1977: The beginning of the blind date with the daughter of the king

Chapter 658 National Museum!
"Didn't you say before that you like collecting paintings by Qi Baishi and Li Keran?"

"There's a great opportunity for you to acquire a lot of their paintings. Are you interested?"

Inside the room, Zhang Shiqi sat back and forth in a recliner, asking Li Changhe in a low voice.

"Buy their paintings?"

"Many items?"

"Could it be that some arts and culture department is about to intervene?"

Li Changhe asked curiously at this moment.

Is it possible?
Li Changhe recalled a gossip news story he had seen while researching in his later life: Hong Kong businessman Xu Huachi spent HK$200,000 to buy 9,000 pieces of calligraphy and paintings by Qi Baishi and Li Keran from a museum.

HK$200,000 for 9,000 paintings by modern masters would be worth tens of billions in the future—far more than any real estate investment.

However, after arriving in this era, Li Changhe also reviewed the situation and realized that things were probably not that simple, and there was also a special historical context involved.

If he remembers correctly, Xu Huachi bought it around 83, and that year, the arts and culture circle just introduced a new system that required arts and culture units to be responsible for their own profits and losses.

In this day and age, if you make institutions like museums self-sufficient, then apart from a few specific museums like the Palace Museum that can make a profit, most of them will definitely lose everything.

Therefore, it is highly likely that Xu Huachi purchased those calligraphy and paintings under these circumstances.

But it's only 81 now, so there probably isn't that opportunity.

Zhang Shiqi kept his eyes closed, paying no attention to Li Changhe's thoughts, and spoke to himself.

"You guessed right, this time it's the National Museum, but they're not just selling it; they're looking for partners."

Upon hearing this, Li Changhe curiously continued to ask, "Looking for a partner?"

"Correct!"

Zhang Shiqi nodded, then explained, "The country is currently making great efforts to generate foreign exchange, and the cultural sector is doing the same."

"There's another point I don't know if you're aware of, which is that the cultural sector also needs reform."

“In the past, the state covered all the expenses, and it didn’t matter how much the cultural departments earned. But now, the state can’t afford it anymore, so the departments have to reform.”

"The National Museum of China has a new deputy director named Zhou Shengchen. He is a veteran in the calligraphy and painting world, and he has put forward a very novel idea."

"He wanted to find a partner in Hong Kong Island to hold an auction together, so that they could earn foreign exchange and solve the National Museum's revenue and expenditure problem."

"Antiques certainly can't be auctioned, so he focused his attention on paintings by Qi Baishi and Li Keran."

“The museum has plenty of these people’s paintings; they can put many of them up for auction.”

"I've been helping you collect these things for the past two years, and now I'm quite famous in the capital."

"Old Zhou contacted me and asked me to make the connection. He wanted to ask the person behind me, which is you, if you were interested in cooperating with the National Museum of China."

"His idea is actually quite bold, but I think it's a great approach."

"The true value of antique collectibles can only be revealed at auctions, and that's where you can really make money."

"However, I heard that the higher authorities have some reservations about cooperating with Hong Kong Island Company, since this is a precedent."

"Old Zhou is quite bold, thinking of acting first and informing later, so he asked me for help. I know you also appreciate these people's calligraphy and paintings, and aren't you planning to start an art company in Hong Kong? How about it, are you interested?"

Zhang Shiqi had originally planned to talk to Li Changhe about it, but unexpectedly Li Changhe came to his door today. It was better to arrive at the right time than to arrive early.

"How exactly does this cooperation work?"

"Starting a company together? Or just splitting the profits?"

Li Changhe asked thoughtfully at this moment.

"You think they can run a company? Of course they'll split the profits!"

"Old Zhou's idea is that they provide the calligraphy and paintings, and then the partners give them profits by guaranteeing a minimum return plus a share of the auction."

"Old Zhou didn't discuss the specifics of the profit split; you'll probably have to negotiate that yourselves later, but that's roughly the general model."

"The guaranteed price isn't high, only three or five yuan per piece, which is the market price. The core issue is the profit sharing."

"Old Zhou and his men aren't stupid. Although they can't be sure how much these people's calligraphy and paintings are worth, they're certain they are. They also have plenty of information from Hong Kong, so don't try to fool them."

