Crazy Xiuxian, boundless magic power

After looking at the paintings, Shopkeeper Wen turned his attention to the poems.

After taking a few glances, Shopkeeper Wen frowned and asked:

"Forgive my poor eyesight, I don't know this word."

"See."

"If life could only be like our first encounter, well, well said! I have never seen this word before."

"wind."

"And this word..."

……

"What a good poem! What a good poem! I never thought that you, at such a young age, have such talent. I am so ignorant and my vocabulary is shallow that I cannot describe even a fraction of the exquisiteness of this poem."

After reading the poems, Shopkeeper Wen was extremely excited. He stared at the calligraphy and painting, praising them repeatedly and shaking his head and reciting a few lines from time to time.

Although some simplified characters are written differently, they are very similar to traditional characters and, like cursive script, can be remembered once they are pointed out.

It is not surprising that many calligraphy masters have their own way of writing certain characters.

Chu Wen sat upright sipping tea, smiling without saying a word, and his style was just right.

How can it be good for the great China and its thousand-year-old treasure?

After a long while, Shopkeeper Wen stood up excitedly and shouted to the shop assistant:

"Qingfeng, good tea!"

After shouting, Shopkeeper Wen looked at Chu Wen with admiration and said:

"What a great Fengyin hermit, he is so young and yet he is an expert in both poetry and painting. Once this poem is published, it will be regarded as the best in Qingyun."

Chu Wen smiled implicitly: "There is no first in literature, and no second in martial arts. Sir, you are too kind. The painting was casually scribbled by a maid in the mansion, not by me."

When Shopkeeper Wen heard this, he thought that the maid Chu Wen was talking about was just Hua Yanqiaoyu, and he couldn't help but look at Hua Yanqiaoyu several times.

"What a great man, Wen Wu Di First. You are so young, yet you have such a broad mind. Buffalo City is lucky, and so is Dan Ning Yuan. I'm Wen Siyuan, and I'd like to ask for your honorable name."

Shopkeeper Wen looked at Chu Wen with warm eyes, as if he was looking at a shining gold ingot.

Upon hearing this, Chu Wen stood up, folded his arms, bowed and saluted.

"I don't deserve your respect. My surname is Chu, my given name is Wen, and my courtesy name is Yunjin. Mr. Siyuan is a senior, so you can just call me by my name."

"No, no, my name is Yunjin and my surname is the same, we are destined to be together. If my name is not too rude, how about we call each other brothers from now on?"

After saying this, Shopkeeper Wen looked at Chu Wen sincerely and eagerly, as if he was looking at his newly-married 18-year-old concubine.

Chu Wen felt a little embarrassed by being looked at, so he could only say:

"In that case, I have overstepped my authority."

When Shopkeeper Wen saw Chu Wen readily agreed, he excitedly grabbed Chu Wen's arm across the table and laughed out loud, as if he had found his only son who had been lost for many years.

"Haha... Qingfeng! Tell the backyard to set up a banquet! I want to get drunk with brother Yunjin today."

After saying that, Shopkeeper Wen pulled Chu Wen to sit next to him and held Chu Wen's arm tightly, fearing that Chu Wen would run away.

"It is a great honor to meet you today. I am so happy that I must drink three hundred cups today! I won't go home until I am drunk! Hahahaha..."

Chu Wen was stunned by this series of moves.

It's just selling a poem, is it necessary to recognize me as a relative?

What he didn't know was that although "Danningyuan" had some fame in Buffalo, it had always been suppressed by "Chunqiuzhai" and was not having an easy time.

When Manager Wen saw this calligraphy and painting, he knew that Danningyuan had a chance to make a comeback. This poem alone was enough to surpass all the poems in Chunqiuzhai.

What's more, the paintings in the scroll are extraordinary and don't seem to be made by ordinary people.

After reading the poems, and then looking at the paintings, the artistic conception is completely different, it is simply amazing.

If Chunqiuzhai were to snatch away Chu Wen, a talented poet and painter, Danningyuan would never be able to recover.

It can be said that there is no truly high-quality calligraphy and painting in Buffalo. The original calligraphy and paintings that can be obtained from the two calligraphy and painting shops are mostly at the level of Master Xu.

Chu Wen didn't know about Manager Wen's tricks, he just wanted to know how much the calligraphy and painting were worth.

