Reborn in 1977

Chapter 681: A Gift of Painting

"Why won't you sell it?"

The man spoke in extremely awkward Mandarin, arguing with Manager Hou, his face flushed red. "Last time I wanted to buy the Immortal Lotus Painting, you said it was not for sale. Today I took a liking to this painting, and you still say it's not for sale. How can there be so many items not for sale?

You run a shop, you're not a collector. Even collectors will use their collection to support their collection. Are you like a gluttonous monster, only taking in and never giving out?!"

After this outburst, he turned to look at the painting, suddenly stunned. He lowered his body and leaned closer, beads of sweat visibly appearing on his forehead. He quickly took out a handkerchief to wipe it off, then covered his mouth and whispered, "I didn't speak directly at the painting just now, how did I get it wet?

" After saying that, he sniffed with his nose, "Huh, such a strong ink smell, is it damp?

" Looking at the entire painting, there were indeed several damp spots.

Then he turned to look outside, "It's not the season for humid southerly winds."

His eyes darted slightly, his gaze meeting Manager Hou's nervous expression. Suddenly, he realized something, his pupils instantly dilating, "This was just painted? The Green Lotus Taoist is here?

" The characteristics of this painting were too obvious, exactly like the Immortal Lotus Painting, with steep mountains and overlapping peaks, yet seemingly close at hand, turning a landscape ink painting on paper into a three-dimensional mountain scene.

Apart from that Immortal Lotus Painting, he had never seen it on any other painting.

In addition, the inscription in the upper right corner was clearly identical to the inscription on the Immortal Lotus Painting.

Even if he wasn't a famous calligrapher or painter, and his knowledge of calligraphy and painting authentication was limited, it didn't prevent him from confirming that this painting was indeed from the hand of the Green Lotus Taoist.

Heaven have mercy, since coming to Beijing in the summer and seeing that Green Lotus Painting, he had immediately offered to buy it, but Manager Hou stubbornly refused to let go, even with a sky-high price of 200,000 Hong Kong dollars, he still failed to get his wish.

Unable to buy the painting, he could only pin his hopes on the painter, begging Manager Hou to introduce him, but only received the answer of the Green Lotus Taoist.

Due to his special identity, it was inconvenient for him to inquire everywhere. Helplessly, he could only come and take a look whenever he had time.

In just half a year, he had come to Beijing three times, an experience he had never had before.

It was a pity that he had never met the Green Lotus Taoist each time he came.

This was already the third time. He had just been admiring the paintings in the hall, then, as usual, came to find Manager Hou to see if he could extract the identity of the Green Lotus Taoist.

Unexpectedly, just as he reached the door, he heard Manager Hou shouting "Good."

It was obvious that he had obtained a rare treasure.

He couldn't help himself for a moment, and without waiting for the staff to report, he pushed the door open and entered.

What he didn't expect was that there was an unframed calligraphy and painting on the table. Looking at the style of the calligraphy and painting, it was clearly from the hand of the Green Lotus Taoist.

As a result, before he could speak, Manager Hou shouted that he wouldn't sell it, and he immediately became anxious.

That one isn't for sale, and this one is also not for sale, isn't your place open for business?!

Only after he finished complaining did he realize that this painting had just been created.

So, who is the Green Lotus Taoist?

He stood up straight and looked left and right, one was Manager Hou, and the other was a young man in his twenties.

There were only the two of them, no one else, so who was the Green Lotus Taoist?

It couldn't be that young man, could it? Could it be Manager Hou himself?

Manager Hou, seeing that he couldn't hide it anymore, had no choice but to turn to look at Chen Fan, and said with a wry smile, "Comrade Chen, it's not that I'm not keeping it a secret for you, it's just a coincidence that you happened to be here."

Last time, many literati gathered here, Chen Fan and his three masters happened to be present, leaving behind a Green Lotus Painting, and at the same time asked everyone to keep it a secret and not spread it.

Unlike writers, there were simply too many people seeking works from calligraphers and painters. He didn't want to spend every day writing and painting for people. He just wanted to enjoy the arts and cultivate his character, if it became a profession, it would become a burden.

For example, Zhang Daqian and Qi Baishi, there were times when they wanted to smash their brushes after painting.

Now, Chen Fan, apart from occasionally writing a few words for acquaintances, felt no pressure at all, and he really liked this casual life.

But it was precisely because of this reason that things that were almost well-known within the calligraphy and painting circle were unknown to outsiders.

This was one of the reasons why that gentleman had not been able to find out who the Green Lotus Taoist was.

As for the other reason, it was that this gentleman was really cautious. He only simply asked the people around him and did not inquire in a high-profile manner, otherwise, he should have known the answer long ago.

As for Chen Fan, although his face was calm at this time, he was actually surprised in his heart.

