51st oil painting

Chapter 7

However, speculation is just speculation. Without an autopsy and without a formal investigation, what else can Nono do besides speculate?

Nono really doesn't know how much longer this dream will continue to haunt her.

Having visited Sanqing Mountain, I wonder which mountain she will stand on next.

Every night, Nuonuo would gently close her eyes, filled with anticipation and trepidation.

Come on, it's all just a dream anyway, who's afraid of who?

I really want to see what the mountain monster looks like.

As long as it doesn't eat my head...

At the autumn art auction, none of Director Chen's collections failed to sell, and the prices generally exceeded the original estimates. Ren Bonian's "Galloping Horse" fetched 150,000 yuan, while paintings by Wu Changshuo and Lin Fengmian each exceeded 300,000 yuan. Cheng Shifa's two paintings also surpassed expectations, one for 100,000 yuan and the other for 90,000 yuan. This outcome was a resounding success. When Mrs. Chen and Director Chen's two sons came to the courthouse to collect the checks, the brothers politely addressed her as "Mother."

The auction results were satisfactory for two main reasons. First, the original collector was the director of an art museum, ensuring the pieces were genuine and reassuring potential buyers. Second, while these works by Wu Changshuo, Lin Fengmian, and Ren Bonian were not their representative works, their reasonable prices and high potential for appreciation made them popular with buyers.

"Zoe on the Windowsill" was the last item to be auctioned. By then, most buyers had lost interest in bidding. Some took out their phones and left their seats, some signed the auction confirmation form, and some looked around absentmindedly.

The auctioneer briefly introduced the painting: "This is a portrait, the artist is unknown, and it's titled 'Zoe on the Windowsill.' Zoe is the English name of the doctor in the painting. The starting bid is 1,500 RMB, with increments of 200 RMB."

The first bidder was a professional woman in her early forties, holding bidding paddle number 32. She wore a short trench coat with a belt, exuding elegance and competence.

The auctioneer noticed that this was the first time the lady had bid on an item. Perhaps she preferred oil paintings to traditional Chinese paintings, even works by masters like Wu Changshuo and Lin Fengmian.

In recent years, with the real estate boom, many Shanghai residents have bought new homes and hung an oil painting in their living room. Oil paintings in galleries are priced at tens of thousands of yuan, which is too expensive, so they go to auction houses to take a look. In reality, they know absolutely nothing about art and rely entirely on their intuition.

Two other men, one tall and one short, also participated in the bidding. With three people bidding, the price of the painting exceeded four thousand yuan. The taller man seemed to be struggling, shook his head, and put down his bidding paddle. The shorter man continued to bid with all his might. When the auctioneer called out four thousand five hundred and received a bid from a woman, the shorter man gave a wry smile and gave up.

"It's four thousand five hundred yuan now. Has anyone offered four thousand seven hundred? Anyone?"

The auctioneer asked one last question, looked around, and decisively brought down the gavel with a loud thud.

"Ms. 32, the painting is yours. Congratulations."

Two scattered claps rang out from the surrounding area; it was the two men clapping, quite gracefully.

The painting belonged to the lady the moment she signed the auction confirmation.

Originally, she had her sights set on the ivory statue of Guan Yu holding a knife, but the price soared from the estimated three thousand yuan to fourteen thousand yuan, far exceeding her budget, so she had to settle for second best.

Although it was over my budget, I like this painting, especially its blue tones.

The second "Shanghai-Zhejiang Kitchen" restaurant is about to open, and I must give it a gift. If an oil painting like this were hung on the wall of the private room, Guoguang would definitely like it.

Du Yaofeng thought to himself.

The new "Hu Zhe Xiao Chu" restaurant, located in the "Zhongyuan Liangwan City" area of Putuo District, has completed its decoration. After the construction team left, a cleaning service company entered the premises and cleaned the inside and outside of the restaurant thoroughly. Then, a moving company brought in the furniture, including tableware, tables, chairs, and sofas, filling three trucks.

Xu Guoguang personally oversaw every detail, from the placement of the money tree and the hanging of the curtains to whether the hand sanitizer was placed on the left or right side of the bathroom. Besides the arrangement of the furnishings, he also inspected the electrical equipment, making sure every air conditioner, every light, and even every lock, including all the kitchen appliances, was tested to ensure they were functioning properly.

Compared to the first store, the new store is much larger. In addition to the main hall, three new private rooms have been added at the back, each with a distinct style. One is in the style of old Shanghai, with a set of old photos of Shanghai in the 1930s hanging on the wall. Another is antique, with mahogany tables and chairs, and a calligraphy piece on the wall with the four characters "美食美色" (Meishi Meise, meaning delicious food and beautiful women) written by a cheap street calligrapher. The last private room is a Western-style room, where Zoe's "Zoe on the Windowsill" is planned to be displayed.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 17: Behind a Mysterious Phone Call

The auction house packaged the oil painting very carefully, using two layers of kraft paper and plastic wrap, and also adding four hard corners. Du Yaofeng noticed that there was a number "051" on the hard corners, and it was also stamped with the S Art Museum's official seal. She was a little puzzled. Did the painting come from the art museum? Why wasn't it stamped with the auction house's seal?

