Chapter 87: Nie Zhan
Chapter 87: Nie Zhan
Wang, the secretary, extended her hand towards Lu Jiaxin and spoke in Mandarin with a hint of a Hong Kong accent, "Hello, Miss Lu. I'm Wang Yadan, Mr. Nie's chief secretary."
Lu Jiaxin stood up and shook her hand, introducing herself, "I'm Lu Jiaxin, and my father is Lu Hongjun, the general manager of the Siyoucheng Department Store."
Wang hadn't expected her to introduce her family, but this worked in her favor. "Miss Lu, I heard from Manager Chen that you have an ancient painting by a renowned artist. May I take a look at it now?"
Lu Jiaxin had come to sell the painting, so it was only natural for the buyer to want to see it. She carefully unrolled the painting and explained, "We had it appraised by Professor Zhang from Pengcheng. It's by Wang Zhenpeng, the foremost master of boundary painting during the Yuan Dynasty."
"What?"
Lu Jiaxin smiled and elaborated, "Boundary painting is a unique genre in Chinese art. It involves using a straightedge and a ruler during the painting process, hence the name."
As the painting unfurled, Wang saw that it depicted an old man with a long-horned deer. The man held a walking stick in his left hand and a large peach in his right, with a crane flying above his head.
Pointing at the white-bearded old man in the painting, Lu Jiaxin added, "This is Nanji Xianweng, a immortal from ancient Chinese mythology. He is the most longevous deity in the heavens and earth, governing longevity and blessings."
Wang Yadan's eyes lit up at this explanation. This immortal governed longevity and blessings, and by holding the peach of longevity, he was bestowing longevity and good fortune upon others. Mr. Nie, her boss, was a traditionalist who favored old-fashioned things. With her boss turning sixty next year, this gift would be perfect for the occasion.
Lu Jiaxin noticed a fleeting glint of excitement in Wang's eyes, but it was quickly masked.
Wang Yadan inquired, "Miss Lu, may I ask how much you intend to sell this painting for?"
"One hundred thousand green dollars," Lu Jiaxin stated. With the country facing a foreign exchange shortage, everyone was looking for ways to earn more foreign currency. If she received payment in green dollars, it would greatly facilitate her future purchases of raw materials for processing.
Chen's eyes nearly popped out of his head. One hundred thousand green dollars! This young lady certainly knew how to drive a hard bargain! As far as he knew, the most expensive painting sold domestically was just over twenty thousand green dollars.
Gu Wenfeng, however, remained calm. Haggling was a common practice in business—you asked for the sky and settled for the ground. He thought of the antique market, where people haggled over items, bringing the price down from a thousand to a hundred.
Noting the reactions of both Chen and Gu Wenfeng, Wang Yadan smiled and said, "Miss Lu, I'm genuinely interested in buying this painting, but with such an exorbitant asking price, we won't be able to continue our negotiation."
"Then how much do you think is appropriate?" Lu Jiaxin asked.
Wang directly countered with ten thousand green dollars, a mere tenth of Lu Jiaxin's asking price.
Without another word, Lu Jiaxin rolled the painting back up. Ten thousand green dollars would only amount to about twenty thousand yuan at the current exchange rate. While it was a significant sum for an ordinary person, she had no intention of selling it for that price. She'd rather hold onto it for a few decades and sell it for a higher price in the future!
Chen was a shrewd man. As soon as he saw Wang's reaction to the asking price, he knew she was still interested in the painting. He stepped forward and grabbed Lu Jiaxin's arm, asking, "Miss Lu, what's your bottom line then?"
"One hundred thousand green dollars, not a cent less," Lu Jiaxin asserted. "If Young Master Nie isn't interested, I'll find another buyer. I'm confident that there are people out there who appreciate fine art."
There was no way Wang would pay that price. In her recent exploration of the mainland's consumer market, she had learned that one hundred thousand green dollars was an astronomical sum to the locals.
Chen felt that Lu Jiaxin was being unreasonable with her asking price. After Wang left, he directly told Gu Wenfeng that he couldn't help him with this matter.
