Check out our advanced chapters
Please kindly turn off your Adblock
Chapter 10
Shen You looked at the celadon-glazed, elegant, and delicate porcelain behind the glass for quite some time before finally making up her mind.
Without modern technology, she couldn’t buy seeds with yields that would shock ancient people.
Since she was already at the museum, she might as well get the matter done.
She found a staff member at the service desk, explained her intention, and the person first froze, then their eyes widened as they asked uncertainly,
“You’re looking to donate a collection?”
In the past, those who came to the museum to donate cultural relics were all famous collectors and wealthy individuals from Jiangcheng.
This girl looked quite young, wearing a gray plant-dyed floral long dress, with her hair completely pinned up with a sandalwood hairpin.
Standing at the service desk, her skin was so white it seemed to glow, making people unable to resist looking at her twice.
But she didn’t seem like the type of major collector.
It was worth noting that not many people could distinguish between authentic and fake collections, so the staff member was somewhat skeptical and even felt that she might be joking.
“Yes.” Shen You nodded.
“May I ask what it is?”
“Porcelain. It looks a bit like the Ru kiln celadon porcelain plate in the exhibition hall, with three ‘sesame nail’ marks on the bottom.” Shen You answered calmly.
“Where did your collection come from?” The staff member’s voice was filled with disbelief.
Shen You maintained a straight face: “Inherited recently as an estate.”
Hearing this, the staff member was at a loss for words momentarily.
Being able to mention ‘sesame nails’ indicated at least some knowledge.
During porcelain firing, support pins were used to separate the porcelain body from the saggar. And the support pins used by the Ru kiln were particularly exquisite, leaving marks as small as sesame seeds.
Could this be genuine?!
A man with thin-rimmed glasses who had just approached the service desk happened to overhear their conversation. He promptly put down what he was doing, looked up at Shen You, and said,
“Hello, I’m from the museum’s research group. Do you have time for a chat now?”
Shen You nodded, and a few minutes later, she was seated in the museum’s reception room.
On the way there, the man had introduced himself as Xu Jiayan, a graduate of Capital University who had come to Jiangcheng only last year.
And the elderly man who had hurriedly rushed to the reception room was Tu Guangsong, the deputy director of the museum and also a professor at Jiangcheng University.
Upon hearing that someone wanted to donate Ru kiln porcelain, he had put down what he was doing and come over. Even waiting for the elevator felt like an eternity.
“Young lady, you say these are collections from an antique shop left by a relative? Just placed in an old box in the storeroom?”
Shen You nodded.
Tu Guangsong looked at the photos, almost boring a hole through her phone with his gaze.
The entire museum had only one piece of Ru kiln porcelain, yet she had five pieces that appeared to be a complete set!
So well-preserved and beautifully shaped.
If authentic, it would be extraordinary.
It would not only shock the Jiangcheng collection hall but would be at the level where museums from neighboring cities would want to borrow it for touring exhibitions.
“Where are the items?” Tu Guangsong, barely concealing his excitement, asked, and then added,
“Regardless of whether you decide to donate in the end, our collection hall can help you authenticate them. Rest assured, the entire process will be conducted in your presence.”
“They’re at my home. I can go get them now.” Shen You said.
“Why don’t you let Jiayan drive you there?” Tu Guangsong suggested.
He was worried that it might be difficult for a young woman to carry them, and if there were an accident on the way, it would be a great pity.
“That works too.” Shen You didn’t refuse.
She knew that even if she didn’t say it, the address of the antique shop would become known. It was perfectly fine to let the museum staff see that her shop was under renovation, which would also prove that everything she said was true.
Shen You followed Xu Jiayan to the special parking lot for staff members, approaching a car that looked quite modest. After getting in, she provided the address.
“Miss Shen, I heard you say earlier that you also studied cultural relic restoration?” Xu Jiayan glanced at Shen You.
“Yes.”
Xu Jiayan smiled, “No wonder.”
Knowing how valuable the items in her possession were, yet choosing to donate them to the museum.
Those who studied this field really love it genuinely.
During their conversation, he also sensed that her professional knowledge was quite impressive.
Shen You said as she opened the car door after the arrived, “I’ll go in and get them myself. The renovation inside makes it quite messy.”
“Alright.” Xu Jiayan released his hand from the seatbelt.
She probably had other collections in her shop and didn’t want others to enter, which was understandable.
Shen You went into the house and looked around. She had cleared out all the old items a few days ago and really didn’t have anything suitable to use as packaging.
In the end, she found a cloth bag and carefully packed the tea set using clean shock-absorbing foam padding from the unpacked deliveries, deciding to keep the incense burner for herself.
She was a bit reluctant to donate everything at once and wanted to keep one piece for her own collection.
What she had wasn’t dug out from the ground nor was it obtained by illegal means.
As long as she didn’t sell it, there would be no problem. This donation would also provide a legitimate path for the inherited antiques.
When Shen You sat in the car holding the cloth bag, Xu Jiayan looked at the rudimentary protective measures and felt his heart tense.
He had never driven so carefully before; the car could be damaged, but the items couldn’t have any problems!
The journey was smooth and uneventful, and they successfully returned to the museum.
Besides Professor Tu, there were two other research professors, and the museum director was also present, all waiting for Shen You.
These were all people whose lectures she would have competed for spots to attend. Seeing this scene for the first time, she felt somewhat nervous.
Even more nervous than Shen You were these professors who, wearing gloves and holding tools, were authenticating the porcelain.
“It’s genuine Ru kiln porcelain!!!” Tu Guangsong carefully placed the cup down before daring to speak.
“Although there are subtle differences from the collection in the museum, the firing technique is the same.” Another professor was equally excited. “This is a complete set!”
With ancient hand-fired porcelain, even pieces from the same batch wouldn’t be completely identical.
“Miss Shen, are you certain you want to donate?” The director asked Shen You once more.
“Yes.”
Shen You took the pen and documents, and was stunned when she saw the reward of 1 million yuan written in black and white.
“There’s such a large reward?”
She knew there would be a reward but hadn’t expected it to be so substantial.
“Yes, currently our Jiangcheng Museum gives rewards based on the value of the donated cultural relics. This is the highest stipulated reward and also the highest reward approved since the museum’s establishment.” Tu Guangsong explained kindly.
People who donated cultural relics generally didn’t care about this amount of reward; whether to accept it or not was entirely up to the individual.
Shen You definitely wanted it. She immediately signed, wrote down her account number, and asked, “When will this money be credited to my account?”
“By the end of work tomorrow at the latest.” The director, looking at the porcelain in the plate, answered with a smile.
This young lady had presented national treasure-level porcelain at her first offering. This reward had to be guaranteed.
Otherwise, who would trust the Jiangcheng Museum in the future?
“When the cultural relics are exhibited, we will clearly indicate that they were donated by you.”
After explaining the museum’s procedures, the director asked, “Do you have any other requirements on your end?”
Shen You thought for a moment, “Please don’t publicly disclose any information besides the donor’s name and place of origin.”
“No problem.”
This small request was hardly an issue at all.