Who cares? I've paid, so it's mine.

The framed painting was so large that it took up the entire back seat of the car.

Last year, N Advertising Company achieved outstanding results, closing several big cases, which increased Du Yaofeng's income. His mortgage payments became much easier, so he bought a red POLO. With a car, he no longer needed to take the subway. In Shanghai, a city of seventeen million people, squeezing onto the subway during rush hour is a nightmare if you have heart disease or high blood pressure – you'd definitely "go in upright and come out sideways."

While driving, she called Mr. Wang and said she was going to visit an old client.

She didn't mention the "old customer's" name; she knew that Mr. Wang trusted her and wouldn't pry.

Xu Guoguang can be considered a long-time customer. His first store, as well as this new store that is about to open, both advertised in food columns in magazines and newspapers through N Advertising Company.

Xu Guoguang deliberately chose this time because the new store was empty in the morning. After 1 p.m., the store would become lively. All the newly recruited waiters would come and be trained by the supervisor transferred from the old store. The chefs would also come to familiarize themselves with the kitchen. They would have to get to know the brand-new kitchen equipment, even the pots, pans, and cleavers. Chefs always feel awkward when they are away from their familiar tools, just like writers who are used to their pens and computers.

In short, from this afternoon until the opening day, the shop will never be quiet again, and Xu Guoguang himself will never have any free time. If we're going to do it, we have to hurry.

Du Yaofeng removed the painting from its packaging and hung it on the wall of the Western-style private room.

"Hmm, not bad, really not bad," Xu Guoguang admired the painting, praising it repeatedly, "Yaofeng, you have a good eye."

Xu Guoguang wrapped his arms around Du Yaofeng's waist from behind, and the two of them became as close as vines entwined around a tree.

"But...why is she wearing a mask?" Xu Guoguang questioned.

In his memory, this was the first time he had ever seen the main character in the painting wearing a mask.

"Idiot, he's a dentist, of course he has to wear a mask." Du Yaofeng gently poked Xu Guoguang's forehead.

"But she wasn't seeing any patients. She was sitting on the windowsill, seemingly resting. Why didn't she take off her mask?"

Xu Guoguang's words make sense. On the left side of the painting, the dental chair is empty and folded up at a 75-degree angle.

"It must be a habit formed from being a doctor for so long," Du Yaofeng explained.

"Maybe it's because of SARS that I don't dare to take off my mask!" Xu Guoguang gave a funny reason.

"Don't just stand there, close the door quickly." Du Yaofeng pointed to the door of the private room, which was wide open.

"Let it be. There are only the two of us in the shop now, so it doesn't matter if they shout or yell."

Xu Guoguang drew the curtains, turned on the air conditioner, and adjusted it to a comfortable temperature.

They hugged, kissed deeply, and then made love. The position was with her in front and him behind, and because of this position, Xu Guoguang was facing the painting. Perhaps because Du Yaofeng's back was so fleshy, aside from the marks left by her bra straps, there wasn't much to see, and he repeatedly glanced at the painting.

The female doctor in the painting gave Xu Guoguang a strange feeling, especially the pair of eyes behind the mask that kept staring at him with a sinister gaze and a hint of eeriness, making him feel inexplicably uncomfortable.

It's perfectly natural for doctors to wear masks, and the artist could have completely ignored that. Why did they have to cover her face with a mask?

Suddenly, Xu Guoguang stopped and remained motionless.

Du Yaofeng sensed that the man behind him hadn't reached his climax yet, so why did he suddenly stop moving?

"Um...are you...alright?"

Xu Guoguang stared blankly at the painting, because he saw a pair of eyes outside the mask that seemed to wink at him...

No, no, I must be seeing things!

Xu Guoguang said this to himself.

"Guoguang, what are you doing?" Du Yaofeng tried to turn around.

"Don't turn it, let's continue, continue..."

After making love, the two went to the restroom separately. In the restroom, their phones rang almost simultaneously. Xu Guoguang received a text message from his wife:

"I'm going to a class reunion tonight, we'll be playing cards until very late, so don't wait up for me, go to sleep."

After reading it, Xu Guoguang deleted it, his expression showing some disgust.

A class reunion? Humph!

The couple is from Jinhua, Zhejiang. Even if they had a class reunion, they should have done it in their hometown. Why would they drive to Shanghai?

Xu Guoguang understood perfectly well that the so-called class reunion was just a gathering with one person, a classmate of his wife from middle school, surnamed Ma, who now rented a shop in a large decoration market in western Shanghai and opened a flooring specialty store, selling inferior beech wood flooring.

