Chapter 121 - 98 Young Painter_2

Words : 1599 Updated : Sep 17th, 2025

Chapter 121: Chapter 98 Young Painter_2The painting wasn’t entirely realistic; it still bore a strong oil painting style. The result brought Chen Feng a pleasant surprise. "Do you like my beach painting?" Xi Jun saw Chen Feng staring at the painting and began to introduce, "I painted this two years ago while I was vacationing at Saint Louis Beach. Initially, it was just a vacation, but lying on the beach chair, looking at the beautiful beach, inspiration suddenly struck. So, I had my assistant bring over the canvas and spent more than three hours standing there on the beach to complete this painting." "Not bad. I do like this painting, and if the price is right, I might buy it for my collection." Chen Feng wasn’t secretive or trying to play coy because there was no need—he was there to buy paintings. Upon hearing Chen Feng’s words, Xi Jun was delighted and quickly said, "The dozen or so paintings here are my most beloved and proudest works, embodying my heart and soul. If you are serious about buying, I can sell it to you for three million." At the price, Chen Feng just shook his head, "Your asking price is too high. To be blunt, your current fame isn’t that great, certainly not on par with Master Wang Yi. I’m willing to offer one million. Three million is simply too much." Xi Jun felt angered by Chen Feng’s words, but he contained it and raised his voice, "Three million is already a giveaway. If I weren’t urgently in need of funds, I wouldn’t be selling these pieces right now. Because I know, in the future, their value will significantly increase." Chen Feng shook his head again, "I don’t care about the future. I’m not buying in the future but now. How about this, I’ll add another half million, for a total of one and a half million for the painting." "Impossible!" Xi Jun, as if insulted, raised his voice again, "Three million is the lowest price I can accept. To cut it in half, don’t you think that’s too much?" "At your price, no one will buy it. Three million for one of your landscape paintings, and it’s not even your strongest suit of realism; it lacks a lot of buzz and controversy. So even if your fame grows in the future, this painting’s appreciation will be limited. You can’t dispute that, can you? The controversy you stirred up in the domestic art scene was mainly due to your realism paintings, which were more lifelike than photographs." Chen Feng’s words were factual, and Xi Jun found himself speechless. His strength indeed lay in realism, not in landscape paintings. Furthermore, for this painting, he had whimsically not used the techniques he was skilled at but had opted for a more traditional oil painting method. To be honest, out of the dozen or so works, he didn’t really value this painting much and almost didn’t display it here. The reason this painting was even on the shelf was just to make up the numbers; otherwise, the shelf would have looked empty. Seeing his silence, Chen Feng pressed on, "One and a half million is a sincere offer. Besides, this is only our first transaction. If there are other works I like in the future, I can still buy. Familiarity builds with each deal, doesn’t it?" Only then did Xi Jun speak, "Then why don’t you look at the other works? If you see any others you like, I can make you a deal on them too." "Okay." Chen Feng didn’t refuse, he nodded in agreement and continued to look at the other works. Unfortunately, after looking at each one of his prized works, no more surprises came. However, Chen Feng wasn’t one to give up so easily and turned to ask Xi Jun, "May I also take a look at the other pieces on the shelves?" Taken aback, Xi Jun quickly responded, "You didn’t like any of these paintings, aside from the ’beach’?" Chen Feng nodded bluntly, "Yes. Could I take a look at the works on your other shelves?" Xi Jun, undeterred, pointed to a painting in the center of the second shelf, "What about this painting? You don’t like it as well? Three years ago, someone wanted to buy it for three million, and I refused. A year later, he offered five million, and I still didn’t accept. This is my proudest work. If you want it now, I would let it go for six million. I can assure you the value of this painting will double in the future." It was a realistic painting, depicting a beautiful girl sitting quietly, about twenty years old. The whole painting looked like a large-sized color photograph. Extremely realistic. Chen Feng didn’t doubt his words, but the painting didn’t