Chapter 102: Amateur Painter

Chen Feng had previously visited museums and seen those precious artworks, and he had also been to art galleries to see many works of calligraphy, painting, sculpture, and photography.In the end, he came to a conclusion: if the creators of these artworks were already dead, they would not meet his requirements.

To put it another way, the creators of the few pieces of calligraphy and painting that met his requirements these past few days were all still alive.

Conversely, none of the works by those who had already passed away met Chen Feng’s requirements.

So, when this man now claimed that these two paintings were from a hundred years ago, Chen Feng, of course, didn’t believe him.

“These two paintings are a bit interesting. You can name a price first. If it’s suitable, I can consider acquiring them.”

Chen Feng certainly understood the basic rules of buying and selling; he couldn’t possibly give up the initiative in the transaction.

The bald middle-aged man, upon hearing this, pondered for a moment before saying, “These two paintings were passed down from my ancestors. I’ve had them appraised by an expert, and they are both rare masterpieces. Someone once offered one million for this ‘Misty Rain in Jiangnan,’ but I didn’t agree. And for this ‘The Rose,’ a foreigner once offered 200,000 US dollars, and I didn’t agree either.”

This bald middle-aged man is very cunning. As if I’d believe your nonsense!
Chen Feng thought to himself, Do I look that gullible?
“We can’t make a deal like this,” Chen Feng said, his face turning serious. “You say these two paintings are from a hundred years ago, but looking at the canvas and paper, and the color of the ink, they are definitely modern works. You say this ‘Misty Rain in Jiangnan’ was painted by a great master of the late Qing Dynasty, which great master? What’s his name? And what’s the name of the author of this ‘The Rose’? I can be sure that the authors of these two paintings are probably still alive, right?”

The bald middle-aged man had wanted to argue, but when he heard Chen Feng assert that the authors of the two paintings were still alive, his eyes widened in astonishment, and he was speechless.

He almost blurted out, “How did you know?”

Fortunately, he didn’t embarrass himself on the spot, but his face was still a bit awkward. After all, his lie had been exposed in public, and there were two beautiful women watching from the side.

Without a doubt, in his eyes, Chen Feng was an expert. The information he had gathered before was clearly wrong.

If it weren’t for the money, he would have left in a fit of shame and anger by now.

But in the end, his skin was thick enough, or perhaps the temptation of money was too strong. He endured the shame and asked in a strained voice, “Then how much can you offer?”

Seeing that the other party didn’t argue anymore, Chen Feng gave him a few points in his mind.

“How about this, twenty thousand for both paintings together.”

The other party’s original asking price was over two million. Chen Feng’s price cut was a direct slash of a hundred times.

“Twenty thousand!?”

The bald middle-aged man seemed to have been insulted. He cried out, his eyes wide, and immediately started to put the two paintings back into the bag.

Chen Feng wasn’t anxious. He asked calmly, “Then how much do you want?”

The bald middle-aged man’s movements paused, and then he named his price: “Together, 200,000 for both. That’s the lowest price.”

Chen Feng shook his head. “These two paintings were painted by people who are still alive, and this person definitely has no fame right now. Otherwise, you wouldn’t have tried to pass them off as works by a painter from a hundred years ago. Is it reasonable to ask for 200,000 for two paintings by a modern, unknown person?”

After a look of struggle, the bald middle-aged man said, “150,000 for both. You’re an expert, you should also know that these two paintings are very well done. Although their author indeed has no fame now, I believe he will definitely become famous in the near future.”

“How about this. 100,000 for both. You’ll definitely still make a profit at this price. Also, tell me the author’s information.”

The bald middle-aged man’s eyes darted around. Then, gritting his teeth and stamping his foot, he put on an act of taking a huge loss and said, “Alright. I’ll take a loss to make a friend like you.”

The bald middle-aged man immediately put the paintings back on the desk and nimbly took out his phone. “WeChat or Alipay? A bank account is fine too.”

Chen Feng looked at him with a smile. “Tell me the author’s information first. I’ll transfer the money after I’ve confirmed it.”

The bald middle-aged man was stunned for a moment, then reluctantly found a phone number on his phone and handed it to Chen Feng to see. Then he said, “He’s an amateur painter. He runs a noodle shop in the countryside.”

“He painted both of these?” Chen Feng was a little surprised.

The bald middle-aged man nodded.

Chen Feng memorized the phone number and immediately dialed it.

“Hello, are you Li Chungang?”
“Yes.”

“Hello, I run an art acquisition shop. I’ve received two of your paintings here, one ‘Misty Rain in Jiangnan’ and one ‘The Rose.’ Did you paint them both?”

“Ah, yes.”

“Alright then. I’ll add you on WeChat in a moment, please accept. I’m very interested in your paintings and would like to visit you to see them.”

“Ah, okay, okay, thank you, thank you.”

“Then let’s leave it at that for now. I’ll contact you later.”

This person was undoubtedly another target for Chen Feng to find a hidden gem, just like the amateur painter surnamed Zhang before. This was really good news.

“Alright, now let’s make the official transaction. Please sign a contract.”

Although Chen Feng’s shop was small, it was quite formal, with complete procedures and documents. The transaction process was also carried out according to standard procedures.

Signing the contract, filing it, and transferring the money.

After receiving the 100,000 yuan, the bald middle-aged man was all smiles and said they would cooperate again next time.

Chen Feng was also very happy and said that if there were any other good works next time, he could continue to acquire them.

It had to be said that this bald middle-aged man’s eye was quite good. Both of the paintings he brought to sell had “hit the mark.”

The bald middle-aged man left happily, and he naturally had a reason to be happy.

Not long ago, he had only spent five thousand yuan to buy these two paintings in a bundle. Now, with a quick flip, it was 100,000 yuan. This was a proper windfall.

After Chen Feng added Li Chungang on WeChat and asked a few questions, he also learned the original selling price of these two paintings.

Chen Feng didn’t feel he had lost out.

Buying these two paintings for 100,000 yuan was a huge gain for Chen Feng. Moreover, it allowed him to get in touch with Li Chungang, a potentially great painter hidden from the world.

Who knows, he might be able to find many more “energy paintings” from Li Chungang.

It was just that Li Chungang’s home was a bit far, actually in Sichuan province. Chen Feng would have to take a plane to get there.

Chen Feng contacted him and arranged to go find him tomorrow.

Li Chungang, of course, had no objections.

After settling the matter, Chen Feng finally had time to look at the two women. He smiled and said to them, “Are you interested in going to Sichuan with me tomorrow? I’ll cover the travel expenses.”

Lin Wan immediately raised her hand happily. “I’m willing, I’m willing. I’ll go with you.”

Wu Mengting’s heart tightened slightly. She immediately smiled and said, “I happen to have nothing to do tomorrow, so let’s go together.”

“Good. Send me your ID numbers, I’ll book the plane tickets now.”

Chen Feng was still a little anxious. Li Chungang had said that people would occasionally come to his door to buy his paintings, and he had accumulated many works over the years, probably five or six hundred of them.

Chen Feng felt that the possibility of him digging up a treasure this time was very high. The bald middle-aged man had randomly bought two paintings and both were hits.

There was no reason why he couldn’t find a treasure if he went there himself.