Chapter 431 - 431: [431] Why do I feel like I'm cheating? _1
Chapter 431: [431] Why do I feel like I’m cheating? _1
“The second Yuan Dynasty blue and white porcelain vase, appraised as a counterfeit.”
“The third Song Dynasty Ru kiln porcelain bowl, appraised as… a Qing Dynasty imitation!”
As Zhao Quande announced Tang Feng’s appraisal results, the expressions of the people present grew more and more vivid.
The three treasure holders, needless to say, all wore long faces.
The appraisal results from both senior appraisers being identical confirmed the answers beyond doubt.
The group of appraisers at the scene were all staring at Tang Feng with their mouths agape.
That Tang Feng and Ma Wentao would come up with the correct answers, they weren’t surprised.
Because the appraisal difficulty of these three porcelain pieces was not considered very high, any two junior or intermediate appraisers could also have provided the correct answers.
However, Tang Feng’s outrageous appraisal process was indeed an eye-opener.
Merely by glancing at the three porcelain pieces, he had provided the correct answers.
This, to some extent, felt like a slap in their faces.
Especially for Ma Wentao, whose old face turned shades of green and white.
Source: Webnovel.com, updated on ƝονǤο.ᴄ0
He had mixed in this line for over thirty years, his time in the trade longer than Tang Feng’s age.
Yet now, he had been casually crushed by this young man.
Although he had also provided the correct answers, it had taken him a full twenty-plus minutes.
While the other, in less than five seconds, had come up with the answers.
This was the gap!
Zhao Quande, with nothing else to do, sighed helplessly, cleared his throat, and announced loudly, “The winner of the first round is Tang Feng from Elegant Pavilion!”
“Whooosh…”
Many customers were gathered around the periphery, unable to see the specifics inside.
Upon hearing this result, they were all very surprised.
“My god, this Mr. Tang actually won so easily against that Mr. Ma?”
“Didn’t Mr. Ma just say that he has been in the business for over thirty years? How could he lose to someone in their twenties?”
“Yeah, Mr. Tang’s appraisal process took less than five seconds. Five seconds – what does that even mean?”
“This… I feel like it’s cheating? How is five seconds possible?”
“It can’t be cheating, those three porcelain pieces were chosen by Mr. Ma himself, how could the other party cheat?”
“That’s also true; only goes to show that Mr. Ma is simply not as skilled…”
The murmurs among the crowd grew louder, as if slap after slap were striking Ma Wentao’s face.
“Mr. Tang’s abilities are exceptional; I, Ma Wentao, am convinced.”
Saying this, he deeply bowed to Tang Feng, then left without looking back.
He no longer had the face to stay here and wanted to leave this place as quickly as possible.
The customers watched his dispirited departure, their jeers growing louder.
Zhao Quande and the others exchanged glances, feeling disgraced.
They hadn’t expected to lose the opening round, which was a big blow to their morale.
But they couldn’t blame Ma Wentao; his performance had been very stable and fully worthy of Mo Xiang House’s chief appraiser status.
Upon self-reflection, they knew that none of them could have performed better than Ma Wentao.
If there was someone to blame, it was only because he had encountered an abnormal opponent.
Everyone then turned their gaze to that abnormal opponent… Tang Feng.
What made them even more wary was his age.
Merely in his twenties, the same age as their apprentices, yet his appraisal strength was too powerful.
Qin Yanan also felt a secret delight in her heart.
Tang Feng had started off with a win right out of the gate. This was a good beginning indeed.
Even if he ultimately lost, it wouldn’t be too embarrassing.
Being young was his biggest confidence. He had less to lose.
But for someone like Ma Wentao, losing to a junior like Tang Feng would be a huge blow to his pride.
Zhong Pan’er wasn’t too surprised, though.
If Tang Feng couldn’t even beat Ma Wentao, that would have been truly bizarre.
She was just wondering to herself how exactly he conducted the appraisal.
She had been observing Tang Feng closely the whole time, trying to learn something.
Unfortunately, she didn’t pick up a single thing.
The guy had merely paused briefly in front of the three pieces of porcelain before turning away, without a single superfluous movement.
She really couldn’t figure out what method he used to come to his conclusion.
As for Pei Tianyuan, he was both shocked and disappointed.
He hadn’t expected Tang Feng’s skills to have improved so much that he could easily defeat Ma Wentao.
Ma Wentao was a long-established appraiser in the Zhonghai Antique Circle, whom he had once invited at great expense, but Mo Xiang House had scooped him up first, much to his regret at the time.
He never imagined that such a skilled appraiser would be so easily unseated by Tang Feng.
This young man’s capabilities were even more fearsome than he had thought.
It seemed that making him embarrass himself in public was not going to be easy.
Zhao Quande saw that the morale of his side was somewhat low and immediately stood up to lighten the mood, “Haha, no worries, it’s just one loss. Consider it a warm-up.”
These appraisers were all old hands at this game, and quickly readjusted their mindset, once again filled with fighting spirit.
Zhao Quande then turned with a smile to Tang Feng, “Mr. Tang, your abilities are truly formidable. Congratulations on winning the first round. Would you like to take a break before the next one?”
“No need, let’s continue,” Tang Feng declined his kind offer.
“Alright then.” Zhao Quande subsequently nominated another appraiser for the challenge.
This person was named Wang Yang, around sixty years old, the chief appraiser of Antique Street Treasure Pavilion, who was especially adept at appraising jade antiques.
“I’d like to ask Mr. Tang for guidance on jade antiques. The rules will be the same as the previous round. We will select three jades from the scene, and the one with the highest accuracy wins. If the accuracy is the same, then it will be decided by the speed of appraisal.”
“Sure, go ahead and pick,” Tang said, indifferent.
Wang Yang’s mouth curled into a wry smile as he turned to select the jade pieces.
From the eager participation of the customers present, he ultimately chose three jade pieces and brought them back.
A jade Ruyi, a jade pendant, and a jade bracelet.
The three jade items were laid out on the table in sequence, dazzlingly splendid.
“Mr. Tang, shall we begin?” Wang Yang said with a smiling gaze towards Tang Feng.
“Let’s start,” Tang Feng nodded and was about to step forward.
Just then, Wang Yang suddenly picked up a notebook and pen from the side and began to write his answers on it.
The audience on-site was bewildered.
What did Mr. Wang mean by this?
Was he also playing this game?
Was this a case of giving him a taste of his own medicine?