After Qin Xuanbing saw Zhuang Rui answer the phone, her expression became strange and she couldn't help but ask.
"It's okay. Huangfu Yun said he would take people to see those Picasso sketches right away. Xuan Bing, you go inside and watch TV first. I'll entertain them in the living room..."
It had been less than an hour since he broke up with Huangfu Yun in the restaurant. Zhuang Rui didn't expect Huangfu Yun to be so efficient at work. Peng Fei had just arrived. This guy had just gone out to buy perfume for his girlfriend.
Go, French perfume is world-famous.
"Okay, Zhuang Rui, come on!"
Qin Xuanbing obediently waved her fist at Zhuang Rui and entered the room. They lived in a luxurious suite, and there was a living room outside where they could handle official business.
"Huangfu, you and I have known each other for several years. You won't lie to me about this kind of thing, right? Are you sure that it is Picasso's sketch?"
In a car driving to the hotel where Zhuang Rui was staying, a British man in a tuxedo, speaking a Chinese that was not very accurate in pronunciation, was chatting with Huangfu Yun. Next to him, someone was sitting
A white man about fifty years old.
This Englishman is called Ezkenazi, a very famous dealer in London, England, and the Ezkenazi family is a very influential Chinese art dealer in the world. So far,
So far, three of the ten most expensive Chinese porcelain auction records come from the collection of the Ezkenazi family.
The reason why the Ezkenazi family has so many Chinese works of art is of course inseparable from their ancestors. Like Frey in France, they all participated in the plundering of the Old Summer Palace.
If you want to become a world-class communist, you don't have precious cultural relics from China, or only cultural relics from China are not enough, you also need Western art.
The most indispensable thing for the Ezkenazi family is Chinese antiques, but they don't have much money for Western cultural relics, so after receiving a call from Huangfu Yun, Ezkenazi gave up on attending a meeting.
After the dinner, I immediately brought my appraiser, drove to pick up Huangfu Yunhou, and rushed to the hotel where Zhuang Rui and others were staying.
"Mr. Ezkenner, with your eyes, you will definitely be able to tell at a glance whether the sketches in my friend's hands are Picasso's works. Do you think I would use such a poor reason to let you appreciate some of them?"
Fake painting?”
Although Huangfu Yun has not been in contact with Zhuang Rui for a long time and has not seen Zhuang Rui's so-called authentic Picasso, he believes that Zhuang Rui is not the kind of person who talks nonsense.
"The whereabouts of Mr. Picasso's works have basically been verified. I haven't heard of any missing yet. Mr. Ezkenner, I think we are wasting our time..."
Sterling, the appraiser sitting next to Ezkenna, shrugged. For him, who was already off duty, it was all his own private time now.
"Let's take a look. Orientals are a nation good at creating miracles. Maybe that person named Zhuang really has a Picasso work?"
For antique dealers, they will never let go of any possibility. Even if the chance is not high, they always have to see it to believe it. Stories about missing treasures often happen in this seemingly small chance.
"Zhuang Rui, this is Mr. Ezkenner from the UK. Their family owns a lot of Chinese art, but they are very short of European art. This time I want to see if your sketches are Mr. Picasso's.
s work?"
After Huangfu Yun knocked on Zhuang Rui's door, he introduced Ezkenna to Zhuang Rui and winked at Zhuang Rui. The meaning was naturally self-evident. If the painting is true, wait a minute, buddy.
Just use the knife as hard as you can, they have a lot of good stuff from China.
"This is Mr. Sterling, an experienced appraiser..." Huangfu Yun continued to introduce Zhuang Rui.
"Oh, young man, nice to meet you..."
Ezkena greeted Zhuang Rui in Chinese in a friendly manner. Due to many factors such as his family and his own relationship, Ezkena has a very good understanding of Chinese culture and knows that Chinese people are particularly good at face, so he said
He is very enthusiastic and does not ignore Zhuang Rui in any way because of his youth.
"Hello, Mr. Ezkenna, please come inside..."
Zhuang Rui calmly let a few people into the room. Enthusiasm was useless. If he wanted to exchange for the Picasso sketch in his hand, he had to come up with Chinese antiques that can make his heart beat. Otherwise, he would have money.
No one will sell it to you.
Just when Sterling and Zhuang Rui passed by, the guy who looked more like a boxer than an appraiser whispered in Zhuang Rui's ear: "Young man, can you understand English?"
?”
After Zhuang Rui nodded, Sterling continued: "That's good, young man, I can tell you that with me here, you don't have to think about using some shoddy fake paintings to deceive Mr. Ezkenna. If you are sensible,
If so, it's best to admit it now, then I won't embarrass you later..."
