"Jingle Bells"

The familiar wind chimes sounded again, and Li Yan held the oil painting he had just acquired, pushed the door and walked into the Lin antique workshop. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"Huh? Xiao Li, didn't the boss let you come back after you were injured? Why did you come here now, aren't you afraid that he will see it and teach you a lesson? Guo Lao, the appraiser who was wiping his favorite flowers, stared at Li Yan who walked in, smiled and laughed at him.

"I'm not here to work!" Li Yan smiled, walked up to Guo Lao's side and said, "I'm here to find you!" ”

"Looking for me? What's the matter? ”

Li Yan looked around and glanced at Guo Lao. After Guo Lao looked at Li Yan suspiciously, he took him into his own special appraisal room.

"Say it! Find my old man something! ”

"Actually, I wanted you to take a look at this thing!"

Li Yan put the oil painting in his hand on the table, turned sideways, and asked Guo Lao to come closer.

After a little bit of a lot, Guo Lao frowned and said, "This is, water lily?" ”

Nodding noncommittally, Li Yan explained: "I heard from the seller, this is something handed down by his ancestors, it is a water lily painted by Monet!" ”

Wiping the dust deposited on the canvas, Guo Lao asked with some concern: "How much did you spend on this thing?" ”

"Not much, only three hundred dollars."

Nodding reassuringly, Guo Lao said, "Fortunately, it's only three hundred dollars!" In the future, this kind of thing, you still don't have to touch it less, without more than ten years of professional knowledge accumulation, you can't play the cultural relics industry at all! ”

Although he was teaching himself a lesson, Li Yan could still feel the genuine concern. Zhengse nodded, and Li Yan said: "I remember, I will pay attention!" ”

The corners of his mouth were raised like a teachable one, and Guo Lao lowered his head and began to carefully look at the oil painting in front of him. After observing it up and down, and observing every corner, Guo Lao began to clean the painting.

The moth-ridd, decaying picture frame was first dismantled. After placing the canvas flat on the appraisal table, Guo Lao began to use a soft brush to carefully clean up the dust on it.

After the dust is cleaned, it is dipped in a cotton cloth with a special detergent and cleaned little by little. Ten minutes later, a brand-new painting appeared in front of Li Yan.

The water lilies on the canvas come in a variety of shapes and colors. There are the posture of flowers and leaves in the background of thick shade, the hazy flower shadows in the blue fog, the detailed lines of brilliant colors, and the wild freehand that only sees the color block but does not see the outline.

All the water lilies, all ethereal and beautiful, floated quietly in that dark green pond.

Although Li Yan does not have many artistic cells, he can still feel the perfect harmony of light and color from this painting. Casual but natural, it makes people sigh!

"Hiss......"

Guo Lao stared at the new painting, his expression was solemn, and his brows were tightly wrinkled together.

"How about Guo Lao? Is this water lily a genuine Monet? Li Yan looked expectant and asked urgently.

Shaking his head slightly, Guo Lao said, "It's not good to say!" The overall style of this painting is basically the same as that of Monet, but there is no signature on it. ”

"Moreover, my specialty is in Chinese antiques, and I only have a slight understanding of this kind of Western oil painting, and I dare not make any assertions about it. After all, if this painting is truly Monet's work, then it is worth a fortune! ”

"In this case, I'll inform the boss and ask him to find you a few more professional appraisers."

Nodding, Li Yan said, "It's okay, then let's do it!" ”

After seeing Li Yan's agreement, Guo Lao turned around and walked out of the appraiser. A few minutes later, he walked in with Lin Renhua and a few white appraisers.

"Xiao Li, listen to Guo Lao, did you find a piece of Monet's water lily? Where? Let me see! Lin Renhua was still wearing the Tang costume, with a hint of doubt and excitement, and asked Li Yan.

Pointing to the painting on the appraisal table, "There!" Guo Lao has already cleaned it, go and take a look! ”

Li Yan has been working in the store for more than half a year and is very familiar with these appraisers. After a brief hello, he began to identify the oil painting himself.

At first, several appraisers didn't take it seriously. After all, Monet's water lilies are the pinnacle of Western oil painting. How can you be casually met by a young person?

