Siheyuan: My wife is Xu Huizhen

Chapter 154 Visiting

For this painting, the film master never introduced who the original owner was, and he had no intention of introducing it, so He Yuzhu didn't ask any more questions.

With such a high price, it seems that the film master wants to eat both sides and get more benefits.

Xu Huizhen said with a smile: "I heard that Xu Beihong is famous for painting horses. How can you say a painting of a farming cow? If the picture of a galloping horse costs 30 yuan, I think it is quite appropriate, but this is not a painting of a farming cow. ”

Filmmaker Qiu Pupu asked for 30 yuan, which was a hefty price. It was rumored that Boss He had a big business and a rich family, and he really wanted to kill someone.

"This is the first time we're dealing with each other. Mr. Film, please tell me the real price."

After some haggling, the deal was finally settled at 25 yuan, which also included the agency fee for the film director Qiu Guangpu.

"Master Pian, if you have any good paintings or antiques in the future, you can send them over."

"Okay, if you can find out anything about it, I'll keep it for you."

Qiu Pupu was very satisfied, took the money and left directly. After He Yuzhu admired it for a while, he took it away and put it away.

After having the film master, he also collected several paintings one after another, and the news of He Yuzhu's collection gradually spread through the front door.

Two days later, Master Hong Henian came over. He Yuzhu asked: "Master, do you also know that I collect antiques?"

"Antique? What kind of mess? I'm looking for you to cook."

"Cooking?"

He Yuzhu was very surprised. After the braised pork business got better, He Yuzhu was too lazy to take on outside work. Only some relatives and friends would cook when they encountered weddings and weddings.

No one else could invite He Yuzhu. After all, he had reached the top level of experience, comparable to a state banquet master. He Yuzhu was too lazy to earn the three melons and two dates, so he might as well make it for his wife.

Hong Henian said: "I know you don't want to take on outside work, but this time you are not an ordinary person. I think you should do it again."

"Who is it?" He Yuzhu was a little curious.

"It's a painter named Li Keran. He wants to celebrate the birthday of his master Qi Baishi. I'll ask you around and then let me invite you."

Hong Henian felt a little sad when he talked about this. At first, he thought he was looking for him, but he was extremely happy. After all, he was cooking for Qi Baishi, so it would be a good thing to spread the word.

But he didn't expect that they didn't want to invite him at all, but just asked him to be a middleman to invite He Yuzhu to cook for him.

He Yuzhu thought about it. He wanted to go to Qi Mansion to ask for a painting before, but he hadn't found an introducer yet. Now he had to cook, and he still had to go there. He also had contacts, and maybe he could get a painting directly. .

"Who is Li Keran?"

Of course He Yuzhu also knew this person, and he was also a very famous painter.

Hong Henian said: "Mr. Li is Mr. Qi's apprentice and he is also very good at painting. Don't reject them."

He Yuzhu nodded and said, "Okay, I want to meet Mr. Li first."

"Okay, I'll arrange it."

In the evening, Hong Henian came over with Mr. Li.

He Yuzhu invited the two of them to the reception room. After entering the room, Mr. Li did not sit down directly and stared at the banners on the wall.

"Mr. Li?" Hong Henian didn't expect that Mr. Li would be so rude, so he couldn't help but remind him softly.

Mr. Li was shocked and said apologetically: "I'm sorry, it was a bit abrupt."

"You're welcome, Mr. Li, please."

Mr. Li did not sit down in a hurry, but asked first: "Which calligrapher does the calligraphy on this wall belong to? Why is it not signed?"

Hong Henian smiled and said: "Mr. Li praised me. These calligraphy works were all written by Zhu Zhu himself."

After waking up with Shu Chun's skill, He Yuzhu was very dissatisfied. After all, this skill looked a bit weird, so He Yuzhu made up his mind and copied a number of famous inscriptions.

Finally, Shuchun's skill was improved to calligraphy, and he did not give up this skill. He wrote two large characters every day, and also studied hard-tipped calligraphy. After years of practice, he finally improved his calligraphy to the top level.

It's just that He Yuzhu is not a member of the calligraphy circle. No matter how beautiful the handwriting is, the relatives and friends around him will not think that the calligraphy has reached the standard of a calligraphy master.

Mr. Li is not only a painter, but also a poet and calligrapher. After entering the house, he was first attracted by the banners hanging on the wall. The characters are all unique and of their own school.

However, it was completely different from the calligraphy of various schools and schools in his memory. Mr. Li was shocked that he had never seen the pen and ink of this master before.

