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

The three returned to the living room from the underground collection room, where Qin Wanqing was standing at the entrance of the dining room.

Seeing them come up, he gave a slight bow: "Grandpa, the meal is ready!"

Qin Shouye glanced at the cold dishes laid out on the table and nodded: "Serve the food!"

"Okay, Grandpa!"

Qin Wanqing turned around and instructed the nanny. Soon, hot dishes were served one after another.

Steamed sea bass, braised sea cucumber with scallions, matsutake mushroom and chicken soup, braised pork ribs, stir-fried seasonal vegetables...

The table was covered with food.

Liu Xin looked at the table of dishes and swallowed hard.

Although this table of dishes looks like home-style cooking, every single dish is made with top-quality ingredients.

If we eat out, it will cost at least several thousand dollars.

"Mr. Chen, Xiao Liu, please take your seats!"

Qin Shouye gestured for Chen Mo and Liu Xin to sit down, when suddenly hurried footsteps came from outside.

"Grandpa! Grandpa! I'm back!" A young man in his early thirties walked in.

He was wearing a dark blue suit, a gleaming gold watch on his wrist, and a smug smile on his face.

His eyes were a little puffy, his eye bags were deep, and his complexion wasn't very good; he looked haggard, like someone who had stayed up all night playing cards.

A bodyguard in a black suit followed behind him, carrying a black leather suitcase.

Qin Shouye smiled and said, "Huimin's back? Come sit down and have a meal with us!"

Qin Huimin glanced at Chen Mo and Liu Xin, slightly surprised. How could there be such young guests in the old man's house?

However, Qin Huimin didn't take it seriously. He pointed to the briefcase in the bodyguard's hand and said excitedly:

"Grandpa, I brought back that thing you asked me to photograph in Hong Kong!"

Qin Shouye's eyes lit up immediately, and he even put down his chopsticks: "You got a picture?"

"Got it!"

Qin Huimin took the suitcase, placed it on the coffee table, unlocked the combination lock, and lifted the lid.

The box was lined with dark blue velvet, and on the velvet lay a bronze tripod.

The tripod is not large, with two handles and three legs, and its entire body is bluish-green.

The surface is covered with rust, and the body of the tripod is engraved with intricate taotie patterns. The patterns are exquisite, the lines are smooth, and it looks ancient and dignified.

Qin Shouye stood up, leaned on his cane, walked over, and bent down to examine the cauldron closely.

After watching for a full minute, Qin Shouye straightened up and patted Qin Huimin on the shoulder.

"Good! Good! Huimin, you've handled this well!"

"I saw the Western Zhou bronze ding (tripod cauldron) during the preview in Hong Kong Island, but unfortunately I didn't have time to go."

"Thanks to you for taking the picture for me, how much did it cost?"

Qin Huimin held up three fingers: "Three hundred and eighty million Hong Kong dollars, eighty million higher than the estimated price, but it's absolutely worth it!"

"Look at its condition, its patterns, its rust... you won't find another piece like it anywhere else in the world!"

Qin Shouye was overjoyed and nodded repeatedly, looking at Chen Mo with a hint of pride in his voice:

"Mr. Chen, could you please take a look at this bronze tripod?"

"These artifacts from the Western Zhou Dynasty were bought for HK$380 million. Could you please take a look?"

Chen Mo put down his chopsticks, stood up, walked to the coffee table, and carefully examined the cauldron.

The patterns, the rust, the legs, the inscriptions inside...

As he looked at it, Chen Mo frowned slightly, tapped the cauldron lightly with his finger, and listened to the sound.

Seeing Chen Mo's meaningful look, Qin Shouye's eyelids twitched:

"Mr. Chen, there can't be any problem with this tripod, can there?"

He's now quite easily frightened; he's really scared.

Chen Mo straightened up and looked at Qin Shouye: "Elder Qin, this bronze tripod is fake!"

"Bullshit!"

Upon hearing this, Qin Huimin reacted like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, pointing at Chen Mo's nose and yelling:

"Who the hell do you think you are? Do you even know anything about bronzes? How dare you spout such nonsense?"

"This was bought at a Christie's auction in Hong Kong Island!"

