"Someone is looking for me? Who is looking for me?" He Qing said in surprise.
Wu Qiang replied: "The man who claims to be from the Zurich Academy of Fine Arts is a Swiss-Chinese."
"Zurich Academy of Fine Arts? Is it the same art academy we went to not long ago?" He Qing asked doubtfully.
Wu Qiang nodded and said: "Yes, that's the art academy. But I don't know why that person came to you specifically. He should have been sent by Mr. Lawrence who appraised the painting for you. I think it may have something to do with the painting.
Regarding it, haha, maybe they have figured it out and are willing to issue you an appraisal certificate right away."
He Qing said: "I hope so."
Lawrence's people came to him. Besides coming for Van Gogh's painting, what else could they have for?
If it is true as Wu Qiang said, they are here to issue him an appraisal certificate, that would be great. Although he has changed his mind and does not plan to send the painting to the auction house for the time being, he is not in a hurry to do anything.
Appraisal, but it is naturally a good thing to be affirmed by an authoritative appraisal agency and get the appraisal certificate.
"Mr. He, that man is waiting outside now. Do you want to go see him?" Wu Qiang asked.
He Qing nodded without hesitation and agreed: "The visitor is a guest. Of course I want to see you. But I won't go out to greet him. You ask him to come directly and come to my guest room to sit down and chat."
"Okay, I'll go tell him right now." Wu Qiang agreed quickly, turned around and walked out of the room quickly to greet the uninvited guest.
He Qing stayed in the guest room, waiting calmly for the arrival of the other party.
In less than five minutes, Wu Qiang led a man in.
He was indeed an Asian man with dark eyes and yellow skin. He was not very old, about forty years old, and wore gold-rimmed glasses. He looked gentle and elegant.
"Hello, Mr. He."
When he walked in and saw He Qing, the man smiled and said hello.
"Hello." He Qing also greeted politely and said, "Please sit inside."
"Thank you." The man came up to him, shook hands with him, and introduced himself, "My surname is Wang, and my ancestral home is Guangdong. You can just call me Lao Wang."
After some polite greetings during the meeting, he sat down on the sofa with He Qing.
"Mr. Wang, I don't know what you want from me?"
He Qing asked, very directly, there was no need to beat around the bush on this matter.
Mr. Wang smiled and said: "Now we all know that Mr. He brought the famous painting to our art academy for appraisal this afternoon. It is a work of the master Van Gogh. Van Gogh is famous and world-famous, but his works are rare and very remarkable.
!”
He Qing nodded and said: "Yes, I did bring a Van Gogh painting to your art academy in the afternoon for appraisal. The person who helped me appraise it was Mr. Lawrence, the oil painting appraiser of your art academy. But it's a pity. It seems that
Without his confirmation, he didn't issue me an appraisal certificate. In that case, forget it, I don't want to bother you anymore."
Although he spoke softly and calmly, there was obviously a bit of dissatisfaction in his words.
Mr. Wang seemed to be a smart man, and he should have heard the hidden meaning in his words. He hurriedly explained: "It's not that Mr. Lawrence is not sure, but that you also know. The painting you brought for appraisal is a Sanskrit painting."
Master Gao's painting is not an ordinary painting. Mr. Lawrence cannot easily give a conclusion and needs to conduct further identification. However, judging from what Mr. Lawrence said, the "Chestnut Grove" in your hand is very likely to be a Vatican painting.
A true masterpiece of Gao.”
"Really?" He Qing said with a slight smile. He seemed to understand what the other party meant.
"Yes." Mr. Wang nodded vigorously, "It shouldn't be a big problem. After all, Mr. Lawrence is one of the most authoritative oil painting appraisers in our Academy of Fine Arts. He has done a lot of research on the works of world-renowned painters such as Van Gogh and Picasso.
He has unique insights, and the things he is optimistic about should be fine. He just needs to do a little more research and make final decisions."
"Then what do you mean?" He Qing asked bluntly, "When you come to me now, could it be that you have the same request as Mr. Lawrence, asking me to hand over the painting in my hand to your art academy for research?"
Mr. Wang smiled, shook his head and said: "It's not to do research for our art academy, but to identify the painting for you to avoid any mistakes. After all, it is not an ordinary painting, but an oil painting by Van Gogh.
