Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 212

He Yuzhu was furious. After all this time, he couldn't get any of his requests met. So why did he even ask in the first place?

After all, he was an old man on his deathbed, with a wealth of life experience. I originally thought that using his paintings to pay off the debt would be a good deal, but I didn't expect that none of his requests could be met.

"it is good."

Qi Baishi readily agreed and then began to create.

He quickly painted a landscape painting: a thatched cottage halfway up a mountain, surrounded by a few small trees, with swallows flying overhead, and in the distance, there were also high mountains, white clouds, and flowing water.

It's a masterpiece, but the paper is too big, measuring 1.5 meters long and 60 centimeters wide, making the painting a total of nine feet in size.

Unfortunately, most of them were blank, which gave me a new understanding of Qi Baishi's shrewdness. He was so calculating and cunning that he really knew how to cut corners.

He Yuzhu gritted his teeth in anger; this was not quite what he had imagined.

It seems that I can only collect them slowly in the market from now on, and I can't find all the stones to buy paintings.

The painting was completed quickly. Some small characters were written in the blank space, and then a large seal was affixed.

Qi Baishi pressed one hand on the painting paper and then solemnly said, "Today, five tables of food have been served, which is equivalent to five feet of painting. This painting is nine feet long, so you will have to pay for another four feet."

He Yuzhu was stunned for a moment before realizing there was such a scheme involved. He had thought the extra area was free, but it seemed he had been overthinking it.

"Okay, I'll pay."

Seeing Qi Baishi's attitude, He Yuzhu knew that he wouldn't be able to take the painting away today if he didn't pay the money, so he had no choice but to obediently hand over the money.

He Yuzhu took out some money and said, "Here's 25 yuan, keep the change."

Four feet should be 24, but He Yuzhu was too lazy to care.

"Good, very generous. If you want to request paintings again in the future, I will allow you to visit me in person."

Ordinary people wouldn't even have the right to step foot in the Qi family's house. It was only because He Yuzhu was a good cook that Qi Baishi made an exception and allowed He Yuzhu to come to the house to ask for paintings in the future.

He Yuzhu couldn't help but roll his eyes. This Qi Baishi door...

When did Chapter 157 become Tieguai Li?

Thinking about it, I couldn't be bothered to argue with a dying man. Oh well, I'll come back to buy the painting later.

We should buy as many copies as possible before he passes away, so that we won't be able to buy them later.

Unfortunately, Qi Baishi died of old age in 1957, without being able to marry a fourth concubine.

If only I could live a few more years, until 59, when I could exchange food for paintings.

He Yuzhu's heart skipped a beat, and he asked, "I wonder if Elder Qi accepts disciples?"

I had never thought about painting before, but if I could become Qi Baishi's apprentice, I could enter the cultural world, which would make it much easier for me to collect paintings in the future.

"You want to learn to draw?"

Qi Baishi's tone was full of disdain as he said, "You're just a cook, you should just stick to cooking, why do you want to learn to paint?"

These words made He Yuzhu so angry that he wanted to slap him. What's so great about him? So what if he can draw? I... I can write too.

Li Keran, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but say, "Master, Mr. He's calligraphy is the best I've ever seen."

"Really?" Qi Baishi asked in return.

"It's true, it's better than what I wrote." Li Keran patted his chest and guaranteed.

Qi Baishi asked, "What does this have to do with me?"

He simply didn't believe in He Yuzhu's calligraphy skills. Besides, even if he did write well, so what? He couldn't possibly lower the price of his paintings by a single penny.

There's no possibility of others taking advantage of you, only of you taking advantage of them. Even if it's true, you can't let it interfere with your own interests.

Li Keran sighed, not knowing what to say. Whenever interests were involved, her master would fight for every single penny.

When it was He Yuzhu's turn, he smacked his lips and was speechless. Indeed, no matter how well he wrote, it was useless to Qi Baishi and worthless. He wouldn't get a cheap painting from him.

However, having already purchased the painting and established a connection with Qi Baishi, He Yuzhu was too lazy to argue with an old man like him. He said goodbye and was seen out by Li Keran.

“Mr. Li, my master is a stubborn old man, please bear with him.”

"You're too kind. Who would argue with an old man?"

He Yuzhu's heart stirred. He had only thought about getting Qi Baishi's paintings before, and had not considered that Li Keran in front of him was also a famous painter in later generations.

While he is not yet famous, his paintings are cheaper to buy. Moreover, Mr. Li Keran is a disciple of Huang Binhong, so we can also acquire more paintings by others.

"Mr. Li, I've been collecting all sorts of paintings. Do you have any paintings you'd like to sell?"

"Yes, I thought you..."

