The Twin Horses Painting

Li Mo had indeed calculated the time and arrived on time. The moment he entered, he shouted, "Sweet and sour pork ribs, braised fish head, and scrambled eggs with tomatoes. This fragrance can only be made by Shiniang personally cooking."

"Stop talking about one dish. Your master queued up early in the morning to buy your favorite five-spice pig head meat." Liu Chuanqing stood up and walked to the counter. He asked, "What did you buy? Your hands are full?"

"It's all pastries. There's your favorite caramel chestnuts, Shiniang's favorite sesame red dates, and Yingying's favorite osmanthus with mixed nuts."

"Yingying must have asked you to buy it again. That girl really knows how to order people around. Go wash your hands and eat later."

Li Mo put down the pastries and said in a low voice, "Master, I bought a painting from that old restaurant. I couldn't see it clearly, so I bought it and asked you to help take a look."

Although he had already determined that this was the real deal, he could not act too abnormally. He had to let his master participate and if his appraisal was also the real deal, he could say he was, at most, extremely lucky.

"Oh." Liu Chuanqing was stunned. Li Mo had gone out for a walk yesterday and picked up a genuine Qing Dynasty's Qianlong period pink and green glaze gourd bottle. He could even pick up a set of authentic paintings by buying pastries at the Xijiangkou today?

Li Mo gently unfolded the painting and moved aside for his master to see.

Liu Chuanqing put on a pair of black-framed glasses and slowly appraised it with a special magnifying glass. The more he looked, the more serious his expression became. In the end, he was even more puzzled and frowned.

"Old Liu, what are you looking at? Come and eat first."

"You guys eat first. I have to make a call." Liu Chuanqing dialed a number and quickly picked up. "President Xu, I'm not disturbing you, right? I have Master Xu Beihong's 'Twin Horses Painting'. I can't see it clearly, so I want you to help me appraise it."

"President Zhu and the others are also here. Alright, alright, I'll go over now."

Liu Chuanqing hung up the phone and waved at Li Mo. He scolded jokingly, "You're still in the mood to eat? Hurry up and go to the Four Seasons Teahouse with me. The two vice presidents of the Painting and Calligraphy Association are drinking tea there. There might be other experts. It's a good time to judge this painting."

"Master, it's not too late to go after you're full." Li Mo licked his fingers and couldn't move his chair.

"Kid, you're really too relaxed. If this is Master Xu Beihong's authentic work, it's worth tens of millions."

Li Mo learned antiques from Liu Chuanqing and was not proficient in painting and calligraphy, so the price shocked him.

"Madam, save some for me."

The Four Seasons Tea House was near the City God Temple. Liu Chuanqing was anxious, but Li Mo was much calmer. The master kept urging him, and the disciple complained that he was not full yet.

When they arrived at the teahouse, they were led to a private room on the second floor by a young waitress wearing cheongsam. The private room was about 30 square meters. Through the huge floor-to-ceiling window, they could see the temple square not far away. It was retro renovated. There were dragons and phoenixes carved on the walnut wood tea platform that was more than three meters long. The fog was churning. The environment was elegant and accompanied by soft music. This was definitely a good place to call friends to drink tea and chat.

There were six people in the private room. Li Mo only knew one of them. It was Boss Wang, who had bought his pink and green gourd bottle.

"Boss Liu, did you find something good today again?" Boss Wang was the first to stand up and greet them. He smiled brightly and his eyes were almost narrowed into lines.

"It's not me, it's Little Mo. Look, I'm not sure either, so I'll have to trouble an expert in painting and calligraphy."

"Old Liu, we're old acquaintances. There's no need to be so polite. It's our blessing if we really encounter Xu Beihong's authentic work."

The person who spoke was Xu Guoming, the vice president of the Shanghai Painting and Calligraphy Association. He was already in his early sixties. He had short gray hair and a thin figure. He was probably associated with painting and calligraphy all year round, so he naturally had a refined temperament.

"Come, come. Old Liu, stop standing there and wasting time. Hurry up and open that 'Twin Horses Painting'."

The other vice president, Zhu Changji, was a little impatient. If Xu Beihong's famous paintings were real, they would be worth a lot. He had seen many more expensive paintings, but those were basically the collections of various museums or some private collections. There were countless imitations among the masses, and the probability of the real ones was minimal.

