Chapter Seventy-Five: The Exchange Meeting

  Two days later, the China Bank exchange meeting was held as scheduled at Zhao Mengzhi's home. In addition to Liang Zhisong and Zhou Yiqun, several other friends from the Chengdu collecting circle also came.

  As previously agreed, each guest had to bring at least one treasured item of their own to the gathering. Qu Wen had no choice but to take the purple sandalwood box with three friends pattern to the event; otherwise, continuing to hold onto the green glaze Guanyin Buddha would only make Liang Zhisong lose face.

  After lunch at Zhao Meng's home, Zhao Meng invited everyone to the side hall. The winter sun shone through the windows, giving a warm and soft feeling, no need for extra lights, the room was already very bright.

  "Now that everyone is ready, why not show off the new treasures we've just received?" Zhao Mengzhi loudly suggested, and took the lead in taking out the Guangxu pink nine-peach pattern plate and Wanli white glaze cloud dragon plum vase he had won at the auction.

  These two pieces of porcelain had been seen at an auction before, and the prices they were sold for were 2.5 million and 3.2 million respectively. However, at that time, Quwen's spiritual awareness had not been enhanced yet, and his spiritual vision did not exist either. Therefore, he could only sense that there was a faint aura of spiritual energy on top of them which had already been absorbed into his body.

  Now, seeing it again gives a different feeling. Although the vast majority of spiritual energy on both porcelain pieces has been absorbed, there is still an extremely small amount of spiritual energy left, emitting faint green and blue mist under spiritual awareness vision, without any light appearing.

  "Or did the light disappear after the spiritual energy was absorbed?" Qu Wen thought for a moment and felt that it wasn't right, as the green jade Guanyin statue and the emerald ring on his hand had also absorbed most of the spiritual energy, leaving only a small amount of spiritual breath, but there was still a faint glow emanating from them.

  Jian Quwen looked at them very seriously, and Liang Zhisong asked beside him: "Awen, what's special about these two porcelain pieces?"

  Nothing, it's just my personal habit, I especially like old things when I see them.

  "Ah, if only those two kids of mine had half your interest... Come take a look at this painting by Wu Changshuo, a Qing dynasty painter I brought today."

  Although they are not his own children, Liang Zhisong is particularly fond of Qu Wen, because he himself is a collector of antiques, but his two sons do not like to inherit their father's business and skills, which makes him feel a bit heroic and tragic.

  Upon hearing the name Wu Changshuo, Qu Wen immediately perked up: "Let's go take a look."

  When it comes to Wu Changshuo, the word "all-around" comes to mind. Wu Changshuo was not only proficient in painting and calligraphy but also had a high level of attainment in poetry and seal carving. Born in the late Qing dynasty, Wu Changshuo was influenced by the social atmosphere and Western culture at that time, which led him to innovate and create new artistic styles. He incorporated elements of calligraphy and seal carving into his paintings, blending brushstrokes, knife work, and composition to form a unique style with a rich flavor of gold and stone.

  Liang Zhisong brought a Wu Changshuo plum blossom and stone painting, the picture's giant rocks are strong and powerful, the cold plum is in full bloom. Looking at the blooming red plum, it seems to have a fragrant scent that hits your nose. The entire painting uses bold brushstrokes, with thick and thin lines complementing each other, coarse yet refined, simple yet elegant, showing off the author's unique heroic spirit.

  He habitually took a glance, testing his own eyesight, and after confirming that it was indeed a genuine work by Master Wu Changshuo, he secretly released his spiritual awareness. Through his spiritual awareness, his line of sight inadvertently made him brighten up, and on Master Wu Changshuo's plum blossom and stone painting, a faint green aura actually flashed, with a stronger spiritual energy than Zhao Mengfu's two authentic porcelain pieces.

