Imperial Treasure -
Chapter 185 - 141 Ink
Chapter 185: Chapter 141 Ink
Of course, nine times out of ten, it’s the style that takes precedence, with genuine products comprising less than one percent of the total.
Halfway through, Sui Yi received a phone call. Elder Tang was urging her on, and after informing him of her location, he said someone would come to find her...
Previously, Elder Tang had said he’d bring her to recognize people. To this end, Sui Yi didn’t feel much repulsion. Although she herself didn’t like socializing, she knew that in life, having more experiences was beneficial, and besides, Elder Tang’s cordial invitation was hard to decline.
She knew what was good for her.
However, since the other party was coming to her, Sui Yi wasn’t going to stand around waiting, and instead, she started looking around in a nearby shop.
The reason for choosing this shop was mainly because Sui Yi could smell the rich aroma of ink as she stood on the corner.
"Ink is one of the Four Treasures of the Study; it has been passed down through our culture, mainly in the form of calligraphy and painting from ancient times, leaving a lasting fragrance over the years. Good ink can keep a piece of calligraphy or painting from fading for many years and also has a scent that intoxicates scholars; many of them would travel thousands of miles, braving wind and rain without hesitation, in pursuit of fine ink. Such is the charm of ink..."
Sui Yi stood at the entrance, listening to the middle-aged man in the green horse jacket speak these words refinedly and with rhythmic emphasis, and she smiled slightly before walking into the shop.
One can learn about a person by observing the things around them. The clear and upright gaze of the man suggested that even if the items in the store were not genuine, they would still be of decent quality.
There were quite a few people coming and going in the shop; after all, the scent of ink was truly enticing. Both the young and old would come to take a look—some would buy, some wouldn’t.
The middle-aged man served customers without letting emotions show on his face.
After a short while, he heard a soft, pleasant voice, "Excuse me, are these inks sold loosely? What are the prices?"
Well, after getting used to hearing the old gentlemen speak Mandarin mixed with local dialect and the frivolous, unserious talk of youngsters, it was rare to hear such a pure, cool voice with a faint, relaxed ancient charm.
It was natural, not at all contrived.
Several people in the shop looked over and paused their gaze.
Turning his head, the middle-aged man saw a young lady in a white blouse standing sideways to him, lightly touching the ink blocks on the side shelf with her finger.
She was also carrying a simple-looking backpack, quite young, maybe eighteen or nineteen, but her expression conveyed a certain calmness and composure.
The girl was good-looking, and her voice pleasant to hear. Even if she were just here to browse and not buy, the middle-aged man was happy to introduce, saying with a smile, "You seem quite refined, miss. Yes, these inks here are of slightly inferior quality, not very expensive. They range from 10 to 100 yuan. If you’re practicing calligraphy at home, you could buy a block to use."
"May I pick them up to have a look?" Sui Yi asked.
After receiving a nod from the middle-aged man, Sui Yi picked up a block, rubbed and played with it in her hand, then asked, "Is this pine soot ink?"
The middle-aged man hadn’t expected Sui Yi to recognize the ink and scrutinized her more carefully, convincing himself that this young lady must have some cultural background in her family. Otherwise, many of the young people today, no matter how well-educated, would be completely ignorant in this area.
"You know how to appraise ink?"
"I don’t understand," Sui Yi replied, shaking her head lightly and putting down the ink block.
"Then how did you know this is pine soot ink?"
"The scent," Sui Yi said lightly, as she turned to look at a shelf on the side that clearly displayed higher-grade ink.
But those inks didn’t seem as good as the ones she was looking at.
The shelf was labeled—ancient ink.
The middle-aged man disagreed with such an answer from Sui Yi. There were various scents of ink in the shop, and while ordinary people might find them all fragrant, they wouldn’t be able to discern the mixture of different ink scents. Sui Yi grabbed that ink but didn’t bring it close to her nose to smell, so how could she distinguish that it was pine soot ink!
Unless she was able to identify pine soot ink herself.
Still, quite low-profile.
The middle-aged man developed a liking for Sui Yi and said with a smile, "My name is Lv Haobai. May I ask from which family you come?"
Sui Yi knew he was mistaken but couldn’t be bothered to correct him; the more one says, the more mistakes one makes. She simply smiled faintly and started looking around the ancient ink section.
The middle-aged man couldn’t fathom her background, but seeing her seriousness and his own assessment of a person’s cultural depth, he thought this kind of customer might likely make a purchase. Overzealous selling on his part might ruin the deal, so he simply introduced, "This ancient ink section gathers ancient ink from all over. There’s a wide variety, some are antiques, some are waste products, it all depends on the individual’s eye and luck. The unified price is one thousand yuan."
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