The Versatile Master Artist

How to describe it?

This price is really too unbelievable, it almost doesn’t seem like a sham.

Especially when Hanks checked the personal data of this bidding account, the last suspicion that Gu Tongxiang might have hired someone to bid disappeared completely.

The online auction system of Ma Shi Gallery is jointly operated with Christie’s online auction system, and their clients can share it.

The account of this major buyer shows that she is the kind of VVIP-level customer.

The customer level of large auction houses is usually directly tied to transaction amounts. High-authority clients have a dedicated client manager for one-on-one service in the auction house, and can participate in bidding with less deposit.

If there are clients who urgently need money, don’t want to wait, or for other personal reasons, don’t want to go to auction but have valuable collections in hand,

Christie’s and Sotheby’s can also contact these VIP clients first to inquire if they are interested in purchasing.

Some very rare collections, as long as one has the ability to buy them immediately with cash, can be resold at a substantial profit after some time.

To reach the credit level of this buyer’s account, one needs to have spent at least 30 million Euros at auction houses under Christie’s.

The person behind such an account is often either a Middle Eastern prince or a Silicon Valley tycoon.

Participating in the bidding for paintings by Monet or Cézanne can be done just with purchasing credit; there’s no need to pay a single cent as a deposit in advance.

This kind of VIP cannot possibly be hired to act as a bidder.

A bid of 5,000 Euros or 50,000 Euros doesn’t make much difference to them; even the fuel cost for a yachting party exceeds this amount.

The fact that the newly signed proxy artist ”Gu Tongxiang” can be appreciated by such a top collector is more proof of the artist’s value than a 5,000 Euro check.

It’s like in the Republic Era, when the songstresses of Shanghai Beach caught the attention of powerful warlords.

The overnight fee becomes irrelevant.

Originally, signing Gu Tongxiang was more because he was Gu Weijing’s grandfather.

After this online auction, Hanks had no choice but to quietly raise his level of attention toward Old Gu by a notch.

Gu Tongxiang enjoyed watching his grandson’s naïve astonishment.

During this period.

His grandson, Gu Weijing’s progress, always shocked him as a grandfather.

This time, he finally got to show off.

Previously, Gu Tongxiang had sold artwork for over a thousand US Dollars, but those were large paintings he painstakingly crafted, and they might hang in the shop for ten days to half a month before attracting a diplomat returning home or a wealthy jade merchant willing to play the ”fool”.

This was his first painting sold at Ma Shi Gallery, and it casually sold for 5,000 Euros.

The challenging part of fusion painting lies more in the painting techniques.

A small piece like the ”Peony Painting” might be finished in the time it takes to drink a cup or two of tea. Considering this efficiency, painting for a year could make one a millionaire.

Of course, an artist’s income can’t be calculated like this.

Moreover, most of the earnings from Mr. Gu’s contract were taken by Ma Shi Gallery, but compared to before, his career had reached a whole new height.

Ordinarily,

With Gu Tongxiang’s character, he wouldn’t be willing to share this kind of thing with the younger generation.

Wealth breeds laziness.

If the grandchildren knew grandpa could now earn big money and there was no financial pressure at home, they might become like many of their peers at Fitz School and develop a spoiled attitude.

However...

Not to mention that the painting technique for the fusion painting was guided by Gu Weijing, and in his heart, Gu Tongxiang also increasingly saw his grandson as a real adult.

He believed Gu Weijing wouldn’t be swayed by this small sum of money, and his future achievements would surpass his own by far.

Compared to the contract Ma Shi Gallery prepared for him, 5,000 Euros is nothing.

”Find a place with fewer people to practice, you’ll soon get your driver’s license. Boys always need to learn how to drive.” The old man suggested.

According to Yangon’s local laws, learning to drive doesn’t require attending a specific driving school.

Gu Tongxiang can teach his grandson how to drive, and once he turns eighteen, he just needs to attend a two-day road safety training course authorized by the local traffic management bureau and then apply for a driving test.

After passing, he can get his license directly.

”How about tomorrow night, I’ve got a bit of a schedule today.” Gu Weijing squeezed the large brown paper envelope in his arms, estimating the time.

