Chapter 394 - 394 Swipe My Card
394 Swipe My Card
There was a stage in front of the venue. On it was the appraisal venue. At the same time, there was an auction.
There were many glass cabinets on the left and right sides of the appraisal venue. Inside were various museum exhibits and some expensive personal exhibitions.
Ye Xuan and Liu Yanran walked around and looked around. These antiques were indeed better than the items at the antique street, but they were a mixture of real and fake items. Among the ten antiques, there were two or three high-quality fakes. Overall, the quality was not bad.
At this moment, on the other side, in a stall at the corner of the venue, a middle-aged boss in a Chinese tunic suit was holding a calligraphy painting and introducing it to the surrounding crowd.
“This calligraphy painting was passed down by my ancestor. There’s no signature. I don’t know which mighty person wrote this. Everyone, take a look. The calligraphy painting that existed more than a thousand years ago is now well-preserved. Everyone can take a look.”
The structure of the calligraphy was not good. It could be seen that the person holding the brush was not good at basic skills. Moreover, the beauty was insufficient. It was not a good piece of calligraphy.
Moreover, in terms of literary connotation, this calligraphy did carry some connotation, but at the same time, it did not include the rhythm of the music or the artistic conception of the painting.
The brushwork and strokes were indeed not bad, but the overall structure was rather lacking.
To be precise, this calligraphy piece was at most of an inferior quality and was not worth much.
Many people around were admiring this calligraphy piece, but in terms of appraisal ability, they were indeed not very strong. They treated this as watching a show and seeking novelty.
At this moment, Ye Xuan and Liu Yanran had also arrived. When they heard the boss’s shout, they couldn’t help but be curious and went forward to take a look.
Liu Yanran did not know about calligraphy and paintings. She just looked at what was written on it.
When Ye Xuan saw this calligraphy piece, his eyes lit up and a strange expression appeared on his face.
…
On the other side of the stall, a young lady dressed beautifully and gave off a refreshing feeling was also a little interested in this calligraphy piece.
She frowned with a hint of love on her face. She looked like she liked this calligraphy piece very much.
“There’s a sense of beauty and artistic conception in this blurry calligraphy. It’s as if it’s pulling me away from here and pulling me back to the light green boat from a thousand years ago. I keep feeling a little throb in my heart.”
“Hehe, then I’ll be the boatman. I’ll hold the oars and bring you to see the green mountains and rivers.”
The young fatty at the side looked at Zhou Bing with a blissful smile, his eyes filled with obsession.
However, Zhou Bing revealed a disdainful expression. It was obvious that they were not a couple.
“I definitely want to see the mountains and rivers with the person I like. I want to hug him and admire the flowers and the moon. How romantic is that? Forget it.”
“It’s fine. I’ll be a boatman and coachman for the two of you. You need someone to take care of you when you go out to play. If you feel unwell, I can help you. You can just admire the flowers and the moon.”
Zhou Bing was speechless and did not continue this topic.
Instead, she turned to the boss and said, “Boss, how much is this calligraphy piece?”
When the boss heard someone ask about the price, he was a little happy. He spoke in a low voice.
“Not much. Two hundred thousand.”
When the fatty heard this, his face darkened. He pointed at the boss and spoke.
“Boss, don’t talk nonsense. The handwriting is very ordinary. How dare you ask for 200,000 yuan!”
“Aiyo, this calligraphy piece was passed down from my ancestors. You can imagine the weight of this!”
When the boss said this, he also felt a little guilty.
Although this calligraphy piece was indeed passed down from his ancestors, he did not understand calligraphy paintings. He did not know how much this calligraphy piece was worth. It would be awkward if he sold it for a price that was too high, but if he sold it for a price that was too low, he would lose money. It was also because he had been in urgent need of money recently, so he had no choice but to sell it.
The fatty sneered and pouted as he spoke to the boss.
“My father is an appraisal expert of this cultural relics exchange. Do you understand what I mean? I’ll give you another chance. Give me a new price.”
When the boss heard the words “appraisal expert”, he was a little nervous. After all, this calligraphy piece had never been appraised, and it was not written by a famous calligraphy poet. Naturally, it would not be worth much. If he really took it to appraise, it would be awkward. If he did not do well, he might not even be able to do business at this rare cultural relics exchange meeting.
Hence, after thinking about it, he stretched out a finger and looked at the fatty with a fake smile.
“How about this? There’s no signature on this calligraphy piece. I’ll take a step back and you can take it for 100,000 yuan. If you can identify which great poet it is and are able to make a profit, I won’t say anything. How about that?”
When Zhou Bing heard her boss’s words, she was tempted. She pointed at the words excitedly and spoke.
“Can I see it, then?”
However, at this moment, the fatty immediately interrupted her.
“Xiao Bing, there’s no need to look at this. He actually quoted a price of 100,000 yuan. He’s really blinded by money. Not to mention 100,000 yuan, it might not even be worth 1,000 yuan. This calligraphy piece isn’t that good. My father is an appraisal expert, and I know a little. It’s really not good. This price is very disadvantageous.”
When Zhou Bing heard the fatty’s nagging, she immediately retracted her outstretched hand and glanced at him with a dark expression.
“Don’t call me Xiao Bing, okay? We’re not that close.”
The fatty was stunned and did not say anything.
Zhou Bing was also extremely unhappy. She originally liked this calligraphy piece and felt that there was a sense of beauty and artistic conception in it.
Just by looking at it, she felt an indescribable comfort in her heart. When she heard that the boss had reduced the price by 100,000 yuan, she became even more determined to buy it. She would treat it as if she liked it. When she placed it at home and framed it up, she would be happy every day.
However, now that the fatty had said this, she would be a fool if she bought it. Therefore, she was furious and looked at the fatty.
Just as she was thinking about this, a childish voice suddenly came from the other side.
“Boss, I’ll buy it for 100,000 yuan!”
When everyone heard this voice, their gazes landed on Ye Xuan, a seven or eight-year-old brat.
“A child?”
“Hehe, what does a child know about calligraphy paintings? He’s just joking.”
“That’s true. After all, it’s a hundred thousand yuan. It’s not a small sum.”
“This child really knows how to play. He’s bidding so wildly. Whose child is this?”
“The youth knows no fear. They don’t even hesitate to quote a price of 100,000 yuan.”
…
The fat young man looked at Ye Xuan and Liu Yanran behind him and sneered with a gloating expression.
“You’re at a disadvantage if you don’t listen to good people. How dare a brat call for this price. If you really buy it back, you’ll be crying. Idiot.”
…
Ye Xuan was delighted when he saw that everyone treated him as a fool and didn’t believe him. He looked at everyone and spoke.
“I really want this calligraphy piece. Boss, can I swipe my card?”
As he spoke, he turned around and gave Liu Yanran a look.
Liu Yanran understood. She took out her bank card and handed it to the boss.