Chapter 248 Hokusai Ukiyo-e

The hospital director, furious at being thrown out by the bodyguards, stormed back, ranting and raving.

He had friends and acquaintances present.

Presumably, not wanting to lose face, he gritted his teeth and returned to seek retribution.

In reality, upon seeing the bodyguards, he already understood that Su Yehao was not someone to be trifled with. However, the thought of rumors potentially spreading that afternoon, leaving him unable to hold his head high in the future, compelled him to put on a tough act.

Stubborn pride; one of the typical characteristics of the Japanese.

Even if they make a mistake, as long as they don't admit it, they've definitely done nothing wrong.

A university hospital is an ivory tower.

Its internal pyramid structure is far more severe than private enterprises like SK-II, perhaps due to the constant adulation, which easily leads to arrogance.

In any case, this middle-aged man in his forties was practically exploding, his voice exceptionally loud.

As for what he was saying, Su Yehao didn't understand a single word... except for "Baga!"

Having eaten half-cooked Wagyu beef, Su Yehao put down his chopsticks, turned to look at the director standing not far away, and curiously asked the bodyguards, "Is this guy scolding me?"

Among the bodyguards, two were from Hong Kong, while the others were temporarily hired locally in Tokyo.

Someone who understood both English and Japanese heard Su Yehao's question and hesitantly explained, "No problem, we'll handle it..."

Su Yehao ignored him and directly asked the furious director in English, "Hey! Which hospital do you work at? You better be polite to me, or you might lose your job."

Hospital doctors often need to read foreign papers.

And Japan particularly admires American medical technology. If a doctor makes a name for themselves in the United States, their income after returning to Japan can be much higher than their peers.

The middle-aged director understood and froze in place, his mind racing.

Looking at the formation of Su Yehao surrounded by eight bodyguards, listening to his "fluent" English, and hearing his casually dismissive tone about making him lose his job... Who knows what the director imagined, but he suddenly became sensible, straightened his clothes, bowed, and nonchalantly walked back to his table.

Seeing this, Nong Qingying almost burst out laughing.

Su Yehao was also amused. He had finally prepared to bully someone, but before he could even start, the other party backed down. His bowing posture was so perfect that he couldn't find a reason to continue.

Whether it was using the Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank's connections to ask some media outlets for help, or spending a little money to hire some private detectives to scrutinize his daily life with a magnifying glass, there was an opportunity to make him lose his job.

Hospitals, after all, who can guarantee being absolutely mistake-free?

Nitpicking, if done too many times, would ruin the hospital's reputation, and as the director, he would certainly be held responsible.

After all, they weren't in the same industry, and they were in Tokyo.

Being unfamiliar with the place made it a bit troublesome, but it was definitely doable, even without Su Yehao's personal involvement.

He continued eating.

The other bodyguards left first, leaving three behind to keep watch.

He wasn't used to having bodyguards around at first, but having adapted for so long, Su Yehao was already used to it.

Nong Qingying, never one to miss a good show, asked the teppanyaki chef who spoke English, "What's wrong with him? Is he such a bully who's afraid of the strong?"

The young man frying shrimp lowered his voice and explained:

"University hospitals have particularly high hidden income. Who would go against money and risk losing their position as director? I'm a medical student working part-time, so I know a little. Also, he's probably worried about accidentally falling into the sea on his way home from work. Bringing so many underlings to dinner is a bit scary."

Su Yehao waved his hand and said with a smile, "I'm a legitimate businessman, add more salt for me, it's too bland..."

The portion of each dish was too small.

One large shrimp per person, they finished it and stared expectantly at the grilled mullet roe.

Because they weren't full, they found the food to be very delicious, savoring every bite.

Su Yehao was truly speechless, so he ordered a staple food, abalone and truffle fried rice, which cost over 30,000 yen a portion. The white truffles were said to be air-flown from Italy.

He didn't expect that frying rice would take about half an hour, an agonizing wait, and he suddenly began to miss braised radish and pork rice.

With nothing else to do, he chatted with the teppanyaki chef.

The chef asked if Su Yehao's family really owned eight hospitals. If you counted the Pengcheng private hospital under construction, that number was correct, and there were also some small clinics not included.

