After being reminded by Han Chudong, Old Man Zhang "suddenly remembered" the deal between Han Chudong and Ikuta Yudai.

Finding that he was not a shameless person, he did not break the rules. Zhang Daqian smiled and said, "I regret it now, but I didn't mean to rob you. The Six Dragons is good. It is a very good old painting. I heard about it when I was in my twenties, but I didn't expect to see the original when I was old. Those ink dragons were painted with spirit."

"Master Zhang's painting skills are also superb. I must let you enjoy the painting 'Nine Dragons'. If you are willing to part with it, that would be great. You can name any price you want."

"Come in and have a cup of tea first, and then we'll talk after you finish looking. Since I turned seventy, more and more people have come to me to buy paintings. Maybe they think I'm old and will be buried in the ground in a few years. But a rich young man like you certainly wouldn't rely on such a small amount of money to live, so why would you like my paintings?"

Zhang Daqian himself said that he was about to be buried, but Han Chudong would not accept this and replied calmly:

"My great-grandfather was a high-ranking official, so my grandfather liked these things. Although I didn't know much about them, I naturally fell in love with them after being exposed to them more.

"Mr. Old, you are a master of painting. I have the opportunity to meet you today. It would be unreasonable not to bring back some calligraphy from you."

"Oh, so he is from a famous family. Was he an official from the Republic of China or the Qing Dynasty?"

"It is said that it was an imperial examination held in 1890." Han Chudong did not exaggerate on this matter. He did not think there was anything glorious about it. After all, he was just flattering the old woman. He just said it casually to get closer to her, thinking that the other party might be interested.

Zhang Daqian shook his head: "It happened so long ago, I definitely haven't come into contact with it. Come in and sit down first. Last time, my friend just brought me some tea..."

A Japanese collector named Yudai Ikuta seemed to have known Zhang Daqian for a long time. After entering the house, he started chatting with him and he seemed to be no stranger to him. After asking about his family, he also asked about the recent art exhibition in Los Angeles.

Hearing about the exhibition, Zhang Daqian said with a worried look on his face: "If I had known, I would not have donated so many paintings a few years ago. Now I can't even put together an exhibition. I have to borrow from those museums and people who bought my paintings. I plan to put the "Nine Dragons" in the exhibition, and Brother Han is going to buy the "Six Dragons". Why does he need me to make a fool of myself?"

"No way! Who knows? Your 'Nine Dragons' may become even more famous in a few hundred years. You must give it to me. You can give it to me after the exhibition." Han Chudong was obsessed with it and refused to give in. He had made up his mind to buy it before he even saw it.

Zhang Daqian was a little helpless. As this was his masterpiece, he actually wanted to keep it for a few more years before selling it.

However, the painter's ideas are definitely different from those of the collector. He can paint another one with a little time, so he doesn't care too much about it.

However, if there are too many similar works, the previous collectors will definitely not be happy. Out of professional ethics, it is best not to do this.

He said to Han Chudong and Ikuta Yudai, "Come with me first. We'll talk about the painting later. I haven't asked how much the Six Dragons painting was sold for yet? If it's hard to tell, you don't have to tell me. It doesn't matter. I just want to know the market price of Song Dynasty paintings."

Han Chudong replied without hiding anything: "I didn't buy it with money. I traded paintings with this gentleman. I used Shishkin's works. I didn't have any on hand, so I just asked someone to buy them for me."

"Is that so? Then you might have to pay a little, but this thing is about liking it, so no one will lose out. In 1945, I used 500 taels of gold to give up the plan to buy the Qing Palace, and instead bought a scroll of "Night Banquet of Han Xizai". I also exchanged Tang Yin's paintings for Su Dongpo's paintings. I am an expert in collecting, but I donated or sold them one after another. Now you can't buy them if you have money... But with your wealth, it shouldn't be difficult to buy them."

Zhang Daqian is absolutely qualified to say that he is an expert in the collecting world. Not only can he paint, but he is also an excellent appraiser.

Arriving at his studio, he just pushed the door open and told Han Chudong after remembering something, "By the way, I have two old friends, one is Wang Jiqian and the other is Gu Luofu. Many of my collections and my own paintings have been bought by them. There is also a man named Wang Fangyu, who also has many good things. Last time I heard that the Metropolitan Museum of Art has contacted them and wants to buy some good things for exhibition. If you want to build your own museum, it's definitely right to find them. Ikuta Yudai also has a lot of treasures."

Han Chudong was worried about not having a good way to get in. When he heard this, his eyes lit up and he replied, "My offer is definitely higher than the market price. If it's suitable, can you give me their contact information? As for Mr. Ikuta, as long as he's willing to sell, I'd like to buy more."

"I wrote you my phone number before I left. Those people were originally collecting and reselling things. If they accumulated too many things, they would not be able to afford it financially. I feel deeply about this. As for Ikuta, most of his items are oil paintings. If you want to buy oil paintings, you can find him. It will definitely be the right thing to do."

We talked in English. Ikuta Yudai smiled and told me, "I mainly collect Russian oil paintings, but also works by Picasso and Gauguin. Most of them are in Kyoto, Japan."

…

Taking into account the general environment of the times, just taking the Chinese cultural relics collection circle as an example, the number of collections is much greater than the number of buyers.

Therefore, there are many sellers and many good things, but it is not easy to find a wealthy buyer to sell them.

Han Chudong was a wealthy new collector, and Zhang Daqian happened to know some sellers, so he quietly helped to make the connection. After chatting about these things, he brought out several scrolls of paintings, spread them out one by one on a huge wooden table, and let Han Chudong, Mochizuki Kyoko, Ikuta Yudai and others appreciate them.

Among them are "Six Dragons", "Nine Dragons" which Zhang Daqian just painted this month, and a rare silk painting from the Five Dynasties period called "River Bank Evening Scene". These are more than a thousand years old and it would be almost impossible for them to be preserved for so long if they were painted on paper.

There is no wrong version in the 1619 book forum!

Han Chudong feels that visiting paintings is more interesting than watching a football game. It is like shopping in a mall, except that some items may not be for sale to the public. It all depends on the owner's wishes.

After staring at the paintings on the table for a while, if he didn't consider the age and the like, the Nine Dragons Painting by Zhang Daqian was more outstanding. It was realistic and shocking, with large areas of splashed ink, the black dragon seemed to be invisible, and the red and white dragons looked majestic. This made Han Chudong want to buy it more and more.

He immediately spoke in Chinese, using a code word, and said, "I mentioned 300,000 U.S. dollars earlier, but that number was too reckless. 500,000 U.S. dollars, give it to me after the exhibition, and I can write a check right away."

Yudai Ikuta is the kind of person who is rich, but has converted all his money into collections and lives a tight life.

Although the Japanese old man was tempted, he couldn't even take out $50,000 in cash, let alone $500,000.

At that time, Han Chudong bought several paintings by Roy Lichtenstein in New York, and it only cost him $100,000. Now he really wanted the new painting in front of him.

Zhang Daqian was a big spender and couldn't save any money. When he heard the figure of 500,000 US dollars, he nodded without thinking much and sold it if he thought the price was right. At his age, there was no need to think so much or so far ahead, so the price was definitely very generous.