Rebirth 1983: Building My Business Empire

Chapter 93: Chapter 87 Nie Zhan

Secretary Wang extended her hand to Lu Jiaxin and asked in Mandarin with a Hong Kong accent, “Miss Lu, hello, I am Wang Yadan, Mr. Nie’s chief secretary.”

Lu Jiaxin stood up and shook hands with her, then introduced herself, “My name is Lu Jiaxin, my father is Lu Hongjun, the general manager of the Forty-Nine City Department Store.”

Secretary Wang hadn’t expected her to reveal her family background, but it suited her just fine, “Miss Lu, Manager Chen told me you have a masterpiece of ancient painting in your possession. I wonder if I could see it now.”

Since the purpose of the visit was to sell the painting, it was only reasonable that the buyer would want to see it.

Lu Jiaxin took out the painting, carefully spread it out, and said, “We had Professor Zhang from Peng City authenticate it, it was done by Wang Zhenpeng, the foremost figure in Yuan Dynasty boundary painting.”

“What?”

Lu Jiaxin explained with a smile, “Boundary painting is a very distinctive category in Chinese painting. It uses a ‘boundary ruler’ to draw lines, hence the name ‘boundary painting.’

Secretary Wang saw that the painting depicted just an old man, this old man held a walking stick in his left hand and a large peach in his right, riding a long-horned deer, with a crane flying above his head.

Lu Jiaxin thought she might not understand Chinese history, so she pointed to the white-bearded old man in the painting and said, “This is the Old Immortal of the South Pole, a deity from our Chinese ancient mythology. He is the god of longevity and fortune in the universe.”

Wang Yadan’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. This deity governed life and fortune, and presenting peaches to people symbolized granting them longevity and blessings. Elder Mr. Nie was traditional in his thinking and liked old-fashioned things. Next year the old gentleman would turn sixty, and it would be perfect for their boss to give this as a gift.

Lu Jiaxin saw a flicker of joy in her eyes, which she caught even though it was brief.

Wang Yadan asked, “Miss Lu, how much do you plan to sell this painting for?”

“One hundred thousand greenbacks,” Lu Jiaxin said. The nation was short of foreign exchange, so there were various measures to earn it. If the transaction were in greenbacks, it would facilitate her purchase of raw materials for processing.

Manager Chen’s eyes nearly bulged out. One hundred thousand greenbacks—this girl really dared to ask! From what he understood, the most expensive painting sold domestically had been just over twenty thousand greenbacks.

Gu Wenfeng was quite calm, as selling something is all about asking for the sky and settling on the ground. Think about the antique market, where something worth one thousand could be bargained down to ten.

Wang Yadan took in both of their reactions and said with a smile, “Miss Lu, I am here with a sincere intention to buy, but if you start off with such a high demand, we can’t continue negotiating.”

Lu Jiaxin asked, “Then how much do you think is appropriate?”

Secretary Wang offered ten thousand green currency, a tenth of Lu Jiaxin’s asking price.

Lu Jiaxin didn’t say another word and started rolling up the painting. Ten thousand green currency, at the current exchange rate, was only about twenty thousand RMB. It was a lot for the average person, but she wouldn’t sell it for that; that amount of money was better kept to sell the painting decades later!

Manager Chen, a sharp guy, noticed that Secretary Wang still wanted to buy after hearing the asking price and immediately turned to leave. He stepped forward, grabbed Lu Jiaxin’s arm, and said, “Miss Lu, what is your bottom line?”

Lu Jiaxin said, “One hundred thousand greenbacks, not a cent less. If Young Master Nie doesn’t want it, I’ll find another buyer. I’m sure I can meet someone who appreciates its value.”

Secretary Wang could not afford the price. She had learned about the consumption levels on the Mainland in the past few days, and one hundred thousand greenbacks was an astronomical sum to the locals here.

Manager Chen felt that Lu Jiaxin was asking for the moon, and after Secretary Wang had left, he directly told Gu Wenfeng that he couldn’t help with this matter. Asking for such a high price was clearly like slaughtering a fat sheep in the case of Young Master Nie. Had he known that this girl was so greedy, he would not have acted as a middleman.

