Chapter 5 “The Entire Shelf is a Cover”
This Translation is hosted on https://bcatranslation.com/
“Let me see, quickly let me see!”
“Move aside you brat! Let me get a better look!”
The old grandpa and father stared with fire as they squeezed the teen out of the screen’s picture.
“This penmanship, this technique, this style… there’s no wrong. It’s definitely like Wang Xizhi’s Orchid Pavilion Collection!”
“Amazing calligraphy! Whose hand did these old scripts come from? How did they copy that great writer’s penmanship so well? Why is this showing up in a live broadcast?”
The two men stared at each other in awe.
“AHHH!!! What is the female host doing?!! How can she use her hands to touch that fine print! STOP!!!!” The old grandfather couldn’t hold himself and screamed in horror.
The teen on the other hand couldn’t believe this from his elders and murmured in protest, “Che~ and here they were always complaining about me always using the phone. Hey gramps, she can’t hear you even if you scream.”
Not missing the remark despite his old age, the grandfather promptly wrung the teen’s ear to make him come over, “Quick, good grandson, help me talk to her!”
……
Inside the live broadcast room, the fans had poured into the auction race after this new discovery with their bids leaving the four goddesses stunned in their place.
Wang Da Chamber of Commerce rewards the anchor with ten super fire comments: “I am willing to buy this calligraphy book for $2,000,000! Is Mrs. Song willing to discuss further in private?”
When the mood was at its highest, another barrage of comments caught everyone’s attention.
“Holy shit, Wang Da Chamber of Commerce is joining in on the fight?”
“I heard that Senior Wang likes to collect calligraphy and paintings, so it’s true!”
“Talk about rich and powerful. One bid and the prices are multiplied tenfold.”
Yet the next moment, more shocking comments came jumping off the screen.
Capital Association of Calligraphy: “Hello, my name is Wang Prince, and my grandfather is the association’s acting president. According to his insight, the Orchid Pavilion Collection copy is likely related to the original source and has high research value. Please do not physically touch the surface or sell to any private collector!”
Prince felt rather helpless inside after shooting off the comment. He had already used his own account earlier to send the message but got instantly drowned out by the countless comments in chat. As such, he could only ask his grandfather for help and set up a boss account using that background connection inside the streaming company. After all, a verified account with boosted priority definitely stands out.
However, the teen wasn’t the only one smart enough to run for the backdoor channels. Right after his priority message got popped up, numerous more sprung out like mushrooms and drowned him out again.
President of the Southern Calligraphy Association (official certification): “This calligraphy book is indeed quite rare. If Mrs. Song is willing to sell, our organization is willing to offer $2,500,000 for it.”
President of the Northern Calligraphy Association (officially certified): “The writing style is incredibly similar to the original source. Though we cannot verify where this copy came from, but our organization is willing to make a bid of $3,000,000 for the collection!”
……
“I’m going to wet my pants at this rate! Why are there so many ‘VIP’ accounts popping up here? Are they all from the government or something?”
“HOLY COW, I suddenly discovered Thief Chu Yun is crazier than I imagined!”
“I know right? How can someone hide something this valuable under the cover of a novel book? Isn’t he afraid of someone accidentally dumping it by mistake?”
“I’ve been opened to a whole new world of hiding my savings. My wife will not catch me next time, haha!”
“Upstairs, you need an item as valuable as the one on-screen first.”
……
In the courtyard of the capital, Prince and his grandfather were slamming the table in frustration right now. The teen was annoyed at being blown off by others and losing face, and the grandfather was red from his competition having more money than himself.
“Where did those old farts pop up from? Are they deliberately jacking up the price to annoy me? Also, how can they demand such a precious cultural artifact be sold like this? Grandson, you need to increase our bid. We will win it at all cost!”
Prince gawked his mouth and began shaking his head in shame at the childish behavior: “Grandpa, you need to calm down first. Mrs. Song isn’t lacking money to begin with, and I don’t think she’s willing to sell anyways.”
