Most people believed Xue Chen's answer. After all, the estimated value of the twelve antiques placed on these two Eight Immortals tables may reach more than 120 million.
Ninety-nine percent of the guests present are also collectors, but there are definitely no more than three major collectors with collections worth hundreds of millions, and they have dug out all their wealth to piece together the collections.
But some people who have become masters of life have a slightly different flavor from Xue Chen's words. That slight pause is worth pondering.
Whether it was Zhuge Yi, Yu Deshui, or the shopkeeper Gu Dezhou, they all looked at Xue Chen one more time before looking away.
After a few more minutes, seeing that many guests had also admired the twelve treasures at the bottom of Gu Dezhai's box, Gu Dezhou waved to the waiter to take the antiques away.
When the guys were removing the antiques from the Eight Immortals table, Hong Qing glanced at Xue Chen from time to time. He always looked like he was hesitant to speak, and his face turned red.
"Just say whatever you have to say." Xue Chen chuckled, "You were so smooth-talking before, why are you suddenly mute?"
Hong Qing was a little chatty and uncomfortable. He had been chatting and laughing with Xue Chen before. That was because he felt that the status between the two of them was equal. He was an apprentice, and Xue Chen's status was not much higher.
They are just joining in the fun, and they are similar in age, so...
But now, the gap is a bit too big. It turns out that they are not just watching the fun. The gap in status has also widened. The other party owns an antique shop and is also a big collector. No matter how they compare, the two are different.
There was such a disparity that he didn't know what to say, let alone how to speak.
"Xue Chen, if what I said before was inappropriate, don't be angry." Hong Qing pondered and spoke.
"How could I be angry? Besides, there's nothing wrong with what you said." Xue Chen looked at Hong Qing with a faint smile, shook his head helplessly and said, "You can say whatever you want, weren't you talking very well before?
, why are you suddenly alive?"
Seeing Xue Chen say this, Hong Qing felt relieved and felt comfortable. He said with a smile: "I was shocked. I didn't expect you to be so powerful. You actually collected half a billion worth of antiques. Oh my god, I thought.
Even if we sell our Ziqi Building, we may not be able to get it back."
"Don't let your shopkeepers hear this." Xue Chen said with a smile.
"Hehe." Hong Qing looked around carefully.
At this time, the twelve treasures and antiques from Gudezhai on the two Eight Immortals tables had been removed, and the two waiters led the big teapots to refill the water for the guests present.
After a while, Gu Dezhou, who was standing in the middle of the square hall, looked around and said loudly: "All of you present today are the highly respected seniors in the antique industry in Beijing who are both good at morality and art..."
While speaking, he gestured towards Zhuge Yi and the people next to him with his eyes.
"There are also great collectors with great discernment, as well as fellow shopkeepers, and of course there are also some newcomers who have just entered this industry, but they are all elites and smart-minded."
Gu Dezhou praised everyone without hesitation.
"And I will present another thing for you to take care of, but it is different from the twelve things just now. This one was obtained by Gudezhai a year ago, but it took a year.
I have also found more than a dozen knowledgeable seniors and craftsmen, but this object has not yet been solved. I took it out today in the hope that one of you can solve it."
These words immediately aroused everyone's curiosity. What is it that has not been understood for more than a year? Zhuge Yi has Gude Zhai's share, doesn't that mean Zhuge Yi doesn't understand it either?
Yu Deshui turned around and asked, "Mr. Zhuge, have you seen this thing before?"
"I have seen it, and I have seen it with a few old friends. Brother Cao has also seen it and touched it. Even a few old brothers from the Palace Museum have tried it, but they have never been able to crack it."
Zhuge Yi nodded thoughtfully and said.
"Yes, this thing is indeed a bit tricky." The speaker was an old man named Cao sitting next to Zhuge Yi.
"Ah, there is such a strange thing?" Yu Deshui was very surprised and became more and more interested in this thing.
Similarly, Xue Chen and Hong Qing were also talking about what it would be.
Xue Chen didn't understand Zhuge Yi when he heard it, but he was also interested, but he felt that it was unlikely to be an antique. If it was an antique, no matter how rare it was, Gudezhai would not have been unable to figure out the way for it for a year.
.
A waiter came up with a brown-red wooden box in his hand and handed it to Gu Dezhou.
For a moment, all eyes were focused on the wooden box.
Gu Dezhou placed the wooden box on the Eight Immortals' table, pulled off the lid, and took out something from inside.
In unison, hundreds of pairs of eyes stared at it, some with wide eyes and some with squinted eyes, all wanting to see clearly.
"What's this?"
"It's such a strange thing, I've never seen it before."