"You said these words belong to Chef He and Mr. He?"

I originally wanted to call He Yuzhu Chef He, but I changed my name temporarily to Mr. He. After all, if this calligraphy was really written by He Yuzhu, it would definitely be a big event that shocked the book world.

In Li Keran's opinion, the pen and ink of all calligraphers in recent decades are inferior to the words on this banner on the wall.

He Yuzhu smiled and said: "Mr. Li, you are too polite. My handwriting is only average. I am only at the level of a calligraphy enthusiast. I am just amusing myself."

"Mr. He is too humble. If I had known that your calligraphy was so excellent, I should have visited you and discussed it a long time ago."

Li Keran looked at He Yuzhu, who was still the spearhead young man in front of him, and felt a little hesitant. He studied under Qi Baishi and Huang Binhong at the same time in 46 years, specializing in the creation of traditional Chinese paintings. He always wanted to improve his calligraphy, but there was no progress. .

If the calligraphy on the wall was written by an old gentleman, he must have directly recognized his master and learned calligraphy. But this was written by a young man in his early twenties, which made Li Keran very confused. He could not recognize him as his master. !

"Mr. Li is too polite. Let's talk about the banquet."

"Oh, yes, yes, you see I'm confused. Let's talk about the banquet first."

Only then did Li Keran remember the business. After learning calligraphy, they could discuss it with each other. For now, it was better to settle the business first.

Only then did He Yuzhu know the whole story. The birthday of Li Keran's master, Mr. Qi, was New Year's Day. On New Year's Day last year, he also asked someone to cook a few tables of meals, but the taste was average and could not satisfy Mr. Qi.

Therefore, Li Keran, who was an apprentice this year, was very concerned and asked around to find a more capable chef. Later, he found out about the chef He Yuzhu of Nanluogu Lane.

In fact, they had all tasted the braised pork sold by He Yuzhu, and they all praised it. However, they didn't know He Yuzhu's skills as a chef. After asking around, they asked someone to find Hong Henian to help them connect.

The Qi family has a large population, with 12 children alone, and many apprentices and grandchildren. Plus some relatives and friends, a total of five tables need to be opened.

He Yuzhu nodded and agreed, and then said: "I can take action, but I have a condition."

If he hadn't seen the banner written by He Yuzhu himself, Li Keran would still be a little unhappy, but after seeing He Yuzhu's pen and ink, he couldn't treat He Yuzhu as an ordinary chef. This calligraphy is already the best in the world.

"Mr. He, please tell me, as long as we can do it, we can agree." He Yuzhu was still thinking about asking Qi Baishi for a painting, so he smiled and said, "Actually, it's a very simple thing. I don't want cash this time. I want to I want a painting by Mr. Qi.”

Li Keran immediately relaxed and thought it was some difficult condition to fulfill. Unexpectedly, he was actually asking for a painting and said:

"Okay, no problem, I can agree to this for the master."

In fact, Qi Baishi's paintings are not expensive now. He made a living selling paintings all his life. He has more than 4000 paintings in his later generations, and he is a very prolific painter.

At this time, the runge that Qi Baishi hung out cost 6 yuan per square foot, and a normal painting only cost or yuan.

It was only equivalent to a month's salary of an ordinary person, so He Yuzhu wanted to use the wages of five tables of food and drinks in exchange for a painting by Qi Baishi. If he calculated it carefully, Qi Baishi still took advantage.

After all, even if he was offered 10 yuan to cook a banquet, he didn't want to do it.

He Yuzhu's cooking level is already at the highest level, and the salary of 10 yuan, in He Yuzhu's opinion, is far from reflecting his own value.

"Then the matter is settled."

"Okay, but can you make a table the day after tomorrow and let my master try the taste first?"

"Okay, no problem."

Nowadays, information is not smooth, and it is not easy to collect and turn into antiques. Taking this opportunity, you may be able to break into the circle of cultural people. It will be simpler and more straightforward to collect their paintings in the future.

He Yuzhu has no shortage of money or food. He can just use it to exchange for paintings, so that I can feed these painters.

The two quickly agreed on the menu for the day after tomorrow. He Yuzhu listed some ingredients and prepared them together. When the time came, he went directly to Qi Mansion to cook a table of dishes for Qi Baishi to taste first.

After sending Li Keran away, Hong Henian asked: "Zhuzi, since you like Mr. Qi's paintings, why don't you come to buy them?"

"Master, you don't know how strict Qi Baishi's rules are."

