There was no vicious incident of absconding with money, which made Zhu Renxia very satisfied and ordered a banquet to be held in the Senate to cleanse the three of them.
In addition to Zhu Renxia and No. 5, the Yangtze River Champion of Minzhuang Regiment Battalion and Deputy Battalion Commander Jin Zhu also attended the banquet.
After a glass of wine, Chen Zhili sighed with emotion: "We have only been out for more than a month, and our Chang'an Town has changed so much."
Jin Zhu played with the wine cup in his hand and said, "You mean there is an extra Yihong Courtyard, right?"
Chen Zhili suddenly blushed with embarrassment: "No, no, the outer city was still empty when I left, but now it is lined with shops and bustling with people. There are several more restaurants and inns, not to mention, running various businesses. There are many traders coming in and out, not just the addition of a brothel.”
"Yes, the changes in our Chang'an Town can be said to be rapid!"
Yan Wen, who was next to him, also echoed, "In more than a month, not only have merchants arrived in Chang'an Town in droves, but the roads have also been built wide and flat. When we first came back, we thought we had taken the wrong road and arrived at the capital city!"
Deng Huaiwen raised his glass and made a toast: "In my opinion, the prosperity of Chang'an Town today has surpassed that of some county towns. This road, this city wall, and this house are not comparable to those of ordinary towns."
"Three brothers, don't be as knowledgeable as the golden girl."
Seeing the three of them quarreling with Jin Zhu, the fifth one was in a good mood and raised his glass to toast, "A woman has long hair and short knowledge. When she sees a brothel, she will think of a man visiting a brothel. Let's go one by one!"
The four of them raised their heads together and drank the whole drink in one gulp.
Jinzhu pouted and said: "You are all talking clearly. How many calligraphy and paintings have been collected? Don't be just a talker!"
Chen Zhili said: "I collected thirteen paintings. The earliest one is a picture from the Kaiyuan period of the Tang Dynasty. It cost a total of fifty-eight taels of silver."
"I only collected five paintings." Yan Wen put down his wine glass and said calmly.
"In more than a month, you only collected five paintings and calligraphy? Did you go on a trip at public expense?" Jin Zhu immediately launched a series of interrogations.
Chen Zhili received five more paintings than the fifth place, which made him, the boss, a little restless. Fortunately, Yan Wen's gains were less than his own, otherwise the town committee leader Bo would have been unable to hold his head high.
But he saw Yan Wen put down his chopsticks and said unhurriedly: "My principle in collecting paintings is to avoid overuse, so I have to be careful. Among the paintings I acquired, the earliest one is "Fu of the Goddess of the Luo River" by the Jin Dynasty painter Gu Kaizhi picture"……"
"Luo Shen Fu?"
"From the Jin Dynasty?"
"Is it still Gu Kaizhi's?"
As soon as Yan Wen finished speaking, everyone present was in an uproar.
During the Ming Dynasty, Gu Kaizhi's reputation was extremely great, and could even be said to be as good as that of the painting saint Wu Daozi. What's more, the Jin Dynasty has been 1,300 years ago, and ancient paintings with such a long history are even more valuable.
After a while of exclamation, Zhu Renxia asked expectantly: "Gu Kaizhi's paintings are not cheap. How much did Brother Yan spend to buy them?"
The fifth person also frowned and said, "I think Brother Yan probably bought a fake?"
"A lot of money was spent on this picture, one hundred and forty taels of silver."
Yan Wen talked eloquently, "The seller initially asked for two hundred taels. If I hadn't been waiting for the money, I would never have been able to buy it. I feel like I missed something."
The fifth person said: "I have been studying calligraphy and painting for a month, and I have some experience. As far as I know, you need at least 500 taels of silver to buy Gu Kaizhi's paintings. I still feel that Brother Yan has a high probability of buying a fake." "
"I'll take it out for you to evaluate."
Yan Wen bent down and picked up the baggage, untied it and took out a scroll. He walked to the center of the banquet and asked Deng Huaiwen next to him to help unfold it, "Everyone, please take a look."
Jiang Guanjun and Jin Zhu knew nothing about calligraphy and painting, and they both sat motionless. Zhu Renxia, along with the fifth place winner, Chen Zhili, stood up to check.
To be honest, these three people only knew a little bit about it, and it was just for fun. They couldn't even get enough of a bottle to be less than half a bottle, so the three of them looked at the picture lonely.
"I feel it may be true. The painting work is quite delicate." Zhu Renxia speculated.
The fifth person speculated: "It may be an authentic work, or it may be a fake. It's hard to say."
Chen Zhili said: "You two are right."
"They're all talking nonsense!"
Jin Zhu rolled his eyes with disdain and raised his glass to toast Jiang Guanjun, "Third brother, one of us brothers and sisters will go!"
"Haha...done it."
