Hello 1983

  Chapter 843 This is really a return to Zhao!

  The islanders have been frantically sweeping up goods at international auctions in the past few years. On the surface, it is the result of economic expansion.

  But the deep-seated reason is cultural.

  The reason is simple: I am not confident in my own country's culture, so I want to buy oil paintings.

   This kind of situation, in China decades later, also had a small trend, but it was stopped soon.

   Firstly, it is a lesson learned from the island country, and secondly, as the only remaining ancient civilization, we have enough self-confidence in terms of culture.

  The sweeping goods by the islanders at international auctions almost delighted those art speculators in Europe and the United States.

   For them, this is a crazy feast.

  In the art market, the water here is deep, and there are so many routines.

  Art speculators, the most popular type of people, they sell the paintings that were originally not very valuable after hype, and then increase the price several times or more than ten times, and make a lot of money.

  Of course, masterpieces that truly stand the test of time will not only not depreciate, but will also increase in value.

   It's like the Moulin Rouge ball, and its current value has reached 132 million US dollars.

  The portrait of Dr. Gachet was later auctioned for 139.5 million US dollars.

  It is mainly the paintings of third-rate or even low-rate painters, mainly impressionism and abstraction, which are hyped at high prices by these unscrupulous art dealers.

  The final value cannot even reach one-tenth of the original value.

  Most of the paintings mortgaged in the Bank of Tokyo are in this category.

  Because there are only a few who can spend tens of millions of dollars, most collectors in island countries still choose mid-to-low-end artworks.

   And these things, Liu Qingshan is even more despised, and even these masterpieces, in fact, have limited room for value-added.

  It seems that it will double in a few decades, but in the past few decades, the economy has grown by an unknown number of times. If this money is invested in any other industry, it will be ten times or dozens of times the profit.

   Even if Liu Qingshan wants to buy these famous paintings, he will not use them for collection. The most likely thing is to go to foreign museums in exchange for some Chinese national treasures.

  So Liu Qingshan no longer studied this list, and threw it aside: "Mr. Kuroda, we are more interested in Chinese cultural relics."

   "Yes, we also have antiques here." Kuroda also quickly understood Liu Qingshan's intentions, and asked someone to bring a brochure.

  Liu Qingshan smiled slightly, and didn't care, of course he knew Kuroda's petty thoughts, nothing more than taking these oil paintings and continuing to fool around.

  Because judging from the prices in the international art market, oil paintings are the most valuable, while the prices of Chinese antiques are simply incomparable.

  As for why the price has risen rapidly after decades, of course it was speculated by those international speculators.

  The value of works of art has never been fixed. When China's economy develops, China's antiques will naturally rise.

   Coupled with the help of those cultural relic dealers, the price will rise steadily.

  In the current era, the prices of Chinese artworks are generally low.

  Mr. Kuroda obviously wanted to take some more dollars out of Liu Qingshan's pocket.

  The booklet is still written in Japanese. Uncle Lu and Lao Maoer only know a few Chinese characters in it occasionally, so they are a little impatient:

   "This thing is too laborious, can you see the real thing?"

  Normal people will of course be rejected when they make such a request, but when encountering a big buyer like Liu Qingshan, the bank will of course give the green light all the way.

  Of course outsiders cannot be allowed to enter the vault, but the bank mobilized more than a dozen people to free up hundreds of antiques and display them in the VIP room.

  There are strict procedures for the entry and exit of these items, so it took a while, and the old hat master was a little anxious.

   Uncle Lu was there, and he would comfort him from time to time: "It's not too late for a good meal, so be patient."

  Old Maoer wiped his bald head: "I'm really hungry after what you said."

  It was almost noon, and when Kuroda heard this, he hurriedly went out to eat.

  Liu Qingshan smiled and waved his hands: "Order some food, just eat here, so as not to waste time."

  Kuroda rolled his eyes, and hurried out to make arrangements. After a while, the takeaway was delivered, and it turned out to be Chinese food, which was very rich, and there was even a box of Moutai.

   "It is a real strength to entertain all distinguished guests in this way. I will drink a glass first to apologize." Kuroda poured wine for everyone, and he did it first as a respect.

  As a department manager of this bank, he usually socializes a lot, which also contributed to Kuroda's long drinking capacity.

  He also thought carefully, it would be better to drink Liu Qingshan and his group dizzy, and then it would be convenient for him to do tricks.

   "Moutai, I need to drink some."