Li Keran had previously thought that He Yuzhu didn't like his paintings, so he hadn't dared to mention it. He never expected that He Yuzhu would also want to collect his paintings.

He Yuzhu said, "Besides yours, I want all the other famous authors. Please help me collect some. I can exchange them for grain."

At this time, grain was already regulated and rationed, and even the quotas for some high-ranking leaders and well-known figures in society were not high.

He Yuzhu could easily produce a large amount of grain, enough to tempt these people.

"Okay, no problem. Now that food supplies are restricted, many people are complaining that they can't get rice and wheat flour."

After a brief conversation, He Yuzhu left the Qi residence, beaming with joy all the way home. Even after returning home, a smile remained on his lips.

Xu Huizhen asked, "What's making you so happy?"

“Let me tell you, I’ve made contact with Lao Li, and he’s agreed to help me buy paintings by Huang Binhong, Xu Beihong, and others.”

"How did a painter become a middleman?"

"The agency fee I paid was relatively high."

He Yuzhu knew that his social status was inferior to these people, so he also

Instead of personally going door-to-door to collect paintings, it would be better to have Li Keran buy all the paintings from these famous artists.

Xu Beihong passed away last year, and Huang Binhong will also pass away in 1955. Qi Baishi lived a little longer, but he only lived to 1957. At this time, I asked Li Keran to go to their home to buy paintings.

It's always easier to buy paintings from later generations than from the artists themselves. It's just a business transaction, so why put yourself in the spotlight?

Xu Huizhen said, "Collecting paintings is indeed an important way to preserve value; some can even be passed down as family heirlooms."

"Yes, saving money is useless; it's not even enough to cover the depreciation."

Two days later, Li Keran came over with a bundle of paintings. He Yuzhu was very happy and invited him into the study.

Li Keran said, “I admire your mission. I’ve brought more than ten paintings by my master Huang. Take a look and choose one.”

Qi Baishi's paintings are now priced at only 6 yuan, and Huang Binhong's prices are even lower, ranging from one to two yuan per foot.

He Yuzhu opened them and saw that they were indeed all works by Huang Binhong, and all of them were from his later years. Each one could be called a masterpiece.

"Okay! I'll take them all."

He Yuzhu, of course, accepted all offers; each of these paintings would later be worth millions or even tens of millions of dollars.

Now, of course, we'll collect as many as we can and send them into the space to ensure that these paintings are perfectly preserved.

"As long as you're satisfied."

Li Keran thought that He Yuzhu would be picky and return a few paintings, since many people did not recognize Master Huang's paintings and they were of relatively low value.

Then he took out a list and gave it to He Yuzhu. It listed the dimensions of each painting and calculated the price. A small portion was exchanged for cash, and the majority was exchanged for flour.

Then he said, "I have one more small request."

"No, I said anything. Anything I can do is fine."

Li Keran said somewhat embarrassedly, "I wonder if we could exchange the agency fee for your calligraphy?"

"You want my calligraphy?" He Yuzhu asked, somewhat surprised.

"Yes, my paintings are alright, but my calligraphy is nothing to brag about."

"Okay, no problem."

He Yuzhu readily agreed, after all, exchanging his calligraphy for Li Keran's help was a worthwhile deal.

He Yuzhu, unlike Li Keran, readily wrote two calligraphy pieces. Li Keran cheerfully said, "I'll send you a painting later."

He Yuzhu was overjoyed after seeing the person off. This deal was very profitable. With just two of his own calligraphy works, he managed to get Li Keran to help him collect more than ten paintings. Moreover, he would continue to receive works from other people in the future.

"What are you happy about?" Xu Huizhen asked.

"Of course I'm happy. Don't be fooled by the fact that these paintings are only two yuan per square foot now. If they are kept for another thirty or fifty years, they will be worth a lot of money."

Xu Huizhen rolled her eyes and said, "That will take decades to store. Look how happy you are."

“What do you know? This is a family heirloom to leave to our children. There are more than 10 children, so I have to save up a lot of wealth for them.”

"What? More than 10 children?"

"Yes, if you have one child a year, you won't need to have any more when you turn 30."

Xu Huizhen said angrily, "Are you treating me like a sow? One litter a year? Go find someone else to have your babies, I'm not having any!"

He Yuzhu thought to himself, "You say you don't want to have children? I'll be so happy that I'll just put the seed in your belly. You'll have to have children even if you don't want to."

With the help of painter Li Keran, He Yuzhu was able to collect paintings much faster. After Xu Beihong passed away, many of his paintings fell into the hands of his descendants and were eventually bought by Li Keran.

Many paintings by Huang Binhong and Qi Baishi were also sent over, allowing He Yuzhu to quickly collect over a hundred works.