Chapter 4 Going to America (I)

  Ju An was deeply shocked, thinking that this couldn't be true, and that such a thing could actually come from the hands of this great painter? Afterwards, he looked at the rest of the painter's works, and wouldn't you know it, there were indeed some similar pieces inside.

  The human beast, even if it's a fake, knows who it imitates. But the other little girl and the dancing girl, who painted them is unclear. However, Ju An estimates that the possibility of forgery is not high, because according to the date on the account book, 1910, five years after the human beast died, the time gap is not large, and this foreign opium dealer is unlikely to put the account book and some fake paintings in an iron cabinet. If it's fake, just hang it at home, who would be stupid enough to save it in a safe? As for how to find someone to appraise these paintings to see if they are real or not, Ju An is somewhat troubled. You say appraising ceramics, Chinese paintings and so on can still be trusted domestically, but appraising Western paintings, there may not be any experts at home, so you have to look abroad. Thinking again, all the sellers of paintings are galleries, auction houses and so on, small galleries are hard to say, large auction companies are more reliable.

  Searched for foreign auction houses, and there was a familiar one. Ju An remembered that this auction house had once held an auction in City B, when the company's boss's friend had entrusted them to sell a piece of porcelain.

  He took out his camera from the drawer, went into the space and took photos of the three paintings. He sent an email to the auction company according to the mailbox on the webpage, asking them to appraise these paintings, and attached the photos of the paintings. As for whether he could get a response, he didn't have any idea at all.

  Sent to this auction house, first, the auction house has some reputation in the country and I've also heard of it. Second, the auction house is headquartered in New York. If there's no response, after two weeks, I'll be going to America with my boss to attend a toy exhibition.

  Domestic small foreign trade companies generally do not go to exhibitions, but rather to see what toys are popular in Europe and America this year. They call it checking the European and American fashion trends to adapt to the international market. In fact, most of them go to see what foreigners have come up with, and then copy it when they return, selling it back to foreigners.

  I've been to the US a few times, but each time was just a quick trip. Because American imperialism is so dark, I can only afford to earn over 3,000 yuan as a software engineer, which is equivalent to just over $600 USD, really embarrassing for my wallet.

  During his university days, a senior who studied computer science settled in the United States. After graduating from university, he pursued his master's and doctoral degrees in the US, lived and studied there for several years, then married a Chinese-American wife and settled in San Francisco. On one occasion, when his senior was also in New York, they met up once to have dinner together.

  Thinking of this, I casually left a message on my senior brother's QQ, mentioning that I will go to New York in two weeks. If you have time then, let's have a good drink together.

  The message had just been sent when my senior brother replied: "I won't be going to New York for a while, why don't you come visit me on your way back home?"

  "Hey, isn't it late at night where you are? I'm just relaxing here during the day. Do you know this auction house? A relative of mine left me a few paintings and I want to get them appraised." Then he wrote down the name of the auction house.

  "Big brother was shocked: 'When writing programs, you're used to being a night owl, I don't want to say anything to you, this world is all about numbers, whether your stuff is reliable or not, if you just appraise it, it'll cost a lot of money, what if there's a problem and that little money isn't even enough for the appraisal fee?'"

  "I just feel uneasy in my heart so I'm preparing to go for an appraisal, if it's real then I've decided to sell it." Ju An let out a bitter smile.

  "Then when you arrive in New York, give me a call and I'll go with you. I'm much more familiar with the place than you are."

  "I've been waiting for this sentence. When I'm free, I'll call you in advance and we can meet up then." Ju An smiled.

  "See you then." The senior replied.

  Two days later, Ju An received a letter from the auction house, stating that the photo was not clear. If possible, please bring the painting to the company, and the auction house is very happy to provide assistance. Ju An replied that he expected to go to New York in two weeks and would take the painting with him at that time.

  In the following days, Ju An discovered another strange thing. The three small dogs in the space grew very quickly. In less than a week, they had grown several sizes bigger. They were said to be four-month-old dogs, and some people believed it.

  Watching the big dog running around in the yard, I found that the water in the pit under the big tree seems to be always maintained at this amount. The water is not coming out of the ground, but flowing down from the big tree. If you scoop out some water, the big tree will flow down the same amount. Using the water from the big tree to water the wild grass outside, the wild grass grew almost into small trees in the blink of an eye. But when I tried using the water from the pond, the wild grass didn't change at all. I also found that if you mix the water from the pond with the water in the pit, the more pond water there is, the slower the wild grass grows. The water coming out of the big tree seems to have some kind of spiritual energy.

