Divine Eye Appraisal: Starting with a Lucky Pickup of a Beautiful CEO's Family Heirloom

The next afternoon, the wind, carrying the chill of late autumn in Jiangcheng, swept across the bluestone pavement of the jade market. A group of merchants and casual shoppers gathered in front of the bulletin board, the papers rustling in the wind, and the whispers were kept low.

Wen Zhaoye had just returned from the alleyway with an old jade piece still covered in street dust when he saw Ma Guoliang standing at the shop entrance, clutching a worn-out scouring pad, pointing downstairs with a grim expression: "Boss Wen, something's happened."

"What is it?"

"Go see for yourself."

Wen Zhaoye walked slowly to the notice board. The onlookers recognized him and fell silent, automatically making way for him. Several eyes were fixed on his back; some of his colleagues looked sympathetic, while others, waiting to see him make a fool of himself, crossed their arms and smirked.

He looked up and saw a cream-colored notice stamped with the bright red seal of the Provincial Antique Association. The ink still held the sharp edge of fresh printing, and each word struck him: "Because Wen Zhaoye, a former employee of Yu Mantang, has seriously violated industry regulations in jade transactions, severely damaging the industry's reputation, the Standing Council of the Association has decided not to recognize any of his appraisal results and recommends that its member units refrain from cooperating with Jianzhen Pavilion in any form."

The inscription was signed by the Provincial Capital Antiques Association, and the date was marked as yesterday.

Wen Zhaoye didn't even lift his eyelids after reading it.

Whispers drifted over on the wind: "Goodness, they're trying to wipe them out completely."

"The ban is valid throughout the province. The Jiangcheng Association is affiliated with them, so how could we dare to disobey?"

"Boss Wen is in a tough spot now. Is his shop going to go bankrupt right after opening?"

Wen Zhaoye's fingertips touched the slightly cool paper, and he peeled it off along the edge. The paper still had the dampness of undried glue. He folded it over and over again, carefully placing it into his inner pocket. He turned and walked back, his back ramrod straight, his steps neither fast nor slow, as if nothing had happened.

Back at Jianzhen Pavilion, Sun Bo'an was already waiting at the counter. He held a celadon teacup in his hand, the tea completely cold without him taking a sip; a thin ring of tea stains clung to the rim. Seeing Wen Zhaoye enter, he placed the cup on the counter: "You saw it?"

"I saw it." Wen Zhaoye took the paper out and laid it flat on the counter, lightly tapping the surface with his knuckles. "They can still control Jiangcheng?"

Sun Bo'an sighed, leaned forward, and lowered his voice: "The association's ban is effective throughout the province. The Jiangcheng Jade Association is affiliated with the provincial capital, so when they give their word, no one here dares to disobey."

"So, no one will take our jobs?"

"Suppliers dare not deliver, old customers dare not come to the door, and even competitors who have agreed to cooperate before have to think twice." Sun Bo'an tapped his knuckles, which were calloused from years of rubbing ancient jade, on the counter twice. "This is the insidious nature of the blacklist—it doesn't kill you, but it makes you unable to survive."

Wen Zhaoye leaned against the counter, not replying. He picked up his phone, opened Qin Fei's WeChat chat, hovered his fingertip over the input box for a few seconds, and finally turned off the screen.

About half an hour later, Qin Fei arrived by herself. She was wearing a navy blue casual outfit and carrying a paper bag of tangerines she had just bought from a street stall. She didn't say anything as soon as she entered, put the tangerines on the counter, and then turned around and walked to the notice board to glance at it.

—The paper had been removed, leaving only a square glue mark on the wooden board, fading white in the wind.

Qin Fei took out her phone and took a picture of the glue mark. Then she leaned against the door frame, peeled an orange with her fingertips, and smelled the fresh fragrance of the orange peel. She put a segment into her mouth.

"They're getting anxious."

Wen Zhaoye looked up at her: "Who's in a hurry?"