Zhang Shiqi then spoke leisurely.

After listening, Li Changhe fell into deep thought.

The essence of this matter is actually about generating foreign exchange. This Director Zhou probably wants to use this method to generate foreign exchange.

"Of course, you're not without your advantages. You can talk to them boldly, because in my opinion, while Lao Zhou's plan is good, it's actually very difficult to implement."

"Do you know why?"

Zhang Shiqi then smiled and continued to ask.

Li Changhe pondered for a moment and said, "It must be hard to find a partner. The most important thing is that they have money and trust."

“One thing that’s indispensable in these kinds of auctions is hype. Hype requires spending money. In the early stages, you even have to use your own money to bid for the paintings and calligraphy to drive up their value. And the amount of money invested in this is not a small amount.”

"Moreover, for our partners, they are investing foreign exchange, which the National Museum of China cannot help with. In fact, it will only cause them trouble."

"If we follow Director Zhou's line of thinking, then the National Museum of China will directly receive a share of the auction proceeds. But that raises the question of how to account for the money they made from manipulating the auction."

"What about the money we made from the initial hype surrounding the auction? Will we get a share of it? And if so, how?"

"Moreover, auctioning these things takes too long, to be honest. You can't hype up a batch of calligraphy and paintings in just one or two years, so it's hard to see results in the short term."

"From a capital perspective, the return on investment in art speculation takes too long. If you factor in the investment, it's not actually a very worthwhile business."

Li Changhe said calmly.

Zhang Shiqi nodded: "Yes, so there isn't much support from above for Lao Zhou's matter."

"Everyone knows that auctions can fetch high prices, but the question is, who will invest in the initial capital?"

"The country certainly doesn't have the money, and it wants to earn foreign exchange. As for individuals, there aren't many who have that kind of ability."

"This kind of thing can't be accomplished just by throwing around a few million Hong Kong dollars."

"And you're absolutely right, there's also the issue of trust involved."

"Who can guarantee that the calligraphy and paintings provided by the National Museum are genuine and not fake?"

"So, in my opinion, Lao Zhou really can't handle this."

"Those with money don't have the energy, those with energy don't have the money, and those who have both money and energy may not even be interested in this kind of business."

"So in my eyes, you're the most reliable person he can work with. Are you interested?" Li Changhe laughed immediately upon hearing this.

"Yes, I think I can do it, and it's perfect for me."

“I originally wanted to set up an art auction company on Hong Kong Island, and I was just in need of these auction items. They've delivered a perfect opportunity to me!”

Li Changhe said decisively.

Li Changhe's interest wasn't just in the National Museum of China; more importantly, he wanted to use it as a springboard to open up opportunities for many other organizations.

It's not just about modern calligraphy and paintings by famous artists; it also includes some antique furniture, such as those made of rosewood and huanghuali wood.

Most importantly, this is also a legitimate way to make money. Li Changhe promotes and films it himself, distributes the profits domestically, and legally imports foreign exchange.

He knew that one way the country earns foreign exchange is by producing antiques and selling them in Hong Kong, Macau, and among some overseas Chinese communities.

Lin Yuan had mentioned to him before that he had many friends who were trading antiques in Hong Kong and making a fortune there.

Some of these actions were probably intentional on the part of higher-ups, but they just couldn't say it openly, since it would damage the country's image.

Li Changhe is now, in effect, indirectly getting involved in this matter.

"Moreover, Mr. Zhang, there's another advantage to cooperating with them."

"The plan I told you about before, to collect antiques overseas, is about to be implemented. I have found a partner in the renowned Rothschild art company in Europe."

"It wouldn't be unreasonable for us to ask the National Museum of China or somewhere else to send us a few expert appraisers!"

Li Changhe then said with a smile.

His plan was to collaborate with the National Museum of China under the name of the Hong Kong Island Art Auction Company, and then, through the partnership, bring people out to act as his appraisers.

In this way, he not only gained access to a large number of appraisers, but more importantly, he was able to control these masters under the guise of official authority.

This is much more reliable than Zhang Shiqi using his personal connections to get things done.

After listening to Li Changhe's words, Zhang Shiqi smiled and shook his head.

“I knew it. You see it clearly, that’s why I brought this up for Lao Zhou.”

