Chapter 68: The Coachman
At the door of Peaceful Restaurant, there were many armed polices with real rifles.
They had keen eyes and were looking forward to it.
If there were any emergencies, they could be resolved immediately.
In the lobby on the first floor.
It was overcrowded, but because everyone had some antiquities in their arms, although there were many people, they were extremely careful not to be touched by others.
However, the voices of discussion were one after another.
"Hey! Old Xu why are you here too?"
"Why can't I come? This antique auction is said to be held by an old Egyptian family. It not only auctions antiques, but also collects antiques and even helps with free appraisal, so I brought the bowl from my house. Ah, if it's genuine, it's just sold to them, so I don't have to worry about it at home."
"Old Chen, are you here?"
"That is natural, it is estimated that today, the entire ancient town, people with collections at home will come! How can I miss join in this fun?"
Such conversations resounded almost all the time.
But when the atmosphere here was noisy...
"This is the calligraphy and painting handed down from my ancestors, the authentic work of Wang Xizhi..."
Following Wang Gu's words fell.
The entire hall became ultimately silent, if a needle fell to the ground, it would be clearly heard.
Almost all of them looked towards Wang Gu in unison, wanting to see who claimed to have been handed down by the ancestors. It must be known Wang Xizhi's calligraphy and painting, which had appeared in books were all true, and every single one of them was a national treasure, anyone with a bit of culture knew it.
The person who received Wang Gu was originally lacking in interest, but when he heard this, he raised his brows and only then became a little interested.
"Oh? Really?" His tone was somewhat questionable.
When the hall became extremely silent, countless pairs of eyes cast over at the same time.
The receptionist then stretched out his hand and gently accepted the calligraphy and painting in Wang Gu's hand.
But…
The moment he touched it with his hand, the man's brows immediately locked, as if he was going to be angry.
"Sir, I'm sorry. Our auction will only appreciate antiques. Your calligraphy and painting are some modern high-quality imitations. Just find someone to write it out. This calligraphy and painting are not the original works of Wang Xizhi, nor it is valuable!"
The receptionist frowned. When he said this, he didn't even look at the calligraphy and painting but directly put it back into Wang Gu's hands.
"Huh?"
There was a cry in the hall.
It was not known if it was because the calligraphy and painting were fake, and people felt disappointed; or because it was denied, they felt sorry for Wang Gu.
However, at this moment, someone in the hall recognized Wang Gu's identity.
"Isn't that the old man from Ancient Street Gallery? He paints at the door every day, even more than that, his paintings are really beautiful... But he also thought it was too simple, he actually took out a few copies of his own works and pretend that it was Wang Xizhi's instead?" Someone's voice contained a bit of sarcasm.
"Old man Wang? Yes, it's really him... at such an old age, he still uses this method? The gallery has no business and is about to close down. Isn't it because he came here to try his luck?" Someone said proudly.
"Oh, we're still in the line! Old man Wang, don't delay things. If those are fake, take it away!" Behind Wang Gu, someone urged with dissatisfaction.
The ancient town was not big, and Ancient Street was even smaller...
But with the changes of the times, many of the neighbors who used to be harmonious no longer have the original simplicity, they cared more about the potential competition. If someone lived better than themselves, they would feel jealous, if someone was worse than themselves, they would feel high above, full of arrogance and hypocrisy.
Wang Gu couldn't remember when this change started.
Anyway, when he heard such voices... he only felt sad in his heart, and at the same time, his heart became firmer and he still stood in the front.
When he looked at the receptionist, his face sank, "You have not even look at the contents inside the calligraphy and painting of mine, how do you know they are fake?"
"Oh? This paper cloth is all-new, what else is there to look good? Is it possible that Wang Xizhi is still alive?" The receptionist shook his head, looking a little impatient, waved his hand, looked away from Wang Gu, and looked back, "The next person..."
"Okay, old man Wang, it's me, mine is the real thing, inherited from the ancestors!"
The person behind stretched out his hand, patted Wang Gu on the shoulder, and motioned for him to move away.
Click...
However, Wang Gu did not move.
When the receptionist was about to call the security guard, Wang Gu was not polite as his wrist flicked, and the words "Orchid Pavilion Preface" were all unfolded in front of the receptionist.
In the paper cloth, every word, every stroke of brush was at the peak of perfectness.
Every word was full of vicissitudes of time...
These words turned around as if possessing an indescribable magic power...
The receptionist just glanced at it slightly but he couldn't move away anymore, and even his body twitched slightly.
...
Ancient Street Gallery.
Ye Bei sat quietly at the table, his eyes faint.
Outside the gallery, the endless stream of people was constantly varying, but there were always similarities. Ye Bei had seen the coachman that brought him here the other day several times. The difference was that every time the person sitting in the cart changed, this was a kind of specious feeling.
Ye Bei was waiting quietly, waiting for the familiar voice to appear.
Similarly, in his mind, many doubts appeared.
He, Ye Bei had been in this world for too long, had experienced and done many earth-shattering things.
Even, he could predict many things originally, but once it involved longevity, it would become fuzzy for him.
He knew that as long as he waited here, the familiar old person would appear soon.
However, it was impossible to judge the specific time and place of its appearance.
"Will you miss this round?" Ye Bei murmured softly when he saw the familiar coachman and ran through the gallery door for the ninth time.
Immediately afterward, Ye Bei moved his gaze away from the street, and with a slight movement of his wrist, the scroll painting of the deceased person in reincarnation came from Wang Xiu's brush appeared from his cuffs, flat on the table without any wrinkles.
In the painting, the deceased was dressed in white, her skin was tender, she was devastatingly beautiful as it was enough to cause cities and kingdoms to fall.
Ye Bei looked at the painting quietly, his eyes calm but were filled with contemplations.
In the gallery lobby, when it was extremely quiet, there were two clear knocks on the door.
Ye Bei looked up, his eyes did not change, without any surprises.
It was the coachman who knocked on the door.
He was sweating profusely, with a yellowed towel wrapped around his neck, and while knocking on the door, he vigorously wiped the sweat from his forehead.
"Come in!" Ye Bei said simply.
"Sir, I didn't expect to meet you here! Are you working here? I thought you came here yesterday to paint..." Looking up, the coachman was not surprised when he saw Ye Bei, he just grinned, showing a neat row of white teeth.
"What about the goods?" Ye Bei did not answer but asked indifferently.
After he heard this, the coachman's body was startled. When he looked at Ye Bei, his eyes were staring.
The young man in front of him was too dangerous... How did he know that he was here to give something?
But when he was surprised, the coachman slowly took out a black paper from his pocket.