Gu Wenfeng felt that Lu Jiaxin was asking for too much, blatantly trying to fleece Young Master Nie. If he had known that this young lady was so greedy, he wouldn't have agreed to be the middleman.
Ancient Wenfeng thought that Secretary Wang was a tough negotiator, but he couldn't say that to Manager Chen. After seeing her out, he lowered his voice and said, "Brother Chen, I'm sorry. This young lady is stubborn, but I'll have a serious talk with her."
Manager Chen knew it wasn't Gu Wenfeng's fault, but his mood had been affected, and his attitude wasn't as enthusiastic as before.
Upon returning to the room, Gu Wenfeng said, "Jiaxin, asking for 100,000 green dollars is too much. Young Master Nie won't buy it at that price."
Leaning back in her chair, Lu Jiaxin softly replied, "The price of 100,000 green dollars is indeed high, but it's our opening bid. We can negotiate. However, their counteroffer of 10,000 shows that they think I'm young and ignorant about antique prices. We can't back down to people like that, or they'll dictate the price."
There was no point in assigning blame now that things had unfolded this way. Gu Wenfeng said, "We'll have to look for another buyer. Jiaxin, the Sus are back from Hong Kong. We can pay them a visit tomorrow."
Yawning, Lu Jiaxin said, "I'm tired. Let's discuss this tomorrow."
Upon returning, Secretary Wang reported to Nie Zhan: "Boss, their asking price is too high. If she's willing to lower it, it's still worth considering."
Nie Zhan had been studying abroad and had only returned last year, so he knew very little about traditional culture in his home country. However, after hearing Secretary Wang's account, he found Lu Jiaxin intriguing. "Have you heard of Nanji Xianweng?"
Secretary Wang shook her head. Although she was from Hong Kong, she had gone to study in Britain during her middle school years and wasn't well-versed in the traditional culture of her homeland. She had crammed a lot of knowledge before coming here, but it mainly pertained to folk customs, traditions, and legal statutes.
Removing his glasses, Nie Zhan said, "This young lady must have inquired about the Nie family and learned about my grandfather's preferences. However, her asking price is too high. We can get it for 50,000 green dollars."
Secretary Wang felt that 50,000 green dollars was too much and that 20,000 was more reasonable.
Nie Zhan smiled and said, "50,000 green dollars is only about 300,000 Hong Kong dollars. If it's truly a genuine work by the foremost master of boundary painting during the Yuan Dynasty, as she claims, then it's not a loss."
One of his friends had recently acquired a Qing Dynasty painting for over 600,000 Hong Kong dollars. In comparison, 300,000 wasn't expensive. Of course, Secretary Wang understood his reasoning and nodded in agreement.
The next day, as Lu Jiaxin was washing up, Gu Wenfeng knocked on the door and entered. He immediately closed the door behind him and excitedly said, "Manager Chen just came to see me. Secretary Wang wants to talk to us again. When would be a good time for you?"
The previous day, Secretary Wang had left without even looking back, and Gu Wenfeng had assumed the deal was off. He had spent the evening wondering whom he could ask for help! But now, the situation had taken an unexpected turn, and Secretary Wang had changed her attitude.
"After breakfast," Lu Jiaxin replied. Food was a priority, and she wouldn't discuss business on an empty stomach.
As she spoke, she picked up a jar of Pechoin cream from the table, twisted it open, and applied some to her face. At 15 years old, she was in the bloom of youth and didn't need makeup; a simple moisturizing skincare product was enough.
Gu Wenfeng was curious as he saw her calm demeanor. "Why are you so sure that Young Master Nie will pay such a high price for our painting?"
Lu Jiaxin looked in the mirror and noticed that there was still some cream on her forehead, so she patted it as she replied, "Big Brother Gu, 100,000 green dollars is a huge sum for us, but for these wealthy people, it's not even enough to buy a luxury item. Jewelry and cars can easily cost hundreds of thousands or even millions. Our painting is a valuable piece that can appreciate in value."
(End of Chapter)
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