  When I was a kid, I also raised several native dogs at home, but none of them had the spirit of these three little guys. Sometimes, with just one gesture or whistle, they could understand.

  In the following days, I also tried to drink this water, thinking that I could grow a few centimeters taller. Although being 1 meter 78 is already considered good height, I still want to be taller.

  Tried it for a week, no change in height, nothing special found in other aspects, just slightly more strength than before, and physical fitness is also better than before, but very limited. If not one day climbing the stairs at home didn't find out, originally climbing ten or so floors at home would definitely be panting, but that time it was only slightly sweaty.

  Every day is like this, going to work, playing with dogs, living a relaxed and comfortable life.

  In the morning, they departed from S city airport and flew to New York for twelve hours. Except for Wang Dongyu who was traveling abroad for the first time, Boss and Ju An were a bit tired. It was also Wang Dongyu's first time going to America and taking an airplane, so he talked a lot along the way.

  "Ango, look at this little house below, it's just like a matchbox!"

  "It looks like S city is shrouded in a thick fog from above, all gray and hazy"

  "An Ge, you said the airplane's wings are shaking, isn't it unstable? I'm worried looking at it, won't it break?! Pfft! Children's words are innocent, children's words are innocent."

  "Look, the rainbow is below us."

  He was originally going to take a nap on the road, but it was all disrupted by this guy. Looking at Wang Dongyu's excited face, he thought of when he first took a plane to the US and everything was fresh and new.

  The boss was in some pain. The boss is a big fat man, and the seat on the plane was a bit small for him. Every time he took a plane, it wasn't a good experience for him.

  Three people got off the plane, it was already after 8pm in New York, they took a taxi and rushed to the hotel. The driver was a young black man, fortunately, Ju An and the boss sat in the back seat, Wang Dongyu sat in the front.

  That conversation with Wang Dongyu on the way, from Broadway to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, from Clinton's Lewinsky to the recent Occupy Wall Street, has a bit of the style of those guys in Beijing.

  The accommodation is located in Queens, a traditional white residential area, and now many wealthy Chinese people also like to live in this district. The entire district is basically composed of two-story small buildings, with good security, quietness, and affordable prices, generally under $100, usually around $60 for a double room, much cheaper than staying in a hotel, and just a few minutes' walk from the subway.

  It's actually like renting a suite in China, the space is not very big, about ten or twenty square meters, with two beds and a desk. The good thing is that each room has its own independent bathroom.

  Put down his luggage, Wang Dongyu lay comfortably on the bed and stretched lazily. He stood by the window and carefully looked outside.

  "An Ge, thinking about it now, New York isn't that great after all. Too many people, too many cars, feels just like S city. Only this neighborhood is pretty good, lots of big trees, almost every one needs two people to hug around it. The greenery is done really well, unlike the small neighborhoods back home where the houses are as crowded as the people, the environment is a few streets worse." Wang Dongyu said, looking at Ju An who was lying on the bed with his legs spread apart.

  "Big cities are like that, when I first came from a small county to Jiangnan for school, everything felt new and exciting. But after living here for a few years, you start to feel like it's just so-so. It's like when you haven't been to Huangshan before, you think it must be incredibly beautiful, but after going there, you think about it again and realize it's not that special. Later on, if you have the chance to come back every year, twice a year, for a few years, you'll lose interest too. The bosses aren't around, they stay at home and are happier than us who are under the boss's watchful eye, who knows how happy they must be?" Yu An replied.

  "Three days later, I'll be free to do what I want. Take me to see the Statue of Liberty, will you? I'll take a photo and show it to my parents - their son has been to America too." Wang Dongyu said as he turned around and sat down on the bed.

  "I'm not sure if I have time, I have something to do with a senior fellow I know, some private matters to deal with. If not, you can ask the boss if he's free."

  "The boss isn't going to see his daughter, where would he have the time?"

  "The boss's daughter just came to the US for a diploma, last year the boss spent a day with his daughter and another day took us on a wild tour."

  "Oh, then I'll ask the boss tomorrow," said Wang Dongyu, scratching his head. "You go take a bath first, I'll wash up later, you and the boss both look very tired."

  "Next time you'll have this feeling too, that's just excitement, go wash up first, I'll go downstairs to make a call later." He said with a smile as he stood up and walked out.

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