Chapter 100 - 100 The Program Begins
“Would you believe me if I said that I learned it myself?”
“I think you’re a talented contestant.” Chen Bingyu smiled bitterly as she spoke.
She was a student of the Department of Finance at Jinling University. Jinling University was one of the top universities in China, while there was no need to further elaborate on the Department of Finance. The students who graduated from here would be fought over by the major brokerage firms in China. However, today, all the finance students in their classes were defeated by a child.
This… They were afraid that if word got out, they would not be able to find a job in the future.
“Let’s go, Xiao Xuan.”
Chen Bingyu immediately felt like she had been crushed by a child.
She had suffered a blow.
Ummm…
Then, she brought Ye Xuan to her home.
This was not Ye Xuan’s first time here. He took out a cola from the fridge with familiarity. In the afternoon, in order to commend Ye Xuan’s outstanding performance in the morning, Chen Bingyu made a big meal.
It had to be said that his skills were not bad.
They ate and drank their fill.
Then, the two of them snuggled up and slept soundly.
When they woke up, it was already night.
The two of them looked at each other. Fine, the two lazy dogs came together.
“Little Xuan, it’s almost time. Shall we watch your sister’s show together? Today is a live-stream!”
As Chen Bingyu spoke, she turned on the television and projected the live-stream on the television.
Ye Xuan looked at the live-stream screen. The pixels did not look as clear as the television broadcast, so he asked, “Sister Bingyu, why are you watching a live-stream? Isn’t the television live-stream good?”
Chen Bingyu giggled and replied, “You’re a child, but your requirements are quite high. Let me tell you, live-streams have comments. It looks so interesting!”
Modern keyboard warriors hid in the comments. Sometimes, the quality of the comments was much more interesting than the show itself.
As Chen Bingyu spoke, she washed a lot of fruits. She even brought over various snacks and chocolates.
“Xiao Xuan, don’t hold back. See if you like it. If you don’t, I’ll change it,” said Chen Bingyu. Then, Ye Xuan looked at Chen Bingyu and said, “My Fourth Sister describes you well.”
Hm?
Chen Bingyu was instantly stunned.
What did this mean?
“Tell me, how did your Fourth Sister describe me?”
“Hamster.”
Chen Bingyu was speechless.
Good job, Ye Chan!
It was really… quite accurate.
The two of them were speaking.
The appraisal program had officially begun.
“Oh my god, compared to the previous episodes I watched, the stage has changed. Looking at the blue and white porcelain style of this stage, it suits this show even more!” Chen Bingyu could not help but sigh when she saw the stage style.
The studio was specially built for this show and was beautiful. The appraisal table in the middle had a blue and white porcelain design, making it look extremely pretty.
On the left was the expert seating area. There were four seats set up on it.
The four experts were television veterans. Their specializations were all different. Not only would there be no conflict, but it would also provide more space for the vast number of treasure hunters.
As soon as Chen Bingyu saw the four experts, she immediately widened her eyes and said, “Tsk tsk, this episode looks a little impressive. Usually, two of the four Chinese experts are in charge. Today, these four are coming together.”
Chen Bingyu usually watched this appraisal program by Central TV, so she was familiar with the various processes and personnel. Now, she acted as the narrator and told Ye Xuan.
Seeing Chen Bingyu’s huge reaction, Ye Xuan asked curiously, “What’s wrong, Sister Bingyu? Who are they?”
Seeing that Ye Xuan did not know these people’s names, Chen Bingyu said, “These people are all famous figures.”
Chen Bingyu quite liked to watch such appraisal programs. She had watched almost all the previous programs.
After all, she could broaden his horizons and see the price of other people’s collections skyrocket. She could also experience the surprising experience of suddenly becoming rich.
After seeing so much, she was familiar with some of these experts.
“These people are all very famous in the Panjiayuan Market1 in Tianjing. Ever since they appeared on many programs, countless people from all over the country have gone to look for them to appraise treasures.” Chen Bingyu had seen relevant articles before. The people queuing up for appraisal in the photos formed a long line.
Chen Bingyu walked to the front of the television and pointed at the expert on it. “This person is Zhao Yuan, this is Li Tiansheng, and this is Zhou Feng. The other person’s reputation can’t be compared to theirs. His name is Zhang Tian.”
At this moment, the emcee walked out. He was also a slightly famous male emcee. He was wearing a white suit and looked very energetic.
He first greeted the audience present, then read out a long list of advertisement sponsors. He spoke very quickly, causing the audience below the stage to applaud.
The comments about the emcee kept popping up.
“Is the emcee’s mouth rented? How interesting!”
“Haha, I’ve seen him host in the past. This has always been his style.”
“This hurried and busy pace is very magical when paired with the appraisal program!”
Then, the emcee got to the point.
“Next, let’s welcome our two special guests for today’s show, Ye Chan and Hua Dashan.”
...
Amidst the enthusiastic applause of the audience, Ye Chan walked out in a rose-red phoenix-shaped cheongsam.
The phoenix was sewn bit by bit with colorful embroidery threads, and the phoenix’s flames were made of expensive golden threads.
