Chapter 141: Ink

To be sure, roughly ninety-nine percent consist merely of replicas, while genuine items account for less than one percent.

Sui Yi answered a phone call midway. Old Tang was urging her to arrive. After she informed him of her current location, Old Tang mentioned that someone would be sent to meet her.

Earlier, Old Tang had mentioned introducing her to a few people. Sui Yi did not feel particularly resistant to this. Although she generally disliked socializing, she understood that broadening one's horizons and gaining more life experience was beneficial, especially given Old Tang's warm and earnest hospitality.

She knew what was proper.

However, since the other person was coming to find her, Sui Yi did not just stand around waiting. Instead, she began browsing the merchandise in a nearby shop.

She chose this particular shop mainly because, upon standing near the entrance, she was greeted by a rich and lingering fragrance of ink.

"Ink is one of the Four Treasures of the Study. Cultural heritage is largely passed down through generations in the form of calligraphy and paintings, enduring and retaining its fragrance through the passage of time. Good ink allows a piece of calligraphy or painting to be preserved for many years without fading, and possesses an intoxicating fragrance that captivates scholars. In ancient times, many scholars would travel thousands of miles through wind and rain simply to acquire a fine stick of ink... This is the charm of ink..."

Standing at the doorway, Sui Yi listened as the middle-aged man wearing a blue-gray traditional Chinese jacket spoke these words in a refined, gentle, yet modulated and articulate tone. She smiled slightly and then stepped into the shop.

One can judge the goods by observing the person. A person with such clear and upright eyes would certainly offer decent items in their shop, even if not every single one was an absolute antique.

The shop had a steady stream of visitors. After all, the scent of ink was truly alluring. Both young and old would mostly step inside to take a look; some would make purchases, while others would not.

While greeting customers, the middle-aged man maintained a calm expression, neither overly joyous nor displeased.

A moment later, he heard a soft, melodious voice ask, "Boss, are these inks all sold individually? What are their prices?"

How should one put it? Having grown accustomed to the locals speaking Mandarin tinged with regional dialects, and having heard plenty of frivolous or flippant remarks from youngsters, it was rare to hear such a clear, cool, and soothing voice carrying a faint, effortless classical resonance.

It sounded completely natural, without the slightest trace of pretense or affectation.

Quite a few people in the shop turned their gazes toward the source. Upon doing so, their eyes paused.

The middle-aged man turned his head and saw a young woman in a white shirt standing in profile, gently pointing with her finger at the sticks of ink arranged on the side shelf.

She was carrying a simple, small backpack. She looked very young, perhaps eighteen or nineteen, yet her demeanor and temperament were remarkably composed and steady.

The young girl was striking, and her voice was pleasant to the ear. Even if she was just here to broaden her horizons without any intention of buying, the middle-aged man was still happy to introduce the items. He walked over and smiled, saying, "The young lady looks quite scholarly. Well, these inks are of a slightly lower grade and aren't expensive, ranging anywhere from ten to a hundred yuan. If you're practicing calligraphy at home, you could buy a stick to use."

"May I pick one up to look at?" Sui Yi asked.

After receiving a nod of permission from the middle-aged man, Sui Yi picked up a stick of ink, rubbed and played with it in her palm for a moment, and then asked, "Is this pine soot ink?"

The middle-aged man had not expected Sui Yi to be able to identify the type of ink. He gave her a more serious look, concluding in his mind that this young girl must come from a family with a certain cultural foundation; otherwise, youngsters nowadays, no matter how high their educational background, would be completely clueless about such matters.

"Does the young lady also know how to appreciate ink?"

"I don't really understand it," Sui Yi replied gently, putting the ink stick back down.

"Then how did you know it was pine soot ink?"

"The scent," Sui Yi answered calmly, while looking toward the shelves on the side that clearly displayed higher-grade items.

Yet those inks did not even look as good as the ones on the current shelf.

A label was affixed to the shelf—*Ancient Ink*.

The middle-aged man did not quite agree with Sui Yi's explanation. The inks in this shop each possessed their own fragrance. Ordinary people might just think they smelled pleasant, failing to realize that they blended different aromatic notes. Sui Yi had picked up that ink without bringing it close to her nose to sniff, so how could she possibly identify it as pine soot ink!

Unless she possessed the ability to authenticate pine soot ink herself.

However, she was being very low-key.

Developing a favorable impression of Sui Yi, the middle-aged man smiled and said, "My name is Lü Haobai. May I ask what scholarly lineage the young lady comes from?"

Realizing that this person had misunderstood, Sui Yi could not be bothered to explain further—more words often led to more mistakes. She merely offered a faint smile and began browsing the ancient ink section.

Unable to figure out her background, and observing her serious demeanor along with her apparent discernment, Lü Haobai figured that such a customer was quite likely to make a purchase. Pushing too hard for a sale on the side would only ruin things, so he simply stood nearby and introduced the items: "This ancient ink section features old inks gathered from various places. The varieties are diverse; some are genuine antiques, while others are rejects. It all depends entirely on an individual's discernment and luck. The uniform price is one thousand yuan per piece."

One thousand yuan was enough to deter many people.

Sui Yi glanced at him. "Aren't you afraid they won't sell, Mr. Lü?"

Lü Haobai laughed heartily. "Heh, to be honest, people love to gamble. This ancient ink section actually sells the best in my shop, and there are quite a few people who have struck it big. Just last year, someone bought a stick of paulownia soot ink from the Northern Jin dynasty from me and later resold it for three hundred thousand."

Lü Haobai's tone was filled with genuine confidence, as if telling everyone present that his shop had substance and reliability.