  "Master Liang, the plum blossom and stone painting you brought is not simple. It should be a masterpiece created by Master Wu Changshuo in his later years. The calligraphy is incorporated into the painting, with the addition of seal carving techniques, making it spacious and free, with a majestic momentum, and extremely robust. Especially the plum blossoms in the middle, sparse and dense, rich in rhythmic changes, with focused ink strokes, fine and tense, as if there is a feeling of breaking free from the branches, wanting to soar into the air."

  Qu's commentary on the painting is simple, but his words are precise and vividly convey the artistic conception of the picture. Everyone nodded frequently as they listened. Moreover, Qu's analysis of the creation date of the painting is not bad at all. This painting is indeed a work from Wu Changshuo's later years, which Liang Zhisheng exchanged with someone else for another item a few months ago.

  Upon hearing Qu Wen's words, Zhao Mengzhi's eyes sparkled with interest and he said to Liang Zhisheng: "Old Liang, will you sell this painting to me? Or I can exchange something for it." Then he turned to Qu Wen: "Ah Wen, how much do you think this painting is worth?"

  Qu Wen thought for a moment, then said: "Master Wu Changshuo's paintings have appreciated very quickly in recent years, especially this larger piece. I think it should be worth around 200,000 yuan, and in two more years, it will probably double in value again."

  "In that case, I'll give you 400,000." Zhao Mengzhi stretched out four fingers to Liang Zhisheng.

  "Four hundred thousand and you think you can buy this painting? Even if you offer eight hundred thousand, I won't sell it. At least not now. With masterpieces like this, selling one means losing one, and if I keep selling, there will be hardly any good stuff left in my store."

  Li Zhisong said that it's not that he dislikes Zhao Mengzhu's low offer, but rather this painting has only just been returned after a few months and he hasn't had enough time to appreciate it himself. Moreover, the appreciation space for such a masterpiece is huge, so he isn't worried about being unable to sell it in the future.

  Taking advantage of the two people chatting, Qu Wen buried his head deeply in the painting, with only a dozen centimeters away from him. From the side, it seemed like he was seriously appreciating the painting, but in fact, he was secretly absorbing the spiritual energy above.

  A few minutes later, the spiritual energy of the entire painting was almost swept away, and he slowly straightened up.

  Seeing Qu Wen's "serious" attitude, Liang Zhisong couldn't help but let out a long sigh: "It's really rare and precious for young people to be so focused and serious."

  After watching the Wu Changshuo painting brought by Liang Zhisong, Qu Wen continued to watch the collections brought by several other collectors, all of which were from the Ming and Qing dynasties. Whether they were official kilns or palace imperial use, none of them had a bright appearance, but only had a faint aura condensed.

  Seeing this scene, Qu Wen was filled with new doubts. Logically speaking, the market value of Wu Changshuo's painting was not as high as the other treasures brought by fellow collectors, but why did only that one have a subtle glow? Was there something in it that he hadn't noticed or realized?

  Just then, Zhao Mengzhi walked over and patted him on the shoulder: "Awen, come let's take a look at the good things that Wang brought." He said, bringing Qu Wen in front of a sharp-looking middle-aged man.

  "Director Wang, can you show us what treasure you've brought with you now?"

  When I first arrived, through Zhao Mengzhi's introduction, I learned that this Wang Zong's full name was Wang Jinmao, the boss of a listed electronics company, and his family was even richer than Zhao Mengzhi. When mentioning him, Zhao Mengzhi's face showed undisguised envy. He said that as long as the company can be listed, it would be like having a treasure basin at home, and money would keep flowing in continuously.

  Wang Jinmao is younger than Zhao Mengzhi, and like Zhao Haifeng, he grew up in a red family from a young age. He went abroad to study for several years before returning home and choosing to start his own business. After making money, he began collecting antiques on a large scale and was equally obsessed with ancient calligraphy and painting.

  Having seen Qu Wen's connoisseurship of antiques and his serious focus on them, I couldn't help but have a strong liking for him. Smiling, he took out a tightly wrapped cloth bag from his backpack.

  "Alright, I'd also like to ask Mr. Qu to help me appraise this treasure that I've brought along."