Su Huai's left hand fingers underwent two months of rehabilitation in succession.
Her flexibility had nearly returned, leading her back to the Gu Treasure Pavilion.
As soon as she entered.
She saw the appraiser of the shop, Cui Shousheng, holding an oversized magnifying glass, carefully examining a ancient painting on the counter to verify its authenticity.
As Su Huai passed by, she casually glanced over.
It was Zheng Banqiao's "Ink Bamboo" painting.
Having practiced brushwork since childhood, the first piece she copied was Zheng Banqiao's "Ink Bamboo." With just one glance, she could discern its authenticity.
Cui Shousheng pushed up his glasses and asked the seller, "How much do you intend to sell it for?"
The seller, a shabbily dressed middle-aged man with his hands in his sleeves, shrugged his shoulders and said, "This is Zheng Banqiao's 'Ink Bamboo.' It was passed down from our ancestors. Unless absolutely necessary, I don't want to sell it. I've inquired about the auction prices in previous years, all starting from thirty million."
Implicitly, the price couldn't be much lower than this.
Tens of millions was not a small amount.
Cui Shousheng narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing the painting carefully, and asked, "Why don't you take it to an auction house for auction?"
The seller rubbed his nose and said, "I need money urgently. If I were to auction it, I'd have to wait, and I can't afford to wait. Selling it to you, even if the price is lower, doesn't matter, as long as you pay quickly."
Cui Shousheng clicked his tongue and said, "We can't offer such a high price."
The seller hesitated for a moment, "Alright, you make an offer, and if the price is right, I'll sell. Let's negotiate."
Su Huai suddenly stopped in her tracks.
From afar, she glanced at the painting again.
Cui Shousheng noticed her unusual expression and beckoned, "Xiao Su, come and take a look at this painting."
Su Huai turned back.
Putting on the shop's special white gloves, she picked up the painting from the counter and carefully examined it.
On the painting, the bamboo was arranged in a staggered manner, the bamboo poles were dense yet exuded strength, the bamboo leaves were picked out with a hard brush, showing the essence of cursive script, and the bamboo trunk resembled the brush strokes of seal script, swaying and graceful.
Indeed, it was an authentic work of Zheng Banqiao.
But Su Huai always felt something was off.
Specifically where it was off, she couldn't quite articulate.
It was just through prolonged exposure, over time, a kind of intuition had developed.
She looked up at Cui Shousheng and asked, "Has it been tested with instruments?"
Cui Shousheng nodded, "It has been tested. The age of the paper and ink is correct, the style matches, and the seals on it are authentic, confirming it as genuine."
He hesitated to make a decision because the price was too high, and he had to be cautious.
Taking the magnifying glass from him, Su Huai looked at the painting carefully, her expression becoming more solemn as she looked.
She closed the painting and gestured to Cui Shousheng.
Cui Shousheng understood, returned the painting to the seller, and said with a smile, "Sorry, but we don't understand this painting."
"Not understanding" was a term used in the antique trade, meaning that the painting was suspected to be fake.
The seller became anxious upon hearing this. "I've had this painting tested with instruments, and the paper and ink are from the Qing Dynasty, and the seals are authentic. Why can't you understand it?"
Cui Shousheng couldn't come up with a reason.
He believed the painting was authentic.
Seeing him like this, the seller became emboldened, sat down on a chair, and changed his timid demeanor from before to a more aggressive one, saying, "This painting was passed down by my ancestors. You must give me an explanation today, or I won't leave."
Having run the shop for a long time, they had encountered all kinds of people.
People who acted like this were not uncommon.
In the past, Cui Shousheng could have dismissed them with a few words.
But with this painting, he couldn't find any faults, so he had to look to Su Huai for help with pleading eyes.
The shop assistants also looked at Su Huai.
Under the gaze of everyone, Su Huai walked up to the seller and whispered a few words in his ear.
Upon hearing this, the seller's face changed drastically. He rolled up the painting and hurriedly left.
After the man had gone, Cui Shousheng curiously asked Su Huai, "Xiao Su, what did you say to him? What was wrong with that painting?"
Su Huai smiled gracefully and said, "That painting is peeled."
Ancient paintings, especially those of ancient celebrities, commanded exorbitant prices, often reaching millions or even billions.
With such huge profits, there were inevitably people willing to take risks.
Skilled restorers of ancient paintings could divide one painting into two or three pieces to seek profit.
