1052 I Need a Microscope
The other appraisers nodded in agreement.
“Yeah, we’ve appraised it repeatedly. In the end, we all agreed that it’s authentic. There’s no way it’s fake.”
“If it was just one person, it might have slipped our eye, but it can’t slip all our eyes, right?”
“The few of us have been appraising paintings for half our lives. Could it be that we can’t compare to a… the eyesight of a young man?”
“We have worked for half our lives. If we can’t compare to a young man’s eyesight, then we have really lived for so many years.”
They were already very restrained in their words. They used the term ‘young man’ to address Ye Feng, instead of using the term ‘wet behind the ears’ to insult him. They were already giving Chen Qiushan a lot of face.
Chen Qiushan coughed awkwardly. “It’s not that I don’t believe in your abilities, but Mr. Ye’s appraisal skills are also very strong. Since there’s a dispute, we should discuss it again. Am I right?”
The goateed old man stroked his beard. “Then I wonder if this… What reason did Mr. Ye give?”
Chen Qiushan hurriedly explained, “Mr. Ye said that this painting was pieced together. Only the signature and seal are authentic works of Zheng Banqiao. The rest are all forged.”
Hearing his explanation, the appraisers laughed again.
“Pieced together? What kind of joke is this? We’re not blind. Can’t we tell if it’s pieced together or not?”
“If it was pieced together, we would definitely be able to see the traces of stitching. However, the few of us have already checked it many times. There’s no problem at all.”
“That’s right. No matter how brilliant the stitching technique is, it’s impossible for there to be no trace at all. This is too ridiculous.”
“A person who says such words would appear to be a layman…”
When everyone heard Ye Feng’s reason, they scoffed even more and did not show any mercy.
Pang Daqian heard everyone’s criticism of Ye Feng, he became more and more pleased. There were still people who knew what was good.
Chen Qiushan hurriedly looked at Ye Feng’s expression. Seeing that he was still calm, he heaved a sigh of relief.
“No matter what, since there is a dispute on this issue, please appraise it carefully again to ensure that nothing goes wrong.”
Although the appraisers were reluctant, Chen Qiushan was the person in charge of Sotheby’s in Yang Cheng, so they could only do as he said.
They took out their small flashlights and magnifying glasses and continued to observe the painting. As they observed, they communicated with each other.
“What’s wrong with it? Why can’t I tell?”
“Yeah, the paper used for this painting is all from the Qing Dynasty.”
“I don’t believe that the stitching can be done without leaving any traces.”
“This is a whole piece of paper. How can it be pieced together…”
The appraisal lasted for more than ten minutes, and the appraisers exchanged opinions with each other.
The goateed old man looked at Chen Qiushan again. “Mr. Chen, we did a careful appraisal according to your instructions and confirmed that this painting is a complete piece. There are no traces of stitching.”
“I just don’t know if you’d rather believe someone’s nonsense or our results?”
His words were filled with resentment, clearly very dissatisfied with Chen Qiushan overthrowing their test results because of someone else’s words.
Pang Daqian immediately clapped his hands and laughed. “Let’s see how some people are going to quibble now. He can’t be the only one who’s sober, right?”
Chen Qiushan’s face was filled with embarrassment, and he looked at Ye Feng again. “Brother Ye, look at this…”
Ye Feng put down his chopsticks and rubbed his stomach. “Mmm, the food here is really good, delicious!”
Pang Daqian glanced at him. “Some people are really big-hearted. Their faces are swollen, but they can still eat it?”
Ye Feng’s gaze slowly swept across the few appraisers. “I have already said before, this painting’s method of forgery is very brilliant. With your ordinary eyes, of course you cannot tell.”
The few appraisers were so angry that they laughed.
“Hahaha, ordinary eyes? So, you have a pair of sharp eyes?”
“Is he thinking of himself as the Great Sage Sun? Then our eyes are really blind. We actually didn’t see it, hahaha…”
“Young man, it doesn’t matter if you say or do something wrong. The important thing is to be brave enough to admit your mistakes. You can’t be stubborn in the end.”
“So many of our appraisal results can’t compare to your nonsense? Aren’t you too condescending?”
They were all angered by Ye Feng’s arrogant attitude, and they started to retaliate.
Ye Feng looked at them with a smile. “If I prove that this painting was pieced together, wouldn’t it prove that everyone here is trash? Isn’t this too cruel?”
As soon as he said this, he once again attracted the attacks of several appraisers.
“I beg you, hurry up and prove it. As long as you can prove that this painting is pieced together, I’ll admit that I’m trash.”
“This kid is too arrogant. I’ve been an appraiser all my life. How can I be wrong?”
“If you can’t prove it, then you’re just trash. You don’t have the strength…”
“Cut the crap and show me the evidence…”
Chen Qiushan had wanted to be the peacemaker, but the situation was already on the verge of losing control. It was no longer an academic dispute, but more like a dispute of personal feelings.
Everyone wanted to fight for this, so there was really no way to smooth things over.
At this moment, Ye Feng looked at him. “I need a microscope.”