The years when I was reborn as a giant in the antique world

Seeing his wife coughing, the old lady looked nervous, she immediately got up and poured him a glass of water, and slowly fed him down her back. a thing, a painting and a handful—”

"Qingyin!" The old man interrupted her suddenly, "Stop talking. Boss, we won't sell it anymore. I'm really sorry to let you make this trip for nothing."

"Don't listen to him, I'll get it for you." The old lady's attitude was very firm, she turned around and entered the house. Before entering the house, she didn't forget to close the door tightly to block the prying eyes of others.

Yun Zhou and the others couldn't help but look at each other.

Hong Hai rubbed his chin with a finger with an emerald ring, watching the performance of the old lady and the old man. The two pieces of lacquerware just now were just an appetizer, and the real good things have not been brought out yet.

Hey, whether it's the black lacquer official leather case inlaid with a hundred treasures, or the round box with red flower patterns, they are all absolutely exquisite, so what about this painting and a handful that have been handed down?

A what, is it a fan, or a sword?In short, he had already begun to look forward to it.

The old man coughed a few times, with a look of sadness on his face.If it weren't for his old age and illness, his wife wouldn't have to sell the heirlooms.Alas, I'm afraid I can't persuade her this time.

Within a few minutes, the old lady came out holding a guqin that was as tall as half a person. At the same time, she held a scroll tightly in her right hand. Judging from her cautious expression, these two items were definitely not ordinary objects.

Several people hurried forward to help the old lady with the guqin.

And Xu Ze took the ancient painting handed over by the old lady in his hand, and briefly glanced at it.

Judging from the external mounting, it is obviously post-mounted, but the craftsmanship is a master-level manual mounting.The shaft head is made of high-quality sandalwood, which can ward off moisture and insects, and it has a fragrance when it is opened. Only precious ancient paintings can be mounted in this way.

The guqin was placed on the side table, Hong Hai and the others hurriedly went up to watch it.Xu Ze also put the ancient painting on another clean long table, and slowly unfolded it along the scroll.

This Guqin is about 130 centimeters long, and its whole body is painted with maroon lacquer.

The surface of the piano body can be seen faintly with broken lines on the belly, which is a sign of a long history.Generally, after hundreds of years of vibrating and natural weathering, the inner wood and the surface paint of the guqin will shrink and expand inconsistently, so some cracks will form, and the concertina is a relatively common one.

This guqin is beautifully shaped, with no extra decorations around it, making it look simple and quiet.

The body of the piano has a left-right symmetrical arc shape from the beginning to the end, with the largest shoulder, and gradually becomes smaller at the head and tail of the piano. Style Qin'.

Guqin, as a traditional musical instrument in China, has a history of more than 3000 years. It was highly praised during the Confucius period. The common ones are Fuxi style, Zhongni style, Lianzhu style, Luoxia style, banana leaf style, Shennong style, etc., ranking fourth. The first of the "qin, chess, calligraphy and painting" in the arts, is regarded by literati as a representative of elegance.

This guqin is made of paulownia wood, the antlers are frosted and gray, and the Yueshan, Chenglu, and crown horns on the head are all made of red sandalwood. The wood used is excellent, and the texture is straight and even. ①

Several people judged from various aspects that this is indeed a guqin, and judging from the material and craftsmanship of the qin, it is definitely a fine work, but the year cannot be determined yet.

Hong Hai brushed the fake fur on his body, turned his head and asked, "Old lady, tell us about the origin of this guqin."

The old lady smiled slightly, "Turn it over and take a look, it's written all over the bottom."

Hong Hai gently lifted the guqin to reveal the bottom of the qin, and Yunzhou saw the six characters "Made by Huangnan Taoists" written in regular script on the left side of the Longchi.

"Huangnan Taoist supervised the construction." Hong Hai read these six words in a low voice, and pondered, "This piano should be made by King Yi of the Ming Dynasty."

