Chapter 98 - 98 Zhang Daqian's 4

98 Zhang Daqian’s 4-Word Piece! A 100 Million Yuan Bid! (1)

The chat instantly exploded with activity.

What the f*ck?

The Qianlong Emperor’s personal seal paste?

Longquan seal paste?

Designated by the Emperor?

Now, you might be wondering, what’s the deal with Longquan seal paste?

How much is a gram of this material worth?

Well first, we need to talk about how it is made.

The primary ingredient used for its creation is lotus root.

It is said that just to create 1 gram of Longquan seal paste, one needed to use thousands of lotus roots.

Then, there’s also the specially-processed silk.

Just the amount of work done to create the silk was not something that ordinary people could ever hope to achieve.

The labor cost for such an operation was sky high, and the refinement process of the silk could take up to years.

Through these two materials alone, it was clear that creating a boxful of Longquan seal paste would take a gargantuan amount of effort.

However, the effort put into creating such a paste was not in vain. Longquan paste had the special characteristic of remaining liquid during winter and remaining viscous in the summer. It was a hallmark of ancient Chinese civilization as not only had it been the prized possession of the royal families, it was also highly revered by various scholars and literati.

Of course, common folk scholars were only allowed to use the Longquan ink after China had become a republic. Back in the Qing Dynasty and the various dynasties before it, Longquan ink was only to be used solely be the Emperor and his kin. Common folks were forbidden from using it.

A box of Longquan seal paste weighs around 50 grams, and a gram of Longquan seal paste could go from 50 thousand up towards 100 thousand yuan. Some avid users and proponents of this paste in the past include famous masters such as Qi Baishi and Lou Shibai.

“Holy crap! This can’t be real, right? Right?”

“Longquan seal paste?”

“The Qianlong Emperor’s very own seal paste?”

“Stored in an amber box too? And there’s even a millipede from the era of the dinosaurs?”

“It even has highly intricate carvings?”

“Damn it, if this box is a game character, it would be a character that has been buffed to the max!”

The viewers were completely flabbergasted by what they were seeing.

One after another, each item was more lavish and extravagant than the last.

“Then… How much would such an item be worth?”

An Peng asked in a trembling voice.

His knees had already gone weak from shock.

Although there have been items on the market that were for the Qianlong Emperor’s personal use, most of them had only ranged within the millions.

However, what Luo Feng had discovered was a Longquan seal paste box that cost tens of thousands of yuan for each gram of the paste, and there was likely around 30 grams of the paste within the box.

Box’s value aside, the ink paste itself was already worth millions.

And once the amber box was put into the picture…

“… I wouldn’t dare to give a price for such an item! Its true price will likely be determined by an auction!”

Wang Yousheng laughed bitterly before mumbling, “But since I’ve already stated that the amber box is worth a few million yuan, and since the Longquan ink paste is worth around a million…”

“If we disregard the Qianlong Emperor’s influence, it would be worth at least 6 million yuan?” An Peng asked timidly.

“Around that, yes!”

Wang Yousheng nodded. “However, with the Qianlong Emperor’s influence at play, I dare not imagine just how high its price will soar to!”

Gears began to turn in the minds of those who heard Wang Yousheng’s words.

The treasure chest was simply too awesome.

No one could have expected it to contain such a variety of rare items!

At this moment …

In the family courtyard of the Jiangnan Calligraphy and Painting Association.

A girl in her 20s was watching the livestream on her phone.

And the moment she saw this scene…

Her blood raced with exhiliration.

“Grandpa! Hurry up and look at this!”

Fang Tongtong excitedly called out.

“What is it, granddaughter? Why are you so excited?”

Fang Guojun chuckled while to fiddling around with a tea set on the table.

“It’s something you’ve laid eyes upon in the past! It’s Qing dynasty’s Qianlong Emperor’s amber Longquan seal paste box!”

!!!!

!!!

The old man almost dropped the tea set he was holding.

…

…

On the other side.

Although everyone was still astonished by Luo Feng’s latest find, after ten whole minutes of marveling at the exquisite object, their emotions have already calmed down quite a bit.

As for how much the treasure was actually worth, it would be decided in an auction.

Soon, Wang Yousheng started scanning the treasure chest again. “There doesn’t seem to be anything else of note. The rest are just some big yellow fishes!

But as soon as he spoke those words, Wang Yousheng noticed a strange object.

The object in question was wrapped in several layers of vellum.

It was a type of paper made out of a cow’s hide.

Each vellum was about a meter wide, and they had been rolled up like scroll paintings.

However…

Each of the vellum was more than double the size of an ordinary painting.

Wang Yousheng stared at it blankly for a moment before carefully removing the cow hide paper layer by layer.

“This is probably an antique painting of some sort, right?”

Qin Rubing caught a glance of the item contained within the wrapping of vellum and voiced her thoughts aloud.

“Right, it’s definitely an ancient painting!”

“Damn, this treasure chest is just one surprise after another!”

“Everyone, wanna guess what kind of ancient painting it is?”

“Could it be a painting by Tang Bohu? It’s probably worth a lot of money if that’s the case!”

“Tang Bohu’s paintings are usually worth millions, or even hundreds of millions, right?”

“Hmm, the scale and size of the parchment… Doesn’t it feel rather big?”

The viewers were filled with anticipation regarding the object’s reveal.

After all, ancient paintings were among the most expensive items within the antique market.

Especially so if they were the work of famous people.

Almost all of them could go for hundreds of millions.

As an example, there was Tang Bohu’s Mount Lu painting, which had gone on auction for the price of several billions.

To say that it was priceless was an understatement.

“I say, Little Luo, based on how heavily wrapped up this item is, I’m certain that its owner must value it greatly! As such, I surmise that it might be a super valuable treasure!”

“I think it’s better for you to open it yourself, right?”

Truth be told, Wang Yousheng wanted to unfurl it himself.

However, after giving it some thought and hesitating for quite some time, he turned towards Luo Feng and offered the honor to him instead.

“Yes, Mr. Luo. Hurry up and open it. I’m so curious about what it is!”