Chapter 40

Jing Shizhen, who runs a business, naturally cannot drive away customers.

Moreover, Zhao Zhengshan can also be considered a major client. Although he does not hold a position in the family business, it is still very easy for him to come up with a few tens of millions.

"Alright, Uncle Jing, I'll take this hit today!"

Zhao Zhengshan laughed and joked, but in fact, he rarely buys antiques from Jingxin Hall.

Firstly, the antiques at Jingxin Hall are really expensive, and secondly, Zhao Zhengshan prefers to hunt for bargains at the antique market, although the chances of making a good find are lower than getting scammed.

However, today, he had to buy a gift for his father's birthday, and this money could not be saved. This time, when Zhao Zhengshan brought his daughter to school, he also had the intention of buying something good from Jingxin Hall.

"Let's go then."

Jing Shizhen called out to Zhao Zhengshan and turned to walk into the inner room.

"Uncle Jing, can I... can I go and see as well?"

Su Xiaofan's weak voice sounded.

The storage room of Jingxin Hall is not something just anyone can see. Even when Zheng Dagang led them in Luochuan last time, Su Xiaofan and the others did not get to enter the inner room where the safe was kept.

"You want to go in too?"

Jing Shizhen turned around, thought for a moment, and said, "Alright, but you also need to buy something. Let's see if you can find a good deal here too."

"Uncle Jing, I'm poor." Su Xiaofan put on a pained expression, "I can't compare with Uncle Zhao, you can't hold me to the same standard."

"You're not poor at all. You made over ten million today. Are you still going to say you're poor?"

Hearing Su Xiaofan's words, Jing Shizhen was instantly furious, "I'll give you a discount, but you must buy something from the storage room!"

These days, even people who do big business might not have over ten million in cash. Su Xiaofan has so much money in his account, yet he still cries poor in front of me.

"Hey, that's true, I'm rich now."

Su Xiaofan scratched his head. The money came in too quickly, and it was all through bank transfers, so he hadn't really adjusted his mindset yet.

Moreover, the storage room of Jingxin Hall doesn't necessarily contain antiques worth millions. There must be cheaper items as well. With his current wealth, buying something worth a few hundred thousand wouldn't be a big deal.

"Alright, Uncle Jing, I'll buy something too!"

Thinking about the over ten million in his account, Su Xiaofan suddenly felt much more confident.

"Old Liu, keep an eye on things outside."

Jing Shizhen greeted Liu Zang, then led Su Xiaofan and Zhao Zhengshan into the inner room.

Su Xiaofan originally thought the inner room was just a room with a safe inside.

But after entering, he found it was actually a corridor. Beyond the corridor was a small courtyard, and behind the courtyard were several rooms.

Jing Shizhen pushed open a door, pressed something, and the wall in front of the room suddenly split open, revealing an elevator door.

"The storage room is underground, converted from the original basement."

Jing Shizhen pressed the elevator button, and Su Xiaofan noticed that the elevator required fingerprint recognition. Jing Shizhen also seemed to scan his iris before the elevator opened.

Now Su Xiaofan understood why Jing Shizhen was unwilling to bring them to the storage room.

This place is too secret. Bringing in one more person means one more person knows the secret of Jingxin Hall.

Jing Shizhen bringing them in is a great honor and a sign of trust.

The elevator took them to the basement, where there was a large door similar to a bank vault.

Su Xiaofan and Zhao Zhengshan did not move forward, but turned around and waited until Jing Shizhen called them before turning to walk over.

"Less than five outsiders have ever been here."

Jing Shizhen said, "Zhao Zhengshan, your father was one of them. He came to the storage room over twenty years ago."

"Uncle Jing, did you open this shop over twenty years ago?" Su Xiaofan was surprised. Fingerprint and iris recognition, was it that advanced back then?

"I bought this house over twenty years ago. The front was renovated later, but the storage room has always been here."

Jing Shizhen briefly introduced the history to the two. The storage room used to have stairs, and the elevator was installed only in recent years.

After entering the storage room, Su Xiaofan and Zhao Zhengshan found that the underground space was quite large. Just the room they entered was over thirty square meters, filled with antique racks, each holding various items.

"I have three main rooms. This one is for porcelain, the one on the right is for paintings and calligraphy, and the other is for miscellaneous items. How do you want to look around?"

Since different antiques require different storage conditions, such as temperature and humidity for paintings and porcelain, the basement of Jingxin Hall is divided into different spaces. According to Jing Shizhen, just the renovation of this basement cost over ten million, with some of the temperature control equipment worth millions.

"I want to look at paintings and calligraphy. Uncle Jing, do you have any paintings suitable for a birthday celebration?"

Zhao Zhengshan had already decided to buy a painting as a birthday gift for his father.

"Coincidentally, I recently acquired a painting by Mr. Daqian called 'Wanfu Laichao Tu.' Would you like to see it?"