"Brother Siyuan, wait a minute. I still have a young sister to feed at home, so it's not appropriate for me to stay any longer. Forget the banquet. I'll invite you to my house when I have the chance. I'll get drunk with you then. It's really inconvenient today, so please forgive me."

Shopkeeper Wen tried to persuade Chu Wen to stay several times, but seeing that Chu Wen was sincere, he couldn't force him and had to give up.

After another round of greetings, Chu Wen said:

"May I ask Brother Siyuan, how much is this word of mine worth?"

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Wen quickly said:

"Brother Yunjin, this calligraphy and painting is both a masterpiece of poetry and painting, and is very valuable. My store is just a consignment store, and the price has to be determined by Brother Yunjin himself."

Chu Wen suddenly realized that the calligraphy and painting shop only took a commission. After thinking about it, Chu Wen tried to quote the price in his mind:

"One hundred taels?"

"No!"

When Shopkeeper Wen heard Chu Wen's offer, he exclaimed in surprise.

At this price, Shopkeeper Wen really wants to buy it himself.

But he has been doing business for decades and is not short-sighted. He knows that cheating others and himself is the key, and that reputation is money.

Chu Wen thought that his price was too high and was about to lower it when he heard Shopkeeper Wen say:

"Brother Yunjin, I have been in the calligraphy and painting business for many years. I dare not say that I have a unique vision, but I also understand the market. Not to mention the paintings, just the original poem is worth at least five hundred taels! May I ask, brother, is this poem original?"

Ah!

Chu Wen was shocked. A painting was worth five hundred taels!

Why did I stay in the mountain temple and eat only coarse food for more than a month?

"All calligraphy and paintings are originals, and the price is up to you, brother!" Chu Wen was very happy.

Five hundred taels. If the old monk knew about this, he would be so happy that he would go crazy.

From then on, Xiu'er had to eat candied haws regularly and she no longer had to look at the old monk's face, and she no longer had to eat radishes every day to make sweet speeches.

In fact, Manager Wen also has his own selfish motives.

If the price is too low, the calligraphy and paintings will be easily sold. For him, it is better to offer a higher price and let the calligraphy and paintings hang in the store for a longer time.

Seeing Chu Wen getting up and about to leave, Shopkeeper Wen said enthusiastically:

"Since you are waiting at home, I will not keep you here today. Just go home and wait for the news. I will leave the trivial matters of mounting and selling the paintings to you."

"I will notify all the cities to bid this afternoon. I wonder where you are living. When the bidding is over, I will visit you in person."

Chu Wen didn't expect that the service attitude of this store was so good. It provided a one-stop service and even delivered the money personally to the door. It seemed that he had come to the right place.

"Then I'll trouble you, Brother Siyuan. I live in the former Xu Mansion in Taohua Lane in the south of the city. You are always welcome to visit me."

After saying that, Chu Wen did not notice the surprised look of Shopkeeper Wen. He thought of the name of the store "Danningyuan" and said with an idea in his mind:

"It's our first meeting, and I didn't bring any gifts. I want to give you a pair of couplets, so please don't despise me."

Upon hearing this, Shopkeeper Wen immediately put on a smile.

"What are you talking about, my dear brother! I am so happy to receive your calligraphy."

As he spoke, Shopkeeper Wen took out a sheet of paper, weighed it down with a paperweight, ground the ink himself, and handed over a pen.

With a flourish of Chu Wen's brush, a couplet appeared on the paper.

First couplet: Be indifferent to show your ambition.

Second line: Tranquility leads to far-reaching results.

After reading this couplet, Shopkeeper Wen stood there in a daze.

After a while, his face turned red, his eyes widened, and he pounded the table with his hands, unable to control himself.

"Good! Good! Good! What a great way to be indifferent to fame and wealth, to be calm and to achieve your goals. You are truly a god! Good! Good! Good!"

Chu Wen smiled but said nothing.

How can it be bad? I’ve even given you Mr. Wolong’s thatched cottage couplets.

Then Shopkeeper Wen began to praise Chu Wen again, making him sound like the best.

Fortunately, Chu Wen is thick-skinned, otherwise he would not be able to withstand it.

After some greetings, Chu Wen walked out of the store. Shopkeeper Wen held Chu Wen's hand affectionately and refused to let go for a long time.

"My dear brother, if you have any new works in the future, don't forget me."

"Of course, please go back, I'll be there soon."

"Wait a minute, my dear brother. I have some pastries in my shop that are perfect for you as a snack. Qingfeng! Bring out the lunch box!"