"It has an auction house certificate of authenticity, a clear provenance record, and costs HK$380 million! You're telling me it's fake?"

"Benefiting the people requires humility!"

Qin Shouye scolded his grandson, then looked at Chen Mo, his tone hesitant:

"Mr. Chen, are you sure this tripod is a fake?"

"I didn't go to see it in person, but I watched it on video during the preview!"

"Many experts have reviewed it and all say there's no problem!"

"Furthermore, Christie's authentication team is among the best in the world, so they shouldn't be able to produce fakes..."

Chen Mo raised his hand to interrupt him: "Old Qin, I understand your concerns! But a lie can't become the truth, and the truth can't become a lie!"

"I'll point out a few places for you to see for yourself!"

Chen Mo pointed to the patterns on the cauldron: "First, the taotie pattern on Western Zhou bronzes has eyes shaped like the character '臣' (chen), with sharp corners and protruding pupils!"

"The taotie pattern on this ding (a type of ancient Chinese cooking vessel) has round eyes with rounded corners, lacking the sharp, aggressive feel of the Western Zhou dynasty pieces!"

"These are typical... characteristics of modern counterfeiting!"

After Chen Mo finished speaking, he pointed to the rust on the tripod legs:

"Secondly, the corrosion of bronze is a natural process, with distinct layers, and the color gradually deepens from the outside to the inside."

"The corrosion on this tripod is only on the surface, and the color is uniform without any sense of depth."

"This is clearly fake rust made with chemicals; it won't last more than two years."

At this point, Chen Mo pointed to the inscription inside the cauldron:

Third, although there are inscriptions inside this cauldron!

"But the strokes of the inscription are stiff and lack the natural and smooth charm of ancient scripts."

"Furthermore, the lack of rust at the bottom of the inscription indicates that it was engraved later."

"The inscriptions on Western Zhou bronzes were engraved during the casting process and were an integral part of the vessel, so this situation is impossible."

Chen Mo shook his head: "Elder Qin, considering the above three points, I can say with certainty..."

"This ding is a modern replica. The level of imitation is average, but the aging process is quite good, so it can fool many people."

"Its true value is definitely no more than 100,000 yuan."

"That's utter nonsense!"

Qin Huimin was both shocked and furious: "Who the hell are you? Who do you think you are? How dare you question Christie's authentication experts?"

"Those experts are top-notch globally. How could you possibly be better than them?"

Qin Shouye remained silent, his mind filled with conflicting emotions.

on the one hand.

He trusted Chen Mo's judgment; every single problem Chen Mo had pointed out for him before was valid and could withstand scrutiny.

on the other hand.

Christie's authentication team is not to be underestimated.

Moreover, he had seen the item in a video and felt that it was indeed fine.

The two sides have conflicting opinions, and he doesn't know who to believe.

Seeing that his grandfather remained silent, Qin Huimin became even more agitated, pointing his finger at Chen Mo's nose and shouting:

"Where did you come from? My grandfather is old and easy to fool, but don't think you can fool me too!"

"If you know what's good for you, get out of here. Don't embarrass yourself. You're not welcome here!"

"Benefiting the people!"

Qin Shouye's face darkened: "You must not be rude to Mr. Chen!"

Qin Huimin pursed his lips and reluctantly shut his mouth.

But the anger and disdain in his eyes were still there.

Chen Mo looked at Qin Huimin and suddenly said meaningfully:

"Mr. Qin, there's something I'm not sure if I should say."

"Mr. Chen, please speak!"

Qin Shouye looked at him.

Chen Mo pointed to the collection room: "The Ru ware celadon bowl you showed me in the collection room just now was a fake. Six hundred million Hong Kong dollars went down the drain!"

"If I remember correctly, you just said that your eldest grandson also helped you buy that bowl from Hong Kong Island, right?"

Upon hearing this, Qin Shouye's expression changed slightly, and he couldn't help but look at Qin Huimin.

Chen Mo continued, "The two lots, a Ru ware bowl and a Western Zhou dynasty ding (a type of ancient Chinese bronze vessel), are worth nearly one billion yuan in total!"

"Both items are fakes. Mr. Qin, don't you think there's a serious problem with this?"