Zolf Henry couldn't help but be moved when he heard this. He was very clear about the current situation of his former employer. If Fang Lang could invest in purchasing the antiques in his hands at this time, it would indeed provide him with great help.
So, after thinking about it, he agreed directly:
"No problem. I'll send him a telegram right away to see if he's still interested in selling his collection."
Fang Lang nodded with satisfaction and said to Zolph Henry:
"Don't worry, take me to have a good tour of my manor first."
As he spoke, he quietly put down the Qing Kangxi blue and white underglaze red plum vase in his hand. Seeing this action, Zolph Henry was very sure that his new boss was definitely a true Chinese antique lover.
This made him feel close to him. After all, it is very rare to find someone who shares a common hobby with you.
After Fang Lang finished looking at another matching plum vase, Zolph Henry slowly walked up to Fang Lang and said:
"Sir, in addition to this pair of plum vases, this manor also has many Chinese porcelains, all of which are rare and exquisite. If you like, I can take you to see them one by one!"
...
...
Fang Lang looked up at Zorf Henry in surprise before hesitating and saying:
"You mean, these rare fine porcelains are treated as decorations and placed randomly in the manor?"
"Of course, these works of art are meant to be used for decoration!"
Zolph Henry looked at Fang Lang as if it was a matter of course.
This made Fang Lang feel like a country bumpkin. In his mind, these precious porcelains should be treated as works of art, stored in the treasure room and taken out to be played with when he had time.
Fang Lang was deeply shocked by the behavior of such a tycoon who displayed authentic items for decoration without any care.
This also made Fang Lang quickly confirm that the original owner of this manor must be a wealthy man. Otherwise, how many people would really display these antiques directly!
If it falls or gets bumped, the loss will be huge.
However, Zolf Henry's words also made Fang Lang understand that perhaps this was the kind of pomp and ceremony that a noble family with a profound heritage should have!
Thinking of this, Fang Lang restrained himself from blurting out the Chinese quintessence and said with a look of approval:
"Yes, what you said makes sense. These things are just decorations. Let's take a look at them while we're at them. Now that you put it like that, I'm really looking forward to it."
Knowing what his new boss likes, Zolph Henry's job became much easier. He bent slightly and made a gesture of invitation very naturally.
He began to lead the way. Seeing this, Fang Lang nodded and followed behind his new butler.
But after taking two steps, Fang Lang seemed to suddenly remember something and pointed at the painting on the wall and said:
"These oil paintings are all works of those painters! Do they have a certain collection value?"
Zolf Henry originally thought that Fang Lang was only interested in Chinese antiques, and was about to take him directly to visit places where Chinese antiques were sold. Unexpectedly, the other party suddenly pointed at several oil paintings on the wall and showed interest.
Fortunately, he had been living in this manor and was very familiar with every tree and blade of grass here. After hearing Fang Lang's question, he looked up at the painting that Fang Lang was pointing to.
Of course, he introduced casually:
"Sir, most of the paintings in the manor come from a French friend of my former employer. The one you are looking at now is called Water Lilies, and it is one of a series of works.
We have ten works from the Water Lilies series in our collection, but we haven’t calculated their exact value.”
Fang Lang was shocked when he heard this, and his heart immediately became hot. He had originally felt that the oil painting looked familiar, so he stopped and asked about the painting.
After hearing the name of this painting, Fang Lang's eyes lit up and he was a little bit unbelievable.
"You said this work is called Water Lilies. What's the name of the painter?"
Zolph Henry only hesitated for a moment after hearing this and then spoke directly:
“Oscar-Claude Monet, yes, that’s the name. According to my former employer, this painter is so famous in France that the Louvre Museum broke its tradition of not exhibiting works by living artists for him.
The former owner of the manor was a very good friend of Oscar-Claude Monet. He had collected many of Monet's works before he became famous, and he took many of them with him when he moved back to France this time."
Fang Lang was not a fan of Western oil paintings, but he had heard of Monet and "Water Lilies", although he was not sure whether this was the painter he knew in later generations.
But from Zolph Henry's description, Fang Lang was almost 90% sure that this was the person in his mind. If this was true, then Fang Lang was sure that the manor he entrusted Olivia Berg to buy this time was definitely a treasure.
Maybe the value of just two paintings here is worth the value of the entire manor.
He didn't know when the painter named Monet died, or how old the original owner of the manor was, but from the white hair on the housekeeper's head, Fang Lang knew that the painter must be quite old.
Now that I know that this painter and I lived in the same era, it would seem a bit of a waste if I didn't try to make some money from him!
"Then do you know where this painter named Monet is now?
If I want to ask him to paint a few works for me, or buy a few works from him, I wonder if I can ask your former employer to help facilitate it?"
Hearing Fang Lang's words, Zorf Henry smiled awkwardly and said:
“Sir, this Mr. Monet has been dead for 20 years. He certainly can’t continue to paint for you, but if you want to buy his works, there is still a good chance.
As far as I know, the current art market is at a low point, and those paintings that were not confiscated by the Nazis were exchanged for daily necessities by collectors who were lucky enough to survive.
If you have enough money now, you can find some good things in the market at a relatively low price. "
Fang Lang was overjoyed when he heard this. Why hadn't he thought of this before?
As Zolfo Henry said, after the First World War, many wealthy families were forced back to their pre-liberation state, and many people had to sell some of their high-value artworks to make a living.
It is indeed the most cost-effective time to purchase these things from the market. Once the European economic aid plan goes smoothly, the European economy will recover rapidly.
By then, there will be more and more wealthy people, and there will be no chance to buy artworks from the market at low prices.
