Huang Xianzheng turned to Madam Huang and said, "Go and prepare first, Zhiheng and I have something to say!"
Madam Huang nodded, then smiled and said to Ning Zhiheng, "Zhiheng, you two talk, I'll go and make a few more good dishes to thank you!"
Ning Zhiheng quickly nodded in agreement, but Huang Xianzheng understood the implication. Looking at the jewelry box in Madam Huang's hand, he knew it must be a gift from Ning Zhiheng. Judging from Madam Huang's tone, it must be quite to his liking.
Without saying much, he gestured for Ning Zhiheng to go to the study to discuss the matter. Ning Zhiheng picked up his suitcase and followed Huang Xianzheng into the study.
The two sat down, and Ning Zhiheng quickly took the suitcase, took out a long, rectangular box, took out a short scroll painting, and carefully handed it to Huang Xianzheng.
"Sir, I've collected quite a few antiques in Shanghai, but they're really inconvenient to carry around, so I chose this one. I'll find a way to bring the rest back later; they're all good things, I'm sure you'll like them!"
Huang Xianzheng's eyes lit up. He knew that Ning Zhiheng had a keen eye, and any exquisite item that Ning Zhiheng could select must be a rare treasure.
He hurriedly and carefully took the scroll, placed it on the table, and gently unfurled it. He was immediately shocked when he saw the money on it.
"Shen Zhou's 'Yuan Chun Celebrating Birthday' painting!" Huang Xianzheng exclaimed in a low voice.
Shen Zhou, courtesy name Qinan, was a master painter of the Ming Dynasty, the founder of the Wu School of painting, and the head of the Four Masters of Wu School. He was known as one of the "Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty" along with Wen Zhengming, Tang Yin, and Qiu Ying. Among all the painters of the Ming Dynasty, Shen Zhou held a particularly important position. He was also Wen Zhengming's teacher. Throughout his life, he was indifferent to fame and fortune and revered his teachers. His painting style was unique. It is said that he was especially good at painting birthday celebration paintings. Many officials at the time would ask him to paint birthday celebration paintings, which even became a trend at the time. He was extremely famous, but unfortunately, very few of his works have survived to this day. Unexpectedly, Ning Zhiheng actually collected one, which greatly surprised Huang Xianzheng.
Huang Xianzheng has collected a great many antiques and cultural relics, but most of them are artifacts. His weakness lies in calligraphy and painting. This is mainly because these kinds of cultural relics are in the hands of scholarly families and officials who have passed them down through generations. They are treasures passed down through generations and would never be sold unless there is a major change in the family.
These precious calligraphy and painting artifacts are not as easy to circulate as ordinary gold, silver and jade antiques. Very few people truly know their value; they are all renowned collectors. Therefore, collecting calligraphy and painting antiques is very difficult, let alone collecting masterpieces of the level of the Four Masters of the Ming Dynasty.
This time, Ning Zhiheng was indeed telling the truth. He had previously sent people to Shanghai to collect such cultural relics. In recent years, due to frequent wars, the value of cultural relics and antiques across the country has plummeted. However, Shanghai, due to its convenient trade and developed commerce, is the economic center of the country and has gathered the most wealthy merchants in the country, including many who love collecting cultural relics. Therefore, the value of cultural relics has remained at a relatively high level. Driven by profit, antique dealers from all over the country have been transporting their antiques to Shanghai, making it a gathering place for all kinds of cultural relics.
Ning Zhiheng knew that Huang Xianzheng loved collecting, so he often made purchases. With ample funds and a keen eye, he quickly amassed a large collection of fine works, including Shen Zhou's "Yuan Chun Celebrating Birthday" painting!
Upon seeing such a fine piece, Huang Xianzheng immediately forgot everything else and focused on appreciating it, nodding repeatedly. He even took a magnifying glass to examine it closely.
Ning Zhiheng knew Huang Xianzheng's habits, so he sat quietly to the side and waited until Huang Xianzheng put down the magnifying glass in his hand, his face full of joy and satisfaction.
"Zhiheng, you have a good eye. You can find such a good thing. Tell me, how did you find it?" Huang Xianzheng asked with a smile, but he didn't raise his head and his gaze remained on the painting.
Ning Zhiheng said with a smile, "Shanghai is not only the economic center of the country, but also the cultural center. Now, cultural relics from all over the country are being transported to Shanghai by antique dealers. The volume of transactions is huge, and there are quite a few fine pieces like these. So as long as you put in the effort and money, you can still find such good things. Director, Shanghai is a treasure trove!"
Huang Xianzheng was admiring the painting when he heard Ning Zhiheng's words. He immediately frowned. He could understand the meaning behind Ning Zhiheng's words. This time, he urged Ning Zhiheng to return to Wuhan so that he could have a detailed discussion with him and persuade Ning Zhiheng to return to headquarters as the head of the action department, in order to consolidate the position of the Baoding faction in the military intelligence investigation department.
Huang Xianzheng carefully put the scroll away and placed it in the painting box. Then he looked at Ning Zhiheng and said softly, "I have been urging you to return to headquarters to report for duty as soon as possible, but you have been delaying and only returned now. Are you a little unwilling? You have gotten used to being a local warlord, holding great power and wielding authority. You are no longer willing to come back and sit in an office with your head bowed."
Ning Zhiheng quickly explained, "Chief, you misunderstand. My business in Shanghai wasn't finished. After receiving your telegram, I planned to return as soon as possible. However, I didn't expect that Cui Guangqi would recognize me by chance. I had to take emergency measures and eliminate him. But due to the haste, many loopholes were left. Naturally, I had to keep a close eye on the finishing work of this matter and observe the development of the situation. Only after confirming that there were no problems did I dare to get up and come back. It's definitely not an excuse to delay!"
These words are absolutely true. Ning Zhiheng did not want to wait until now to return. He also wanted to resolve this thorny matter as soon as possible. After all, a major battle was about to begin, and the later he returned, the more dangerous the journey would be. As a result, he was delayed until now because of Cui Guangqi's matter.
“You didn’t explain clearly in the telegram how Cui Guangqi recognized you. Tell me the details.”
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