Chapter 33 Donated
Liu Xin angrily pulled open Chen Yang's cylindrical container.
Inside the cylinder, a tattered and yellowed painting was revealed.
Liu Xin directly tore the painting apart, sneering as she displayed it to everyone. Angrily, she said, "Look! This is the painting that useless Chen Yang gave! He even mocked my husband for giving a fake painting, but his is outrageously fake! It's just like a child's doodle!"
"Oh, wait, there seems to be a receipt here too, haha, let me see."
"The receipt says Guwu Zhai, and the amount is 1.5 million."
"Pfft! Chen Yang, you're quite skilled at forgery now! You even know how to create a fake receipt! With your net worth, if they sold your heart, liver, lungs, and kidneys, they wouldn't even reach 1.5 million!"
"This is hilarious, you trash!"
Liu Xin slammed the painting onto the table and pouted to Old Mrs. Liu, "Grandma! Grandma, tell me, which gift do you like?"
Old Mrs. Liu patted Liu Xin's hand.
Her eyes swept over Chen Yang's painting.
A hint of doubt appeared in her gaze.
She wasn't very knowledgeable about ancient paintings, it was true.
However, she could tell that the painting in Chen Yang's hand did look like the real deal.
But, Old Mrs. Liu knew Chen Yang inside and out.
After all, Chen Yang and Liu Xin had been married for a whole year, and during that entire year, this useless grandson-in-law had never given any gifts. He was simply a pauper. How could he possibly come up with 1.5 million?
Old Mrs. Liu stood up and said loudly, "Alright, alright, no more discussion! Although the painting young master Yang gave is a fake, it's because he was deceived. After all, he doesn't understand ancient paintings. As for Chen Yang, hehe, from your analysis just now, you clearly understand this field, yet you still bought a fake for me!"
"One is innocent ignorance, but you and Liu Ran are purely trying to deceive our Liu family!"
"However, today is a joyous occasion, and I don't want to dwell on these matters! Both paintings should be thrown away, and let this be a lesson for the future!"
Old Mrs. Liu wanted to quickly quell the matter, as it was damaging to the family's reputation.
Chen Yang frowned.
Old Mrs. Liu's words clearly favored Yang Long, and she also took the opportunity to scold him and Liu Ran!
Heh!
Just then.
Among the guests.
Suddenly, an old man's voice rang out.
The old man, extremely excited, walked over. He chuckled and said, "Madam Liu, since you don't like that painting, why not give it to me? Consider it a donation to our Qingzhou City Museum."
Old Mrs. Liu was taken aback. She asked in confusion, "Director Wang, what do you mean?"
Wang Daohe gave a wry smile and said, "I don't mean anything special. I just feel that the painting is quite... quite good. I see you're intending to throw it in the trash, so why not donate it directly? I can even give you an honorary membership."
Hearing this, Old Mrs. Liu hesitated.
At this moment, Liu Xin next to her excitedly said, "Grandma, look! I knew it. The painting that Brother Long bought can't be as bad as Chen Yang said! Maybe it's real! Director Wang is the old director of the museum, he's studied ancient paintings and antiques his whole life. His eyesight is much better than Chen Yang's!"
Wang Daohe coughed and said, "I apologize, young lady. Our museum is not interested in Young Master Yang's painting, but rather the one Mr. Chen gave."
Saying that, Wang Daohe quickly picked up Chen Yang's painting from the table.
He carefully opened it, looked at it for a moment, and a look of satisfaction appeared on his face.
"Good, truly good! Excellent!"
Wang Daohe said to Old Mrs. Liu, "Thank you, Madam Liu, for the donation. Also, Mr. Chen, as you are the owner of this painting, would you... be willing... cough cough, be willing to donate it to our museum?"
Chen Yang glanced at Wang Daohe and said indifferently, "I have no objections. It's better to give it to a museum than to someone who doesn't appreciate paintings. At least it won't be treated as trash. However, I have one condition: Liu Ran and her family must become specially invited guests of the museum from now on."
"No problem, no problem!" Wang Daohe kept bowing to Chen Yang. He touched the painting in his hand and said, "Thank you, thank you, Mr. Chen. I will present certificates to Miss Liu Ran and her family upon my return. Thank you so much! This 'Emerging from Seclusion' painting by He Peng will be displayed in our museum, and our Qingzhou Museum will finally have a treasure to show off! Hahaha!"
Wang Daohe bowed, extremely excited.
The surrounding guests, seeing this, were all bewildered.
"Old Mr. Wang, do you mean this painting... is real?" a woman asked.
Now that Wang Daohe had secured the painting, there was no need to conceal it any longer. He laughed heartily and said, "Of course, of course it's real! This painting was created by He Peng in his prime, when he was full of spirit and set out to conquer. He believed the Great Song Dynasty was the celestial empire! So, you see, although the scenery in this 'Emerging from Seclusion' is desolate, the artistic conception is expansive!"
Wang Daohe swallowed and said, "This painting will undoubtedly increase in value in the future. In five years, as He Peng's fame grows, this painting will be worth at least five million."
A buzz of discussion erupted from the surroundings.
"What? This painting is actually real?!"
"The Liu family is truly blind to have donated such a painting!"
"That Chen Yang, isn't he a delivery driver? How could he afford a real painting worth 1.5 million?"
"Young master Yang from the prestigious Yang family gave a fake, and the son-in-law who delivers food gave a real one. This is truly hilarious."
"I bet Old Mrs. Liu's intestines are turning green with regret right now! Hahaha!"
Everyone around chuckled.
Old Mrs. Liu's lips trembled with anger.
More importantly, she felt heartbroken!
That painting would be worth five million in five years!
As the old director of the museum and a true expert in antiques, Wang Daohe's words were absolutely credible! His judgment was extremely accurate!
"Grandma, don't worry, that painting must be fake," Liu Xin lowered her head and comforted Old Mrs. Liu, "I know that useless Chen Yang too well. He can't afford a real ancient painting."
"Slap!"
Old Mrs. Liu suddenly slapped Liu Xin across the face, "Shut up! If you hadn't been so unreasonable, I wouldn't have given... donated that painting!"
Liu Xin recoiled after being slapped.
She gritted her teeth, her eyes casting a venomous glance at Chen Yang and Liu Ran!
She was filled with immense rage.
This Chen Yang, who had been a useless pauper during their year-long marriage, had now, in this setting, presented a real painting worth 1.5 million, slapping her and Yang Long in the face!
Why this useless person?!
Liu Xin's teeth were almost ground to dust.
Old Mrs. Liu directly stood up and laughed heartily towards Wang Daohe, "Director Wang, there was a misunderstanding with my previous words. The painting in your hand, after all, was a gift from my grandson-in-law. How could I possibly donate it?! Hahaha, why don't you return it to me?"