Synopsis and Starting Chapter Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
Chapter 41
Chapter 42
Chapter 43
Chapter 44
Chapter 45
Chapter 46
Chapter 47
Chapter 48
Chapter 49
Chapter 50
Chapter 51
Chapter 52
Chapter 53
Chapter 54
Chapter 55
Chapter 56
Chapter 57
Chapter 58
Chapter 59
Chapter 60
Chapter 61
Chapter 62
Chapter 63
Chapter 64
Chapter 65
Chapter 66
Chapter 67
Chapter 68
Chapter 69
Chapter 70
Chapter 71
Chapter 72
Chapter 73
Chapter 74
Chapter 75
Chapter 76
Chapter 77
Chapter 78
Chapter 79
Chapter 80
Chapter 81
Chapter 82
Chapter 83
Chapter 84
Chapter 85
Chapter 86
Chapter 87
Chapter 88
Chapter 89
Chapter 90
Chapter 91
Chapter 92
Chapter 93
Chapter 94
Chapter 95
Chapter 96
Chapter 97
Chapter 98
Chapter 99
Chapter 100
Chapter 101
Chapter 102
Chapter 103
Chapter 104
Chapter 105
Chapter 106
Chapter 107
Chapter 108
Chapter 109
Chapter 110
Chapter 111
Chapter 112
Chapter 113
Chapter 114
Chapter 115
Chapter 116
Chapter 117
Chapter 118
Chapter 119
Chapter 120
Chapter 121 - Portrait Of Titus (2)
Chapter 122 - Visitor From The Desert (1)
Chapter 123 - Visitor From The Desert (2)
Chapter 124 - Visitor From The Desert (3)
Chapter 125 - Visitor From The Desert (4)
Chapter 126 - Rookie Of Boston Red Sox (1)
Chapter 127 - Rookie Of Boston Red Sox (2)
Chapter 128 - Buddhist Scripture Written With Gold (1)
Chapter 129 - Buddhist Scripture Written With Gold (2)
Chapter 130 - Buddhist Scripture Written With Gold (3)
Chapter 131 - Chaebol, Painting, And Happy Tears (1)
Chapter 132 - Chaebol, Painting, And Happy Tears (2)
Chapter 133 - Chaebol, Painting, And Happy Tears (3)
Chapter 134 - Enemies Are Everywhere (1)
Chapter 135 - Enemies Are Everywhere (2)
Chapter 136 - More Paintings (1)
Chapter 137 - More Paintings (2)
Chapter 138 - To Florence, Italy… (1)
Chapter 139 - To Florence, Italy… (2)
Chapter 140 - To Florence, Italy… (3)
Chapter 141 - People Who Are After The Masterpiece (1)
Chapter 142 - People Who Are After The Masterpiece (2)
Chapter 143 - People Who Are After The Masterpiece (3)
Chapter 144 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (1)
Chapter 145 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (2)
Chapter 146 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (3)
Chapter 147 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (4)
Chapter 148 - The Medici And The Aristocrats (5)
Chapter 149 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (1)
Chapter 150 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (2)
Chapter 151 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (3)
Chapter 152 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (4)
Chapter 153 - Drawings In The Charity Auction (5)
Chapter 154 - Now, To London… (1)
Chapter 155 - Now, To London… (2)
Chapter 156 - Now, To London… (3)
Chapter 157 - Now, To London… (4)
Chapter 158 - Seeing The Light Again (1)
Chapter 159 - Seeing The Light Again (2)
Chapter 160 - Seeing The Light Again (3)
Chapter 161 - Seeing The Light Again (4)
Chapter 162 - Uninvited Guest (1)
Chapter 163 - Uninvited Guest (2)
Chapter 164 - Uninvited Guest (3)
Chapter 165 - Uninvited Guest (4)
Chapter 166 - Dark Shadow (1)
Chapter 167 - Dark Shadow (2)
Chapter 168 - Dark Shadow (3)
Chapter 169 - Change And Progress (1)
Chapter 170 - Change, And Progress (2)
Chapter 171 - Change, And Progress (3)
Chapter 172 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (1)
Chapter 173 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (2)
Chapter 174 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (3)
Chapter 175 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (4)
Chapter 176 - Appraiser Talks Through Appraising (5)
Chapter 177 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (1)