After figuring this out, Fang Lang came up with a plan in mind. It seemed that he had to hire a few professionals to help him slowly acquire some artworks with collection value from the market.
When the economy recovers in the later stage and people have money to collect art, they can slowly cash it out or exhibit it.
At the same time, through these acquisitions, the artworks brought back from Germany can also be laundered, or, at that time, an art museum can be established.
Put all the things together for display. As for which ones were acquired by themselves and which ones were Nazi treasures, who can tell for sure?
Thinking of this, Fang Lang nodded vigorously and said to Zolph Henry:
"Your reminder is very timely. This is indeed a good time to invest in the art market. I think the works of this painter named Monet are very worth investing in.
How about this! Since you want to buy Chinese antiques from your former employer, why not ask him if he is interested in selling other artworks?
If he wants, I can buy them all in one package so he doesn’t have to sell them piece by piece.”
Obviously, Fang Lang wanted to take advantage of the previous owner of the manor first and take all the good things in his hands into his own hands.
Zolph Henry certainly had no objection to the request of his new boss Fang Lang. He would not miss this opportunity to help his former master solve his difficulties and gain the favor of his new boss.
So, he said without hesitation:
"Boss, don't worry! I will find time to contact the other party today. I think the other party will be very happy to meet a big buyer like you."
Fang Lang just smiled at Zorf Henry's compliment and continued indifferently:
"Do you know about the current art market in Europe and America? Do you know who else's works are worth collecting besides Mr. Monet?"
As a British butler, he has a wealth of knowledge in his head, although he is not a professional art collector, nor a senior butler working for aristocrats.
But as a professional butler who has received traditional British butler training, he will not lack basic understanding of this industry.
So, when he heard his new boss asking about the art market, he said without hesitation:
"Of course, sir! As far as I know, the most active artist in the market right now is a Spanish painter named Pablo Picasso. If you want to customize a work from an artist, I think this gentleman is a good choice.
You should know that he is regarded by many as the main representative of modernist painting and is very famous. However, he is now in his prime and has many works, so his future value is still uncertain.
You need to be cautious when collecting his works, but I personally recommend collecting them. At least I personally like his works very much.”
In Fang Lang's impression, Pablo should be the world's largest drug lord. But the last name at the end made Fang Lang's scalp explode, as if he was electrocuted, and he instantly became alert.
The surname Picasso is really well-known. Although Fang Lang did not get involved in the art circle in his later life, he is very familiar with this name. Although Fang Lang cannot understand or cannot appreciate the other party's works, he is very clear about the value of this painter's works.
Now hearing Zolph Henry tell him that this guy was in his prime, Fang Lang's first thought was to send someone to capture him, doing nothing every day but drawing for himself.
By then, even if his descendants are not very capable, as long as he gives each of them a Picasso's work as a legacy, he can ensure that they will have enough food and clothing.
As for the fact that there were many Picasso works mentioned by Zolf Henry, and their collection value could not be determined, Fang Lang just smiled. As a person of later generations, he knew too well the value of this gentleman's works.
Now that he had the chance to take possession of the other party's work, how could he miss it?
So, he said without hesitation:
“Since you suggest collecting it and you like his works, what else can I say?
Buy, buy as much as you can, as long as it is his work, buy it all back to me. I can provide you with enough funds. As long as it is the work of Pablo Picasso, no matter what type it is, I will purchase it.
Don't hesitate, I don't care how much he is worth now, we'll bet that his works will appreciate in value after he passes away."
Fang Lang's words made Zolph Henry a little bit unbelievable. He never thought that Fang Lang would buy a large amount without hesitation just because he thought it had collection value.
This feeling of being given such great trust by someone just when they met for the first time really moved him so much that he even felt like dying for his friend.
This was something he had never felt from his previous employer.
However, although he likes Picasso's works very much and thinks his works are very collectible, investment is risky after all. If the new boss really invests a lot of money in Picasso because he trusts him, and then loses money, he will be too embarrassed to face people.
So he had to be careful:
"Boss, this is just my personal feeling and suggestion. If you want to invest on a large scale, I think it would be better to ask more professionals to evaluate it before making a decision!"
Fang Lang was stunned by these words, but he reacted quickly. Obviously, Zolf Henry was worried that his investment would fail, but he knew very well in his heart that how could an investment in Picasso's works fail?
It was impossible to lose money. Of course, he couldn't tell the other party directly. After thinking for a while, Fang Lang said decisively:
“Don’t worry! I didn’t decide to invest in Picasso’s works because of what you said. In fact, I saw his works a few years ago. I have to say that he is a great artist.
But I had not thought of investing in art before. It was not until I saw Mr. Monet's works in the manor today that I realized that art collection is a very valuable investment.
So, I decided to invest all my money in Picasso, and you have to find a way to buy as many of his works as possible on the market.
Once we have enough of his works, we can start to hype them up. Regardless of whether others recognize his works or not, we can make him the greatest artist of this century and make his works appreciate rapidly in value.
This way, the works we have in our hands will become priceless!"
After hearing what Fang Lang said, Zolf Henry quickly realized that Fang Lang didn't care about the artistic quality of Picasso's works. He regarded this as an investment.
Since it is an investment, of course he must have enough chips in his hands. After a series of hype, no matter what Picasso's works are like, he will be able to make enough profit from this business.
He looked at Fang Lang with some surprise. He thought he was a standard soldier, but now Fang Lang obviously broke his perception. With such a business mind, it was no wonder that he could make a fortune in such a short time.
In this case, he no longer hesitated and nodded seriously to Fang Lang:
"Sir, I understand your plan.
Please leave it to me with confidence! I will definitely collect all the Picasso works on the market into your treasure room at the lowest price. "
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