Although Shanghai was captured by the Northern Expeditionary Army, Nanjing was still at war. Pen | fun | pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 infoThe Shanghai-Nanjing railway was interrupted, and trains were requisitioned to transport military supplies and soldiers, and ordinary passengers could only stare and worry.

Zhou Hexuan continued to stay in Shanghai, participated in the Crescent Poetry Club with Xu Zhimo on Saturday, and went to play with Xu Beihong on the weekend.

Xu Beihong now has no proper occupation, he spends all day in the studio creating, and he will leave again in a few days. First went to France, then traveled to Western Europe, observing and studying the works of foreign masters along the way.

"Mr. Zhou, please take a seat!"

The person who received Zhou Hexuan was Xu Beihong's wife Jiang Biwei. He has short hair, a tall figure, and does things vigorously.

Zhou Hexuan held the teacup and asked, "Is Mr. Xu here?" ”

Jiang Biwei pointed inside: "In the studio, he doesn't like others to disturb him when he is creating, and I ask Mr. Zhou to forgive me." ”

"It's okay, artist." Zhou Hexuan said with a smile.

Jiang Biwei has followed Xu Beihong abroad all the year round, and she is also a woman with broad horizons. She has been sitting in the living room, chatting with Zhou Hexuan about European customs and news, but she has not neglected the guests.

Zhou Hexuan's first impression of Jiang Biwei was good, but when he thought of the emotional twists and turns between Xu and Jiang, he couldn't help but feel a little emotional.

Jiang Biwei had a marriage contract back then, and she eloped with Xu Beihong to get together. However, after a few years, Xu Beihong and the female student Sun Duoci had an affair, and Jiang Biwei also had a third party to pursue, coupled with the emotional discord between them, a loving couple parted ways.

Jiang Biwei's final choice was to be a mistress for more than 20 years.

It wasn't until noon that Jiang Biwei got up and went to the kitchen to cook, and Xu Beihong came out of the studio. He saw Zhou Hexuan stunned for a moment, and then smiled: "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Mr. Zhou has been waiting for a long time, right?" ”

"I just arrived for a while," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "I'm here to enjoy Brother Xu's masterpiece." ”

Xu Beihong hurriedly said: "Don't dare to make a big deal, please ask Mr. Zhou to be elegant." ”

The two of them laughed and went to the studio, where the paintings hung on the walls and leaned against the corners were all paintings, as well as various unfinished works. There are at least hundreds of them.

Zhou Hexuan valued the oil painting in the corner at a glance, it was a woman playing a long flute, and immediately said happily: "Brother Xu, your painting is very interesting." ”

Xu Beihong said: "This is what I painted last year, and it is an exploratory work. I wanted to add Chinese elements to the oil paintings, and I also put some thought into the composition, cutting the figures and scenery so that the center of gravity of the figures deviated from the center of the picture. ”

"The Sound of the Flute"!

National first-class key protected cultural relics, I didn't expect to see the real thing here.

Zhou Hexuan couldn't wait to ask: "I like this painting very much, how much is it worth?" ”

For a painter with little reputation, buying a painting is not only not abrupt, but rather a recognition and appreciation of the painter. Although Xu Beihong has spent most of his time in Europe in recent years, he has often gone to Nanyang for the purpose of selling paintings, and it is very expensive to travel abroad all year round.

"Thank you Mr. Zhou for your support," Xu Beihong said, "but this painting cannot be sold for the time being, and I promised a friend that I would take "The Sound of Xiao" to France for him to enjoy." ”

Zhou Hexuan pointed to another sketch: "What about this one?" ”

Xu Beihong was embarrassed and said: "This pair can't be sold, I painted it for my beloved wife." ”

Zhou Hexuan also felt that it was inappropriate, the name of this sketch was "Sleep", and the painting was Jiang Biwei sleeping. It's awkward to buy a painting of someone's wife sleeping and treasure it.