Chapter 178 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (2)
Chapter 179 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (3)
Chapter 180 - Inheritance Left By The Parents (4)
Chapter 181 - Star Appraiser (1)
Chapter 182 - Star Appraiser (2)
Chapter 183 - Star Appraiser (3)
Chapter 184 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (1)
Chapter 185 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (2)
Chapter 186 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (3)
Chapter 187 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (4)
Chapter 188 - Terms Of Return Of Artifacts (5)
Chapter 189 - Artifact From North Korea (1)
Chapter 190 - Artifact From North Korea (2)
Chapter 191 - Artifact Match (1)
Chapter 192 - Artifact Match (2)
Chapter 193 - Artifact Match (3)
Chapter 194 - Artifact Match (4)
Chapter 195 - Artifact Match (5)
Chapter 196 - What Happened In Austria (1)
Chapter 197 - What Happened In Austria (2)
Chapter 198 - What Happened In Austria (3)
Chapter 199 - What Happened In Austria (4)
Chapter 200 - Bait To Catch The Big Fish (1)
Chapter 201 - Bait To Catch The Big Fish (2)
Chapter 202 - What The Depressed Man Left (1)
Chapter 203 - What The Depressed Man Left (2)
Chapter 204 - Where The Faith Leads Him To (1)
Chapter 205 - Add Painting To Painting (1)
Chapter 206 - Add Painting To Painting (2)
Chapter 207 - Add Painting To Painting (3)
Chapter 208 - Finally, To There… (1)
Chapter 209 - Finally, In There… (2)
Chapter 210 (End) - Epilogue
Categories Genre: All, Completed, Fantasy, Supernatural Status: Completed ______
Total Chapters in book: 210
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
______
LIST OF LAST 10 CHAPTERS:
Page No. 210 Page No. 209 Page No. 208 Page No. 207 Page No. 206 Page No. 205 Page No. 204 Page No. 203 Page No. 202 Page No. 201 Page No. 200 Chapter 65
Chapter 65: Zwiebelmuster (3)
The symbol that represents Meissen is crossed swords. Two crossed sticks. It is a very simple but
impressive symbol.
It became Meissen’s symbol because crossed swords used to be Sachsen’s symbol.
This very symbol had been cunningly added to one of the dozens of Xian on cloud patterns.
Instead of holding fan or staff like other Xians, this Xian was carrying a huge vase that had crossed
swords pattern. It looked like the pattern of the vase itself.
“Can you see this?”
“Oho…. Meissen’s crossed swords. You have good eyes. It would have taken a long time for me to
find it.”
“Yes. But you would have found it eventually.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
“I think it is too unnatural. Judging from its shape and pattern, it was made in 1700s…. But it feels like
someone has slightly touched it. Actually, there was no need to put in the crossed swords in this
place…”
“To think about it, I’ve never seen the crossed swords symbol being so carefully hidden in
Zwiebelmuster. Normally, it is drawn on the bottom of the dish or very openly.”
“That’s what I’m saying. It is too much. Plus, at the time, Augustus locked up Bötteger and forced him
to work. So it is unlikely he could have afforded to put in such effort in a dish like this. He wasn’t
making porcelains because he wanted it…”
Eric stroked his chin and nodded.
“Hmm…. It makes sense. He tried to escape twice. Why would he draw the crossed swords and
honor Sachsen? So your conclusion is it’s fake?”
“I think it is. Writing JFB on a dish is also strange…. In addition, Bötteger couldn’t produce white hue
like this one at first. His early porcelains were red, like tin. But how much is this?”
Eric looked at the old man who was still eating and asked the price in Cantonese. Then he took his
eyes off the rice bowl and showed five fingers.
