Lin Sanqi used his mobile phone to search again. There was no price quoted for this painting "Spring", but it was considered one of the most valuable oil paintings.
The same reference is made to another oil painting by the same painter, which was auctioned for 90 million euros.
Lin Sanqi had an idea in his mind. In a sense, Western paintings were more valuable than Chinese antiques and were more suitable for auction abroad.
After coming out of the toilet, Lin Sanqi returned to the exhibition hall refreshed.
"Manager Tao, how many oil paintings do you have in your antique shop now?"
"We have 264 paintings, many of which we have stored in our warehouse. Sales of Western oil paintings are not very good, so we don't recommend them."
Lin Sanqi thought that the value of oil paintings must be very high. Who knows if there are any world famous paintings among these more than 200 oil paintings?
Unfortunately, people who appreciate these oil paintings are mainly concentrated in developed Western countries.
The foreign guests who can visit China now are all from poor countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America. They are either black or yellow. Anyway, they are a group of starving people who need support.
Not only do these foreigners have no money, they also have no appreciation for art. They are all peasants born into a rebellious family. What do they know about the value of art?
Just like the wife of a certain Philippine president, this woman only knows how to buy clothes and bags, and she buys thousands of pairs of shoes at a time.
Then I buy food. I buy two thousand pieces of Jinhua ham at a time and I’m not afraid of eating too much.
It is almost impossible to get such a nouveau riche woman to buy an oil painting. If you ask her to buy jewels, she might be interested.
So it would be strange if the oil paintings in Huadu Cultural Relics Store could be sold.
Fortunately, no one knew the value of it and it was not sold. Now it has become a good deal for Mr. Lin. It is all God's will.
Afterwards, Manager Tao took Lin Sanqi and his group on a tour starting from the first floor, all the way to the third floor, and finally took a tour of the warehouse area.
The antiques for sale in the cupboards are fine, but the antiques in the warehouse are in a worse state.
The south is rainy and humid, and there are many insects and rats, so many antiques are severely damaged.
Especially oil paintings, without constant temperature and humidity, some of them have become moldy when opened, and I don’t know how much it will cost to repair them.
Lin Sanqi felt so distressed seeing this, these were all his treasures.
Yes, it is Lin Sanqi’s antique. Anyone has any objection?
Finally, back in the reception room, Manager Tao asked anxiously:
"Commissioner Lin, I wonder which antiques you're interested in? We can arrange for their packaging and shipment right away."
Lin Sanqi thought to himself, old man, what the hell are you thinking? He has been called a locust by the Hong Kong doctor, so of course he wants everything, leaving no blade of grass behind.
But Lin Sanqi was a little unsure about Huadu's attitude, so he looked at Director Yang of the Cultural Relics Bureau.
"Director Yang, you should have received the notice from your superiors, right?"
Director Yang smiled and said, "Got it. I understand what Commissioner Lin means. You are free to choose any antiques from our Huadu Cultural Relics Store, including our several branches. We don't set any restrictions."
Lin Sanqi thought, "Then I won't be polite." The lion opened his mouth:
"Manager Tao, I want to pack up all the antiques and take them away without leaving anything behind."
Manager Tao spat out a mouthful of tea and his face turned red.
They were joking before, saying that if Commissioner Lin wanted all the antiques, would he give them to them? Unexpectedly, his words came true. This guy is really a desperate person.
"Lin, Commissioner Lin, isn't this inappropriate? We have over 20,000 cultural relics in several stores, and you want them all. Do you have enough space to store them? You, this..."
Lin Sanqi could understand the manager's mentality; if he were in his place, he would also be devastated.
After all, he took away so many antiques without paying for them, and the antique shop didn't get any benefit at all. Anyone would feel bad about it.
But Mr. Lin needs to sell these antiques more to make money. He wants to build a new industrial zone, and the funds required are huge.
"Manager Tao, well, well, I have a use for these antiques. Don't worry, it's not for me personally. I want to do something that benefits the country and the people, and I need a large sum of money."
Director Yang's eyes rolled, knowing that he couldn't stop this.
But the so-called generals are not allowed to give military orders when they are away from home, and some conditions can be discussed.
"Commissioner Lin, you will also be working in our Dongguang region from now on. We are all colleagues now. These antiques were painstakingly collected by our Dongguang comrades. They are our precious treasures."
