Detective Conan: The Ultimate Growth Space

Seeing that Kogoro Mouri was a little embarrassed, Kikuemon changed the subject.

Kikuemon said, "By the way, I published a new work this time, Feng Shui Hao. To be honest, I'd like you to see it too. Masuko, go and get it for me."

Upon hearing this, Tsuchiya Masuko had no choice but to get up and leave the room.

Zhiyong is now starting to understand the meaning of things.

It seems that Kikuemon, this super fan, really wants to give Kogoro Mouri a piece of his work.

However, Tsuchiya Masuko, the daughter-in-law, did not agree.

After all, any one of these items is worth several million yen, so Kikuemon came up with this idea.

Kikuemon gave his best piece to Kogoro Mouri to use for drinking water.

When Kogoro Mouri was given the choice.

Masuko Tsuchiya, not wanting to give away such expensive items, told Kogoro Mouri that the artworks in the room were worth several million yen.

How could Kogoro Mouri possibly accept those expensive works?

Therefore, he would definitely just pick one randomly.

Kogoro Mouri, unfamiliar with ceramic art, would assume that a cup used for drinking water must be reasonably priced.

Little did they expect that this was exactly what Kikuemon had planned.

What a cunning old fox.

Fortunately, he didn't use it to harm people, otherwise it would have been quite dangerous.

"Why haven't I seen Otani today?" Kikuemon asked curiously.

“He’s at the kiln right now,” Arita Yoshihiko replied.

“That’s perfect, Mr. Mori. Would you be interested in seeing the pottery firing process?” Kikuemon said with a smile as he stood up.

“Of course, I would be more than happy to,” Kogoro Mouri replied.

"Excuse me, how much is this teacup worth?" Xiaolan asked curiously.

"If we were to give it a price, it should be around ten million," Kikuemon said after a moment of contemplation.

"Ten million?"

Kogoro Mouri had just taken a sip of water when he heard this, and immediately spat it out.

He never imagined that such an unassuming cup would be worth ten million.

Although Kikuemon had just told him that it was a famous piece of art, he hadn't expected it to be so valuable.

……

Here at the kiln, I met another disciple of Kikuemon, Kaoru Otani.

Kikuemon's residence was very large, divided into a work area and a living area.

His disciples usually do the regular work.

As the saying goes, when the master is in trouble, the disciple will do his best.

"This kiln is huge!" Xiaolan exclaimed in surprise.

"Ootani, how's the situation?" Kikuemon asked.

“By evening, the pottery will be ready to be fired,” replied Kaoru Otani, who was busy at work.

This person is probably still a new disciple, not yet at the level of Ryuichi Seto or Yoshihiko Arita, so he'll mainly be doing odd jobs.

Conan pointed to a pile of broken pottery shards not far away and said, "Why are there so many fragments here?"

“These are fragments of our ceramic works, broken by Mrs. Tsuchiya,” Yoshihiko Arita replied.

"You mean, she smashed all your works? Why would that be?" Kogoro Mouri asked, puzzled.

“These must all be substandard works. A master is a master, his standards are high. Even if these are substandard, they won’t be cheap on the market,” Zhiyong exclaimed.

“Mrs. Tsuchiya has excellent taste. If our work doesn’t even meet her standards, then Master will certainly not take a liking to it,” Ryuichi Seto said with a smile.

"I see! Only in this way can we create even more exquisite works," Kogoro Mouri exclaimed.

“My son fell in love with her unique ability. So, I decided long ago that after I pass away, I would let her decide who would inherit the name Kikuemon,” Kikuemon said.

……

Chapter 173 Ice water is colder than water

Arita Yoshihiko said, "Mrs. Tsuchiya has a very good eye, but her standards have become a bit too strict lately."

“You’re doing better than me. I’ve only had two works approved in the last two months,” Ryuichi Seto said helplessly.

“I haven’t passed a single one in the past three months.” Kaoru Otani sighed, then added, “I’m thinking that I may have no hope.”

"All the confusion in my heart will be reflected in the firing of pottery. If you approach pottery with this mindset, I think the finished product will definitely feel awkward."

Then, Kikuemon looked at Otani Kaoru and said, "A mind as clear as a mirror, as still as water. When making pottery, if one can have an open mind, then one will surely..."

"what!"

A scream rang out; it was Tsuchiya Masuko's voice.

Everyone was quite surprised when they heard this.

"That sounds like Mrs. Tsuchiya's voice."

"The sound must have come from the direction of the warehouse."

"Could it be..."

Everyone hurriedly ran towards the warehouse.

When we arrived at the warehouse entrance, we could see inside the warehouse.