The couple discovered a problem with the flooring while renovating their new home. They went to discuss it, and during their conversation, they discovered they were from the same hometown and had even attended the same middle school. Their unexpected encounter led to a pleasant reunion, and the flooring problem was naturally resolved. From then on, this Mr. Ma frequently visited Mrs. Xu while Xu Guoguang was busy at the restaurant, showing concern and care for her.

Fortunately, the floorboards are laid on the ground. If they were like curtains that could be easily removed, Mrs. Xu would definitely have to replace them every few days.

In fact, Mrs. Xu had long suspected her husband's relationship with Du Yaofeng, but Xu Guoguang spoke with great conviction:

Sister Du and I are friends. Her husband passed away, leaving her and her child alone. Was it wrong for me to help them with whatever I could? Besides, we came to Shanghai from out of town to develop our business and needed our friends there. Without her strong support, would my small restaurant have been able to thrive?

They'd argued and fought, but lacking evidence, Mrs. Xu could only let it go. Over time, she stopped caring. They went about their own business, keeping to themselves; the arguments decreased, and they became more respectful towards each other.

In the women's restroom, Du Yaofeng received a phone call from her daughter.

Oil painting No. 51: 773 Horror Series 13

Section 18: A Pair of White Women's Shoes

Zijin Mountain is located in the eastern suburbs of Nanjing. It takes only two hours to get to Nanjing from Shanghai by train.

Du Yaofeng remembered that his daughter had been talking about the upcoming "Mars opposition" astronomical phenomenon a few days ago. She said Mars would be closest to Earth at that time, supposedly the closest it had been in 60,000 years, and she absolutely had to go see it. Later, Du Yaofeng read in the newspaper that even the closest distance was over 55 million kilometers. Even if it were another 100,000 kilometers closer, what difference would it make in a telescope?

"You're going with Sanwen, where will you stay tonight?"

What Du Yaofeng really wanted to know was whether you would share a room at the hotel or each have your own room.

In fact, Du Yaofeng knew that asking such a question was pointless. Even if they lived together, her daughter could still lie and say that they each had their own room, or even say that she lived on the eighth floor and Sanwen lived on the sixth floor.

Well, my daughter's all grown up now, let her be, as long as she doesn't cause any trouble. She has the right to have sex with the boy she likes.

Early sexual activity among girls is a global trend, as unstoppable as global economic integration. Fortunately, Nono is a well-behaved girl who hasn't caused any trouble in terms of sex and has safely navigated adolescence, which is a source of comfort for any mother.

After leaving the restroom, Xu Guoguang showed Du Yaofeng around, explaining the cost of each item, like he was giving an expense report. Ten minutes later, her phone rang again. This time it was General Manager Wang calling, urging her to return to the company to discuss a project idea.

After kissing Xu Guoguang goodbye, Du Yaofeng walked out of the Shanghai-Zhejiang Restaurant and looked back one last time.

Given its current scale, it could be renamed "Shanghai-Zhejiang Master Chef".

She got into the POLO and drove towards the company.

After Du Yaofeng left, Xu Guoguang didn't rest. He first took two ginseng pills to cheer himself up, as there was still a lot to do.

First, he carefully examined the "crime scene"... which should be the "sex scene," to see if there was anything he had overlooked. Sure enough, he found two drops of milky white liquid on the ground, sticky and semi-dry, which he immediately wiped clean with a tissue.

The moved dining table and chairs were put back in their original positions, the tablecloth was tidied, the curtains were drawn, and the air conditioner was turned off...

When he was busy, he almost involuntarily glanced at the oil painting on the wall.

Huh, what happened? The whole painting is clearly tilted to the right; it was fine just now…

Xu Guoguang straightened the picture frame and took another look.

The uncomfortable feeling in my body was like a dark cloud hanging over my head, lingering there.

This painting costs five thousand yuan! This woman's taste is seriously questionable. She spent five thousand yuan on a painting where you can't even see a face.

In Xu Guoguang's view, one can buy an oil painting for a few dozen yuan (of course, it's a print), and hanging it in the restaurant is enough to serve as decoration. For guests, what matters is the food on their plates, not what paintings are hanging on the wall.

Xu Guoguang glanced at his watch; it was 11:40 a.m., almost noon, and he was starting to feel a little hungry.

The air conditioning in the first private room was cooling too slowly, and the wallpaper in the second private room was yellowing—could it be due to water seepage? Several bulbs in the new 20,000 yuan chandelier in the lobby are already out and need replacing. The cash register's roller is jamming, the kitchen faucet is leaking, the electric mixer's socket is faulty, and the hand soap in the restroom is almost gone…

These problems were recorded and the maintenance department was instructed to handle them promptly that afternoon.

Before they knew it, it was noon. The kitchen hadn't started receiving supplies yet, and the refrigerator was empty. With no food, Xu Guoguang could only make himself a bowl of instant noodles. It's ridiculous that a restaurant owner would eat instant noodles to fill his stomach.