"Huh? Damn, you're uneducated. You haven't read anything yet, so you dare to talk nonsense here..."
After Zhuang Rui heard what Sterling said, he couldn't help but feel annoyed, and said coldly in English: "If your eyes were not blinded by lard, you should easily be able to tell the authenticity of a painting."
Fake……"
Zhuang Rui knew that many people abroad looked down on Chinese people, but he didn't expect that while he was staying in a luxury suite of a five-star hotel, there would be people looking down on others. This made Zhuang Rui very unhappy.
Ezkenna, who was walking in front, clearly heard the conversation between the two people behind him, but he just smiled slightly and did not mean to persuade. For him, the worse the relationship between the seller and the appraiser, the more unreasonable it is.
There might be something fishy going on.
You must know that it is not only the case of "scheming" and "layout" in China. Such things are also common abroad, and the methods are more sophisticated. As for colluding with appraisers, they are just small things that cannot be brought to the surface.
It's just a means.
"Peng Fei, take out some paintings and show them to this "expert"..."
After coming to the living room and sitting down, Zhuang Rui didn't mean to pour coffee or drinks for the guests. He went straight to the point and asked Peng Fei to take out Picasso's sketch.
Before Ezkenna and others arrived, Zhuang Rui had already classified the thirty-two sketches. The six sketches of naked women were divided into one section, and the eighteen sketches of children were divided into three sections.
Three parts, and finally the sketch of the still object was divided into one part, for a total of five parts.
Among these five sketches, there is one sketch each with Picasso's autograph. I believe that an appraiser who is truly familiar with Picasso's works can distinguish the authenticity from the fake.
Peng Fei has been following Zhuang Rui these days and has gained a lot of knowledge. At least he knows how to wear gloves when handling antiques such as calligraphy and paintings, so now he also wears a pair of white gloves on his hands, which looks like
In this way, he picked up a stack of six character pictures from the coffee table in front of him and placed them in front of Ezkenna.
"Sterling, you better do it..."
Ezkena shook his head slightly, stood up and sat aside, leaving a seat for Sterling. He really didn't know much about European art. Apart from knowing its staggeringly expensive price, Ezkenna didn't know much about it.
Not much is known about Zkenner.
"Wait a minute..."
Just when Sterling was about to pick up the sketch in front of him, he was suddenly stopped by Zhuang Rui.
"What? You just said it was true, and now you won't even let us see it?"
Sterling looked at Zhuang Rui with an unkind expression. He simply did not believe that this yellow man had Picasso's works, and there were dozens of them. This was just like an Andersen fairy tale, completely impossible.
"Mr. Sterling, I don't know if your teacher taught you when you were learning to appraise paintings and calligraphy. You must wear gloves when appraising works of calligraphy and painting. This is basic knowledge..."
Zhuang Rui looked at Sterling with disdain on his face. After saying the above words, he turned to look at Ezkenna and said: "Mr. Ezkenna, I am very satisfied with the appraiser you chose.
Dissatisfied, he does not have the qualities of a professional appraiser at all.
I want to remind you, Mr. Ezkenna, if there is any loss caused by improper work by the appraiser for these collections of mine, you must be mentally prepared to accept my claim against you..."
Zhuang Rui's words made Ezkenna and Sterling change their expressions at the same time. They didn't expect this young man to speak so sharply. However, Zhuang Rui's words were not exaggerated at all. Sterling did not show what an appraiser should do.
Qualities possessed.
Ezkenna nodded, and first said in Chinese: "Mr. Zhuang, please rest assured that I will be responsible for these works..."
Then Ezkenna looked at Sterling again and said: "Mr. Sterling, please remember your professional ethics. You are identifying a painting that is most likely to be Mr. Picasso's, not
Those artists sketching you on the side of the road for a pound..."
Sterling's arrogance is completely gone at this time. If his behavior today is spread, it will definitely have a very bad impact on his reputation. You know, no matter what industry you are in, personal professionalism is the most important factor.
extremely important.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Ezkenner, I'm sorry, Mr. Zhuang, it was my negligence. I think I am still capable of identifying whether these sketches are by Mr. Picasso..."
Sterling quickly adjusted his mentality, stood up and bowed respectfully to Zhuang Rui and Ezkenna, his attitude was extremely sincere.
Zhuang Rui had no intention of arguing with Sterling. He waved his hand and said, "Okay, Mr. Sterling, I hope your performance is as you said. No need to waste time. Please start the appraisal...
