Reborn: Scavenging for Scrap in Republican-Era China

[Serious treasure appraisal + striking it rich with undervalued finds + clue prompts + overwhelming advantage]

In the chaotic years of the Republic of China, warlords clash and foreign compradors run rampant. The antique trade is governed by rigid rules, with old masters monopolizing the right to speak. Counterfeiters and con artists ruin their victims, while countless national treasures are lost overseas.

Chen Dinggu, the lowliest apprentice at Hengtong Pawnshop, unexpectedly awakens the ability to see “authenticity clues.” But he soon discovers that his golden finger only gives him hints, not answers! [A painting within a painting], [Republic-era Western red pigment], [New parts on an old base]… In this treacherous world of antiques, he can only rely on his hard-earned knowledge of craftsmanship and history, turning each clue into a scalpel sharp enough to tear open the city’s tangled schemes.

From uncovering an authentic Tang Bohu painting at Panjiayuan’s ghost market, to unraveling a scam involving Song dynasty paper and Tang dynasty paintings in the Eight Great Hutongs, to intercepting a national treasure outside Fengtian City with nothing but a blade in hand, Chen Dinggu single-handedly smashes the rotten rules of the old era.