Chapter 83 Senior, we meet again

"Yes, I do have to pay."

The shop owner's face was wrinkled like a bitter gourd, as if he was saying to Zhang Yang: Brother, stop talking, I feel bitter too.

But Lao Hu is still rubbing salt into the wounds:
"How come there are so many burns? I was so careless!"

"How much will it cost to lose? Is it so expensive that we have to sell the store?"

"Smoking is harmful to your health, brother, why don't you quit smoking as soon as possible!"

"Yes, yes, what you said is right, big brother." The owner nodded repeatedly and almost knelt down to Lao Hu.

He took out this painting to ask Zhang Yang if there was any room for improvement.

Imitation is generally more difficult than restoration, so if you can imitate, you can also repair it.

"It is indeed possible to restore it." Zhang Yang nodded. He remembered that he had the ability to restore calligraphy and paintings. "But I am a little curious. After it is restored, will people recognize it?"

After listening to this, the shop owner thought about it carefully, shook his head at first, but then waved his hand.

A double negative equals a positive.

He told Zhang Yang: "I feel like there is a chance. Anyway, no matter how bad the situation is, it won't be worse than it is now."

Then he briefly explained the whole story.

The root of this matter lies with his father.

The old man liked to copy paintings, so he borrowed a good painting from the owner of the house and took it home to study it slowly.

Unexpectedly, one day, cigarette ash accidentally fell on the original painting.

The old man quickly reached out to take a picture. His reaction was quite quick, but he used the hand that was holding the cigarette, and the cigarette had not been dropped yet.

As a result, the dust was knocked off, but several small holes were burned on the painting and it started to smoke.

All I can say is that it was a good thing that the boss was at home at the time and stopped the old man, otherwise, after pouring the cup of tea in his father's hand, which he wanted to use to put out the fire, on him, it might not be as simple as selling the store.

Because the painting the boss took out was Zhang Daqian's "Imitation of Dunhuang Namo Guanyin Bodhisattva".

Zhang Yang is quite knowledgeable about the market trends of modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting. If it is a genuine Dunhuang painting by Zhang Daqian, the price will definitely be in the tens of millions.

Because there is a saying:

The price Zhang Daqian paid for every copy of a Dunhuang Buddhist painting was the destruction of an entire wall of Dunhuang murals.

The level of the Dunhuang murals now is the same as the level of this kind of copied work.

"Young boss, can you repair this painting?" the shop owner asked expectantly.

He felt that Zhang Yang was very capable, which could be seen from his previous understanding of Qianlong's appreciation of seals.

Generally speaking, behind every knowledgeable young man like this, there must be an older man who is more knowledgeable and capable.

For example, Xiao Yan and Yao Lao.

So he thought that asking Zhang Yang might help.

Zhang Yang was actually also hesitant. If he repaired it for him, would the store no longer be able to sell it?

But it doesn’t seem to be a big deal, can’t we just charge a little more money when it’s repaired?
So he first tried to get rid of the boss:

"I need to take a look at this. Boss, go draft the contract first."

Then he pretended to be looking at the painting very seriously so that Lao Hu didn't dare to disturb him.

In fact, he is unlocking it quickly.

[Zhang Daqian's calligraphy and painting imitation] Unlock and upgrade to LV4 (Master Level)

【Traditional Chinese Painting Restoration Technique】Unlock and upgrade to LV4 (Master Level)

[General calligraphy and painting appreciation ability] Unlock and upgrade to LV4 (Master level)

With many recognition values, Zhang Yang can create whatever he wants!
After being "armed", look at this painting again.

"Oh my god, what the hell is this painting?" Zhang Yang couldn't help but comment.

"Really? But I think the painting is pretty good. Zhang Yang, when did you learn to paint?"

In fact, Lao Hu has had this doubt since a while ago, but he only asked it now.

"Uncle, you still know too little about me. Actually, I am a person who knows a little bit about music, chess, calligraphy and painting."

"Huh? Really?"

"Really? There's no need to lie to you."

After hearing what Zhang Yang said, Lao Hu regretted it even more and sighed several times, which made Zhang Yang, who was standing beside him, feel a little puzzled.

About a quarter of an hour later, the boss came back.

He found a contract template on the Internet and made some slight changes, so it was completed quite quickly.

After reading the contract, Zhang Yang did not find any major problems, especially the penalty for breach of contract was set at 20, which was very much to his liking.

This way, when we talk about painting later, I won’t have to worry about the boss going back on his word.

After signing the letter of intent, the boss chuckled and looked at Zhang Yang in a somewhat flattering manner:
"Boss, do you see anything special about this painting?"

"I can see that this was painted by Zhang Daqian's younger brother, Zhang Erbaiwu."

"Ah? What do you mean? Is this painting fake?" the boss asked in shock.

"It can't be said to be fake. Maybe it's a deposit or a tribute."

"The difference between the artist of this painting and Zhang Daqian is the difference between 250 yuan and Daqian."

"This...Boss Zhang, how sure are you?" the shop owner asked.

He was still very rational. Although what Zhang Yang said was what he wanted to hear in his dreams, he did not believe it completely.

