Chapter 93: Auction House
. Wang Yongjun went to help Xiao Yingchun find someone.
Soon, he arrived with a blond-haired girl, whose features and complexion suggested that of an Asian.
The girl was small and thin, with a professional smile on her face. "Hello, ma'am. I'm Shanshan. How can I help you?"
Xiao Yingchun looked around and said, "I have something I'd like you to see and see if it can be auctioned here."
Shanshan guessed that Xiao Yingchun also wanted to sell something, and since she had been summoned, she naturally wanted to take a look.
So Shanshan led Xiao Yingchun and Wang Yongjun into a room.
There were two chairs on either side of a table, each with a camera above it.
Xiao Yingchun looked at Wang Yongjun and said, "Can you wait outside for me?"
Wang Yongjun glanced at the camera and turned to leave.
Xiao Yingchun couldn't get into trouble within Su Jiabi's range.
After the door closed, Xiao Yingchun pulled a wad of toilet paper from her backpack.
When she saw the toilet paper, Shanshan's eyes couldn't help but shrink slightly: This is too... casual.
One look at the packaging revealed it wasn't a good item.
Sure enough, the toilet paper revealed a ten-liang silver ingot.
Shanshan took it up, examined it carefully, and then put it back, her tone gentle but direct.
"Madam, your silver ingot doesn't meet our auction standards."
After all, this was the world's number one auction house, Sujiabi. If a silver ingot worth around ten thousand yuan could be auctioned there, it would be ridiculous.
Xiao Yingchun nodded; she was just testing the waters. She
then wrapped the silver ingot in toilet paper again and put it back in her bag. With a slight effort, she pulled out another toilet paper-wrapped object.
Shanshan: "..."
She still allowed Xiao Yingchun to open the toilet paper.
It was another silver ingot, but this one weighed fifty liang.
Shanshan examined it carefully, her expression growing more serious the more she looked.
Silver ingot pricing was very transparent; a fifty-liang ingot would normally cost around one hundred thousand yuan.
But this ingot was special: in the information she had, she had never seen a fifty-liang ingot with this kind of seal.
You know, the seals on ancient silver ingots indicate the place of casting, weight, year, and even the person who cast them.
But the seals on this silver ingot, "Xuanfenglou Silver House" and "Weixian," were completely unheard of by her.
"Daliang Dynasty" sounded like the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms era, but she had never seen a silver ingot like this from that era... unprecedented.
This was a silver ingot that had never appeared before.
Yet, the shape and structure of the ingot seemed flawless... It was indeed a silver ingot.
But wasn't it ancient? She didn't know.
Where did the ancient silver ingot come from? She had never heard of any seals from the silver house to the address?
Such things were usually counterfeit.
After all, there was a huge price difference between modern silver and antique silver...
Was this seemingly innocent woman trying to scam people?
Shanshan's brows furrowed involuntarily, and she regarded Xiao Yingchun with suspicion, a look she thought was subtle.
Xiao Yingchun did not force it, and said calmly: "If you are not sure, you can also ask an expert to take a look."
With the thought of "what if it is true", Shanshan did think about asking an expert to take a look, but she contacted two experts in this field, but was unsuccessful.
It was still early, and the experts might still be resting or busy with other things.
Thinking of her own irritable teacher's fierce scolding, with saliva spraying on her face, Shanshan backed off: "Ma'am, I am sorry that I can't tell the truth about this silver ingot."
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Xiao Yingchun had originally thought that if the silver ingot didn't work, she'd let Shanshan take a look at the gold ingot.
Apparently, Xiao Yingchun understood Shanshan's current situation. Shanshan probably believed it was better to miss out than to buy the wrong item.
After all, missing out wasn't against the rules, but misjudging someone would be a liability.
If that was the case, there was no need to bring out the gold ingot.
Without hesitation, Xiao Yingchun took the silver ingot, wrapped it in toilet paper, and placed it in her backpack (the cash register system), then nodded and left.
Wang Yongjun hadn't expected Xiao Yingchun to come out so soon, and with a calm demeanor, she gestured for Wang Yongjun to leave.
As the two emerged from the Sujiabi Auction House, one after the other, Wang Yongjun asked, "What's wrong? Is it not working?"
Xiao Yingchun nodded, "Are there any other auction houses?"
Wang Yongjun thought for a moment and said, "Come with me."
The two got in a car and drove off to another location.
Willide Auction House didn't appear as large as Sujiabi, but upon entering, Xiao Yingchun found it to be quite large, and the staff were much more welcoming.
Wang Yongjun exchanged a few words in English with the man, who then led Xiao Yingchun to a room.
This time, Wang Yongjun stood outside the room without needing to say anything.
It was a similar room, with similar cameras. Sitting opposite was a young man, about Dai Hengxin's age, thin, with a long, slender face that resembled the movie star Liao Bufan.
"Ma'am, my name is William. How may I help you?"
Xiao Yingchun didn't hesitate this time, simply holding out a fifty-liang silver ingot.
The sight of the toilet paper packaging startled William for a moment, but then he smiled. "Your treasure is truly special."
Xiao Yingchun smiled, unrolled the toilet paper, and motioned for William to examine the contents.
William was stunned again when he saw the silver ingot.
After examining it carefully, he expressed a slight surprise. "Ma'am, I'm not sure about your item. Could I ask my teacher to come over and take a look?"
Xiao Yingchun understood the trick: call someone!
"No problem," Xiao Yingchun agreed.
Then William began making phone calls.
After the call, William smiled at Xiao Yingchun and asked, "Excuse me, ma'am, where did this come from?"
Xiao Yingchun smiled back, "No, I can't tell you. Just authenticate it and tell me if it's for sale and what's the approximate price?"
"Please wait..."
A moment later, an elderly man with a white beard and a Tang suit walked in.
Seeing Xiao Yingchun's youthful, Asian face, the old man was taken aback.
William gestured to Xiao Yingchun, "Teacher, this lady has brought a silver ingot. I'm not sure about it, so I'd like you to authenticate it."
"Hello, ma'am. My name is Wang Chongshan." Wang Chongshan nodded at Xiao Yingchun and took the seat William had occupied.
He put on his reading glasses and picked up a magnifying glass. With the combined power of these two, he began to carefully examine the silver ingot.
Silver ingots are easy to check simply to see if they're made of silver, but to determine if they're ancient requires skill...