Chapter Thirty-One: From Apprentice to Superior

In the hotel room, Zhang Can explained what he had seen with his unique vision, using some professional jargon. Zhu Senlin only had a superficial understanding of blue-and-white porcelain, but Zhang Can, having appraised the bowl with his special eyes, was naturally clear about its distinctive features. With his not-so-deep knowledge combined with the most precise information, his explanation was more than adequate.

Money was a wonderful thing—it opened all doors. Zhu Senlin was well aware that although he had made more profit in this period than in several previous years combined, all this gain was thanks to Zhang Can alone. Without Zhang Can, with any other person, Zhu Senlin knew he wouldn’t have earned a single penny—not because others were greedy, but because they simply couldn’t have spotted the treasures. Take, for example, the ivory micro-carving and Wang Qian’s pendant: these were obvious cases. Several highly skilled appraisers had failed to recognize them, which spoke volumes.

This could only mean that Zhang Can was stronger than any of them. His fortune wasn’t a matter of luck or coincidence; it was entirely due to his extraordinary eye.

Because of the blue-and-white porcelain bowl, Zhu Senlin went to the supermarket and bought a suitcase. He carefully wrapped the porcelain bowl and placed it inside. Their flight was at 7:30 in the morning, so Zhu Senlin woke up around 4:30, called Zhang Can, and after washing up, it was just past five. They caught a taxi to the airport; with little traffic on the expressway at dawn, they arrived in fifty minutes, whereas it would have taken an hour during the day. There was still over an hour until departure, so they waited in the lounge for another hour and a half before boarding.

Upon leaving Jincheng Airport, Zhang Can felt a great relief. He took out his phone and saw it was still off. After some thought, he decided not to turn it on—turning it on now would likely mean being bombarded with questions and scoldings from his family. It was best to keep it off until after Liu Xiaoqin’s family’s visit. As long as Liu Xiaoqin’s family didn’t show up, his parents and brother’s family would realize things had fallen through. They might be angry, but after a few days, he could call and explain. Once the storm passed, they wouldn’t say much more. Eventually, he’d bring a daughter-in-law home, and all would be well.

Old Zhu instructed the driver to head straight to the Lao Shizhai shop. Once inside, Old Su greeted them with a forced smile. Zhu Senlin wasted no time, opened the suitcase, took out the porcelain bowl, carefully unwrapped it, and beckoned to Old Su, “Come take a look at this!”

Old Su put on his reading glasses, took a magnifying glass, and scrutinized the bowl for a long time. He examined the rim, the base, the color—every detail carefully.

“Old Zhu, this bowl should be from the late Qing to early Republican period. That era was chaotic, and official kilns had essentially become civilian kilns. The authorities no longer had the power to control local factories, and even official kilns focused on profit, often leaving no marks on their wares. So even if the authorities investigated, it wasn’t easy to trace. The glaze on this blue-and-white bowl was intentionally made lighter than usual, so it’s slightly different from genuine official kiln pieces, but its value isn’t lower. Given the circumstances of the time, the craftsmen at the official kilns did this deliberately.”

Zhu Senlin offered a faint smile. By now, he trusted Zhang Can’s abilities completely and believed Zhang Can was far superior to Old Su. Old Su’s answer was exactly as he expected. Pausing, he asked, “Old Su, just tell me—how much do you think this blue-and-white bowl is worth?”

“Well…” Old Su mused, “Auction houses in the capital have sold similar blue-and-white porcelain from this period for seven hundred fifty thousand. If you don’t auction it, just sell it directly, it’d fetch around five to six hundred thousand.”

This matched Zhang Can’s own estimate—almost no difference.

Zhu Senlin grinned at Zhang Can, “Brother, I have to hand it to you. Just window-shopping and eating beef tripe, and you bring home five or six hundred thousand!”

Old Su was stunned. “What do you mean, window-shopping and eating beef tripe for five or six hundred thousand?”

Zhu Senlin laughed and recounted how he’d gone with Zhang Can to his hometown to transport golden-thread nanmu, then strolled through the provincial capital with Zhang Can, who bought him a bowl of beef tripe and acquired this blue-and-white porcelain bowl for just a hundred yuan. He then asked, “So what do you think—is Zhang Can incredibly lucky, or does he just have extraordinary vision?”

Old Su’s face turned ashen. He hadn’t known about Zhang Can obtaining four logs of golden-thread nanmu back home, because Zhu Senlin hadn’t told him. The revelation hit him even harder than the incident in the suburbs. It seemed Zhu Senlin was practically putting Zhang Can on a pedestal.

Yet what could he do? He only earned about a million a year for Lao Shizhai, but Zhang Can had made Zhu Senlin ten years’ worth of profit in just over a week!

Results spoke louder than anything else. Even if Old Su wanted to match Zhang Can, he simply couldn’t. Who could have predicted such fortune? Why did Zhang Can keep encountering these lucky breaks while he never did?

