Chapter 50: Unveiling the Painting (Part 1)

  Xiao Zhou, although only a novice in antique jade, due to his father's connections, had some understanding of the prices of calligraphy and painting works. He was even able to offer Wu Shu, with whom he had an extremely good relationship, a price of 40,000, revealing the quality of the piece.

  It's not just Wu Shu who feels indignant, Chu Chen is also very angry when he sees the price he quoted. Originally, he thought it was a good deal and felt a little guilty, but now he doesn't care at all.

  When he heard such a price, Wu Shu thought of turning around and leaving, but thinking that it was the son of an old friend, and his surname Ge had always been like this, so he patiently explained:

  "Xiao Zhou, the items are indeed genuine, but you also know that these three people's reputation isn't very high. Among the three pieces, only the last one, Zhang Jian's stone bamboo painting, has the highest value. However, on the market, 15,000 is already a high price. As for the other two pieces, I don't need to say more. The highest I can offer is 10,000 each, totaling 25,000. What do you think?"

  But Wu Shu's words of heartfelt advice apparently had no effect on Little Zhou, who said with a bitter face:

  "Wu Shu, you also know the situation in my family, it's almost impossible to make ends meet. How about this, I'll compromise a bit too. Can you give me 330,000? After all, you've already offered 250,000, and this extra 80,000 isn't much. What do you say?"

  When Wu heard this, he was extremely disappointed. The price he could offer now was already the highest in the market. If it weren't for his old friend's face, he wouldn't have been able to offer such a high price. Yet Xiao Zhou still wanted more, completely taking him for a fool.

  Seeing this, Wu Shu also had nothing to say, and turned around to leave: "Forget it, Xiao Chuan, let's go back, there's nothing good about staying here."

  Xiao Zhou didn't expect Wu Shu to be so decisive, and he was momentarily stunned. As for Chu Chen, if it weren't for the previous discovery, he definitely wouldn't have stayed behind to wipe his butt. So, he followed Wu Shu a few steps before turning around and expressionlessly saying:

  "Mr. Zhou, I'm also an old customer of your father's. He has always taken care of me over the years. For these three pieces, I can offer at most 30,000 yuan. If you want to sell, we can make a deal right away. If you're looking for a higher price, then there's nothing more to say."

  Although Xiao Zhou was still a bit reluctant, after thinking about it, if he sold it to someone else, he wouldn't be able to sell it at this price either. So he had no choice but to nod in agreement. It has to be said that Xiao Zhou's idea and approach were probably inherited from Old Zhou, which is what people commonly refer to as "killing the familiar".

  Different from him, Old Zhou still had a concept of friendship in his heart, while Little Zhou was already disowning all six degrees of relatives.

  "Mr. Zhou, trouble you, we still need to sign a sales agreement, don't want to be wrongly accused of theft or robbery later."

  In the end, Chu Chen stabbed him with another sentence, this person's behavior really made him feel too disgusted. However, such words had no effect on Little Zhou, who still smiled and completed the transaction.

  Wu Shu estimated that he was really angry, even if Chu Chen said he wanted to buy the three works just now, he didn't stay. After Chu Chen finished the transaction and walked out of Lao Zhou's house, Wu Shu scolded him at the door:

  "Xiao Chen, I'm telling you, what's the point of wasting your money like this? People like that shouldn't be indulged. Even if you spend a high price to buy something from him, will he still be grateful to you?"

  Chu Chen saw this and hurriedly comforted him, saying: "Uncle Wu, calm down. Just like you said, what's the point of getting angry at such people? Besides, in your heart, do you think I'm so foolish as to let such people succeed?"

  "Could it be that there's another mystery hidden in this painting?" Wu Shu furrowed his brow and said thoughtfully.

  Chu Chen mysteriously smiled: "It's not clear here now, let's go back first, and then I'll tell you."

  "Alright then, I'll be back later. If you can't give me a proper explanation, don't blame me for being impolite."

  The two of them returned to Wu Shu's home in high spirits, and when Wu Shu's wife saw that they were carrying six scrolls (three of which were the goods they had taken previously), she asked in surprise:

  "Hey, are you two planning on changing careers or something? Why have you brought back so many paintings?"

  Chu Chen smiled and said, "Isn't this the success of the Olympic bid? In response to the country's call, in order to contribute to our spiritual civilization construction, I'm preparing to engage in some book and painting art, and provide some spiritual food for the masses."

  "Wow, Xiao Chen's thinking is really high-level, always thinking about solving the country's worries and difficulties." Wu Auntie said with a smile and even gave him a thumbs up.

  Wu Shu took a sip of tea and smiled: "Auntie, don't listen to his nonsense. Just look at him, does he look like someone with such lofty ideas?"

  "Lao Wu, you're just jealous. Look at our little Xuan, he's so handsome, has a good temper, and is filial. How can he not have lofty ideals? If I were to say, someone as great as Xuan, where would we find another one like him? Unfortunately, Xiao Ke is still abroad, otherwise I'd let her come chase after you."

