Chapter 89: This is Within the Painting! A Painting Within the Painting!
“I make a wish: for the antique calligraphy and painting I’ve chosen to increase in price by a hundredfold!”
“Ding! The wish for a hundredfold increase was unsuccessful!”
“Then make it ninety times!”
“Ding! The wish for ninety times increase was unsuccessful!”
“Then make it fifty times.”
“Ding! The wish for a fifty times increase was successful!”
“Is it successful at fifty times?” Lin Beifan was very surprised. It’s important to note that when he bought the raw jade stone before, considering practical factors, it was only raised by twenty times. And now, it unexpectedly increased by fifty times.
This indicates a problem: “The upper limit for antique calligraphy and painting is higher!”
Lin Beifan felt like he was going to make a fortune today. So, he looked at Wu Ge with a smiling face and said, “Wu, my friend, are you sure these are the antique calligraphy and painting you helped me choose?” Wu Ge immediately advised, “Mr. Lin, go ahead and buy! Buying will definitely not lead to losses, trust me!”
“Brother, with your words, I’m at ease!” Lin Beifan readily took out his bank card and transferred the money. Like this, this painting belongs to Lin Beifan.
At this moment, an elderly man with white hair but a sharp spirit came in, supported by a few people.
Wang Pangzi, seeing this old man, exclaimed in joy, “Lao Sun, you’re here!!”
“You, this fatty, actually brought out something good today!” Lao Sun teased.
“Isn’t it encountering a connoisseur?” Wang Pangzi chuckled. Song Yuqing asked, “Who is this person?”
Wang Pangzi immediately introduced, “He’s called Sun Zhou, everyone calls him Lao Sun. He’s a wealthy tycoon, with a family worth billions, and at the same time, a very well-known collector. There are quite a few treasures in his family!” Wang Pangzi enthusiastically said, “Lao Sun, take a look and let me know if there’s anything you’re interested in!”
At this moment, Pangzi was truly overjoyed. Before this, when his buddy made him sell to Lin Beifan at a loss, he was very unhappy. Making even a penny less felt like having his heart ripped out, it hurt so much.
But now, Lao Sun came to his shop.
If the other party becomes interested in something and competes with Lin Beifan, then he’ll lose a little less money.
Maybe I can still make money.
Lao Sun paid no attention to the attentive Wang Pangzi. Instead, he turned his head and looked at the calligraphy and painting in Lin Beifan’s hands, and said with a smile, “Young man, what did you buy? Can you let me take a look?”
“Of course, no problem!” Lin Beifan handed over the copy of the calligraphy.
Lao Sun was very professional. First, he put on a pair of gold-rimmed glasses, then put on disposable gloves. Only then did he take the calligraphy from Lin Beifan, carefully examining it under the light.
“Emperor Song Huizong’s slim gold style… Hmm! Unfortunately, it’s a forgery!” Lao Sun shook his head.
He asked again, “Young man, how much did you spend to buy this copy?”
Lin Beifan raised three fingers, “I spent 3 million!”
“3 million? Haha… you made a profit!” Lao Sun laughed, “Although this copy of calligraphy is a forgery, it’s actually a work imitated by a scholar named Donglin. He is best at imitating calligraphy from famous figures and often reaches a level where it’s hard to distinguish between genuine and fake. He’s quite renowned in the collecting circle! With just one resale, you can earn at least two to three million!”
Lin Beifan and the others became excited instantly.
“Earning two to three million with just one resale, incredible!”
“Money is made so quickly!”
Only Lin Beifan remained relatively calm.
Lao Sun’s eyes were sharp, “Young man, you seem so calm. Did you figure this out beforehand?”
Lin Beifan shook his head and gestured to Wu Ge. “It’s not me who figured it out; it’s my friend Wu here. He discovered that this calligraphy is a forgery a long time ago. He also recognized it as a work by Donglin, which coincides with your viewpoint.”
Lao Sun looked at Wu Ge in surprise and praised, “I didn’t expect there to be a young person who understands this aspect so well nowadays. Impressive!”
Lin Beifan also praised, “Indeed, very impressive! This friend of mine not only possesses skill and insight, but also has a good character. He’s always been loyal to me and is one of the people I trust the most!”
“You’re praising me too much, Mr. Lin.”
Wu Ge was overjoyed. He had earned Lin Beifan’s admiration by what he did today. The 2 million plus was truly worth it!
At this point, Lao Sun turned his head to look at Wang Pangzi and said with a smile, “I didn’t expect you, this shrewd fatty, to make a mistake sometimes!”
Wang Pangzi forced a smile, “Who can guarantee they won’t slip up once in a lifetime?”
“You’ve got a point!”
Lao Sun continued to examine the calligraphy.
“Wait! What’s this?”
He seemed to have discovered something and leaned in for a closer look.
After a moment, Lao Sun’s tone became excited, “This is… this is a sandwich layer! This calligraphy has a sandwich layer!”
“Lao Sun, what are you saying?”
“Lao Sun, did you discover something?”
“Take a look, everyone!”
Lao Sun pointed excitedly at a spot on the calligraphy. “Just now, when I shone the light on it, this area exhibited a slight curl, and there were also some shadows! Based on my years of experience, this painting has a sandwich layer!”
“A sandwich layer? Does this mean there might be… a painting within the painting?”
“What’s a painting within the painting?” The group was puzzled.
Lao Sun exclaimed, “In ancient times, there were frequent wars, people were displaced, and precious calligraphy and paintings were easily lost! So, those literati and artists invented a method to protect the artworks, and that method is called a painting within the painting!”
“They would use a fake layer to cover it up, hiding the real painting within the fake one. This way, the real painting wouldn’t be easily lost! And with the protection of the fake painting, the real painting could be preserved more easily!”
Everyone understood this explanation.
In other words, the outer painting is fake, but the real painting might be hidden within the fake one.
Wang Pangzi and Wu Ge felt a sudden unease in their hearts, sensing that something wasn’t right.
Excitedly, Lao Sun said to Lin Beifan, “Young man, I’ve done extensive research on paintings within paintings! I have the expertise to extract the painting within the painting completely intact! Would you be willing to let me give it a try and see what’s inside?”
“Lao Sun, please! I’m also curious to see what’s inside!” Lin Beifan smiled.
“Thank you, I’ll get to work right away!” Lao Sun eagerly had someone fetch the necessary tools.
About 15 minutes later, the tools were brought. Lao Sun started using these tools, carefully extracting the painting within the painting bit by bit. After 20 minutes, the two paintings finally separated slowly. When everyone saw the painting within the painting, they involuntarily gasped in shock.
“This is…”
