As soon as the irritable middle-aged man finished speaking, the room fell silent, leaving only the monkey's voice: "This is impossible! This is absolutely impossible! Young Master Duan has never been wrong since he debuted, and he has never made a mistake in the field of antique appraisal!"
"Shut up!"
Su Jialiang's smile was still frozen when a rebuke interrupted the monkey, and his face turned gloomy: "You keep saying that my people made a mistake in judgment, but you can't just rely on empty words. You have to produce evidence."
"Nonsense, since it's just a verbal battle, how can I convince you without providing solid evidence?"
The grumpy middle-aged man, a victorious smile on his face, snapped his fingers behind him: "Show them the receipts."
Cola opened the travel bag behind him, took out a palm-sized roll of paper, walked to the table, and unrolled it along the scroll.
The length and paper quality match perfectly. There is only one line of text on this scroll: Shrimp Playing Picture, Ku Chan.
Below the two characters "苦禅" (Ku Chan), there is also a seal engraved with the two characters "苦禅".
Upon seeing the contents of this scroll, I stood frozen in place, as if struck by lightning.
This is a painting by Li Kuchan!
Li Kuchan, originally named Li Yingjie, was born in 1899. He was also a master of Chinese painting, having studied under Xu Beihong, Qi Baishi, and other masters. He was also a classmate of the founding father of the People's Republic of China. He served as a professor at Hangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, a professor at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, a director of the China Artists Association, and a member of the board of directors of the Chinese Painting Research Institute. He passed away in 1983 due to heart disease.
Imitations of calligraphy and paintings have been circulating in my country for a long time. There are imitations from the same era as well as forgeries made by later generations imitating ancient masters. For example, imitations of Shen Zhou and Qiu Ying in the Ming Dynasty, Zheng Banqiao and Wang Shigu in the Qing Dynasty, and Wu Changshuo and Qi Baishi in modern times appeared during their lifetimes. The imitations were so good that it was difficult to distinguish the original from the fake when they were passed down to later generations. With the addition of the passage of time, they became even more seamless.
Qi Baishi had many disciples, as well as sons and daughters. These people studied painting under him for a long time, and many of them were very talented. Their imitations were so good that they were almost indistinguishable from the originals. These imitations were called "insider fakes." Qi Baishi even personally inscribed and stamped some of the imitations, making it even more difficult to distinguish between the real and the fake.
No wonder I didn't notice anything amiss with this painting; it wasn't a forgery at all, but a copy made by Li Kuchan, one of Qi Baishi's most accomplished students.
Li Kuchan became a student of Qi Baishi in 1923 and studied his art for decades. With his painting skills and deliberate imitation, it was difficult for anyone to spot the problem.
Seeing me standing there in a daze, Uncle Gen said to Su Jialiang in a teasing tone, "There are many talented people among the younger generation, but they are often lacking in experience. You have to experience life to know its true flavor. Ah Liang, now that the two sides have won, we should talk about serious matters."
"slow!"
Seeing Uncle Gen speak, I interrupted him, somewhat angrily: "This round of yours is not a competition at all, but cheating! At the very beginning of the competition, you showed me this painting and even deliberately made a fake signature to mislead me! You were clearly trying to lure me into a trap. This is not a painting by Qi Baishi, nor is it a fake. You are using a genuine work to argue, which is completely against the rules!"
"In the antique business, it's three parts expertise and seven parts deception; it's always been that way. We've never said this painting was by Qi Baishi; it's just that you're not skilled enough!"
The hot-tempered middle-aged man looked at me coldly: "You just pointed out that this painting is an authentic work by Mr. Qi Baishi, only the seal is problematic. Why are you now turning around and blaming us? Losing is losing, why make these excuses? In the antique trade, is being cheated something worth publicizing?"
"you……"
I pointed at the irritable middle-aged man, my arm trembling with anger.
I originally thought that since these guys were the top counterfeiting gang in the south, they should have some sense of propriety and a bottom line in their actions. I didn't expect them to use such a scoundrel-like way to argue with me.
It was only then that I realized that no matter how big their business was, they were just a bunch of counterfeiters. The saying "dog meat should not be served at a banquet" refers to people like them.
Although they won this round by cheating, I was indeed misled in my thinking.
If we're really going to be serious, I have indeed lost.
Uncle Gen saw that I was so angry that I couldn't speak. His brows were full of mockery. He blew on the tea leaves floating in his cup and said indifferently, "Ah Liang, we are all people of the martial world. I don't think you can't accept defeat and will refuse to admit it, right?"
I thought Su Jialiang would be furious after losing this round, but to my surprise, he looked completely indifferent: "Uncle Gen, to be honest, I really don't want to admit defeat in this round, haha."
"Hey Liang, do you think we're here to play house with you?"
The hot-tempered middle-aged man slammed his fist on the table: "You're standing in front of the patriarch's portrait, yet you don't abide by the rules of the martial arts world. Do you still want to make a living?"
"You bastard! Who are you yelling at?"
Su Jiaming was the first to stand up: "You're allowed to be shameless, so why should we have to follow the rules? If you dare threaten me again, I'll make sure you leave Luoyang headfirst!"
Uncle Gen seemed not to hear Su Jiaming's shouts and said calmly, "Ah Liang, a lose-lose situation, is that really the result you want?"
Su Jialiang took out a cigar from his pocket and lit it with practiced ease: "Uncle Gen, we are both businessmen. What we all want is stability and to make money peacefully. But the reason we don't agree to cooperate today is not my idea, but rather that other shareholders disagree."
Just when I thought Su Jialiang was going to use Qinghuai's name to stir up trouble, he unexpectedly said something surprising: "To be honest, there is another shareholder in our business. He is not present because of personal matters. If I agree to your conditions, he will probably be very unhappy."
The hot-tempered middle-aged man glared and shouted, "We all follow the rules of the underworld. If you lose, you have to accept it! If he's unhappy, I'm unhappy too!"
"Don't be so definitive. First, you need to know who this shareholder is."
Su Jialiang exhaled a puff of smoke and stared at Uncle Gen through the smoke: "Our shareholder who is not present is known in the underworld as the Wind Beast, Duan Jinyan."
Upon hearing this name, Uncle Gen's pupils suddenly contracted, and a hint of surprise appeared on his usually calm face.
Not to mention Uncle Gen was stunned, even I was taken aback for a moment.
Su Jialiang previously told me that he and Duan Jinyan were just business partners, but now he says that Duan Jinyan is his boss.
Could it be that the ten percent share he gave me was also Duan Jinyan's idea?
Before I could verify, Su Jialiang pointed at me and said, "I forgot to introduce you. This young man is called Duan Shenxing. He is the successor of the Fengtian Ghost Eye Judge and the biological son of Duan Jinyan. He is here today on behalf of Duan Jinyan. You have all witnessed his abilities, so you don't think I'm bragging, right?"
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