Chapter 58 Third Brother's Gallery Opens
A few days later, Lou Hongjian's gallery opened on time.
That morning, he unusually didn't sleep in. He got up before dawn and first dug his sister out of his brother's bed.
Mao Mao was so sleepy that she could barely open her eyes. Her little head drooped, and her little hands, which seemed boneless, were grabbed and groped around haphazardly.
Lou Hongjian muttered to himself, "May Mao Mao bless me so that my business opening today won't be too dismal, and let me share in some of the good fortune."
Lou Yansui was also woken up and, unable to bear it any longer, poked his head out from under the covers: "Third Brother, what time is it?"
Lou Hongjian then reached over and ruffled his hair haphazardly, muttering, "Ah Sui, please bless me, Ah Sui, please bless me."
Lou Yansui: "..."
He was hampered by his limited mobility and had no time to resist, so he could only watch helplessly as his brother's ghost-like figure departed.
Without any support, Mao Mao's body swayed to the side and she fell back onto the bed with a thud, sticking her butt out and falling fast asleep.
When the rest of the Lou family woke up, Lou Hongjian and his car were nowhere to be found in the house.
Today is the opening day of his gallery, and everyone has made time to support him.
Lou Hongjian's gallery is located on a quiet street next to the French Concession. Today, the area is bustling with cars and people. In addition to sending out invitations widely, the gallery's opening advertisement has been published in the newspapers for several days, attracting many people to come and see it.
When everyone arrived, there were already quite a few customers in the gallery.
Mao Mao was led inside by her mother, looking around. Among them were some blond, blue-eyed foreigners who stood in front of the paintings, admiring them and occasionally turning to their companions to exchange comments. Their appearance was quite unique; some had golden hair, and Mao Mao stared at them in amazement many times.
“Mao Mao, Big Brother… Dad!” Lou Hongjian strode out and stopped in front of everyone: “A Sui, even you have come.”
“Today is the opening of your gallery, of course I wouldn’t miss it.” Lou Yansui said, his eyes dark. “It would have been even better if you hadn’t woken me up before dawn.”
Lou Hongjian smiled guiltily.
He was meticulously groomed, wearing a newly tailored suit, with his hair styled and eyebrows done, and a stack of brand-new business cards in his pocket. However, anyone who knew him could tell that he was extremely nervous.
Unlike his two reliable elder brothers, this gallery was the second time Lou Hongjian had considered doing something serious.
The last time he had this idea, he almost got scammed out of 300,000 yuan.
Another defeat this time would undoubtedly be a huge blow to confidence.
"Ah Hong, how many paintings have you sold today?"
"If we only count myself," Lou Hongjian said with a wry smile, "then there isn't a single one."
Lou Heming comforted him, "It's still early, and I don't think all the guests have arrived yet."
"I hope so."
Just then, another guest arrived with an invitation, and Lou Hongjian temporarily left his family behind to greet them.
Mao Mao was led by her mother and followed behind her family members, admiring each painting as they went.
The mother and daughter couldn't understand it at all, they could only tell whether it was good or bad, but the eldest wife and others could see it clearly, and the old lady of the house could also list the calligraphers and painters on the wall.
Most of the paintings on the wall still had price tags on the lower right corner. Xia Xiaoxiang looked at the numbers and humbly asked, "Why is this one so expensive?"
The third concubine rolled her eyes at her: "This Mr. Deng is a master of calligraphy and painting. A newspaper once asked him to write the masthead, and he charged a thousand yuan per character. He's very famous."
"A thousand yuan? For a single word?!" Xia Xiaoxiang gasped.
She then pointed to a painting next to her: "What about this one? I think it's much worse, but it's very expensive, and it's by a famous painter?"
"Oh, this one. This author wasn't very famous during his lifetime."
"Before he died?"
"After he died, his fame soared, and his paintings appreciated significantly, becoming extremely valuable now," said the second wife. "My father had one of his paintings in his collection, and it has increased in value several times over in the past few years."
The mother and daughter listened with a vague understanding, unable to discern anything particularly special, and simply nodded along.
When most of the guests had arrived, Lou Hongjian pulled out a microphone from somewhere, and his voice carried to every corner of the gallery, attracting everyone's attention.
