Compared with most troops, the work and life of the art troupe are undoubtedly rich and colorful. The experience of performing at the grassroots level and participating in art performances always allows these art soldiers to come into contact with many things that many people do not usually have access to.

The ones who get the most attention in the art troupe are the dancing female soldiers like Feng Juan. They are young, beautiful and have good posture. They are the center of attention no matter where they go.

But being glamorous on the surface also requires harder efforts than ordinary people. The principle of "one minute on stage, ten years of work off stage" applies to any industry.

According to Feng Juan, she is only twenty years old this year, but she has already experienced an injury to her left Achilles tendon. If she is injured again in the future, she may not be able to dance. This is why Feng Juan wants to take the film school entrance exam.

I want to leave a way out for myself.

"If you can't dance, you can't dance, and it's the same with other jobs. Don't you want to act in a movie? Let's act in a movie." Du Feng said.

Lin Chaoyang glanced at Du Feng and saw that he probably hadn't told Feng Juan about Li Hanxiang's movie yet. Lin Chaoyang didn't say anything when he saw this.

After chatting for a while, Du Feng asked Lin Chaoyang: "Brother-in-law, I see that the furniture you bought is not all used?"

"For collection."

"collect?"

This term is still a very unfamiliar word today. Du Feng asked curiously: "Can furniture be collected?"

"Ordinary furniture will definitely not work, it must be old furniture."

"Why collect it?"

Feng Juan asked a seemingly boring question, but it represented the thoughts of many people in this era.

They do not have the concept of "antiquities will appreciate in value" in their minds, and naturally they do not understand the meaning of collection.

"This is a personal preference." Lin Chaoyang said, he couldn't explain this kind of thing to Feng Juan too much.

Du Feng asked: "Can you also collect calligraphy, paintings, porcelain and other things?"

"Well, if there is something suitable, I will definitely collect it. Why, do you have it?"

Du Feng waved his hands repeatedly, "How can I have that thing, Ji'er Laogui! That time I went to an antique store with my friend, and a painting by Qi Baishi cost 1,500 yuan, and I needed a foreign exchange coupon. It was simply

It’s a money grab!”

One thousand five hundred yuan is indeed expensive, equivalent to the salary of an ordinary working class today without food or water for two years, but if you can get a painting by Qi Baishi, it will be so worth it.

Thirty years later, the value will be at least 20,000 to 30,000 times.

Lin Chaoyang felt that his time and energy were obviously not enough, so he spent a whole day just buying some furniture.

If you want to visit all the large and small cultural relics stores and trust stores in Yanjing, it will take at least a year and a half. In the future, you will have to go there from time to time to wait and see if there are any good things.

He looked at Du Feng and felt that his brother-in-law was a good worker who could help.

However, it was not easy for him to say these words to Du Feng in front of Feng Juan right now. He should wait for a suitable opportunity in the future.

Another weekend, Lin Chaoyang did not go to the trust store this time. Based on last week's experience, he felt that the efficiency of running the trust store alone was too low.

He first ran to Yandala to find Amao, and took him to the Foreign Guest Service Department of the Forbidden City. He planned to make a big purchase today.

Arriving at the gate of Yangxingzhai, I met the guard Li Tianbao whom I had met before.

"Hey, Brother Lin? Why are you here?" Li Tianbao was surprised to see Lin Chaoyang.

Lin Chaoyang smiled and said: "I came to visit the Forbidden City with my friends."

Li Tianbao glanced at Amao who was next to Lin Chaoyang and said, "Foreign guests and friends, please come in quickly!"

With Amao by his side, Lin Chaoyang easily entered the Yangxin Zhai.

The decoration and layout here are similar to most state-owned stores today. The products are placed on the counters and shelves. If you want to check the products, you have to go through the salesperson.

Amao had been instructed by Lin Chaoyang in advance and behaved decently. After entering Yangxing Zhai, he pointed at the products. Lin Chaoyang pretended to introduce them next to him, and then Amao asked the salesperson to take out the items and take a look.

“This is good!”

"Oh, this is good too!"

"Oh my God! This is a masterpiece!"

The products sold by the Foreign Guest Service Department are mainly reproductions of rare antique calligraphy and painting, handicrafts and calligraphy and painting by contemporary calligraphers and painters.

For Lin Chaoyang, reproductions and handicrafts have basically no collection value, so his eyes are fixed on the works of contemporary calligraphers and painters.

Amao's expression was exaggerated to show his appreciation for these paintings and calligraphy, and his words were full of praise, as if he had discovered an artistic treasure.

The vast majority of foreign guests visiting the Forbidden City are not interested in Chinese calligraphy and painting, especially contemporary calligraphy and painting. They are more interested in porcelain, jade, gemstones and the like.

It was rare to see a foreigner so obsessed with Chinese calligraphy and painting today, which made several salesmen in the foreign guest service department couldn't help but feel a sense of pride.

"It's so beautiful! These paintings are so beautiful! I want to buy them all," Amao seemed so excited that he forgot all about it.