The most skilled could even divide it into five or six pieces, or even the legendary one painting divided into nine pieces, although such paintings were extremely rare, and the risk was great; one wrong move could destroy the entire painting.
Cui Shousheng's face turned black as he listened, cold sweat breaking out on his back.
Fortunately, Su Huai had arrived in time, or else he would have made a mistake.
A painting worth tens of millions, if accepted, would result in a huge loss.
The key was that he wouldn't be able to continue in this profession in the future.
When Su Huai first arrived, the young master had asked him what he didn't understand. He was quite unwilling to consult her.
Now, he was completely convinced.
Cui Shousheng shrugged and asked, "How did you figure it out?"
Su Huai smiled.
Although the paper, ink, and seals on the painting were authentic, upon closer inspection, there were tiny imperfections that hadn't been handled well.
But she didn't say that, just casually said, "Intuition. I've been dealing with ancient books and paintings since I was a child, and although I'm young, I've been in the industry for nearly twenty years. At first glance, I felt something was off, and upon closer inspection, it turned out to be true."
She had said similar things when she first arrived.
At that time, Cui Shousheng thought she was boasting, but now he felt she was being modest.
Her expertise in ancient books and paintings was indeed superior to his, and he couldn't help but admire her.
Cui Shousheng smiled like a chrysanthemum and looked down at Su Huai's hand, his tone concerned with a hint of flattery, saying, "Miss Su, how is your hand recovering? I know a very famous acupuncturist. Would you like me to introduce you?"
Everyone was stunned.
Cui Shousheng was the oldest
in the shop, confident in his ability to appraise treasures and usually quite aloof.
Even Shen Huai, the young master, had to show him some respect, addressing him as "Old Cui."
Now he was addressing Su Huai, who was only twenty-three years old, as "Miss Su."
Su Huai was also slightly surprised but smiled and said, "Old Cui, you can still call me Xiao Su."
Cui Shousheng waved his hand repeatedly, "No, from now on, I'll call you Teacher Su. If you hadn't spotted that just now, I would have made a mistake."
That was a painting worth tens of millions.
Calling her Teacher Su, he felt it was worth it.
Su Huai didn't say anything more, just smiled, took off her gloves, and went upstairs.
Her hand had been injured, and she had taken nearly three months off, accumulating some work.
However, restoring ancient books and paintings was delicate work, requiring patience and attention to detail. It couldn't be rushed or hurried.
Closing the door, she flexed her fingers and began working.
Busy until noon, she picked up her phone and glanced at it. There were two missed calls.
Because she couldn't be distracted while working, her phone was usually on silent.
She returned the call to the photography studio.
They said her wedding photos were ready for pickup.
In the afternoon, Su Huai had the driver take her to the photography studio to pick up the wedding photos.
When they were taken, because they were getting divorced, they only took one set of clothes, enlarged one photo, and made a photo album, which she wanted to take with her.
Now she regretted not taking more sets of clothes at the time.
Su Huai was particularly satisfied with the wedding photos.
They both looked good, like a perfect match made in heaven.
The driver helped her move the huge wedding photos into the car.
Su Huai got into the car and called Gu Beixian, saying, "I've picked up the wedding photos, and I really like them. I want to invite you to dinner. What time will you be done with work?"
Gu Beixian chuckled, "I'm inspecting the progress at the construction site. It'll be a while longer."
Su Huai asked, "Which construction site? I'll come pick you up."
Gu Beixian teased, "Su Huai, you're a bit clingy, aren't you?"
Su Huai smiled, "Just clingy to you, what about it?"
Gu Beixian's smile deepened, "I'm at the construction site near Binjiang Pearl. Let the driver know, he'll know."
"Okay, see you later."
Forty minutes later.
The driver took Su Huai to the Binjiang Pearl property.
After getting out of the car, she immediately spotted the elongated limited edition luxury car parked at the entrance of the construction site, which belonged to Gu Beixian.
Su Huai took out her phone to call him.
Just as she was about to dial, she saw a group of people rushing out of the construction site gate.
Leading the way was Gu Beixian, carrying Chu Suosuo in his arms, looking hurried, and quickly walked towards the car parked on the roadside.
When they reached the car, someone quickly opened the door for them.
Gu Beixian bent down and got into the car with Chu Suosuo in his arms.
The car sped away, leaving behind a cloud of white exhaust.
Su Huai's phone fell to the ground, and her heart shattered.