The Ming Dynasty was a prosperous period for the development of qin studies. From the court to the folk, a rich cultural heritage was created and handed down in terms of qin music, qin instruments, and qin theory.

In order to consolidate the imperial power, Zhu Yuanzhang, the emperor of the Ming Dynasty, established the feudal vassal system, which made the vassal kings of later generations devote themselves to calligraphy, painting, Buddhism and Taoism. contribution. ②

Later generations called the four vassal kings of the imperial clan "Ning Wang, Heng Wang, Yi Wang, and Lu Wang" as the Four Great Masters, and the Qin they made was "Si Wang Qin", among which "Huangnan Taoist" was the name of Yi Wang.

"One of the Four King Qins, a masterpiece of the clan in the Ming Dynasty." Hong Hai glanced at the old lady who was sitting upright, and said in a low voice: "Damn it, this old lady's ancestors are great, and the value of this piano should be at least this amount." .”

He compared three fingers to the two, indicating that it would cost at least 300 million.

Yun Zhou didn't know much about guqin, and it was the first time he heard this kind of statement, and he enriched his knowledge reserve again while being amazed.

"Then can this guqin still be played?" Xue Yifan asked in a low voice.

"It should be... okay." Hong Hai's tone was a little uncertain.He knows about antiques, but he doesn't know anything about rhythm.However, judging from the integrity of the Guqin's preservation, it should be playable.

It is a pity that there are very few people who can play the guqin nowadays, and the fingerings of many repertoires have been lost, and the guqin has become a very small hobby.

So what if this guqin can be played?Hong Hai didn't think this old lady could play the guqin, after all, the guqin handed down from his ancestors and his own ability to play the guqin were two different things.

Yun Zhou couldn't help but look at the old lady when she heard the words. The old lady was drinking tea with her head down at this time, because the young man didn't see her expression because of the angle.

But he noticed the calluses on the opponent's fingers, maybe—

"Young Master, we have taken a good look at the Guqin. What do you think of this painting?"

The three of Hong Hai had been admiring the guqin for a while, and normally speaking, with Young Master Xu's vision, they would be able to finish the ancient painting quickly.

Xu Ze came from a real family of antiques. He has seen many rare antiques with Mr. Xu, so why hasn't there been any movement.

"I'm still watching, wait a minute."

Xu Ze's expression was serious, and his attitude was very serious. His focused eyes lingered on the screen, not letting go of every brushstroke and black outline. Hong Hai and the others were amazed when they saw it. Could it be that young master Xu's eyesight sometimes made him inaccurate? ?

Yun Zhou also slowly approached, and saw that the painting was very large, about 120 centimeters in length and 32 centimeters in width.

The paintings on it include bamboo, mountain rocks and the king of flowers 'Peony', all of which are outlined in ink without color.

The two peonies in the painting protrude from the rocks and are located at the top and bottom of the painting respectively, presenting a sense of symmetry.The head of the peony is vivid and plump, the petals are drawn in groups, and the ink dots on the stamens are suitable in size, dense and dense, and full of layers.

In the upper part, there are upright thin bamboos placed on the rocks. The bamboo leaves are double-hooked with iron pens, and the brush strokes are sharp. The meaning of expectation.

The composition of the whole painting is unique, the mountains and rocks are black with white, and white with black, the ink color is suitable for shades, and the brushwork is natural and calm. Even if Yun Zhou does not have a deep understanding of calligraphy and painting, he can still see the extraordinaryness of the painter.

"Hey, let me see whose masterpiece it is?"

Hong Hai approached from the other side of the table to look at the inscription and seal on the right, "What is the name of Peony Kao, and a piece of fragrance is added to the bottom of the pen. It is often estimated that the wind and dust belonged to Zhang Cang of the Han Dynasty.

Hey, the writing is really good!Signed is - hiss, Tianchi, Shanren? ! ! "

Hong Hai's tone of voice changed when he read the last word, and he took a sharp breath.

