The Eye of Old Things

After graduating, Lin Mo works himself to the bone at an advertising company. He spends years working late into the night, yet his meager salary can barely keep up with rising rent. With nowhere else to turn, he opens an old camphorwood chest left behind by his grandfather and unexpectedly awakens a special ability: when his fingertips touch an old object, he can see glimpses of its past and learn its age, condition, and estimated market value.

Every old item in the chest, dismissed as junk, is hiding value. One Qing dynasty inkstone is estimated to be worth as much as 38,000 yuan. To scrape together his rent, Lin Mo takes the antiques to an early-morning flea market and sets up a stall. Using his special ability, he sells several items and earns enough to get through his immediate crisis. Zhou Qingshan, an antiques expert, takes a liking to the inkstone and repeatedly raises his offer in an attempt to get a bargain. Knowing its true value, Lin Mo refuses to sell it cheap.

While browsing the market, Lin Mo discovers that his ability can also help him spot fakes and find hidden bargains. Among the crowded stalls, he touches a Shoushan stone seal with a chipped knob that no one else has noticed, and sees its astonishing market value: 120,000 yuan.

With eyes that can see the passage of time in old objects, a young man from the bottom of society steps into the world of antiques, where it's hard to tell real from fake, and is about to begin a whole new life.

This novel and its characters are entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people or events is purely coincidental. Do not imitate.