Go back in time and be a chaebol

Chapter 2482 Each Gets What They Need (Second Update, Please Subscribe)

Two hundred thousand!
When Director Wang made that offer, he was unsure of himself, after all, it was 20!

Who could possibly come up with so much money all at once? Even foreigners might not have that much money.

Won't such an outrageous demand scare people away?

Just as Director Wang was pondering this, Chen Jingming felt a huge weight lifted from his shoulders upon hearing the offer. The price was lower than he had expected. He immediately nodded.

"Okay! I can accept this price."

While Director Wang was inwardly surprised by how wealthy these foreigners were, his smile grew even brighter.

"That's wonderful! Mr. Chen, you've really helped us a lot! These things are taking up space in the warehouse, but now we can exchange them for foreign exchange. Not only can we use them for the country's conferences, but we also have the money to build a reception area for foreign guests. Once the reception area is built, we can provide better services for foreign guests like Mr. Chen!"

For Tangshan in that era, 200,000 yuan was undoubtedly an astronomical figure, let alone foreign exchange.

They not only obtained funds to build a reception center for foreign guests, but this kind of "foreign exchange earnings" was also extremely beneficial to the country.

Therefore, this transaction is undoubtedly a huge "political achievement" for the National Museum.

The two parties quickly settled on the details of the transaction. Chen Jingming paid 10,000 yuan as a deposit on the spot and promised to pay the remaining 190,000 yuan within half a month. Of course, he paid in foreign currency, namely Nan Yuan.

In Tangshan now, the Southern Yuan is even more valuable than the US dollar. However, the exchange rate in Tangshan is quite high—1 US dollar equals 1.6836 Tangshan Yuan. In terms of Southern Yuan, it's roughly 0.9 Southern Yuan to 1 Tangshan Yuan.

The officially set exchange rate does not reflect the true exchange rate. In fact, they are currently exploring an internal settlement rate. Although it has not yet been implemented, this internal settlement rate is approximately 2.8 yuan to 1 US dollar.

This price is similar to the black market price. This is also why the museum requires him to pay in foreign currency—after all, only by receiving foreign currency can one earn foreign exchange through exports.

During these two weeks, the museum was responsible for inventorying all the paintings and processing the export procedures for them.

When signing the contract, Chen Jingming made an additional request:

"Director Wang, I'd like to select a few dozen paintings to take with me as samples. Is that alright?"

Director Wang agreed without hesitation:
"Of course! Please choose whichever you like!"

In his view, a few dozen paintings were insignificant compared to ten thousand. The most important thing was to facilitate this big deal as quickly as possible.

Besides, they've already paid a deposit of 1 yuan—enough to buy thousands of paintings and calligraphy pieces.

Suppressing his excitement, Chen Jingming, with the help of a veteran staff member, began selecting from the pile of scrolls. Because these paintings had been stored in the warehouse for a long time without anyone paying attention to them, and due to factors such as leaky warehouse and damp floors, many of the paintings had mold spots.

Looking at these clearly improperly preserved works, Chen Jingming felt a pang of heartache. While regretting their condition, he also had to consider how to preserve them once they were brought back to China.

However, that's not the most important thing. Right now, we need to pick out some of the most valuable works.

Because he needed to monetize these works, he specifically sought out pieces with clear signatures, excellent condition, and well-known authors.

Soon, he selected ten small paintings of flowers, birds, fish and insects by Qi Baishi, eight landscapes by Zhang Daqian, and several figure paintings by Fu Baoshi. He also picked some paintings by Xu Beihong, Li Keran and others.

Each of these paintings and calligraphies could cause a sensation in the Chang'an market, as they are all rare masterpieces.

After receiving the twenty paintings, Chen Jingming didn't linger at all. He didn't even stay in Kunming for another day; that very afternoon, he packed the paintings in his suitcase and rushed to the airport.

He originally thought that carrying these paintings and calligraphy would definitely attract the attention of customs officials, but in the end, they didn't even ask any questions.

To them, these were just some paintings and calligraphy, and so he boarded the flight to Chang'an without any trouble.

During the several-hour flight, he barely slept. He mentally rehearsed the next steps over and over again, scrutinizing every detail.

After all, he had never been involved in the world of calligraphy and painting collection; at most, he had only bought some calligraphy or paintings or oil paintings for 5 yuan each at flea markets.

But what about now?
His box contained dozens of works by famous artists, but could these works really sell for 20 yuan?
"If it's really not enough, then apply for a loan."

With these plans in mind, a few hours later, the plane landed at Chang'an International Airport. Chen Jingming didn't go straight home, but instead drove directly to Jincheng Bank located on Financial Street.

Jin Cheng Bank is a private bank, and the bank manager is their old neighbor.

In a quiet meeting room, Chen Jingming placed the suitcase on the table and slowly opened it.

When Zhang Daqian's painting was unfurled, even the worldly-wise Xu Ziming was instantly captivated.