“Fifty thousand Hong Kong dollar?”
Haejin asked in Cantonese out of curiosity. The old man shook his head.
“Five hundred thousand?”
The old man nodded. Five hundred thousand Hong Kong dollar. That’s about seventy million won.
For an antique that could be both cheap and expensive. But seventy million won for this…
“Hu…. I was going to give a good gift to my mother, but I guess I can’t.”
Eric shook his head. It wasn’t because the price was too high, but he couldn’t but a fake in exchange
of that amount of money.
“Actually, it can be Bötteger’s. Unlike our guess, he might have had sudden surge of artistic spirit and
painted the crossed swords and engraved his name.”
“I know. But I also know the probability of that being the truth is extremely small.”
“There is no Zwiebelmuster that was made by Bötteger alone, so there’s no sample to compare with.
This might be real.”
“It means he never did something like engraving his name in dishes he made.”
“Aren’t you being too negative?”
“You are being too optimistic. Fine. If you want to avoid the responsibility, that’s enough. The choice is
up to me anyway, and I’ve decided not to buy it.”
“Your mother will be disappointed.”
Eric’s face turned dark for the first time.
“Hmm…. Well, I’ll have to find something else.”
“Okay. With uncertain things like this, you should take time to think.”
They were about to leave, but the old man finished his meal and grabbed Eric’s arm.
He looked around. The old man pulled him, as if he was offering to show them something else.
“Let’s follow him. We should see what he wants to show us.”
Eric got excited as if he had never been disappointed. The old man drew down a ladder from the
ceiling and started to climb.
It showed he was about to show them something great.
So Eric didn’t hesitate to climb after him.
Haejin also followed them. The ladder led to an attic that was being used as storage. The old man
groped a side of a wall to turn on light.
“Ooh….”
Eric looked around and exclaimed. The old man’s attic storage was full of valuable things, far better
than what he had shown at the entrance of the shop.
“He is about to show us real.”
Now Haejin thought coming to Hong Kong had been a good choice.
The old man struggled to bring a huge vase that was standing at a corner. It was about 80cm tall and
the ample shoulder was about 70cm wide.
The white porcelain was covered with radiant pomegranate flower patterns of cobalt blue. It was
delicate Zwiebelmuster, beyond comparison with the dish they saw earlier.
“Blue Flower White Porcelain.”
It was good enough to call Blue Flower White Porcelain instead of Zwiebelmuster.
The old man crossed his arms and sat down. Now he was smaller than the porcelain, but he was
confident, like a wrestler showing his best move.
“Luxurious. But it isn’t from China or japan. Right?”
“Yes. Its pattern shows a lady wearing traditional princess costume of Europe. Even though Europe
ordered many porcelains from China, this wasn’t made it China. It feels different.”
“Then it was made in Meissen. When was it made? Early 20 th century?”
Eric’s guess was very close to the truth.
“Late 19 th or early 20 th century. Anyway, this is good.”
Eric smiled at this.
“But it is less good great porcelains of China and Korea.”
“Isn’t Zwiebelmuster from Meissen what you are looking for now? It isn’t Böttegers, but it is from early
20 th century Meissen and thig big. Wouldn’t your mother like this enough?”
“You’re right. Excuse me, how much is this?”
This time, the old man showed eight fingers.
“Eight hundred thousand Hong Kong dollars?”
Haejin worried it might mean eight billion, but thankfully, the old man nodded. It was about thirteen
million in Korean. He thought it was reasonable price.
“Good. I thought he was asking for eight million.”
Eric had thought the same thing.
“Haejin, I need your help. I cannot carry this alone.”
Haejin looked back at the old man. His thin arms and legs wouldn’t be much of help. How on earth
had he put it in the attic….
“I will lower it down. You take it at the bottom.”
“Your guts are smaller than I thought. Are you afraid of dropping it?”
“I don’t want to break a ten million won porcelain. Just go down. I will lower it with this man here.”
“Okay… Be careful.”