"I'm 50% sure that either I'm right or I'm wrong."

"If you want a 100% conclusion, you can actually ask an expert to identify it."

Zhang Yang originally wanted to say that if he had any problems, he could call the police.

You can't just accept it when someone else holds a lantern to assess the damage, right?
But there are many such cases in the antique circle where people suffer losses in silence. Some older people always have some inexplicable obsessions.

Zhang Yang thought about it, but didn't elaborate, and returned to the painting:

"Apart from whether the painting is real or not, it seems that it cannot be repaired at this point in time."

"I don't know who this Zhang Erbaiwu is. I can't imitate him."

"Unless you can find the original prototype of this mural, or more works by this painter, it will be difficult for experts from the Palace Museum to find it."

After listening to this, the shop owner sighed. He knew that what Zhang Yang said was right, so he could only roll up the painting helplessly.

Just as he turned around and was about to put the painting back, a familiar voice came from the door, making his body tremble uncontrollably.

It was as if someone had pressed a remote control.

……

"Boss Deng, when will you pay me back?"

Hearing the sound, Zhang Yang and Lao Hu turned their heads curiously.

Three men and one woman came into the store.

The person who spoke was a muscular man with a face full of flesh. His appearance and the words he said were just like the word "debt collection" stuck on his forehead.

Among the three people behind him, two were Zhang Yang's acquaintances.

Mr. Cai and the female secretary beside him who was wearing black stockings and red high heels.

There was another young man who looked familiar to Zhang Yang, but he didn't know him.

When Lao Hu saw this lineup, he pulled Zhang Yang and whispered:

"Let's go first. Leaving at this time is to save face for the boss."

"I understand." Zhang Yang nodded. He felt that what Lao Hu said made a lot of sense.

So he turned around and said to the shop owner:

"Boss, we have something else to do, so we'll leave first."

After saying that, he slipped down from the stool and prepared to run away.

But just as he took a step, the boss called him and said, "Little boss, don't leave. Help me hold the place, and I'll give you a discount."

"No, no, I don't need that much." Zhang Yang shook his head and said.

"Five points!"

"It's not about money."

"8 points, and the whole set of furniture is left to you."

"Don't test me. I am a person who can stand the test." Zhang Yang replied with a smile.

He doesn't care about these trivial things.

And he felt that his boss wanted to use him as a tool.

Because he just pointed out the problem with the painting, and this debt collector might be the owner of the painting.

But when Zhang Yang wanted to leave, someone wouldn't let him.

The female secretary blocked his way out:
"Mr. Zhang, what a coincidence! We meet again. Is this fate?"

"Yes, what a coincidence." Zhang Yang replied with a forced smile.

This woman always uses the same rhetoric. It's boring.

The female secretary seemed not to notice Zhang Yang's rolling eyes, and continued to say enthusiastically:

"Come, let me introduce:
This is Mr. Cai, whom we met at the exhibition hall during the day;

Mr. Cai, this is from Qingzhou University..."

"I remember him." Vice President Cai stretched out his hand and interrupted the secretary.

He took a step forward and enthusiastically extended his right hand to Zhang Yang, wanting to shake his hand:
"Hello, Mr. Zhang, I'm Cai Hongxin. I didn't expect that we would meet again so soon."

"Hello, Mr. Cai." Zhang Yang responded politely.

"Are you here to buy stamps?" Mr. Cai asked curiously.

"No, no, no, I'm just strolling around."

Zhang Yang was just thinking about how to deal with Mr. Cai when he heard the owner's scream from behind him:
"Murder! Boss Zhang, please help call the police! They are going to kill me!"

Everyone looked into the store in confusion.

I don’t know when, the muscular man who was collecting the debt had already arrived next to the store owner.

He clasped the shop owner's hands behind his back and pressed his entire body down onto the table.

A complete strong man locking up a man.

"Stop, stop, stop! What are you doing?"

Mr. Cai said with a frown.

After hearing this, the muscular man immediately let go, stood aside respectfully and replied:

"Boss, to deal with this kind of person, you have to make him suffer first."

"Then can't you wait a little longer before you do it? Can't you see we're chatting?"

"go away!"

Mr. Cai's words sounded a bit like a scolding. After hearing them, the muscular man stood obediently in the corner like a dog.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Zhang, I made you laugh. The people under me were a little rough in their work."

"It's okay, it's nothing to do with me..."

"Then let's sit down and talk. Xiao Pan happens to be here today, so let's borrow Boss Deng's territory and talk about business."

Mr. Cai made a gesture of invitation.

He seems to treat this seal shop as his own home.

Boss Deng from the key store also thought it was okay. He had obviously been bullied just now, but now he walked up to Mr. Cai with a red face and moved a chair and poured tea for him, just like a waiter.

Zhang Yang originally refused, but when he heard the other party said he wanted to discuss business, he decided to stay and listen.

He wanted to see how the vice president of the overseas Chinese Chamber of Commerce did business.

"Mr. Zhang, let me introduce you first. This is Xiao Pan."

Mr. Cai pointed to the young man who had been following him.

The latter nodded to Zhang Yang and saluted with two fingers.

"Senior, we meet again!"

(End of this chapter)