"It seems like a tower?"
Like everyone else, Xue Chen also looked up and saw something standing in Gu Dezhou's hand. It was about fifteen or six centimeters tall. It looked a bit like a tower. The material should be made of filigree enamel. It was very exquisite.
, dyed with several kinds of pigments, it looks even more magnificent under the light.
Hong Qing scratched his head and asked: "Xue Chen, what is this? It looks a bit like the pagoda of King Li Tian in the TV series."
"This is..." Xue Chen didn't see what it was for a while, and he had never seen anything like it, but it did look like a pagoda.
When everyone was staring at this pagoda-shaped filigree enamel product, Gu Dezhou said: "After nearly a year, I have roughly known the origin of this object. It is an imported product from the late Qing Dynasty, and it should be from India.
Or it was introduced from some countries in Nepal where Buddhism is prosperous, and it seems to be a Buddhist artifact."
"Shopkeeper Gu, don't you already know the origin of this thing?" Someone said loudly. This is also a doubt in the hearts of many people. Just now they said they couldn't solve it, but now they directly told the origin and even use of this thing.
.
Gu Dezhou glanced around, taking his time. He held the bottom of the pagoda-like object with his left hand and placed his right hand in the middle of the tower. With a slight twist, he heard a rattling sound, like a mechanical clock.
The sound when winding is very crisp and nice to hear.
"As you all don't know, after many people's research, we concluded that this object is a container that can be opened. Did you see that there are three copper rings wrapped around the object, and there are thirty-six copper rings on each of these three copper rings?
We infer that this Buddhist Sanskrit character should be something similar to a modern lockbox. Only when all the Sanskrit characters on the three copper rings are aligned can the object be opened."
After hearing Gu Dezhou's explanation, everyone was stunned and suddenly realized that this was the case.
"When I say it cannot be opened, I mean it. After a year, it passed through the hands of seven or eight seniors, and even skilled craftsmen from the Palace Museum studied it, but no one could successfully open it."
"so amazing."
"It's indeed interesting. In the late Ming Dynasty, the person who developed this thing was also a great talent."
"No wonder it can't be opened. There are thirty-six kinds of characters on one ring. There are three rings in total. The passwords that can be formed are countless. It is absolutely impossible to try them one by one."
Gu Dezhou sighed: "It seems that there is only one way, and that is to use external force to completely damage the object before it can be opened. However, it would be a pity and it has not been implemented. So today, we at Gu Dezhai took this object away.
I came out just hoping that one of my friends here could find a way to open it without damaging it."
The guests around looked at each other and started talking in low voices. Many people shook their heads and expressed their helplessness. Gudezhai spent a year and found many capable people but couldn't do anything. How could it be so easy to open it.
Someone said jokingly: "Boss Gu, if someone helps Gudzhai open this thing, will there be some reward?"
Before Gu Dezhou could speak, Zhuge Yi stood up and said, "If anyone can open this object without damaging it, Gude Zhai can give you several antiques worth millions of dollars, and you can choose one in return."
Hiss~
Antiques worth millions? Many people’s hearts were filled with excitement, but once they saw the three filigree enamel copper rings wrapped around the pagoda, they became cold again. Although antiques worth millions are good, they must be able to take them away.
ah.
"Wow, Gudezhai is really generous, with antiques worth millions." Hong Qing rubbed his hands, looking eager to try, and turned around and said, "Xue Chen, let's give it a try, just in case.
If you get the password right, you will be prosperous."
After saying these words, Hong Qing suddenly remembered that since Xue Chen could collect half a million worth of antiques, he might not value antiques worth millions.
Xue Chen's eyes never left the exquisite pagoda-like object. Hearing Hong Qing's suggestion, he smiled and said "Okay."
He was also very interested in this pagoda. In the late Qing Dynasty, there were such skilled craftsmen who could produce such complex and precise utensils. It was really amazing and it was definitely a treasure at the time.
Since it is a container, what does it contain, or is it empty?
Maybe Gudzhai also wanted to know this question, so he was eager to open it, but Xue Chen could easily look inside without opening it.
"perspective!"
Squinting his eyes slightly, Xue Chen looked at the cloisonné enamel pagoda held by Gu Dezhou's palm again, and his eyes suddenly penetrated into it.
While advancing a little bit, he saw the inside of the pagoda, which was made of very complicated metal parts, with things similar to gears and levers, which looked a bit complicated.
After easily passing through the outer barrier, Xue Chen finally saw the deepest interior of the pagoda. It was a small space no bigger than an eyeball, and there was something inside.
"This is..." Xue Chen's eyes suddenly condensed and his pupils shrank. (To be continued)