I just got divorced, and a rich and beautiful woman dragged me to get a marriage certificate.

Chen Mo walked in the middle, with Zhou Yuanshan and Qin Shouye on his left and right, like two old followers.

Actually, Chen Mo didn't want to do this, but the two old men were too enthusiastic and insisted on surrounding him, so Chen Mo had no choice.

As Chen Mo passed by the stalls, scanning the various antiques, information about these antiques involuntarily surfaced in his mind.

The age, material, craftsmanship, authenticity, and market price are all clearly stated without any discrepancy.

After walking for a while, Chen Mo stopped in front of a stall.

The stall wasn't big, with only a dozen or so items scattered around.

A few porcelain pieces, a few jade artifacts, a few copper coins, a small bronze Buddha statue, and a Zisha teapot whose age is unknown.

The stall owner was a man in his fifties with dark skin, who was scrolling through short videos with his head down.

Chen Mo squatted down, picked up the purple clay teapot, and examined it over and over in his hands.

The teapot is small, small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, with a warm and smooth patina on the surface. A plum blossom is carved on the lid, with smooth lines and skillful carving.

There is a small seal on the bottom of the pot, engraved with four characters:

Made by Chen Mingyuan

Seeing a customer arrive, the boss immediately put down his phone, put on a smile, and began to boast:

"Boss, you have a good eye! This teapot is a genuine antique Yixing teapot, an authentic work by Chen Mingyuan!"

"Look at this clay, this workmanship, this patina, it would take two or three hundred years to develop."

"Let me tell you, I got this teapot from the countryside. The family there has been officials for generations..."

Chen Mo chuckled, said nothing, put down the pot, and picked up a small bowl next to him.

The piece features a blue and white lotus scroll design, a thin body, and a lustrous glaze. The base bears the inscription "Made in the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty".

The boss started boasting again: "This one's good too! It's from the Qianlong imperial kilns, a genuine imperial item!"

"Look at the color, the craftsmanship—it's definitely from an official kiln, no doubt about it!"

Chen Mo didn't argue: "Boss, how much is this bowl?"

The boss's eyes darted around, and he held up his index finger and thumb, making an eight-shaped gesture: "Eight thousand!"

"Eight thousand?"

Chen Mo put down the bowl, shook his head, and said, "Boss, you're treating me like a sucker!"

"A genuine Qianlong imperial kiln blue-and-white porcelain bowl would fetch at least 800,000 yuan on the market!"

"You're selling it for eight thousand? Isn't that obviously a fake?"

The boss hadn't expected to run into someone knowledgeable. He coughed twice, scratched his head, and wasn't embarrassed at all.

"Hehe, boss, you're an expert? Give me a price, and if it's close enough, I'll make the offer!"

Chen Mo smiled slightly and extended his thumb and forefinger, making an "eight" gesture.

"Eight hundred?"

The shop owner frowned slightly: "Eight hundred is too low. I spend more than that on inventory..."

"eighty!"

Chen Mo said.

The boss's face immediately fell, and he said dejectedly, "Eighty? Boss, are you kidding me?"

"Eighty dollars isn't even enough to cover the labor cost of making a replica! No way, six hundred is the minimum!"

"one hundred!"

Chen Mo remained unfazed.

"Five hundred! That's the lowest I can go!" the shopkeeper insisted.

"One hundred and fifty!"

"Four hundred! That's the final price!"

"Two hundred! Take it if you want, otherwise forget it!"

Chen Mo put down the bowl and made a move to stand up and leave.

Seeing this, the shopkeeper gritted his teeth and said, "Fine, fine, two hundred it is. You can have it; consider it making a friend!"

He picked up the bowl, wrapped it casually in newspaper, stuffed it into a plastic bag, and handed it to Chen Mo.

Chen Mo took out his phone, scanned the code to pay two hundred yuan, then picked up the plastic bag, stood up, and turned to leave.

After walking a short distance, Qin Shouye eagerly approached, rubbing his hands together and saying, "Mr. Chen, let me take a look!"