Naturally, this remark caused a commotion among many in the shop. Three hundred thousand—goodness, the profit margin was enormous.

It was practically akin to winning the lottery.

"Speaking of winning the lottery, the most terrifying place is the jadeite gambling district on the next street over. Man, the people who win big in there and become overnight millionaires—that's truly terrifying..."

Another person chimed in.

Hearing this, Lü Haobai smiled as well. "My friend, in that jadeite gambling district, raw stones costing a thousand yuan are very hard to come by... they usually cost at least tens of thousands. Moreover, with ink, you can at least discern its quality by smelling its fragrance and observing its color. Jadeite gambling, on the other hand, is completely illusory."

This made a lot of sense, and many people nodded in agreement. Sui Yi inwardly concurred that Lü Haobai possessed clear logic and exceptional eloquence; he was quite a talent.

With these thoughts in mind, Sui Yi's fingertips suddenly paused. She picked up a stick of ancient ink that was dull in color and covered with a layer of dust.

It was moderate in length, with faint, rather blurry patterns on its four sides, and slightly rounded corners.

The reason Sui Yi noticed it was because the fragrance of this ink was exceptionally pure, crisp, and mellow. Others might not be able to detect it, but given her unique physical constitution and astonishing sensory capabilities, she was able to isolate and distinguish various distinct aromas from it.

She liked this fragrance, which sparked her interest.

Picking up the ink stick, Sui Yi observed and played with it for a moment, feeling that its texture was somewhat unusual, and its fragrance was uniquely independent.

It seemed quite different from the many other inks in this place.

Since it was different, it naturally had its own distinct qualities.

After a brief thought, Sui Yi released a trace of magnetic perception to probe it, and she saw the magnetic aura emanating from the ink stick—the color was very faint, tinged with a hint of azure.

Hmm, it seemed the historical sedimentation it possessed was not very long...

Sui Yi did not mind. She figured it was at least better than the other inks, and besides, the fragrance of this ink was quite pleasant.

For Sui Yi nowadays, one thousand yuan was truly nothing, so she directly selected this ink and signaled Lü Haobai.

Lü Haobai did not expect Sui Yi to pick out an item so quickly. He walked over and glanced at the ink in Sui Yi's hand. *Hmm, a very ordinary, low-grade ink... Could it be that my judgment failed?*

*Or was the young girl's previous display just a fluke?*

Lü Haobai secretly smiled at himself for having overestimated a young girl earlier, but on the surface, he smiled pleasantly as he packed the ink into a box for her.

"Can I pay by card?"

"Of course."

Otherwise, who would carry that much cash around with them...

Ancient artifact trading also needed to keep pace with the times.

Sui Yi took out a bank card from her backpack to pay, waiting for Lü Haobai to finish packing the ink box. Directly behind Lü Haobai stood the largest display shelf in the shop.

It was also the most exquisitely decorated.

Every single stick of ink was housed in a delicate box.

Beneath each shelf compartment, the price was clearly marked.

Every item cost at least ten thousand yuan or more.

--The Famous Ink Section, where the prices were strikingly prominent.

No wonder very few people were looking at that section.

Sui Yi had not come here with the intention of hunting for bargains at low prices; she cared more about the value-to-price ratio. However, the inks in this Famous Ink Section had all been authenticated, possessed documented histories and backgrounds, and were clearly priced. Generally speaking, there was little room for high value-to-price ratios here.

Abandoning the idea of treasure hunting, Sui Yi simply walked up to the shelf and looked at the descriptions below, hoping to broaden her knowledge...

So-called famous inks could either be celebrated inks used by historical scholars and literary figures of the past, or top-tier famous inks produced by renowned modern workshops.

The former were practically impossible to encounter by chance and were basically never put on display for sale; after enduring such long stretches of time, their appearances would never be this pristine. The latter were more common—superior famous inks originating from rare ink-making regions across the country. Their ink quality was exceptional and incomparable to ordinary inks.

Sure enough, as Sui Yi looked closely, she discovered that these famous inks included Yide Ge ink from Beijing, Hongxing ink, and Xuanzong produced in Japan. The brands were diverse, mostly consisting of modern renowned inks with outstanding quality.

These were branded inks, some of which were century-old time-honored brands like Yide Ge, while others came from historically famous ink-producing regions such as Jiangdong. Although the scale of those workshops was not large, they possessed a stronger antique flavor, and some of their manufacturing methods were still inherited from ancient times, making them deeply traditional.

As Sui Yi looked on, she found it interesting and felt a sudden urge to buy a stick to take back.

Due to past constraints of circumstance, she had never practiced calligraphy.

However, from ancient times to the present, practicing calligraphy had always been an excellent way for Chinese people to cultivate their sentiments and calm their minds. She currently had some lingering doubts and burdens in her heart, so practicing calligraphy to achieve peace of mind would be a good idea...

------

While Sui Yi was thinking this, she did not notice a group of people entering through the doorway.

There were adults as well as youths, appearing to be several parents accompanying their children.

As soon as they entered, a potbellied man said to the pretty girl beside him, "You children must focus on your studies, but we must never let the study of China's ancient culture be interrupted. These inks are the cultural treasures of our China; you should all take a look and broaden your horizons. Lings霜, you've been practicing calligraphy lately, pick out a stick of ink to take back..."

The girl nodded and agreed...

Upon seeing this, some of the parents nearby smiled and said, "Director Bai truly supports our country's cultural endeavors to the utmost... And your daughter is simply a phoenix among mortals..."

"Lingshuang has great grades, is pretty, and is so talented. It's truly a testament to your excellent parenting, Director..."

*A director?* Many people nearby cast curious glances their way.