Xu Yanfen’s initial focus was on the painting.
It wasn’t until later that she realized the painting wasn’t the point.
The point was the figure mentioned before, 3.6 million!!
A painting worth 3.6 million!
Wouldn’t that be more expensive than their house!!
“Hao gave me a painting, it cost him 3.6 million!”
“I can rest easy seeing it hanging above my bed every day and night!”
Guan Weimin held the painting as if it was a treasured possession.
“Ah?”
Xu Yanfen looked at Yang Hao in astonishment, “Hao, is this painting really worth 3.6 million?”
Yang Hao smiled and waved his hand, “The price isn’t important, what matters is that uncle likes it.”
“I like it.”
“I really like it!”
Guan Weimin, the usually stern chief physician, had his face full of smiles, without a trace of his usual aloofness at the hospital.
“Old Guan, why don’t you put it down and appreciate it a bit more!”
“We haven’t finished looking at it yet!”
Zheng Guangrong’s eyes lit up as he looked at the painting nestled in Guan Weimin’s arms.
Apart from in a museum, he had never seen such an expensive painting that he could actually approach and touch—what a rare opportunity.
“Alright, let’s all appreciate it together then.”
The thrill for a painting and calligraphy enthusiast doesn’t just come from collecting; it also lies in sharing and the envy of fellow collectors.
Guan Weimin also had a group of collector friends on WeChat, and everyone would usually share their latest acquisitions in the group.
After placing the painting back on the table, Guan Weimin couldn’t wait to take a picture and post it to his collector group…
Normally, he didn’t have much of a presence in the group, since he didn’t have anything particularly noteworthy to share, but times had changed. A painting worth 3.6 million was enough to make him a dominant force in the group.
Sure enough, once the painting was posted, it immediately caused a sensation in the group. After all, this wasn’t some high-end collector’s group; the items that people usually bragged about ranged from a few thousand to several hundred thousand, with very few worth over a million.
But what Guan Weimin showed off was a painting worth several million!
“Is this an original or a fake? Can any expert tell?”
“A Gao Qifeng painting of this size would cost several million!”
“Old Guan, that’s the painting from Wenpinxuan, isn’t it?”
“I accompanied a friend to see this painting last week, they made an offer of 2.8 million but Mr. Hu from Wenpinxuan didn’t sell it!”
“If they didn’t sell for 2.8 million, then the price must have broken 3 million.”
“Teacher Guan, when will it be convenient to come to your house to appreciate it?”
“…”
The painting and calligraphy circle in Jiangcheng is quite small, and the news of a genuine Gao Qifeng painting at Wenpinxuan had already spread; several people had made offers on it but none had been successful.
So there weren’t many people doubting whether Guan Weimin’s painting was a fake, and more of the group members expressed envy and praise, with some already humbly asking for a chance to appreciate the work.
After reading the comments in the group, Guan Weimin’s vanity was hugely satisfied.
Meanwhile, Zheng Xiaohai, who had been treated like air, felt a bit gloomy.
Just moments ago, he was full of ambition, thinking he’d soon take Guan Mengmeng away from Hao.
But here was her boyfriend, casually giving a gift of a painting worth over 3 million!
He was afraid that Hao’s worth must be over a hundred million by now.
As for him, so-called overseas returnees like himself were long past their prime.
A few years ago, having study-abroad experience was indeed very popular in the job market, but as the domestic economy rose and people’s awareness improved,
being a returnee was no longer a bonus unless you were from a really prestigious foreign university. Otherwise, employers would lump you in with any run-of-the-mill overseas university, and hiring a returnee who had spent a few years abroad was seen as less reliable than hiring graduates from domestic 985/211 universities.
Therefore, the situation for some returnees was actually quite awkward; they thought highly of themselves, but big company HRs couldn’t care less about them.
Hai had just returned to the country and hadn’t had real contact with HRs of large domestic companies, still feeling rather self-important.
Once he started interacting with a few companies, he would gradually realize that the jobs he could get with his current status couldn’t compare at all to Mengmeng’s career as a doctor.
“Hao, this is too extravagant.”
“So much money for a painting…”
Xu Yanfen wasn’t usually opposed to Guan Weimin’s love for painting and calligraphy, but a painting worth 3.6 million completely exceeded her understanding and psychological tolerance.
What a family!
To display a 3.6 million painting at home, she wouldn’t dare to go out anymore.
What if it got stolen?
“Auntie, it’s the same as what I said before.”
“The money isn’t important, being happy is.”
Yang Hao replied cheerfully. If anyone else had said that, it would have seemed like they were showing off, but coming from Yang Hao, it felt completely natural.
At that moment, Yang Hao’s phone suddenly rang.
It was an unfamiliar number. After glancing at the time, he guessed it was the people delivering the piano.
“Mr. Yang, we are the workers delivering your piano, and we have arrived at the entrance of the residential complex. The security won’t let us in without talking to the homeowner.”
Once the call connected, it was indeed the people delivering the piano.
Since Yang Hao hadn’t avoided Xu Yanfen while answering the call, she had overheard bits of the conversation. Yang Hao simply handed the phone to her: “Aunt Xu, I bought a piano for you. The deliverymen have arrived at the complex gate, could you explain the situation to the security?”
“Uh, okay,” she responded.
Although surprised, Xu Yanfen quickly composed herself and took the call.
After speaking with the security, they allowed the delivery to proceed.
“Hao, why did you also buy a piano!”
“The painting was already quite a splurge!”
As she returned the phone to Yang Hao, Xu Yanfen spoke politely.
