When he got up the next morning, Chen Guan paged Zhou Qian three times in a row, but Zhou Qian didn't reply, knowing that Zhou Qian must still hate him, so he didn't pay attention to it anymore, went to find a snack bar, and asked for a fried liver, a bowl of tofu brain, a fried cake, and a piece of Aiwowo, which was regarded as a taste of Beijing's famous food.

After eating, Chen Guan walked towards Liulichang.

Unlike Shuiquan, the capital implements a 9-to-5 work system, that is, work at 9 a.m. and leave work at 5 p.m. Chen Guan got up early and walked on foot, not only to appreciate the scenery of the capital along the way, but also to avoid taking a car to the Liuli Factory after people did not open the door and waited.

Chen Guan's goal is Rong Bao Zhai, which is located on Liulichang West Street.

Chen Guan graduated from the Department of Chinese, studied literary history, plus he likes calligraphy and painting, and has also dabbled in Chinese and foreign art history. In particular, after the vast amount of information was poured into the marrow of Cangsheng Yinyijin, Chen Guan's knowledge accumulation exploded, and when he came to Beijing, his favorite places were Tiananmen Square, the Forbidden City, the Summer Palace, the Old Summer Palace, the Great Wall, and the Liuli Factory.

Rong Bao Zhai was founded in 1672, the earliest name is Songzhu Zhai, is a surname Zhang of Zhejiang people with the official in Beijing to do the silver opened, the business project is mainly three parts: one is the paper for calligraphy and painting, as well as a variety of fans, framed good Xishou screen and so on; the second is all kinds of pens, ink, inkstones, ink cartridges, water bowls, ink, rulers, pen holders and other stationery utensils; The third is to order the commercial works of calligraphy and painting seal carvers on behalf of customers, and get a commission from them. After the Opium War, Songzhu Zhai business difficulties, the shopkeeper invited Zhuang Huchen, who has a deep friendship with the calligraphy and painting circles in the capital, as the manager, and in 1894, Songzhu Zhai was renamed Rong Bao Zhai, taking the meaning of "meeting friends with literature, Rong Ming Bao", and asked Lu Run, the champion of Tongzhi, to inscribe the plaque of "Rong Bao Zhai". In 1950, the public-private partnership was implemented, renamed Rong Bao Zhai Xinji, and in 1952, it was converted into a state-owned enterprise. The current name of the store is Rong Bao Zhai, which is inscribed by the contemporary writer Guo Moruo.

Unlike many time-honored brands that have been submerged in the wave of public-private partnerships, after the implementation of state-owned enterprises, Rong Bao Zhai has a thriving atmosphere because it is easier to attract talents and undertake some foreign cultural exchange tasks. Especially after the reform and opening up, Rong Bao Zhai ushered in development opportunities.

In 1978, the expansion of the glaze factory, Rong Bao Zhai was designated as a key expansion unit, and several units around were moved away to make way for the expansion of Rong Bao Zhai, and half of the West Street of Liuli Factory was allocated to Rong Bao Zhai free of charge, and the scale of Rong Bao Zhai was greatly expanded.

At the same time, Rong Bao Zhai reported to Lu Shang for the first time in 1978, asking for a manuscript fee of 15 yuan per square foot for the authors of calligraphy and painting. Looking at it now, this manuscript fee standard is equivalent to a barbaric robbery, which is very ridiculous, but in 1978, it was an icebreaker, which is very remarkable. Therefore, after the superiors approved Rong Bao Zhai to pay the authors of calligraphy and painting, it caused a sensation at the time, thus ending the history of appropriating the fruits of the painter's labor without compensation.

In 1993, Rong Bao Zhai Publishing House was established.

In 1994, Rong Bao Zhai Auction Co., Ltd. was established.

In the autumn of 1995, Rong Bao Zhai successfully held the first autumn auction.

Nowadays, Rong Bao Zhai sits on the right time, place and people, set calligraphy and painting management, woodblock watermark, auction, publishing, education as a whole, is a veritable art palace, known as the "folk Forbidden City", developed into a comprehensive cultural enterprise.

Chen Guan walked in steps, walked all the way to see, when he arrived at Rong Bao Zhai, it was less than 9 o'clock in half an hour, and Rong Bao Zhai had not yet opened. Chen Guan carefully looked at the "Rong Bao Zhai" plaque inscribed by Guo Moruo and Xu Beihong at the door of Rong Bao Zhai, and then set up a horse step on the spot, with ups and downs, looking like a neurotic.

