For Yuewen Entertainment website, the commission for calligraphy and painting transactions is negligible, barely worth mentioning. For a transaction of one million, Yuewen Entertainment website only charges ten thousand, which is an extremely low commission anywhere in China. No one can understand what Yuewen Entertainment website is trying to do.
As a major international city and a gathering place for talents, Shanghai's galleries are renowned and large in scale, unmatched by other places. Yunlang Gallery is one of the best among them. At this moment, Wang Yunlang, the owner of Yunlang Gallery, was discussing countermeasures with his subordinates with a gloomy face.
"Boss, according to our investigation, most of the student works from the Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts are sold on the Yuewen Entertainment website. This week, the number of works we acquire has shrunk by two-thirds. Other art academies are in a similar situation. Only students with exclusive contracts consign us for sale."
"Yuewen Entertainment website? What kind of website is that? I've never heard of it."
"Yuewen Entertainment Website is a comprehensive entertainment website in Shanghai. It was created a month ago. The owner is a college graduate from the Central Conservatory of Music. We took over a book website from his family and redesigned it. It has developed very rapidly in just one month."
“It’s just an entertainment website. How could they possibly come up with the idea of auctioning calligraphy and paintings? It’s ridiculous. You should find a few people to teach them a lesson and make them realize their own limitations.”
"Boss, I'm afraid we can't handle him. He's worth billions, we can't afford to offend him. Before he rose to power, Yuehai Media, together with more than a dozen media companies, music platforms, blogs and other social media platforms, tried to blacklist him. In the end, we ended up in a mess and couldn't back down. We were even blacklisted by the Central Conservatory of Music and more than a dozen music academies in China. Later, we fought over an animated film, and ended up losing everything. Even our qualification to import animated films was revoked. The losses are incalculable."
"Damn it, how could an entertainment website get involved in calligraphy and painting auctions? It's utterly absurd! How much is their commission?"
"1%!"
"1%!" Wang Yunlang's mouth gaped open wide enough to fit an egg. "What can a 1% commission do? It's not even enough to pay wages. What exactly are they planning?"
"They don't get involved in the customers' pricing issues; they just act as an intermediary display platform. They don't need to spend a penny on costs. As long as the volume is large enough, they can make money."
"Damn it, they're trying to kill us! If this continues, what's the point of our galleries existing?!"
"Boss, how about we bribe a few deliverymen? If they lose a few expensive paintings, and we pull some strings, they'll become infamous nationwide, and their platform will be ruined!"
Upon hearing this, Wang Yunlang flew into a rage: "You idiot, if you want to die, don't drag me down with you. If this gets exposed, you'll be rotting in jail. What deliveryman would dare to do this?"
Wang Yunlang was furious. These incompetent fools were good for nothing and good for nothing. At the same time, he was also deeply helpless. After getting rid of his foolish subordinates, Wang Yunlang called a few colleagues in Shanghai. He figured they were also feeling helpless. It would be good to get together and see if there was a good solution. One person's plan is limited, but what about several people?
In the capital, Wei Qing was painting at home, with his youngest son, Wei Jianguo, watching him. The painting was nearing completion. The pond was covered with green lotus leaves, and buds stood tall on the branches. Several ducklings waded through the water, creating ripples. A full sun rose slowly, illuminating the pond with a rosy glow.
With the final stroke, Wei Qing let out a long sigh of relief, looked at the painting with great satisfaction, shook his aching hand, and then inscribed and stamped it. He said to Wei Jianguo, "Hang it up, take a picture, and post it on the Yuewen Entertainment website."
Wei Jianguo nodded in agreement, skillfully hung the easel, took out a high-definition camera, and took several photos in succession. After Wei Qing found the photo he was most satisfied with, he connected it to the computer and uploaded it to the Yuewen Entertainment website. Seeing his father's satisfied expression, he said, "Father, several galleries in Beijing are now trying to unite and crack down on the Yuewen Entertainment website. I estimate that similar trends will emerge in other places as well."
Wei Qing: "Do you know how you want to strike?"
Wei Jianguo: "They probably wouldn't dare to use underhanded tactics, but they might use official channels to say that Yuewen Entertainment website has problems with its qualifications."
Wei Qing: "Oh, what kind of problem is there with your qualifications?"
Wei Jianguo: "For example, the Yuewen Entertainment website illegally auctioned calligraphy works?"
Wei Qing pondered for a while, then suddenly said, "But Yuewen didn't auction any calligraphy works, did it?"
Wei Jianguo paused, pondered for a long time, and said, "It really is true. Yuewen did not hold an auction. It was just a negotiation between the providers of the works. Even if it was a bidding process, it can't be called an auction. Yuewen did not provide an auctioneer, so it can't be called an auction at all. Hey, this kid is really cunning. He didn't even leave any loopholes in the price negotiation. He's not afraid of anyone suing him."
Wei Qing pointed at Wei Jianguo and shook his head, "You, as the principal of the Kyoto Academy of Fine Arts, are not as meticulous as Fang Yang. That kid probably thought of this from the beginning. The 1% commission can only maintain the operation of the platform's calligraphy and painting. Without profit, there is no illegal profit involved, and therefore no illegal auction. Think about it again, what is Fang Yang's purpose in doing this?"
Wei Jianguo pondered silently, wondering what Fang Yang's true intentions were. There's no such thing as a free lunch, and Wei Jianguo would never believe Fang Yang was doing things for free. So, was it for fame? It seemed Fang Yang's reputation in calligraphy and painting was already quite great; he wouldn't stoop to such self-serving pursuits.
Wei Jianguo's brows furrowed into a deep frown. It seemed unnecessary to try to expand the website's influence in calligraphy and painting. In terms of professional expertise, Yuewen Entertainment's calligraphy and painting section had already become the largest calligraphy and painting website in the industry in just one month, and its reputation had been established.
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