Zhuo Yu Feng Yang Chapter 32
byChapter 32: Tasting event, a blockbuster
In the private club on the outskirts of the city, celebrities gathered in fragrant clothes and hair.
Mr. Lin specially booked the entire club to hold an enamel bottle tasting event. The people invited were either leading figures in the antique industry or senior collectors, and even the director of the local museum was present in person.The booth in the center of the club is covered with dark golden velvet, just waiting for the protagonist to appear.
Jiang Zhuo held the brocade box and walked into the venue side by side with Lu Jingyang, instantly attracting a lot of attention.Someone recognized them as the shopkeepers of Xianyunzhai and started talking in low voices, mostly out of curiosity, but also mixed with some doubts.After all, restoring the enamel colors of Yongzheng official kilns is not a task that the younger generation can easily master.
“Mr. Lin’s move is risky. Let two young people take the lead.”
“I heard that the bottle went over the line and penetrated the carcass. The bottle mouth is also missing a corner. I’m afraid it can’t be repaired.”
When Lu Jingyang heard these words, he couldn’t help but frown. Just as he was about to retort, Jiang Zhuo gently held his shoulders.”Strength is the best response.” Jiang Zhuo’s voice was very soft, but it carried reassuring power.
Mr. Lin had already come forward and took the brocade box, his eyes full of expectation: “Xiao Jiang, Jingyang, I’m waiting for you.”
He walked to the center of the booth with the brocade box in hand, raised his hand to suppress the voices of the audience, and said loudly: “Dear friends, I invite you all here today for a Yongzheng official kiln enamel vase with flower and bird patterns. This vase was damaged due to the war and almost became a scrap. Fortunately, Mr. Xianyunzhai Jiangzhuo’s skillful hand brought it back to life, and it regained its glory.”
After the words fell, the whole place was silent.Everyone’s eyes are focused on the brocade box, with expectation and scrutiny.
Mr. Lin carefully opened the brocade box, took out the enamel vase, and placed it gently under the spotlight of the booth.
The moment the lights came on, the whole audience gasped.
The body of the bottle is as white as jade, with delicate and graceful intertwining lotus patterns. The feathers of the ribbon bird are lifelike, as if they are about to flap their wings and fly away from the bottle in the next second.The diagonally running line is covered with a golden thread. The golden thread is as thin as a hair and twists and turns. Not only does it not destroy the overall beauty, but it adds a bit of elegance of “golden repair and hidden rhyme”.The most amazing thing is that the missing corner of the bottle mouth is embedded with a piece of Hetian white jade seed material with jujube red color. After the jade surface is matte, it blends perfectly with the enamel glaze. The jujube red color echoes the red glaze of the bottle body, which is like a match made in heaven.
“This… this is simply a stroke of genius!” The curator of the museum stood up first, walked quickly to the booth, and took a magnifying glass to take a closer look. “I have seen a lot of jade-inlaid porcelain craftsmanship, but I have never seen such a perfect fit! The jade color and glaze color are perfectly blended, and the gold wire routing is just right. This repair technology is a masterpiece!”
The doubts have long since disappeared, replaced by a wave of admiration.Lu Jingyang looked at this scene and couldn’t help but raise the corner of his mouth. He glanced at Jiang Zhuo beside him secretly, but saw that he was just standing calmly, his eyes falling on the bottle, as if he was talking to the pottery inspector from a hundred years ago.
At this moment, there was a sudden commotion outside the crowd.
Several well-dressed men walked in, led by a middle-aged man with a gloomy face and sharp eyes. When he glanced at the porcelain bottles on the stand, a trace of greed flashed in his eyes.
“Mr. Lin, I’m so excited.” The man’s voice was a bit cold, “Why didn’t you notify me of such an important tasting meeting?”
Mr. Lin frowned when he saw the person coming: “Wei Kun? Why are you here?”
Wei Kun, the local public face leader of the “Xuanshi Society”, made his fortune by reselling cultural relics and gained a notorious reputation in the antiques circle.He sneered, walked slowly to the booth, walked around the porcelain vase, and said: “What a porcelain enamel vase, but it’s a pity that it is not worthy of such good repair skills.”
Lu Jingyang took a step forward and asked coldly: “What do you mean?”
Wei Kun glanced at him, and then his eyes fell on Jiang Zhuo, with a smile on his face: “I heard that the jade material used to repair this bottle was picked up by Boss Jiang from the stone gambling den? What a coincidence, that piece of material was originally from our Xuanshi Association.”
As soon as these words came out, the whole place was in an uproar.
Jiang Zhuo’s eyes darkened and he finally spoke: “I bought the items legally from the stall owner, and there is a payment record. How can I say ‘originally it was yours’?”
“Legal?” Wei Kun sneered, “We bought that piece of material from abroad, and the stall owner just changed hands…”
Before he finished speaking, he suddenly realized that he had let something slip and shut his mouth abruptly.
The whole place fell silent instantly. This Wei Kun was not asking for trouble.
Jiang Zhuo’s lips curled up with a cold arc: “I see. You are smuggling jade, and you dare to speak so brazenly here. Mr. Wei is quite courageous.”
Wei Kun’s face turned green and white, knowing that he had fallen into a trap.He became angry with embarrassment and raised his hand to lift the booth, but was held down by a hand that suddenly stretched out.
Lu Chen appeared at the venue at some unknown time. His eyes were as cold as ice, and his tone was unquestionably coercive: “Mr. Wei, you are causing trouble on my territory. Have you asked me?”
Seeing Lu Chen, Wei Kun’s face turned completely dark.He knew Lu Chen’s power, and he also knew how Lu Chen and Xuan Shi would not deal with each other.
“Mr. Lu, this is all a misunderstanding.”
“Misunderstanding?” Lu Chen sneered and waved his hand behind him.
Several police officers immediately walked in from outside the crowd and revealed their identities: “Wei Kun, we received a report that you are suspected of smuggling. Now please come with us.”
The moment the handcuffs were cuffed on his wrists, Wei Kun finally collapsed to the ground.
Mr. Lin breathed a sigh of relief and patted Jiang Zhuo’s shoulder: “Xiao Jiang, good job.”
Lu Chen walked to Jiang Zhuo and nodded slightly: “Thank you for your words just now, which helped us get the key evidence.”
Jiang Zhuo nodded lightly: “Mutual benefit.”
Sunlight shines through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the clubhouse and onto the enamel bottles on the booth.The golden threads flow, the jade color is warm and moist, and the ribbon bird on the bottle seems to really come alive under the light.
Lu Jingyang looked at Jiang Zhuo beside him, his eyes full of admiration.He suddenly felt that together with Jiang Zhuo, no matter what storm he encountered, he would be able to overcome it.
This tasting not only made Xianyunzhai famous, but also gave the story behind the enamel bottle an opportunity to be revealed.
The news of Wei Kun’s arrest was like a pebble, causing thousands of waves in the deep pool of Xuanshihui.
A bigger storm is quietly brewing.