  Smelling the aroma of wine, Li Tieniu picked up a bottle by himself, and after opening the cap, he gulped it down like pouring cold water.

   "Excellent!" Li Tieniu wiped his mouth, and then picked up the vegetables with his chopsticks.

   After eating two mouthfuls of food, he opened another bottle, but he still drank it in one mouthful without changing his face.

  Mr. Kuroda, who was accompanying the drink, almost threw up: This is simply a wine barrel.

  So he quickly put away his small thoughts, and never dared to persuade him to drink again.

  Liu Qingshan and the others didn't drink at all, they hurriedly ate hard, and just as they put down their chopsticks, those antiques were transported to the VIP room under strict supervision.

   "Start work!" Uncle Lu took out a handkerchief to wipe his mouth, then took out a magnifying glass and began to inspect the goods.

  Lao Mao'er was not idle, and also began to follow the appraisal.

  He picked up a copper stove by hand, flicked it lightly with his finger, and it gave out a crisp and pleasant echo.

   "This is the famous Xuande furnace in your country." Kuroda interjected.

   "Fake, counterfeit." After hearing Wu Tong's translation, Lao Maoer responded: "This is an imitation of the Qing Dynasty."

   Kuroda was very embarrassed. He knew the details of these antiques, and of course he already knew that they were imitations.

   There are a lot of things, even Lu Fang and Lu Liang brothers joined the ranks of appraisal. They have studied with Uncle Lu for several years, and they are basically half-finished.

   Liu Qingshan was the worst, he could only check the labels on these items with Wu Tong there.

  Some are the records of the auction house’s bidding, some are the appraisal results issued by experts, etc., and there are prices on them.

  For example, the imitated Xuande furnace is priced at 35,000 US dollars.

  What should I say about this price? Although it was imitated in the Qing Dynasty, if it is kept for decades, it can also increase in value.

   But in Liu Qingshan's eyes, it doesn't mean much: why buy imitations when there are good ones?

   "I'm not sure about this one, but this gilt bronze Buddha statue is pretty good..."

  Master Lu was the quickest to appraise. Anyway, the things he said he was not sure about were identified as fakes by Liu Qingshan.

  Wu Tong is mainly responsible for translating the introductions on the labels for Master Lu, and also helping to deliver the items.

  Listening to her reading the name on the label, Uncle Lu shook his head from time to time: "This is the name given by some 25-eyed appraiser. It's all wrong, okay? I'm ashamed to go to the auction."

   This is also impossible. Chinese antiques have gone through too long a time and there are many types. It is common for foreign appraisers to make mistakes.

   "This seal is very interesting. There are characters on all sides." Wu Tong also held a two-inch long white jade and handed it to Uncle Lu.

  Uncle Lu’s palm trembled, and he almost dropped the jade on the ground. He quickly covered it with both hands: “What’s the price on this?”

  Wu Tong read to him the text on the appraisal certificate: "An ancient seal, the auction price is 18,000 US dollars."

  Liu Qingshan also came up, he also saw Uncle Lu's reaction just now, and knew that this must be a good thing.

  Looking up here, Liu Qingshan was also ecstatic: What kind of seal is this? Isn’t this Yumao? I just don’t know if it’s from the Han Dynasty!

  Yumao is also called Shuangmao, one is called Gangmao and the other is Yanmao.

   It is a rectangular columnar object with a round hole in the middle. It is made of jade, dentin and gold. The materials are different according to the identity of the wearer.

   Jade like this is only eligible to be worn by emperors and princes, and it is used to ward off evil spirits.

  The reason why Liu Qingshan, a half-assed person in an antique shop, knows about Shuang Mao is because Uncle Lu and the others received a jade Mao when they received the goods, which was a Gang Mao.

  It's a pity that there is another Yan Mao missing, so they can't be paired.

   You must know that the number of jade hairs handed down from generation to generation is extremely rare. The second son of the Yuan family, a famous collector in the Republic of China, got a pair of son jade hairs by chance and spent thousands of dollars.

   Unexpectedly, I saw one here. I wonder if it can be paired with the one at home?

  Uncle Lu carefully identified the writing on Yumao’s side. When he saw the eight characters “Severe Sun Mao, Emperor Order Kuihua”, he raised his eyes and glanced at Liu Qingshan, then nodded slightly.

  Each side of Yu Mao is engraved with characters, basically eight characters. This one is obviously Yan Mao.

   Look at the writing on it again, it is seal characters, vigorous and ancient.