In truth, Old Su was confused. Putting aside what happened after, in previous incidents—like Yu Ji’s painting—it was Zhang Can who had spotted it, not him. Of course, one case didn’t prove much, but then Zhang Can found the ivory micro-carving hidden in a brush holder. Old Su and Master Zhao had both been present, eyes wide open, but none of them had seen it. Even if that was a fluke, what about the pendant Wang Qian brought out at the end? They all agreed it was a superb jade Guanyin, but Zhang Can alone dismissed it as a fake. That hurt Old Su deeply and made Wang Qian admire Zhang Can even more.

On this matter, Old Su, though jealous, had to admit Zhang Can’s vision surpassed his own. What puzzled him was that he had taught Zhang Can everything he knew—how could his student outstrip him?

Moreover, Zhang Can knew little about porcelain. He had only taught Zhang Can some basics about identifying jade, not the advanced skills needed for porcelain appraisal. So where had Zhang Can learned these techniques?

While Old Su was still lost in thought, Zhu Senlin called over all the staff. “Everyone, come here, I have an announcement!”

The three assistants gathered, as did Old Su and the accountant Su Xiu—five people in all. Su Xiu was Old Su’s niece, a graduate of the provincial finance school, and had been brought in by Old Su.

“You all know Xiao Zhang; I won’t introduce him further. What I want to announce is…”

Zhu Senlin declared loudly to the five, “From now on, Zhang Can will be the manager of Lao Shizhai. All matters of business and finance—Zhang Can has the final say!”

The announcement left the assistants and Old Su and his niece dumbfounded, especially Old Su, whose face was now utterly grim.

Everyone in the shop knew that Zhang Can was practically Old Su’s apprentice, having learned his modest skills from him. Now, Old Zhu had appointed Zhang Can as manager—outranking Old Su. It was almost a slap in Old Su’s face.

But Zhu Senlin was the boss. Appointments were his prerogative; employees had no say.

After speaking, Zhu Senlin smiled at Zhang Can, “Brother, you’re the manager, but you don’t have to stay in the shop. You’re free to come and go as you like. You get half the profits. How does that sound?”

This was a condition Zhu Senlin had already discussed with Zhang Can, but now it was official. The staff were stunned—splitting half the profits was like being a co-owner, and Zhang Can hadn’t invested a cent. The shop belonged entirely to Zhu Senlin. Was their boss out of his mind? Zhu Senlin had always been cunning and shrewd; getting a penny out of him was hard. Had the sun risen in the west?

Zhang Can noticed Old Su’s dark, sullen expression—clearly angry. But Old Su had no idea Zhang Can already knew about his partnership in the thirty-thousand fraud, which only fueled Old Su’s jealousy. Internally, Zhang Can chuckled coldly, but outwardly his smile grew even warmer. “I have no objections at all. With such sincerity from Boss Zhu, how could I refuse? From now on, I’ll be relying on everyone, especially Old Su, to help make Lao Shizhai’s business flourish!”

Of course, Zhang Can’s words were just for show. The assistants and Su Xiu thought Zhu Senlin was crazy, but Old Su knew better—Zhu Senlin was no fool. He was simply dazzled by Zhang Can’s unbelievable luck. In Old Su’s mind, as soon as Zhang Can’s luck ran out, his good days would be over. He still didn’t believe Zhang Can’s skills were truly profound, or that all these opportunities came from his sharp eyes.

Only Zhang Can fully understood Zhu Senlin’s thinking. Zhu Senlin was shrewd and, though unaware of Zhang Can’s supernatural ability, trusted absolutely that Zhang Can’s appraisal skills were far superior to Old Su’s. He believed these windfalls were due to ability, not luck. Outwardly, Zhu Senlin seemed to be giving up a great deal—offering half the profits of a shop he’d funded entirely himself—but what they didn’t know was that in just a few days, Zhang Can had already made nearly ten million in pure profit for him. Even if they only repeated such success two or three times a year, even with half the profits going to Zhang Can, Zhu Senlin would make far more than Old Su ever could.

As for Zhang Can’s real motive, only he knew it: to provoke Old Su, drive him to the brink, and then lure him into a trap, ruining him completely.

Old Su was indeed furious, but dared not act out. He knew that if he really threatened to quit, Zhu Senlin wouldn’t care in the slightest. With Zhang Can around, Lao Shizhai could run perfectly well without Old Su.

Though Zhang Can avoided looking at Old Su directly, he watched him closely out of the corner of his eye. Seeing Old Su so angry and afraid was immensely satisfying, but his face remained pleasant. He cupped his hands and said, “From now on, we’re all colleagues. Let’s work together to make Lao Shizhai bigger and better. Once the business reaches a certain level, there will be generous bonuses for everyone. As for the conditions and proportions, I’ll discuss them with Boss Zhu and let you all know.”

He wasn’t even the owner, yet he spoke like one—issuing promises and taking charge.

What irritated the others even more was that Boss Zhu Senlin stood by, beaming, seemingly unconcerned by Zhang Can’s bold words, and even giving him free rein to run Lao Shizhai.