Gu Wenfeng thought that Secretary Wang bargained too hard, but he couldn’t say this to Manager Chen. After he had sent the visitor away, he spoke in a subdued voice, “Brother, I’m truly sorry. The kid is too stubborn, but I’ll have a good talk with her.”

Manager Chen knew he couldn’t blame him, but his mood was affected, and his attitude wasn’t as good as before.

On returning to the room, Gu Wenfeng said, “Jiaxin, one hundred thousand greenbacks is too expensive, Young Master Nie won’t buy it.”

Leaning back in her chair, Lu Jiaxin said softly, “The price of one hundred thousand greenbacks is high, but it’s just the opening bid, and there’s room for bargaining. But to lower it to ten thousand is clearly because they think I, young as I am, don’t understand the price of antiques. You can’t give ground with people like that, or they’ll end up dictating the price.”

Since the incident had already occurred, there was no use in blaming anyone. Gu Wenfeng said, “We have to find another buyer. The Su family father and son are back from Hong Kong, we can visit them tomorrow, Jiaxin.”

Lu Jiaxin yawned, “I’m sleepy, we can discuss this tomorrow.”

Secretary Wang reported back to Nie Zhan as soon as she returned, “Boss, the asking price is too high, but if she’s willing to lower it, it’s still worth acquiring.”

Having studied abroad, Nie Zhan had only returned last year, and he knew little about traditional Chinese culture. However, after hearing what Secretary Wang relayed, he found Lu Jiaxin quite interesting, “Have you heard about this Old Immortal of the South Pole?”

Secretary Wang shook her head. Although she was from Hong Kong, she had gone to Britain for her secondary education and wasn’t familiar with the traditional culture of the flower-arranging families. Before coming here, she had crammed a lot of knowledge, but it was mainly about folk customs and the legal code.

Removing his glasses, Nie Zhan said, “This girl must have inquired about the Nie family’s situation and knows grandfather’s preferences. But the price is too high; it can be done for fifty thousand greenbacks.”

Secretary Wang felt that fifty thousand greenbacks was too much, no more than twenty thousand at most.

Nie Zhan smiled and said, “Fifty thousand greenbacks, converted to Hong Kong Dollars, is just over three hundred thousand. If it is indeed a genuine work by the first master of Yuan Dynasty border paintings as she claims, then it’s not a loss.”

His friend had acquired a painting a few days earlier, from the Qing Dynasty, costing over six hundred thousand. By comparison, three hundred thousand was not expensive. Of course,

Secretary Wang understood his meaning and nodded in agreement.

The next day, while Lu Jiaxin was washing up, Gu Wenfeng knocked on the door and came in. He immediately shut the door behind him and said with an excited face, “Manager Chen just came looking for me. He said Secretary Wang wants to talk with us again. When do you think would be a good time?”

Yesterday, Secretary Wang had walked away without turning back, and he had thought the deal was off, spending the evening worrying about whom to ask for help. To his surprise, there was a turn of events, and Secretary Wang had actually changed her stance.

“After breakfast,” said Lu Jiaxin. Eating was the most important thing; she couldn’t possibly discuss business on an empty stomach.

As she spoke, she took a jar of Bakelite from the table, opened it, and applied a little to her face. At fifteen, she was in the flower of her youth and had no need for cosmetics. A moisturizing skin-care product was enough.

Gu Wenfeng, seeing her composed demeanor, asked curiously, “Why are you so certain that Young Master Nie will pay such a high price for our painting?”

Looking at herself in the mirror and noticing an unblended spot on her forehead, Jiaxin patted her forehead while responding, “Brother Gu, one hundred thousand greenbacks might be an astronomical figure to us, but to those rich people, it’s not enough to buy a luxury item. Jewelry and luxury cars easily cost hundreds of thousands or even millions. Our painting, on the other hand, can appreciate in value once bought.”