Chapter 67: Stolen Cultural Relics from Museums Flow Out

High-quality imitations are sent to museums as authentic works?
This kind of thing really happens.

In the past, experts from the Palace Museum were deceived by imitations of Northern Wei Dynasty pottery figurines.

But those are all old calendars from decades ago.

Don't listen to what Mr. Yang says now. He acts as if as long as Zhang Yang sells it at a low price, he will buy it back on behalf of the museum and send it for exhibition.

But Zhang Yang had worked in a museum and knew that this was not the case at all.

The items collected by the public will be checked in turn by a team of experts and various machines before entering the museum.

Once a problem is discovered, not only will the money used to purchase the items be recovered, but the person responsible will also be taken away by the police. It is normal for the investigation to take a year or two.

As for becoming famous, forget about it.

Even if he became famous, at most the museum and Teacher Yang would be embarrassed.

As for Zhang Yang who committed fraud, he will only become "Zhang" in the notice.

Zhang Yang had seen this kind of situation before, and he knew the ins and outs of it very well.

That's why he wondered if Teacher Yang in front of him hated someone in the museum?

Want to create a scandal and ruin everyone's performance?
"Teacher Yang, I'm sorry."

"As for me, I have seven children to support, and my eldest son's tuition depends on this painting!"

“…” Teacher Yang looked at Zhang Yang silently.

That expression seemed to be saying: Do you think I'm stupid?

"Teacher, don't you believe it? I can call my family now."

"Alright, alright, stop disturbing Calabash Brothers. There are seven children here, and you are only a few years old."

"No need, we won't force you to buy or sell."

Teacher Yang waved his hand, signaling the assistant to help put away the calligraphy scroll.

Zhang Yang chuckled and thought, I am exaggerating like that, I am just afraid that you will pretend to be confused.

You should have said earlier that you wouldn't force me to buy or sell.

After the paintings were put away, Teacher Yang suddenly stood up and gestured to the door:
"Come on, I'll take you to the registry office to register."

"If I don't mention it in person, I'm afraid those who register it don't know how precious your item is."

"Thank you for your hard work, Teacher Yang."

Zhang Yang didn't expect there would be such a benefit.

This 100 yuan ticket is worth it to be able to see the expert’s service attitude.

But I always feel it's a bit weird, but I can't tell what's wrong.

……

Zhang Yang took the painting and followed Teacher Yang all the way to the third floor.

As soon as I got out of the elevator, the man in a suit at the front desk on the third floor came to greet me.

He nodded and bowed in front of the two of them and said:

"Good afternoon, Mr. Yang. Do you have any valuable items for auction?"

"Yes, it was brought by Mr. Zhang."

“A precious piece of calligraphy.”

"Arrange a room, bring the auction-related documents over, and call Manager Feng over as well."

"Okay, please follow me."

The man in the suit took Zhang Yang and the other person to room 101.

He took out a copy of "Auction Instructions" from the cabinet next to him and handed it to Zhang Yang.

It would take a while for Manager Feng to come over, so Teacher Yang asked Zhang Yang to take a look around.

This is the first time Zhang Yang has sent an antique for auction.

It was a big business after all, so he looked at it very carefully.

As a result, he discovered a problem:
"It says here that cultural relics before the Yuan Dynasty cannot be auctioned? But Huang Tingjian's is from the Song Dynasty!"

"That's right, but the author of the [Introduction], Xu Lin, was from the Ming Dynasty."

“Is this how calligraphy works are aged?”

Zhang Yang really didn't know this kind of little-known knowledge.

"Of course." Teacher Yang explained with a smile: "I don't know if you have heard of the Han brick inkstone, which is an inkstone made of bricks from the Han Dynasty."

"The Han brick inkstone was made by scholars in the Qing Dynasty who liked ancient styles. The main body is a brick from the Han Dynasty, but it is actually considered an antique from the Qing Dynasty."

"The same is true for your work. You are selling it as a whole. The calligraphy by Zhu Yunming, Shen Zhou and others on it are also included in the total price."

“It should be easy to understand, right?”

Before Zhang Yang could reply, the door of the room suddenly opened.

A short-haired woman in a suit walked in. She looked to be in her 40s or 50s and was very professional.

