Chapter 18

Hoarding Paintings, Currency, and Stamps

In the bamboo forest courtyard of the space.

A strange, dilapidated wooden cart appeared in the middle of the yard.

The black cloth covering it was lifted, revealing all sorts of things inside.

Tie Lanyan casually picked up a picture frame.

Then her pupils dilated.

My god! Was she seeing things?!

It was actually a masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci, one of the ten greatest painters in the world – “Mona Lisa”!

Pfft, it’s definitely a parallel world, the two “meng” sounds are the same, but the meaning is completely different.

(Just a little joke, don’t take it seriously.)

Tie Lanyan had been studying Chinese antiques, calligraphy, and paintings, she wasn’t very familiar with Western paintings.

But the texture of the canvas was soft and elastic, with a bumpy feel, the brushstrokes were delicate, and the colors were distinct, it didn’t look fake.

This collector was clearly a connoisseur.

He even collected “Peace Tablet” by Wang Xizhi, the “Sage of Calligraphy”. It was sold for 308 million yuan at auction.

Besides these two, there were several other ancient paintings, all genuine!

It is said that this painting was stolen from Italy by a thief in 1920, and then returned to France, where it was considered a national treasure.

Tie Lanyan boldly guessed.

The painting didn’t return to France at that time, but crossed the ocean to China, and was collected by this collector!

If that was the case, then she was really rich!

This masterpiece was priceless!

It was valued at $3.5 billion in 1925, and in later generations, it would be worth at least $100 billion or more.

Hundreds of billions of dollars, converted to RMB, that’s trillions!

“Bang! Bang! Bang!”

Fireworks instantly exploded in Tie Lanyan’s mind, making her dizzy.

No! She couldn’t breathe, she needed to be rescued!

Tie Lanyan quickly summoned a big, red apple, and took a bite.

The sweet apple juice burst in her mouth.

Tie Lanyan only felt alive again.

There’s nothing an apple can’t solve, hehe.

Besides paintings, there were also some porcelain and antiques on the cart, all very valuable.

Even if the painting wasn’t genuine, the value of the rest was probably worth tens of billions.

Overnight, she, Tie Lanyan, became a billionaire!

At such a happy moment, of course, she had to have a delicious meal.

She had roast duck for lunch, so for dinner, she’d have braised pork with potatoes!

Tie Lanyan cooked dinner directly in the space.

The pork and potatoes were cut into tofu-sized cubes, making them more enjoyable to eat.

Heat oil in a pot over low heat, add white sugar and stir until it caramelizes, then add the pork and stir-fry.

After the pork turns color, add the scallions, ginger, and garlic and continue to stir-fry until fragrant. Then add soy sauce, yellow wine, dark soy sauce, and water, and simmer slowly.

Simmer for 20 minutes, then add the soaked potatoes and chili peppers and cook together for another 30 minutes.

During this time, Tie Lanyan wasn’t idle either. She took a few sweet potatoes and put them in the earthen pit where the roast duck was roasted at noon.

The fire was burning fiercely, and by the time the dishes were ready, the sweet potatoes were also roasted.

A pot of delicious braised pork with potatoes and a plate of fragrant roasted sweet potatoes were ready.

Let’s eat!

The golden braised pork was incredibly flavorful, rich but not greasy.

One bite, and it was full of meaty aroma.

Then take a bite of the potato, it melts in your mouth, fresh and spicy.

When your mouth gets spicy, take a bite of the roasted sweet potato, soft, glutinous, and sweet, warming your heart and stomach.

This meal satisfied Tie Lanyan again.

Such a blissful life is truly promising!

She hurried to the bus stop, ready to take the bus home, when she saw a familiar figure not far away.

It was Big Fat Niu.

The person she met by chance while looking for the black market near the hospital.

This person is good, since she ran into him, she should go over and say hello.

As Tie Lanyan walked over, she saw the other party heading towards a small alley, looking around cautiously.

She was curious and followed quietly.

Not long after turning into the alley, Big Fat Niu met another man.

“Brother, these are all the collectibles from my neighbor’s grandmother, all good stuff, take a look.”

Big Fat Niu said, taking down the backpack behind him, lifting the cloth on top, and taking out a photo album.

The man shook his head, “These are all old banknotes and stamps, some of them are even misprints, they’re not worth much.

Since you’re my friend’s introduction, I’ll give you five yuan at most, no more.”

Big Fat Niu looked distressed, “Brother, please give me more, my neighbor’s grandson is sick and needs money for treatment.

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have asked me to sell the things her deceased husband hid for so many years. Please raise the price a bit, it’s not easy for an old woman with an orphan grandson.”

The man waved his hand, “No, five yuan, you can take it or leave it, I still have to go to other places to collect.”

Big Fat Niu put the photo album back in the backpack, “Forget it, I won’t sell it.”

Tie Lanyan stared at the direction Big Fat Niu left, then turned and left.

10 minutes later.

Tie Lanyan “accidentally” ran into him at another exit.

“Brother Big Fat Niu!”

“Oh, it’s the young lady, what a coincidence!”

Big Fat Niu looked at her with surprise, then said:

“It’s getting dark, why are you still wandering around? Is something wrong at home? Do you need my help?”

Tie Lanyan: …

She was just racking her brains on how to start the conversation.

This guy just blurted it all out.

He’s really loyal.

“Well, something happened at home, but you may not be able to help.”

Tie Lanyan pretended to be sighing.

Big Fat Niu straightened his back, “Young lady, just tell me, whatever I can help with, I will. Everyone knows Big Fat Niu is the most helpful!”

Tie Lanyan: “It’s like this, my grandfather passed away, he loved collecting banknotes and stamps, but they were lost during the move.

Big Fat Niu’s eyes lit up immediately:

“Young lady, I happen to have what you need, but it’s something someone asked me to sell. If you offer a good price, I’ll sell it to you!”

Tie Lanyan was overjoyed, but she said:

“The last time I bought the beef bones, I used my family’s money, I don’t have much on hand, but I have a few dozen yuan.”

Big Fat Niu: “Enough, enough! Take a look and see if you want it!”

Saying that, Big Fat Niu handed over the photo album from his backpack.

It was an old photo album with a gray cover, the friction marks on it showed that the original owner loved to flip through it.

Tie Lanyan flipped to the first page.

She found that it was inlaid with RMB, the kind with a face value of 50,000 yuan. (as shown in the picture)

This was issued by the People’s Bank of China in 1948, and it is said that a set is worth millions.

There was a complete set of this one!

Tie Lanyan suppressed her excitement and continued to look down.

The next page was – Big Black Ten!

The king of the second set of RMB, with a collection value fluctuating between 50,000 and 150,000.

There were 100 in total, all in good condition, with a total value of at least over ten million.

In addition to the above two banknotes, there were other banknotes, all of which had been withdrawn from circulation and were no longer accepted, with very few in existence, making them highly collectable.

It seems that this old gentleman was a very discerning collector…