Although Young Zhou only dealt in ancient jade, because of his father, he had some understanding of the prices of paintings and calligraphy. Yet toward Uncle Wu, whose relationship with his family was extremely close, he had actually quoted a price of forty thousand. That showed just what kind of person he was.
Uncle Wu was not the only one who felt furious. Chu Chen was also enraged when he heard the price he had quoted. At first, he had felt somewhat guilty about taking advantage of the situation, but now he no longer cared in the slightest.
Upon hearing such a price, Uncle Wu had wanted to turn around and leave. But remembering that Young Zhou was ultimately his old friend's son—and that his character had always been like this—he patiently explained:
"Young Zhou, the pieces are indeed all genuine, but you also know that none of these three people is especially famous. Of the three works, only Zhang Jian's Stone Bamboo Painting is worth the most. Even so, fifteen thousand would already be a very high price on the market. As for the other two, I don't need to say much. At most, I can offer ten thousand for them. That's twenty-five thousand in total. What do you think?"
However, Uncle Wu's earnest explanation clearly had no effect on Young Zhou. With a bitter expression, he said:
"Uncle Wu, you know my family's situation too. We're practically unable to keep food on the table. How about this? I'll make a concession too. Give me thirty-three thousand. You've already offered twenty-five thousand, and the extra eight thousand isn't much. Don't you agree?"
At this, Uncle Wu was utterly disappointed. The price he could offer was already high by market standards. If it hadn't been for his old friend's sake, he could never have offered so much. Yet Young Zhou still wanted more. He was treating him like a complete sucker.
Seeing this, Uncle Wu had nothing more to say. He turned and left. "Forget it, Xiao Chen. Let's go home. There's nothing worth staying here for."
Young Zhou had not expected Uncle Wu to be so decisive, and he was stunned. As for Chu Chen, if he hadn't made that earlier discovery, he certainly wouldn't have stayed behind to curry favor with him. After following Uncle Wu for a few steps, he turned around and said expressionlessly:
"Mr. Zhou, I was also one of your father's longtime customers. He took good care of me in the past, so for these three works, I can offer at most thirty thousand. If you want to sell them, we can complete the transaction right now. If you still want to raise the price, then we have nothing more to discuss."
Although Young Zhou was still somewhat unwilling, after thinking it over, he realized that he could not possibly get this price from anyone else. He had no choice but to nod and agree. It had to be said that Young Zhou's thinking and behavior were probably inherited from Old Zhou. It was what people commonly called "taking advantage of acquaintances."
The difference was that Old Zhou still regarded friendship as something meaningful, while Young Zhou had become utterly heartless.
"Mr. Zhou, sorry for the trouble, but we still need to sign a sales agreement. Otherwise, you might accuse us later of stealing or robbing these things."
At the end, Chu Chen even jabbed at him. The man's behavior had truly disgusted him. However, his words clearly had no effect on Young Zhou, who still completed the transaction with a grin.
Uncle Wu seemed to have truly lost his temper. Even when Chu Chen had said he would buy all three works, he had not stayed behind. After Chu Chen finished the transaction and walked out of Old Zhou's house, Uncle Wu angrily confronted him at the entrance:
"Xiao Chen, why did you waste your money on this? You shouldn't indulge someone like that. Even if you paid a high price to buy the things, do you think he would be grateful to you?"
Seeing this, Chu Chen hurriedly consoled him. "Uncle Wu, please calm down. As you said, what is there to get angry about with someone like that? Besides, do you really think I'm stupid enough to let someone like him get what he wants?"
"Could there be some other mystery hidden inside the paintings?" Uncle Wu asked thoughtfully, furrowing his brow.
Chu Chen smiled mysteriously. "It's hard to explain here. Let's go back first, and then I'll tell you about it."
"All right. When we get back, if you can't explain it properly, don't blame me for being rude."
The two of them hurried back to Uncle Wu's house. Aunt Wu looked at them carrying six scrolls—three of which were the pieces they had bought earlier—and asked in surprise:
"Oh my, are you two planning to change careers? Why have you brought back so many paintings and calligraphy works?"
Chu Chen grinned and joked, "Didn't we successfully bid for the Olympics? In response to the nation's call, and to contribute some bricks and tiles to the development of our spiritual civilization, I've decided to dabble in painting and calligraphy and provide the masses with some spiritual nourishment."
"Oh my, our Xiao Chen certainly has a lofty outlook. He's already thinking about helping the nation solve its problems." After saying this with a laugh, Aunt Wu even gave him a thumbs-up.
Uncle Wu took a sip of tea and smiled. "Wife, don't listen to his nonsense. Just look at him. Does he look like someone with such lofty ideals?"
"Old Wu, you're just jealous. Look at how handsome our Xiao Chen is, how good-tempered and filial he is. Why couldn't he have lofty ideals? If you ask me, where could you find someone as wonderful as Xiao Chen? It's a pity Xiao Ke is still overseas, or I'd have her come and pursue you."
