Chapter 41: Yan Zhenqing’s Authentic Works

Ye Bufan ignored him and directly took down the two scrolls next to him.

"Young man, have you watched too many Xuanhuan novels? Do you think the wood of these scrolls would be agarwood or something similar?

Let me tell you, don't be delusional. I've already checked, and this is just ordinary wooden Materials. The two together aren't even worth a few dozen yuan."

Ye Bufan still ignored the chattering Bai Laoshu. He picked up the scroll on the left and pulled the wooden axis out.

Seeing his actions, even Yang Ziqian frowned. It was clear this Young man wanted to find something in the scroll, but it was just ordinary wood, so what could there be?

But at this moment, something astonishing happened.

Ye Bufan raised his hand and gently tapped the wooden axis. The seemingly solid piece of wood split into two with a snap from the middle, revealing a hollowed-out center and a perfectly rolled painting.

"Oh my god, there really is something hidden inside this scroll!"

"The craftsmanship is too exquisite! It looked like a complete piece of wood, but I never expected it to be hollow inside."

"How did this Young man figure it out? Does he have x-ray vision? How did he know there was something hidden inside the scroll…"

"That's not important. The key is to see what that painting is. If it's still a fake, finding it is useless…"

Amidst the numerous discussions, everyone's gaze was fixed on the scroll in Ye Bufan's hand.

Yang Ziqian's eyes lit up as he said, "Young man, quickly open it and take a look."

He already sensed that a calligraphy or painting hidden so securely must be an extraordinary item.

Ye Bufan gently untied the ribbon on the scroll and slowly unrolled it.

Everyone's eyes were fixed on this calligraphy and painting, and they found that it still contained the famous quote from Zhuge Kongming's "Admonitions to My Son": "Live simply to express your aspirations; live tranquilly to achieve far-reaching goals."

In the bottom right corner of the calligraphy and painting were written "Qingchen Family Precepts," followed by Yan Zhenqing's seal.

In terms of content, this painting was identical to the one that had just been torn, but the characters on it were completely different.

The characters on this calligraphy and painting had a square and compact structure, with light horizontal strokes and heavy vertical strokes, and a robust, upright, expansive, and powerful brushwork.

Yang Ziqian stood nearby, originally appearing calm and composed, but when he clearly saw the handwriting on this painting—

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—he immediately changed like a different person, stepping forward and excitedly saying, "An original! This is actually an original work by Yan Zhenqing! It's truly rare!"

Bai Laoshu was completely stunned, never having imagined that this painting actually contained an original work by Yan Zhenqing.

Generally speaking, when he got a scroll, he would carefully inspect it, checking for hidden layers or hollow wooden axes, fearing he might miss a treasure.

But he never expected that the wood of this scroll was actually hollow.

At this point, a bystander asked, "Great Master Yang, how much is this painting worth?"

After staring at the calligraphy for a long time, Yang Ziqian reluctantly pulled his gaze away and said, "Not long ago, at an auction in Hong Kong, an original work by Yan Zhenqing, smaller than this calligraphy and painting, sold for 3 million yuan.

Given the quality of this calligraphy and painting, I think it's worth at least 5 million yuan."

"Oh my god, is a single painting worth that much?"

"The Young man bought it for five thousand yuan, and in the blink of an eye, it can sell for 5 million yuan. That's too profitable, isn't it?"

"What do you know? Generally, Great Master's calligraphy and paintings are sold by the foot. An original work by Yan Zhenqing is definitely worth that price."

Amidst the surrounding discussions, Yang Ziqian said to Ye Bufan, "Young man, to be honest, I personally love Yan Zhenqing's calligraphy and paintings the most. Would you be willing to part with it and sell it to me?

The price is negotiable. I absolutely won't let you suffer a loss. How about 6 million yuan?"

Ye Bufan thought about it. This price was indeed quite fair. The most crucial thing was that he wanted Magical Artifacts and didn't care about antiques or calligraphy and paintings.

Thinking of this, he said, "Alright then, I'll sell it to Mr. Yang."

"Little brother, thank you. If you ever need anything regarding antiques in the future, just come to me. I, Yang, will not refuse."

Yang Ziqian, looking excited, pulled out his checkbook from his pocket, wrote a check for 6 million yuan, and handed it to Ye Bufan, then carefully put away the original Yan Zhenqing scroll.

Bai Laoshu was completely dumbfounded. A calligraphy and painting worth 6 million yuan, and he had practically forced it onto someone for 5,000 yuan. Looking at the check in Ye Bufan's hand, his heart ached as if bleeding.

"Boss Bai, have you seen enough? Is it time for our bet to have a result?"

Yang Ziqian said, "Boss Bai, you lost this bet. Hurry up and pay the little brother."

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"I…"

Seeing a painting worth 6 million yuan gone, and now having to hand over 200,000 yuan in gambling money, it was like tearing flesh from Bai Laoshu.

However, Yang Ziqian was the notary, which left him with no thought of reneging, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to stay in the antique world.

In desperation, he could only take out his phone and transfer 200,000 yuan in cash to Ye Bufan.

After the transfer was complete, Yang Ziqian said, "Little brother, can you tell me how you figured out there was something hidden inside the wooden axis?"

This was something he had never understood. With his own expertise in antiques, he hadn't seen any flaws, and he didn't know how Ye Bufan had discovered it.

Ye Bufan smiled and said, "Nothing, just a coincidence."

Yang Ziqian shook his head slightly. For such matters, besides attributing it to coincidence, he really couldn't find any other reason.

He took out another business card and handed it to Ye Bufan, saying, "Little brother, I can tell you have deep knowledge in antiques. If you have any good items in the future, you can contact me directly."

"Okay."

Ye Bufan had a good impression of Yang Ziqian and directly put the business card into his pocket.

Afterward, he did not stay in this antique shop any longer. After leaving, he continued to search for Magical Artifacts.

After everyone had left, three burly men entered from outside the door. The big black man leading them said to Bai Laoshu, "Brother, what should we do? We can't just watch this kid swindle so much money from us, can we?"

His name was Heipi, and he was part of Bai Laoshu's group. These people frequently engaged in grave robbing, theft, and staged accidents.

If Yang Ziqian hadn't been there just now, they definitely wouldn't have let Ye Bufan leave so easily.

Bai Laoshu gritted his teeth and said, "Of course not! No one who can take advantage of our brothers has been born yet!"

Heipi said, "Then what should we do, Big Brother? Should a few of us go and take care of that kid and get the money back?"

Bai Laoshu said, "How many times have I told you, fighting and killing is a last resort. It might get us brothers thrown in jail."

Another Xiao Ping Tou beside him said, "Big Brother, then what do you say we should do?"

Bai Laoshu's eyes darted around, and he said, "Let's try to outsmart him first. You guys go and stage an accident with him, and squeeze all the money out of his hands. If that doesn't work, then we'll resort to force."