Upon learning the name of Hong Kong's Bottega Medica Group, the incredibly slow teppanyaki chef actually said he had heard of it, replying that a senior colleague had been headhunted with a high salary and recently published a paper on titanium alloy implants.

Su Yehao hadn't paid much attention to the medical group managed by Tang Laoma. Hearing others mention it, he realized it seemed quite impressive, even collaborating with Cambridge Medical School.

From a business perspective, he hadn't heard of any particularly valuable chain hospitals, but there were many pharmaceutical companies in the Fortune 500, and running a chain drugstore business was also an easy way to get rich.

Having experienced the magic of wealth creation through the internet, he always felt that other businesses were just average.

However, having a good hospital in his own family made Su Yehao feel particularly safe. No wonder his grandfather had suffered two strokes and constant minor illnesses, but could still stand up and walk a few steps, even jokingly saying he wanted to learn from the Gambling King and have another son himself in his seventies.

Just idle chat.

After dinner, they took a stroll and Nong Qingying bought several new outfits.

Walking past the entrance of an art gallery, he noticed an exhibition being held inside. Seeing a familiar pattern through the window, Su Yehao couldn't help but pause and pulled Nong Qingying inside.

First, he looked at the poster, which showed that it was a special exhibition of Katsushika Hokusai, including the soon-to-be-famous *The Great Wave off Kanagawa*, which was hanging at the entrance.

A very small painting, about twenty centimeters long and thirty centimeters wide, not even as big as the shopping bag in Su Yehao's hand.

He asked the gallery staff in English, "Excuse me, are these paintings all original works by the artist?"

"Hello, of course, they are all genuine, and they are all original editions. The collector spent twenty years collecting them. These are the best-preserved ones being displayed this time. In addition to the complete set of *Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji*, there are also the ten views added later, for a total of forty-six."

After listening to the guide, Su Yehao raised his eyebrows and asked her, "From what you're saying, there's more than one of this painting?"

He really didn't know much about art.

He originally thought he could pick up a bargain, but after asking, he learned that these were woodblock prints.

Thousands of copies were printed over a hundred years ago, but not many have been well-preserved, making them still quite rare.

There's no need to worry about having similar works. Occasional circulation can actually stimulate price increases.

For example, Van Gogh's *Sunflowers* and Monet's *Water Lilies* are all similar, but still very expensive.

After asking the price, the guide told him that they weren't selling them individually, but as a full set for 100 million yen, about $690,000.

Katsushika Hokusai's ukiyo-e works weren't that popular yet, being a niche collectible in Japan. The exhibition had been open for three days and hadn't sold, indicating that the price of 100 million yen was probably a bit inflated.

Su Yehao, who didn't know the market, thought it might be worth taking a gamble with a little money.

Even if it didn't become a sensation, with his scale of investment in the internet industry, he could customize news and do his own publicity. Over time, it would definitely increase the fame of the works, and the price would also rise.

Thinking of this, Su Yehao vaguely grasped the traffic code for art appreciation. It seemed entirely possible to promote and build momentum for his own collections.

The more people who know about a work, the higher its value. Isn't that much easier than participating in exhibitions?

One hundred million yen wasn't worth agonizing over. Su Yehao immediately decided to buy it.

So, he tentatively offered $500,000 and asked the guide to contact the buyer to ask.

Before he had finished admiring all forty-six woodblock prints, the guide quickly returned with a big smile and said that the buyer had agreed to the deal.

...Despite the price reduction of more than $100,000, Su Yehao still felt a pang of regret.

Sure enough, he had overpaid again.

After signing the contract and paying the check, it was already after two o'clock in the afternoon.

The exhibition ended early, and the forty-six paintings were bound into a册 (cè, volume) and delivered to Su Yehao, costing a total of $575,000, of which $75,000 was the commission paid to the gallery. An additional set of the same series of woodblock prints, reprinted in 1970, was included as a bonus.

The buyer paid a 15% commission, and the seller also needed to pay 10%. No wonder they could open a gallery in Ginza, where land was incredibly expensive.

After looking through the two sets of works he had obtained, Su Yehao only felt like he had lost a lot of money.

Because the 1970 reprint was brighter in color and clearer in design.

On the other hand, the original edition that he had paid a high price for looked tattered, with some places gnawed by insects and stains...