"Thank you all for taking the time to attend the gallery's opening ceremony today. The gallery hosts art exhibitions and sales, and we welcome you to select your favorite works. In addition, we have also prepared an auction today."
Gallery staff carried a beautifully framed painting.
Lou Hongjian cleared his throat and announced, "All proceeds from today's auction will be donated to charity, specifically to the Haicheng Orphanage. I would like to express my gratitude in advance for everyone's kindness and contributions to this charitable cause."
As soon as he finished speaking, thunderous applause erupted in the gallery, lasting for a long time.
Lou Fengju clapped for his younger brother while turning his head to ask, "Orphanage?"
“It might have been Ah Sui’s story that inspired him. A few days ago, he even accompanied his mother to the orphanage,” Lou Heming replied. “His eyes were red when he got home.”
The world is in chaos, with wars raging everywhere. The orphanage in Haicheng has taken in many homeless children, but begging can still be seen everywhere on the streets.
Soon, the first painting went up for auction.
With the charitable aspect in mind, the guests present were very supportive. Those invited were all prominent figures in Haicheng, and they gave Lou Dashuai a lot of face, each contributing generously and driving up the price of the paintings.
Lou Heming also took out his checkbook and bought a painting to support the project, intending to hang it in his office later.
Mr. Zhang also received an invitation today and came to pay a hefty price for a painting. He was then invited to go on stage and say a few words. After coming down, he went straight to General Lou's side.
"The Third Young Master is young and promising, and also kind-hearted. He has even opened such a large art gallery." Zhang's father greeted him with a smile: "The young masters of the Lou family are all outstanding individuals. Commander, like father, like son!"
Lou Dashuai, beaming, said cheerfully, "President Zhang, you're too kind. You've come to support my son today. I heard you're planning to hand over your business to your daughter?"
Zhang Jingshu was the second child, with an older brother. It was quite unusual for her to bypass her eldest son and hand over the business to her second daughter.
Mr. Zhang said, “Sigh, I sent Jing Shu abroad to study, but I didn’t know she secretly enrolled in an economics degree. She wanted to make a bet with me that I would hand over a company to her to manage. As it turned out, she did a better job than her older brother, and the profits increased several times over.”
Lou Dashuai: "Your daughter has surpassed her mother, Chairman Zhang, what else is there to be dissatisfied with?"
Mr. Zhang shook his head helplessly and sighed.
She was willing to accept the consequences of her bet, but after Zhang Jingshu took over part of the business, many people in her family were dissatisfied.
Zhang Jingshu also came today, accompanied by her younger brother.
At this moment, the painting auction is about to come to an end, and she is raising her paddle below the stage to buy the last painting.
The last one was Lou Hongjian's painting. Holding up the sign, she immediately asked for five hundred silver dollars.
For an unknown painter, even if it's just because of the Lou family's reputation, a starting price of five hundred silver dollars is still an astronomical price.
She immediately mentioned a huge sum of money, which drew many stares. Lou Hongjian on the stage looked over with a surprised expression, as if he was worried that something had gone wrong with her mind.
Zhang Jingshu was resentful, thinking: Who told her to agree to Mao Mao's request?
Otherwise, no matter how well Lou Hongjian painted, she would never spend a single copper coin to buy a painting by someone she disliked and bring it back to be an eyesore.
but……
Across the crowd, from a distance, Zhang Jingshu felt a bright gaze fall upon her.
Without turning around, she knew that the owner of that gaze must be a chubby-cheeked, short, and round-eyed three-year-old girl who was looking up at her with adoration, and that admiration was growing stronger.
This money was well spent!
Zhang Jingshu firmly raised her paddle and continued bidding with the other person: "Six hundred!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another person in the crowd raised his hand and shouted, "Ten thousand!"
The price was raised by more than nine thousand yuan at once!
The crowd erupted in uproar.
Even Zhang Jingshu, who was originally participating in the auction, withdrew her hand.
Ten thousand silver dollars! Unless it's a masterpiece by an ancient master, even among today's top calligraphers and painters, very few can command such a price!
Outside the crowd of onlookers, the cameras of newspaper reporters flashed incessantly.
Who is so generous?
The crowd looked in the direction of the voice and saw a middle-aged man in a black robe standing at the back of the crowd. He was the one who had raised the price earlier.
Lou Dashuai's gaze sharpened: "Nie Zhengyun? How could it be him?"
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