Fuck you, Tianchi mountain people!It is a painting by Xu Wei, one of the 'Three Talented Men of the Ming Dynasty'!Looking at the seal again, it is true that after the signing, there are two seals of "Tianchi Mountain Man" and "Green Snake in the Sleeve".

Yun Zhou also looked shocked. Tianchi Shanren is one of Xu Wei's titles. Even a person who doesn't know much about calligraphy and painting has heard of his title, but he didn't expect to see Xu Wei's "Peony Bamboo and Stone Picture" here.

Xu Wei is a person with very high literary attainments. He has made great achievements in poetry, drama, calligraphy and painting, etc., and has a unique style.

But at the same time, his life was also very miserable.When he was young, he was called a child prodigy, and he had a photographic memory, but he failed eight times in the township examination, and his talent was not recognized.

Later, after his wife, brother, those who admired him and his mother passed away one by one, he went mad, committed suicide nine times, even took an ax to chop off his own head, and finally died in poverty.

For Xu Wei and Xu Wenchang, the "ghost talent", we can see his extraordinaryness from the evaluation of later generations.

Zheng Banqiao once said: willing to be a "running dog under Qingteng's sect", Qingteng Layman naturally refers to Xu Wei.

Shi Tao, one of the "four monks" in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, also said, "Ivy brush and ink are treasures in the world, and there has been no such way for decades."

Qi Baishi even wrote a poem: "The green vines are far away from the mortal womb, and the fou is old and old, and there are talents; I wish Jiuquan is a running dog, and the three families come to run the wheel."③

Although the saying "willing to be a running dog" is a bit exaggerated, it is enough to explain Xu Wei's status in the hearts of these famous masters.

Xu Wei's evaluation of himself is: calligraphy comes first, poetry comes second, writing comes third, and painting comes fourth.

But even though he thinks that the fourth-ranked painting is still sought after by everyone, his "Sketch Scroll" hand scroll was once sold at an auction house for a sky-high price of 1.27 million, and other paintings are worth several million, which is extremely valuable for collection.

They never thought that they would see Xu Wei's works in an old house in the countryside. If they were genuine, they would probably cost tens of millions with such a size and artistry!

Hong Hai's heart was pounding, and he whispered into Xu Ze's ear and asked, "Young Master, do you think this is true?"

Xu Ze turned sideways to distance himself from him, and glanced at him coldly.

"Yes, I was wrong, I was wrong, I shouldn't bother you. Take your time, don't worry."

Hong Hai gave a low cough, and sat down on the chair next to the old lady, "Old lady, where did you get this painting?"

"I'm not very clear about the details. It seems that the ancestors bought it from a crazy scholar. At that time, they didn't spend a few taels of silver, and gave some extra things."

The old lady recalled: "Later, when my mother passed it to me, she said that the painting was very valuable and asked me to keep it. Unfortunately, the mounting paper on the back of the painting was a bit old, so I hired someone to re-frame it, and then it was kept in the box. stored in it.

At that time, the framer planned to spend 3 yuan to buy this painting, but I didn't sell it. At that time, [-] yuan could buy a small house. "

"Oh..." Hong Hai was thoughtful.

Xu Wei was impoverished in his later years, or was cheated, or sold many paintings for his livelihood, and this is probably one of them.The master framer mounts paintings all day long, so he must know that this is a treasure, so he will pay a high price for it.

It's just that he can't be sure, after all, there are endless routines in this industry, and it's hard to guard against.In such an old house in the countryside, there are a total of 500 million old goods. Who knows if this is an exquisite set?

Now I can only rely on my eyesight.

Yun Zhou was still admiring the painting. He watched the little jade dragon on his wrist smashing his mouth in his sleep, closing his eyes and opening his mouth wide to suck away dozens of spirit energy in the painting. After a few seconds, he opened his mouth again. He snored, but he didn't seem to wake up at all.

