Fred said: "In this way, bring this painting to me, after all, we have the most cooperation with the Li family's auction house, and since it is the person sent by the Li family, we still have to give some face." ”

Cisse agreed, and sent the scroll to Fred's hand.

Fred took the scroll, unwrapped it, and spread it out on the table, revealing Jacqueline's unclothed upper body when he opened it halfway.

As Sir Owen's butler, Fred was also a man of great erudition, especially in antiques, and although he only opened half of the painting, he already recognized it as Picasso's wife, Jacqueline.

Suddenly, his body was like a lightning strike, and the whole person began to tremble slightly, and the action of opening the picture scroll became cautious.

He opened the whole painting, saw a complete Jacqueline, determined that it was Picasso's painting, and exclaimed excitedly: "Perfect, so perfect!"

Sir Owen poured himself a glass of red wine, was slowly sipping it beside him, and after hearing Fred's words, he said with some dissatisfaction: "Dear Fred, it's just a painting, how can you lose your temper like this, what kind of ancient paintings are not in our treasure room?"

"No, we really don't have one here!" Fred exclaimed excitedly, "Sir, this is a Picasso painting, look at this is Jacqueline!"

After hearing Fred's words, Sir Owen immediately put down the wine glass in his hand and said with a look of disbelief: "Fred, you are not joking with me, this is not what a gentleman should do. ”

"Sir Owen, how could I be joking with you, you see this is Picasso's wife, Jacqueline. ”

Confirming that Fred was not joking with him, Sir Owen walked briskly over and looked very excited when he saw the painting in front of him.

"Oh my God, could it be that my sincerity moved God to send me a picture of Picasso. ”

Sir Owen took the white glove from a servant and put it on his hand, and began to examine the painting in earnest.

After a few minutes, he exclaimed excitedly: "Dear Fred, I confirm that this is the real Picasso work, it is so perfect." ”

Although he is not a professional appraiser, he has collected countless antique treasures over the years, and he also has a certain degree of attainment in the appraisal of ancient paintings.

Fred said, "Sir, just in case, let's get Gerard's appraiser." ”

"You're right, this is a Picasso painting, and we can't afford to be sloppy. Sir Owen took a deep breath, calmed his excitement, and said to one of the servants beside him, "Get Mr. Gerard here as quickly as you can." ”

"Yes sir. ”

The servant said yes, and walked briskly out of the drawing-room, and a few minutes later came in with a blonde, blue-eyed Caucasia, Sir Owen's personal treasure appraiser, Gerald.

Although Gerald is Owen's personal appraiser, he has a strong reputation in the field of international antiques, and so far he has never made a mistake in the appraisal of a piece.

After entering the living room, Gerald saw the excited Sir Owen and Fred, and asked suspiciously, "Dear sir, have you found any treasure?"

Sir Owen said excitedly: "Dear Gerald, come and see, Picasso's painting, this is Picasso's painting!"

Hearing that there was a picture of Picasso, Gerald was also in good spirits, walked quickly to the table, and then took out white gloves and a magnifying glass from his pocket and looked at them carefully.

After five minutes, Sir Owen couldn't help himself and asked, "Dear Gerald, tell me if this is the real Picasso?"

Gerald stood up and said with an excited expression: "Dear sir, I can swear to God that this is definitely Picasso's masterpiece." ”

Sir Owen exclaimed excitedly: "Great, really good, I finally have Picasso's work." ”

Fred was still relatively calm, and he said, "Dear sir, have you forgotten that this painting does not belong to you now, but to Mr. Qin who is waiting outside the door." ”

Sir Owen slapped his forehead and exclaimed, "Forgive me, O God, for my distinguished guest to wait outside the door." Dear Fred, let's hurry out together and bring in our most distinguished guests. ”

Outside the manor, Uncle Cheng said to Qin Haodong: "Mr. Qin, Sir Owen's status is very noble, are you sure that he will meet us after seeing that painting?"

"Don't worry, Uncle Cheng, I believe that Sir Owen will come out to meet us soon. ”

According to the information Qin Haodong got from the field, this Sir Owen was very eager to get a Picasso work, and I believe that he would definitely come out to greet him after seeing his painting.

While the two men were talking, suddenly the door opened, and Sir Owen hurried out with Fred and Gerald, followed by four or five servants.

Sir Owen came to Qin Haodong, put one hand on his chest and bent down slightly, and performed a standard gentlemanly salute.

"Dear Mr. Qin, please forgive me for neglecting you. ”

Qin Haodong said, "Sir Owen, it's a pleasure to meet you. ”

"Dear sir, beautiful lady, please come with me. ”

Greeted by Sir Owen and a group of servants, Qin Haodong and Nalan Wushuang walked into the manor together.