Eric went down first, and Haejin worked with the old man to lower the huge Zwiebelmuster. It wasn’t
that heavy, but its price made Haejin’s arm shake.
“Hu…. I am sweating.”
Eric’s arm also shook. When he managed to put the porcelain down on the floor, sweat was dropping
from his forehead and chin.
The old man went down after Haejin. Eric patted his shoulder.
“Tell me your account number, and I’ll send you the money now.”
The old man smiled, took out a piece of paper from his pocket, and gave it to Eric. However, Eric
slightly frowned to see the old man’s account number.
“Huh? Cultural Revolution? Isn’t this Jason Chang’s company?”
The old man sat down on the chair on which he had had his meal earlier.
“Yes. That porcelain belongs to Jason Chang. And it also belongs to me.”
The old man was a little different now. It was like he was revealing his true self after testing Haejin and
Eric.
“Huh… Then what’s that Bötteger’s Zwiebelmuster? The one you tried to sell at five hundred million!”
Eric was shocked. The old man raised his arms.
“When did I tell you was Bötteger’s Zwiebelmuster? I never said that.”
It was absurd, but the old man was right.
“Then Jason Chang lied to me?”
“I don’t know. But Jason Chang never sells things through lies. Don’t you know that?”
“Yes, but…”
“I think you have misunderstood Jason Chang. He never makes an assurance that would blow back
on his face. That is how he keeps his place at the top. Oh, may I have a smoke?”
Without hearing Eric’s answer, the old man took out a cigarette and lighted it.
“What the… Fine. I got a good thing anyway, so I’ll just let it go. This is why I cannot let my guard
down even for a second.”
Eric sighed as he sent money to Jason Chang’s account with his phone. As Haejin watched it, he
wondered how they were supposed to move that heavy Zwiebelmuster, but then the old man talked to
him.
“But aren’t you going to buy anything?”
“I’m an appraiser. And there’s nothing I should buy here…”
It wasn’t because the antiques here were not good, but because Haejin couldn’t feel the need to buy
one from here.
Unless there was something great here, something worth one or two thousand million wouldn’t draw
much attention and would just leave Haejin with less cash.
However, the old man didn’t take it that way. He took it as kind of a challenge. His face turned red.
“My shop doesn’t have things?”
“No…. I didn’t mean it doesn’t have things. I meant there’s nothing that catches my attention.”
However, after saying that, Haejin realized that was all the same. He thought he had made a mistake
and tried to make excuses, but the old man jumped to his feet.
“Huh! Arrogant. You think I am only that good because of that lame Zwiebelmuster I showed you first.”
“That’s not it. It’s just there’s nothing I must buy now. It’s not like I am rolling in money, so I cannot buy
everything I like.”
Only then did the old man buy it. He sat down.
“Khmm…. That’s right. Not having enough money is different. Of course there are good things here.”
Haejin had tried to make the old man feel better, but now he felt bad himself.
Then, Eric poked his side.
“Remember I said I’ll give you a gift? Buy one.”
“That gift is buying me something here?”
“I didn’t mean that earlier, but paying you with buying one here would be fine for me.”
“No, thank you. Let’s just go. But how are you going to move this?”
“Hum? Wouldn’t it be safe to ship it off through Hong Kong Port?”
They were talking about the way to transport the porcelain, but then the old man rubbed his cigarette
at the ashtray to put it out and stood up.
“Wait for a second.”
He went up back to his attic storage and came back with a scroll. He offered it to Haejin.
“You’re Korean, right? Then you cannot just leave after seeing this painting.”
“What is it?”
“If you want to know, unroll it.”
However, as the old man came, he knocked out the ashtray with the scroll.
“Oh…”
The ash inside fell. The old man mumbled and put it back on the table. Then he looked up.
That moment, Haejin quickly looked away.
That ashtray…. The old man clearly didn’t know.
Total Chapters in book: 210
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 468205 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 2341(@200wpm)___ 1873(@250wpm)___ 1561(@300wpm)
______