It doesn’t matter that he doesn’t have any landscape oil paintings by Shishkin at the moment. Han Chudong thinks that since he has never heard of the painter, the price of the painter’s works may not be too high.

Moreover, Ikuta Yudai did not make any requirements on the size and theme of the works. He could just buy one from another collector for exchange. Han Chudong thought this request was not excessive.

No work of a Western landscape painter is as important to him as "Six Dragons".

Recently, many middlemen have been hired to help, and someone even helped Han Chudong contact collectors who own the Yaobian Tianmoku tea bowls. Even a layman like him has heard of the name "Yaobian Tianmoku tea bowl". In addition, there are also chicken-glazed cups, Xuande furnaces, Yuan blue and white jars, and porcelains from the five famous kilns.

Some of them are old things that were hyped up later. However, since they can be hyped up, on the one hand it shows that they are rare, and on the other hand it also shows that they have historical significance or artistic value. Otherwise, how could they attract people's attention among tens of millions of antiques?

Take the animal heads that he is familiar with, for example. This set of things has gathered all the necessary prerequisites for hype value.

The uniqueness of a single piece, the work of a famous artist, and the mystery caused by its unknown whereabouts, even combine with the humiliating history of the ancestors of Chinese people around the world, witnessing a major historical event. No matter whether it is really worth that much money, how much is the copper price? Someone is willing to pay so much sincere silver to buy it, which means it has market value. The bubble in the art market is ridiculously large. The works of Van Gogh, Monet and others are just frames and paints.

Fortunately, there are not many forces speculating on Chinese cultural relics at present. From the perspective of businessmen and investors, the value of some items may increase by a thousand or ten thousand times in a few decades. The better the quality, the greater the room for appreciation. This is why we repeatedly emphasize to middlemen that only high-quality items are needed.

Even if no one hypes it up, Han Chudong can do it himself, put up some titles like the Top Ten Famous Paintings or the Top Ten Porcelains, and then organize some auctions to transfer the money from one hand to the other. There's no need to worry about no one paying to take over.

So although it’s an interest, in fact, it’s still about money.

Collecting is an excellent hobby that allows you to enjoy the thrill of spending money while also serving as an investment. It does not necessarily earn less than using the same amount of money to do business, and the risks involved are also smaller. It is very suitable for people like Han Chudong who have a long-term vision and spare money.

…

Successfully met Zhang Daqian in the capital of Orange County.

This famous painter is still alive. He is in his seventies, with a white beard that stretches from his chin to his chest, and he wears a pair of glasses.

When they arrived, Zhang Daqian was weeding in the yard. This old painter, who was as famous as Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi and others, was much more famous overseas than the other two. He had been running around to hold various art exhibitions. His fame grew over time. He was called the "Pen of the East" by the Western media, and he even communicated with Picasso and others.

Considering that the two people's painting styles are completely different, it was probably a conversation like that of a chicken talking to a deaf person.

In early September, the weather is clear and cool.

The daytime temperature in Los Angeles is about 25 degrees Celsius. When Han Chudong got out of the car, he could hear the buzzing sound of the lawn mower. With his good eyesight, he could even see the logo of Baofeng Electric on it.

In addition to developing its own products, Baofeng Electric is currently also cooperating with some small and medium-sized electrical appliance merchants to launch specially customized joint models. The number is small, there are only a few models, and it seems that this is one of them.

Let’s look at Zhang Daqian himself.

Apart from his distinctive beard, his appearance can be said to be very ordinary.

Perhaps it can be regarded as an unexpected surprise after rebirth. Han Chudong can see many celebrities who are no longer with us. He has already made up his mind that as long as the other party is willing to give up, he will give him enough money.

When he went forward to say hello, Zhang Daqian saw three luxury cars coming and a large group of people getting out. He had already turned off the lawn mower and stood there watching.

I saw the familiar person Yudai Namada.

Zhang Daqian smiled and asked in English: "Could it be that you brought people to bully me because I didn't return the painting to you? The Six Dragons is in the house. I will get it out for you right away. I will treat you to a drink tonight as a thank you."

"I have no shortage of wine. As we agreed in advance, please give me a copy of your "Six Dragons". Or an ink painting with the characteristics of "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" will do, that is, the "A Thousand Miles of Rivers and Mountains" that you painted." Ikuta Yudai replied.

They were surprised to find that this old Japanese man could speak English. Although his pronunciation was a little strange, he spoke fluently. Kyoko Mochizuki and Han Chudong were both surprised.

On second thought, he guessed why he was pretending to be stupid. Han Chudong felt cheated and cursed at the old thief in his heart. After thinking about it, he found that he had not said anything wrong on the way here. He felt fortunate, otherwise, all of it would have been heard by this cunning Japanese collector.

Zhang Daqian shook his head and said, "I did copy one, but it had nine dragons. I promised to give you the Six Dragons, but it's the Nine Dragons, so I can't give it to you. But you can choose any of my paintings."

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

As soon as he finished speaking, he turned to Han Chudong and asked, "You are the Chinese compatriot who has been frequently appearing in newspapers recently, right? The one who founded many companies..."

Most of the time, I only remember the appearance but forget the name.

Han Chudong nodded and said, "That should be it. My name is Han Chudong. The reputation of the great painter Zhang has spread all over the world. It is a great honor to meet him today."

Everyone loves to hear such polite words. Zhang Daqian smiled and held out his hand: "I am not as famous as you, young man. I am just a painter. It is rare to see Chinese of such standard. Did you just move here with your family when you were a child?"

"I've been here since my grandfather was young. I grew up in Los Angeles' Chinatown and my family speaks Chinese." Han Chudong didn't want to talk more about this topic, so he took the initiative to mention, "I plan to buy the Six Dragons. I heard that you borrowed it, so I happened to come here to take a look. It would be great if you could give me some of your works, Mr. Zhang. I can hang them in my museum in the future and reserve a special exhibition hall for your masterpieces."

The reason I said this is that I actually wanted to take the opportunity to buy more paintings by Zhang Daqian.

Zhang Daqian was obviously more concerned about the "Six Dragons" painting, and said to Ikuta Yudai in a bad mood: "Since you plan to sell it, then give it to me. I'll even paint you a picture of the Empire State Building!"

Han Chudong's mouth twitched slightly, fearing that someone might steal her love, so she said decisively: "If you really paint a picture of the Empire State Building, you can name the price for it, and I'm willing to buy it for my collection, but I've already made it clear who will own the Six Dragons..."