Courtyard House: My Wife is Xu Huizhen

Page 208

When this arrangement was made, He Yuzhu wanted to interfere, not wanting Xu Huizhi and He Yongqiang to have any contact. But after thinking about it, he didn't interfere. In fact, He Yongqiang treated Xu Huizhi, his wife, quite well.

Xu Huizhi has a somewhat soft personality and was able to get along with He Yongqiang, so she didn't interfere later.

Xu Huizhi said, "That film crew member came, and he was holding a painting in his hand."

"So fast!" Xu Huizhen exclaimed in surprise.

He Yuzhu said, "Just invite him in quickly."

"Okay brother-in-law."

Pian Ye was quickly invited in. Xu Huizhen poured him tea, and after thanking her, Pian Ye opened the scroll in his hand and said with some pride, "Mr. He, what do you think of this painting?"

A picture of a shepherd boy leading an ox slowly unfolds, revealing a strong and powerful ox.

Xu Beihong is best known for his paintings of horses, but this painting of a shepherd boy leading an ox is also a masterpiece.

Xu Beihong's paintings have several prominent characteristics. First, he emphasizes the skeleton; without the skeleton, there is no trace of Xu Beihong's original work. Second, when painting horses, Xu Beihong pursues light and darkness and volume, emphasizing focal point and perspective.

The details are all very prominent and vivid in this painting. He Yuzhu first identified it as genuine, then nodded and said, "Not bad, it's a good painting. I wonder how much it costs?"

“If the drawing were bad, I wouldn’t have been able to present it to you.”

Then, after some hesitation, Pianye held up three fingers: "This one costs thirty yuan."

He Yuzhu was well aware of the market for calligraphy and painting. Upon hearing this, he frowned. Currently, paintings by famous artists only cost five or six yuan per foot. This painting was only about four feet in size, so theoretically, it should be around 20 yuan per foot.

"Isn't that a bit too high?"

“Not high, this is a painting by Xu Beihong,” Pianye quickly said.

Chapter 154 Visiting

The old man never introduced who the original owner of the painting was, nor did he have any intention of making an introduction, so He Yuzhu didn't ask any further questions.

With such a high price, it seems that the film producer wants to profit from both sides and gain more benefits.

Xu Huizhen laughed and said, "I heard that Xu Beihong was famous for his paintings of horses. How can you say it's a painting of oxen? I think 30 yuan would be quite reasonable for a painting of galloping horses, but it's not right for an oxen."

When Pianye Qiu Guangpu asked for 30 yuan, it was an outrageous price. Rumors were circulating that this Boss He had a very large business and a wealthy family, and he was indeed looking to rip people off.

"This is our first time dealing with each other, Mr. Pian, give me a fair price."

After some haggling, the price was finally settled at 25 yuan, which included the commission paid to Qiu Guangpu, the "film master".

"Uncle Pian, you can send over any good paintings or antiques you have in the future."

"Okay, I'll keep it for you as long as I can find out about it."

Qiu Guangpu was very satisfied. He took the money and left. He Yuzhu admired it for a while, then took it and put it away.

After the incident with Master Pian, He Yuzhu acquired several more paintings, and word of his collecting gradually spread throughout Qianmen.

Two days later, his master Hong Henian came to see him. He Yuzhu asked, "Master, you also know that I collect antiques?"

"Antiques? What nonsense are you talking about? I called you to cook."

"Cooking?"

He Yuzhu was quite surprised. Ever since his braised meat business took off, he had become too lazy to take on outside jobs, only cooking for relatives and friends when they had weddings or funerals.

No one else could persuade He Yuzhu to come. After all, he had already leveled up his experience to the highest level, comparable to a master of state banquets. He Yuzhu was too lazy to earn a pittance, and would rather cook for his wife.

Hong Henian said, "I know you don't want to take on outside work, but this time it's not an ordinary job. I think you should do it again."

"Who is it?" He Yuzhu asked curiously.

“It’s a painter named Li Keran who wants to celebrate the birthday of his teacher Qi Baishi. He made some inquiries and then asked me to invite you.”

Hong Henian still sighed a little when he talked about it. At first, he thought they were looking for him, and he was extremely happy. After all, he was cooking for Qi Baishi, which would be a source of pride.

But to his surprise, they didn't actually want to invite him; they just wanted him to act as a middleman to ask He Yuzhu to cook for them.

He Yuzhu thought about it. He had wanted to go to the Qi family to ask for a painting before, but he hadn't found an intermediary yet. Now that he was going to cook, he still had to go. It would be a chance to make contact, and perhaps he could get a painting directly.

"And who is Li Keran?"

He Yuzhu certainly knew this person as well; he was also a very famous painter.

Hong Henian said, "Mr. Li is Qi Lao's apprentice, and his paintings are also very good. You mustn't refuse them."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Okay, I want to meet this Mr. Li first."

"Okay, I'll arrange it."

In the evening, Hong Henian brought Mr. Li over.

He Yuzhu invited the two to the reception room. After entering the room, Mr. Li did not sit down immediately, but stared at the banner on the wall.

“Mr. Li?” Hong Henian was surprised by Mr. Li’s rudeness and couldn’t help but whisper a reminder.

Mr. Li then realized his mistake and apologized, saying, "I'm sorry, I was being a bit presumptuous."

"You're too kind, Mr. Li. Please."

Mr. Li did not rush to sit down, but instead asked, "May I ask who the calligrapher is? Why is there no signature?"

Hong Henian said with a smile, "Mr. Li, you flatter me. This is no calligraphy at all. It was all written by Zhu Zi himself."

