The Art of Teasing - Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Although Wen Zhengyu felt miserable, she understood she could not blame Ye Ling for the damaged plaque. Setting aside the fact that the plaque now belonged to Ye Ling, Ye Ling's attitude and reaction made it clear she hadn't wanted the plaque broken either.

Recalling Ye Ling's reaction at the time, she sensed something faintly odd. To her, that plaque in the Painting Hall was her grandmother's keepsake, which was why it was so precious. To anyone else, it was just an ordinary plaque—no more than twenty years old, with decent craftsmanship and good-quality wood. Yet Ye Ling had described it as "extremely important," and when she'd said it, she had almost seemed to be explaining the reason for her anger.

She could see that Ye Ling was trying to get close to her and, moreover, cared about her emotional responses.

A thought surfaced in Wen Zhengyu's mind, but it struck her as so absurd that she quickly banished it.

Once she calmed down and thought it over, Wen Zhengyu's mood improved slightly.

A broken plaque could be repaired. Museums and other places that dealt with antiques all had craftsmen who restored old objects. Many plaques that had been left for centuries with severe damage could be repaired; even if a plaque had shattered, it could still be restored. Judging by Ye Ling's reaction, she guessed Ye Ling would find a craftsman to repair it.

Thinking this, Wen Zhengyu still felt some distress, a little helpless, but she also understood that what she was experiencing was something many people had gone through. Such were the vicissitudes of life. When a family fell into decline, it wasn't just possessions that couldn't be kept—how many families couldn't even keep their people safe?

Wen Zhengyu gathered her emotions and continued busying herself with work and painting. Now, this art studio and the brush in her hand were the very foundation upon which she stood.

At lunchtime, just after Sun Yuan delivered the meal, Ye Ling arrived.

Ye Ling had even brought her own bowl and chopsticks.

Wen Zhengyu stared at her, astonished. What kind of face is this? You actually have the nerve to bring your own bowl and chopsticks to mooch my food?

Ye Ling sat down, picked up the bowls and chopsticks, served Wen Zhengyu rice and soup, and divided their dishes. She placed the rice bowl in front of Wen Zhengyu and said, "During the summer, there were several torrential rainstorms. The studio roof leaked a little. When we found a craftsman to replace the tiles, we discovered several beams had rotted and needed repair. While moving the paintings, the plaque was left behind. Today, when a worker was taking down the plaque, he fell from the ladder, fractured a bone, and the plaque was knocked and broken. I'm already asking around for a craftsman who repairs plaques."

Wen Zhengyu felt rather uncomfortable. She asked, "What does CEO Ye mean by telling me all this?"

Ye Ling said, "Your family's ancestral residence, the Old Family Mansion, is very old, impeccably preserved, and has many old heirlooms still there. There's no guarantee that some seemingly unremarkable item doesn't have a history behind it. Normally, people favor names like 'Residence,' 'Pavilion,' or 'Cottage' for their buildings, but the Painting Hall is simply called the Painting Hall. The name appears simple, yet it was inscribed on a plaque—and the plaque was meticulously crafted from fine rosewood. I imagine there must be some significance to it. From the plaque's lacquer and wood quality, one can more or less gauge its age, but it won't be too old. The calligraphy on it is slightly delicate and graceful, whereas Elder Wen's script was steady and robust... I imagine the person who could inscribe the name for your Painting Hall, and have it so carefully crafted into a plaque, was surely a female elder in the family who cherished you deeply, yes?"

Wen Zhengyu gaped at Ye Ling, mouth slightly open, utterly stunned. Ye Ling's words had practically stated outright that she had deduced the calligraphy was her grandmother's, and that her grandparents had made it for her.

She suddenly felt that her father's defeat by Ye Ling in the business world was not unjust at all.

Wen Zhengyu found herself with no idea what to say to Ye Ling. She silently buried her head in her meal.

After the two of them finished eating, Ye Ling left the bowl and chopsticks she had brought and took her leave.

Wen Zhengyu was at a complete loss for words regarding Ye Ling's behavior of bringing her own tableware to mooch lunch.

Due to effective promotion and the works being by renowned artists, the autumn auction proceeded very smoothly.

Wen Zhengyu's master, Qi Qianshu's Great Wall Majestic Pass, even fetched a high price of over three million yuan.

Under normal circumstances, paintings were sold by the market foot. Her master's painting, five feet four in length and three feet six in width, was a large-scale piece rarely seen in Gongbi painting. This Great Wall Majestic Pass could even be considered her master's crowning achievement to date. Her master, looking after her, had only calculated the price by the meter based on his stature and even rounded down the figure for her. She had spent one million five hundred fifty thousand yuan on it at the time. The painting was a massive piece her master had spent several years completing. Coupled with the promotional effect and buyers who could afford it, she had estimated it would fetch at least two million or more, but she never imagined it would sell for three million two hundred thousand.

She even briefly suspected that Wen Li or Ye Ling had commissioned someone to buy the painting. However, she also understood that this was the studio's first auction; with promotion managed to this degree, pulling such tricks would destroy the studio's reputation and smash its signboard.

Because the buyer had acquired it through public bidding, Wen Zhengyu had the honor of meeting the buyer.

The buyer was a refined businessman. Since Wen Zhengyu was Mr. Qi Qianshu's disciple, he made a point of coming to meet her.

This gentleman was a collector who favored contemporary calligraphers' and painters' works. He had met Mr. Qi Qianshu by chance in Beijing and had long wanted to purchase this specific painting.

