"Qin Feng, what's so interesting about the things here?"
Qin Jun, who was following Qin Feng, became a little impatient and said, "If you want to see the authentic copy of Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Anthology", it's not impossible to see it, so there's no need to waste time here."
"Oh, it turns out to be Master Qin Jun?"
Originally, Qin Jun had been covering his face with a bamboo hat, but the shopkeeper didn't pay attention. After hearing Qin Jun's words, he looked carefully and recognized it immediately.
"Lord Qin Jun, I am blind, Old Zhou. I should be damned, damned!"
In this Tianyun City, Qin Bing has always been indifferent to affairs, while Qin Shan is a fool. Qin Jun is in charge of all daily affairs, so everyone in the city is no stranger to him.
"Old Zhou, when did our "Preface to the Lanting Collection" come to your shop?" Qin Jun looked at shopkeeper Zhou with a half-smile.
"Ahem...ahem, Master Qin Jun, I...I was just joking with this little brother."
After hearing Qin Jun's words, Shopkeeper Zhou almost burst into tears. Almost everyone in the world knew about the Qin family's "Preface to the Lanting Collection".
Ten years ago, the Qin family even summoned literati from all over the world to copy Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection" for a month. The calligraphy hanging in Shopkeeper Zhou's shop was copied at that time.
.
However, shopkeeper Zhou deceived Qin Feng because he was young, and he probably didn't know about this grand event that year, so he said that it was the original "Preface to the Lanting Collection". He just didn't expect that Li Gui met Li Kui and actually ran into the Qin army.
"Second brother, does our family have Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Lanting Collection"?"
Qin Feng heard clearly the conversation between Qin Jun and Shopkeeper Zhou, and quickly asked: "Didn't the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" be buried by Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty?"
At that time, Li Shimin used both soft and hard tactics to obtain the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" from the ministers. He regarded it as a treasure and never showed it to others easily.
Since Li Shimin, the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" has lost traces. After many researches, it has been proved that the "Preface to the Lanting Collection" was brought into the tomb by Li Shimin.
"That's what the outside world says."
Qin Jun shook his head and said: "The preface to the Lanting Collection has been kept in the Qin family since the Tang Dynasty and has never been in the hands of outsiders. If you want to see it, I can take you there in the future..."
Qin Jun would naturally not tell Qin Feng in front of the owner of the calligraphy and painting shop. In the middle and late Tang Dynasty, when the vassal towns were divided and the Five Husties were in chaos in the Tang Dynasty, the Qin royal family once brought back a batch of precious calligraphy and paintings from outside.
In addition to Wang Xizhi's "Preface to the Orchid Pavilion Anthology", this batch of calligraphy and paintings also includes the authentic works of celebrities from the Tang Dynasty such as Zhang Xu, Yan Zhenqing, Li Bai, Du Fu, etc., all of which are preserved in the royal family.
After the war that year, the Qin family, who was familiar with the location of the royal family's treasures, took the lead and collected all these precious calligraphy and painting cultural relics into the Qin family's bag.
When Qin Jun was introducing Qin Feng, he suddenly thought of Qin Feng's identity and couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed. He mentioned that these things belonging to the Qin family were snatched from Qin Feng's ancestors.
"Okay, you must see this."
Qin Feng didn't think so much, but as an expert in calligraphy and painting appreciation and cultural relic restoration, he couldn't resist the temptation of "Preface to the Lanting Collection".
What's more, Li Bai and Du Fu were actually masters of calligraphy in the Tang Dynasty, but their calligraphy was used to hide the names of their poems, and very few of them have been passed down to the world. Their archaeological value and literary value are comparable to Wang Xizhi's calligraphy.
"It turns out he is the young master of the Qin family. I am so ashamed, so ashamed!"
After hearing what Qin Feng and the two said, shopkeeper Zhou knew that he had deceived the wrong person, and said quickly: "Master Qin family, Master Qin, you two are sitting and chatting. I also have some good tea produced in Sanjie Mountain..."
"Forget it, what good tea can you have here?"
Qin Jun waved his hand and said: "Qin Feng, let's go. My elder brother has a piece of Zhang Xu's cursive script. Let him show it to you later..."
"Okay!" Qin Feng nodded, and when he was about to hand the scroll in his hand to Shopkeeper Zhou, he was suddenly stunned.
With an imperceptible glint in his eyes, Qin Feng said: "Shopkeeper Zhou, this shaft head is very exquisite. I want to buy it and use it in other calligraphy and paintings. I wonder if you can part with it?"
"Master Qin, this... this is so embarrassing."
Shopkeeper Zhou had a look of embarrassment on his face and said hesitantly: "This painting was passed down from our ancestors. My father told me to keep it safe before he passed away. You can buy the whole painting, but... I only want to buy the axle head."
Not for sale!”
According to shopkeeper Zhou’s father, this painting was probably painted by his ancestors, so regardless of whether it’s good or bad, it’s better to just leave it at home and reflect on it.
If shopkeeper Zhou hadn't been ridiculed a lot by his peers because of this painting, he might not have sold it, but if he wanted to sell only the axle head, shopkeeper Zhou wouldn't.
"Then... how much does Shopkeeper Zhou's painting cost?" Qin Feng rubbed the head of the scroll with his hand and asked seemingly casually.
"Five taels of fine steel!" Shopkeeper Zhou thought for a moment and gritted his teeth.
"Five taels of fine steel? Old Zhou, do you really think this thing is a treasure?"