Since awakening the "Shuchun" skill, He Yuzhu has been quite dissatisfied, as the skill seems rather strange. He Yuzhu then made up his mind to copy a batch of famous calligraphic works.

Finally, he upgraded Shuchun's skill to calligraphy, and he didn't give up on this skill. He would write two large characters every day and even studied hard-pen calligraphy. After years of practice, he finally upgraded his calligraphy to the top level.

However, He Yuzhu was not a member of the calligraphy circle, so no matter how beautiful his writing was, his relatives and friends would not think that his writing had reached the standard of a calligraphy master.

Mr. Li is not only a painter, but also a poet and calligrapher. Upon entering the room, one is immediately drawn to the scrolls hanging on the wall, whose calligraphy is unique and stands out in its own style.

However, the handwriting was completely different from that of various schools of calligraphy in his memory, which shocked Mr. Li. He had never seen the calligraphy of this master before.

"You're saying these characters are all Chef He's... Mr. He's?"

I originally intended to address He Yuzhu as Chef He, but I changed my address to Mr. He at the last minute. After all, if this calligraphy was really written by He Yuzhu, it would definitely be a major event that would shock the calligraphy world.

In Li Keran's opinion, the calligraphy of all the calligraphers of the past few decades cannot compare to the characters on this scroll on the wall.

He Yuzhu laughed and said, "Mr. Li, you are too kind. My calligraphy is just average. I am only at the level of a calligraphy enthusiast. It is just for my own amusement."

"Mr. He is too modest. If I had known that your calligraphy was so excellent, I should have visited you to discuss it with you long ago."

Looking at He Yuzhu, who was still a young man with a sharp mind, Li Keran hesitated. In 1946, he studied under Qi Baishi and Huang Binhong at the same time, specializing in the creation of traditional Chinese paintings. He had always wanted to improve his calligraphy, but he had not made any progress.

If the calligraphy on the wall had been written by an elderly gentleman, Li Keran would have immediately recognized him as his master and begun learning calligraphy. However, since it was written by a young man in his early twenties, Li Keran was quite conflicted. He couldn't very well accept him as his master!

"Mr. Li, you're too kind. Let's talk about the banquet."

"Oh, right, right, I'm so confused. Let's talk about the banquet first."

Li Keran then remembered the important matter at hand. They could discuss calligraphy later, but for now, it was better to deal with the important matter first.

He Yuzhu then learned the whole story. Li Keran's mentor, Mr. Qi, had his birthday on New Year's Day. Last year, he had invited people to cook several meals for him, but the taste was just average and did not satisfy Mr. Qi.

So this year, Li Keran, as an apprentice, was very dedicated and inquired everywhere to find a more skilled chef. Later, he found out that there was a chef named He Yuzhu in Nanluoguxiang.

In fact, they had all tasted the braised meat sold by He Yuzhu and praised it highly. However, they did not know the skill level of Chef He Yuzhu. After making inquiries, they asked someone to contact Hong Henian to make the connection.

The Qi family is large, with 12 children alone, as well as many apprentices and grand-apprentices, plus some relatives and friends, requiring a total of five tables.

He Yuzhu nodded in agreement, then said, "I can help, but I have one condition."

If Li Keran hadn't seen the scroll written by He Yuzhu himself, he would have been somewhat displeased. However, after witnessing He Yuzhu's calligraphy, he could no longer regard He Yuzhu as an ordinary chef; his calligraphy was unparalleled in the world.

"Mr. He, please speak. We will agree to anything that is within our power."

He Yuzhu was still thinking about asking Qi Baishi for a painting, so he said with a smile, "Actually, it's a very simple matter. This time, I don't want cash. I just want a painting by Master Qi."

Li Keran immediately relaxed, thinking it might be some difficult condition, but it turned out to be a request for a painting. He said:

“Okay, no problem, I can agree to this on behalf of my master.”

In fact, Qi Baishi's paintings are not expensive now. He made a living by selling paintings throughout his life, and more than 4000 of his paintings have survived to this day, making him a very prolific painter.

At that time, Qi Baishi's listed price was 6 yuan per square foot, and a normal painting would only cost 20 or 30 yuan.

It's only equivalent to an ordinary person's monthly salary, so He Yuzhu wanted to exchange the wages for five tables of food and drinks for one of Qi Baishi's paintings. If you calculate it carefully, Qi Baishi still got the better deal.

After all, he wouldn't even do a banquet for 10 yuan if offered the job.

He Yuzhu's cooking skills are already at the highest level, and in his opinion, a wage of 10 yuan is far from reflecting his value.

"Then it's settled."

"Okay, but could you please prepare a meal for me the day after tomorrow so that my master can try it out first?"

"Okay, no problem."

Information is not readily available now, and it is not easy to collect and turn them into antiques. Taking this opportunity, you may be able to break into the circle of cultural figures, and it will be easier and more direct to collect their paintings in the future.

He Yuzhu has plenty of money and food, so he can use it to exchange for paintings, which will also allow him to feed these painters.

The two quickly agreed on the menu for the day after tomorrow. He Yuzhu provided a list of ingredients, and they prepared them together. They would then go directly to the Qi residence to cook a meal for Qi Baishi to taste first.

After seeing Li Keran off, Hong Henian asked, "Zhu Zi, since you like Qi Lao's paintings, why don't you go and ask to buy them?"

“Master, you have no idea how strict Qi Baishi is.”

Qi Baishi had a very strange temper; rather than strange, he was more willful.