However, as time passed, the expressions on the faces of several appraisers became more and more serious, and their brows were furrowed, almost squeezing out of the water.

The discussion grew louder and louder. Suddenly, several appraisers suddenly stopped and stared at Li Yan in unison.

"Lee, where did you get this painting?"

"Listen to Mr. Guo, you got it from the street, is it true?"

"That's right! Tell us about it! ”

……

……

Several appraisers, with feverish eyes, asked Li Yan a series of questions.

Pressing his hand to stop several people from asking questions in an orderly manner, Li Yan said: "Okay, I know what you want to ask!" ”

After organizing the language, Li Yan recounted the process of buying paintings from James. As for Livermore's existence, he naturally didn't talk about it. It's just that he looks good, and the price is not expensive, so he bought it.

"Boston's Sandy family?" Pulling out his phone, an appraiser began to search the Internet.

"There is a record of a family that was once a financial magnate in New York, controlling more than a dozen investment institutions. Later, because it failed to keep up with the trend of the times, it gradually declined. But it didn't say that their family had ever bought Monet's water lilies? ”

"Is it a private transaction? That's why it's not known? ”

"It's possible! The masters of these big families like the behind-the-scenes trading the most! ”

Although there is information about the provenance of the painting, several appraisers still dare not draw conclusions. In the final analysis, Monet is too famous, especially the Water Lily series, which is a well-deserved gem in the painting! No one dares to make a conclusion easily.

"Could this be Monet's practice work?" An appraiser, who had not spoken, frowned, stared at the oil painting, and suddenly spoke.

"Practice work?"

"That's right! Practice your work! The appraiser's tone was a little firmer. There are no transaction records, and there is no Monet's signature on the painting. ”

"Moreover, although the whole painting has a strong impressionist style, it lacks a bit of finely crafted agility, and it looks a little stiff, not like Monet's finished work!"

His opinion made the expressions of the other appraisers change, and they hurriedly leaned over and examined them carefully.

"There are no signatures, and the colors are not as vivid as the finished product, which is really like a practice work."

"Well, the style is also a little immature, not as free and free as Monet's later works."

"Yes, it should be his practice work before 1900."

……

Listening to the discussion of the appraisers, Li Yan's heart trembled, and he asked, "If it is really a practice work, is it worthless?" ”

"Hehe, Lee, don't worry!" One appraiser explained with a smile: "Even if it is a practice work, it was created by Monet himself!" It's not as valuable as the finished product, but it can be sold for a high price! ”

Relieved, Li Yan said: "That's good, I thought I was losing money!" ”

"You only paid three hundred dollars, and you won't lose anything!" Lin Renhua took over and said, "How is it, how sure are you?" Can you be sure it's Monet's work? ”

Seeing that the boss had spoken, several appraisers exchanged glances with each other, and one of them replied: "Eighty percent sure!" If you want exact results, you need a professional instrument to test it. ”

"Eighty?" Lin Renhua frowned slightly, and after pondering for a while, he looked at Li Yan and asked, "Xiao Li, do you have any plans to sell this painting?" ”

"Shot?" Li Yan was stunned and puzzled: "Old Lin, do you want to buy it?" But isn't the final result yet out? Aren't you afraid of accidents? ”

"No problem, eighty percent of the certainty is already very high! It's worth my old man's gamble! ”

In fact, Lin Renhua also wanted to wait until the final appraisal results came out before trading. But there is no impermeable wall in the world, and these appraisers under him are all old fritters who have been in the society for many years, and once they get out of this door, they don't know who will sell this news.

The birth of Monet's water lilies is definitely heavy news in the collecting world! Once the news leaks out, it will definitely attract a large number of collectors. At that time, it will not be up to Lin Renhua to have the final say!

Looking at Lin Renhua's seemingly fearful expression, Li Yan's heart turned and he understood the stakes. However, he did not take the opportunity to blackmail Lin Renhua, but directly agreed.

"Okay, since Lin Lao is sure, then I might as well be respectful!"

Lin Renhua has always taken good care of Li Yan, and he also wants to take this opportunity to repay him. Again, the forces behind Lin Renhua are definitely not comparable to Li Yan now, for the sake of a small profit, he offended a powerful opponent, and the gains outweighed the losses.