After retirement, she had been content with playing the piano and dancing in the square. The piano at home was purchased over a decade ago, and was quite a modest one even then. Over the years, its sound quality had deteriorated significantly. She had actually thought about replacing it, but good-quality pianos were expensive, and she was hesitant to spend the money.
Little did she expect that today, Yang Hao, her “prospective son-in-law,” would arrange a piano for her, a gift that truly touched her heart.
“Auntie, your house has a piano room, right?”
The first time Yang Hao visited Guan Mengmeng’s home, he had noticed the structure of the Guan Family’s residence. As a well-off family, the Guans lived in a 140-plus-square-meter apartment with four rooms, two of which were bedrooms. The other two rooms were converted into a study and a piano room to cater to the hobbies of the elderly couple.
“There’s a piano room.”
“It’s right across from the study.”
Xu Yanfen pointed towards the room across.
Yang Hao went over, pushed open the door, and glanced inside. The music room was probably around twelve square meters; it could fit a grand piano, but it would be quite crowded.
However, getting a grand piano in meant that the existing upright piano had to be moved out first.
“Zheng, brother, come give me a hand!”
“Let’s move this upright piano to the living room first.”
Yang Hao beckoned to Zheng Xiaohai, who was standing at the door.
This ready-made labor — might as well make use of it!
“Uh, okay…”
Zheng Xiaohai hadn’t expected that just coming to watch the commotion would lead to him being drafted for heavy lifting.
But since Yang Hao had asked, he had to roll up his sleeves and help move the upright piano out of the music room.
“Hao, the music room should fit two pianos, right?”
Xu Yanfen asked with some uncertainty.
“Aunt Xu, I bought a grand piano.”
“Ah?”
“A grand piano!!”
Xu Yanfen was shocked. As a piano enthusiast, she knew her stuff; grand pianos were much more expensive than upright pianos. Even a standard grand piano cost at least a hundred thousand yuan, and the slightly better ones would be a few hundred thousand or even a million.
“Mengmeng, did you tell Hao that I like playing the piano?”
Xu Yanfen leaned over to her daughter and whispered.
“Hmm, Yang asked about your and dad’s hobbies during lunch.”
“But, I didn’t know he bought a painting and a piano…”
Guan Mengmeng was actually quite shocked herself; she hadn’t expected this “temporary boyfriend” to go to such lengths to impress her parents.
This clearly wasn’t about just continuing to be a temporary boyfriend anymore.
He was aiming to make it official!
And after today’s series of actions, her parents would definitely be won over.
A painting worth 3.6 million!
The piano probably wasn’t cheap either!
Other people’s dowries weren’t even this valuable.
“Mr. Guan, what does your son-in-law do for a living?”
“He’s really rich!”
Zheng Guangrong, who had been earnestly admiring the Lion Painting, also became intrigued by the piano issue and curiously asked Guan Weimin.
“He seems to be the CEO of some big conglomerate.”
When Yang Hao first visited the Guan family, he actually wasn’t the CEO of Jiangcheng Newspaper Group yet.
It was later information Guan Mengmeng got from Feng Lina and then conveyed to her parents.
“No wonder he’s so wealthy.”
“So he’s a big CEO. Mr. Guan, Mengmeng’s going to have a comfortable life from now on!” Zheng Guangrong said with a sigh, not bringing up his nephew’s situation anymore.
Sure, his nephew returned from overseas and was a returnee, but he was essentially a working man.
But Guan Weimin’s future son-in-law was a CEO, someone who was the boss.
His nephew couldn’t compare to someone who owned a big conglomerate.
Yang Hao and Zheng, the gentleman, temporarily placed the old upright piano in a corner of the living room.
And by that time, the craftsmen delivering the new piano had arrived.
Currently, the grand piano was in disassembled parts, and the men carried it into the music room to start assembling it.
And while the piano wasn’t yet assembled, Xu Yanfen recognized the logo on the piano!
Steinway! Discover more content at m,v l’e-NovelFire
A top-tier piano brand in the world.
An original imported Steinway started at several hundred thousand yuan.
“Hao, there was no need to get a Steinway!”
“That piano is way too expensive!”
Xu Yanfen was excited inside but still spoke politely.
“Steinway, expensive?”
Zheng Guangrong, who didn’t understand pianos, was curious after hearing Xu Yanfen’s comments and asked.
“Old master, Steinways are among the most expensive pianos.”
Before Xu Yanfen could speak, one of the craftsmen proudly assembling the piano chimed in.
Being in charge of delivering and assembling, he was practically a part-time employee of Steinway, and the prestige of the brand gave him a sense of pride by association.
“How expensive is that?”
Zheng Guangrong continued to inquire.
“Let’s not talk about other pianos.”
“Let’s talk about this one we’re assembling right now!”
“This is a Steinway global limited edition, retailing in the store for 3.19 million!”
When it came to the price, the piano assembly craftsman even emphasized his tone.
Hearing this figure, everyone present was dumbstruck.
3.19 million??
A piano could actually cost 3.19 million!!
Zheng Guangrong’s mouth hung open, revealing his yellow teeth.
Beside him, Zheng Xiaohai was also full of shock; he knew about Steinway, but he hadn’t expected Guan Mengmeng’s boyfriend to be so generous.
He had just given a painting worth 3.6 million, followed by a piano worth 3.19 million.
Casually handing out gifts worth a total of 6.79 million!
How were others supposed to compete with that??
MD!
An economic overpowering move!
There’s no way to compete, absolutely none!
Zheng Xiaohai let out a sigh of resignation.