Chapter 10 - Picking a windfall
It had Lingqi, meaning it was the real deal. While Gu Ning secretly rejoiced on the inside, she maintained her poker face on the outside.
Before Gu Ning had even arrived at the stall, the vendor noticed her. Because she was a young girl, he didn't make a move to advertise his wares to her even after she squatted down.
But Gu Ning didn't care. Pointing at the stringed bracelet, she asked, "Boss, how much money for this bracelet?"
Looking down at the bracelet that Gu Ning was pointing at, his brows wrinkled.
Why? It's because in his opinion the bracelet was a fake. He had even considered discarding it soon.
However, since someone wanted it, he would sell. "50 Yuan." (8 USD)
50 Yuan wasn't a lot of money, but for the current Gu Ning and her present home conditions, it was still a bit much. However this was supposed to be her windfall, how could Gu Ning let go so easily?
Gu Ning was afraid that if she acted too happy the boss might instead choose to raise the price, so she put on an awkward face. "Boss, can you pull it down a little? I'm a student; I don't have that kind of money!"
"Then 40! I won't go lower." Because Gu Ning didn't look particularly rich, the vendor lowered the price. Anyhow, he wasn't losing anything; no one else wanted the junk. (6 USD)
Gu Ning acted hesitant for a show before nodding her head. "Okay, I'll take it."
She pulled out two 20 Yuan notes and handed them to the vendor.
Receiving the money, the vendor handed the bracelet to Gu Ning as well.
After getting the bracelet, Gu Ning turned around directly to headed to the Appraisal Centre.
Naturally she wasn't heading to the Centre to check if the article was genuine, but instead to sell off the bracelet. If she had a bit of money on hand, she would be able to handle many more matters.
The Antique Market had a large scale trade fair every month with quite a number of attendees. Many people come to sell, if you couldn't afford to raise the price, there was no place for you.
When Gu Ning arrived at the Appraisal Centre, the was a person having his item appraised. Many people surrounded to the area, some for fun, and others to bid on genuine articles.
The appraisal experts at the Centre were experienced in their field, not many doubted their judgment. The Centre had a custom, the results of an appraisal turned out to be false, no fee was charged. If the result was real then a fee would be charged, if a direct auction was performed, there would be another fee.
But with the huge sum that the customers earned, they couldn't care less about the costs.
Before Gu Ning lined up, she took a look at the item in the appraiser's hands. It was a beautiful snuff bottle with a beautiful painting and gorgeous colors. The material quality also seemed top-notch so the item should be genuine.
However, when Gu Ning used her Jade Pupils to take a look, there was mist to be found. It turned out to be a fake.
"This is a counterfeit." The appraiser looked for ten minutes before announcing his deduction.
"What? Counterfeit?" From the crowd, a shocked man spoke with obvious disbelief on his face. "You must have made a mistake, how could it be false?!"
"Are you questioning my abilities?" Being doubted, the appraiser was naturally unhappy. His beard shook.
As soon as the man saw the dissatisfaction on the appraiser's face, he quickly explained. "No no, it's because this is my family heirloom. My grandfather passed it to my father who passed it on to me, so it's a bit hard to accept…"
Hearing the man's explanation, the crowd also expressed an understanding.
"Brother, just because it's an heirloom, that doesn't mean it's real."
"Yeah!"
"I think it must be that your ancestors were mistaken. There are many matters like that here every day."
The man's face was bitter and astringent, looking at the thing in his hand with resentment he turned to leave. He had arrived thinking that he would leave rich, unexpectedly he had been fooled by a counterfeit.
There were several shams in the Antique Market stalls, so none of the people were discouraged. They were regulars who operated by the principle of spending a little to make a lot.
"Master, please help me appraise if this one bracelet is genuine." Gu Ning walked up to the appraiser and placed her bracelet in front of him.
The people saw that the person who had spoken was a little girl; moreover, the thing in her hands was gray and ugly. They weren't optimistic about her chances.
"Ah, that thing looks like she fished it out of a trash can, why did she bring it here?"
"Sigh, even little children have to go to great lengths these days to make a buck. Even I'm not so optimistic to think that junk might be worth a dime."
Gu Ning was speechless at the number of idiots in the city, first that idiot classmate, then those walking jewelry stands, and now these men. Nonetheless, she was glad for the attention that the bracelet was receiving.
Although the appraiser wasn't very optimistic about the bracelet, he couldn't turn Gu Ning down. After all, they were professionals running a business.
The appraiser raised the bracelet to eye level as he inspected it. His heart was a bit annoyed at the ugly grey color but he still rubbed it with a special mixture, perhaps something might come out of it. The moment he rubbed the liquid on to the beads with his handkerchief, the true colors of the bracelet were revealed.
The bracelet was made of white blocks with blue veins. Unexpectedly, the blocks were made of porcelain.
The appraiser's brow wrinkled. The handicraft was very modern, which idiot would have made a bracelet out of porcelain in ancient times?!
Again, he told himself that he must finish the appraisal.
The man continued to run but at the point that he had rubbed it half clean, he found something odd. Unable to hold himself, he uttered a "What?!"
The crowd was anxious.
"What happened?"
"Is it real?"
The appraiser didn't answer; he simply continued to clean the bracelet. Very soon all the bracelets were rubbed clean.
At this point the people in the crowd were also able to tell that the item was made of porcelain. They knit their brows in disappointment. Though they weren't expert appraisers, even they had heard that people in the ancient times didn't wear porcelain, which meant that the bracelet was a modern handicraft.
However, they had not noticed the change of color in the appraiser's face. The man who had been unenthusiastic the entire time reveled a startled, then joyful look.
Unexpectedly, the appraiser spoke, "This is the blue and white porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasty!"
"What?"
"Then it's real!"
The crowd was once again lively.
If it was it was the blue and white porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasty that meant that it was a genuine article!
Although the blue and white porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasties wasn't as valuable as that of the Yuan and Tang dynasties, it wasn't cheap by any means.
As soon as the people heard the appraiser, they turned to Gu Ning with envious and greedy eyes. Gu Ning was calm in reaction; this wasn't the first time that she had experienced such a thing.
In reality, Gu Ning herself was unaware of the specifics, she only knew that the bracelet was an antique.
"This really is the blue and white porcelain of the Ming and Qing dynasties. It should be that the original broke so someone made the broken pieces into a bracelet." Otherwise, which idiot would make a bracelet out of the expensive porcelain?!
"Girl, where did you find it?" Someone in the crowd asked.
"From a stall outside." Gu Ning didn't conceal it.
"What! Ah, picking up a windfall so casually, this girl's luck sure is good."
The crowd sighed with envy again and again.
"Girl, will you sell the bracelet? I'll give you 30,000!" It was a man dressed in a suit and dress shoes. His armpit was clamping a package of documents as he anxiously called out. (4,760 USD)
-> This is a Cherry Clan translation, if you are reading this anywhere other than the wordpress or wattpad account, it's been stolen.