Chapter Thirty-Seven: Seeking the Most Valuable Antique

Xie Jiacheng truly didn’t believe it. His eyebrows twitched, and he let out a cold laugh before speaking slowly, “Good eyes, good skill—you can even see that my watch has an old Japanese movement inside? Let me tell you, I bought this watch at a specialty counter in the supermarket—a genuine Swiss brand, cost me over seventy thousand. Are you saying it’s a fake with a Japanese movement?”

Zhou Nan’s eldest uncle was called Xie Jiashan, the second Xie Jiabao. None of the three brothers believed it, and several aunts joined in with mocking laughter. Even Zhou Nan herself was somewhat skeptical; after all, her youngest uncle was a businessman, fond of showing off, always dressed in brand names from head to toe. As for the watch—perhaps Zhang Can had made a mistake.

Yet the old lady remained composed, which made Zhang Can realize that, even though she was in her seventies or eighties, she was by no means an ordinary person.

“Nannan, if you say he’s your boyfriend, then he is, but don’t make up stories about him being an antique authenticator. Your youngest uncle and I bought that watch together, with invoice and warranty. How could it possibly be fake?” Zhou Nan’s aunt said as she brought over tea, her eyes fixed on Zhou Nan.

Zhou Nan’s face flushed, and she retorted, “Aunt, he… he really is an authenticator, and a very skilled one…”

But seeing the disbelief on her uncles’ and aunts’ faces, Zhou Nan quickly took a jewelry box from her satchel and respectfully handed it to her grandmother. “Grandma, my parents asked me to bring you this gift. Dad has an important meeting, and Mom is on a business trip out of town, so they couldn’t come…”

Her uncles grunted, and her second aunt couldn’t help but say, “Nannan, it’s not that I want to criticize your parents, but your dad and mom haven’t made it to your grandmother’s birthday for years. The higher their positions, the bigger their airs, it seems.”

Xie Jiacheng slapped his watch on the coffee table and fixed his gaze on Zhang Can. “You know what I hate most? People saying my things are fake. Seventy or eighty thousand is nothing, but I’ll take this watch apart right in front of you to show you the consequences of lying. Let me tell you, if you’re trying to please Nannan, forget about her parents—you won’t even get past us. Open it, open the watch!”

Zhang Can hadn’t expected things to escalate so quickly. After some thought, he lifted his own bag and set it on the table, calmly replying, “Mr. Xie, I have no such intentions as you suggest. I’m here only because Zhou Nan asked me. If you’re unhappy, I can leave right now. If you just want to verify the authenticity of your watch, I can help—this watch is indeed a fake. But to confirm that, we do need to open it. I imagine the store where you bought it has rules; if you open it yourself, they won’t honor any claims. So, I have two suggestions. The proper way to protect your rights is to take the watch and receipt to the store, have them open it for authentication, and then demand compensation. The second way, if you don’t care about the money, is to let me authenticate it here and now. Once the watch is dismantled, you’ll know the truth, but after it’s opened, getting compensation from the store will be difficult.”

Xie Jiacheng grew angry. Zhang Can’s insistence that the watch was fake was an affront to his pride, especially in front of his own brothers and mother. He slapped the table and snapped, “Open it, do it now! What’s seventy or eighty thousand? Go ahead, I won’t hold you responsible no matter the result. I just want to see if you’re a liar, a poser, or if you truly have the skill and eye!”

His intention was to embarrass Zhang Can in front of Zhou Nan, to make him lose face and, in doing so, make Zhou Nan give up. Everyone in the Xie family knew Zhou Nan’s character—gentle on the outside, proud within. For her to bring someone to her grandmother’s birthday was anything but simple. Even though she’d said Zhang Can was an authenticator, no one really believed her.

Only the old lady seemed to believe him a little, but she was still considering. When Zhang Can explained the features and value of her jade bracelet, he’d spoken professionally. Still, anyone with some basic knowledge could have said the same—bracelets are easier to identify than other antiques, especially for professionals. So, while Zhang Can gave a good explanation, it didn’t prove he was a true master.

Pressed by Xie Jiacheng, Zhang Can glanced at Zhou Nan and then said, “Very well, Mr. Xie. I have over two hundred thousand in cash here. Your watch cost seventy-eight thousand. I’ll set aside seventy-eight thousand as collateral. I’ll open the watch—if the movement inside is an old Japanese one and not a genuine Swiss movement, then you’ll have to admit your own loss. Is that fair?”

“Agreed!”

Xie Jiacheng agreed at once. The mouth of Zhang Can’s bag, lying on the table, clearly revealed stacks of hundred-yuan notes. Since Zhang Can was willing to make such a wager, all the better. In that moment, Xie Jiacheng’s impression of Zhang Can shifted a little; he didn’t seem like a spoiled rich kid and lacked the typical arrogance.