Jiang Guanjun smiled and said nothing, raised his head and drank the wine in the glass, "By the way, I heard Zhao Yun say that the new scholar, a young man named Xie Yangxin, is a master of painting. Why not ask him to help appraise it?"
Zhu Renxia slapped his forehead: "I also remembered what my third uncle said. Xie Yangxin is very knowledgeable in calligraphy, calligraphy and painting. I will immediately send someone to ask him to help with the appraisal."
Zhu Renxia immediately walked to the door and told Minzhuang who was standing guard: "Go to Xie's house, call Xie Yangxin over, and tell him that I have something to ask him for help."
Xie Yangxin was not well-known, so Minzhuang was not familiar with him. He scratched his scalp and asked, "The mayor is talking about the young man who teaches in the college, right?"
"Exactly."
Zhu Renxia nodded, "He lives in the same courtyard as his brother and sister-in-law. They are at No. 19, row six. You go and call him... No, please ask him. Please be more respectful."
"yes."
Minzhuang agreed and turned around.
Everyone was full of praise for Zhu Renxia's memory. After all, Chang'an Town has now developed into a large town with three thousand people. It is not easy to remember a person's specific location.
Yan Wen temporarily rolled up "Luo Shen Fu" and returned to his seat to continue drinking with everyone.
"In addition to this painting by Gu Kaizhi, I also acquired two works from the Tang Dynasty, one from the Zhenguan period and one from the Changqing period. The other two are all works from the Southern Song Dynasty."
"Tsk tsk... Brother Yan collected all fine works!" Zhu Renxia gave a thumbs up, "If they are all authentic, Tianzun will definitely like them."
The fifth person shook his folding fan and asked sourly: "I guess you have spent enough money, right?"
Yan Wen smiled bitterly: "All the two hundred taels of silver were spent. The money for hotel and food when we returned was all raised by our brothers."
"Brother, you are really courageous!"
The fifth person was immediately convinced, "It seems that your fifth brother has to learn a lot from you. I bought eight paintings and only spent a total of seven taels of silver."
Yan Wen felt that there was something in the fifth place's words and hurriedly explained: "I, Yan Wen, swear to God here that I have never been greedy for a single tael of silver. Brother Wang and Brother Yang who are traveling with me can all testify."
"Perhaps some people suspect that the three of us colluded and divided the money. After all, two hundred taels is not a small amount, and the expense of buying only five paintings is really too much. But these paintings are all ancient paintings and are expensive, and I really don't want to miss it."
"I asked the seller to write a receipt, stamp his fingerprints, and leave an address. If anyone suspects that there is something fishy, I can take you to find the seller for verification."
Zhu Renxia laughed loudly: "Haha...Brother Yan said something serious. You don't have to trust others. I don't have any doubts about you."
Jiang Guanjun took over the conversation and said: "Wang Chao was recommended by me. He has been with me for seven or eight years. I know his character best. I believe that he will never do anything to hide and steal, and I also believe in Brother Yan. "
"Brother Yan has misunderstood!"
Seeing that he was about to become a villain who judged a gentleman with a villain's heart, the fifth one hurriedly explained: "Brother Yan, you misunderstood. The fifth brother did not suspect that you were cheating on the money. I said I have to learn from you. If you have the courage, you can’t spend money carelessly, as long as you don’t get cheated.
If this "Luo Shen Fu" is an authentic work by Gu Kaizhi, then you will make a lot of money from this sale. Even if you don't dedicate it to Tianzun, you can easily sell it for three hundred taels. "
Deng Huaiwen, who was standing next to him, said with a naive smile: "I made the same mistake as the Fifth Master, bargaining with the sellers and digging around. In this month, I acquired eleven paintings, the earliest one is from the Five Dynasties period, and there are also There is one from the Southern Song Dynasty, one from the Yuan Dynasty, and the others are from our Ming Dynasty, costing a total of fourteen taels of silver."
Zhu Renxia comforted him: "It doesn't matter, once you are familiar with it, you will have experience next time you go out. We now have more than 100,000 taels of gold in Chang'an Town, which is enough to exchange for two million taels of silver. In the future, you will see valuable calligraphy and paintings You absolutely can’t miss it. As long as it’s not a fake, you’ll definitely try your best to get it.”
Everyone clasped their fists together: "Mayor, we already know what you said."
While they were talking, Xie Yangxin, who was in his early twenties, was ordered to report: "Mayor, what do you want from me?"
"Xiao Xie is here, come in and talk."
Zhu Renxia stood up with a smile on his face and welcomed Xie Yangxin into the banquet living room.
He ordered Yan Wen and Deng Huaiwen to unfold the "Picture of Luo Shen Fu" that they bought for 140 taels of silver, and asked Xie Yangxin to help palm the picture to see if it was Gu Kaizhi's original work or a fake?