Qi Baishi's temper is very weird, more willful than weird.

Qi Baishi is the kind of character who falls into the money bag. This person only recognizes money and not people. No matter who comes to ask for a painting, no matter how well connected he is, he will give him enough money. Without money, no one will give him a painting.

Of course, this is a prerequisite. Now that he has already become famous, it is not enough to just give him money. It also depends on his mood. When he is in a bad mood, he will not be able to buy paintings even if the King of Heaven comes.

People who engage in art have very distinct personalities, just like children. If someone comes to ask for a painting and he doesn't want to paint, he can just write a note saying "I'm not here" and stick it on the door.

Directly shutting people out, making people dumbfounded.

Qi Baishi, who was born on New Year's Day in 1864, is now ninety years old and has lost his energy. He even made a rule that those who ask for paintings cannot specify the content.

Even if Qi Baishi agrees to your words, he won't make you feel comfortable. What he wants to draw depends on his mood. I won't draw what you want. If you are happy, you can draw whatever you want, whether you want love or not.

However, Qi Baishi is the ceiling of the contemporary painting world. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, all walks of life can only support him. After all, no one has a temper when facing old artists.

Hong Henian was dumbfounded after hearing this. There were not many people in the capital who didn't know Qi Baishi's name, but he didn't expect that his personality was so distinctive.

"Sure enough, if you come directly to ask for paintings, most of them will be rejected."

"Yeah, I don't know if changing the painting will go smoothly this time."

Although the prices of the paintings at this time were not high, Qi Baishi's reputation was so great that most people would not let go of the paintings in their hands. He Yuzhu had people asking for it for a long time, but he couldn't buy it.

Two days later, Li Keran was ready and came to invite He Yuzhu.

Nanluogu Lane is a north-south alley with a width of 8 meters. There are eight small alleys on the left and right. Yu'er Hutong is one of them. Qi Baishi's old house is located in Yu'er Hutong.

This place is not far away from He Yuzhu's No. 95 Courtyard in a straight line, which is about two to three hundred meters away. I have seen this great painter before.

In fact, there is another famous person nearby, a well-known figure in the literary world. His home is not far to the west of Nanluogu Lane, near Bald Jiang's residence.

Under the leadership of Li Keran, they soon arrived at Qi Baishi's home in Yuer Hutong.

This is a courtyard with two entrances. As early as the Republic of China, Qi Baishi spent a lot of money to buy it.

For a period of time at that time, Qi Baishi was still very profitable, and a painting could be sold for more than 10 yuan.

The remuneration of painters is called Runge. During the Republic of China, Mr. Wu Changshuo determined the salary of Qi Baishi. A five-foot painting was worth 18 yuan, a six-foot painting was 20 yuan, and an eight-foot painting was 30 yuan.

This price is only half of Mr. Wu Changshuo's, but in later generations, the price of Qi Baishi's paintings was 30 times that of Wu Changshuo. I wonder if Wu Changshuo would be so angry that the coffin boards could not hold it down.

In the early days of the Republic of China, painting was still very profitable. However, due to inflation, paintings sold for hundreds of thousands, which was not even enough to cover living expenses.

At the time of the founding of the People's Republic of China, someone gave Qi Baishi a price of 4 yuan per square foot, which was already a high price.

At this time, Huang Binhong's paintings only cost one yuan a foot. Even though they were so cheap, it was difficult to sell them.

Even so, Qi Baishi felt that the price did not reflect his level, so he raised his price to 6 yuan per square foot. Even so, there was still an endless stream of people buying paintings.

However, the Qi family has a large population and they all rely on Qi Baishi to sell paintings to support the family. Life is still very difficult. Now they are 90 years old and still have to sell paintings to make a living.

After entering the door, Li Keran warned: "Mr. Li, if my master says something unpleasant, you must not take it to heart."

"Okay, I understand, just draw it."

Seeing that He Yuzhu agreed, Li Keran stepped forward and knocked on the door.

After waiting for a while, the person who opened the door was a little nanny who looked young and very handsome.

"Mr. Li is here, please come in."

Li Keran introduced: "This is the nanny who serves my master. Her name is Chunfang. If you need anything later, I will call her."

He Yuzhu looked up and down and realized that this woman dressed as a little girl was no longer a girl, she had already become a woman.

You know, Qi Baishi is a model of an old-hearted man. Even at the age of 93, he still wants to marry a wife and have concubines.

You know, Qi Baishi has three major hobbies: painting, money, and beautiful women.

(End of this chapter)