Chen Mo handed him the bowl.

Qin Shouye took the bowl, peeled back the newspaper, held the bowl in his hands, and began to examine it carefully.

One moment I was looking at the glaze against the light, the next I was tapping it with my finger to listen to the sound, and then I was looking closely at the mark on the bottom.

Qin Shouye is a veteran collector who has been dealing with antiques for decades, and his discerning eye is renowned in the industry.

But as he looked at the bowl, his brows furrowed, and his expression grew increasingly confused.

"This thing..."

Qin Shouye frowned: "Judging from the shape and patterns, it is indeed in the style of the Qianlong period."

"The cobalt blue is accurate, the painting is exquisite, the body is thin, and the glaze is lustrous—everything is perfect. But this mark on the base..."

He lightly scraped the six characters "Made in the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty" at the bottom with his fingernail:

"The writing style is fine, but the strokes feel a little too soft."

"And this patina, although it looks warm and smooth, always feels a bit superficial, not deep enough into the core of the skin. Old Zhou, take a look!"

Zhou Yuanshan took the bowl, put on his reading glasses, and examined it carefully.

He stared for a full two minutes before looking up, his expression mirroring Qin Shouye's:

It looks real, but something feels off.

"Old Qin is right!"

Zhou Yuanshan took off his glasses: "The shape, patterns, color, and painting are all correct, but the base mark and patina are making me unsure. I'm not sure about this one!"

The two men looked at Chen Mo simultaneously: "Mr. Chen, what do you think? Is this genuine?"

Upon hearing this, Li Shijia, Jiang Tao, and Qin Wanqing all looked at Chen Mo.

Chen Mo took the bowl, held it up to the light, and received:

"Gentlemen, look at this glaze!"

"The blue and white porcelain made by the Qianlong imperial kiln used 'Sumali Blue' cobalt material, which produced a rich and vibrant color with iron rust spots and tin sheen."

"The cobalt blue on this bowl exhibits distinct shades and tones, and the rust spots naturally seep into the glaze, indicating they weren't added later. This is a key characteristic of genuine pieces!"

Chen Mo turned the bowl over again and pointed to the inscription on the bottom:

"Look at this mark on the bottom. The six characters 'Made in the Qianlong Reign of the Great Qing Dynasty' are written in standard official script, with neat strokes and a rigorous structure."

Chen Mo then lightly tapped the bowl with his finger, producing a clear and resonant sound.

"Listen to that sound—crisp, long, and with a lingering resonance!"

"The sound of a fake is either muffled or too crisp; it lacks that unique charm. Why is that?"

"Because the body of a genuine piece has undergone hundreds of years of aging, its internal structure has stabilized, resulting in a naturally better sound!"

Chen Mo handed the bowl to Qin Shouye: "Old Qin, please take another close look at the treatment of the bottom of the bowl!"

"The foot of the Qianlong imperial kiln piece is neatly trimmed, with the foot wall tapering inward, and the exposed clay has a faint reddish-brown color."

"The base of this bowl is neatly trimmed, and the angle at which the foot wall curves inward is just right!"

"The iron-red color on the exposed areas is natural and soft, not artificially applied... These are strong pieces of evidence that it's genuine!"

Qin Shouye took the bowl, turned it over to look at the bottom, examined it again and again, and suddenly slapped his thigh:

"That's absolutely true! The treatment of this base is definitely something that modern technology can't achieve!"

"The iron-red color looks very natural and is evenly distributed; it definitely wasn't brushed on!"

Qin Shouye looked at Chen Mo and gave him a thumbs up:

"Mr. Chen, you have an amazing eye! I'm truly ashamed of myself! I was looking at it for a long time and still couldn't figure it out, but you explained it clearly in just a few words!"

Zhou Yuanshan nodded repeatedly, full of praise:

"Dr. Chen, your eye for antiques is truly impressive! We've been collecting antiques for decades, and we're no match for your expertise in just a short time!"

Qin Wanqing couldn't help but interject, "So Mr. Chen just stumbled upon a huge bargain? That's way too easy!"