59: Lost Antiques

An hour later, Lu Fan had a satisfying meal of Copper Pot Hotpot and drank two liang of liquor at the entrance of his residential complex.

Staggering slightly, he returned to the building where he lived. A GL8 was parked by the passageway, and a man and a woman got out as the car door opened.

"Boss Lu, you're finally back! Your phone was unreachable, and I was worried sick!"

Chen Ying hurriedly jogged forward, her usual elegance and composure as an auction house manager completely gone.

Lu Fan glanced over, slightly surprised. "Manager Chen, Boss Li! My phone ran out of battery. I didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."

"We were already in Hangzhou on a business trip, so we got here faster than expected."

Li Jianguo, the deputy general manager of Cloud Pavilion, explained briefly before getting straight to the point. "May I take a look at that painting?"

"Come upstairs, come upstairs~~"

Lu Fan immediately invited the two upstairs.

A free appraiser isn't someone you can summon at will.

Once upstairs, Li Jianguo and Chen Ying stared intently at the unfolded painting, their eyes sharp as hooks, admiring and commenting as they examined it.

"The Bodhisattva stands in attendance, exuding solemnity and compassion, vividly lifelike."

"The composition is orderly, the brushstrokes are spirited, the lines are sharp and penetrating."

The two praised it profusely, but they never indicated that they believed the painting to be authentic.

However, the clear and distinctive brushwork style made them hesitant to outright call it a forgery.

So, they put on White Gloves, took out Ultraviolet Lights, magnifying glasses, and High-Powered Flashlights, and bent down to inspect it closely.

This setup was clearly aimed at finding concrete evidence that the painting was a fake.

Chen Ying used a Magnifying Glass to examine the painting from top to bottom. After carefully inspecting the inscription, her expression turned grave.

When her gaze finally settled on the slightly blurred vermilion seal at the bottom, she repeatedly checked it, even comparing it with a Seal Catalog.

Besides painting and calligraphy, Zhang Daqian was also skilled in seal carving, and his personal seals were uniquely distinctive.

The charm of his seals was unconventional, with a chiseled, axe-like quality, and the seal script structure was quite unique, making them highly recognizable.

"It's it~~" Chen Ying exclaimed after scrutinizing it for a long time, her voice suddenly rising. "The 'Dafeng Tang' seal is correct. It really is it—that batch of Dunhuang Copies!"

Hearing this, Li Jianguo hurried over to take a closer look and then meticulously compared it with the Seal Catalog.

"What a strange affair!"

He straightened up, muttering to himself with a grave expression. "The signature and seal are completely correct.

The painting technique is also right, with a coherent spirit, exactly as recorded in the historical documents."

He rubbed the painting repeatedly with his white-gloved hands, his face clouded with doubt.

Unwilling to give up, he continued to compare it repeatedly with the documents.

Because the documents clearly stated that this painting had been destroyed in 1937.

Chen Ying calmed down and asked, "Boss Lu, may I see that list?"

"Of course~~" Lu Fan took out a folder and handed over a delivery slip from Huifeng Bank.

Li Jianguo took the document immediately. He read the simple one-page list over and over, dozens of times.

"My goodness~~ This... how is this possible?"

Li Jianguo's eyes widened, his face flushed, his breathing became rapid, and his hand holding the list trembled slightly.

"Mr. Lu, is this list genuine?"

Lu Fan remained calm and steady, uttering a few words: "Guaranteed authentic!"

Seeing this, Chen Ying quickly interjected, "Boss Li, on the way here, I asked a friend at Huifeng Bank.

This list, in terms of material, text, coding, anti-counterfeiting features, and seals, all checks out.

It was indeed issued by Huifeng Bank in Shanghai around 1937. They have clear records, though the copy was destroyed in the war."

As she spoke, she opened the chat dialog with her friend and showed the relevant chat records to Li Jianguo.

Li Jianguo carefully reviewed the chat records. After confirming their accuracy, he was overjoyed.

His originally upright posture swayed slightly due to excitement.

"An authentic work, this is undoubtedly an authentic work!" Li Jianguo exclaimed excitedly, freely expressing his delight.

Chen Ying tried hard to suppress her own excitement. "The world believed that this series of paintings by Zhang Daqian, copied from the Dunhuang Mogao Caves,

had all been destroyed in the war. Who would have thought there would be a hidden gem? Today, the painting has reappeared. Truly: Heaven blesses China."

After about the time it takes to drink a cup of tea, the two had mostly calmed down. Lu Fan seized the moment to speak. "Gentlemen, may we speak privately?"

He invited them to sit in the living room and got straight to the point. "What do you think about the value of this painting?"

Since its authenticity had been confirmed, it was time to discuss its value. After all, he still had several small goals' worth of debt to deal with.

This question stumped even the experienced Li Jianguo. A work clearly recorded as destroyed, now reappearing, would inevitably cause a huge stir.

Its price was truly hard to determine. After pondering for a moment, he said, "Mr. Lu!

My personal estimate is that this painting starts at 40 million. As for the final transaction price, I can't say for sure.

Mainly because this is a series of paintings that have resurfaced. The market..."

While Li Jianguo was methodically explaining to Lu Fan, Chen Ying's attention was drawn to a booklet on the coffee table.

She casually picked up the 16-page album and began flipping through it, growing more and more excited as she did.

When she reached the fifth painting and saw the signature "Huang Binhong," her mind went blank for a moment.

Driven by instinct, she exclaimed, "Good heavens, 'Huangshan Travelogue Album'!"

This exclamation interrupted Li Jianguo's eloquent explanation, and his gaze quickly shifted over.

With just a glance, he knowledgeably stated its origin. "Why the fuss, Manager Chen?

Huang Lao's 'Huangshan Travelogue Album' is a 16-page sketchbook donated to the Eastern Library, affiliated with the Commercial Press in Shanghai, in 1936.

In October 1937, the library was bombed and burned by the Japanese Army, and all its collections were destroyed. The album became a lost masterpiece.

This can't possibly be authentic."

Hearing Li Jianguo's words, Chen Ying thought it made sense. This was a documented event; it couldn't be false.

But after flipping through a few more pages, the style was so similar it could almost pass for the real thing.

Remembering the painting with clear records of being destroyed in the war, which she had just verified with her own eyes,

she asked hopefully, "Boss Lu, is this Huang Binhong's 'Huangshan Travelogue Album'?"

"How could it be? 'The Record of the Commercial Press's Destruction' from 1938 clearly documents it."

Li Jianguo cited the classics and flatly denied it.

Lu Fan calmly opened the folder again, found a list, and handed it over. "I'm not very knowledgeable in this area.

But there's a list. I think it should be, part of the same batch of items."

"Hah—!"

After taking the list and comparing it carefully, Li Jianguo gasped in astonishment.

With a history of the item he could recite by heart and a list of solid evidence in hand, the authenticity of the item was beyond doubt.

Another treasure lost and found.

"Sss~~~"

Li Jianguo's recently calmed emotions were instantly reignited.

To ensure there was no mistake, he suppressed his excitement, took the album, and carefully flipped through it.

On the yellowed rice paper were a series of ink-wash landscapes, with rugged rocks like iron and bold, seasoned brushwork.

The ink was jet black like lacquer, with an inner glow. The style and techniques all matched perfectly.

At the end of the album was Huang Binhong's handwritten note: "April 1936, donated to the Eastern Library—Huang Binhong."