50s: Starting with a storage ring

Chapter 478: The Son Sells the Father's Field Without Pain

Sun Zhiwei's current identity prevents him from entering the Foreign Guests Service Department, but he can see what's going on inside through his personal space.

Although he did not directly receive news of a large-scale clearance sale of modern and contemporary paintings, he did see a large number of paintings hanging on the wall of the foreign guests' service department, all priced very cheaply.

He hadn't seen this situation in the previous two places, so he was pretty sure that this was the place selling the calligraphy and paintings at a loss.

By this time, he had already decided on the identity he would use to purchase the calligraphy and paintings: the name of Hong Kong businessman Sun Wei, and he would pay in US dollars in cash.

He remembers clearly that the final price of those 9000 paintings and calligraphy works was 20 yuan, which is equivalent to 12 to 13 US dollars.

He had a lot of old $100 bills in his hand, about ten stacks of them, which could fit in a small backpack and wouldn't be conspicuous when he held them.

The real problem is how to move those nearly ten thousand framed calligraphy and paintings, which, once packed in boxes, would fill a whole truck.

That evening, Sun Zhiwei went back to make preparations.

The next morning, a Hong Kong businessman walked out of the international airport and took a taxi directly to the Beijing Hotel.

The Beijing Hotel is one of the eight major hotels catering to foreign guests. It is the earliest Western-style hotel in Beijing. It was built in 1900 and is a landmark building in Beijing as well as a witness to modern history.

As you walk through the main entrance, a long red carpet leads straight to the counter, while the adjacent golden banquet hall gleams brightly.

Upon entering the hall, he was immediately drawn to a large ink painting of lotus flowers on the west wall.

This painting was meticulously created by the renowned calligrapher and painter Tang Yun in 77. The ink wash is rich and vibrant, and the overall effect is magnificent and breathtaking.

He went directly to the front desk to check in with his passport. The staff at the front desk communicated with him in fluent Cantonese throughout the process and registered his name as Sun Wei.

This is one of Sun Zhiwei's many disguised identities. He used this identity to register, and ordinary people would definitely not be able to find anything by checking.

However, if the level is high enough, some clues can still be uncovered. At that point, they will be prevented from continuing the investigation by the relevant departments because the level of secrecy is insufficient.

It can be said that his various disguised identities are currently kept at a high level of secrecy and are very safe.

Moreover, he only wanted to avoid trouble and didn't need absolute secrecy; even if his superiors found out, they wouldn't say anything.

He legally purchased inexpensive calligraphy and paintings with income from legitimate sources, and there's nothing to hide about it.

The front desk booked him a room on the 10th floor, which is the highest floor that foreign guests can stay on. The floors above, from the 11th to the 14th, are not open to foreign guests.

The reason for this has to do with the construction of this building. Its location is actually quite far from the lake, separated by a city gate.

However, during the expansion, it was discovered that at night, the brightly lit construction site on the 14th floor could be clearly seen from the lake.

As a result, construction on the higher floors was halted, and the windows on the west wall of the already constructed 11th to 14th floors were sealed off and no longer open to the public.

Just as he was registering his details at the front desk, an elderly couple next to him praised Tang Yun's masterpiece and asked if he could sell them some souvenirs.

The staff discussed it among themselves and then decided to sell them an inconspicuous little purple flower pot for 500 yuan.

Hearing this, Sun Zhiwei couldn't help but interject, "I suggest you carefully consider the issue of selling this flowerpot."

The staff member who was receiving Sun Zhiwei asked him with puzzlement, "Mr. Sun, why do you say that?"

"As staff members of the Beijing Hotel, you should learn more about its history and culture." "The Beijing Hotel has a history of over a hundred years, and countless celebrities and dignitaries have stayed here, many of whom left behind precious calligraphy and paintings."

"Over the past hundred years, the hotel itself has also collected many precious artifacts, which are displayed in every corner of the hotel. Many of these small items are priceless."

"For example, this inconspicuous little purple flower pot set that you are about to sell for 500 yuan."

"It is a treasure. Its formal name is 'Purple Ground Famille Rose Round Basin with Floral and Bird Design.' It was specially made for Emperor Guangxu by Empress Dowager Cixi in Jingdezhen for the emperor's wedding."

“If you really want to sell it, I’m willing to offer 10,000 yuan.”

The staff members nearby were shocked when they heard the number 'ten thousand yuan'. If it was true, they had almost made a big mistake.

What was the concept of 10,000 yuan in the early 1980s? At that time, the average person's salary was only about 30 yuan.

Compared to the average person's salary decades later, if it increases a hundredfold to over 3000, then a hundredfold increase of 10,000 yuan would be one million yuan.

The staff present immediately called over the manager and explained the situation in detail. The manager listened, his forehead beaded with sweat.

The Beijing Hotel occasionally sells small items to guests at their request, but no one had ever realized the problem behind it before.

They may have sold off priceless treasures at a low price due to their lack of expertise, which could also involve the loss of cultural relics.

He immediately apologized to the elderly foreign couple and Sun Zhiwei, and politely declined to sell the flowerpot.

That same day, the news reached the higher-ups, and the hotel's management urgently ordered the sealing of all old items in the hotel. They then invited several antique experts to conduct a comprehensive inspection of all hotels in Beijing.

Later, they indeed discovered thousands of precious works of art and antiques in the hotel.

They are hidden in every corner of the hotel; some are in the lobby, some in the kitchen, some in the corridors, and some in the rooms.

Among the antiques are a "Blue and White Lotus Vase" and a "Famille Rose Hundred Deer Vase" from the Qing Dynasty's Guangxu imperial kiln, as well as a pair of large famille rose jars made during the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty.

These artworks are not only exquisitely crafted, but also carry a profound historical and cultural heritage.

In addition, the hotel also houses a large landscape painting titled "Spring Colors Return First to the Twelve Towers," painted by Yuan Yao, a master of boundary painting during the Kangxi and Yongzheng reigns. The painting is enormous and can be considered one of the best of Yuan Yao's surviving landscape paintings.

Among them, the most eye-catching is a Song Dynasty painter's imitation of Hu Qi's "Wild Geese Among Reeds," whose antiquity is truly astonishing.

Finally, after statistics, the hotel has collected more than 2000 pieces of ancient, modern and contemporary calligraphy and painting works.

The works of famous calligraphers and painters during the Guangming and Qing dynasties involve more than 60 masterpieces by 45 calligraphers and painters.

The most famous of these calligraphy works is a piece of calligraphy personally written by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty, which can be regarded as a national treasure.

As for the works of modern and contemporary great painters such as Qi Baishi, Liu Haisu, Zhang Daqian, Fu Baoshi, Xu Beihong, Li Keran, and Wu Guanzhong, there are too many to mention.

Afterwards, the hotel wanted to contact Sun Zhiwei again to thank him for his reminder, which prevented the hotel's treasures from being covered in dust and avoided a loss to the country.

Unfortunately, no matter how hard they investigated, they couldn't find any trace of Sun Wei.

(End of this chapter)