It was really a coincidence that he met this person at Rongbaozhai!

Manager Hou first explained, then introduced them, "Comrade Chen, this is Mr. Huo, a patriotic businessman from Hong Kong, who has made great contributions. In recent years, he has come to Beijing every year and is also a regular customer of our shop."

Then he introduced to Mr. Huo, "This is the Green Lotus Taoist you have been thinking about, Chen Fan. He is also a well-known writer in our country and the Vice Chairman of the Jiangnan Provincial Writers Association."

Mr. Huo listened carefully to the introduction, then looked at Chen Fan with shining eyes, quickly extended his hands, "So you are Writer Chen, hello, hello, I have read your works, they are very well written."

Chen Fan also slightly revealed a bit of his true nature, extended his hands and shook them tightly, and said with a serious expression, "So you are Mr. Huo, I have long admired you."

Mr. Huo started from humble beginnings, from a Tanka family to the current Hong Kong tycoon. His way of dealing with people was naturally incomparable. Looking at Chen Fan's expression, it didn't seem like he was just being polite, and he couldn't help but be a little surprised, "You know me?

" This era was not like later generations. In fact, it was not until the 1990s that the stories of overseas patriotic entrepreneurs were vigorously promoted. Few people actually knew them now.

Chen Fan smiled and said with a serious expression, "I know quite a few people and have heard of Mr. Huo's great deeds. In those years, there were many Hong Kong businessmen who supported the mainland, but due to fear of hegemony, they were somewhat concealed in order to protect themselves.

Only Mr. Huo did not conceal it, openly purchasing embargoed materials and sending them to the mainland. His sincere heart is truly admirable!

" As soon as Mr. Huo heard this, he knew that he really knew him, and he couldn't help but smile from ear to ear, "You flatter me, you flatter me."

Although he made a lot of money from trafficking in materials, he also earned it by risking his life under the barrage of guns from the Hong Kong British authorities. Even if he didn't take that waterway and did the transshipment business in Southeast Asia, transporting materials to Hong Kong and Macau, perhaps he wouldn't have earned so much, but there would definitely not have been such a big risk, and perhaps he could have earned even more if he shipped in bulk.

Not to mention that as time passed, he was still subjected to open and secret suppression by the authorities, regretting the loss of the best development opportunity.

Although he had never regretted this, he was still happy from ear to ear when he heard Chen Fan's praise, and his eyes narrowed with a smile.

Chen Fan then turned to look at Manager Hou and said with a serious expression, "In the future, if there are patriotic people like Mr. Huo who seek paintings, Manager Hou can tell me directly, it is my honor."

Hearing this, Manager Hou was also happy, "Comrade Chen is generous!"

Chen Fan smiled, turned to look at the painting on the table, and said with a smile, "This painting is still a little short. Let me finish it."

After speaking, he released the hand he was holding, walked to the painting table, picked up another brush, but instead of dipping it in ink, he dipped it twice in the red ink paste, and a touch of bright red appeared on the tip of the brush.

Under the gaze of Manager Hou, Mr. Huo, and the staff member who came in with them, Chen Fan lifted the brush and gently landed it on the setting sun.

When the tip of the brush left the paper, the setting sun, which had only been an outline, instantly turned into a half-wheel of purplish-red, illuminating the earth without being dazzling, without affecting the artistic conception of the entire painting, but adding a bit of blood.

He put the brush down again, but this time the tip landed on the flag in front of the team, and as he lifted it up, the ink flag instantly became clear, that touch of red fluttering in the wind, perfectly matching the essence of "Starting anew with strides firm and strong."

Putting down the brush, Chen Fan picked up the writing brush he had just used, moved it to the end of the poem, and wrote a few lines of small characters as a signature, "Mr. Li's 'Ode to Qin - Loushan Pass', on the Renzi day of the Jiazi month of the Wuwu year, respectfully presented to Mr. Huo for preservation."

Finally, he reached into his pocket and took out a seal.

It was not the top-quality Tianhuang stone seal that Master Lu had given him, but another top-quality bloodstone he had bought from Rongbaozhai, which he had carved with the word "Qinglian".

This was a seal he had specially carved after hearing He Qingsheng say that he had been given the title of "Qinglian Taoist".

Ahem, since Master Zhang had even given him a Taoist title, he could only accept it.

He pressed the seal on the ink paste, and then pressed it hard next to the signature.

Looking at the freshly baked signature and the bright red seal, Mr. Huo was immediately overjoyed, and leaned closer to admire it carefully.

After a moment, he raised his head and sighed, "The calligraphy, painting, and seal are all superb! The poem is good, the calligraphy is good, the painting is good, and even this seal, although it only has the two characters 'Qinglian', the knife work is like a brush, showing the elegance of calligraphy, and without losing the strength of seal carving, good, good, good!"

