Chapter 100: Opening a Shop

Overall, the birthday banquet was quite harmonious.

If it weren’t for Lin Wan’s one-hour live stream, it would have been even better.

The final part was everyone singing the birthday song, Lin Wan, the birthday girl, making a wish, blowing out the birthday candles, and sharing the cake.

This cake was bought by Chen Feng at a high price. The cream was very authentic, and of course, the taste was also very good.

Although the women said they were afraid of getting fat, they still ate with smiles on their faces. The chubby Li Li, in particular, ate three large pieces, just like Chen Feng.

Chen Feng now weighed over 170 jin, but he had no intention of losing weight.

He already had a terminal illness, who would still think about losing weight?

However, many people naturally lose weight after getting cancer, but Chen Feng showed no such change, which was quite magical.

Therefore, Chen Feng often comforted himself by believing that a miracle would happen.

After all, his luck was so heaven-defying now, it made no sense for him to die of illness in the end.

Chen Feng could only think so optimistically. Otherwise, he would be very unwilling.

He would only be thirty after the New Year, and he had money now. How could he be willing to die just like that?

After the birthday banquet ended, Chen Feng paid the bill, and then everyone went their separate ways.

This time, Chen Feng still stayed overnight at the East Lake villa.

Xiao Ya did send a WeChat message around nine o’clock asking if he was coming home tonight.
Chen Feng simply replied with two words: “Not coming.”

After that, Xiao Ya didn’t send any more messages.

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When he woke up the next morning, Chen Feng didn’t laze in bed. Instead, he immediately went to look at the “Orchid Pavilion Preface.” This time, he only entered a trance for less than ten minutes, which also meant that the potential energy stored within this piece of calligraphy had been “sucked dry” by Chen Feng.

Although he still had two paintings in his possession, Chen Feng felt he needed to stock up on more.

Because this might cure his terminal illness and save his life. Even though it seemed very slim, it was currently the only hope for survival.

Or rather, the last straw to clutch at.

After all, he had already been sentenced to death by modern medicine, with at most a few months to live.

But ever since his divorce, he had strangely not shown any symptoms of his terminal illness. He used to have nausea and vomiting, but those later disappeared.

And recently, after Chen Feng entered a trance through several pieces of calligraphy and painting, possibly absorbing some invisible energy, his body suddenly became even stronger.

This was undoubtedly like a shot in the arm for him. It also undoubtedly gave his originally hopeless life a glimmer of light.

Even though the expert doctor at the damn hospital had sentenced him to death again, Chen Feng still hadn’t completely given up.

Whether it was a desperate struggle or self-deception.

His body had indeed become stronger and healthier because of these few pieces of calligraphy and painting he had discovered. This was not only his personal intuitive feeling but also had the hospital’s test reports as a scientific basis.

So, even if this hope still seemed very slim, he would continue to do it.

For the next few days, Chen Feng went to visit several more artists in the urban area of Xiuzhou. Unfortunately, he had no further gains.

And the two paintings he had bought from Xi Jun, after his daily absorption over the past few days, the energy contained within them had been completely drained.

This made Chen Feng feel very helpless and insecure.

Moreover, through these few days of continuous “energy absorption,” his body had indeed become a bit stronger.

The most direct feeling was that during the few times he played “games” with Xiao Ya, he lasted longer and longer, making her both happy and scared.

Fortunately, Chen Feng didn’t go back to Red Villa Bay every night. Otherwise, Chen Feng suspected she might have terminated their employment relationship early.

Of course, her need for Chen Feng to invest in her milk tea shop was also a very important factor.

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On this day, Chen Feng went a little further, to a county under the jurisdiction of Xiuzhou City, to visit three artists in this county. One of them, an old calligrapher with some local fame, finally rewarded his efforts, allowing Chen Feng to find a painting that he could connect with.

And the price was relatively very cheap; Chen Feng only spent 300,000 to buy it.

Chen Feng couldn’t wait and looked at it in the car, entering a trance. When he woke up, he checked the time and found that about forty minutes had passed. This was truly an unexpected joy.

According to Chen Feng’s evaluation criteria, the artistic value of this piece of calligraphy by the old calligrapher was definitely higher than that of Song Yi and Xi Jun.

For Chen Feng, this was equivalent to finding a hidden gem.