When Rong Baozhai opened the door, Chen Guan ended his squatting steps and walked in.

Since the end of the Qing Dynasty, China's art market has suffered from war, and human life is like grass. Finally, I looked forward to the founding of New China, and as a result, one big and two public schools were implemented, painters received salaries, there was no polishing for painting, the art market did not exist, calligraphers and painters painting became the task of completing their work, and Chinese calligraphy and painting became an embellishment for foreign exchange gifts, and even were sold to the state for foreign exchange. Especially during the Cultural Revolution, artworks were poisoned like never before, and many precious cultural relics were treated as the four olds. At the beginning of the reform and opening up, the country was opened, and foreigners came to China to invest in tourism and buy art at the same time, among which the Japanese bought the most. After the rise of the tide of going abroad, some cultural people brought some calligraphy and painting works when they went abroad, and sold them abroad to offset the cost of studying abroad and living expenses, so that Chinese artworks were sold cheaply again.

At this time, China has not yet risen to collect fever, most of Rong Bao Zhai's calligraphy and painting works are sold to foreigners, and Chinese tourists basically come in to see. Therefore, although Rong Bao Zhai has just opened, there is only one customer Chen Guan, and no one in the staff pays attention to him, Chen Guan also fell quietly, and he carefully watched, appreciated and tasted in front of a famous masterpiece.

Rong Bao Zhai's business philosophy has always been the most reliable source, the most strict self-discipline, occasionally a fake appears, that is when the accident is handled. Especially now, because the art market has just sprouted, the sales of calligraphy and painting works are not smooth, and there will be no fake and shoddy works in Rong Bao Zhai.

Chen Guan has money, cultural knowledge, and vision, and knows that the works of Qi Baishi, Zhang Daqian, Xu Beihong, Li Keran, etc., which are exhibited and sold in Rong Bao Zhai, are extremely precious treasures, that is, the works of contemporary painters with very low prices, and they are all treasures that cannot be bought with money in the future. Therefore, he looked at it in great detail.

After looking around, Chen Guan had a score in his heart. The most expensive painting is Qi Baishi's painting, with a price tag of 50,000 yuan per square foot. The newspaper reported at the time that Qi Baishi's paintings were auctioned at the autumn auction of Rong Bao Zhai at 5 square feet. The sky-high price of 60,000 yuan. Chen watched this registration, and knew that the current price of Rong Bao Zhai was based on the price of the autumn auction, and it was already very high.

The prices of paintings by other painters are relatively low, and the price of a generation of grandmaster-level paintings is mostly more than 10,000 to more than 20,000 per square foot. The price of other masterpieces is several thousand yuan per square foot. The price of the masterpieces of contemporary young and middle-aged painters is extremely low, at several hundred yuan per square foot.

Chen Guan doesn't have a backache when he stands and talks, he has money, and he burns his bags. He also didn't want to think that the current salary of Chinese is a few hundred yuan a month, and a month's salary cannot buy a square foot of painting, which is high enough to scare off the footsteps of the Chinese people.

After reading it, Chen Guan began to call the staff.

A staff member walked over, saw that Chen Guan was in front of him a landscape painting of Fu Baoshi, glanced at Chen Guan in a suit and leather shoes, and saw that he did not have a big plate ring on his hand, no watch on his wrist, and no perfume smell on his body, neither like overseas Chinese nor nouveau riche, so he said coldly: "Young man, this painting is priced at 70,000 yuan, see if you can, you are not allowed to touch it with your hands!" ”

Chen Guan didn't care, smiled, and said, "Master, I want to ask, if I want to buy this painting, can it be cheaper?" ”

If time goes forward for another 5 or 10 years, Fu Baoshi's paintings can't be bought with money, where will anyone make a price! This time is different, it is hanging here and rarely cared.

Chen Guan has been accustomed to suffering since he was a child, and when he went to college to work and study, he developed the habit of bargaining, buying a house and Gao Qun to make a price, selling gold essence powder and Jin Chenxiao, the director of the Shuiquan Gold Smelter, to make a price, and now it costs a lot to buy famous paintings! This product really has the genes of a businessman in its bones.

As soon as he heard that Chen Guan wanted to buy a painting, the staff's attitude changed suddenly, saying that if he really wanted to buy it, he could get a discount. He can't be a homemaker, so he has to find a manager.