"Indeed, that makes sense." Hearing this, Uncle Wu also nodded repeatedly with a smile.
Seeing the two of them like this, Chu Chen nearly broke into a sweat. He hurriedly changed the subject. "Uncle Wu, what do you think about this painting?"
"Hmm. Take out the problematic painting and tell me exactly what mystery is hidden inside it." Seeing Chu Chen's expression, Old Wu and Aunt Wu exchanged knowing smiles and did not continue the topic. Aunt Wu went to prepare dinner.
Chu Chen took out Zhang Jian's Stone Bamboo Painting and began unfolding it as he said, "I think there's nothing wrong with the other two. It's this one—I think there's another mystery hidden inside. Uncle Wu, feel this paper. Doesn't it seem a little thick?"
Uncle Wu frowned and felt the paper, but he could not really sense anything. He rubbed it again and found that there did seem to be something there, though it was extremely faint. He frowned and said:
"Do you think this is a painting within a painting? The paper does feel a little thick, but the difference is barely noticeable. Unless the person who covered it up was an expert, isn't it too presumptuous to conclude that just from such a slight thickness?"
Chu Chen smiled and explained, "Of course not. I only noticed the difference after discovering a clue. Uncle Wu, look at this spot where the water has touched the paper."
Uncle Wu followed his instructions and looked over. At first, the spot seemed no different from the surrounding area. But when he leaned closer, he thought he could see a trace of ink. Looking more carefully, he realized that the ink seemed to be seeping out from inside the paper. The discovery immediately excited him.
If they had not both been mistaken, there was very likely another work hidden inside this painting. Moreover, someone had actually used an authentic work by Zhang Jian to conceal it. The work being concealed had to be even more valuable.
Uncle Wu said excitedly, "Not bad, Xiao Chen. Your eyesight really is incredible. You managed to spot that tiny bit of color!"
When he saw Chu Chen about to be modest again, he waved him off. "All right, stop being modest. The important thing now is to uncover the painting. Unfortunately, your Uncle Wu doesn't have the skill. It looks like we'll have to trouble Old Liu tomorrow. Old Liu studied under a master of the Beijing school of mounting for quite some time, and his mounting skills are at a master level."
Hearing this, Chu Chen hesitated. "Uncle Wu, we only went to Old Liu's place today. If we go again tomorrow, will Old Liu be unhappy?"
Uncle Wu looked both amused and exasperated. "Do you think Old Liu is that narrow-minded? Besides, we're not going there just to chat. For something like this, Old Liu would probably wish you went to see him every day."
"I'd like to visit Old Liu every day too, but something like what happened today won't happen every day. I can't be blessed with good luck every single day." Chu Chen laughed.
"What happened? Why are you two so happy?" Aunt Wu came out of the kitchen. Seeing how pleased they looked, she grew curious as well.
After Uncle Wu briefly explained the situation, Aunt Wu happily said, "Xiao Chen is going to make a fortune again! Whichever woman marries you in the future won't have to worry about food or clothing. Ah, if only it were my Xiao Ke—then she'd be blessed!"
Hearing this, Chu Chen grew awkward again. We're both only twenty-one, all right? Are you really in such a hurry?
Fortunately, Grandma Wu came out and came to his rescue. "All right, stop teasing Xiao Chen. Get ready for dinner."
The next day, Chu Chen rose early. He thoroughly practiced his boxing routine several times. After not practicing the entire previous day, his bones had felt itchy.
Since his supernatural ability had leveled up, this was the first time he had practiced so freely and vigorously. At the same time, he could feel that, under the influence of his ability, his progress in boxing had become increasingly obvious. He could almost feel himself improving every day. At this rate, he might be able to break through to the Major Heavenly Cycle in less than a year.
However, Chu Chen was not particularly concerned about that. When he had first learned boxing, he had done so with the intention of strengthening his body, and that intention had not changed.
Moreover, the state of Tai Chi emphasized naturalness. Deliberate effort was the greatest taboo when seeking a breakthrough. Thus, even though he possessed a supernatural ability, he still followed the principle of letting nature take its course and did not try to forcefully change anything.
Now that he knew Old Liu's habits, Chu Chen no longer waited for Uncle Wu to call and urge him. After finishing all his morning tasks, he headed to Uncle Wu's house shortly after seven.
On the way, Chu Chen unexpectedly received a call from Zhou Wenping. There was nothing particularly important. Zhou Wenping merely asked whether he had anything urgent to do the day after tomorrow. If not, he planned to book train tickets to Xijing for the following day.
Chu Chen had no urgent matters, so he readily agreed. He also learned from Zhou Wenping that Li Guodong would be bringing his girlfriend along. His girlfriend would be bringing one of her classmates as well. Apparently, her classmate was especially beautiful, and Zhou Wenping jokingly told him to seize the opportunity.
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