The World's Richest Man: Start with the Daily Intelligence System

68: Chapter 68 Separation of Oil PaintingOn a late autumn afternoon, the sky was blue with white clouds, and the air was fresh. The sunlight seemed to have become gentle and warm.

Yu Hongtao opened his eyes and let out a satisfied sigh. Waking up from an afternoon nap was the most wonderful moment in the world.

In the past few days, for the exhibition of the imperial seal of china, he had been personally involved, exhausted his connections to invite celebrities and experts from all walks of life, and had to accept interviews from numerous media outlets. The first thing he did every day was to put a slice of American ginseng in his mouth. He wished he could drink Red Bull like water. Now, the number of visitors to the Museum was steadily increasing every day, and things had finally gotten on the right track.

Getting up and holding his teacup, Yu Hongtao steadily topped it up with hot water, preparing to take a stroll around the Museum to see what everyone was busy with.

But after walking through several offices in a row, they were all empty, and the corridor was silent.

”Did I not wake up at all? Am I still dreaming?” Yu Hongtao was a bit puzzled. Even if the staff were busy, it was impossible for there to be no one around at this time. Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but raise his hand and pinch his cheek hard.

”Ouch! It hurts, it hurts!” Yu Hongtao was now certain he wasn’t dreaming. He had pinched his cheek red. He was a bit angry; it seemed that after the hard work of the previous period, everyone had become a bit lax. Slacking off to this extent was just too much.

Just then, he strolled to the Museum’s studio and took a peek inside, only to see it packed with people, three layers deep inside and out. In the crowd, he even saw several elderly people with white hair and youthful complexions. Caught off guard, he was so shocked that he accidentally let his cup slip. It shattered into pieces on the floor with a clatter.

Wasn’t that Elder He, the president of the City Name Fine Arts Association? And beside him was Professor Hong, the antique restoration expert? Huh? Wasn’t that the old Museum director who had been retired at home for many years? Even the deputy mayor in charge of education and archaeology was here? Why were all these big shots gathering here?

At this moment, everyone turned to look at Yu Hongtao, appearing very dissatisfied with the noise he had made. The old director even walked over and flicked Yu Hongtao on the forehead: ”You brat, you’re so rash. Has your composure all gone to the dogs?”

Professor Hong beside him also glared angrily: ”We are at a critical moment, can you please settle down?”

Yu Hongtao had dealt with these elders quite a bit while working at the Museum, and he had even secured his position as director thanks to the old director’s strong recommendation before retirement. Now, he could only apologize with a pitiful expression.

Turning his head, he saw Zhang Wei in the corner secretly recording with a mobile phone. He immediately found an outlet for his frustration, rushed over, and angrily demanded: ”Speak! Is this another one of your tricks?”

Zhang Wei, fearing he would be attacked, quickly put away his phone and dodged to the side: ”Uncle Yu, whether it’s a trick or not, there’s no result yet, is there? You can go see for yourself.” After saying this, he tucked his phone deeper into his pocket. Could you believe the director of the Shenghai Museum got hit and didn’t dare to fight back? This was Uncle Yu’s darkest moment in his entire life. He had to save this.

Yu Hongtao was also curious about what so many people were gathered around to see, so he squeezed into the crowd to take a look.

In the center of the crowd was a huge platform made of four workbenches, on which sat an acrylic tank large enough for a person to lie down in. Inside was a 5-centimeter-thick layer of blue liquid. An oil painting was lying in the liquid. At this moment, Dr. Zhao and Dr. Wang were assisting at both ends of the painting, while a middle-aged man in the middle was intently operating with tweezers and other tools.

Yu Hongtao was filled with shock and suspicion: ”What is the meaning of such a big spectacle?”

Time returned to one hour ago.

Dr. Zhao was introducing the elderly people in front of Zhang Wei one by one. Zhang Wei was almost sweating; these were all heavyweight figures.

At this time, the antique restoration expert, Elder Hong, smiled and pointed to the middle-aged man beside him: ”This is my closed-door disciple, Hong Yue. I heard that a painting-within-a-painting has appeared. He has spent five years in a top gallery in France and has rich experience in the separation of oil paintings.”

The middle-aged man’s original name was Guan Yue. Having received Elder Hong’s full instruction, he became his closed-door disciple and changed his surname to Hong. He was a foster student who would take care of Elder Hong in his old age and see him through to his end.

Everyone came to the painting, examined it for a moment, and looked at the scanner results. Hong Yue pondered for a long time and nodded: ”This painting can be separated after being soaked in a special liquid. We can start now. I wonder what the owner of the painting thinks?”

Everyone’s eyes focused on Zhang Wei. Zhang Wei thought for a moment and told the whole story about the Old Lady, finally asking solemnly: ”If we separate it, can you guarantee that the tulip painting on the surface will remain intact?”

Everyone sighed after hearing the Old Lady’s experience. Hong Yue replied solemnly: ”I have a 90% certainty that I can separate it perfectly.”

Zhang Wei nodded and said casually: ”If you encounter any problems, even if it destroys the painting in the interlayer, you must prioritize preserving the one on the surface.” He knew in his heart that there was a Picasso painting inside. But what he cared about more was an old person’s life-long entrustment.

Everyone admired Zhang Wei immensely. Since it was a painting hidden in the interlayer, it must be much more valuable than the one on the outside. It was truly not easy for Zhang Wei to do this for an Old Lady he had never met before.

Time returned to the present. Hong Yue was wearing a magnifying glass, and sweat was flowing down his neck into his collar. But he turned a deaf ear, and his hands remained as steady as Mount Tai, sliding slowly. Gradually, the paper of the painting began to soften, and then it was separated by a blade as thin as a cicada’s wing, and the interlayer of the oil canvas was peeled away bit by bit.

Without time to take a close look at the painting inside, Hong Yue, Dr. Zhao, and the three of them hurriedly moved the tulip painting to a dry acrylic tank, only then breathing a sigh of relief. The surface painting had been preserved intact.

Turning around to look at the situation inside the interlayer, they saw a square painting sandwiched between blank sheets of paper, only half the size of the tulip painting. It depicted a woman holding a baby. The entire painting had rough lines and was interspersed with various color blocks and lines, yet there was an indescribable charm in the chaos.

In the bottom right corner of the painting was clearly written ”Picasso / 1916”. Everyone present exclaimed in amazement.

This is a genuine Picasso?!

At this moment, Hong Yue was also a bit excited. He hurriedly took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. Then, with the help of Dr. Wang and Dr. Zhao, he transferred the painting out of the liquid.

After the entire painting left the liquid, the three of them relaxed. They leaned back in their chairs as if they had collapsed from exhaustion. Who could have imagined that they had just performed surgery on a Picasso painting? If they told others, no one would believe it.

Seeing that Yu Hongtao was still standing there dazed, the old director walked up and kicked him, roaring: ”What are you still standing there for? Go and bring the dryer, and at the same time, contact security to seal off this place. If anything happens to the painting, I won’t spare you.”

”Why are you still using physical force? I’m fine, but don’t sprain your own waist.” After saying this, Yu Hongtao chuckled and walked quickly out of the studio. In his little mental notebook, he had already marked down a point against Zhang Wei. It was all caused by this brat, and he wouldn’t let him off the hook later.