and mingling with the earthy smell. It made people feel queasy.

Several technicians were busy manipulating various objects in front of these workbenches, which seemed to be handling ancient artifacts.

Zhāng Èmǎ also looked astonished at the scale here and told Old Teacher Cheng, "You can introduce me to Mr. Mù Róng."

"Alright!" Old Teacher Cheng hastened to say, "Mr. Mù Róng, my place is different from most forgery places. I only make genuine items here, not a single fake one."

As he spoke, he picked up a copper-made Buddha statue and told Shao Changkun, "Look at this copper Buddha. This is the one we just finished making. Its shape and craftsmanship are consistent with the characteristics of Ming-era copper Buddhas. The workmanship is exquisite, and the aura is very convincing. However, it's actually an imitation of a Ming-era copper Buddha that we collected from the Qing dynasty era. Although the technique and details are indeed superb, it was previously owned by someone who didn't understand its value and had been kept as decoration for generations. He would occasionally polish it, which caused the patina to fade away. Looking at it, you wouldn't think it's an old item anymore. We took it back, restored it to its original state, and then sold it on the market as a genuine Ming-era item."

Shao Changkun wasn't familiar with copperware, so he asked, "If we sell it as a genuine Ming-era item, will people believe it?"

Old Teacher Cheng smiled and said, "We have our methods."

As he spoke, he picked up another copper-made base from the side and said, "Look at this."

Shao Changkun took the copper base and examined it. It looked very old, so he flipped it over to look at the bottom, where he saw the inscription "Dà Míng Xuāndé nián zhì" (Made during the Xuāndé era of the Ming dynasty).

Old Teacher Cheng explained, "Don't look at our copper statue. It might be around a hundred years old. But this base is a genuine Ming-era copper base, only that we don't know what it originally belonged to. When we got it, all we had was just this base. You should also know that although Ming-era copperware is valuable, without the main item, the base alone isn't worth much. So we spent 38,000 yuan to buy this base back and paired it with this restored copper statue, making a complete set. Moreover, you should remember that this base is a genuine artifact from the Ming Xuāndé era. We also restored our copper Buddha according to the Ming-era design. When these two are combined, I dare say that 95% of connoisseurs will be convinced."

Shao Changkun hastily asked him, "If it's really authentic, how much money can we get for it?" JrNovels.com