Chapter Sixty-Seven: Black Tortoise (Part One)

Wang Qian immediately waved his hand, signaling to let it pass. This kind of item was no better than garbage; what reason would he have to take it home? Tang Yuan’s gaze instantly shifted to Zhang Can. Could this young man be Wang Qian’s appraiser? It seemed rather incredible, yet Wang Qian appeared to trust him deeply; a single word from him, and Wang Qian made his decision.

Another thing that puzzled Tang Yuan was Zhang Can’s approach. Zhang Can hadn’t even touched the bronze jar; he merely glanced at it, not even bothering to inspect its interior or the base. How could he possibly decide its value so quickly?

Old Su was equally dissatisfied. Seeing Zhang Can simply give it a cursory look before making his judgment, Old Su felt indignant. The appraisers present were all seasoned masters, some renowned at the provincial level. Even they wouldn’t dare claim they could determine authenticity with a mere glance, so what gave Zhang Can the right?

Arrogant!

Old Su lowered his head and spat, unnoticed by anyone. He muttered under his breath, “Just lucky, nothing more!” With Zhang Can’s recent actions, the suspicion Old Su had felt about him faded away. Zhang Can seemed to be nothing more than a lucky fool, trying to show off before the crowd, perhaps especially in front of Wang Qian.

Old Su then took the bronze jar, put on his reading glasses, and examined it carefully with a magnifying glass. From its appearance, it was indeed an ordinary item. After several minutes of inspection, Old Su abandoned any interest; the jar was in poor condition, though it was likely genuine. In terms of identifying rust, Old Su had considerable expertise—though he never shared this knowledge with Zhang Can, passing on only basic tips for jade and the like, but never anything advanced.

The rust did seem authentic; to be absolutely certain would require laboratory testing.

Seeing Old Su push the item aside, Zhu Senlin also remained silent. With both Zhang Can and Old Su uninterested, there was little point in him intervening.

Eventually, a buyer took the bronze jar for four thousand yuan, simply for amusement.

Tang Yuan smiled and waved for his staff to bring out another item—a smaller bronze piece, but not a household artifact. It was a cast turtle, about the size of a palm, its surface showing signs of age.

Tang Yuan had his staff bring it to Wang Qian again. Wang Qian reached out and pushed it toward Zhang Can. Zhang Can examined it, then leaned toward Wang Qian and whispered, “Mr. Wang, this piece is gold, and very pure. It’s about two thousand years old and extremely valuable. If you want it, I’d estimate its price wouldn’t be less than twenty million!”

Wang Qian’s eyes lit up; he sat upright. He was always interested in good items, and Zhang Can’s words rekindled his enthusiasm. He had been rather unimpressed by Tang Yuan’s first offering, which had been worthless.

But Wang Qian was a businessman, experienced and shrewd. Though not skilled at appraisals, he was a master at negotiation. He glanced at the others and waved for Zhang Can to let them see the item.

Zhang Can knew the procedure: Tang Yuan’s items were auctioned privately in this setting, sold to the highest bidder after everyone had a chance to inspect them. Only after no higher bids were offered would an item be sold, just like in a formal auction house.

Such private auctions were popular worldwide because they eliminated expensive fees, commissions, and taxes—often as much as a fifth of an item's price. Sellers found these costs painful, so the private market thrived, and in many places it was known as the “ghost market.”

Old Su examined the turtle as well, but without proper equipment, he couldn’t confirm it was pure gold—only suspected it, as the color seemed odd. He had no idea that the turtle’s surface was gold-plated with copper, while its core was pure gold. No one else could see through it; Tang Yuan himself didn’t know, and none had Zhang Can’s “perceptive eye.”

Most appraisers concluded it was a copper-gold alloy turtle from ancient times, skillfully made. After their inspection, someone offered three hundred thousand, then another raised it to three hundred fifty thousand.

Tang Yuan found these prices too low to spark interest. Even Zhang Can thought this paled in comparison to their last countryside outing, where items, though few, fetched millions, tens of millions. Now, it was just a few thousand or a few hundred thousand—prices he could easily match.

Of course, the lower the price, the better the item for those who could recognize it.

Zhu Senlin glanced at Zhang Can, hinting that he should acquire one or two pieces, to make some profit from this trip.

Zhang Can pondered, noticing everyone was focused on the bidders, including Tang Yuan. No one paid attention to their side. He quietly asked Wang Qian, “Mr. Wang, may I bid? This time, I’ll count in Mr. Zhu’s share. Is that alright?”

