RPAGF Chapter 57 Charity Auction 3
Chapter 57 Charity Auction 3
Chapter 57 Charity Auction Part 3
"The following is the second lot for tonight, 'Tiger Descending the Mountain' by Wang Wenzhou, also known as Lord Wang."
Sheng Lan waved, and two policewomen carrying the scroll came over.
"Please take a look, everyone!" Sheng Lan pointed to the painting and introduced, "The tiger in Lord Wang's painting is fierce and powerful, with piercing eyes. With simple strokes, he depicts a vivid and lifelike tiger. This painting is not only exquisite, but it also has the function of warding off evil spirits and protecting the home. If you buy it and hang it in the living room, it can protect your family's lifelong peace and prevent them from being entangled by ghosts and demons."
"puff……"
Sun Ming spat out the tea he was drinking. He patted his chest, finally calming down, and looked at the people around him, all of whom were bursting into laughter.
"Haha..." Yang Mu laughed and said, "Wang Shazi is shameless. You call this a painting? That painting doesn't depict a tiger at all; it's not even as good as a sick cat. It's clearly a hybrid of two different creatures. Pretending to be cultured, a monkey wearing a crown!"
To be honest, Wang Wenzhou's painting was incredibly ugly. Even Wang Wenzhou himself felt that it was worse than a kindergarten child's doodle. It wasn't that he didn't want to paint well; he simply lacked the artistic talent. Even Sheng Lan, who was watching him, couldn't help but laugh while he was painting. Wang Wenzhou, however, didn't care anymore. The painting was just a prop; what did it matter if it was beautiful or not?
"That idiot Wang really doesn't treat us Hanshan County gentry like human beings. I just want to see who will listen to him after he looks down on people like that," Ma Biao cursed.
"Is this idiot Wang playing games, calling a deer a horse? He's just a minor county magistrate, and everyone here is well-read and respectable. I want to see who would be so shameless as to disgrace scholars," Lin Nan mocked sarcastically.
“Look at his signature. It’s Wang Shazi’s handwriting. It’s even better than what a boorish man like me could write,” Ma Biao said sarcastically, taking a sip of tea.
"The auction for 'Tiger Descending the Mountain' will now begin. The starting price for this work is 100 taels of silver, and the minimum bid increment is 10 taels," Sheng Lan announced.
As soon as Sheng Lan finished speaking, Li Jinshui raised his hand and shouted, "Five hundred taels!"
"Ah..." A collective gasp rippled through the crowd. What's going on today? Has Li Jinshui gone mad? With Li Jinshui's wealth, he wasn't even considered a top-tier tycoon in Hanshan; at best, he was a moderately wealthy man. Just to curry favor with Wang Wenzhou, he spent five hundred taels of silver on such a piece of junk?
Just when most people thought the artwork would sell for five hundred taels, someone suddenly shouted, "One thousand taels!"
Everyone's eyes followed the sound and saw that the one who offered one thousand taels was Feng Yuntao.
The gentry of Hanshan were not very familiar with Feng Yuantao. They only knew that he was not a local and that he was a well-known wealthy merchant in the prefecture.
Old Cheng frowned, utterly perplexed. How could this be? A painting that was worse than that of a child's was actually worth a thousand taels of silver.
Old Cheng, well past sixty, had no chance of passing the imperial examinations and had been immersed in calligraphy and painting ever since. He knew his work was a hundred times better than Wang Wenzhou's. But he also knew that if he were to sell his work, even for just ten taels of silver, no one would buy it.
"Gentlemen, I truly admire Lord Wang's painting 'Tiger Descending the Mountain.' I humbly request that you kindly allow me to purchase it. I intend to take it home and hang it in my living room to ward off evil spirits." Feng Yuantao smiled and cupped his hands in greeting to the people at the table.
Fan Ning cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Brother Feng, it's not that I'm disrespectful. It's just that I fell in love with Lord Wang's painting at first sight. A gentleman should help others achieve their goals, so please, Brother Feng, part with it." With that, he raised his hand and shouted, "Five thousand five hundred taels!"
Fan Ning was not a local of Hanshan either; he knew Feng Yuantao. Hearing from Feng Yuantao that there was a big business opportunity in Hanshan, he came to Qingyang.
Feng Yuantao and Fan Ning requested a meeting with Wang Wenzhou a few days ago.
Seeing how generous these two nouveau riche were, Wang Wenzhou entrusted the construction of the stadium—the future venue for the Flower Queen Contest—to Fan Ning. The labor camp, on the other hand, was entrusted to Feng Yuantao. Naturally, Fan Ning and Feng Yuantao also wanted to make a good impression at today's charity auction.
"Two thousand two hundred taels!" Li Jinshui smiled slightly and raised the price.
People like Li Jinshui, Feng Yuantao, and Fan Ning, who were Wang Wenzhou's own people, received different invitations than others. For example, Li Jinshui's invitation stated that a painting titled "Tiger Sitting on a Mountain" was available at the charity auction, and he would like to take note. This was essentially a reminder to them which item they should bid on.
Wang Wenzhou was worried that they might mess things up, and that works that were supposed to sell might not, which would be embarrassing. This way, everyone knew which items they absolutely had to buy. Initially, others would help raise the bids, but in the end, each person would make the final decision and win the item.
"Two thousand two hundred taels once, two thousand two hundred taels twice, is there anyone else who wants to bid?" Sheng Lan asked.
"Two thousand six hundred taels!" Feng Yuantao shouted, raising his hand.
A buzzing sound erupted in the room. This wasn't a painting sale at all! Even if this painting were made of pure gold, it wouldn't fetch this much money. The people present weren't fools; they finally understood. This so-called charity auction was just a front for Lord Wang to collect bribes. They just couldn't understand whether it was worth it for these buyers to spend so much money. Would they even be able to recoup their investment?
Li Jinshui stood up and shouted, "Three thousand taels!"
Fan Ning was about to raise his hand when Feng Yuantao stopped him. Feng Yuantao whispered, "Alright, Brother Fan, stop raising the price. That's enough. The third item is yours."
Fan Ning quickly cupped his hands in apology: "I'm so sorry, Brother Feng, I almost forgot if you hadn't reminded me."
"Three thousand taels for the third time! Sold! Congratulations to Li Jinshui and Master Li for winning the painting 'Tiger Descending the Mountain' by Lord Wang." Sheng Lan slammed the auction gavel down hard.
Old Cheng stood up unsteadily and walked out without looking back. Tonight's charity auction had been a devastating blow to him. A man who had spent his life writing and painting, practically buried to the bone, had been outdone by Wang Wenzhou's playful works.
If Wang Wenzhou's paintings were truly excellent, Old Cheng wouldn't be so heartbroken. The key issue is that even if you took Wang Wenzhou's paintings and sold them on the street as toilet paper, no one would buy them—they'd all be too stiff. Old Cheng realized that ever since Wang Wenzhou and Lord Wang came to Hanshan, he understood less and less about what was happening there.
This place is filled with bizarre and absurd sights; it's no longer the Hanshan of the past. Old Cheng sighed inwardly, wondering if he was just getting old and his eyesight was failing him, or if the world was changing too fast for him to keep up with.
"Three thousand taels to buy a piece of paper that's so hard it's practically toilet paper! It's an insult to culture!" Old Cheng muttered to himself the whole way home, looking completely lost. When he got home, he couldn't even remember how he got there.