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Jinzhi Yuye (Gold Branch, Jade Leaf), originally a term to describe the beauty of floral branches and foliage, later came to refer primarily to imperial descendants, such as princesses. In modern times, however, it is used metaphorically for people of noble birth or those who are delicate and frail. But it was quite clear that what Fang Mingsheng was referring to now as Jinzhi Yuye was not an adjective, but an actual object.

At this moment, the shop owner brought the item out and placed it squarely on the counter, allowing everyone a clear view. The object was in fact a piece of gold-inlaid jade: a jade leaf shape set with a golden cicada. As is widely known, the cicada is also called zhiliao, and zhi (branch) is a homophone for zhi (cicada), making the combination of Golden Cicada and Jade Leaf a particularly auspicious pairing, reflecting the meaning of Jinzhi Yuye.

Of course, auspicious symbolism meant little; the key was the exquisitely refined craftsmanship. The cicada was lifelike, shimmering with golden light, posed with its body slightly angled, feet flexed, wings slightly spread, and mouth parted as if in song; the jade leaf exhibited clear vein patterns and was flawless and pure white, gently supporting the golden cicada.

Wang Guan carefully picked up the piece. A slight touch confirmed that the jade leaf was carved from exquisite Hetian white jade. After meticulous grinding and carving, the veins on the leaf were strikingly distinct: concave grooves carved into the leaf’s surface corresponded to raised ridges on the back, lending the leaf a remarkable sense of realism.

As for the golden cicada, words were almost superfluous. The manufacturing technique was incredibly complex, clearly crafted with a real cicada as the prototype. Combined with the jade leaf, the entire composition was ingenious, balancing stillness and motion, full of charm, and possessing extremely high aesthetic value.

After examining it for a moment, Fang Mingsheng couldn't help but exclaim, "Wang Gu, you really have sharp eyes; you spotted a treasure right away."

"The piece is excellent," Wang Guan nodded slightly, then smiled, "Mr. Yu, could you inquire about the price for me?"

"No problem." Yu Wei’s eyes held a hint of regret; he too thought the item was remarkable, but Wang Guan had beaten him to the punch. Nevertheless, since Wang Guan had spoken, he dutifully relayed the request and also asked the owner about the item's provenance.

After a brief exchange, Yu Wei's expression suddenly grew peculiar: "The boss says he only received this item a few days ago, and only just brought it out from the storage room to display today. He’s quite impressed you spotted it so quickly—truly a keen eye..."

"Luck, just luck," Wang Guan chuckled, then asked, "How much is it?"

"It’s more than just luck; it’s hitting the jackpot," Yu Wei said, slightly turning his body so the owner couldn't see his astonished expression. "The boss is asking five hundred British Pounds."

"What?"

In an instant, Wang Guan and Fang Mingsheng exchanged glances, utterly surprised. They weren't surprised the price was too high; they were surprised it was significantly lower than they had anticipated.

"That’s not surprising," Yu Wei explained at that moment. "I forgot to tell you, the British don't much care for jade; they consider it just a nice stone, not particularly valuable, so they only priced the golden cicada."

This must be a cultural difference. After all, the fervent appreciation for jade is a unique cultural phenomenon in the East. But in the Western world, Eastern culture is not mainstream. Without a deep understanding of Eastern jade culture, one naturally wouldn't grasp its true value. In other words, this was an opportunity to find a bargain.

"Really?" Wang Guan’s eyes lit up with sudden delight. "Ask him if he’ll take three hundred Pounds?" As he spoke, he held out three fingers toward the shop owner, shaking them slightly, assuming the owner would understand his intention... The shop owner repeatedly shook his head, held up five fingers, then retracted his thumb... Four hundred Pounds. That's the rock-bottom price."

Without needing Yu Wei to explain, Wang Guan immediately understood the owner's gesture and nodded instantly: "OK!"

While paying, Fang Mingsheng couldn't help but sigh, "If I had known, I would have bought jade pieces too."

"That’s luck," Yu Wei quickly interjected. "Not every shop owner is ignorant of jade prices. Some people are quite familiar with Eastern culture and won't price things cheaply. As Chinese collectors become more prevalent globally, antique dealers everywhere will continuously adjust their pricing; the chances of finding a bargain are getting slimmer."

"But speaking of which," he continued, "they certainly aren't as well-versed as the Chinese are in understanding the cultural context of the objects—for instance, the auspicious meanings behind the motifs. That leaves us a little room for opportunity."

Yu Wei then leaned in slightly. "Take this Jinzhi Yuye as an example. The owner might not be ignorant of the price of jade itself, but he likely can't distinguish the value between Hetian jade and common jade material, and more importantly, he doesn't grasp the meaning behind setting a golden cicada on a jade leaf. Hence, he certainly sold it cheap."

"It's definitely cheap," Fang Mingsheng murmured. "Forget four hundred Pounds; I’d consider buying it even at forty thousand Pounds."

"Indeed," Yu Wei agreed wholeheartedly. Considering the currency exchange rate, forty thousand Pounds was less than four hundred thousand RMB. But judging by the exquisite detail of the Jinzhi Yuye and its symbolism, even if it didn't quite reach that price, it wasn't far off.

