Chapter 239: Being a writer is really fucking rich
Ma Dudu felt that from today onwards, Yanjing would probably have one more idiom.
Teacher Lin visits an art shop—he buys everything.
The manager of the Heping Painting Shop is named Qi. He came very quickly, taking small steps with a smile that showed a strong service attitude on his face.
When he was sure that Lin Weimin really wanted to buy all the paintings in the shop, the smile on his face became even bigger.
Then he said a little embarrassedly: "Hey... your money..."
Lin Weimin unzipped the black briefcase he was carrying and showed it to Manager Qi. Ma Dudu only saw that Manager Qi's breathing suddenly became rapid.
"Please...please wait a moment. I will ask the store staff to take inventory of all the paintings and bring the records to you. I will check them one by one and then issue you an invoice."
After saying this, Manager Qi invited Lin Weimin to his office and made a cup of tea for both of them.
Ma Dudu held the teacup in his hand, feeling an inexplicable sense of absurdity.
Since when will I get this kind of treatment when working in a state-owned store?
Lin Weimin was chatting casually with Ma Dudu in the office. After waiting for about half an hour, Manager Qi walked in.
"Comrade, everything is ready in front, shall we go over and take a look at the paintings?"
Lin Weimin nodded and said to Ma Dudu, "Dudu, I'll have to work hard on you from now on."
"Teacher Lin, this is all part of our job."
The two left the office and returned to the art shop. Ma Dudu found that the Heping Art Shop was closed.
Ma Dudu was reminded of the decadence and decadence of old Shanghai.
The several sales clerks in the store were gathered together, each holding a scroll of painting in their hands.
Manager Qi handed a notebook to Lin Weimin and said, "Comrade, this is the record of all the paintings in the store. Take a look at it and we will check them one by one. Once we are sure there is no problem, I will ask someone to issue the invoice and you can pay."
"Dudu, you should come."
Lin Weimin took the ledger and handed it to Ma Dudu, said something to him, and ran away.
Under everyone's gaze, Ma Dudu took the ledger and walked to the salesperson holding the painting.
"Comrade, let's get started then."
After Manager Qi finished saying this, a scroll was slowly unfolded and spread on the table.
"This painting is Huang Binhong's "Imitating the Seal of Yiquan", a small piece of work, 34.8 cm*40.2 cm, 17.6 square feet.
The inscription on it reads: "Mr. Hufu's seal carving is elegant, tracing back to the Zhou and Qin dynasties, and copying the Yiquan map on the Song Dynasty paper pens. His ambition is noble and pure, and he admires it for a long time. Binhongzhi."
Ma Dudu stared at the painting for a long time before coming back to his senses and said to Lin Weimin, "Teacher Lin, this potter is the famous seal engraver Li Yinsang, who studied under Huang Shiling and is also good at calligraphy and flowers. He and Cai Zhefu founded Tianhuang Shizhi in Hong Kong and published Huang Binhong's calligraphy and paintings many times."
Lin Weimin nodded slightly, "Thanks to your help today, Dudu, otherwise I would be completely clueless after reading all these words. But you don't need to introduce me any more, just be sure to listen to it."
"I'll listen to you, Teacher Lin."
After confirming that there was no problem with the sketch, Manager Qi instructed the salesperson to immediately roll it up, put it in a painting tube, and mark it.
The next painting followed immediately. When introducing the paintings, Manager Qi's eyes kept glancing at Lin Weimin.
He was walking in the store at this moment, with a calm and unhurried look, as if buying these paintings had nothing to do with him.
Manager Qi couldn't help but be full of curiosity. Who is this person? What does he do? Where does he get so much money?
Manager Qi thought of the young man named Dudu and called him Teacher Lin, but it seemed that Dudu was a little older. Such a young person was called a teacher. Could he be a teacher in college?
While he was daydreaming, Manager Qi did not forget to introduce the paintings. Being able to become a manager, his professional ability is beyond doubt, and he knows almost every work in the store by heart.
When the introduction got to the end, Ma Dudu couldn't help but speak up and communicate with Manager Qi, and felt that he had learned a lot.
