Living like a salted fish in the end times

Chapter 156 "Water Lily"

At noon, Zhang Hao had a simple lunch in the Wenwan store. There is no canteen in the store, but there are microwave ovens and steamers that can provide heating services. All employees must bring their own lunch, otherwise they will only be hungry.

In the afternoon, he continued to stay in the store to help.

It may be that the news spread, and people came here one after another, most of them were foreigners.

"Hello, I have an oil painting in my hand. I wonder if you will accept it?"

It was an old man with white hair who spoke.

The accent should come from the other side.

"Accept." Zhang Hao nodded, "But we only accept oil paintings before modern times, modern works are not accepted, please forgive me."

Relatively speaking, the water for modern works is too deep, and many painters are still alive, so they are easy to be robbed.

"Please rest assured that the work I have in hand is one of Monet's oil paintings "Water Lilies" series, which fully meets your requirements."

"Water Lilies? Is it authentic?"

Although Zhang Hao doesn't know much about oil painting, he has heard of Monet, who is a representative figure and one of the founders of Impressionism.

"Of course, I won't joke about the reputation of the William family."

The old man unconsciously increased his tone.

"What's the old man's name?"

Zhang Hao asked his father and second brother-in-law to be notified, and at the same time invited the old man into the reception room beside him.

"You can call me old William."

"Well! Old William, what would you like to drink? Tea or coffee?"

Old William's eyes lit up, and he said without hesitation:
"Please give me a cup of coffee, thank you."

He hasn't had coffee for half a year.

Zhang Hao personally brewed a pot of coffee. These coffees were instant coffees he had stockpiled in advance. There were a lot of them, so he took some and put them in the store to entertain distinguished guests and also to show his strength.

"Not good coffee, please bear with me."

Old William couldn't wait to take the coffee: "It's good to have something to drink. Since I came to Huicheng, I have almost traveled all over the local second-hand goods trading markets. Unfortunately, I have never bought coffee."

"We Daxia people prefer to drink tea, and those who drink coffee generally go to Starbucks, and ordinary people rarely have reserves at home." Zhang Hao explained with a smile.

"No wonder." Old William took a sip of coffee carefully, and immediately gave a thumbs up: "It's so delicious!"

"Although you can drink it at ease, this pot belongs to you."

Zhang Hao said generously.

As soon as the words were finished, Zhang Chongxin and Steven walked in with three appraisers. They heard that it was Monet's work, so of course they should be taken seriously.

After some introductions, the two sides went straight to the topic.

Old William removed the wrapping paper with his own hands, and then handed over the oil painting to Zhang Chongxin. After all, this is the real owner of the Wenwan shop.

Zhang Chongxin looked at the oil painting carefully, and then handed it over to three appraisers.

He doesn't know oil painting, and it's useless to look at it.

After the three appraisers got the oil painting, they appraised it on the spot. In addition to the oil painting, Old William also provided an auction certificate, which was quite authentic.

This identification took more than half an hour.

Fortunately, it was finally proved that this oil painting is real.

Of course, for insurance, a re-inspection is required before the actual transaction.

However, this is something to consider in the future. The most important thing at present is to negotiate the price.

If the price cannot be negotiated, everything is in vain.

"Old William, how much do you plan to sell this painting for?"

"I should be the one asking you this."

Zhang Hao took the words: "As you wish, we are willing to pay 500 million."

This is the final result of everyone's negotiation based on market conditions, and it is also a low price.

"500 million? Are you kidding me? This is the famous "Water Lily". I spent a total of 4.25 million to get it."

Old William couldn't believe it.

"Old William, today is different. The entire antique market has collapsed, especially in your western collector circle. The price is already inflated, and 500 million is really not low."

Actually there is another reason.

The West is going into decline in an all-round way, and correspondingly, the art market will definitely be greatly affected.

"Impossible, you are taking advantage of the fire."

Old William said indignantly.

At the same time, he made a gesture to put away the oil painting again.

Zhang Hao shrugged: "Old William, don't be impulsive. I believe you must have been to other places before coming here, and you should be able to feel our sincerity."

"Five million is absolutely impossible."

Old William shook his head again and again.

However, the movement of the hands stopped.

The other party was right. He had been to many places before, including auction agencies and private buyers. The highest bid was only 300 million.

The reason is actually very simple. From last year to the present, tens of thousands of oil paintings by famous artists have flowed into the market, directly destroying the entire market.

Steven immediately followed up: "Old William, our new store opened, and we set such a high price in order to build a reputation. Don't miss it."

"Steven, any house in Huicheng is more than 500 million. I can't accept your price. I don't have any other purpose for selling paintings. It's purely to buy a house, otherwise it's unnecessary."

"I have a suggestion here. The houses in Shaocheng next door are cheaper. The house price is only one-third of that in Huicheng. You can think about it."

Steven helped out with a bad idea.

Shaoguan is located in the north of Huicheng, at the junction of the three states, and is strictly an inland area.

"NO NO NO, except for Huicheng, Shencheng, Xiangcheng, and the capital Zhucheng, other cities are not considered for the time being." Old William directly expressed his attitude.

Among these cities, the house price in Huicheng is the cheapest, and the most expensive Zhucheng is more than three times that of Huicheng. If he had a choice, he would definitely choose Zhucheng.

Zhang Hao spread his hands: "Old William, we don't play tricks with you, 500 million is our bottom line, and it's impossible to add a dime."

"How about 800 million? I can buy a smaller house."

Old William threw out his intention price.

"Sorry, we really can't agree."

Zhang Hao shook his head.

"Steven, there is a proverb in the East, 'When a fellow countryman sees a fellow countryman, his eyes are full of tears'. For the sake of fellow countrymen, can you help me?"

Old William put his hopes on the other side.

Steven sighed: "Old William, if I were you, I would accept it as soon as it was good. Most people are in danger right now, the market will only get worse, and the housing prices in Huicheng are still rising. One decrease and one increase, the difference is not one or two."

"I know, but I'm really not reconciled."

Old William hammered his thigh hard.

"Then I can't help it."

Steven gave up on persuasion.

"Old William, why don't you go back and think about it again? I can give you a promise. Before this weekend, the offer of 500 million yuan will remain valid."

Zhang Hao made a gesture of seeing off the guests.

The waiter came to report just now, and another big client came to the store. This time it was also an oil painting, and it belonged to Van Gogh. It seemed to be even more famous than Monet.

ps: Ask for recommended tickets and monthly tickets!

(End of this chapter)