Cheng Bo's face was shocked, he knew Sir Owen's status on Hong Kong Island very well, and he didn't understand what kind of magic Qin Haodong used to let him come out to greet him personally.

As the housekeeper of the Li family, he naturally knew that he was not suitable to participate in this kind of occasion, so he did not follow Sir Owen's manor, but returned to the car to wait.

After entering the living room, Sir Owen warmly welcomed Qin Haodong and Nalan Wushuang to sit down, gave each of them a glass of fine red wine, and then said with a smile on his face: "Dear Qin, this painting of yours is really perfect.

I've always wanted to own a Picasso painting, and I want to ask how you can transfer it, or in your Chinese parlance, it's called a painful cut. ”

Although Sir Owen is a member of the empire on which the sun never sets, because he grew up on Hong Kong Island, he not only speaks Chinese very well, but also knows a lot about Chinese culture, and even uses idioms.

Qin Haodong said: "Of course, I have long heard that Sir Owen has a lot of Chinese antiques here, so I want to exchange Picasso's paintings with you." ”

Sir Owen said, "Mr. Qin, I am very willing to become friends with you and make some exchange of collections, do you have a target that you have chosen?"

Qin Haodong spread his hands and said, "I don't know about this yet, because I don't know what Sir Owen's collection is." ”

According to Tian Ye, he did not directly state the purpose of his trip.

"It doesn't matter, I can let you choose, and as long as the thing is suitable, we can make an exchange that satisfies us both. ”

Sir Owen said to Fred next to him, "Bring us the catalogue of our collection and let Mr. Qin choose it." ”

"Yes, Mr. Sir. ”

Fred turned and went out, and in a short time, walked in with a catalogue book, which recorded the collections in Sir Owen's treasury.

"Mr. Qin, please take a look. ”

Fred politely sent the catalog book to Qin Haodong.

"Thank you!"

Qin Haodong smiled at Fred, then opened the catalog book and quickly checked it.

Sir Owen's collection is indeed very rich, almost a few thousand pieces, including almost all the world's antiques.

The first part of the catalogue is made up of European art, and it can be seen that these collections have a higher status in Sir Owen's mind.

However, Qin Haodong didn't care about these things at all, he quickly flipped through them, and found the bronze head of the zodiac sign he dreamed of in the last few pages of the catalog book, the rooster head.

He held back the excitement in his heart and said: "Sir Owen, I had the honor to auction the snake head you auctioned at yesterday's auction, as a Chinese person, I have a special affection for this bronze head of the Chinese zodiac, and I want to take them all back to our Huaxia in my lifetime."

I just saw that there is a bronze head of the zodiac in your catalogue, and I decided to exchange this Picasso painting for this chicken head, what do you think?"

Sir Owen said: "Dear Qin, as a friend, I should fulfill your wishes, this bronze head of the zodiac is your treasure in China, and I also like it very much, so I am a little reluctant." ”

Qin Haodong smiled slightly, he knew very well that this foreigner was not reluctant at all, just like Tian Ye said, Chinese antiques were not very valued by him, and it could be seen from the ranking of the bronze heads of the zodiac in the catalog.

The reason why Sir Owen said this is that he was a little dissatisfied with the price he quoted, and it is true, if Picasso's painting and the Zodiac copper capital are exchanged for Chinese coins, a Zodiac bronze head is about 50 million, and this Picasso painting is at most 10 million Chinese coins.

Although the exchange between collectors is more important to the fame of the collection, the value should not be too different.

He said, "Sir Owen, I am very sincere, how many paintings of Picasso do you think it will take you to make you love this bronze head of the zodiac? two or three?"

After he finished speaking, Sir Owen's eyes instantly lit up, and he said excitedly: "Dear Qin, do you still have Mr. Picasso's painting in your hand?"

Qin Haodong smiled and acquiesced, but did not say how many Picasso paintings he still had, this is also a kind of negotiation, of course he will not expose his hole cards in advance.

Sir Owen thought for a moment, stretched out a palm and said, "Five! As long as you have five sketches of Picasso, I will exchange this bronze head of the zodiac with you." ”

Qin Haodong said: "Sir Owen, 5 is too many, you must know that this is a Picasso painting, if it can be received in your treasure trove, it will definitely help you become the world's first-class collector." ”

Although he had 10 of these sketches in his hand, and although he could draw one of them in a few minutes, Sir Owen had so many treasures here that he didn't mind changing more and bringing them back to China.