Upon entering the shop, Liang En was immediately hit with a familiar sensation. Having previously dealt with Pierce's family antique shop, he quickly noticed that the entire antique store's ambiance bore a striking resemblance to Pierce's establishment. The only difference was that the quality of the merchandise here seemed to be on a higher tier.
Unlike Pierce's approach in his store, the owner of this shop, an individual resembling an old butler with single-lens glasses, didn't greet the customers. Instead, he quietly stood behind the counter, waiting for customers to make their selections.
However, this suited Liang En just fine. He needed a peaceful environment to test his skills.
Inside the shop, the items in the glass cabinets required the owner's assistance to handle. The items displayed outside were available for customers to examine.
After touching most of the items displayed outside, Liang En realized that the cards in his consciousness hadn't changed at all.
"Is it because these items aren't of high enough level or they don't belong to me, or have I completely misjudged the direction?" With a furrowed brow, Liang En pondered when he didn't observe any changes.
However, he quickly decided to try a different approach—buying one or two items from the selection to validate his thoughts.
For an ordinary person, over five thousand pounds weren't a small sum, but in this kind of place, it could vanish quite easily. In order to gather as many different types of samples as possible, he soon reached the shelves at the outermost part of the store.
The items on this shelf were mostly unimpressive, and many of them were even damaged.
"The items on this shelf are more suitable for novice collectors," the shop owner finally spoke as he observed Liang En's perusal around the store and his eventual approach to the shelf.
"Above are mostly antiques with less-than-stellar conditions, and their overall value is relatively low. Besides, there are some modern crafts as well. While they might not be considered exceptional, they are sufficient for beginners learning in this field."
Perhaps due to Liang En's age and his silence during his exploration of the shop, paired with his habit of touching the items that were allowed to be touched, the shop owner assumed him to be an antique enthusiast on a tight budget.
"Thank you!" Liang En nodded slightly to express gratitude for the shop owner's spontaneous explanation. He then turned his attention to the items placed on the shelf, eventually finding a string of dusty-looking glass beads that piqued his interest.
After discreetly noting down the details of the bead string, he continued his search on the shelf. Half an hour later, Liang En approached the counter with five selected items, including the beads.
"One Athenian Drachma silver coin, 107 pounds. A borrowing card from Cambridge University Library dated back to the 1880s, 20 pounds. A medieval spearhead with moderate rust, 15 pounds. An African-styled trade bead necklace, 600 pounds. Congolese ceremonial statue, 120 pounds."
After tallying the five items, the shop owner took out a calculator, punched in some numbers, and then looked up to speak.
"The total for these items is 862 pounds. Since you're a first-time buyer and purchasing multiple items, 850 pounds will suffice," the shop owner said after Liang En handed him the money.
After paying, Liang En left the shop with the items carefully packed into the provided boxes and drove back to the small apartment he had rented.
The next step was experimentation. Regrettably, whether it was the silver coin, borrowing card, spearhead, or Congolese statue, none triggered the Golden Finger's response.
Soon, it was time to test the string of glass beads. As soon as he picked up the beads, Liang En focused on the area that had felt off about this so-called African-styled trade bead necklace.
Trade beads were originally manufactured in Europe from the 17th to the 19th centuries, shipped to Africa, and exchanged for gold, ivory, and slaves. They represented Europe's cutting-edge industrial products of that era.
In many parts of Africa, these beads were not only popular ornaments but also served as currency. It was essentially the same "glass bead" mentioned in numerous books where Europeans supposedly tricked indigenous people out of their wealth using cheap glass beads.
However, accurately speaking, this trade was essentially an unequal exchange due to Europe's technological advantage. Similar to how descendants of those people would sell chips made from the same material (sand) at exorbitant prices in the future.
Being an experienced hand able to run a shop in the Alfie Antiques Market, the owner was naturally familiar with such common antiques and unlikely to make a major mistake in identifying them.
Considering that this necklace's condition was decent but lacked some of the more valuable varieties, it was natural for the shop owner to sell it to Liang En at a common price of 20 pounds per bead.
"Indeed, even the most knowledgeable scholars might be unfamiliar with certain things, let alone just an antique shop owner."
Recalling certain books he had read during his university days, Liang En lifted a magnifying glass and scrutinized a pale blue glass bead in the string.
While resembling other beads, this one had a distinctive feature upon close examination: its round heart was set into the glass bead beneath, unlike the other beads that were uniformly molded.
"Exactly, this should be a fairly well-preserved Han Dynasty glass bead with cicada eye pattern." After multiple inspections, Liang En identified the specific nature of this glass bead.
The uniqueness of this particular African-styled trade bead necklace lay in the fact that it combined glass beads from both the Warring States period of ancient China and the 17th-century Europe.
As Liang En was about to make his final judgment about the necklace he held, an unexpected change occurred. A flash that only he could see appeared, and two dark iron-colored cards materialized in his mind.
One card was the previously possessed card, 【Detection (N)】, while the other was new, 【Appraisal (N)】.
【Appraisal (N): No one can possess all-encompassing knowledge. Even the most erudite scholars encounter things beyond their understanding. At times like these, you need a little help.
Skill Card (One-time use). Consuming this card allows you to acquire detailed information about the specified item owned by the card holder.】
After reviewing these two new cards, Liang En leaned back in his chair, sighed, and smiled. Through this test, he had finally grasped a part of the pattern governing his Golden Finger.
Firstly, the Golden Finger could only affect things owned by Liang En himself. He had touched the necklace before paying but received no response. However, he needed further research to understand the specifics of what "belonging to himself" entailed.
Secondly, he needed to be able to identify what the item actually was. It was only after confirming the nature of the bead that the Golden Finger responded.
Additionally, since this skill's lineage was called "Historical Explorer," it resonated with items of historical significance. The secular value of these items didn't necessarily correlate closely with their historical importance.
For instance, this string of beads could be seen as a microcosm of a vast trading network spanning continents and millennia. That's why it was acknowledged by the Golden Finger.
Lastly, while the skill seemed to be rooted in mysticism, the required items didn't necessarily have to be associated with mysticism. At least the Congolese ritual statue didn't trigger a response.
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