Masuko Tsuchiya stood there, stunned. Beside her on the ground lay a shattered piece of ceramic.

"Feng Shui Number".

"How could this be?"

“Dad, please forgive me. I was climbing up the ladder when it suddenly fell down. So…” Tsuchiya Masuko said sadly.

"No need to say more. Everything with a physical form will one day be destroyed. The Fengshui is simply back in the earth now. I'll leave this to you few. Masuko, go and prepare things to entertain Mr. Mori," Kikuemon instructed.

“Yes,” Tsuchiya Masuko replied quickly.

"I'm suddenly feeling a bit tired, so I'll go rest for a while. Call me again when it's time for dinner," Kikuemon said with a hint of melancholy.

When Zhiyong saw Kikuemon, he suddenly realized something. He had been thinking about the problem for a long time, and now he understood it.

Seeing Kikuemon's current state, Tomoyuki felt a pang of pity.

With Conan here today, something's bound to go wrong, so Zhiyong is searching his memory for scenes he's seen before.

Unexpectedly, it actually brought back Zhiyong's memories.

This time, it actually happened.

After all, it would be truly strange if Conan appeared without anything happening.

He was initially indifferent to Masuko Tsuchiya's death, but he still felt it was a shame for Ryuichi Seto.

Let me help him now, as a way of repaying him for making him realize his mistake today.

“Master, although this piece is broken, why don’t you appreciate it? You should be happy after seeing it,” Zhiyong said.

Kikuemon was about to turn and leave.

However, after hearing what Tomoyu said, Kikuemon felt very depressed.

He must have felt terrible that his own work was broken.

After all, he's getting old now and can't produce many pieces a year anymore.

Now, Zhiyong's words made him wonder if they were mocking him.

"Wisdom and courage..."

Kogoro Mori also gave Tomoyu a meaningful look. After all, they were guests at someone else's house, and it would be a bit rude for Tomoyu to say such a thing.

Zhiyong pretended not to see it and said, "This broken piece shouldn't be your work, right? Although it's a very good imitation, it still lacks some depth. However, it's still a fine piece. This piece must be the work of your disciple, Mr. Seto. Aren't you happy to have such an outstanding disciple?"

Kikuemon was taken aback when he heard this.

He didn't say anything, turned around and went back to the warehouse. He circled the broken ceramics on the ground, observed them for a while, then picked up a fragment and examined it carefully.

The people around him watched him quietly.

After a few minutes.

Kikuemon then said, "As expected, this is not my work. I am truly happy for you, Seto, that you could create such a piece."

Zhiyong tugged at Kogoro Mouri and Ran, as Conan originally wanted to stay.

However, Zhi Yong forcibly pulled him back to the living room.

Xiao Lan asked curiously, "Zhiyong, what's going on?"

"Actually, I learned some things before I came here. I heard that Kikuemon's skills have improved again, but it seems that he lacks some depth. Many people think that it may be because Kikuemon is getting old and therefore is not as strong as he used to be."

Zhiyong took a sip of water as he spoke, and then said, "I met Tsuchiya Masuko today. My impression of her is that she is a greedy and mercenary person. Several of them said that Mr. Seto's imitation of Kikuemon is very similar. However, Mr. Seto said that he has no inspiration and has not produced any new works for some time. At the time, I didn't pay much attention to it."

As he spoke, Zhiyong took another sip of water and continued, "However, after seeing that broken piece of work just now, I realized it wasn't a work by a master. I started to wonder if Tsuchiya Masuko was secretly taking Mr. Seto's work and selling it under the name of Kikuemon without Kikuemon's knowledge."

"You mean Mrs. Tsuchiya used Mr. Seto's works and sold them as Kikuemon's works?" Ran asked in surprise.

In the realm of art, fame is of paramount importance. Even if Ryuichi Seto's work is better than Kikuemon's, it is still a significant factor.

However, before he became famous, his works did not fetch high prices.

Even if it's famous, if it's not as famous as Kikuemon, the price will never exceed Kikuemon's.

“Actually, thinking about it, this is normal. Kikuemon is getting old now, and he doesn’t have the energy to create many excellent works in a year. Although each of his works is very expensive, he doesn’t actually earn much money in a year. Mrs. Tsuchiya certainly won’t be satisfied,” said Tomoyuki.

"How could this be? You can't do that! Did Mr. Seto agree to this?" Ran asked, puzzled.

“Kikuemon also said that Mr. Seto’s output has been decreasing recently. In the past two months, he has only produced two acceptable pieces. But the feng shui boat that was smashed just now was also his work. That means that he is not lacking in inspiration or unable to create good works, as he claims. It’s just that he is unwilling to be used by Mrs. Tsuchiya,” Zhiyong said.