Chapter 154

Zhou Zhengzheng was also shocked by the "four hundred million" and his eyes widened: "I've been to this business before. It's located in an antique old building. It doesn't look big, so how can it be so profitable?"

"It's certainly a small art house, but they have a strong network of contacts." The economic investigation officer clicked his mouse as he opened files one by one. "Didn't you just say that an oil painter of Zhu Zangmo's caliber could sell a painting for millions? They've signed contracts with more than a dozen artists like him."

Chen He blurted out, "Impossible! There are only a hundred top-tier oil painters in China. How could a small, unknown art studio possibly sign more than a dozen?"

"Just take a look for yourselves." The economic investigation police turned the computer screen, which was covered with densely packed tables.

He pointed and said, "Look at the paintings of these artists, aren't they all equally expensive? Some are over one million, some are over two million, some are over three million..."

Chen He leaned in closer to take a look and said in confusion, "That's not right. I've heard of some of these painters, but not others. Their works can only sell for a hundred or eighty thousand at most. Some can't even sell for ten thousand."

Zhou Zhengzheng was surprised: "Ordinary works can be sold at such high prices. Is this company capable of deceiving people, or are foreigners easy to deceive?"

Chen He said flatly: "A buyer who is willing to spend such a large amount of money on a collection is not a fool."

"That's falsifying accounts," the economic investigation police said.

He was again very confused. "We've been looking at these accounts for two or three days. I just feel like something's wrong, but I can't find any major problems. Is the level of fraud so high?"

He still stood up and clapped his hands, "Comrades, check the sales prices and pay special attention to whether the sales amount of some products has been allocated to other products!"

The conference room suddenly became busy.

The economic investigation police sat back in his chair, confident: "With a target, we can shoot much more accurately.

"No matter how sophisticated the fraudulent methods are, it will leave traces of accounting."

The audit soon yielded some findings, and some forms and original vouchers were collected.

The economic investigation police quickly flipped through the documents, their eyes shining, and patted the materials, saying, "You really were right!"

He rambled on and on about his analysis, as if speaking divine scriptures, and Zhou Zhengzheng and Chen He saw stars in their eyes.

But I finally understood the key point.

Whenever Zhu Zangmo's "landscape paintings" are sold overseas, they are always paired with several other ordinary paintings and bought together by the same buyer. The total price of a batch of paintings is tens of millions.

When the company makes the price, it distributes this figure evenly across all the paintings.

In fact, except for Zhu Zangmo's paintings, the prices of other paintings should be inflated.

Therefore, there is reason to suspect that the other paintings are just for show, and the main works sold are those by Zhu Zangmo.

The economic investigation officer couldn't help but sigh: "This group of people is amazing, they have done such a beautiful accounting! There must be an expert behind the scenes!"

"By the way, Zhu Zangmo's landscape paintings are really expensive! The frames must be gold and diamond-encrusted, right?"

Zhou Zhengzheng glanced at the description and said, "The frame is made of walnut wood. It's clearly marked on the material."

Chen He had been listening silently. Suddenly, he took the materials for "Sleeping Bloom", stared at the small picture on it, and said:

“It’s expensive because what buyers are buying is not scenery, but human lives.

“Both the buyer and the seller must have known that this painting alluded to Qiu Yue’s murder.

“Also, it’s not that Zhu Zangmo was inspired by Qiu Yue’s death, but rather that his original intention in harming Qiu Yue was to create this painting.

“There are no corpses or blood in the painting, but it is painted with human lives.

"So, those equally perverted buyers are willing to offer exorbitant prices."

Every word is like a scalpel, dissecting the truth inch by inch.

The policemen in the conference room all raised their heads at some point. The air seemed to have substance, so heavy that it made it hard to breathe.

After a long pause, Zhou Zhengzheng finally said with difficulty, "But how can the buyer be sure that this painting is related to Qiu Yue's life? They can't just pay tens of millions based on Zhu Zangmo's words, right?"

Chen He also found it strange.

She flipped through the materials for a while and said, "This painting is definitely not as simple as the photo. The materials must have concealed some information or details. You have to see it in person."

"As for the actual product... we'll have to negotiate with the foreign buyers."

Zhou Zhengzheng was a little worried, rubbing his chin with the pen, "Every buyer is either rich or noble, and one of them is even a prince.

"Foreign affairs can only be handled through the leadership. Director Xiao is probably having a headache. And..."

Zhou Zhengzheng paused, glanced at the pile of materials, and asked hesitantly, "Chen He, do you think there might be problems with Zhu Zangmo's other paintings?"

Chen He was stunned for a moment, then reacted.

She stood up and said, "Pick out the landscape painting!"

The two of them cleared a tabletop and sorted through the materials. Before long, they had picked out all the landscapes in Zhu Zangmo's collection.

There are seven paintings in total. The scenery in the paintings includes rivers, mountains, villages, and cities.

The sales were concentrated over six years, all sold overseas, and "Sleeping Bloom" was the last one.

Since then until the present few years, not a single landscape painting by Zhu Zangmo has been sold.

Chen He looked at the seven stacks of materials one by one, not quite daring to believe it: "Could it be that behind every landscape painting there is a human life?"

Zhou Zhengzheng was about to say something but stopped himself.

Chen He noticed it and looked at her with a questioning look.

Zhou Zhengzheng seemed to have made up his mind and finally spoke: "Master said that the progress of the investigation doesn't need to be kept secret from you. I have something to update you on."

"What?"

Zhou Zhengzheng said solemnly: “The victims of the Zangmo base may not be just Qiu Yue.

"The suspected victims we've identified so far, including Qiu Yue, total seven, which exactly matches the number of landscape paintings."