But in reality, this old calligrapher was only quite famous in his local county. In Xiuzhou city, he was only slightly known. Not to mention the whole country, he wasn’t very famous even within the province.

This might be related to the old calligrapher’s indifference to fame and fortune, and also to his lack of understanding of hype and commercial operations. Of course, it was clear that this old gentleman’s personality was relatively indifferent to fame and fortune.

Therefore, the artistic value of an artwork did not necessarily depend on the artist’s fame. Sometimes, the works of unknown artists were no worse than those of famous ones, and might even be better.

This undoubtedly broadened Chen Feng’s thinking.

He felt he could cast a wide net, instead of visiting artists one by one in person. He could spread the news that he was buying artworks, especially calligraphy and paintings, at high prices, and wait for interested people to come to him with their works.

This way, the efficiency would definitely be much higher, and it would be less tiring. At the same time, it would also give him something to do.

Chen Feng acted on his idea immediately. He found a storefront near the East Lake villa and bought it outright.

It happened to be a street-facing shop in the same residential complex where Wu Mengting and Lin Wan rented.

It was also Chen Feng’s good luck. Under normal circumstances, a shop in such a good location would not be for sale. After all, everyone knew that the price of storefronts was more stable and more likely to rise than housing prices.

Looking at the situation over the past ten years or so, housing prices might have dropped slightly, but the prices of shops were basically always rising.

Unless absolutely necessary, people who owned shops were reluctant to sell them.

And the original owner of this shop had encountered an absolutely necessary situation. Their only son had gotten into trouble in the United States and was facing a lawsuit, requiring a large sum of money to hire a lawyer. Their family could only do their best to raise the money.

Lawyer fees were not low either domestically or abroad, and lawyer fees in the United States were ridiculously high, so they could only sell this shop.

And because they were in urgent need of money, the price was also very fair. Chen Feng didn’t deliberately push the price down.

In the end, after a little bargaining, and with Chen Feng paying in full at once, showing great strength and sincerity, the final transaction price was 5 million, a round number.

The shop area was sixty square meters, which worked out to about 70,000 per square meter. For this location, it wasn’t very cheap, but it wasn’t expensive either. A lower-middle price.

In fact, if he wanted to continue to press the price down, it would have been possible. After all, the other party required a one-time full payment, and they were in a hurry to raise money to send abroad for their son’s lawsuit. In the end, they would most likely have agreed.

But Chen Feng was also in a hurry, and he really wasn’t short of this bit of money. More importantly, he was a good person, not someone who would take advantage of others’ misfortune, so he didn’t resort to such tactics.

The shop was originally rented out as a fishing tackle store. The business wasn’t very good, and a “for sublease” sign was already posted on the door.
So, as soon as the transaction was completed on Chen Feng’s side, the original owner returned the remaining rent to the fishing tackle shop owner as agreed. Chen Feng was also generous and gave the other party 5,000 yuan as a transfer fee.

The decoration of this fishing tackle shop was very simple and didn’t require much of a transfer fee. Plus, with more than half a year’s rent refunded, the other party didn’t make a fuss.

In just one day, they packed up their things and moved out very efficiently.

Chen Feng didn’t redecorate. The layout of the fishing tackle shop was perfectly fine for an art shop. He just ordered a new shop sign and an advertising board.

The sign above the shop read: “High-Price Recovery of Calligraphy, Painting, and Artworks.”

The advertising board placed at the entrance read: “High-Price Seeking Calligraphy and Painting Works, Mainly Collecting Works of Modern Calligraphers and Painters. Once Authenticated, Price Will Be Favorable.”

Below both, Chen Feng’s newly purchased mobile phone number was left.

The font on the sign and advertisement was made very large and eye-catching.

In addition, Chen Feng also went to the relevant departments to handle the procedures. With the help of Qin Zhen, the Chief, and since it was conveniently within his jurisdiction, after a word of greeting, the procedures were handled quite smoothly under legal and compliant conditions.

By the time Chen Feng started his business, the procedures and business license had also been processed.

On the opening day, Chen Feng didn’t notify anyone, including Qin Zhen. He didn’t hold any opening ceremony, not even setting off firecrackers.

However, when Qin Zhen found out, he specially came over in his uniform and police car after work, bringing a flower basket. He stood at the door and chatted with him for more than ten minutes. Many people around, including the owners of other shops, saw this.

