Chapter 175 [175] You Better Not Let Me Down!

Qi Maocai's two apprentices were not affected by Tang Feng, and they still observed each antique slowly at their own pace.

Of course, the two were not puppets who did not know how to adapt.

There were too many items on the stall, hundreds of them. If they looked at them one by one, they might not be able to see them all even if they spent a week.

But the competition lasted only one hour.

So the two were responsible for their own areas of expertise.

The one who was good at calligraphy and painting seemed to be named Ma Zhenping, and he was responsible for selecting calligraphy and painting.

The other one who was good at porcelain identification was named Zhao Xingbo, who was responsible for selecting porcelain.

The two had a clear division of labor, and the progress was indeed much faster.

It took about forty minutes for each of them to select an antique.

Then they went to select jade together.

It was not until the last second before the one-hour time limit ended that the two finally determined their goals.

The onlookers saw the orderly and tacit cooperation of the two, and they couldn't help but admire and nod.

"Look at how well they cooperate with each other? And they are calm and composed, and have the demeanor of a master."

"Yes, Master Qi has taught two good apprentices. It seems that there is a successor."

"On the contrary, the apprentice taught by Master Zhang only knows how to attract attention. He is not reliable at first glance."

"Alas, Master Zhang is probably desperate and afraid that his inheritance will be broken, so he just found an apprentice at random."

"Master Zhang's lifelong reputation may be ruined by his apprentice..."

In the end, the price of the painting selected by Ma and Zhao was 75,000, the ceramic bowl cost 61,000, and the last jade ring cost 32,000.

A total of 168,000 yuan was spent, far exceeding Tang Feng's 58,000.

Because this competition is about the return ratio, if they want to win, they can only hope that the antiques they choose are more valuable than Tang Feng.

Zhang Jicheng saw that both sides had finished their selections, and then he turned his head to look at Qi Maocai, "Master Qi, let's comment on each other first. You comment on my apprentice's items, and I comment on your apprentice's items, and finally we will combine our opinions. If we have disagreements, we can ask the colleagues on the scene to help us judge, how about it?"

"Just as Master Zhang said."

Qi Maocai did not raise any objections, but instead acted generous.

He was very confident in his two apprentices.

He was sure to win this game.

The two did not continue to greet each other, and went to check separately.

"Master Qi, please teach me."

Tang Feng saw Qi Maocai walking towards him and took the initiative to say hello.

Although he was saying hello, his butt did not leave the chair, which was a bit impolite.

Qi Maocai snorted coldly and ignored him.

He just turned his head and walked to the front of the three antiques he had selected, first picked up the painting, and glanced at it casually.

Because Tang Feng did not spend too much time choosing this painting, it seemed a bit foolish.

So Qi Maocai didn't take it too seriously, just planned to take a glance and put it down.

But when his eyes fell on the painting, his expression was shocked.

"This... this is..."

This is a portrait, and it can be seen from the paper that it is a bit old.

The painting shows a woman with a guqin under her armpit.

In the upper right corner, there is a line of words, "Lan Shi Rendi asked the elder brother to write the portrait of Er Qiao, Ding Chou Qiu Ge Shan Lao Ren Ju Lian".

The so-called "Er Qiao" is not the Er Qiao of Jiangdong in the late Han Dynasty.

But the female poet Zhang Qiao in the late Ming Dynasty, whose name is Qiao Jing and Er Qiao, is a very legendary woman.

Although she only lived to the age of 19, she left more than 130 beautiful and graceful poems.

And what is more touching is her love story.

Born in a brothel, she fell in love with Peng Mengyang and promised to marry her.

Unfortunately, she suddenly fell seriously ill and died soon.

But Peng Mengyang valued love and righteousness, and insisted on redeeming her.

After her death, celebrities, monks, and celebrities from Guangzhou, South Guangdong, came out to plant flowers and burn poems in front of her grave to commemorate her.

A total of 762 flowers were planted that day, surrounding her grave, and it was also called the "Flower Tomb".

Many people in later generations painted her portrait in memory of her.

A few years ago, a portrait of her was auctioned at an auction in Guangzhou.

The painting was painted by Tan Yuese, a female painter in the Republic of China, and the final auction price was 1.38 million.

"Ju Lian..."

When Qi Maocai saw this name, he was secretly surprised.

This Ju Lian may not be famous in the antique circle of the whole country.

But in the antique circle of South Guangdong, he is quite famous.

Because this Ju Lian was from Guangzhou, South Guangdong, and was a painter in the late Qing Dynasty.

Gao Jianfu and Chen Shuren, the founders of the Lingnan School of Painting, were both his disciples.

If this painting is really Ju Lian's authentic work, it is worth at least two million.

Qi Maocai glanced at Tang Feng, but there was no clue on his face.

This kid actually knew Ju Lian?

Regardless of whether the painting was real or not, this insight was worthy of praise.

He put aside these distracting thoughts and began to identify the authenticity of the painting.

It didn't matter if he didn't look at it, the more he looked at it, the more frightened he was.

Whether it was from the paper, silk, decoration, inscriptions, seals, or style, there was no problem with the painting.

Could it be an authentic work?

He was suddenly a little flustered.

If the painting was real, then his two apprentices would probably be in trouble.

He did not give up and continued to check every detail, trying to find a place that could be falsified.

But five minutes passed.

Ten minutes passed.

Twenty minutes passed...

He was already sweating profusely, but he couldn't find any doubts.

Facts have proved that this painting is indeed an authentic work by Ju Lian!

When he looked at Tang Feng again, his eyes were different.

This guy just chose this painting without looking at it carefully. How could he choose such a masterpiece all at once?

Was it a mistake, or was he confident?

Just when he was frightened, Zhang Jicheng also stood up with a dark face.

He was just in charge of checking the painting that Ma Zhenping picked, which was a landscape painting by contemporary painter Xie Zhiliu.

It is definitely authentic.

The estimated value is around 600,000.

This painting cost 75,000 when I bought it, which is a full eight times the price.

Qi Maocai, the apprentice, indeed has two skills.

He couldn't help but began to worry secretly for his apprentice.

Xiaofeng, Xiaofeng, you kid, please don’t let your guard down!

Otherwise, your reputation as a teacher will be completely lost.