"Let's go; let's keep looking," Wang Guan said, feeling a renewed sense of interest after paying. "Let’s check out some other shops; maybe there’s another chance to snag a deal."

"Good..." Fang Mingsheng immediately agreed. Even if Wang Guan hadn't suggested it, he intended to do the same.

A moment later, the three of them picked up their purchase and left the shop, heading to another reasonably appealing one to continue their search. However, unlike their earlier aimless browsing, this time they focused intently on items related to jade.

The results of their search were disappointing. Although this shop also carried Chinese antiques, they were mostly porcelain, and there were even some finely crafted artifacts, but there was none of the jade they were looking for.

Because Westerners don't value jade highly, they naturally stock very little of it. It’s said that when the Eight-Nation Alliance invaded China and plundered treasures, they emptied the Imperial Palace, snatching up all sorts of pearls and gemstones, not even sparing clothing and padded jackets. After all, textiles made of silk and fine embroidery were considered valuable abroad.

There’s no need to detail the smashing, burning, and looting, but suffice it to say, anything they could carry, they took; anything they couldn't, they smashed, and eventually, they just set fires to burn the rest. We can still see these looted items in major museums in Britain and America today, but if one pays close attention, jade artifacts are noticeably rare. It’s not that there weren't any, but their proportion was relatively low.

The reason, perhaps, is that the Westerners participating in the plunder viewed them merely as stones, possessing little value, and discarded them.

This is truly an issue of mainstream cultural values. Currently, Western values dominate; if they don't recognize your object as a precious gem, you can hardly do anything besides curse them for being unknowledgeable.

Of course, Wang Guan also believed that as China's overall national strength continues to rise, if Western countries hope to earn money from Chinese people, they will inevitably have to accept the universal values of Chinese culture. Chinese porcelain is just one aspect. Perhaps in a few more years, jade culture will also become immensely popular in the West, and by then, it will be much harder for Chinese collectors to find bargains.

But that is a matter for the future. After touring the antique street this time, they hadn't gained anything, and everyone was starting to feel tired. Since it wasn't yet noon, they decided to find an elegant nearby coffee shop to sit down and rest for a while.

When the waiter brought three cups of coffee, Fang Mingsheng took a sip, moistened his throat, and sighed, "People really rely on fate and luck. Once you miss an opportunity, you can never catch it again."

"That's because your standards are too high," Wang Guan laughed. "I saw some ancient jade pieces earlier that you dismissed."

"Either the condition was too poor, or the asking price was too high; they naturally didn't meet my standards," Fang Mingsheng shook his head, then grew curious. "Wang Guan, what era is your Jinzhi Yuye from? Now that we have a moment, why don't you take it out and let us examine it?"

Simply put, he wanted to admire it. Even if it wasn't his property, seeing it would be worthwhile.

Wang Guan was not stingy about this. He immediately took out the object and placed it in the center for them both to admire.

The union of gold and jade, Jinyu Liangyuan, is itself a beautiful metaphor. Perhaps the craft of gold-inlaid jade appeared first, leading to the idiom Jinyu Liangyuan. Regardless of which came first, under the masterful hands of ancient artisans, the splendor of the golden cicada combined perfectly with the gentle luster of the white jade, representing China's most traditional jade culture.

With the beauty of the jade to set it off, the already somewhat flashy golden cicada was instantly elevated to something transcendent.

"It's beautiful," Fang Mingsheng praised after admiring it for a while, musing, "But dating it is hard."

Indeed, dating it was difficult. The artifact bore no obvious inscriptions, nor could it display a mark like official kiln porcelain or the signature found on calligraphy or painting. Most people would find it hard to estimate its specific age.

However, this kind of thing doesn't stump true experts. For a genuine connoisseur, there is no need to look for a mark; observing the carving style of the jade leaf and the casting technique of the golden cicada is enough to know roughly when the piece was made.

Alas, among those present, although they could determine the object was ancient, none were true experts, so they could only look at each other, then shake their heads helplessly.

"Wang Guan, even you can't tell?" Fang Mingsheng sounded somewhat skeptical.

"Gold items fall under sundry collectibles; I don't know much about them..." Wang Guan frowned, picking up the piece to examine it closely, then mused, "But looking at the carving of the jade leaf, it seems to have a Ming Dynasty style. Whether it was deliberately imitating the Ming period, I truly can't be certain."

"Deliberately imitating the Ming" refers to the revival style. During the Qing Dynasty, the fashion for antiquity was incredibly strong; from emperors and generals down to common folk, people favored objects with an ancient aesthetic, so Qing imitations of Ming works are quite common.

"However, judging by the patination—the qinse—of the jade leaf, I think the probability of it being Ming is higher."

After analyzing the jade leaf, Wang Guan continued to study the golden cicada and then began to scratch his head. The craftsmanship of the golden cicada was highly complex, involving techniques such as mold casting, thin sheet stretching, chasing, and soldering. The problem was that these techniques were already widespread during the Ming and Qing dynasties, so they offered no clear distinguishing features.

There might be subtle differences, but if Wang Guan couldn't see them, it was useless knowledge anyway.

"Huh?"

However, just then, after examining it closely, Wang Guan suddenly made a discovery...

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