It needs to be carefully compared to confirm that there are no mistakes or omissions.”
He Qing smiled and said: "That's not necessary?"
He thought that Mr. Wang was here to issue an appraisal certificate on behalf of Mr. Lawrence. Unexpectedly, the other party's purpose was exactly the same as Mr. Lawrence's previous request. He just hoped that he would hand over Van Gogh's "Chestnut Grove" to their art academy for research.
In response to this, his first reaction was to refuse. If he was willing, he would have agreed to Mr. Lawrence long ago, and there was no need to wait for the other party to hire someone to be a lobbyist.
Mr. Wang said: "It's very necessary. Let's study it and do an appraisal. After making sure that there are no problems, we can give you the appraisal certificate. Of course, the painting will be returned to you intact when the time comes.
We know that it is not easy for you to travel all the way from China to get paintings for appraisal, we are just anxious for you and want to complete the appraisal for you as soon as possible and get this matter resolved."
He Qing smiled faintly, shook his head and said: "Mr. Wang, you guessed wrong. I came to Switzerland not to appraise this painting, but to have other, much more important matters. The appraisal of the painting was just a matter of course. Wang
Sir, if you came to me just for this reason, then I'm sorry, I can't promise you."
His attitude was very firm and he didn't think about it at all.
Seeing that he refused so simply, Mr. Wang looked a little embarrassed and said: "I hope you will think carefully about it and leave the painting to us. We will issue you an IOU and pay you a certain deposit so that you have no worries."
He Qing said sternly: "Mr. Lawrence from your Academy of Fine Arts has already told me these things. As for the answer, I am sorry that I cannot agree to you. Please stop saying it. This matter is not something I need to consider."
"Actually, I've already thought about it. It doesn't matter whether you give me the appraisal certificate or not. I'm going to take it back to China and keep it well for myself. I think it's fine. As long as it's genuine."
He himself had long believed that the object was an authentic work by Van Gogh, which was beyond doubt.
Mr. Wang sighed softly and said, "That's a bit of a pity. But since I'm here to see you in person, can you take out the painting and show it to me? I'll just take a look. There's no other meaning."
"
He Qing nodded without hesitation and agreed: "Okay. That's no problem. I'm not that stingy person."
It's just a look at Mr. Wang. It's really nothing, and the other party can't take away his things.
"Thank you very much." Mr. Wang said happily.
After finishing speaking, He Qing stood up and walked over to take out Van Gogh's landscape oil painting "Chestnut Grove" and placed it on the coffee table for Mr. Wang to appreciate.
"Mr. Wang, this is the painting for you to appraise." He Qing pointed at the painting and said.
"Not bad!" After taking a look, Mr. Wang nodded hurriedly to express his praise. At this moment, he couldn't help but feel a little excited. Maybe he felt excited after seeing the original work of Van Gogh.
"Mr. He, can you take the painting out of the frame and let me take a closer look? It can't be clearly seen this way, but it generally has the remnants of Van Gogh's works, so there should be nothing wrong with it. It's just not sure." Mr. Wang
Then he requested.
He Qing said: "Okay."
He readily agreed, then carefully took the oil painting out of the frame again and showed it to Mr. Wang without any obstruction.
When the original painting was taken out and placed there, Mr. Wang quickly took out identification tools such as a magnifying glass and a flashlight from the bag he carried with him, and conducted a detailed identification.
"Not bad, very good!" After seeing almost everything, Mr. Wang put away his tools. He raised his head and said, "This painting has traces of Van Gogh's brushstrokes, both overall and in detail, from style to brushwork.
, cloth and color, all have the typical characteristics of Van Gogh’s works!”
He Qing smiled and said, "Really? I hear what you mean. There should be no problem with this painting. It can be proven to be an authentic work by Van Gogh."
Mr. Wang solemnly nodded and said: "Basically there is no problem, but I can't guarantee 100%. We can only make a decision after inviting experts from our Academy of Fine Arts to do some research. After all, there are many high-end imitations now, and many high-quality imitations."
An imitation can look like the real thing, and it’s hard to see the subtle differences.”
He Qing smiled lightly and said, "Forget it then."
