James walked out of an antique shop with a half-meter-long oil painting in his arms. The pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info the ridicule of the store manager, he has become accustomed to it, and has no desire to fight back at all.

Since half a month ago, James found this Monet's water lily in the old warehouse of his home, and he began a long journey of identification and sale.

Unfortunately, none of the antique shops believed James's judgment, and each appraiser only gave him a few quick glances before declaring it a forgery and throwing him out.

Sitting on the stone steps outside the shop, James threw the oil painting in his hand in a dejected manner, thinking that he could make a fortune from it, but he did not expect that it was a fake, which made him happy.

"Smack"

The painting fell straight at Li Yan's feet, and he looked at James suspiciously, Li Yan leaned down and picked up the oil painting on the ground.

The dusty picture frame is full of wormholes, and on the gray-yellow canvas, you can vaguely see a pool of water lilies. The deliberately blurred colors make the whole painting seem to be covered with a layer of gauze, hazy and abstract, quite characteristic of Chinese landscape painting.

However, the quality of this painting is really a bit unacceptable. Twisting the thick dust on the painting, Li Yan's eyes, which were still a little appreciative, suddenly dimmed.

Sure enough, how could a masterpiece by a top master like Monet appear on the market so easily! Shaking his head in discouragement, Li Yan wanted to return the painting to James in front of him.

"Boss, wait a minute! Let me take a closer look! Li Yan suddenly remembered a voice in his mind, and after being stunned, he realized that it was Livermore talking to him.

Li Yan's heart moved, and he said in his heart: "What? Is this painting really a failure? ”

"I seem to have seen this painting in my lifetime, but its owner is supposed to be a director of an investment bank, how could it end up in the hands of this down-and-out guy?"

Li Yan raised his eyes and looked at the depressed James on the steps of the store, his eyes moved, and he got up and walked forward.

"Hey! Is this painting yours? After saying hello, Li Yan sat down next to James, raised the oil painting in his hand, and asked casually.

"It's not mine, isn't it yours?" James, who was angry, replied angrily to Li Yan.

After eating a dusty face, Li Yan shrugged his shoulders helplessly, patted the other party's shoulder and said: "My sister is studying oil painting now, I see that your painting is not bad, how about selling me?" ”

"Really?" Hearing that Li Yan wanted to buy his own oil paintings, James's eyes lit up, and he said excitedly: "Sir, you have such a good vision!" This painting of mine is a water lily by the Impressionist master Monet, and it is worth ......"

Stretching out his hand to stop James's fanatical explanation, Li Yan pointed to the oil painting full of wormholes, and said directly: "If it is really Monet's water lily, then will you still be driven out?" ”

"Huh? There's a reason for this, this! It's because they can't see enough, but my paintings have been handed down from my ancestors! Li Yan's words directly hit James's weakness, scratched his head in embarrassment, and expected Ai Ai's explanation.

"Passed down from your ancestors?" Li Yan stared at James and said with a smile: "Then your family's preservation methods are really eye-opening!" ”

"This, this is caused by my carelessness, and it is my fault." Coughing embarrassedly, James said, "But it really came down from my ancestors!" ”

"Oh? Can you tell me about it? Li Yan's heart moved, and he inquired without leaving a trace.

James puffed up his chest and said proudly: "Don't look at me as depressed as I am, but listen to my father, our family was a famous financial tyrant in New York in the 20th century. Holding the control of more than a dozen investment banks, large and small, it can be described as monstrous and unlimited! ”

Unfortunately, in the later information technology revolution, the helmsman of the family failed to keep up with the trend of the times in time and was overtaken by the latecomers. Since then, our family has been in a state of collapse until it is where it is now. ”

Sighing, James had infinite reverence and remembrance for the glory of the family that only existed in the imagination. It's a pity that the world is impermanent, and by the time of his generation, his family is no different from ordinary people, and the scenery of the past is gone.

"What about this painting? Is it passed down from your family predecessors? Li Yan's eyes flashed with a glimmer of light, and he asked James.

"Well, it's not." James hesitated, but still didn't dare to deceive Li Yan. "I dug it out of the old warehouse of my ancestral house, and I thought it was Monet's real thing, but I didn't expect it...... Ay! ”

After so many rejections and ridicules, James had completely lost faith in the painting. Now, all he wants to do is sell it as soon as possible.

Li Yan's expression remained unchanged, and he asked Livermore in his heart, "How is it?" Can you be sure? ”

"Eighty percent! In this way, the boss can ask his family name and the location of the ancestral house, and I can have an accurate grasp! ”

Li Yan nodded slightly, pondered for a moment, and asked, "So your family should be very famous!" How come I haven't heard of it? Can you tell me more about that? ”

"Why are you interested in these?"

"Oh, I'm a finance major, and when I hear about this, I habitually want to inquire."

There is no doubt about him, James said casually: "The Sandy family, the Sandy family that originated in Boston!" It's normal that you haven't heard of it, I heard my father say that our family is used to operating behind the scenes, and we didn't come to the forefront. If you hadn't specifically inquired, you wouldn't have known about our family! ”

"Boston? So this painting is what you turned out of your ancestral house in Boston, right? ”

Nodding, James replied, "Yes, that's where I found it." ”

Li Yan's eyes narrowed, and he asked Livermore, "What now?" Can you be sure? ”

"That's right! It's this family! I'm sure I saw this water lily in the Sandy family in Boston! Livermore said in a firm tone.

Raising the corners of his mouth imperceptibly, Li Yan's fingers tapped the picture frame and said, "Okay, thank you for the story!" So how much do you sell this painting for? ”

Glancing at Li Yan, whose expression was flat, James said in a tentative tone: "A thousand dollars? ”

Li Yan didn't speak, just stared at each other calmly with his eyes.

"A thousand definitely won't work!" James smiled awkwardly and continued, "Eight hundred dollars? ”

Still didn't reply, the corners of Li Yan's mouth raised, and he looked into James's eyes with a hint of a smile.

"The seven hundred dollars?"

"Six hundred?"

"Five hundred?"

"Four hundred! That's the lowest price yet! It couldn't get any lower than that! ”

Li Yan looked at James with an anxious face and said, "Three hundred dollars!" If it's okay, I'll take it, if it doesn't, you can find another home! ”

Li Yan handed the oil painting in his hand to James, and there was no room for negotiation in his tone.

After gritting his teeth and thinking for a while, James nodded fiercely, "Okay! $300 is $300! I sold it to you! ”

The corners of his mouth raised slightly, and Li Yan took the oil painting back. He counted out three hundred dollars from his wallet and handed it to James.

After taking the money, James did not have a trace of nostalgia, and after saying a simple goodbye to Li Yan, he left directly.

Staring at the back of the other party disappearing on the street corner, Li Yan was finally able to completely relax. This legendary water lily has finally become his bag!

The first time to trade such a valuable item, although it was carried out without the other party's knowledge, Li Yan was still a little excited.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm down the violently beating heart, Li Yan carefully looked at the oil painting in his hand.

"Huh? It's hard to believe that it's Monet's water lilies. It seems that we will have to find an expert to carefully fix it. ”

Li Yan happens to know such a character. Carefully tucked the oil painting under his arm, Li Yan walked towards the Lin family's antique workshop where he worked.