Time passed slowly as the two sides communicated. After spending a full half day, Ma Dudu finally finished looking at all the paintings and verified the relevant information.
While looking at the paintings, the salesperson at Heping Painting Shop was not idle either. He was fiddling with the beads on the abacus. After Manager Qi and Ma Dudu finished looking at the paintings, he handed the abacus to Manager Qi. Manager Qi took a look at the numbers displayed on it and exchanged a glance with Ma Dudu. Ma Dudu motioned for him to tell Lin Weimin.
"This... Teacher Lin!"
Lin Weimin, who was dozing off in his chair, was awakened. Manager Qi smiled and said, "All the paintings have been sold. There are 352 paintings in total, and the total price is 86,475.2 yuan."
Lin Weimin yawned and asked, "Why is there still a fraction?"
Ma Dudu explained: "Teacher Lin, there are a few paintings by Liu Bingsen here, 80 cents per square foot."
Lin Weimin was surprised and looked at Ma Dudu, "Why is this guy's painting only selling for 60 cents per foot?"
Manager Qi looked embarrassed. "Teacher Liu is young, and his major is calligraphy."
“I see!”
Lin Weimin did not ask any more questions, but stood up and said, "Then issue the tickets!"
Manager Qi and several sales clerks had been busy the whole morning, waiting for this moment, and they were immediately delighted.
While the salesperson was busy issuing invoices, Lin Weimin unzipped his briefcase again and poured out all the money inside.
"Here is 90,000 yuan. Send someone to count the money. Give me the change after the money is counted!"
Stacks of big unity fell on the table, as if hitting the hearts of everyone present. Such a scene was so visually impactful!
Manager Qi and the salesmen had seen rich people before. Those who could buy paintings in an art shop these days were all in good condition. However, this was the first time they had seen someone as bold as the young man in front of them.
Ma Dudu stared at the huge pile of unity that was as big as a small mountain in a daze, with only one thought in his mind.
Great writers, you really make a lot of money!
Ma Dudu came back to his senses and came over, whispering, "Teacher Lin, you are so accurate in calculating the money you brought."
Lin Weimin laughed, "Bullshit!"
He opened his leather jacket, revealing the stacks of foreign exchange certificates in his inner pocket. "Do you think I'm a god? I have a lot of money, so I'm confident."
Ma Dudu swallowed and with difficulty turned his gaze away from the stacks of foreign exchange coupons.
One Great Unity note costs ten yuan, and a stack of notes is only one thousand yuan. A whole briefcase is filled with ninety thousand yuan, which certainly has a strong visual impact.
The stacks of foreign exchange coupons in Lin Weimin's arms may look insignificant, but their face value is indeed one hundred yuan. The value of a few stacks of foreign exchange coupons is higher than that briefcase of Great Unity.
The money had been counted, the change had been made, the invoice had been issued, the paintings had been packed and organized, and the payment had been completed.
But faced with these hundreds of paintings, Ma Dudu looked troubled. How could he transport them back?
At this time, Manager Qi said tactfully, "Where does Mr. Lin live? I will coordinate a car to deliver these paintings to your home."
Ma Dudu's concept was overturned again. It turned out that state-owned stores also provided door-to-door delivery services.
An hour later, Ma Dudu sat in the passenger seat of the old Gas and bumped along the way to Lin Weimin's two-story courtyard house next to the Forbidden City.
He and two salesmen from the Peace Painting Shop jumped out of the car. The two salesmen had been sitting in the back of the car all the way.
The gate of the courtyard was open. Lin Weimin walked out of the courtyard and stuffed a box of Daqianmen into each of the two salesmen's hands. "Thank you for your help."
"Mr. Lin, you are too polite!" The two salesmen, one middle-aged and one young, smiled happily.
Without Lin Weimin's urging, he simply lifted the Yangjiang lacquer leather box containing the paintings and began to move it into the yard.
Lin Weimin and Ma Dudu were not idle either. They worked together to carry a Yangjiang lacquered leather box into the yard. Only the driver of the old GAZ was still sitting in the car, smoking calmly and leisurely.