As he said that, he put the painting into the frame, put it away quickly, put it back in its original place and hid it.
"Mr. He, can't you really think about it? This won't cost you anything, and we won't charge you for the appraisal. It's completely free of charge for you." When He Qing turned around and walked back to his seat, Wang
The gentleman asked again, quite persevering.
He Qing shook his head decisively and replied: "I'm sorry, there's nothing to consider."
"Then what are you going to do with this painting?" Mr. Wang asked again.
He Qing said: "I have made it very clear just now that I plan to take this painting back to China for my own collection."
"Did you find this painting in Switzerland?" Mr. Wang asked, with obvious disbelief in his eyes.
He Qing did not hide it, nodded and said: "Yes, I received it here in Zurich."
"Really?" Mr. Wang widened his eyes slightly and said, "Then how much did you spend when you collected it?"
He Qing smiled and said: "Mr. Wang, there is no need to tell you this? You don't need to know these things."
Mr. Wang said with a smile: "I don't mean anything else, I just want to ask by the way. You found such a good painting. It is very likely that you missed it, and you found a big mistake. It deserves congratulations."
He Qing said: "Thank you, but it's hard to say whether it's a leak or not."
"Mr. He, I'm sorry to trouble you. Since you don't have that plan, I won't force you and say goodbye. But maybe we will meet again later."
After chatting about the painting for a while, Mr. Wang said goodbye. He Qing refused to give the painting to him and took it to their art academy for appraisal. There was nothing he could do. The painting belonged to the other party and they could not force anything.
.
"Please walk slowly." He Qing nodded and asked Wu Qiang, who was sitting beside him, to escort him out.
After a while, Wu Qiang sent Mr. Wang away and came back quickly.
"Mr. He, when Mr. Wang appraised the painting for you just now, it was obvious that he also recognized the painting." Wu Qiang said as he walked up to He Qing.
He Qing nodded and said: "It should be like this, he is more optimistic about it."
"Then why don't they give you an appraisal certificate and insist on letting you hand over the painting to them for research?" Wu Qiang asked doubtfully.
He Qing smiled bitterly and said: "They are deliberately making things difficult for you. They must make a profit by giving the paintings to them for research, otherwise they wouldn't be so active. Don't think they are really so serious, just to make a good appraisal for you.
No mistakes? You must know that they are just an appraisal agency, and appraisals are paid. I believe that many high-quality imitations have passed through their hands, and they will also issue appraisal certificates. Anyway, they can earn appraisal fees. The more they do this,
The more it shows that they are optimistic about the painting, the more I feel relieved and the purpose of appraisal has been achieved."
Wu Qiang asked: "Do we need to do an appraisal later?"
He Qing shook his head without thinking and said: "No, I originally planned to sell it here. After all, this is a foreign oil painting. If I sell it, it may not be sold at an ideal price in China. I can only put it in an international auction company."
Only by auction can its true value be realized, but now I don’t think so. I want to take it back and keep it for myself. After all, this is an authentic work by Van Gogh. It is rare and it is worth collecting."
Wu Qiang nodded vigorously and said: "Yes, if it is so valuable, you should keep it in a good collection. It will only become more valuable if you hold it in your hands. There is a lot of room for appreciation."
"Yes, that's what I think." He Qing nodded in response.
"Mr. He, if there is nothing else, I will leave first. If you need anything, just ask me." Wu Qiang then said goodbye.
He Qing nodded and said: "Well, okay, you go and have a rest. I'll see you again if I need anything."
"Bye." Wu Qiang said goodbye and left.
After Wu Qiang left the room, He Qing sat alone inside for a while.
Later he walked to the restaurant to have dinner.
Nothing happens next.
He Qing also slept soundly that night.
I had just finished breakfast after getting up the next day and was about to rush to the hospital to visit Lin Haitao. Unexpectedly, Mr. Wang came to the door again. This time he was not alone, but there were two men, both older.
of foreigners.
As the saying goes, "No matter what, you must visit the Three Treasures Palace." When Mr. Wang visits again, there must be something important.
But if you want to beg him to take the painting to their art academy for research, let alone bring two more foreigners, even if you invite the president of the country to be a lobbyist, it will be of no use at all.
Those who agree will also not agree. (To be continued...)