Jing Shizhen smiled. When Zhao Zhengshan mentioned buying a birthday gift for his father, he immediately thought of this painting.

"Isn't 'Wanfu Laichao Tu' a work by Chen Mei from the Qing Dynasty? How can it be by Mr. Daqian?"

Zhao Zhengshan was surprised. He had a deep understanding of paintings and calligraphy, and he immediately felt something was off when Jing Shizhen mentioned the painting.

Moreover, 'Wanfu Laichao Tu' is very famous, a birthday painting for the emperor by the Qing Dynasty court painter Chen Mei.

"Have you forgotten what Mr. Daqian was best at?" Jing Shizhen's face was full of amusement, as if he was thinking of something interesting.

"Oh, I almost forgot. This painting is great."

Zhao Zhengshan's eyes lit up, and he quickly said, "Uncle Jing, take me to see it. If it's suitable, I'll take it."

If it were someone outside the industry, they probably wouldn't understand the conversation between Jing Shizhen and Zhao Zhengshan, but Su Xiaofan understood.

In his youth, Mr. Daqian was most famous for copying famous paintings and selling them as originals.

At that time, Mr. Daqian was not well-known, so selling famous paintings was more profitable than selling his own. For a long time, the market was flooded with his copies.

Later, when Mr. Daqian became famous, his copies became a legend, and their prices soared, making them highly sought after in the market.

For example, the price of Mr. Daqian's copy of 'Wanfu Laichao Tu' would likely exceed the price of the original by Chen Mei.

Following the two, Su Xiaofan also entered the room for paintings and calligraphy. This room was much drier than the outside, clearly treated for air quality to preserve the paintings.

"Xiaofan, don't you want to look around on your own?" Jing Shizhen turned and looked at Su Xiaofan.

"I'll follow Uncle Zhao first. I'll look around after he's done."

Su Xiaofan said, some antiques are very small, and he didn't want any misunderstandings to occur.

"You're overthinking it."

Jing Shizhen, being a seasoned businessman, could easily see through Su Xiaofan's thoughts. He pointed upwards and said, "There are over thirty cameras in the three rooms, with no blind spots. Even a fly can't escape."

"Indeed."

Su Xiaofan couldn't help but laugh. Having spent a long time selling at the antique market, he was always afraid of things being taken, but he had forgotten where he was.

Since he was already in, Su Xiaofan decided to stay and see the real work by Mr. Daqian.

The painting was not hung but rolled up. Jing Shizhen took out the scroll and slowly laid it on a table in the room.

"The original of this painting is in the New Palace Museum, but there are three copies by Mr. Daqian in the market. This is one of them."

After laying out the painting, Jing Shizhen stepped aside and let Zhao Zhengshan examine it.

Su Xiaofan also went over to look, but he didn't understand much about paintings and calligraphy. He only saw the calligraphy and various seals, which were likely fakes made by Mr. Daqian.

Su Xiaofan could only marvel at how the fakes could be more valuable than the originals, making Mr. Daqian a master in this field.

"Uncle Jing, I'll take this painting. What's your price?"

After a few minutes, Zhao Zhengshan's gaze moved away from the painting.

"Zhengshan, you know that any work by Mr. Daqian usually sells for over a hundred million at auction."

Jing Shizhen thought for a moment and said, "There are three copies of this painting in the market, so I'll give you a lower price. Eighty million. What do you think?"

"Eighty million?" Su Xiaofan couldn't help but exclaim. He knew Mr. Daqian's works were expensive, but this number still exceeded his expectations.

"Xiaofan, eighty million is not expensive. This painting is considered a high-quality copy among Mr. Daqian's fakes."

Zhao Zhengshan hesitated for a moment and said, "Uncle Jing, I'll take it, but you need to give me a few days to raise the funds. I don't have enough cash on hand."

Zhao Zhengshan does not hold a position in the family business, and although his dividends over the years have far exceeded eighty million, much of it has been invested elsewhere, leaving him without much cash.

"No problem. You can take the painting now, and transfer the money within a month."

Jing Shizhen, being very accommodating to such a high-quality client, immediately rolled up the painting and placed it in a sandalwood-scented wooden box.

"Uncle Zhao, eighty million, just like that?"

Su Xiaofan, who had just felt much more confident, was now stunned. A transaction of nearly a hundred million was completed in just a few words, making him feel it was unreal.

"Paintings and calligraphy are a good investment with a lot of potential for appreciation. Why shouldn't I buy it?"

Zhao Zhengshan gave Su Xiaofan some advice. In his view, having over ten million more in net worth might not be a good thing for Su Xiaofan. It would be better to invest in antiques.

"I don't have your courage."

Su Xiaofan smiled bitterly and shook his head. This painting can't be eaten or drunk. Isn't having over ten million in cash in the bank much better?