evoke any special feeling in him. So, Chen Feng straightforwardly shook his head, "Sorry. While the painting is fine, it doesn’t appeal to me. When I collect art, it’s primarily about whether it strikes a chord with me." Hearing this, Xi Jun was speechless and irate, feeling in his heart that Chen Feng simply didn’t understand art. But after all, he was the potential buyer, offering tangible cash for his paintings. He had to tamp down his anger. "Well then. Let me take you to see the other works on the other shelves." He then looked at the paintings set aside individually, Chen Feng reviewed each one, and again, no surprises came, leaving him somewhat disappointed. "You didn’t take a fancy to any of these?" Xi Jun was also very disappointed. He really needed a sum of money to turn around a business project he had invested in. He was very eager to raise five million. Chen Feng shook his head, causing Xi Jun to become somewhat disheartened. "Can I take a look at those stacked together?" Xi Jun had already lost much hope and waved his hand, "Feel free to look at those." And Chen Feng did take a look. Since he was there, he naturally wanted to scavenge for another useful painting to take back. There were really quite a lot of randomly piled up paintings, as many as three to four hundred. Fortunately, Chen Feng was patient enough to look through them one by one. In the end, Xi Jun almost lost his patience. But Chen Feng’s efforts finally paid off, and he found another piece of work he desired. It was a very realistic landscape painting depicting a meadow and a tree, along with a blue sky and the sun. "Let’s include this one as well," Chen Feng said casually as he took the painting out and placed it by the shelf. Seeing it was another landscape painting, and one of his old works from several years ago, Xi Jun was really speechless. If Chen Feng hadn’t dug it out, he wouldn’t have remembered it at all. He felt somewhat insulted. His truly proud realistic figure paintings weren’t appreciated, and yet the landscape paintings that even he didn’t value much were picked. Wasn’t this deliberately belittling him? However, he soon thought about his immediate need for money, and the idea that a painting he didn’t care much about could easily sell for millions seemed like making good use of waste, not bad at all. After Chen Feng found the second painting, he was filled with enthusiasm and continued to sift through Xi Jun’s other works. Unfortunately, after a careful look at all the paintings in the room, he found no more that were suitable. Chen Feng then had to say somewhat helplessly to Xi Jun, "Just these two, then. Two million, I’ll buy them together." Xi Jun hurriedly shook his head, "The lowest is three million. Otherwise, I won’t sell." "You’re making this unpleasant. If it weren’t for me finding this painting, you might have disposed of it as scrap in the future. Me offering an extra half a million is already quite generous." Xi Jun felt a bit awkward but still shook his head, "No, three million really is the lowest price. I don’t haggle. These two paintings for three million, take it or leave it, I can’t do anything else." Chen Feng stared at him for a while. To be honest, three million for two paintings wasn’t truly a loss. But why not save if you can? So Chen Feng could only pretend to shake his head regretfully, "Then I can only say sorry. Two million is the highest price I can offer. If you won’t sell, I can only express my regret. Hopefully, I’ll have the opportunity to buy your paintings next time." Having said that, Chen Feng started walking toward the door. Seeing that Chen Feng didn’t seem to be pretending, Xi Jun couldn’t hold back; after all, he wasn’t a skilled businessman, and with the urgency of needing money, he immediately lowered his price, "Two point eight million, for both paintings, really is quite cheap." Chen Feng just shook his head and continued to walk out. This time Xi Jun didn’t immediately lower his price again. When Chen Feng reached the doorway, he bit his teeth and said, "Two point five million!" Chen Feng stopped and turned around, without letting him feel pleased, he said with feigned displeasure, "Two point five? Who are you insulting?" Without another word, Chen Feng quickened his pace and stepped out of the room. Seeing this, Xi Jun hurriedly ran over and shouted loudly at Chen Feng’s retreating back from the doorway, "Two point three million!" "Deal!" "..."

Chapter 121 - 98 Young Painter_2

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