Xu Qingqing nudged Lu Chuanbai with her elbow and glared at him. "If you can't talk properly, just keep your mouth shut."
Lu Chuanbai looked a bit innocent but still obediently shut up as Xu Qingqing told him to.
Lu Qi stood up and patted Lu Chuanbai on the shoulder, his tone becoming firmer.
"Thanks, bro, but when I set out on my own back then, I promised my mom that no matter what difficulties I faced, I wouldn't ask the Lu family for help.
"I'll get through this tough time on my own. You guys just have to trust me."
"I'm not from the Lu family. You should at least accept my help," Xu Qingqing said quickly, pointing at herself. "I bought a hairpin on Penglang Island..."
Lu Qi waved his hand to decline. "Qingqing, I appreciate your kindness. I can accept your help with your knowledge, but I can't take your things.
"So for now, just use your smart brain and help me appraise how much the vase I bought can be sold for. I'll make up the rest of the money with my savings."
After saying that, Lu Qi turned around and walked into the long corridor leading to the studio. The corridor was not lit, and his back almost merged with the dimness, looking extremely lonely and desolate.
Xu Qingqing sighed and frowned at Lu Chuanbai. "What should we do now?"
"Just don't tell him," Lu Chuanbai said firmly.
Since they couldn't help him openly, they could do it secretly.
Lu Qi came out holding a vase with a slight metallic sheen. He placed the vase on the front - desk table for Xu Qingqing to appraise.
Xu Qingqing observed it carefully. The carving method of this vase was indeed consistent with that of the Qing Dynasty. However, in the Qing Dynasty, carving was mostly used to make wooden vases, and it was rarely used on stones, but it couldn't be completely ruled out.
In addition, except for the golden patterns inlaid later on the vase body, the other patterns were indeed characteristic of the Qing Dynasty.
Xu Qingqing turned the vase over and over for a long time, but there was always a strange feeling about this vase, which made her sense something was wrong.
"What? Is it hard to judge?" Lu Qi asked worriedly when he saw Xu Qingqing's expression becoming more and more solemn.
"It's hard to say. I need to take a closer look. Go get a flashlight," Xu Qingqing said, picking up the vase and looking at the bottom.
Lu Qi opened the drawer and took out a special flashlight for appraisal and handed it to Xu Qingqing. Xu Qingqing shone the flashlight carefully around the outer ring.
Xu Qingqing's face was almost on the vase as she examined it carefully, and finally she found something wrong.
There were knife marks on the vase body carved with a knife. Even if it was smoothed with a knife, it should be bumpy and the edges should be sharp.
Instead, the sharp parts had been deliberately smoothed, making the edges round.
After discovering this, the strange feeling in Xu Qingqing's heart lessened a bit. She whispered to the two men beside her.
"This vase is not right. The edges are too round."
"Isn't it good that they're round?" Lu Qi asked subconsciously.
Xu Qingqing rolled her eyes at Lu Qi speechlessly.
"Brother, this isn't modern times. There was no sandpaper to polish things carefully in the Qing Dynasty.
"Without sandpaper, it's impossible to polish it so carefully. Every little bump has been polished. Only the finest modern sandpaper can achieve this unique metallic sheen."
Only then did Lu Qi react, but he raised another question in his mind.
"According to what you said, why do the good vases and jars unearthed from the Hualan Ruins also have a metallic sheen all over?"
"That's because they would wrap the sharp vase body with animal fat, and then there was the friction from people's hands when using them," Xu Qingqing, who had also read the ancient records about the Hualan Ruins, explained Lu Qi's doubts in detail.
"And since this vase is supposed to be from the Qing Dynasty, there should be no step of coating the vase body with animal fat."
"No, this vase shouldn't be from the Qing Dynasty at all. By the Qing Dynasty, people were already using porcelain. Why would they go to so much trouble to carve a vase out of stone?"
As she said this, Xu Qingqing shone the flashlight into the vase.
Her explanation made Lu Qi and Lu Chuanbai suddenly understand.
Lu Qi raised his hand and hit his head with his fist, looking a bit excited.
"I knew it. Why would people in the Qing Dynasty use such a rough thing when they could use smooth porcelain?"
"So, this vase is from the Hualan Ruins..." Lu Qi's tone was full of hope. Xu Qingqing coughed lightly and mercilessly shattered his dream.
"Don't daydream. I'm just telling you this so that you know this vase isn't from the Qing Dynasty either."
"Ah..." Lu Qi's mood instantly plummeted from the clouds to the mud. He hugged his head and shouted in despair.
"You mean this vase isn't even from the Qing Dynasty?"
Great. He had spent 10 million yuan on a fake!
"Can you tell me exactly when it was made..." Lu Qi trembled as he pointed at the vase with one hand, covering his heart with the other, feeling out of breath.
Lu Chuanbai was worried that he might faint from the shock, so he stood behind Lu Qi in case he needed to catch him.
"Thanks, I can hold on," Lu Qi waved his hand at Lu Chuanbai.
Xu Qingqing estimated that the vase was a modern product, but to be more accurate, she still scanned it with the system.
She found that the vase was indeed a modern product, made just three months ago.
"It's a modern thing, made within a year," Xu Qingqing put down the vase and said to Lu Qi sympathetically.
Lu Qi overestimated his psychological endurance. His legs went weak and he fell into Lu Chuanbai's arms.
Lu Chuanbai helped him sit on the sofa. Lu Qi's face was extremely dejected. He wanted to cry but had no tears. He even wished he could find a rope to hang himself.
"Why am I so unlucky!" Lu Qi sighed deeply and slumped on the sofa.
Xu Qingqing comforted him. "It's okay. At least we can prove that this vase isn't from the Qing Dynasty. You can go to that migrant worker and get your money back."
"Yes! I'm going to go find that migrant worker and get my money back. I'm going to sue him for fraud!" Lu Qi felt motivated. He sat up quickly, his eyes blazing with anger.
After he shouted this, his stomach growled in agreement.
Lu Qi covered his stomach embarrassedly and scratched his head sheepishly.
"Sorry, I haven't eaten for two days."
Since the accident happened, he had been running around and had no time to eat.
Lu Chuanbai remembered seeing a restaurant at the entrance of the antique street when he drove here. He suggested, "I'll go to the entrance of the antique street and buy you some food. Eat your fill and then go find that migrant worker."
"Thanks," Lu Qi forced a smile and lay back on the sofa.
Xu Qingqing picked up a rag from the counter and was about to go to the bathroom to wet it and wipe the dining table.
Lu Chuanbai walked to the door. Remembering that he came here to deliver a message from Lu Qi's mother, he turned to Lu Qi and said,
"We went on vacation to Penglang Island and stayed with your mom for a few days. She has something to tell you."
As soon as Lu Qi heard this, he quickly closed his eyes and covered his ears, pleading,
"Good bro, I'm already miserable enough. Don't add to my troubles with her words."