Tea Room
Old Bai reached out and grasped the cane leaning against the side.
"It's getting late, everyone should go home. Qianmo, you're going back to the old house with Grandpa today."
Bai Qianmo nodded, guessing what the old man was thinking.
Of these four paintings, only "Spring" was a gift to Mr. Tang; the whereabouts of the other three are still unknown.
The old man is a passionate collector, and he would never let an outsider take advantage of such a great opportunity.
"Qianmo, what are you planning to do with the paintings you brought today?" Old Tang was the first to speak, getting straight to the point.
Originally, he wanted to have a private talk with Qianmo after the art exhibition ended.
As a result, these three old men, each with their own ulterior motives, stirred things up and refused to leave.
It was almost 11 p.m., but they all looked more energetic than him, and could stay up longer than he could.
I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I had to bring it up right now.
The main reason was that he knew Old Man Bai's nature too well. He was willing to guarantee that once the three paintings left the Tang family exhibition hall, they would no longer belong to Ye Bai.
The old man couldn't hold back any longer!
The three old men, Gu, Qin, and Bai, looked at Bai Qianmo calmly and composedly.
“These works by Ye Bai can be considered her masterpieces. Qian Mo, you need to carefully consider how to handle them. Private collections are not professional enough. I think it would be more appropriate to find a suitable and trustworthy institution.” Old Tang advised patiently.
They practically said they'd hand over all these paintings to the Tang family to manage.
Even if he couldn't collect them all and make them the most prized paintings in the family collection, it would definitely make the Tang family's reputation spread far and wide overseas.
Bai Qianmo sat quietly in place, feeling four pairs of "eagle eyes" staring at her.
She lowered her eyes and coughed lightly.
"You are all elders, so why don't you give me a good idea?"
She's just passed the buck back to her.
The old men were all shrewd and immediately understood Bai Qianmo's plan to smooth things over.
No, to be precise, let them fight amongst themselves.
The girl was well aware of their respective plans, so she threw the problem back at them. No one was willing to give in, which naturally led to conflict.
Old Tang spoke first: "How about this? My Tang family exhibition hall has always wanted to develop into a collection museum, and the Tang family has always been pioneers in the protection of cultural relics. If these paintings are entrusted to the Tang family for safekeeping, they will definitely be preserved in perfect condition. Qianmo, what do you think of this idea?"
Bai Qianmo glanced indifferently at the gloomy faces of the other three old men.
If looks could kill, Old Tang would probably have been torn to pieces long ago.
She nodded seriously: "That's good, it saves me the trouble. Actually, I don't know much about collecting paintings. If I keep them, they'll probably end up in some corner after a few years. I painted quite a few works when I was practicing, but I lost some, tore others up, and in the end, I only kept 'Thousand People' and 'The Other Shore Flower'."
This attitude is as if there's no difference between a work of art worth hundreds of millions and worthless scraps of paper.
The old men felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this.
"Oh dear, that's such a pity. In order for these works to be passed down for generations, it's better to hand them over to professionals. Our Tang family can collect these works for you for free. Shall we agree on this?" Old Master Tang smiled and looked at Bai Qianmo.
It looks like a smiling, hungry wolf, waiting for a little lamb to jump into its trap.
That expression seemed to say: Come on, come on, come into Uncle Wolf's mouth.
I disagree.
"I don't agree either."
"Tang Wanli, you are truly shameless," Old Qin couldn't help but curse.
The three old men spoke almost in unison, their eyes clearly showing anger.
Old Tang tried to defend himself: "What do you mean? Among all of you here, who is more professional than me in collecting? Hmph, if there is, then I, Tang Wanli, will never work in this circle again."
"Tang Wanli, how dare you deceive such a young girl?" Old Qin angrily rebuked.
“We both know the value of Ye Bai’s works now. Countless museums would pay her to have one of her paintings exhibited. They have to beg her like begging grandpas and grandmas. You say you’re being generous by not accepting a single penny? You might fool a child, but you can’t fool us.” Old Master Gu also criticized indignantly.
Bai Lao had a wrinkled face and a gloomy expression. Ye Bai was his granddaughter, and naturally, he was the most qualified person to collect and preserve her paintings.
Therefore, he was furious at this moment, as if his treasured possessions had been coveted by petty people.
"When it comes to treasuring Ye Bai's works, none of you here are as qualified as I am. Don't forget, Qian Mo is my granddaughter."
Hmph, with this blood relation between us, who among you can compare?
Old Gu coughed, picked up the teacup in front of him, and slowly sipped the tea.
He looked at Old Bai with a forced smile.
“Brother Bai, I don’t agree with that. Qianmo is still my future granddaughter-in-law.”
Old Qin had a sudden inspiration and hurriedly joined in the kinship acknowledgment.
"Hmph, so you're saying Qianmo is my future granddaughter-in-law?"
"Ha, you old scoundrels are really shameless. Are you going to hold a family reunion?" Old Bai laughed in anger.
"I don't think Qianmo and Gu Jueye's marriage is going to happen yet. Judging from Qin Lin's attitude today, I'm worried that if my precious granddaughter marries into the Gu family, she will be treated like a servant."
Old Gu hurriedly said, "Brother Bai, you're overthinking it. A-Ye's mother has no real power at home. You know A-Ye's personality; his mother can't do anything about him. Once he's made up his mind about someone, no one can change it."
When his good-for-nothing daughter was mentioned, Old Qin automatically ignored her.
"Yes, Ah Ye is a man of principle, he's definitely not a mama's boy. If Qian Mo marries Ah Ye, and his mother dares to bully Qian Mo, I'll be the first to stop her."
Old Bai snorted softly, "We're all already on our feet, and they have a long future ahead of them. I'm just afraid that when I close my eyes, I won't be able to help my dear granddaughter at all, and she'll suffer mistreatment from her in-laws."
These words were not spoken out of concern for his granddaughter's artwork, but rather came from the bottom of his heart.
He's an old man, how many more years can he live?
My only wish now is that future generations can live happy and peaceful lives.
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