CHAPTER 1047: CHAPTER 1044: REAL AND FAKE RU KILN

Clap, clap, clap...

Elder Shen started clapping and said with a smile, "You’re right, this is indeed a Pixiu. If this were a test on identifying animals, you’d definitely score full marks." Yet his tone was unmistakably sarcastic.

Lin Tian merely looked at him calmly and said, "Elder Shen, feel free to set any test you’d like. I’m ready to take on the challenge."

"Haha, it’s good for young people to be eager, but being too eager can lead to recklessness." Elder Shen laughed, and it sounded like he was patronizing Lin Tian.

"You can tell if it’s recklessness by the test Elder Shen sets." Lin Tian responded indifferently.

Elder Shen frowned slightly, intending to provoke Lin Tian with words, but Lin Tian ignored him completely, unlike most young people. In anger, people tend to make mistakes, just like Qian Wanguan did earlier. However, Elder Shen realized his method was ineffective.

Elder Shen’s eyes flickered, and he had no choice but to say directly, "This Pixiu Porcelain is something I obtained from a friend, who said it might be ancient Song Dynasty porcelain. Pay attention, it might be. For this reason, I sought out several renowned appraisers to assist with dating and identifying its origin."

"One of those appraisers was Master Zhou Hexuan. Unfortunately, none of the masters could identify it, so to this day, the origin and history of this Pixiu Porcelain remain a mystery."

"My task for the Xiao Family is to identify the age and origin of the Pixiu Porcelain. If you can identify it, it would resolve a longstanding regret." Elder Shen said, presenting the second challenge.

Zhou Hexuan? Isn’t that Zhou Botong’s grandfather? Lin Tian was taken aback, then felt an urge to berate Elder Shen. How could he be so despicable? Offering something even Elder Zhou couldn’t identify for the Xiao Family to assess was pure, unabashed difficulty.

The traders in the hall also picked up on the significance, shaking their heads in despair; this task was indeed too challenging. The previous question posed by Qian Wanguan had a glimmer of hope, but this one was clearly unsolvable.

The appraisal masters in Huaxia couldn’t identify this porcelain; how could the Xiao Family possibly identify it?

"One is more despicable than the other, it’s infuriating!" Ou Mengmeng said angrily.

Yun Hongxi furrowed his brows and said to Elder Shen, "Brother Shen, it’s said that specialization is key. Lin Tian and Xiao Manxue aren’t expert appraisers, yet you’re asking them to identify porcelain that even appraisal masters couldn’t? This task seems excessive."

"Let me explain the reason before you make such a judgment, Mr. Yun." Elder Shen said unhurriedly.

Yun Hongxi nodded, signaling him to continue. Shen Yuankui paused and then said, "After the masters’ assessment, there were some clues discovered. These clues are detailed in a booklet, which the Xiao Family can access."

Lin Tian looked toward the stand and saw, exactly as expected, a red booklet under the porcelain. Without saying much, he went over and picked it up.

The booklet had surprisingly over a dozen pages, all recording the appraisal masters’ opinions on the porcelain. As Elder Shen said, although the appraisers hadn’t reached a conclusion, they had gathered various insights.

Lin Tian skimmed through the booklet at an extraordinary pace. To others, it seemed like he was casually flipping through, but he had actually read the entire booklet.

One appraiser mentioned that the glaze of the Pixiu Porcelain wasn’t thick and varied with the porcelain’s shape. It had a refined and elegant appearance, typical of Song Dynasty Ru Kiln porcelain.

Ru Kiln was one of the five renowned kilns of the Song Dynasty, esteemed as the best among "Ru, Guan, Ge, Jun, and Ding" kilns. In ceramic history, it has long been known as "Ru Kiln as king." Its glaze often included expensive agate, giving it a sky-blue hue, changing with the light, resembling jade, not jade, but surpassing jade.

Ru Kiln porcelain is very rare, with each piece being incredibly valuable. Whether in royalty or among commoners, Ru Kiln porcelain is treasured; rivalling in value even the Zhou Ding.

There’s a saying that captures it perfectly: "Even with vast wealth, it’s not as precious as a piece of Ru porcelain." If Elder Shen’s Pixiu Porcelain truly is Song Dynasty Ru Kiln, its value would exceed a billion. The profound heritage of these influential families is evident given Elder Shen casually used a billion-dollar porcelain as a test.

However, some appraisers noted that the Pixiu Porcelain might not be Ru Kiln due to the kiln’s predominant shapes of dishes, bowls, vases, washers, vases, stand bases, and daffodil pots from the Song Dynasty. There were virtually no mythical beast forms like this one, leading some appraisers to deduce it possibly isn’t from Song Dynasty Ru Kiln but likely a modern imitation.

Among appraisers holding this view was Elder Zhou, who believed someone might have collected ancient Song Dynasty porcelain fragments, ground them down and re-fired them, including the glaze. This suggests the material dates to antiquity, but the Pixiu Porcelain carries a fresh sense devoid of age’s traces — a historical aura impossible to replicate.

However, discerning this freshness in porcelain requires a high appraisal level, beyond most appraisers. Such instinctual appraisal isn’t a basis for identification, so Elder Zhou wasn’t definitive, merely saying it’s possible.

After reading through the booklet, there was no particularly useful information. Instead, the conflicting views from various appraisers muddled his mind. Initial thoughts turned uncertain upon reading the booklet.

Lin Tian finally understood why Elder Shen was so generous in offering the appraisal booklet: it was essentially to confuse the appraisers. Still, one couldn’t reproach Elder Shen; rather, one had to thank him for his generosity.

Truly an old fox, he’s crossed more bridges than young people have traveled roads, shrewd beyond measure.

"Lin Tian, how is it?" Miss asked, seeing Lin Tian frown in thought.

"Indeed, as Elder Shen said, the booklet contains records from several renowned appraisers." Lin Tian stated honestly.

As Lin Tian spoke, Elder Shen immediately laughed and said to Yun Hongxi, "See, Mr. Yun, I’m not lying, am I? With this booklet, their chances of succeeding in appraising are greatly increased. That’s one reason I claim the task is reasonable."

"Elder Shen, even if there is an additional booklet now, it won’t help much, as even the appraisal masters couldn’t identify it before. Besides, these two youngsters aren’t appraisers; the booklet is not of much help to them." Yun Haoyu said, frowning.

Elder Shen gave a faint smile and said, "If the task were easy, why would I use it to test them? I’ve already lowered the difficulty, yet you still think it’s unfair. Should I just test them with a one plus one question? Then you’d deem it fair."

This statement was tinged with sarcasm, making Yun Haoyu’s expression sour.

Elder Shen continued, "I claim the task is reasonable for another reason: many of you probably don’t know Lin Tian’s background, right?"