Ye Chan’s temperament was astonishing. Not only was she not suppressed by the aura of the phoenix cheongsam, but she also walked out elegantly and naturally, as if she was the owner of the phoenix.
Whether it was her exquisite makeup or her beautiful figure, they were all perfect.
It caused the audience to boil.
The comments were filled with exclamations about Ye Chan’s beauty.
“Ye Chan’s outfit today is simply beautiful!”
“Only Ye Chan has such a temperament. Ordinary people can’t afford the phoenix cheongsam at all!”
Even Ye Xuan was stunned. His Fourth Sister’s outfit today was really stunning.
It could be said to be peerless and beautiful.
Ye Chan smiled and greeted everyone. “Hello, everyone. I’m Ye Chan!”
...
At this moment, everyone noticed a middle-aged man walking out from beside Ye Chan. He was wearing a black sweater and glasses and looked a little elegant.
After the emcee’s introduction, they realized that this middle-aged man was an antique enthusiast and was a special guest selected by their production team.
Ordinary people were naturally not as popular as Ye Chan, so the emcee also focused most of the conversation on Ye Chan. “Ye Chan, I heard that you’re a very famous streamer. You usually engage in some popular science and have some experience in cultural relic appraisal, right?”
Ye Chan took the microphone and replied very humbly, “I only know a little. Moreover, antiques are too profound. I hope Brother Hua will show mercy later!”
With a simple sentence, Hua Dashan, who had been left out, was mentioned.
Hua Dashan looked at Ye Chan gratefully. He took the microphone and replied politely, “Miss Ye is too polite. I’ve seen your live-stream. It’s lively and interesting. I can tell that you have a deep appreciation for cultural heritage. I know that it takes a lot of effort to reach the top in every line.”
The emcee chuckled and continued, “Guests, there’s no need to be nervous. The four experts we invited today are all outstanding in the industry. In a while, we’ll invite them to teach us some tricks of appraisal. I hope it will be helpful for the quiz later on, okay?”
The camera naturally turned to the experts’ seats.
The cameraman directly pushed the camera to Zhao Yuan. Zhao Yuan greeted everyone skillfully, “Hello, everyone. Today, as usual, we’ll tell everyone a trick to collecting treasures. As everyone knows, famous calligraphy pieces and paintings have been sought after by many collectors since ancient times. However, how can we tell that a calligraphy work or painting is a replica when we’re appraising it?”
At this point, Zhao Yuan paused for a moment and let everyone follow his rhythm. “We usually divide ancient painting replicas into three levels. The first level of replicas only pursue similarities in form.”
“In other words, the imitator has a certain level of artistic foundation. They will imitate famous calligraphy pieces and paintings mechanically. Some people will even include some very low-level fabricated details. This is also the easiest type of calligraphy pieces and paintings to distinguish.”
“As for the second type of imitation, it’s even more advanced. The imitator will study this famous artist’s painting technique and use the original painting as a copy. There will be more technique involved. During the process of painting, the imitator won’t use a smooth stroke to the end. Instead, they will use imitation techniques to fill in the color and ink that the painting should have.”
“This way, the focus of their brushwork and strokes is greatly different from that of the original artist. It looks extremely stiff. Although it’s similar to a clone, ordinary collectors will easily be deceived if they can’t see the artistic conception in their penmanship and gestures.”
“The third type includes some famous experts in the art world, or even experts from the same sect as those famous masters. These imitators are amazing. Not only do they have superb painting skills, but they also understand the creative thoughts and concepts of the original works very well. For example, Zhang Daqian imitated Shi Tao, Qi Liangchi imitated Qi Baishi, and so on.
“These imitators have basically mastered the various painting skills and artistic concepts of the original author. Their works are already top-notch.”
“Although there are very few imitation artists who can achieve such skills, one has to observe each piece for a long period of time before being able to tell the difference.”
After Zhao Yuan finished speaking, he looked at the mesmerized audience and concluded, “Therefore, before we collect the works of a certain master, the most important thing is to understand their brushwork and painting concepts. We have to analyze the details of their famous works more. Only then can we really know what we’re doing and hit the target with one strike! Alright, I’ll share my general knowledge of appraisal today!”
After he finished speaking, he received a long applause.
The audience below the stage reacted enthusiastically and praised Zhao Yuan loudly.
“Teacher Zhao, you’re really amazing. You’re so knowledgeable and talented!”
“Teacher Zhao is indeed a top appraiser. Just a few words from him is enough for us to digest for a long time!”
“A sentence from you is better than ten years of studying.”
After Ye Xuan heard this, he looked at Chen Bingyu beside him and saw that she looked like she had learned something.
“Is Zhao Yuan very powerful?” Ye Xuan asked curiously.
Chen Bingyu nodded vigorously and looked very certain. “Xiao Xuan, Teacher Zhao is not only an expert in Panjiayuan Market, but also an expert in the Palace Museum. I heard that he’s also a very famous collector. Do you know about that Kangxi porcelain flower vase? It’s the big steal he picked up from an antique shop in the past!”
When Ye Xuan heard the name of the Kangxi porcelain flower vase, he couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows.
This porcelain vase was very famous. It even replaced the real piece in the original collection of the Forbidden City. It could be said to be priceless.