Old Harden, can you handle having your vision-shifting abilities on all the time?

There is a gap about five centimeters long and three centimeters wide in the waist of the candlestick.

Moreover, there are traces of human intervention inside the gap, which may have been the owner of the treasure cutting open the silver sheet on the surface of the candlestick during a special period in order to hide the brocade inside from being discovered.

Xu Xing held his breath and carefully used tweezers to remove the silk fabric.

The silk fabric was folded into a small square, its texture extremely soft and warm to the touch, bearing the marks of time.

He gently unfolded the silk fabric.

A brocade handkerchief, about thirty centimeters square, was presented completely before his eyes.

The base color of the handkerchief is bright yellow, a color reserved for the Qing Dynasty imperial family.

On the handkerchief, a phoenix stands tall, its tail feathers spread gracefully, each feather meticulously embroidered with gold thread, gleaming softly under the light.

The phoenix is ​​embroidered with auspicious patterns such as clouds, peonies, and lingzhi mushrooms, symbolizing wealth, good fortune, longevity, and good health.

In the lower left corner of the phoenix, there is a line of small Manchu embroidered characters.

Xu Xing didn't recognize the Manchu script, but he could tell that the embroidery was extremely fine, with every stroke meticulously done, clearly the work of a top-notch embroiderer from the palace.

He took out his phone, opened a translation app, and took a picture of the line of Manchu text.

The software provides translation results after recognition.

"Fucha".

Two words.

Xu Xing's heart skipped a beat.

Fucha.

One of the eight major Manchu surnames in the Qing Dynasty, it reached its peak during the reign of Emperor Qianlong.

Empress Xiaoxianchun, the first empress of Emperor Qianlong, was from the Fuca clan.

Empress Fucha was born into the Manchu Bordered Yellow Banner and was Emperor Qianlong's first wife. The two had a deep affection for each other.

In the thirteenth year of the Qianlong Emperor's reign, Empress Fucha died of illness in Dezhou during an eastern tour at the young age of thirty-seven.

Emperor Qianlong was devastated and held a grand funeral for her, and wrote a large number of poems and essays in mourning.

The most famous of them all is the poem "Lament for the Fallen":

"Why does the Book of Changes begin with Qian and Kun? Why does the Book of Poetry begin with Guan Ju? It is because at the very beginning of human relations, Heaven and Earth were in perfect harmony. Considering that the virtuous Queen was paired with this, twenty-two years have passed since then..."

Xu Xing put down his phone and his gaze returned to the handkerchief.

Based on the embroidery, material, specifications, and the two Manchu characters on the handkerchief, this handkerchief was definitely used by Empress Fucha during her lifetime.

Very few of these palace textiles have survived to this day, and each piece is a priceless treasure.

Moreover, these were items used by Empress Fucha during her lifetime, possessing extremely high historical and cultural value.

If you add to that its exquisite craftsmanship, pristine condition, and clear provenance...

Xu Xing took a deep breath and quickly estimated a price in his mind.

At least 30 million.

If it goes up for auction and finds a collector who likes it, it's not impossible for it to fetch over 50 million.

He carefully held the handkerchief, his fingertips gently touching the surface of the silk fabric.

The next moment, a surge of warm current, like a flood bursting its banks, rushed into my fingertips!

This warm current is larger than any before!

A warm current instantly flowed through my limbs and bones, and every cell cheered with joy, as if parched land had received sweet rain.

Ultimately, more than half of the warm currents, like rivers flowing into the sea, converged powerfully towards the lower abdomen (Dantian).

The space in his dantian trembled violently, expanding and reinforcing outward at an astonishing speed!

After a few breaths, the warm current gradually subsided.

Xu Xing focused his mind and sensed that the weight-bearing capacity of his dantian space had soared from 21.9 kilograms to about 60 kilograms!

It has increased by more than 30 kilograms!

Xu Xing slowly exhaled a breath of turbid air, carefully folded the brocade handkerchief, and stored it in his dantian space.

Then, he picked up the silver candlestick again and took out the metal colloid he had prepared from the toolbox.

He used a fine brush to apply adhesive evenly to the back of the copper sheet and the edge of the candlestick notch, then reattached the copper sheet and secured it with clamps.

After the adhesive had fully cured, he used fine sandpaper to smooth the weld seam, and then used a soft cloth dipped in polishing compound to wipe the surface clean.

The repaired candlestick has almost no visible traces at the joint; only upon close inspection can one discover an extremely fine line.

Xu Xing nodded in satisfaction and placed the candlestick, the painting, and the pen holder into the temperature- and humidity-controlled display case.

The next day, Xu Xing arranged to meet Lin Wan again.

"Xu Xing, I really can't do it today."

