Unlike his second brother Ma Yuzao and his family, who live in a small courtyard in Dongbanqiao, Ma Heng's house in Xiaoyabao Hutong is extremely luxurious.
There are two lifelike stone lions next to the marble door pillars. On the lintel of the black painted door, there is a plaque with the words "Yinxian Horse" written on it. The strong and powerful characters make it look very high-end.
Chen Muwu clicked the knocker on the door, and after a few breaths, someone came to answer the door.
The person who opened the door was an old woman dressed as a servant. He said politely: "My name is Chen Muwu. I was introduced by Mr. Ma Youyu. Please come in and let me know."
"Sir, wait a minute."
It is really rude to come to your home empty-handed for the first time.
But Chen Muwu seems to be in a good position now, but in fact he doesn't have much money in his pocket, so he can't take care of that much.
The three scrolls he bought cost most of the belongings he brought to Beijing from Wuhai. In addition, after paying the taxi bill to the driver of Fushun Company this morning, he only had one left in his body. A small yellow croaker, three to five yuan, plus a handful of copper coins.
Chen Muwu was already thinking that if Hu Shi paid him the bill during his last lecture in half a month, if he continued to be frugal and spent money like a young master, he might have to borrow money to spend money. It's too late - he has no face to send a telegram home and ask his eldest brother to remit another sum of money.
In addition, according to Xiangzi and the old eunuch, it is estimated that until next Sunday, there will still be black market transactions of palace treasures in the small shabby house next to the Black Dragon Pond.
He didn't even think about vases or bronzes. Whether it was his wealth or his ability to take advantage of others, he couldn't compare with those foreign devils. He could only work hard on calligraphy and painting scrolls worth a hundred dollars a piece.
If you get more than 100 yuan, you can save more national treasures and prevent them from being lost overseas and becoming a regret for the people.
But how can you get some money quickly?
Just when Chen Muwu was planning a plan to make a fortune, the courtyard door opened again.
As expected of the former Shanghai Young Master, Ma Heng, who is over forty, is still wearing a suit and leather shoes, and looks elegant. Unlike his second brother Ma Yuzao, who is only three years older than him, he wears a long robe and a mandarin jacket with a big belly, and is completely indifferent. He is a middle-aged man from the north.
Seeing the rightful owner coming out, Chen Muwu bowed his hands and introduced himself again: "Mr. Shuping, my name is Chen Muwu, my brother Chen Zhengxiang, and Mr. Youyu are classmates who studied abroad in Qiben. It was Mr. Youyu who introduced me before Came to visit.”
"It turns out to be Han Chen, come in quickly, come in!"
Ma Heng welcomed Chen Muwu into the living room. The two of them took their seats as guest and host, and an old lady offered a cup of fragrant tea.
"I didn't expect that Chen Hanchen, who could talk to world-renowned scientists, turned out to be so young! My second brother had long said that you would go to Beijing to give lectures, and today I got to meet the Chen family's Zhilan Yushu. You don't have to be polite. How many years have I grown, just like your elder brother, just call me fourth brother."
Chen Muwuxin said, "How many years have you gained? You have gained more than 20 years!"
On this point, Ma Heng is consistent with his second brother. Although he is old enough to be an uncle, he insists on being called brother.
"Brother Ma Si."
"Han Chen, you came to the door today, you must have something to do, right?"
"I have been in Beijing for so many days. I should have come to visit you long ago, but it has been postponed until today. I have nothing to do without going to the Three Treasures Hall. I want to apologize to you first."
"The relationship between our two families is so polite! Tell me, what kind of treasure are you holding in your hand?"
"That's right, Fourth Brother, while I was waiting for lectures these days, I walked around Beijing City when I was bored. I accidentally bought a few calligraphy and paintings. I hope you can give me a look."
After saying that, Chen Muwu removed the teacup and placed the three scrolls on the Eight Immortals table between the two of them.
Although he had already guessed from the performances of the eunuchs that these calligraphy and paintings should be genuine works stored in the palace, it was safer to ask for advice from the Dafang Family.
At first, Ma Heng was very dismissive of Chen Muwu's behavior. He took the calligraphy and painting and said with a smile: "Hanchen, you are still too young. The water in Beijing's antique business is very deep. You He is also a newbie who doesn’t know anything. It’s easy to lose control and be tricked into a trap if you’re not careful. I think if you want to buy any antiques, calligraphy and paintings in the future, you’d better come to me to discuss it first.”
While he was preaching to Chen Muwu, he stood up with the scrolls and walked to the long table to spread them out. When he saw clearly the contents of the writings and paintings on the three scrolls, he took a deep breath: "Oh, that wave! What... what is this! This is the authentic work of Wang Youjun!"
Not only did Chen Muwu hear with his own ears that Ma Heng, who had always been a gentle man, suddenly uttered a curse word, he also saw with his own eyes that Ma Heng's hands were so excited that they were shaking involuntarily, indicating that these calligraphy and paintings must be authentic.
But the reason for his excitement was not hearing the word "authentic" but the words "Wang Youjun".
who?
Wang Xizhi’s authentic work?
Chen Muwu thought he was lucky to have missed a painting by Zhao Ji, Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty. Unexpectedly, the two scrolls he snatched later in the chaos actually contained the original work of Wang Xizhi, the first person in the history of Chinese calligraphy.
Is my old Chen just out of luck?
Chen Muwu also stood up, wanting to take a closer look forward.
Unexpectedly, Ma Heng completely ignored his demeanor, turned around, hugged Chen Muwu's shoulders with both hands, and started shaking him crazily: "Hanchen, where did your three calligraphy and paintings come from? Where did they come from?"
Looking at Ma Heng's wide eyes, Chen Muwu seemed to see the word "crazy" in them.
"Fourth brother, Mr. Shuping! Don't get excited!" He finally struggled to escape from the "claws", sorted out his thoughts and said, "I was wandering on the street that day, and I accidentally met a man holding a The old man with three scrolls.
"I saw how pitiful he was standing alone in the cold wind, so I walked up to him and asked him, "Old man, what are you doing here in such a cold weather?"
“The old man replied to me and said that his grandson was getting married, and the family really didn’t have that much financial resources to add more children, so he wanted to bear the pain and give away these three ancestral treasures, and take the money to go home and build a house for his grandson to get married.
"You also know that I am not even a layman in calligraphy and painting, but I still wanted to help him, so I asked him to open the scroll and pretend to read it.
"I saw that the paper on the painting was yellow in color, like an ancient relic, and the inscription and postscript were still in thin gold, with the words 'forbidden goods' written on it, so I suspected that it was an authentic work by Huizong of the Song Dynasty.
"So I didn't have the heart to bargain with him, so I spent 300 yuan to buy all three scrolls in his hand.
"Fourth brother, tell me, did I make a loss or a profit from this transaction?"