Before Qin Feng could say anything, Qin Jun started shouting, "Five taels of fine steel is enough for a family of three to have enough food and clothing for two years. Is a broken painting like yours worth that much?"
"Master Qin Jun, this painting was handed down from our ancestors, so it is worth this price!"
Shopkeeper Zhou knew that the Qin brothers had always had a good reputation and rarely engaged in forced buying or selling, so he was not afraid of the Qin army and refused to let go of the price until it was determined.
"Five taels of fine steel is just five taels of fine steel. Second brother, please pay him first..." What surprised Qin Jun was that Qin Feng actually agreed.
"All right!"
Now that the young master has spoken, even if it is rubbish, he still has to buy it. Qin Jun immediately took out a steel ingot and threw it to shopkeeper Zhou, saying: "Old Zhou, you are a profiteer, you have made a lot of money!"
"No, no, thank you very much, Mr. Qin Jun." Shopkeeper Zhou's face was already full of joy. These five taels of steel ingots can buy several stones of grain. Even if it doesn't open for a few years, he won't be hungry.
"Second brother, let's go!" After getting the painting, Qin Feng didn't seem to want to stay any longer and took the lead in leaving the store.
"Qin Feng, why did you buy this shabby painting?"
After leaving the shop, Qin Jun complained and said: "Although this painting is old, the painting is really poor. Not to mention five taels of fine steel, even one tael is not worth it..."
"Second brother, you can't look at it like this." Qin Feng looked back at the calligraphy and painting shop, lowered his voice and said: "This is a painting within a painting..."
When Qin Feng wanted to return the painting just now, he suddenly discovered that the paper used for this painting seemed to be much thicker than the paper used by ordinary Yuan people for painting, and the paper used was not rice paper but Yuan calligraphy paper.
As we all know, paintings drawn on rice paper are translucent, and the production is large and the price is relatively cheap. It is the first choice of calligraphers of all generations.
Yuan Shu paper is a kind of bamboo paper. It is made of tender moso bamboo that grows in the same year as raw material and is made by hand. It is called Chiting paper in ancient times. It is white and flexible, has a slight fragrance of bamboo, and is easily soluble in water.
specialty.
Some works written on Yuan calligraphy paper can be seen in later generations, but Qin Feng has never heard of paintings made on Yuan calligraphy paper.
After discovering that the paper was Yuan Shu paper, Qin Feng couldn't help but think of the other two characteristics of Yuan Shu paper, which are that the ink does not bleed and that it does not become damaged after being stored for a long time.
These two characteristics, coupled with the thickness of the painting, gave Qin Feng a bold idea. He felt that there might be another painting hidden under this poor painting.
There were many wars in ancient times. In order to preserve the fine paintings in their hands, some people would often change the paintings and pass them on. This is also commonly known as a painting within a painting.
This kind of thing not only happens in China, but also often seen abroad.
During a routine inspection of Leonardo da Vinci's famous painting "The Virgin, Child and Saint Anne", the Louvre Museum in France discovered three mysterious sketches on the back of the painting, which included a horse head, a half-skull and an infant Jesus.
With little lamb.
Expert analysis has concluded that the author of these sketches is Leonardo da Vinci himself, and their value is almost as valuable as the famous painting "The Virgin and Child and Saint Anne".
“A painting within a painting?”
After hearing what Qin Feng said, Qin Jun couldn't help but be stunned for a moment. He looked at the painting in Qin Feng's hand with some suspicion and said, "Isn't this possible? This painting of Lao Zhou has been laughed at by many people..."
This painting by Shopkeeper Zhou is still very famous in Tianyun City. Qin Bing, who loves calligraphy and painting, once came to see it and finally gave the four-word comment "I don't know what it means." It was rumored to be a joke for a while.
"This splash-ink landscape is painted on Yuan calligraphy paper. Anyway, I think there is something wrong with it." Qin Feng shook his head and said: "Whether the painting is hidden in the painting, we will know when we go back and try it..."
After all, he didn't have a clairvoyant eye, so Qin Feng wasn't sure whether the painting in his hand was a painting within a painting, but he thought it was worth buying a steel ingot for the possibility.
After all, in Qin Feng's eyes, the axle head of this painting is also a cultural relic, the painting itself is from the Yuan Dynasty, and the broken steel block is worthless.
"Okay, let's go back now?"
Qin Jun didn't really care about the five taels of steel ingots. He just felt a little unhappy about being deceived by Shopkeeper Zhou. If word spread, I'm afraid it would be a joke.
"Isn't it too early?" Qin Feng looked at the sky. It wasn't even noon yet, and said, "Let's go to the place where Huzi makes weapons..."
Many things in this space are unfamiliar to Qin Feng. The blacksmith profession has long ceased to exist in the outside world. Qin Feng also wants to see how they forge weapons.
"Okay, it's not that far from here!" Qin Jun nodded. His eldest brother's paint won't be prepared until the evening, and his mission today is to accompany Qin Feng.
"Firemaker!" A few minutes later, Qin Feng and the two came to the door of a courtyard. There was a plaque hanging on the door with the word "Firemaker" written on it.
"The name of this shop is quite novel..." Qin Feng looked up and took a closer look at the words on the plaque, and said with a smile: "I didn't expect these two words were inscribed by Brother Qin Bing?"
"Iron represents money, so there can't be some money craftsmen, so my eldest brother named me fire craftsman..."
Qin Jun laughed loudly when he heard this. Qin Bing's calligraphy was good. Whenever someone in the city asked for something, he would always agree. His handwriting can be seen almost everywhere in Tianyun City.
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PS: Second update, please vote for recommendation!