A round dining table was cleaned up, and the Twin Horses Painting slowly spread out. The two horses with obvious differences in style were displayed in front of everyone.

The few of them went up and formed a circle. For a moment, surprised and puzzled voices rose and fell. 10 minutes later, everyone began to whisper their opinions.

"Little Mo, these are all seniors in the industry. Come and learn from them."

Li Mo had no choice but to listen to his master. He smiled and bowed to everyone.

"Old Liu, your disciple looks calm and dignified. He's considered to be unique among his peers…" President Xu's gaze was bright and his first impression of Li Mo was not bad.

"Old Xu, what do you think of this 'Twin Horses Painting'?" President Zhu was still more interested in paintings. He had also carefully appraised it and there were indeed some doubts that could not be resolved.

"Let me tell you my opinion first. Identifying a painting mainly starts from the style, layout, and inscription. The seal carving is in large seal script. 'A strong man's actions' is indeed one of the seals used by Master Xu. The inscription at the end indicates the time of painting. There are no flaws in either of them."

Everyone nodded, agreeing with his judgment.

"From the scene, the horse on the left used a bold ink splashing and strong line description method to emphasize the charm and temperament of the horse."

"The horse on the left side of the painting is strong, agile, and light. It has the aesthetic of the 'crisp sound of thin bones'. The galloping horse is strong and lively."

If there was only one horse, they would not hesitate to identify this painting as the real one.

"However, the horse on the right doesn't have a layered feeling. The horse's strong body is too weak. It gives people the feeling that it's like casually splashing ink. It lacks agility."

At this point, President Zhu sighed slightly. This was the suspicious point.

"What do you think, Old Zhu?"

President Zhu did not continue immediately. Instead, he was thinking about something.

"I think it's a high-quality imitation." The others began to express their opinions.

"If there's something suspicious, it means there's something wrong with this painting."

Liu Chuanqing was a little anxious. He looked at his disciple. Good boy. He stood there calmly and listened with relish, as if he did not take the authenticity of this painting to heart.

"Little Mo, you were the one who bought this painting. What were you thinking back then?"

Li Mo did not hide his skills when his master asked. He coughed casually and said, "When I first saw this painting, I had the same thoughts as the seniors. The two horses have different styles. The horse on the right is casually splashing ink, as if Master Xu was a little uneasy when painting it."

"However, when I saw the inscriptions at the back, it made me conclude that this 'Twin Horses Painting' is definitely Master Xu Beihong's authentic work."

"Young man, some things can't be judged arbitrarily." A fat man in his forties pursed his lips. He clearly couldn't stand Li Mo's words.

However, at this moment, President Zhu's eyes lit up like a ray of sunlight breaking through the fog. He said excitedly, "It's a charity painting."

"That's right." Li Mo nodded. "1943. This reminds me of a special period of time. Master Xu held many charity sales when he was studying abroad to gather funds for the Chinese Resistance for World War II. On that occasion and in that environment, Master Xu splashed ink and painted while raising funds at the charity sales. What he did then was slightly inferior to his other exquisite products."

At this moment, President Zhu also said, "Although this 'Twin Horses Painting' has its shortcomings, it can deeply reflect Master Xu Beihong's noble patriotic qualities and great nationalistic feelings."

Li Mo's expression was filled with admiration. His tone was firm. "This 'Twin Horses Painting' can make people recall those difficult times and remember that special history. I personally feel that Master Xu's quality and feelings not only make up for the flaws in the brush and ink, but also improve the meaning expressed by the 'Twin Horses Painting'."

"Well said." Someone applauded. It was a tall and burly man in his fifties with undisguised admiration in his eyes. "Everyone knows that there's a huge collector in the capital who loves horses very much. He bought a similar 'Twin Horses Painting' from an auction in Europe 10 years ago. At that time, he spent 4.2 million euros, which is about 30 million yuan. Now, Xu Beihong's paintings are becoming more and more popular. The domestic average price is more than a million yuan per square foot. A 'Eight Horses Painting' was once sold for an astronomical price of 160 million yuan."

Exclamations immediately sounded in the private room.

"This 'Twin Horses Painting' is undoubtedly Master Xu's authentic work. It won't be less than 35 million yuan at the auction. Little Mo, do you want to keep this painting yourself or prepare to sell it?"