”Up to you.”

Gu Tongxiang grabbed the sponge from the water bucket again and started wiping the car’s windshield: ”Weijing, don’t think too highly of yourself now, there’s still a lot you need to learn from your elders. The older the ginger, the spicier... Back in my day, your grandpa was really something!”

If in his younger days, trafficking cheap second-hand art during chaotic times was the first major turning point in Gu Tongxiang’s life that lifted him out of poverty and barely made him a member of the local upper-middle class,

then signing with Ma Shi Gallery this time was the second turning point in his life, pushing his career to an unprecedented new peak.

After selling works for thousands of Euros per square meter, his spirit completely transformed.

Ambition is a man’s aphrodisiac.

While the elderly in the neighbors’ homes grow old, teasing cats, playing with dogs, and flirting with fellow older ladies during walks,

Gu Tongxiang exchanged his old, hole-ridden gray vest and loose long shorts for a smart blue-bottomed embroidered Tang suit and a pair of neat black cloth shoes.

During the New Year, he had the privilege of meeting Mr. Cao Xuan, whose artistic aura and style left a deep impression on Old Gu, simply too stylish!

As a little fan of Elder Cao,

Gu Tongxiang also secretly cosplayed once.

Now as a signed artist with an international gallery, even if he isn’t following a glamorous route, he can’t look too shabby. Compared to Mr. Cao Xuan’s age, Gu Tongxiang felt he still had quite a bit of fight left in him.

With renewed thoughts, he felt younger overall.

He dusted off his almost dried-out pomade to start nurturing his balding head again, and recently he even entertained the idea of getting a hair transplant.

He wondered if the follicles on the back of his head were entirely withered and dead or if they could still be salvaged.

Lying in bed at night, occasionally reflecting on his transformation, even Gu Tongxiang found it unbelievable.

Half a year ago, he was still a grandfather content to send his grandson to college and then rest in peace. Now, he was considering getting a hair transplant!

The saying ”old trees bloom anew, beauty in the twilight years” was probably his current state of mind.

Swish...

The wet sponge slid over the car’s body.

Gu Tongxiang looked at his face reflected on the shiny car paint, as if he saw the version of himself from over twenty years ago emerging from the black car body.

Radiant.

He truly felt as if he had returned to his energetic days. His steps were lighter, and he couldn’t resist kicking a can lying by the roadside twice. Walking past a neighbor’s dead cat, he almost wanted to kick...

Meow?

Old Wu’s cat glimpsed Gu Weijing returning home and followed him, glancing at Gu Tongxiang and licking its paws.

Old Gu felt a phantom pain in his cheek and quietly turned his head away.

Forget it.

Why should I quarrel with a beast? Since my grandson likes it, I’ll let it go.

”Even if tomorrow brings a thousand songs, singing away on my road, even if tomorrow brings a thousand stars, shining brighter than tonight’s moon...”

Chen Shuhua’s old song suddenly started playing from the phone in his pocket.

Gu Tongxiang placed the sponge on the car’s hood, took out his phone, and saw it was a call from Hanks.

”Hello, Mr. Ma Shi? Are you planning to come over today?”

Since Old Gu signed with Ma Shi Gallery, Hanks visited Gu’s Calligraphy and Painting Shop less frequently.

Now Hanks didn’t have to visit every day to serve tea and water, pleasing Gu Tongxiang with flattering words and building closer ties.

Now he’s also Gu Tongxiang’s official agent.

The relationship between an agent and a proxy artist is a tighter mutual interest than ordinary flattery.

”No, no. Mr. Gu, remember that major collector who bought your ’Peony Painting’?” Hanks’s tone was somewhat tense.

”Is there a problem with the transaction?”

Hearing his agent’s anxious voice through the receiver, Gu Tongxiang also tensed up.

He didn’t want any hitches with his first painting sold at Ma Shi Gallery.

”No problem, it’s a big opportunity. I heard that collector really appreciates your work, so she contacted Ma Shi III today, hoping to get your contact information.”

Hanks’s tone became serious, and he exhaled deeply: ”Mr. Gu, this is our chance. You need to grasp it.”