'He's really a little money fan, and he doesn't lose any aura. The boy bent his eyes, and lightly touched Xiao Yulong's icy body with his fingertips.

However, this also proves that there is a high probability that this painting is true. Of course, this probability is not 100%, and the possibility of imitation by famous painters of the same period is not ruled out.

But in any case, the value of this painting is very high.

Twenty minutes later, Xu Ze raised his head from the table, and Hong Hai and the others immediately leaned over and asked in a low voice, "How are you, young master?"

Xu Ze pondered: "I think there is a high possibility that this painting is genuine.

I once saw a "Bamboo, Stone and Peony Picture Axis" very similar to this one in the Shanghai Museum. Both were made by Xu Wei. The two are very similar in composition and brushwork, and the technique has reached the peak.In addition, the painting heart and life paper are original, and there is no trace of imitation on the seal.

Of course, this is just my personal opinion, for reference only. "

"Okay, young master, I believe you."

Hong Hai gritted his teeth, motioned for several people to form a circle, and discussed in a low voice: "Then the next thing is the price. Which one of you wants this painting?"

Who wouldn't want a masterpiece by Xu Wei, one of the "Three Talents of the Ming Dynasty"?

Even Xu Ze couldn't help being tempted. Waiting to give it to his grandfather on his 76th birthday will definitely make the old man happy.It's just that he looked at the young boy's eyes with the same enthusiasm, and his mind moved slightly, if the other party wanted it particularly——

Xue Yifan whispered: "Well, I won't participate."

He wanted it too, but the painting was so valuable that he obviously couldn't get it.Besides, he came this trip mainly to enrich his own experience, and the other things are secondary.

"Okay. At present, it is me, Yun Zhou, and the eldest and youngest. Whoever bids the highest will go to him." Hong Hai naturally didn't want to let go of this rare masterpiece, "I'll pay for these."

He stretched out three fingers, indicating 300 million.

Yun Zhou made a gesture of three and two, indicating a bid of 320 million.

Xu Ze added 20, and Hong Hai continued to add 20. When it came to the boy, the bid became 380 million.

Both looked at Xu Ze.

"Forget it, the two of you bid." Xu Ze took a step back with a light expression. He didn't have to have this painting, he might as well give it to Yun Zhou.

Hong Hai gave him a puzzled look, feeling a little strange in his heart.

Originally, he thought that Xu Ze's biggest competitor would be Xu Ze. After all, Xu Dashao has rich assets and is not short of money at all. In the end, there is a high probability that the other party will win the auction.

But Xu Ze withdrew so soon, is there still something wrong with this painting?Hong Hai's heart suddenly thumped, and he looked a little hesitant.

The fund his father gave him was 200 million, and Hong Hai never thought that it would exceed this amount. After all, they are all things from the countryside. According to the original experience, it would be good to spend half of it.

This is indeed the case. From this morning to now, a few people have spent less than 30 yuan in total. Among the things collected, the first "flower pot" is expensive, and the others are basically thousands of yuan, tens of thousands. Just two or three, the money is more than enough.

As a result, when a thing worth tens of millions suddenly appeared at this house, Hong Hai was also very panicked, especially worried that it was a trick made by someone else.

The most important thing is that he doesn't have enough cash. If he wants to get this painting, he has to apply to his father. If it's fake—fuck, then he will be finished.

"Brother Hai, do you want to add more?" Now the two have added 460 million, which is more than twice Hong Hai's budget.

"No more." Hong Hai felt that the risk was too great, "Then it's settled, this painting belongs to Yunzhou, everyone has no objection?"

Xue Yifan shook his head to express that he had no objection, and Xu Ze also acquiesced to this result.

Next are three pieces of lacquerware, a leather case with a hundred treasures embedded in it, a red round box and a guqin.The ownership of these high-quality goods should naturally be agreed in advance, unlike the previous ordinary objects, whoever takes a fancy to pays for it, and roughly gets what he gets.