  "Exactly, this makes sense." Wu Shu heard the last part and also smiled and nodded in agreement.

  Chu Chen saw their appearance and almost broke out in a cold sweat, hastily changing the subject: "Uncle Wu, what do you think of this painting?"

  "Hmm, then you take out that problematic painting and tell me what's going on inside." Wu Shu and his wife saw Chu Chen's expression and couldn't help but smile knowingly. They didn't say anything more about the topic, and Wu Aunt went to cook dinner instead.

  Chu Chen took out the stone bamboo painting with Zhang Jun's shoulder, and said while opening it: "The other two I think are fine, but this one, I think there is another mystery. Uncle Wu, touch this paper, isn't it a bit thick?"

  Wu Shu furrowed his brow and rubbed the paper, but he really couldn't feel anything. He tried again, and it seemed like there was something, but it was very faint. So he furrowed his brow and said:

  "Do you think this is a painting within a painting? But although the paper feels slightly thick to the touch, the thickness is not obvious at all. Unless the person hiding it is an expert, but can you really determine that just based on this slight difference in paper thickness, isn't that too arbitrary?"

  Chu Chen smiled and explained: "Of course, this is no longer possible. This is just a slight difference I felt after discovering a clue. Uncle Wu, look at this place where the water is."

  Wu Shushun looked in the direction he was pointing, and at first glance, it seemed like there was no difference. As he took a closer look, he felt that there might be a hint of ink color. Upon further inspection, the ink color appeared to be seeping through from inside the paper. This discovery immediately excited him.

  If they didn't misjudge, this painting is very likely to hide another work inside, and it's incredible that a true masterpiece like this would be used to conceal it. The concealed work must be even more precious.

  Wu Shu excitedly said: "Alright, Xiao Chuan, your eyesight is indeed impressive, you were able to tell just from this little bit of color!"

  He looked at Chu Chen again and wanted to be humble, waving his hand to interrupt: "Okay, don't be humble anymore. The key now is to uncover the painting. However, your Uncle Wu really doesn't have this skill. It seems that tomorrow we still need to trouble Liu Lao. In the past, Liu Lao had studied with the Beijing school's mounting master for a long time, and his mounting level was also at the master level."

  When he heard this, Chu Chen hesitated and said: "Uncle Wu, we just went to Old Liu's place today, and tomorrow we'll go again. Won't Old Liu be unhappy about it?"

  Wu Shu listened and said with a mixture of laughter and tears: "Do you think Liu Lao's heart is so narrow? Besides, we're not going to bother him with idle chatter. For something like this, Liu Lao would want you to go find him every day."

  "I also want to go to Liu Lao's every day, but things like today, I won't be lucky every day, and I won't encounter it every day." Chu Chen said with a smile.

  "What's going on? Why are you two so happy?" Wu Ayi walked out of the kitchen, seeing their delighted expressions, and became curious as well.

  After listening to Wu Shu's simple explanation, Wu Shu's wife happily said: "Xiao Chuan is going to make a lot of money again. In the future, whichever girl marries you will definitely not have to worry about food and clothing. Ah, if it were my daughter Xiao Ke, she would be so lucky!"

  Chu Chen felt a bit embarrassed after hearing her say that and thought to himself, we're only 21, can't you guys just slow down?

  Fortunately, Wu Nainai came out to mediate: "Alright, stop teasing Xiao Chuan, let's get ready for dinner."

  The next day, Chu Chen got up early and practiced his fist technique several times. Not practicing for a whole day yesterday made him feel itchy all over his bones.

  It's been a long time since he had such a great practice session after his ability upgrade, and at the same time, he felt that under the influence of his ability, the progress of his fist training was becoming more and more obvious. He could almost feel the progress every day, and looking at it this way, maybe in less than a year, he might be able to break through to the Grand Cycle Heaven.

  However, Chu Chen didn't mind this point too much, because when he first learned martial arts, he was doing it with the idea of strengthening his body and improving his health, and now this mindset hadn't changed.

  Moreover, the realm of Tai Chi emphasizes nature and seeks to break through without being too deliberate. So now, despite having extraordinary abilities, he still holds onto the idea of following the natural order and doesn't want to deliberately change anything.

  Now that he knew Liu Lao's habits, Chu Chen didn't wait for Wu Shu to call and urge him. After finishing all his morning chores, he headed to Wu Shu's house just after 7 o'clock.

  On the road, Chu Chen unexpectedly received a call from Zhou Wenping. There was nothing important on the phone, just asking if he had anything to do after tomorrow. If not, he would book a train ticket to Xijing for tomorrow.

  Chu Chen didn't have anything important to do, so he readily agreed. He also got some news from Zhou Wenping that Li Guodong would not only bring his girlfriend along but also her classmates. It was said that his girlfriend's classmates were particularly beautiful, and Zhou Wenping smiled and told him to seize the opportunity.