Drivers these days are so arrogant!
After moving more than a dozen Yangjiang lacquered leather boxes, several people were so tired that they were gasping for breath.
"Wait a moment, I'll get you some soda."
As Lin Weimin spoke, he stood up and walked towards the store near the exit of Baimixie Street, leaving Ma Dudu and the two sales clerks standing at the gate of the courtyard.
One of the salesmen, who was in his early twenties, approached Ma Dudu and asked, "I just heard you call that teacher Lin. Which school is he from?"
Ma Dudu laughed and said, "Teacher Lin is not a teacher, he is a writer!"
As soon as he said this, Ma Dudu realized that he had said something wrong and immediately kept silent.
The young salesperson was touched by the middle-aged salesperson and did not ask any further questions.
A few minutes later, Lin Weimin came back with a few bottles of soda, "Come, drink some soda to quench your thirst!"
"Thank you, Teacher Lin!"
Several people tilted their heads back and finished the soda in a few gulps. The two salesmen stood up to say goodbye. Lin Weimin sent them to the car and waved goodbye.
The back of the old Gas truck was very bumpy, but it did not hinder the two salesmen from chatting.
"Hey, Old Deng, did you hear what that person said just now? Teacher Lin is a writer."
The middle-aged salesman called Lao Deng had a look of understanding on his face, "Then do you know who he is?"
The young salesperson shook his head, "I don't know, you know?"
Old Deng looked at him with disdain, "Otherwise, I would say you are ignorant and incompetent."
"Can we still chat?" The young man pretended to be unhappy.
Old Deng didn't care at all and continued to ask, "Do you know who that person is?"
The young man was finally curious and asked, "Do you really know? Who is he?"
Old Deng had a smug look on his face. "I only know one writer named Lin who lives in Beijing and looks young enough to spend so much money on paintings."
The young man was getting anxious because he was keeping him in suspense. "Don't keep me in suspense. Tell me, who is it?"
"Lin Weimin!"
"Lin Weimin?" The young man paused and thought for a moment, "Why does this name sound so familiar?"
Old Deng shook his head helplessly and reminded: "The Cliff."
The young man suddenly realized, "Oh yeah, I remember now, the writer of "Cliff" is so damn good at making a great TV series!"
His expression was one of amazement, “Is it really him?”
Old Deng was calm and composed. "I can guarantee it with my head, it must be him!"
After saying this, he couldn't help but recall the scene of Lin Weimin carrying a briefcase and pouring money onto the table in the Heping Painting Shop.
Being a writer is so damn rich!
Looking at the old Gas going away, Lin Weimin said to Ma Dudu: "Dudu, today is really thanks to you."
"Teacher Lin, please don't be polite to me. I have really opened my eyes to you today."
Ma Dudu's words came from the bottom of his heart. Today he had seen what it meant to spend money lavishly.
He is now the editor of "Youth Literature" and has published several works himself. His income is among the highest these days.
But in the past two days he still felt deeply the huge gap between him and Teacher Lin.
The two chatted for a while, and Ma Dudu said, "I see no one lives in your house?"
"Yes, it has been empty since I bought it, and I haven't really cleaned it up."
Ma Dudu shook his head inwardly. Teacher Lin had said before that his family lived in a small courtyard in Shichahai, and now there was a second courtyard next to the Forbidden City.
His eyes unconsciously looked towards the northeast, where he could see the corner tower of the Forbidden City. Such a nice house was left empty, what a waste of resources!
He continued, "If you want to store paintings in the house in your yard, it's best to ensure the temperature and humidity. It's okay to leave it like this for a short period of time, but it won't work for a long time."
Lin Weimin nodded, "I've thought of this, too. I'll put my idea aside for now. I'll buy a house later, tidy it up, and store all these paintings there."
Ma Dudu: ...I just talk too much.
"Also, with so many paintings placed here, there should be someone to help with the living," Ma Dudu suggested.
Lin Weimin touched his chin. Ma Dudu’s suggestion was very correct. It was time to find someone. Who should he find?
(End of this chapter)
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