My beautiful CEO wife
Chapter 212: Authentic Fan Kuan, Showing off Traditional Chinese Painting!

Chapter 212: Chapter 212: Authentic Fan Kuan, Showing off Traditional Chinese Painting!

"Hahaha, human energy is after all limited, the fact that Xiao Zheng as a younger brother managed to achieve such tremendous success in gambling on stones is already quite impressive."

After Xiao Zheng said this, other people immediately started to flatter him on the side.

Xiao Zheng just gave a faint smile.

Wang Renze, upon seeing this scene, felt quite sour.

This kind of treatment, even he did not enjoy. You should know that those who are now flattering Xiao Zheng are all big bosses from various fields, with very high social status.

"Hmph, do you still want to attract attention in the painting and calligraphy circle? Next, it should be my turn," Wang Renze thought to himself.

With this idea of competing with Xiao Zheng, Wang Renze became a bit impatient and started to wander around the painting and calligraphy area. Soon his eyes lit up!

He actually saw in a painting exhibition area a famous landscape painting by Fan Kuan from the Northern Song period—a picture named "Cold River Fishing Picture"!

Above the painting, a river flows westward, with heavy snow fluttering down.

In the vast expanse of heaven and earth, there is only a flat boat, with a fishing guest wearing a straw rain cape.

Just one glance over, and a profound sense of desolation hits you in the face.

"My God, is it really a painting by Fan Kuan?" Wang Renze was excited and instantly couldn’t help but step forward to take a closer look.

Fan Kuan!

These two words, in the history of painting, are like the blazing sun, shining for over a thousand years, belonging to a legendary figure.

However, Fan Kuan was a person from the Northern Song period, and things like paintings are not easy to preserve, so there are very few of his works still extant today.

There are only some imitations!

Just like the Orchid Pavilion Preface by Wang Xizhi, which was produced by an official specializing in the reproduction of famous works during the Tang Dynasty, while the original has long been lost.

If a real piece were to appear, it would probably cause a major earthquake in the whole painting and calligraphy world, thoroughly shaking it up.

Wang Renze looked over the painting lovingly. He also had some understanding of Fan Kuan, and upon looking at those brushstrokes, he immediately felt that there was a high possibility of it being authentic.

However, Wang Renze wasn’t ready to give up just yet. After checking the brushwork and style on the painting, he carefully examined the entire scroll and found that other than being slightly thick, there were no other issues.

"This banquet is truly of a high level, to even have a masterpiece by Fan Kuan," Wang Renze excitedly thought to himself, and then he asked the workers, "How much is this painting?"

"One million,"

the staff member said with a smile.

You should know that the art pieces here come from all over the country, they are purchased by some high-end art merchants and then sold for a good price at the appraisal conference held here every year.

"I’ll buy it!" Wang Renze bought it without hesitation.

"I must say in advance, this is the appraisal area. We can never guarantee whether it is authentic or not—it all depends on the buyer’s discernment. If this painting turns out to be a fake, you can’t go back on the deal."

The staff member politely explained.

"I understand the rules,"

Wang Renze said with a smile.

"Alright, then it’s sold to you."

This transaction immediately caught the attention of everyone present. Seeing Wang Renze buy Fan Kuan’s "Cold River Fishing Picture," they all exclaimed.

"My God, Mr. Wang has found a treasure."

"A painting by Fan Zhongzheng!"

Everyone praised.

There was a hint of triumph on Wang Renze’s face. He was very confident in his own discernment and had already confirmed that this was the real deal.

Xiao Zheng also looked over at the painting and, upon seeing it, uttered a small "huh".

"What’s wrong?"

The attentive Mo Anna noticed something was off with Xiao Zheng.

"It’s nothing."

Xiao Zheng just smiled.

However, the conversation caught the ears of Wang Renze, who was standing quite close. He glanced at Xiao Zheng and said with a hint of mockery,

"What, Mr. Xiao, do you also claim to be a connoisseur of traditional Chinese paintings?"

Xiao Zheng shook his head with a smile, "Nothing, just that upon seeing this painting, I instinctively felt something odd, that’s all."

"What’s so strange about that? The art of calligraphy and painting is not like betting on stones. Without profound cultural cultivation, a mastery of history, and understanding the stylistic features of each writer from every dynasty,

it’s simply impossible to get by here. You don’t understand any of this, so better not talk nonsense,"

Wang Renze said with a light laugh.

"Heh, yeah, how could a country bumpkin like you ever understand the threshold of national painting? Hahaha, I bet you don’t even know who Fan Kuan is," said the young man who had bet on stones with Xiao Zheng earlier, seizing the opportunity to mock him to his heart’s content. Since he had already burned bridges with Xiao Zheng, he had nothing to fear.

Might as well smash the pot to pieces.

Who knows, maybe he could even use this chance to cling on to Mr. Wang’s coattails!

Xiao Zheng simply smiled lightly in response, saying nothing.

Mo Anna ignored it as well.

Seeing this, Wang Renze immediately felt uncomfortable, mainly because Xiao Zheng was completely ignoring him, making him feel like he had been slighted.

Mo Anna’s indifference was even more of a critical hit.

Wang Renze let out a cold laugh, "At tonight’s banquet, as it happens, there are several seniors from the world of calligraphy and painting present. It would be perfect to ask them for an appraisal, to see just where the strangeness in this painting that Mr. Xiao speaks of lies."

Suddenly, Xiao Zheng and Wang Renze became the center of attention again, with many eyes on them.

Everyone in the room remained silent, their gazes flickering; no one said anything more.

It was clear to all that Wang Renze was deliberately trying to embarrass Xiao Zheng. He clutched onto what he perceived as a mistake by Xiao Zheng and was pursuing it relentlessly.

If the experts confirmed the painting as genuine, Wang Renze could simply claim that Xiao Zheng was pretending to know what he didn’t understand, then spread the word around. With enough repetition, the damage to Xiao Zheng’s reputation would be done.

"Wang Renze, you’re going too far!"

Mo Anna exclaimed angrily.

"Hahaha, I’ve acquired a precious painting and wish to have it appraised; there’s nothing wrong with that. Sister Mo, let him be," Xiao Zheng said with a light laugh.

"Hm?"

Mo Anna was puzzled.

Xiao Zheng’s reaction seemed a bit abnormal.

Even the Mayor of Zhonghai City and the CEO of Barry Company showed a hint of surprise in their eyes. Xiao Zheng’s behavior was essentially self-deprecating.

Could he really be confident in something? Yet, no matter how you looked at it, it was impossible. After all, Xiao Zheng had no clue about the field of traditional Chinese paintings.

"Hehe, Mr. Xiao makes a good point!"

Wang Renze laughed.

He didn’t wait for Xiao Zheng to respond and hastily took the painting to several white-haired professors, asking for their help in appraising it, as if he feared Xiao Zheng might change his mind in the meantime.

These professors were big names in the field of calligraphy and painting, with considerable authority in the industry. Even so, upon seeing Fan Kuan’s work, they got excited.

Everyone was eager to have a look.

If it were genuine, it would send shockwaves throughout the entire calligraphy and painting community!

At that moment, the great hall was filled with a dense crowd that had gathered, everyone wanting to witness the spectacle.