  Uncle Lu himself is the best at jade, as soon as he gets it, he knows it is Hanyu.

   And judging from the font, it fits very well with the Gang Mao at home, so it must have been a pair in the first place.

  Uncle Lu couldn't help sighing in his heart: This is really a perfect return to Zhao!

   You must know that the jade-made double mao is of the highest rank, so it is rarely circulated. So far, only four pairs have been unearthed in China, and its preciousness can be seen.

  However, such a precious thing is used as a seal by foreigners who don’t know how to do it. Your seal has four sides with words?

  It’s just right, the foreigner who doesn’t know the goods has marked a very low price, this mistake is definitely picked up.

  However, on Master Lu's mouth, there was still some praise and criticism: "The material is not bad, but it's a pity that the engraving on it is too bad, spoiling a good thing."

   "It's only 18,000 yuan, it's too much to give a small change." Liu Qingshan naturally followed closely: "Mr. Kuroda, in the past two years, your countrymen were really popular with auction houses."

   Kuroda moved his mouth and wanted to argue a few words, but he couldn't say anything. He really doesn't understand these things, he is worse than Liu Qingshan.

  Liu Qingshan's words, although somewhat ironic, are indeed true.

   Having no choice, Kuroda could only bow: "Mr. Liu, I am making you laugh."

  Liu Qingshan smiled and waved his hands: "It's nothing. Mr. Kuroda doesn't need to blame himself. It's actually normal. Anyone who becomes an upstart will inevitably feel a little flustered."

  Kuroda can only apologize. Before the bubble economy burst, why not?

  With the efforts of several people, pieces of antiques were picked out.

  Those Uncle Lu said that they are not sure, don’t want them. The number of this part is really quite a lot, accounting for more than half.

  Most of them cannot be said to be completely fake, mainly imitated by later generations.

  The Qing Dynasty imitated the Ming Dynasty, or the Ming Dynasty imitated the Song Dynasty. Although they are considered antiques in modern times, their value is low.

  Kuroda's forehead gradually began to sweat, because he found that those problematic antiques were basically thrown out.

   Awesome, I originally wanted to pretend to be fake, but now it seems that it will not work at all.

  In the end, Liu Qingshan and the others picked out a total of more than 80 antiques, most of which were porcelain, gold and silverware, and only a few paintings and calligraphy.

  The next step is to calculate the price.

  Kuroda took the calculator and clicked it. The total was 1.98 million US dollars, which was less than 2 million.

   I have to say that the valuation of Chinese antiques is really low now.

   But at this price, Liu Qingshan still thinks it is expensive, he waved his hand directly: "Mr. Kuroda, these antiques are only half a million dollars."

  500,000?

  Kuroda's eyeballs almost popped out, and he quickly bowed and waved his hands again: "Mr. Liu, absolutely not, this price is too low, and our bank can't accept it."

  These antiques are all collateral used by the people to repay the loan, and the ownership has already belonged to the bank. If they really lose money, it will be the bank's own money.

  Liu Qingshan smiled slightly: "Mr. Kuroda, if you can't make the decision, you'd better invite someone who can make the decision."

Wu Tong is also a husband and wife: "Mr. Kuroda, I have been living here for the past few years, so I know the situation here very well. Now many real estates have depreciated by 80% or even more, so our bid is very reasonable .”

   "But these are antiques, not real estate and stocks." Kuroda also argued.

  Although he bowed and looked polite, but in terms of price, he was very stubborn.

  Liu Qingshan is not in a hurry: "The value of art has always been based on the market."

  "Mr. Kuroda, just like the oil painting of Van Gogh and the portrait of Dr. Gachet you saw in the catalog just now, the price is 82.5 million US dollars, but if you send it to Christie's now, can you still fetch this price?"

   "But..." Kuroda also knew very well that the prices of these oil paintings were all inflated, and the actual price should at least be a 50% discount.

   Kuroda wiped his sweat, and finally thought of another reason:

   "Mr. Liu, the value of antiques in your country is still seriously underestimated. With the development of your country's economy, there is a huge room for antiques to appreciate, so you will definitely make a lot of money from this business."

  This guy’s vision is still good, the future is indeed the case, but Liu Qingshan doesn’t buy it, he slightly shook his head and said:

   "Mr. Kuroda, this is my business, so don't worry about it. If the price can't be traded, then we can only go to another bank."

   After speaking, Liu Qingshan stood up, and Wu Tong also cooperated with Liu Qingshan's arm, and walked towards the door together.

  (end of this chapter)