He leaned closer to examine it carefully, then took out a magnifying glass to check the paper and seal, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

"Jingming,"

He said in a tone of amazement:
"It really is an original work by Mr. Zhang Daqian! And it's a piece from his prime! It's incredible, where did you find it?"

He never expected that his long-lost junior would bring him such a pleasant surprise upon his arrival. If he didn't know the junior's character, he might have even worried that the junior had been obtained through shady means.

“It’s a secret.” Chen Jingming smiled and unfolded the other works by Zhang Daqian one by one.

"I have a total of thirty-six paintings and calligraphies here, including eight by Zhang Daqian, ten by Qi Baishi, and works by Xu Beihong, Li Keran, and others. Uncle Xu, I'd like to use these paintings and calligraphies as collateral to borrow 500,000 yuan from your bank. That shouldn't be a problem, right?"

Faced with business offered to him, Xu Ziming didn't hesitate at all and immediately nodded:

"Of course! This one painting by Zhang Daqian alone is worth no less than 5 yuan on the market. With so many works as collateral, a loan of 50 yuan is more than enough! However, even so, Jingming, you know that banks have their rules. We first need to verify the truthfulness of these words and whether their source is legal."

Once confirmed, we will disburse the loan to you immediately tomorrow.

Then Xu Ziming explained:
"Of course, this isn't about asking where you bought it from. Instead, it involves a specialized insurance investigator confirming that these works are not lost items."

Hearing this, Chen Jingming finally felt a weight lifted from his shoulders. After all, his biggest worry now was that someone might discover the origin of these works, and what if someone tried to steal them?

Three days later, the $500,000 loan from the bank arrived in the account.

Chen Jingming immediately transferred the remaining amount to the National Museum's designated account via international wire transfer.

Before the two-week deadline was up, he had already easily paid the full amount.

When Director Wang received a call from the finance department in his office confirming that the 190,000 yuan had been deposited into his account, he was so excited that he stood up from his chair and pumped his fist.

"That's great! That's great!" he exclaimed excitedly to his colleagues.
"The money has arrived! Two hundred thousand foreign exchange, not a penny less! That Mr. Chen is truly a straightforward person!"

The office was filled with jubilation.

"Director Wang, you are truly remarkable! You've earned so much foreign exchange for the country in one go!"

"That's right, those old paintings piled up in the warehouse, I never imagined they could have such great value!"

"This is our museum's biggest revenue this year, and the year-end bonus will definitely be substantial!"

Praises poured in. Director Wang's face beamed with pride as he looked out the window, seemingly already envisioning a bright future where he would be promoted because of this "achievement."

He was completely unaware that what he considered "old paintings" were undergoing a redefinition of value in the overseas market.

Two days after transferring the remaining payment to the National Museum's account, Chen Jingming flew back to Chang'an from Kunming. If it weren't for the difficulty in buying plane tickets, he probably would have arrived in Kunming that same day.

He returned to the National Museum. This time, he came to collect the remaining works.

Over the next few days, he and the museum staff inventoried all the paintings, then packed them into dozens of large wooden crates and neatly stacked them in the warehouse.

The next step was to arrange air transport. Fortunately, the National Museum is an official institution, and with their help, the flight was arranged quickly.

On the day of departure, Director Wang personally accompanied Chen Jingming to the warehouse. Looking at the wooden crates that were about to be transported away, his face was full of relief and a sense of accomplishment.

"Mr. Chen, it's a pleasure doing business with you!"

Director Wang warmly shook hands with Chen Jingming and said:
"I hope to have the opportunity to do business with you again in the future."

"must."

Chen Jingming responded with a smile.

"If there are similar works, Director Wang should notify me immediately. I will definitely come right away."

"Haha, definitely, definitely. I'll ask the local museums later if they have any similar calligraphy and paintings. If they do, I'll definitely let Mr. Chen know."

With the help of museum staff, the wooden crates filled with artistic treasures were loaded onto several large trucks and transported to the airport. There, they would be loaded onto planes and shipped to another unfamiliar country.

The truck drove away from the museum gate, and Director Wang stood at the entrance, watching them until they disappeared from sight. A young colleague beside him couldn't help but ask:

"Director Wang, wouldn't it be too cheap for us to sell so many famous paintings and calligraphies like this?"

Director Wang smiled dismissively and patted him on the shoulder:

"Cheap? Two hundred thousand foreign exchange reserves! That's a huge sum of money! These paintings are worthless in a warehouse, and you even have to pay to store them. Now they've become real foreign exchange reserves, contributing to the country's development. That's their greatest value!"

The young colleague nodded as if he understood, and then fell silent.

Director Wang looked up into the distance; the sun was shining brightly, and his mood was radiant.

He had no idea that this "successful transaction," which he was so proud of, would become a classic case of regret in the history of art collecting in the decades to come.

It was precisely because of this lucky find that Chen Jingming became a world-renowned collector.

Sometimes things are like that: when there's gold everywhere, many people can't see it...

(End of this chapter)