Lin Chaoyang "could not help but" reminded: "Sir, these paintings are the works of contemporary artists, and their artistic value is not high."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Amao looked at Lin Chaoyang in disbelief, "These are unparalleled works of art, I want to buy them all."

Seeing Amao's insistence, Lin Chaoyang had no choice but to say to the salesperson, "My friend wants to buy more calligraphy and paintings. I see that you don't have many paintings here. Is that all?"

The salesperson quickly said: "There's more, we have more here."

"Are there any works by masters such as Xu Beihong and Qi Baishi?"

"Yes, there are, but their works are collections and not for sale to the public. Most of the works we have here are from famous contemporary painters a generation later than them, such as Lu Yanshao, Wu Zuoren, Li Keran, Jiang Zhaohe, etc.

.”

Lin Chaoyang felt a little regretful and said: "Then you should take the one with the higher price first. My friend is not short of money."

The salesperson was overjoyed when she heard this. She thought Lin Chaoyang was doing them a favor and hurriedly went to pick up the painting.

Most of the creators of these contemporary calligraphy and painting works displayed by the Palace Museum Service Department are still alive today, and their collection of works is huge. There are thousands of works accumulated by them alone.

In the past, the sales of these calligraphy and painting works have never been good. Today, they finally met a rich and stupid foreigner. How could they not be active?

After a while, the salesperson brought a large number of paintings for Amao to choose from. He almost refused to accept them. No matter which work he saw, he agreed. In less than an hour, there were already more than fifty works piled around him.

.

The salesperson on the side whispered to Lin Chaoyang: "This comrade, my friend has seen so many paintings and calligraphy, do you plan to buy them all?"

Lin Chaoyang understood that the salesperson was afraid that they would just act on a whim and not buy anything, and would not pay the bill in the end.

Lin Chaoyang pretended to whisper a few words to Amao, and then said to the salesperson: "Then you first calculate how much these paintings and calligraphy works cost, and we will pay for them first."

The salesperson was overjoyed when he heard this. He played with the abacus beads for a while and finally got a number.

The fifty-five works totaled 9,063 yuan in foreign exchange coupons. The most expensive one was "Mrs. Hunan" by Fu Baoshi, which sold for as high as 750 yuan. The prices of other works ranged from three to four hundred to more than one hundred.

Hearing the price quoted by the salesperson, Lin Chaoyang's heart skipped a beat. Only fifty-five paintings cost so much. However, he thought that the salesperson brought high-priced paintings. The total price was also very reasonable. These works were estimated to be...

The Forbidden City Service Department sells high-quality products to the public.

He touched his pocket and found that he had enough money today.

Lin Chaoyang said to Amao: "That's it."

Amao followed the good advice and said, "Okay."

When he came, Lin Chaoyang brought 10,000 yuan in foreign exchange certificates, but when he left, he had less than 1,000 yuan left, spending money like water in the blink of an eye.

After more than 50 paintings were packed, Lin Chaoyang and his wife couldn't handle them, so the Forbidden City Service Department specially sent a car to help them deliver the items.

The car parked at the entrance of the Overseas Chinese Apartment, and Lin Chaoyang and Amao moved things upstairs one after another.

"Buy so much?"

Lin Chaoyang has been tinkering with collecting recently. When he went out early this morning, he told Tao Yushu that he was going to the Forbidden City Service Department to buy paintings. She didn't take it seriously. She didn't expect that in just one morning, she would hold so many paintings.

The painting is back.

“What I bought are all high-quality paintings from the Forbidden City Service Department.”

Lin Chaoyang's expression of joy at taking advantage made Tao Yushu dumbfounded.

"All the money was spent?"

"No, there are still one thousand yuan left."

Tao Yushu complained: "With your tricks, the family's savings will be exhausted in two days."

Lin Chaoyang said quickly: "I won't buy it for now after buying it this time."

Tao Yushu was keenly aware of the subtext in his words. "I won't buy it for the time being" does not mean "I won't buy it in the future."

It is a road of no return for my husband to embark on the road of collecting!

According to his way of spending, how will the family save money in the future?

Realizing the seriousness of the problem, Tao Yushu pulled Lin Chaoyang to the sofa and said to him seriously: "Even if these antique calligraphy and paintings can appreciate in value in the future, you can't spend all your money on them!"

Lin Chaoyang was so happy when he saw Lie Xin today that he spent more than one-third of his family's savings. Tao Yushu reminded him that he realized his problem.

I understand the future trend myself, but Tao Yushu and his family do not. It is unrealistic for them to fully understand me.

"You're right, then let's do this. From now on, a quarter of the royalties will be used for collection. What do you think?"

For Lin Chaoyang, there is not much difference between spending 1,000 yuan on a collection or 10,000 yuan on a collection. He cannot always collect all the treasures into his own hands.

Tao Yushu thought for a while and felt that this proposal was reasonable. He nodded, "Okay, let's do it this way. Please be more careful in the future."
To be continued...