On the other end of the phone, Lin Wan's voice was apologetic, "I have a ton of inventory reports to check at the store, I estimate I'll be busy until 11 or 12 at night. I'll treat you to dinner another day to make up for it!"

"It's okay, you go about your business, just take care of yourself and don't overwork yourself."

Xu Xing comforted her gently.

After hanging up the phone, the corners of his mouth turned up slightly.

The plan is in place.

He drove to Chen Xinyi's luxury goods recycling shop.

Xu Xing pushed open the slightly ajar door and went inside, where he saw Chen Xinyi sitting behind the counter, looking down at her phone.

Hearing the door open, she looked up and saw Xu Xing, her face showing surprise and delight.

"Why are you here?"

"I came to see you."

Xu walked to the counter, leaned against it, and looked at her with a smile. "What, not welcome?"

Chen Xinyi rolled her eyes at him, but the corners of her mouth unconsciously turned up slightly: "Welcome, of course you're welcome. Have a seat, what would you like to drink?"

"casual."

Chen Xinyi got up to pour water.

"Did you meet with my uncle yesterday?"

Chen Xinyi placed the water glass in front of him and sat down on the sofa opposite him.

"Yes, I visited his house and bought a few things."

My uncle told me.

Chen Xinyi picked up her water glass and took a sip, her eyes somewhat unfocused. "He said he had a very good impression of you."

"Of course, who could have a bad impression of me?"

Xu Xing smiled.

"Narcissism."

Chen Xinyi rolled her eyes at him, but the smile on her lips deepened.

The two chatted for a while longer, and the atmosphere became increasingly pleasant.

Xu Xing glanced at the time; it was almost noon. He suggested, "Shall we have lunch together?"

Chen Xinyi stood up immediately: "Okay, but let me change my clothes first."

She got up and went into the inner room. After a while, she came out wearing a light blue dress and had her hair combed again, making her look much fresher.

"Let's go."

She picked up her bag and walked up to Xu Xing.

Xu Xing stood up and naturally took her hand.

After dinner, she took Xu Xing directly to the hotel.

On the morning of the third day, Xu Xing was reading in his apartment when Wang Benquan called.

"XCMG, did I disturb your rest?"

Wang Benquan's voice was apologetic.

"No, Mr. Wang, is there anything I can help you with?"

"That's right, the Chang'an Museum recently received a batch of damaged artifacts from the National Museum of China, and the restoration task is quite heavy."

Wang Benquan explained, "The museum is urging you to come and start working as soon as possible. Is that convenient for you?"

Xu Xing put down his book: "Then I'll go tomorrow. But Mr. Wang, can I bring people with me to the museum for the restoration project?"

"Of course you can. Just bring Zhu Yong and Liu Jian with you. The museum will arrange work space and equipment for you. After the restoration is completed, the company will help settle the performance bonus. The company will not take a cut of this part of the revenue. After all, it is a business that the Cultural Relics Bureau specifically requested for you. Being able to participate in it under the name of Chengxinzhai is actually a benefit for the company."

After Wang Benquan finished speaking, he pondered for a moment and then said, "So I'm considering giving you a special privilege: setting up a personal studio for you that will be affiliated with the company."

After all, Xu Gong, it's a bit unfair to treat you the same as other craftsmen in the porcelain group with your current abilities. What I mean is that the studio will symbolically own 10% of the company's shares, and you will specialize in S-level porcelain restoration work, with all profits going to the studio.

The workplace remains the same—it's still at the repair center—and the company will handle your taxes. The only change is your repair performance bonus. Previously, the maximum was 60%, but now it all belongs to the studio. The company owns 10% of the shares, so you effectively receive 90% personally.

Xu Xing was both surprised and delighted upon hearing this.

He joined Chengxinzhai for its resources, since he was previously just a restorer at a small county-level museum, and was virtually unknown.

Even if he has the best skills, those big collectors would not just hand over their items to him for restoration; they would need the backing of a large corporation like Chengxinzhai.

Now, Wang Benquan is directly setting up a studio for him, even providing equipment and materials while only holding a 10% stake, and also helping to handle tax-related issues.

He only needs to contact a law firm to check the accounts regularly.

Basically, it can be said that all the repair profits went to Xu Xing.

As for the purpose of doing this, he could guess a little. Firstly, he was indeed faster and better at repairing porcelain than his colleagues in the repair center. Wang Benquan wanted to create a "spend a fortune to buy a horse bone" effect. Secondly, he had already gained some reputation in the collecting circle and even the official circle, so it was not appropriate to treat him as an employee anymore.

Furthermore, having saved his granddaughter, he may have also harbored thoughts of repaying the debt of gratitude.