The director, noticing that Shen Lei indeed had a knack for this, picked up two antiques he had in his office—a Xuande furnace from the Ming Dynasty and a Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain piece—and asked Shen Lei to authenticate them.
Shen Lei carefully took the Ming Dynasty Xuande furnace from the director, examining the antique closely.
The surface of the Xuande furnace, although weathered by time, still emanated an ancient charm.
However, Shen Lei detected a slight discord within this charm.
"Director, the style and shape of this Xuande furnace are indeed very close to the genuine article,"
Shen Lei sighed as he said, "But unfortunately, it wasn't made during the Xuande era of the Ming Dynasty."
The director's expression turned surprised: "Oh? How do you know?"
Shen Lei pointed to the copper on the furnace's body, explaining, "A genuine Xuande furnace uses high-quality wind-milled copper, which undergoes multiple refinements and castings, resulting in a copper texture as delicate as a baby's skin.
Although this furnace seems to have good copper quality, upon closer inspection, you can see fine pinholes and pores on its surface—common flaws in modern imitations."
He paused and continued, "Furthermore, the color of a Xuande furnace is naturally formed through years of oxidation and rubbing, giving it a deep patina.
While this furnace's color appears antique, it is too uniform and lacks the layered depth of something that has weathered through time."
After listening, the director couldn't help but nod repeatedly: "You have a keen eye, young Shen. I admire your discernment!
Now, help me take a look at this blue-and-white porcelain to see if it's real or fake?"
Shen Lei then picked up the Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain piece.
He gently rotated the porcelain bowl, his gaze fixed on the patterns on its body.
The patterns on blue-and-white porcelain should be clear, distinct, and the colors vibrant yet elegant.
However, this blue-and-white porcelain caused Shen Lei to frown.
"Director, this blue-and-white porcelain is likely also a fake," Shen Lei said in a low voice.
The director was even more surprised this time: "How could that be?
The patterns and shape of this blue-and-white porcelain are very exquisite. How could it be a fake?"
Shen Lei gently set down the bowl and explained, "Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain is renowned for its superb painting techniques and unique artistic style.
However, while the patterns on this bowl appear exquisite, upon closer examination, you can see that the painting lines are slightly stiff, and the colors are too vibrant, lacking the mellow feel of something weathered through time."
He pointed to a flaw on the bottom of the bowl and continued, "Furthermore, look here. The body of the bowl has obvious bubbles and impurities. This is a common phenomenon in modern imitation techniques.
Genuine Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain has a fine, dense body, and such flaws are almost invisible."
After hearing Shen Lei's detailed explanation, the director couldn't help but sigh, "Shen Lei, you truly have eagle eyes!
I never imagined that these two antiques I've collected for years are actually fakes.
Your authentication skills truly leave me in awe!"
Shen Lei smiled slightly and consoled him, "Director, you don't need to be too disappointed.
Antique collecting is a profound subject that requires constant learning and exploration.
The important thing is that we've now discovered the issue, and we can be more cautious in our collecting going forward."
The director's face reddened, his resentment boiling.
But this resentment wasn't directed at Shen Lei, but at the scammers who sold him the fakes, and the appraisers who misled him.
"Ding-dong! Resentment from the director: 888 points!
Ding-dong! Resentment from the director: 999 points!"
...
Perhaps because the director had spent too much money on these three items, his resentment was immense and boundless. In just a moment, it had accumulated over 20,000 points!
"Ding-dong! Congratulations, Master. You have now collected over 20,000 points of resentment. Now, initiating lottery.
Congratulations, Master, you have won a special attribute: Perfect Repair.
This special attribute is for the personal space. As long as Master places a defective item inside, it will be completely repaired in an instant!
Congratulations, Master, you have won a set of 10 blue-and-white porcelain cups, all genuine Qing Dynasty blue-and-white porcelain from the Kangxi period!
Each is worth about 100,000 yuan, totaling 1 million yuan!"
Shen Lei was overjoyed. He had been worried about needing a month to repair the important archive, a time-consuming process.
Now, with the Perfect Repair attribute of the system's personal space, he only needed to place the old archive inside, and it would be restored instantly,
greatly improving efficiency, allowing him to gain merit and promotion faster in the archives department.
While this set of 10 Kangxi-era blue-and-white porcelain pieces wasn't particularly useful for Shen Lei, he could give them away.
Seeing the director's boiling resentment and misery, Shen Lei quickly took out a Kangxi-era blue-and-white porcelain cup from his pocket and handed it to the director.
"Director, I found a cup at Panjiayuan the other day. Would you please help me take a look at it?"
The director took the cup, his eyes revealing a deep interest.
He gently rotated the cup, carefully observing the blue-and-white color and pattern characteristics on the cup's body.
The blue-and-white on the cup had a bluish-green tone, the color deep and close to the body, as delicate as emerald feathers.
The rocks in the landscape theme were layered and distinct, showcasing the artistry of "ink divided into five colors."
"The variations in the blue-and-white color are truly rich!"
The director exclaimed, "The blue-and-white porcelain from the Kangxi era truly lives up to its reputation."
Shen Lei nodded in agreement, "That's right. The color of the blue-and-white porcelain from the Kangxi era is a major characteristic.
Furthermore, don't you think the patterns on this cup are quite artistic and skillful?"
The director carefully scrutinized the patterns on the cup. He saw that the patterns on the imperial kiln porcelain were designed with great refinement, the strokes skillful and swift.
He couldn't help but admire, "This pattern is indeed from the hand of a court painter. The artistic conception is lofty, and the painting is spectacular.
Shen Lei, you've truly acquired a treasure!"
Shen Lei had a triumphant smile on his face, "Director, to be honest, I recently divorced my wife.
Such a treasure at home might fall into that woman's hands.
So, I thought I'd leave this here with you, Director, so you can appreciate it..."
Shen Lei knew that if he directly offered it as a gift, the director would be very wary.
This director had always been incorruptible, upright, and detested any crooked means.
When Shen Lei spoke like this, the director readily accepted the treasure without any qualms, his impression of Shen Lei greatly enhanced.
The director had also heard that Shen Lei had been out of sorts lately due to his divorce.
He couldn't help but ask with concern, "Shen Lei, you're so outstanding. Why did your wife want to divorce you?
Don't tell me you had an affair?"
(There are too few comments. Brothers, do you have any opinions or suggestions? I hope you can leave them in the comments section. I'll improve where necessary. Please, I'll explode the update if the comments section hits 100 floors.)