Chapter 23: 23 In the end, who is testing whom?_1

Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation

Mr. Zhang took out a copper coin that bore four small characters: “Jianyan Gold”. Due to its old age, the script was already worn and not very clear.

Before Tang Feng could speak, Qin Yanan at his side had already spoken first, “Mr. Zhang, isn’t the question you’re posing too difficult?”

She considered herself to have some expertise in antiques, but when she saw this copper coin, she was also completely in the dark.

She didn’t even know which dynasty the copper coin was from.

In Dragon Country’s history, there were so many dynasties, so many emperors, and the era names were changed so often.

Unless one had in-depth research on ancient coins, it was impossible to know every era’s copper coins like the back of one’s hand.

This question was too difficult!

Mr. Zhang sipped his tea, revealing a faint smile, “Since he wants to take over as Ya Garden’s chief appraiser, naturally, the question has to be a bit more difficult.”

“Of course, if he can’t answer this question, I can swap it for an easier one.”

As he said that, he began to take back the copper coin.

But Tang Feng quickly reached out first, picking up the copper coin, “Let me try.”

Mr. Zhang glanced at him, “You can search online or consult the ancient books, there are books about ancient coins on the shelf over there.”

Tang Feng was momentarily speechless.

Who is he looking down on?

Did he need to search online or flip through ancient books?

What he needed was the system.

Without another word, he directly activated the scanning system.

“System scanning…”

After a moment, all the information about the copper coin appeared before him.

By this time, Qin Yanan had thoughtfully taken over the book “Research on Ancient Coins of Dragon Country”, “Tang, Mr. Zhang said you could look up the information.”

Tang Feng just glanced at the book and then shook his head with a smile, “If I have to look at a book for such a simple question, then I really don’t deserve to take over as the chief appraiser.”

“Uh…”

Qin Yanan didn’t expect her well-intended help to be received with ingratitude, and she smiled awkwardly.

Mr. Zhang put down his teacup, casting his gaze over him, “Since you say this question is easy, I’ll give you half an hour to observe and judge it. That should be enough time, right?”

Tang Feng put the coin back on the table, “Half an hour isn’t necessary, I can give the answer now.”

“Oh?”

Mr. Zhang picked up his tea cup again, concealing his own astonishment, “I’m all ears.”

Tang Feng pointed at the copper coin, “Jianyan was the first era name of the Southern Song Dynasty, and this era name was used for a total of four years. Besides Jianyan Tongbao, there were also Jianyan Tongzhong and Jianyan Gold. Especially Jianyan Gold, which is extremely rare and is one of the top fifty precious ancient coins…”

As Qin Yanan listened to his fluent speech, she quickly turned her head to look at Mr. Zhang, noticing he was listening with closed eyes and nodding from time to time.

It was clear that everything Tang Feng said was completely correct.

This made her feel extremely surprised.

In such a short period of time, he was able to recount the history of an extremely rare copper coin as if it was precious treasure in his own home.

This level of knowledge and historical foundation was indeed admirable.

Mr. Zhang’s face also took on more of a smile, slowly nodding his head, “It seems you do have some substance.”

“However, it’s not enough to just state the origins of the coin; you also need to judge the authenticity of this copper coin and give reasons for your judgement.”

“This copper coin is fake,” Tang Feng answered without hesitation.

“Oh? And the reason?” Mr. Zhang’s expression became even more surprised as he continued to inquire.

Tang Feng picked up the copper coin again, continuing to recite the system’s scanning results, “I have to say, this copper coin is made very realistically, whether it’s the patina or the characters, there’s nothing to fault. But it has a glaring mistake.”

“What mistake?”

“The hole!”

“Hm? The hole? What’s wrong with the hole?”

His response evidently exceeded Mr. Zhang’s expectations; he hastily took the copper coin from his hand, examined the central hole, but found nothing amiss.

“Sister, can you make me a cup of tea? I’m a bit thirsty,” Tang Feng didn’t immediately answer but turned his head to Qin Yanan with a smile.

Although Qin Yanan really wanted to know the answer immediately, she ultimately suppressed her curiosity and went to make him a cup of tea.

After Tang Feng received the teacup, he took a sip in the manner of Mr. Zhang, looking thoroughly delighted.

Mr. Zhang felt an urge to strike someone, urgently asking, “Tang, come on, what’s wrong with the hole?”

Seeing that the old gentleman was eager, Tang Feng didn’t dare to keep him in suspense, “In ancient times, people strung copper coins together with strings. So the holes of ancient copper coins would have natural wear marks.”

Mr. Zhang immediately pointed to the wear marks on the hole of the copper coin, “There’s no problem here, this copper coin’s hole also has wear marks.”

Tang Feng burst into laughter, “That’s exactly the problem.”

“What’s wrong with that?” Mr. Zhang didn’t understand the meaning of his words.

“Because Jianyan Gold circulated only for four years, even if there were wear marks, they would likely be very minor. But the wear marks on this copper coin are quite severe. The person who faked it overlooked this point and overdid it, to the degree of self-defeat.”

After finishing, Tang Feng lifted the teacup again, taking a sip and looking at Mr. Zhang with a smile, “Such an obvious mistake, you must have seen it earlier too, right?”

“Uh…”

Mr. Zhang’s face turned red; though he had previously determined the copper coin was fake.

But it took him over a week of repeated study to conclude that, and that was not because of the hole.

And Tang Feng, after just a few looks, pointed out a mistake he had not noticed before.

This made him feel a bit ashamed.

“Even if there’s something wrong with the hole…” he was about to find some fault.

Tang Feng had already preempted him, “I know, just the hole alone is probably not enough to prove the copper coin is fake.”

“Aside from the hole, there are also issues with its degree of calcification, oxidation, and even the rust that adheres to the bone…”

He picked up the copper coin again, explaining each issue in detail.

While Mr. Zhang sat beside, listening quietly, just like a primary school student.

Qin Yanan found the scene rather comical.

After all, who was testing whom?