Of course, Chen Feng could only accept his good intentions.

But on the first day of Chen Feng’s business, not a single customer came to the door.

Although Chen Feng was mentally prepared for this, he was still inevitably a little disappointed.

However, he had already hired a group of online water-army to help post advertisements on several local forums in Xiuzhou. Chen Feng paid for a monthly package, and the price was relatively cheap.

In addition, Chen Feng also told Director Huang of the Provincial Art Museum about his shop opening and asked him to help promote it. He also got the contact information of the calligraphy and art associations in various counties and districts of the province from him.

Chen Feng sat in the shop and sent emails and made phone calls to these associations, informing them that he was buying the works of their members at high prices. As long as they were authenticated, the price would be generous.

In addition, he also promised that if the association recommended them, as long as the final transaction was completed, Chen Feng would donate an additional 10,000 to their association.

For every successful transaction, their association would receive a donation of 10,000.

This price was not low, and it was just asking them to help notify their members and have those interested in selling their works report their association’s name, which was not much trouble.

A reward of 10,000 for one transaction was not a low reward.

So, on the second day, someone finally came, and he had come from hundreds of kilometers away. He was over sixty years old and a member of a certain county’s calligraphy association.

Unfortunately, Chen Feng didn’t like any of the three works this person brought. But since he was the first to come, and Chen Feng also wanted to set a precedent of “buying the bones of a thousand-li horse,” he ended up spending 100,000 to buy one of the man’s calligraphy works.

In addition, Chen Feng also immediately contacted the calligraphy association of that county, stating that he would donate 10,000 to their association and asked them to send someone over to discuss it.

After all, 10,000 yuan was not a small sum for a county-level association, and it was free money.

Soon, three people from the county’s calligraphy association drove over directly, along with the person who had sold Chen Feng a piece of calligraphy for 100,000 yuan.

Chen Feng was very straightforward and transferred 10,000 to the bank account they provided. Then he took a photo with them as a souvenir. After receiving the 10,000 donation, they were of course very happy and said they would definitely help Chen Feng promote it vigorously.

This was the result Chen Feng wanted.

This was also a good start.

Sure enough, in the following days, more and more people came with their works. On the fifth day of business, Chen Feng finally found a work he wanted. It was a seemingly ordinary painting of peonies, a traditional Chinese painting.

The painter was only in his thirties, not from a professional background, and only painted as an amateur hobby. He had only studied under a local old Chinese painter for a few years and had only joined his county’s association a few years ago. He had no fame in his local area, let alone other places.

But his peony painting just happened to contain the invisible energy that attracted Chen Feng.

And Chen Feng only spent 50,000 yuan to buy it, which was extremely cheap.

As for the amateur painter, he was also quite satisfied with this price, feeling as if he had won the lottery.

After all, he had started learning to paint and painting only as an amateur hobby. He had a regular job and had never thought that his paintings could be sold for money.

This time, he came to Xiuzhou to sell his painting because he was on a business trip for his regular job. He happened to hear from people in the association that someone in Xiuzhou was buying calligraphy and paintings at high prices, so he brought two of his works to try his luck. As a result, he sold one for 50,000 yuan, which was a pleasant surprise for him.

After all, his regular job only paid a few thousand yuan a month.

For Chen Feng, this was an even more unexpected joy. He had bought one so cheaply, and it had come to him on its own.

So, Chen Feng expressed that he was also very interested in his other paintings. He could bring his other works here for him to see next time, and if he liked them, he would definitely continue to buy them.

The amateur painter immediately said he would go home right away and bring all his works from the past few years for Chen Feng to see.

This man was true to his word. He didn’t even care about his regular job anymore. He immediately took the high-speed train home as fast as he could, then packed all the works in his house into his Wuling Hongguang car, and drove over a hundred kilometers back to Chen Feng’s place.

By this time, it was already past seven in the evening. Chen Feng had already returned to Red Villa Bay.

But when he heard that this person had arrived with his works, Chen Feng of course rushed over immediately.

The other party had brought quite a lot of works, over a hundred of them, and more than half were not yet mounted.

But of course, Chen Feng didn’t mind at all. He was full of anticipation for this person’s works.

He carefully looked at them one by one, and sure enough, Chen Feng found another one.