Yunzhou didn't participate in these three things, he had already obtained the most valuable ancient painting, so naturally he couldn't 'make progress' any longer.

In the end, Xue Yifan took a fancy to the official suitcase embedded with Baibao, and the other two belonged to Hong Hai.There aren't many things that Young Master Xu can take a fancy to. To others, these are high-quality goods, but to him they can only be regarded as passable.

Hong Hai had a rough idea in his mind, "Old lady, we are optimistic about these four items."

The old lady's heart suddenly rose, and she said anxiously: "These few things, 300 million should be no problem."

"Of course no problem, we can give you this number, 600 million."

"Okay, okay." The old lady was relieved immediately, the money was higher than she expected, enough for the two of them to spend their old age in peace.

"Ahem, 600 million is indeed a lot." The old man coughed a few times, his eyes flashed brightly: "Young man, let me ask you, is this painting worth more, or this guqin?"

"This—" Hong Hai was silent for a moment, which touched the taboo of door-to-door shopping.

Generally, those who come to receive goods will not tell the owner which item is real, which one is fake, and which item is more expensive. The fear is that after the other party knows which is the treasure, they will either sit on the ground and raise the price, or insist on not selling it.

Therefore, every time I receive the goods, I kick them with one foot, and the whole package is packaged, which makes the other party confused.

Yun Zhou shook his head at him, saying it's okay: "Grandpa, the value of the painting is higher."

"Oh. Can this guqin be kept? It's the old woman's favorite thing. Alas, I really can't bear to sell it like this."

"Sell it if you sell it, it's just a hobby, there's nothing you can't sell."

Although the old lady said this, there were tears in her eyes, and her voice was a little choked up, "But I have a request, that is, I want to use this guqin to play a tune before you leave. It can be regarded as getting along with you." Say goodbye to your old friend for decades, okay?"

Several people nodded silently.

The low voice of the guqin sounded, and it was the famous "Three Lanes of Plum Blossoms".

The sound of the piano has a unique charm, like mountains and flowing water, like a gurgling stream, like jade beads falling on a plate, giving people a sense of tranquility and elegance, as if even the soul has been sublimated.

After the song was over, everyone was still intoxicated by the lingering sound and couldn't extricate themselves. After a while, Hong Hai and the others looked at each other and saw the same meaning in each other's eyes.

Yun Zhou smiled and said: "Grandma, a gentleman does not take what others like. Since it is your beloved, then you can keep it. It is the best destination for this Guqin to be kept in your hands."

"But--"

"Old lady, don't worry, the painting is very valuable, and there is still 450 million yuan without the guqin. How about the price?"

"Okay, okay, thank you all bosses." The eyes of the old lady were instantly moist, and her thin, wrinkled fingers stroked the vermilion lacquer of the guqin, with a look of love in her eyes.

At the request of the old couple, Hong Hai left 50 in cash, and the remaining 400 million was transferred from Yunzhou to their bank accounts.

Before leaving, the two elderly people sent them all the way to the door, saying thank you all the time, which made them very embarrassed.

Yun Zhou held the scroll in his hand, and he planned to give this painting to Mr. Du.He still remembered that the other party planned to take a picture of Master Qi Baishi's work at the Golden Harvest Auction, and Qi Baishi admired Xu Wei so much, presumably Grandpa Du would be very happy.

"Today is really an eye-opener. It's the first time I've heard Guqin music. How about you?"

"Me too. The sound of Guqin is really nice, quiet and elegant, worthy of being admired by literati."

"I feel that some things are only valuable if they are placed in the hands of people who can really understand them."

"That's right."

"Brothers, this time the harvest is not small, let's continue to work hard!" Hong Hai put away the three boutiques and put them in the safe that he brought, and asked the buddy to stay here to watch.

"There seems to be a furniture collector over there, let's go and have a look."