Manager Hou smiled from the side, "Mr. Huo, you don't know, this seal was also made by Comrade Chen himself, without the help of others."

"Oh?"

Mr. Huo turned around and sighed, "Wouldn't that be a triple perfection of calligraphy, painting, and seal? No, …"

He suddenly raised his hand and waved, "I have read Writer Chen's articles, and his writing style is unique, with a distinctive style and a grand master's demeanor. So it should be a quadruple perfection of literature, calligraphy, painting, and seal!"

Chen Fan just smiled and said politely, "You flatter me."

He couldn't possibly say that he was proficient in zither, chess, calligraphy, painting, poetry, wine, flowers, and the daily necessities of life. Occasionally, he could even butcher a pig or slaughter a sheep, that would be too embarrassing.

After chatting for a few more words, Mr. Huo turned to look at Manager Hou, his expression somewhat arrogant, "Manager Hou, this painting belongs to me now!"

Only then did Manager Hou realize that the painting he had asked for had been given away?

He immediately pulled Chen Fan and said, "Comrade Chen, you can't favor one over the other. This painting was clearly meant for the store. Since you wrote 'Presented to Mr. Huo for preservation', I won't argue about it, but you have to leave another one for the store, otherwise, otherwise…"

He looked around, then grabbed Chen Fan's arm tightly, "Otherwise, don't even think about leaving."

Chen Fan had no choice but to write another one.

However, this time there was no painting, only a poem by Mr. Li, which Manager Hou found quite regrettable.

But seeing the dragon-flying and phoenix-dancing characters on the paper, he couldn't help but be overjoyed and praised it endlessly, and reluctantly accepted it.

Mr. Huo got the painting and met the "Qinglian Taoist" he had longed to meet, and was in a particularly happy mood. He took Chen Fan's hand and said, "You must give me a chance today. I'll be the host and we'll have a simple meal together."

Chen Fan didn't decline, but just smiled and said, "If we're talking about eating, I'll take you to a place and introduce you to a few people, I guarantee you won't be disappointed."

Originally, he had planned to buy a batch of antiques to take back today, but with this unexpected surprise, he put it aside and would deal with it later.

Mr. Huo was slightly stunned, "Oh?"

However, he had some concerns in his heart. His identity was not ordinary. Would there be any taboos if he casually associated with people?

But it was not easy to say these words.

Chen Fan was a shrewd person, and he saw his concerns at a glance, and immediately smiled, "You should have someone accompanying you here, right?"

Mr. Huo immediately nodded, "Yes, they are outside the store."

Chen Fan smiled, "Just tell them that you are leaving with me, and they will report it and there will be no problem."

Hearing this, Mr. Huo was really surprised. He had met several well-known writers in the mainland, but none of them dared to say this, but Chen Fan dared to. Could it be that he had something special?

At this time, Manager Hou also interjected from the side, "Others may not be able to do it, but Comrade Chen should have no problem."

The Qinglian painting was still hanging in the lobby. It wasn't that no one had questioned it, but after questioning, they all fell silent. What other problems could there be?

Mr. Huo turned to look at him, pondered for two seconds, and then made a decision. He raised his head and smiled at Chen Fan, "Then I'll trouble you."

Speaking of which, Mr. Huo's courage was almost known to the world.

But very few people knew that he also had "cowardly" moments, and these "cowardly" moments were basically in the mainland.

The first time he came to the mainland to attend a meeting at the joint invitation of Mr. Li and President Zhou, the staff asked him if he wanted to go out and take a look. He sat in the car and drove back and forth in the capital.

According to the staff who accompanied him at the time, Mr. Huo couldn't help but burst into tears at every place, but he never got out of the car. Every time, he just went around in the car and returned to his residence.

The accompanying staff asked him why he didn't get out of the car and walk around. He said he was afraid of causing trouble for everyone.

Later, he would come to the capital at least once a year. Over time, he would go to see a few fixed places, and he was always polite to everyone.

Especially when he went to public places like Rongbaozhai, he would ask the accompanying staff to wait outside, and he would go in alone, briefly browse, buy a few favorite collections, and then leave quickly.

Even after many years, it was still the same.

This kind of "cowardice" was not to say that he was afraid, but that he was worried about causing trouble for others.

The situation was the same now. Faced with Chen Fan's invitation, the first thing he thought of was whether it was appropriate and whether it would embarrass the accompanying staff?

At Manager Hou's suggestion, he mentioned it to the accompanying staff, and the person immediately made a phone call to his superiors and received permission.

Even the accompanying staff were withdrawn, and they only made an appointment to pick him up at a certain time and place.

Seeing that they really left like this, Mr. Huo couldn't help but be even more surprised.

Who is this person? Is he really just a writer?