The Real Heiress Has an Appraisal System
Chapter 28: The Drunkard’s Intention is Not in the Wine

Chapter 28: Chapter 28: The Drunkard’s Intention is Not in the Wine

"That makes sense."

Gu Shengsheng nodded, her eyes filled with admiration.

"In that case, I’ll just browse these white jade bottles."

Every single one was a carved white jade vase. They looked translucent and had a vintage feel. The carvings on them also appeared quite intricate, but it was obvious they were mass-produced by a machine.

The old woman had also claimed these carved white jade vases were all made of Nephrite Jade.

’But why do these patterns look so familiar?’

Gu Shengsheng picked one up for a closer look and discovered... was that a Broken-armed Venus carved on it?

Uh... finding a Broken-armed Venus on an ancient white jade vase was shocking, to say the least.

But the old woman was still going, speaking excitedly, "Oh, young lady, you have a great eye! The one in your hand was once held by Emperor Guangxu of the Ming Dynasty! He even gifted it to a concubine. It’s all ancient Huaxia elements!"

Gu Shengsheng looked at the Broken-armed Venus and said with a smile, "Granny, how do you know all these secrets?"

"Oh, how could I not know? I’m clearer on these matters than anyone. My ancestors were descendants of that very Imperial Concubine! Back in the day, Emperor Guangxu doted on that concubine."

Gu Shengsheng listened until her own mouth felt dry, then stifled a laugh and said, "Then why is the pattern on this a Broken-armed Venus? That’s a Western figure."

"..." The old woman was momentarily speechless. She took the vase, set it down, and said, "You saw it wrong, you saw it wrong. A mix of real and fake, true and false—it’s all to confuse you."

"How else can you show off your skills! Right, young lady?"

By now, there were tons of viewers in the live stream room, and they exploded with laughter at this scene.

"This granny’s mouth must be fitted with dentures! She’s so slick with her words, lmao. If I were the one buying, I’d never be able to tell the difference."

"Seriously, scammers’ methods are so advanced these days. Someone with social anxiety like me shouldn’t even go outside. I get scared just seeing people like her."

"I wonder if there’s anything good at this stall. I would’ve left ages ago. Why is the streamer still looking?"

"Who knows? Treasure-hunting streamers can usually find good stuff. Let’s not rush it, we’ll just watch."

...

As it happened, Gu Shengsheng’s System actually had a Nephrite Jade attribute panel.

She now swiped her hand over them one by one.

Item: Carved White Jade Vase

Era: Modern

Description: Mass-produced in modern times, entirely man-made.

Market Price: 80 yuan. Complex carving, high production cost.

She checked a whole row, and the prices still fluctuated in the tens of yuan. Yet for every single item, the old woman was asking for over 30,000.

It’s a wonder she makes any money. She quotes these prices without the slightest bit of shame!

Even if a big sucker like Gu Shengsheng didn’t buy, countless other suckers would follow one after another.

This kind of thing was very normal. After all, who doesn’t have to pay some "tuition fees" when they first get into antique appraisal?

Just as Gu Shengsheng was about to pull her hand back...

...her hand accidentally brushed against something, and a 600,000-yuan attribute panel flashed before her eyes in the System.

Gu Shengsheng: ???

’What’s going on? A System bug?’

’After a moment’s thought, that seemed unlikely. There must be something here.’

The old woman had been watching Gu Shengsheng, thinking she was about to leave. But now, Gu Shengsheng had started examining the carved jades one by one again.

So, the vendor eagerly stepped forward again to continue her earnest persuasion.

It was nothing more than praising how wonderful the items from her stall were.

Gu Shengsheng touched several nearby vases but found nothing out of the ordinary. ’Strange... what did I miss?’

Just then, her hand touched a piece of cloth...

Gu Shengsheng: "..."

The System’s mechanical voice sounded:

Item: Double-sided Embroidery Lu Silk Cloth

Era: Ming Dynasty, Jiajing Period

Description: Lu Silk Cloth. Exceptionally precious. An ancient painting was later embroidered onto it. It is perfectly preserved with soft fabric. Recommended for collection.

Market Price: 600,000 yuan

Resale Price: 580,000 yuan

Gu Shengsheng hadn’t expected this piece of cloth to be so valuable. It was roughly square, only about twenty centimeters in length.

And the most frustrating part was, the vendor had a whole stack of similar cloths.

But only one piece among them was authentic.

However, the color and smoothness of the real one were nearly indistinguishable from the modern copies. It was clear that despite being exposed to the elements, this cloth had been perfectly preserved.

’I guess... you could call it good luck.’

At that moment, the old woman said with a smile, "I’ll use this handkerchief to wrap up that carved jade for you in a bit. Oh, this stuff is all the rage right now."

"Lately, the boss over at the fabric factory must have copied the pattern from somewhere. A lot of young girls love using it to wrap our antiques. It’s a real money-maker."

"..." Gu Shengsheng mused, ’The factory owner probably saw this handkerchief, thought it was nice, and decided to make something similar.’

’You have to admit, those people are true professionals when it comes to counterfeiting. So it’s no surprise they can pass off fakes as genuine.’

With that in mind, Gu Shengsheng calmly pointed to a small, delicate carved white jade vase and said, "Ten yuan. I’ll take it."

"What! I’m asking fifty thousand for this, and you’re offering ten yuan? Are you kidding me, young lady? This is an antique..."

Before she could finish, Gu Shengsheng pointed out the red logo on the bottom. "It even says which company made it right here."

"This one’s too fake. I’m just buying it for its looks. If that’s not okay, I don’t have to buy it. I hope you can sell it to someone who’s ’destined’ for it, Granny!"

The old woman quickly grabbed her hand. "Young lady, why are you so temperamental! Fine, fine. A yuan earned is a yuan earned!"

"Here, you can have it. Let’s consider it a way of making friends. If any other young tourists come by in the future, you can introduce them to me!"

"Okay."

After the deal was done, Gu Shengsheng very naturally pulled a handkerchief from the stack, and the old woman casually took it to wrap the vase.

She said, "See? All the young ladies love my stuff. So exquisite!"

Gu Shengsheng smiled and said, "Thanks, boss. I’m going to look around some more."

"Go on, go on!"

Gu Shengsheng walked away with a spring in her step. The viewers were already starting to understand her routine.

They started sending bullet comments in the live stream, asking her:

"Streamer, you look so happy. It was a cheap buy, for sure! But since you knew it was fake, why did you still buy it?"

"To help the vendor meet her sales quota?"

Gu Shengsheng said, "No. The main thing I wanted was this piece of cloth."

The live stream chat was filled with a sea of question marks.

Wait, what’s with the cloth? Isn’t it just a wholesale product? What’s the deal with it?

"Streamer, what’s up? Hurry up and tell us."

"There are so many of those cloths. What’s the secret? Tell us! Should we go buy similar ones too?"

Gu Shengsheng said to her live stream, "There’s only this one."

"Just now, the vendor said these carved white jade vases were from the Ming Dynasty. She wasn’t wrong about the Ming Dynasty part, because this cloth is from the Jiajing Period of the Ming Dynasty."

"This is Lu Silk Cloth. In the bottom left corner, can you see this seal?"