"Qian Bohong." Qin Fei peeled off another orange segment, the juice glistening in the sunlight. "Bao Dequan's case had just been transferred to the provincial procuratorate when he rushed to issue a blacklist order. What does that tell you?"

"This means he's afraid I'll trace the clues back to him."

"That's right." Qin Fei placed the orange peel on the table, not caring that her fingertips were stained with orange juice. "He was afraid you would keep bringing it up, so he struck first and used the association's name to shut you down. He made sure you were too busy to take care of yourself in Jiangcheng, so no one would bother to reopen that old case of the Warring States jade disc."

Wen Zhaoye remained silent, tapping his fingers on the counter in a steady rhythm, showing no sign of panic.

Qin Fei stuffed another segment of orange into her mouth: "What are you planning to do?"

"They want me dead, but I'll refuse to die."

"this one?"

"That's it."

Qin Fei looked at him and suddenly smiled, a slight curve appearing at the corner of her eyes: "Okay, then you can take your time, I'm leaving now." She walked to the door, then turned back and added: "Qian Bohong choosing this time to send the notice shows that he's really afraid you'll investigate further. The more composed you are, the more panicked he'll be."

Wen Zhaoye nodded slightly.

After Qin Fei left, the shop fell silent, with only the soft tinkling of the wind chimes under the eaves in the breeze. Sun Bo'an sat back behind the counter, reopened the old ledger in front of him, his fingertips lingering on a certain page of purchase details for a long time, his eyes flickered, and finally he sighed before continuing to flip through the pages.

Wen Zhaoye noticed this change but didn't ask any questions. He turned around and took out Bao Dequan's black leather account book from the hidden compartment. The cover was worn and frayed. He ran his fingertips over the messy handwriting on the line "Master Qian" twice, then looked out the window. His gaze went over the eaves of the jade city and landed in the direction of the provincial capital.

The ban is effective throughout the entire province.

But so what?

He snapped the ledger shut, looked up at Sun Bo'an and said, "Old Sun, starting tomorrow, I'll take three orders a day, only the difficult ones."

Sun Bo'an paused for a moment, then stroked his beard and smiled.

"You mean, you're going to take on projects that others wouldn't dare to take on?"

"right."

"What do you think about things that others aren't sure about?"

"right."

"A blacklist can block the association's name, but it can't block real insight—are you trying to break through with sheer skill?"

Wen Zhaoye didn't say anything, but simply locked the ledger back into the hidden compartment, the sound of the lock clicking shut crisp and clean.

Sun Bo'an stood up, patted his shoulder, his palm warm and firm: "Good idea. A blacklist can't stop someone who dares to take on jobs others don't dare to take on, and who dares to cut off supplies others can't cut off."

He walked to the door, then looked back at the wooden plaque on the wall. The three large characters "Jianzhen Pavilion" were written with a strong and powerful stroke, gleaming warmly in the afternoon sunlight.

"Boss Wen, that was a ruthless move of yours."

Wen Zhaoye didn't answer, but stood behind the counter, looking at the bustling street outside. The afternoon sun slanted in, casting a bright streak of light on the bluestone slab in front of the counter, like a sword about to be drawn.

He pondered for a moment, then picked up his phone again, opened Qin Fei's chat window, and sent a message: "Help me find out who Wang Ming, the deputy director of the provincial jade association, has been getting close to lately."

After sending the message, he placed his phone flat on the counter, his fingertips lingering on the edge of the screen for a moment.

The paper had been put away, but the glue stains on the wooden board remained, like an unhealed mark. He recalled Qin Fei's words before she left and understood: fear meant they were on the right path.

Wen Zhaoye got up and walked to the door, grabbed the handle of the roller shutter and pulled it down halfway. The metallic friction made a low sound, blocking out most of the noise from the outside world.

He turned to look at the wooden plaque on the wall. The light was cut in half and fell on the two characters "鑒真" (Jianzhen), as if they were plated with a thin layer of gold.

He said softly, "The provincial capital, just wait."

The characters on the wooden plaque were submerged in the light and shadow, quiet yet powerful, like his heartbeat at this moment.