In the Ming Dynasty 1498, my restaurant connects two worlds.

The signboard is made of solid wood, I don't know what material it is, and it's quite heavy. I didn't expect that this thing was earned by myself. The main point is that I earned it through hard work and it's an heirloom. There's nowhere to complain.

"Zhu'er, come here, help me check this signboard. Do you remember what Grandpa said back then? He said it was a gift from Wen Zhengming, but none of us believed him."

Zhu'er got up and helped Song Xiaoyi place the signboard flat on the table. She examined it carefully. "I remember your signboard; it's been hanging there for many years. Looking at the patterns, it definitely looks like an antique. Let me check; the signature is Wen Bi, isn't it Wen Bi?"

"I think so, I do recognize this small regular script."

"It's true! Look, according to Baidu, Wen Zhengming used 'Wen Bi' as his signature in his early works, and only changed to 'Zhengming' and 'Hengshan' in his later works."

"Judging from this, are these plaques and the 'Divine Bird and Phoenix Painting' truly family heirlooms that our Song family ancestors acquired back in those days?"

"That's certainly possible!"

"It's not a possibility, it's a certainty."

Since Zhu'er had disrupted her plans, Song Xiaoyi decided to insist that it was a family heirloom to avoid being taken advantage of.

Pearl's teacher arrived faster than they had expected. They had just finished discussing the sign when Pearl's phone rang. "Hello, teacher! Oh, okay, the parking lot on the east side of Taoye Ferry Scenic Area, right? I'll come out to meet you right away!"

Song Xiaoyi locked the door, followed Zhu'er out, and ran towards the parking lot to the east. The parking lot to the east was right behind Zhu'er's small supermarket.

Pearl entered the parking lot to greet the teacher.

Song Xiaoyi waited outside at a distance.

"Teacher, I'm here!"

"Zhu Zhu'er! Isn't this your family's little supermarket?"

"Yes, but this time the suspected Tang Bohu authentic work was discovered not in my family, but in my childhood friend's family."

"Professor Chen, this is my friend Song Xiaoyi. Xiaoyi, this is Professor Chen, my tutor in cultural relic restoration at university."

"Hello Teacher Chen, you can call me Xiao Song or Xiao Yi, welcome to our Taoye Ferry. It's just a funny painting whose authenticity is unknown, and it's really too much trouble for you to come all this way."

"It's hard to say for sure. The photo of Zhu'er isn't very clear, but I feel it's an authentic work. Xiao Song, Zhu'er, shall we go take a look at that painting first?"

Pearl's teacher is an expert in the restoration of cultural relics at the Jinling Museum. He is obsessed with the identification and restoration of cultural relics, but he is a bit socially awkward and always talks about his profession.

"Okay, Mr. Chen, please go ahead. My house is just across the street."

Song Xiaoyi opened the door and led the two into the house. Teacher Chen immediately noticed the shop sign on the table.

"The Song family's traditional restaurant, Wenbi, judging from the calligraphy and signature, is most likely an early work by Wen Zhengming!"

"Oh? Please enlighten me, teacher."

"Wenbi was his original name, which he changed when he was forty-two. Wen Zhengming's early small regular script mostly drew inspiration from the masters of the Jin, Tang and Song-Yuan dynasties. Although his style had not yet fully formed, it already showed a refined, elegant, neat and rigorous temperament. It can be said that every stroke was exquisite and the lines were clean and crisp. Therefore, people who are not familiar with Wen Zhengming's early works often think that they are forgeries by others."

"That explains it. When we were kids, Grandpa always said that this signboard was written by Wen Zhengming when he was eating and drinking at our ancestral shop and got into a good time. We didn't believe him."

Teacher Chen glanced at the sign quickly, then suddenly asked urgently, "Zhu'er, where's that painting by Tang Bohu?"

After introducing the signboard, Teacher Chen remembered the main purpose of his trip: the painting of the divine bird and phoenix.

"Please wait a moment, teacher," Song Xiaoyi said as she walked to the stairwell, took the picture frame off the wall, carried it back to the hall, and placed it flat on the central table.

Song Xiaoyi turned on all the lights in the second-floor hall, and Teacher Chen examined the painting inch by inch with a magnifying glass.

"Your family's ancient painting isn't even framed, just a simple frame. How could it be preserved so well? It's really strange," Teacher Chen muttered as he looked at it. "The five characters 'Divine Bird and Phoenix Picture' don't seem to be Tang Bohu's calligraphy; they have more of Zhu Zhishan's style."

"Teacher, this might really be written by Zhu Zhishan. Please look carefully at the signature and seal."

"Indeed! If this were a collaboration between the two, even if it were just a playful creation, its value would be immeasurable! But it's quite surprising that there's no record of this painting in Ming Dynasty historical materials!"

"Also, is the humidity too high in your house? Look, doesn't the ink seem to have seeped onto the glass of the picture frame?"

"Teacher, you're right. Our house is near a river, and it's almost the plum rain season, so the humidity is high."

"Your house is so casual! You didn't even frame this ancient painting, just put it in a regular picture frame?"

"Teacher, my family used to think it was fake, so we never paid any attention to it."

"There's no other testing equipment here, so we can't do further testing. But isn't this seal too fresh? It feels like it's still moist. Or is it just my imagination?"

Song Xiaoyi's heart skipped a beat; he realized he had been too hasty in framing the frame.

The seal is definitely fresh; if I say it's from this week, then it's from this week.

"Teacher, is this an authentic work by Tang Bohu?" Zhu'er asked softly from the side.

"Based on your experience, this should be a playful work by Tang Bohu and Zhu Zhishan, and it's an authentic piece! There's an 80% chance it's a genuine work created by the two of them! The remaining 20% ​​is that there are some inconsistencies that require further authentication. However, after so many years, without any provenance stamps, it's difficult to confirm."

"So, teacher, is this valuable?"

"Ancient artworks cannot be measured in money."

"This picture of chicks eating rice has been hanging in our restaurant for decades, and no one has ever recognized it as an antique. Once, when our restaurant was burglarized, the thief didn't even notice this painting."

"What 'chickens eating rice'?! It's 'Divine Bird and Phoenix'! It's 'Divine Bird and Phoenix'! The original 'Divine Bird and Phoenix' by Tang Bohu and Zhu Zhishan, a collaboration never before seen, has appeared in the world. What a shocking thing this is!"

"Teacher Chen, please don't laugh at me. I'm just an ordinary person. I only care about how much this painting is worth. You see, our family restaurant went out of business after my grandfather and parents disappeared. Now I want to reopen our family's restaurant, but we're short of funds."

"Song, do you want me to help you find a suitable buyer?"

"if you can."

"Student Song, first of all, are you sure this painting is a family heirloom? Is there no ownership dispute? Are you sure no one will claim ownership?"

"Of course! Pearl knows that this signboard and painting were passed down from our ancestors. They have been hanging in the restaurant since before we were born. I am the last one left in our family, the only son in seven generations."

"Hmm~, teacher, I can prove it."

"Okay, let's find a few experts in Ming Dynasty calligraphy and painting to take a look. They are also big names in the field and enjoy collecting calligraphy and paintings. If they like it, you can sell it directly to them. They will give you a fair price, so you don't have to worry about being cheated."

"Okay, we'll do as you say."

Cash out today? Song Xiaoyi was so excited! The picture of the chicken eating rice that he had traded for two bowls of instant noodles was really going to be cashed out!