It's a pity that Xu Beihong's famous works such as "Tian Heng Five Hundred Scholars", "Eight Horses", "Jiufang Gao", and "Rooster Singing the World White" have not yet come out at this time, otherwise Zhou Hexuan would have bought whatever he said.

Picking and choosing, Zhou Hexuan chose a sketch "The Horseman and the Horse", an oil painting "Far Away", and Xu Beihong's copy of the master work "Abundance", which are all Xu Beihong's famous paintings. In addition, he also bought more than a dozen unknown works such as "Autumn Mood" and "Galloping Horse", and these paintings also have a high degree of art, and the reason why they are not famous is that they are probably lost in the war and rush.

Zhou Hexuan took a pen and wrote an IOU of 5,000 yuan, and said embarrassedly: "Brother Xu, I don't have enough money, so I can only owe it first, and I will go to the foreign bank to get it when I turn around." ”

"It's not worth that much." Xu Beihong waved his hand again and again.

"It's worth it," Zhou Hexuan said with a smile, "I believe that Brother Xu's works will be worth twice in a few years, and I can be regarded as picking up a bargain." ”

After 2010, these paintings bought by Zhou Hexuan were worth tens of millions of dollars. It's a pity that "Ba People Drawing Water" has not yet been drawn, and that work even sold for a sky-high price of 171 million yuan.

Zhou Hexuan felt that he had taken a big advantage, but Xu Beihong was quite ashamed, he thought that Zhou Hexuan was helping generously, and resolutely refused to accept the 5,000 silver dollars.

Zhou Hexuan took the opportunity to say: "Brother Xu, why don't you give me a pair of ink treasures, just use your brush to write." ”

Xu Beihong was a little confused, he had only seen anyone asking for painting, and he had never met someone asking him for calligraphy, so he said shamefully: "My words are not worth mentioning." ”

"Brother Xu doesn't have to be too humble." Zhou Hexuan knows that Xu Beihong's calligraphy is also a must.

Xu Beihong no longer shirked, and according to Zhou Hexuan's request, he wrote two poems on the drawing paper with a paintbrush: "There is a confidant in the sea, and the end of the world is like a neighbor." There is also a line of small characters written in front of it, "Brother Zhou Hexuan Huijian", and the inscription is "Ding Mao Yangchun Beihong", and it is specially stamped with a seal.

"Good word!" Zhou Hexuan praised.

Xu Beihong studied Zhao Mengfu in his early years, and later copied Wei Beibei, and after Kang Youwei's careful guidance, he had his own style at this time.

The pair of characters that Zhou Hexuan got in his hand not only had Zhao Mengfu's graceful and mellow, but also Wei Bei's ancient clumsiness and thickness, which seemed to be casual, but in fact it was rigorous and subtle. Even if Xu Beihong is not a painter, this calligraphy alone is enough to become famous all over the world.

At lunchtime, Xu Beihong talked about his calligraphy and said with emotion: "Mr. Nanhai has taught me a lot." When I was young, I always admired Zhao Mengfu, and it was Master Kang who took me to visit famous artists, so that I had the opportunity to copy a large number of Wei tablet rubbings. ”

Speaking of Kang Youwei, Zhou Hexuan couldn't help but smile and said: "Kang Nanhai has been very nourishing in the past few years, and I met him in Puyi Mansion last year. ”

Xu Beihong shook his head helplessly: "Everything is fine with Master Kang, but the utilitarian heart is too heavy." Alas, I shouldn't have exposed my strengths and weaknesses. ”

"To tell the truth, Mr. Nanhai also gave me a table name, called Ruoyu. Ha ha. Zhou Hexuan laughed.

Kang Youwei in the mouth of the two, if nothing happens, will die in Qingdao in a few days, and his death is unknown.

Zhou Hexuan took more than a dozen paintings, got a pair of ink treasures, and happily returned to Xu Zhimo's house.

Halfway through, he heard the newsboy's shouting: "Outside the nickname, the Northern Expeditionary Army has captured Nanjing!" ”