She is the Manager Feng that Teacher Yang is looking for.

After the pleasantries, get down to business.

Manager Feng asked Teacher Yang while typing on the computer:

"What is your estimate for this calligraphy? What is the reserve price and the suggested starting price?"

“It’s hard to say the valuation at this time.”

"It's hard to say? Why?" "Because there are no auction records of genuine Huang Tingjian calligraphy works in the past five years on the market."

"The most famous piece, 'The Pillar Inscription', happened 14 years ago."

"A few years ago, China Guardian did sell a scroll of poems inscribed with the inscription of Huang Tingjian, but the price was only 3 yuan."

"Do you think 3 is a good reference price?"

"This……"

Teacher Yang asked the question directly to Manager Feng, who remained silent.

After a while, she spoke again:
"What about the starting price you suggested? I'll increase that price by 30% as the estimate."

"One hundred thousand." Teacher Yang answered decisively.

"How many?"

Zhang Yang suspected that he had heard it wrong.

After all this preparation, the price is so low?
"Don't be nervous, Mr. Zhang. This is how calligraphy auctions are done."

"If you don't believe me, Manager Feng, please help me find the records."

Teacher Yang patiently explained to Zhang Yang why the starting price was so low.

The main reason is that there is no one to guarantee it.

The auction does not guarantee authenticity, and there is no appraisal report issued by an expert. When this calligraphy was put up for auction, Manager Feng and his colleagues did not even dare to indicate the age.

I can only write [Huang Tingjian (signature)].

After listening to the explanation, Zhang Yang looked at Teacher Yang deeply.

It turns out that the old man was waiting for me here!
Just now, Teacher Yang kept saying that this was an authentic work and he wanted to buy it for the museum.

As a result, in front of the manager, he immediately changed his statement to:
“It’s possible that it’s authentic, but there’s no guarantee.”

But even though people said so, Zhang Yang really couldn't do anything about it.

The auction is just around the corner, and today seems to be the last day for collecting auction items.

"The starting price of 100,000 is too low, let's say 500,000."

Zhang Yang thought for a moment and spoke out loud.

This price matches the value of his labor.

"Mr. Zhang, are you sure?" Manager Feng asked.

"If you insist on setting your own starting price, you will have to pay a 3% unsold fee if the item fails to sell."

"Of course it's confirmed."

Zhang Yang thought to himself that he could still afford the fee for the unsold item.

It can be seen that Teacher Yang was extremely reluctant to hear what he said.

But under his insistence, Manager Feng agreed to this plan.

Soon, both parties signed the contract.

……

After Zhang Yang left, Teacher Yang and Manager Feng met again in Room 101.

But this time, Manager Feng sat on Teacher Yang's lap.

No one could have imagined such a situation.

After all, with Teacher Tao as a role model, who would have thought that Teacher Yang’s taste was so high?

"Old Yang, didn't we just assure a client the day before yesterday that this auction would only have one piece of Huang Tingjian's work?"

Manager Feng asked with some confusion.

"I said I would try my best, but now there is an accident."

"I see. Anyway, why did you look for me? I'm still at work."

"Of course it's business."

"Let me tell you, the calligraphy by Huang Tingjian is authentic and is estimated to be worth tens of millions."

"It's true again? Old Yang, you're not seeing things, are you?"

Manager Feng asked, covering his mouth, unable to hide the surprise on his face.

"Didn't you just see a genuine piece the day before yesterday?"

"This... is indeed a bit strange."

"I would boldly guess that something went wrong with the Palace Museum on the island, and the cultural relics in the collection were stolen and flowed into the market outside."

Teacher Yang touched his chin, looking as if he understood.

As an expert, he only trusts his own vision.

Since it is an authentic work of Huang Tingjian, according to the "Occam's razor principle", the best explanation is that the museum's authentic work was stolen.

"Your statement is indeed a bit bold."

"But it's also a genuine item, so why do you only set the starting price at 10 for this one?" Manager Feng asked in confusion.

"Because the guy who sent it to auction today obviously doesn't know the value of the item, so of course I have to find a way to get it at a low price!"

Teacher Yang began to explain to his mistress the method of conception in his mind.

An evil smile unconsciously appeared on his face.

(End of this chapter)