In selling paintings, Mr. Qi Qianshu was rather stingy. Most of his works were only ever brought out for exhibitions or peer exchanges; few were offered for sale. Thus, his paintings were often in short supply despite demand. For this autumn auction, several people had traveled specifically to bid on his Great Wall Majestic Pass.

Through this autumn auction, the studio further expanded its market influence and client base, and gave Wen Zhengyu a deeper understanding of client demands for paintings. Moreover, the studio saw a return of funds, easing its financial situation.

The autumn auction's success naturally called for a celebration—both to reward the marketing and publicity department for their hard work on the project, and to let the studio's staff see development prospects, settle their minds, and work better.

Wen Zhengyu was not fond of social engagements, so hosting dinners was out of the question. She had the Human Resources and Logistics Department purchase a batch of practical items as rewards to distribute, and also handed out bonuses based on the contributions of each department and individual.

Although the auction had gone smoothly, the final wrap-up work kept her busy for several days. During these days, Ye Ling came to mooch lunch every single day.

Now that she was busy, her workload was heavy. With half her lunch being commandeered by Ye Ling every day, she frequently grew hungry by a little past three in the afternoon.

She was utterly speechless at Ye Ling. Could Ye Ling not see that if her food was being taken, she wouldn't be full?

She deliberately refrained from telling Sun Yuan to increase the portions. She wanted to see just how long Ye Ling could keep mooching. She refused to believe that if she, Wen Zhengyu, wasn't getting enough to eat, Ye Ling—who was constantly running around all day—could possibly be full either. Ye Ling was absent every morning, absent every afternoon, yet right at mealtime, she appeared punctually.

At noon, the meal Sun Yuan delivered not only had increased portions but also an extra dish.

Seeing the portions doubled for two people and the extra dish, the corners of Ye Ling's mouth curved slightly upward. She looked toward Wen Zhengyu with barely concealed delight.

Wen Zhengyu made a surprised sound and asked, "Aunt Sun, why the extra dish?"

Sun Yuan replied, "The old gentleman said you've grown thinner lately and was worried you're overworked, so he told me to add a dish for you."

Wen Zhengyu understood. She had grown thin from hunger, so the old gentleman told them to add a dish, Sun Yuan increased the rice, and then, Ye Ling benefited.

Still, it was just a lunch. She couldn't very well say anything, so she simply continued eating in silence.

After she and Ye Ling finished eating, however, Ye Ling showed no intention of leaving right away as she had on previous days.

If Ye Ling wasn't leaving, she had to play host. Wen Zhengyu had no choice but to go brew tea.

Ye Ling drank tea for a while before asking Wen Zhengyu, "When does the winter auction begin?"

Wen Zhengyu: "..." Winter auction?

Ye Ling added unhurriedly, "The New Year is precisely the season for exchanging annual formal gifts."

Only then did Wen Zhengyu understand. She quickly ran the calculations in her head and said, "The studio's existing stock of paintings and the number of famous artists' works suitable for auction isn't enough to hold an auction. We'd still need to go solicit paintings. We just finished a round of that with local renowned painters; it wouldn't be appropriate to approach them again for another auction in less than three months."

Ye Ling asked, "Are the studio's funds sufficient?"

Having just recovered capital, the funds were of course sufficient. Wen Zhengyu nodded. She stood up and fetched the account books for Ye Ling to see. Ye Ling was the largest shareholder and had the right to audit the accounts. In matters of management, Wen Zhengyu admitted that Ye Ling's business acumen was something she couldn't hope to match now—a single sentence from Ye Ling could leave her eight hundred li behind. Therefore, having Ye Ling better understand the studio's operations was good for both her and the studio.

Ye Ling lowered her head and slowly flipped through the account book. The books were kept properly, meticulously, and flawlessly; she suspected even a tax audit would find no loopholes. The corner of her mouth twitched up imperceptibly before pressing flat again.

Wen Zhengyu caught the subtle change at the corner of Ye Ling's mouth. She was certain Ye Ling had smiled just now. As for why she smiled, she had no idea. Smiling at making money? The studio was still far from recouping its investment; at most, one could say that based on current operational conditions, the development momentum was relatively good.

Ye Ling returned the account book to Wen Zhengyu and said, "I see CEO Wen has been quite busy lately. I doubt you can spare the time to go soliciting paintings with her. Coincidentally, I happen to be free recently. If Zhengyu doesn't mind, I could accompany you."

Wen Zhengyu considered the feasibility for a moment, then said, "If we're to hold another auction before the New Year, the timing is a little tight. And what would the scale of this auction be? If it's to follow the standards of the last one, first, we'd need to go out of town to solicit paintings from renowned artists in other provinces. That's far more difficult than soliciting locally—not just the difficulty of securing paintings, but the timeline is also extremely tough. Furthermore, for a project this big, the funding is still manageable, but this needs to be discussed with Sister Lili—CEO Wen—the three of us should confer about it first."

Ye Ling nodded. "Yes, we should discuss it and come up with a plan." She asked Wen Zhengyu, "Approximately how many days will the discussion and drafting a plan take?"

Wen Zhengyu couldn't say for sure. Last time, the painting solicitation and autumn auction were successfully completed only with guidance from Wen Li and Elder Wen alongside the sidelines, and with help from everyone. Wen Li could spare the time to guide her once, but she couldn't rely on Wen Li every time. If she had to go solicit paintings in other provinces, she could no longer count on Elder Wen's connections and personal influence to secure paintings for her. Everything would truly have to depend on herself...

As she thought this, it suddenly hit her that Ye Ling had said she would accompany her. She understood in a flash: Ye Ling had discerned her situation, was worried about her, and therefore wanted to go with her?

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