Wang Qian looked at him in surprise, thinking Zhang Can was mindful of his boss. Such an employee was indeed commendable. He smiled and nodded, whispering, “Do as you like.”

Zhang Can had his own plan. The turtle was immensely valuable, and he intended to put it to use.

“Four hundred thousand... I bid four hundred thousand!”

Someone increased the bid. The next potential bidder hesitated; this trinket wasn’t worth too much more. They guessed its maximum value was around four or five hundred thousand, and no one dared to go higher.

Tang Yuan nodded slightly and was about to confirm when suddenly a voice beside him said, “One million!”

Everyone was startled and looked up. It was Wang Qian’s young companion!

Seeing Zhang Can recklessly double the price, the crowd was shocked. Did he have too much money to burn? If he truly wanted it, another ten or twenty thousand would likely suffice; why leap straight to a million? No one else would compete for this item.

Zhang Can smiled calmly, ignoring their stares, watching only Old Su’s expression.

Old Su was, of course, contemptuous. He had examined the copper turtle carefully; it was worth only three or four hundred thousand, though well-crafted for its era. But a million was surely a loss—Zhang Can’s luck had run out.

Old Su sneered inwardly, saying nothing, eager to see Zhang Can’s embarrassment. Ideally, Zhu Senlin would also lose a large sum. But a million wasn’t much for Zhu Senlin or even Zhang Can—it wouldn’t hurt their fortunes, nor Wang Qian’s. Still, it would be enough to make Zhang Can lose face. If Zhang Can dragged Zhu and Wang into buying a fake costing tens of millions, that would be ideal.

Zhang Can smiled, turning to Tang Yuan. At this point, no one else bid; any further offer would be foolish.

Only Wang Qian and Zhu Senlin believed Zhang Can wasn’t foolish—Wang Qian because he trusted Zhang Can’s extraordinary eye, and Zhu Senlin because he believed Zhang Can was a hidden master. True experts did what others couldn’t even recognize. Take the previous cases: the golden nanmu incident, the blue-and-white bowl from the stew vendor, and especially the micro-carved ivory and Wang Qian’s own pendant, plus the treasure acquired in the shop. When seasoned veterans like Old Su couldn’t see the value, Zhang Can’s skill became all the more evident. So when Zhang Can suddenly bid a million, it was only natural to them; everyone else assumed he was just a rich kid flaunting his wealth.

Tang Yuan was delighted; more money was always welcome. He glanced around—no one intended to bid further. He went through the motions, asking, “Alright, this young brother bids one million. Any more offers?”

He waited three or four seconds—silence.

Tang Yuan clapped his hands. “Good, one million. The copper turtle is yours, little brother. Will you pay cash or...?”

Wang Qian waved his hand, saying, “Old Tang, I’ll cover it. Do you want cash or a transfer?”

Tang Yuan was taken aback, then smiled and waved, “Brother Wang, since you’re paying, use whatever method you like. I don’t mind; settle up later if you wish.”

Wang Qian nodded, pulled out a checkbook, wrote out a one-million cash check, and handed it to Tang Yuan.

A million meant little to either Tang Yuan or Wang Qian, especially given Tang Yuan’s respect for Wang Qian—it was no matter.

The copper turtle belonged to Zhang Can.

He finally took it in hand. It had considerable heft. Now, viewing it with the naked eye, it did have some reference value, but its secret was only visible through Zhang Can’s “black-and-white eye” ability. No one else could discern its secret.

Tang Yuan didn’t bring out a third item, but instead looked at Zhang Can and smiled, asking, “Young brother, I’m somewhat curious. Forgive me, but could you tell us—do you find anything peculiar about this copper turtle? Would you care to share with us, so we can broaden our horizons?”

Tang Yuan was alert; years in the business had taught him not to judge by appearances. At first, he’d thought Zhang Can was Wang Qian’s relative, but seeing Wang Qian heed him so closely, he wondered if Zhang Can was truly a top expert.

If so, then the turtle’s value warranted serious consideration. Of course, since it was already sold, it couldn’t be taken back; Tang Yuan simply wanted to understand what made it special.

This was exactly what Zhang Can wanted. If Tang Yuan hadn’t asked, he would have found a way to reveal the turtle’s secret before everyone, especially to make Old Su envious—that was his goal.

“Very well, I’ll do my best. Do any of you have a needle?” Zhang Can stood, smiling, and asked the crowd for a needle.