Zhou Lechi's expected value for this poem, "Passing by the Shrine of Fubo," was tens of millions or even hundreds of millions.
Tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of dollars is a lot for him, and it still hurts him deeply.
But it was still within his acceptable range, so giving it to Ye Chen was fine, he could tolerate it. As for anything higher, Zhou Lechi couldn't bear it.
"Hmm... In 2010, Huang Tingjian's 'Inscription on the Pillar' was sold for a sky-high price of over 400 million, shocking the Chinese antique world."
Master Qi answered earnestly:
"Over the years, the value of Huang Tingjian's authentic works has increased, and this poem, 'Passing by the Shrine of Fubo,' is no less valuable than, and even slightly more valuable than, 'Inscription on the Pillar.'"
"If this calligraphy were put at a major auction, I estimate it could fetch around a billion."
Around a billion?!
One billion.
After listening to Master Qi's words, Zhou Lechi's heart seemed to stop beating all at once.
A billion!
Holy crap!!!
Although his family is very wealthy, he is just a junior member of the family and has not yet started to take over any business. Moreover, even if he did take over, he probably wouldn't be able to come up with a billion at once.
If he had a billion dollars, he could squander it at will and become one of the focal points in his circle.
Because he was strictly disciplined by his family, he never had more than 100 million in his hands, let alone 1 billion.
His father gave him only a meager allowance of eight or nine million a month, sometimes less, only four or five million.
A billion! If only he had that billion!
But now, he's giving away such a huge fortune to Ye Chen for nothing.
Aaaaaaaaahh ...
Zhou Lechi was roaring inside; his heart was bleeding.
He's a complete idiot, a moron!
"Xiao Ye, congratulations on acquiring an authentic work by Huang Tingjian."
Old Zhou spoke.
Since his grandson said so, he would give Ye Chen not just a billion, but even several billion.
For Mr. Zhou, a billion is nothing; his family's reputation is more important.
Ye Chen wanted to politely decline a little, since in a sense, this calligraphy also belonged to Old Zhou.
But ultimately, with Old Zhou's insistence, Ye Chen understood Old Zhou's deeper meaning and accepted it.
Because of this incident, Master Qi greatly admired Ye Chen and even wanted to recommend Ye Chen to join the China Appraisal Association, but Ye Chen politely declined.
He's already joined quite a few associations, so he's too lazy to join any more.
Finally, after adding Ye Chen's contact information, Master Qi took his leave. Of course, when he left, Master Qi also took with him the poem "Passing by the Shrine of Fubo".
This poem about visiting the Shrine of Fubo needs to be combined with another piece and mounted, but Ye Chen doesn't know anyone in this field.
As a professional, Master Qi knew many skilled craftsmen in the field of mounting and framing. In order to befriend Ye Chen, he took the initiative to step forward.
Moreover, even if Master Qi had a hundred times the courage, he wouldn't dare to make any small moves in front of Elder Zhou.
So Ye Chen handed over the "Poem on Passing by the Shrine of Fubo" to Master Qi, asking Master Qi to help find someone to mount it. Once the mounting was complete, Master Qi would personally deliver it to Ye Chen.
Just then, the food was ready, and Old Zhou warmly invited Ye Chen to eat, with Xiao Xinxin skipping and jumping along behind him.
In the living room, only Zhou Lechi remained in a mess. Although Zhou Lao urged him to sit down, Zhou Lechi had no appetite at all.
Having just missed out on a billion, Zhou Lechi probably won't have much of an appetite for a long time to come.
After finishing his meal and staying for a while, Ye Chen left.
The next morning, Ye Chen unexpectedly received a call from his counselor, who asked if he was interested in participating in a calligraphy and painting competition held by their college.
Ye Chen had important things to do today and was too lazy to compete with the "kids." Just as Ye Chen was about to refuse, the counselor explained again.
"We're not inviting you to participate in the competition, we're inviting you to be a judge for the competition."
"To be a judge?"
Ye Chen was quite surprised by the counselor's words.
"I've heard that you're a director of the China Calligraphers Association, you can't refuse."
There aren't many teachers or professors at their college who are very skilled in calligraphy, and only one professor is a member of the Huaxia Calligraphy Association.
When the counselor learned that Ye Chen was actually a director of the China Calligraphers Association, he immediately reported to his superiors. Upon learning Ye Chen's identity, the superiors immediately agreed.
To become a director of the Huaxia Calligraphy Association at such a young age is truly impressive.
Ye Chen is more than qualified to be a judge in a school calligraphy competition.
Ye Chen didn't expect that his counselor would know about his identity. She probably found out from the School of Fine Arts at Shanghai University.
Ye Chen couldn't refuse the counselor's warm invitation, since the counselor had always readily agreed to his requests for leave before.
After Ye Chen agreed, the counselor immediately reported to the leadership, who then arranged for their subordinates to handle all the details of the calligraphy and painting competition.
That afternoon, the list of judges for the college's calligraphy and painting competition was released.
The competition had two judges: the dean of their college and Ye Chen.
When the list of judges was announced, Ye Chen stood out among the names of leaders, teachers, and professors.
When the students inquired and learned that Ye Chen was actually a student, the entire academy was in an uproar.
Ye Chen's classmates couldn't quite believe their eyes either. Ye Chen was ranked as the "first judge" just like the dean. It was unbelievable.
Besides being a super-rich man, Ye Chen is also very skilled in Go and computer science, which they know.
But when did Ye Chen learn calligraphy and painting, and even become a judge for their college's calligraphy and painting competition as a student?
Is Ye Chen omnipotent? Is there anything he can't do?
However, many of the other students in the college were dissatisfied.
How can a student be on equal footing with the dean, serving as the first judge in a competition?
So, various speculations began to circulate in some of the college's groups, online forums, and other places.
"It's unbelievable that a junior is serving as a judge for us third-year students."
"What is the academy thinking? Why was Ye Chen able to become a judge, and even the first judge?!"
"Tch, he must have gotten in through connections and back channels. I heard that Ye Chen is very rich."
"I think Ye Chen must have a special relationship with the dean."
"I just don't understand, what qualifications does Ye Chen have to be the first judge of the competition?"
Various rumors spread, and even in official groups such as grade-level groups, some people openly complained.
Ye Chen has many groups, many of which he has long since blocked, only glancing at them occasionally.
Ye Chen was unaware of these discussions; he had something even more important to do today.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