That’s a lady who uses wine worth over a hundred thousand dollars for a simple dinner dish. Why would she care about a few million?
And indeed, the teenager’s guess was spot on.
Although Song herself was shocked by her husband’s incredible possession, that doesn’t mean the wife’s going to sell her husband’s things privately. That’s just ridiculous!
Meanwhile back in the live broadcast room, Old Wang had already raised the bidding price up to six million and rising….
“Everyone, this is my husband’s thing, I don’t have the right to sell, please stop bidding. I’m sorry!”
“Shame, what a shame.” Prince’s grandfather sighs regretfully after hearing that.
Handsome Wine Seller rewards Anchor with ten super fire comments: “Guys and girls, can you widen your perspectives a bit? There’s a whole bookshelf worth of stuff there!!!”
There are too many fans commenting right now so the only way the wine dude could get his message across was to make it big.
Boom!
As soon as this remark came out, the rumbling of people falling off their chairs rocked the broadcast room to signal the start of a new era.
Goosebumps…
Hair raising…
Drooling…
Frothing in the mouth…
Twitching…
You name it, it’s happening….
“It can’t be… is he implying everything on the bookshelf is….!”
Song and her three friends stood there without moving, their sight slowly scanning through every item on the shelf. The image was making it hard to breathe for the ladies because of what it implied.
Old Wang and the other scholarly bosses also stopped bidding because they were gasping nonstop in front of the screen like some asthma attack had befallen these elders.
According to their estimate from the picture, there must be at least three to four hundred books on the shelf, and if every book was at the level of the first, what kind of spectacle would that be?
But soon, they all shook their heads and threw away this ridiculous idea.
It’s so whimsical.
This is simply not possible!!!
“Why don’t I try another book?” Spirit gulped and reached out to grab a different one on the shelf.
Because of her nervousness, the lady had trouble getting a steady grip so she instinctively took the biggest one in sight, titled – Occupy a Mountain and be King.
“This, this is a painting, and it can also be spread open….” She started to tremble all over after tentatively flipping the pages.
This is too much for my poor heart. Isn’t Brother-in-law too fierce?!
Dully coming over to help her friend, Coco held one end while Spirit held the other and began to unravel the disguise.
All of a sudden, the book had become a painting scroll displayed before the camera.
Ancient bustling markets, bridges and houses, various sizes of trees and greeneries, cows, donkeys, camels, and many residents walking about in the market….
It’s too mesmerizing and easily draws the audience into this painting. Unlike a lot of modern works, this was too detailed. It’s giving off the impression of you actually living inside this ancient world and not just gazing at some artwork.
After a momentary pause, the explosive gasps hits again.
“Qingming River Festival, this is clearly the painting of the Qingming River Festival!!!”
“HOLY COW! HOLY SHIT! HOLY HOLY!!!”
“My forehead is going numb! How many secrets does Thief Chu Yun have!”
“I know right? Even an uninitiated like me is seeing how precious this painting is!”
……
This painting was not unfamiliar to many people watching the broadcast. It’s simply too famous!
Back when the display of this piece was first exposed to the public, the grandeur of the size and detail simply left the populous awestruck. Regrettably, age has left many parts of the painting destroyed by the weather.
But now, there’s a fully completed version before their very eyes! A version that didn’t get reconstructed by speculation!
“Oh my god!”
Prince’s grandfather and father were shocked beyond belief.
“I wonder how those artistic directors are reacting to this. They must be going crazy right now behind the screen.”
As speculated by that fan, the bosses in the artistic field were indeed going bonkers right as the meteorite hits their industry in the most devastating manner.
“Why is there a Qingming River Festival painting in this live broadcast room?!”
“Who is so meticulous to hide this inside a novel book? Such travesty!”
“Is the true completed version actually like this? Whose master’s hand completed this imitation? The research value would be incalculable!”
“What did you say? The entire shelf could be full of famous paintings and poems?!”
……