“If you cooperate with the National Museum, you can openly borrow a group of appraisers to go out, which is much more convenient than me inviting them out.”

"After all, if I personally invite someone, they may have doubts, and some may have to consider their families. It is far less convincing than if the government makes a direct arrangement."

"Since you're interested, I'll arrange for you to meet with Lao Zhou later?"

"Inappropriate!"

Li Changhe shook his head, rejecting Zhang Shiqi's suggestion at this moment.

“It’s not appropriate for me to handle this directly. You should talk to Director Zhou first and see what their profit-sharing intentions are. Once it’s tentatively agreed upon, I will arrange for someone from Hong Kong Island to handle it directly.”

"By the way, do you think it's okay to have your two sons do these things?"

At this moment, Li Changhe asked Zhang Shiqi.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Shiqi looked at Li Changhe and asked, "You want Xiuwen and Xiuwu to do this?"

"Yes, I've been considering handing over the art company to them. They've been mentored by you, and they also have a family tradition of learning."

"Having worked in the counterfeiting business in Hong Kong, frankly speaking, ordinary counterfeiting methods probably won't fool them."

"Most importantly, through their work in the waste paper business, I can see that the two brothers are doing quite well and are capable people."

“In that case, I am interested in having the two of them as the heads of this art company.”

"You know, you can't do this without someone you trust."

Li Changhe smiled and said to Zhang Shiqi.

After listening, Zhang Shiqi looked at Li Changhe and then said calmly, "It's up to you. Use them if you think they're suitable. But let me make this clear: if you hand over the company to them out of respect for me, I won't take responsibility if the company suffers losses in the future."

“I don’t have high expectations for the two of them, and you don’t have to feel that you have to give them important positions because of me.”

"You can decide for yourself."

After listening to Zhang Shiqi's explanation, Li Changhe smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, I naturally have my own considerations."

Old Zhang's two sons were among those who knew Li Changhe's identity. Although many loopholes in Li Changhe's identity had been filled, the two Zhang brothers still needed to keep an eye on him.

Besides, Li Changhe felt that the two Zhang brothers were indeed capable of running an art auction company, as they had family expertise and were also daring and enterprising.

Art auctions involve the transfer of some domestic resources and funds, and Li Changhe is not really comfortable entrusting them entirely to Hong Kong people or the managers he recruits.

Old Zhang is suitable, and he's smart, but he's too old to come out and be his manager or anything.

So after much consideration, the two Zhang brothers turned out to be the most suitable candidates.

"There's another problem. Their identities are tainted. Are you sure you want to use them?"

Zhang Shiqi then spoke to Li Changhe.

The two Zhang brothers had forged documents to smuggle themselves out of the country back then, which makes them deserters. If they were to return, Zhang Shiqi worried that they would be punished later.

Li Changhe shook his head: "This is no big deal. Don't forget, they are now called Zhang Long and Zhang Hu."

"Besides, they ran away from the educated youth settlement, not from Beijing. How will people in Beijing recognize them?"

"After all these years, even your old friends probably wouldn't recognize them at a glance."

Putting everything else aside, those two brothers are now covered in dragon and tiger tattoos, eating and dressing well in Hong Kong, and have gained quite a bit of weight. There are probably only a few people who can recognize them at a glance.

Zhang Shiqi thought about it and realized that it made sense; people from the former educated youth settlements could never come to the capital.

That way, it would allow the two brothers to return openly and legitimately, which would be a solution. At least it would allow them to personally offer incense at their mother's and sister's graves and burn paper money for them during festivals, which would be appropriate.

"Since you've thought it through, I have no objections."

"Anyway, the Zhang family is now tied to you, so you don't have to worry about this old man not helping you."

Zhang Shiqi continued slowly.

With Li Changhe's actions, the Zhang family is now completely tied to him. This old man will have to serve him like a slave from now on.

After leaving Zhang Shiqi's courtyard, Li Changhe thought for a moment and decided to find someone to talk to about this matter.

This matter is unlikely to be accomplished by relying solely on the National Museum of China; he will need to get connections from higher levels.

It's probably not appropriate to talk to Old Liao now. After thinking for a moment, Li Changhe decided to talk to Director Lu first, since Director Lu has been promoted!

(End of this chapter)