Lin Sanqi thought, is it hard to collect? Did the original owner agree?
However, he also understood what was meant. It meant that he, Lin Sanqi, would be working in the Dongguan area in the future. He should not do anything too extreme and should maintain good relations with the local people, so as not to become a lonely person in the future.
Lin Sanqi also came up and asked with a smile:
"Director Yang, since we will be colleagues from now on, just ask for anything you want. I will definitely do what I can."
When Director Yang heard Lin Sanqi's words, he was quite satisfied, so he rubbed his hands and said:
"Well, you brought back 2,000 machine tools this time, but only 50 were allocated to Dongguang Province. That's way too few. The three northeastern provinces, Tianjin, and Shanghai all took hundreds of them."
Lin Sanqi thought that in a few decades, Dongguan Province would become the country's largest economic province, and one province would be equivalent to a country.
However, in 1962, Dongguang Province was still mainly based on agriculture, with very little industry and was not developed.
In this era, the three northeastern provinces have the strongest industrial strength. Liaoning alone can beat all its brother provinces and cities. Except for Shanghai, which is the big brother, Liaoning is the second brother.
So in this distribution of machine tools, Northeast China and Shanghai got a great advantage, followed by Tianjin, but at least they had more than the capital.
Director Yang is still playing the emotional card:
"Commissioner Lin, you're also from Dongguang. We Dongguang people got the machine tools, but Dongguang only got 50? This is bullying. Well, well, Commissioner Lin, I think... hehe..."
Lin Sanqi understood and wanted a machine tool.
However, he was not disgusted. On the contrary, he had a great liking for these officials who worked for the development of his hometown, because they sincerely wanted to gain some benefits for their hometown.
Unlike those leaders who served as officials in other places decades later, who borrowed money endlessly and built image projects for their own political achievements, and finally left after achieving their political achievements, leaving a mess behind for the local areas.
"Director Yang, I understand what you mean. It's my duty to contribute to my hometown. So, how many more machine tools does Dongguang Province plan to purchase? Just tell me the number, and I'll figure out the rest."
Upon hearing this, Director Yang slapped his armrest excitedly:
"Okay, Commissioner Lin is a straightforward person. I won't ask for more. I just want 100 machine tools of various types. It would be best if you could get us a five-axis machine tool. We've seen a demonstration of this machine tool, and it's simply amazing."
After the five-axis machining center was demonstrated in front of major factories and research institutes across the country, it was taken over by a special department before anyone could rush to buy it, and more than ten five-axis machines were taken away.
Lin Sanqi could also understand. After all, this was a national treasure and should indeed be handed over to units that needed it more.
"Okay, Director Yang, as a Dongguan native, I agree to these 100 machine tools."
In another era, 100 machine tools would only cost tens of millions. Just make a phone call to the Fengtian Machine Tool Factory and they would be delivered immediately. It was not a complicated matter.
But you can successfully exchange them for more than 20,000 antiques, so this business is worth doing.
Is it possible to get rich overnight?
What's more, Lin Sanqi had been cautious before. There were clearly 2,500 machine tools, but he handed over 2,000 of them, and now there are only 500 left in his warehouse.
When Director Yang heard this, he was overjoyed:
"Commissioner Lin, then we have a deal. I'll report to my superiors now."
Lin Sanqi also stood up. "It's a deal. You will go to Dongpingzhou Island in Huiyang County to pick up the 100 machine tools in a week. I won't deliver them to your door."
Director Yang burst into laughter when he heard this, and then shouted to Manager Tao, who had a bitter look on his face:
"Lao Tao, why are you still standing there? Hurry up and organize everyone to pack up the cultural relics and ship them out. Don't look so sad. The replacement of the machine tool will be counted as a credit to your cultural relics store."
Manager Tao was delighted when he heard this. As long as he had made some contribution, it would be good for his future promotion.
As for the cultural relics, they are not his personal property anyway, so he can move them away if he wants.
It's not that he really loves antiques, he is just afraid that without antiques he will be left alone. What if the antique shop is closed down?
Over the next two days, 30 large trucks made numerous trips back and forth before they delivered all the antiques from the Huadu Antiques Store to the train station, and finally to the warehouse on Tung Ping Chau Island.
On the return trip, he brought back 100 valuable machine tools. (End of this chapter)
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