However, opening a watch required specialized tools, and no one in the Xie family had any. They found only a screwdriver at home, which was useless. They had to buy proper watchmaking tools from the supermarket downstairs.

Xie Jiacheng promptly called his son over and asked him to go buy the tools. Xie Yong, grinning, managed to extort an extra few hundred as a tip before he finally went.

With things developing this way, Zhang Can remained unruffled, showing no sign of panic. The old lady began to find him rather intriguing. After a moment’s thought, she smiled and said, “Xiao Zhang, since you’re an authenticator and there’s nothing else to do while we wait, would you look at a few pieces for me?”

Zhang Can had no objection and smiled, indicating she should bring them out.

The old lady smiled. “Xiao Zhang, my late husband was a collector of antiques all his life. There are more than a hundred pieces here—some valuable, some not so much. There are several right here in the living room. I’ll test your eye—take a look and tell me which is the most valuable item in this room.”

Then she turned to her sons and daughters-in-law, “You can all guess as well. I’ve never mentioned it before, but quite a few things in this living room were placed here by your father. After he passed, I didn’t move a thing. Let’s see if you can tell.”

The three brothers and their wives knew their late father had loved antiques, but none of them shared the interest—they were almost completely ignorant about antiques. Now the old lady wanted them to have a go. They were familiar with every part of this house and began guessing what the most valuable item could be.

Zhang Can stood and began to examine the living room, his gaze traveling over the calligraphy and paintings on the walls and the various decorations.

The three brothers and their wives all made straight for the paintings. In their minds, aside from porcelain jars and vases, calligraphy and paintings by renowned artists were the only other things that counted as antiques. The vases in the living room weren’t special—just a few for holding flowers, all bought by Xie Jiacheng’s wife at the flower market, not heirlooms. So their attention was fixed on the eight paintings hanging on the walls.

Zhang Can glanced around and smiled to himself, saying nothing.

The old lady saw Zhang Can seemed confident and didn’t question him first. Instead, she asked her sons and daughters-in-law, “Have you all made your decisions? If so, tell me. To make it interesting, whoever identifies the most valuable antique here, I will give it to them!”

This delighted the three uncles and aunts. Zhou Nan, nestling by her grandmother, pouted, “Grandma, you’re so biased! You reward my uncles and aunts, but not me?”

The old lady laughed, “You little imp! Very well, you can join them. As long as you pick out the most valuable piece, you’ll get it too.”

Xie Jiashan turned to the old lady. “Mom, this isn’t quite fair. There are seven of us—my two brothers, their wives, and Nannan. If we all pick the same piece, how will you divide it?”

The old lady chuckled, “There are so many items, just don’t pick the same one. But I warn you, don’t get too excited—you may not be able to find the most valuable one at all.”

There were six paintings on the wall. On the desk to the side were several jade carvings and a brush pot, all made of jade. The three brothers and their wives all focused on the jade ornaments and paintings.

Zhou Nan, muttering to herself, glanced around. She didn’t follow her uncles and aunts, thinking the answer wouldn’t be so obvious. If everyone rushed for the paintings and jade, it probably wasn’t those. Looking around the living room, there didn’t seem to be anything else. She frowned—if it wasn’t those, then what could it be?

She stole a glance at Zhang Can. Hands clasped behind his back, he was smiling faintly. When he noticed her glance, he subtly jerked his chin toward a corner. Zhou Nan’s heart skipped. She followed the direction of his gesture and saw, in the corner, a large tea table made from tree root, atop which stood a purple ceramic tea set. On either side of the table were red lacquered chairs. There was nothing else—no paintings on the wall there.

Zhou Nan was taken aback. She’d seen these things since childhood. She didn’t drink tea then, finding it bitter, but she’d always known that tea set had belonged to her grandparents. Could the tea set be the most valuable item?

Her grandparents had always used it for tea, and no one thought anything of it. Her uncles and aunts rarely drank the brewed tea her grandfather loved, spending most of their time making money outside. Even when home, they didn’t sit and drink tea with him.

The more Zhou Nan thought about it, the more likely it seemed. The tea set was made of purple ceramic—could it be one of those legendary “zisha” teapots? She’d heard those were valuable antiques. Perhaps that was it!

The old lady still hadn’t asked Zhang Can—she knew he would be more knowledgeable than her sons and daughters-in-law. Her sons, though successful in business, didn’t understand antiques at all. As for her daughters-in-law, they knew even less.

“Have you all decided? If so, come say what you think,” the old lady called them over, smiling. Zhang Can and Zhou Nan walked over and sat down, but Zhang Can remained silent, waiting for Zhou Nan and her uncles and aunts to speak first.

Xie Jiashan, the loudest of them, spoke up immediately. “Mom, I’ll go first. I think the second painting is the most valuable. Look, it shows eight horses—see how lively and powerful they are? Mom, don’t you agree?”