Chapter 7: Stepping on the Face

Zheng Zheng read the title clearly, then looked at the young man beside him, whose expression was difficult to read, and said with a smile: "In the twenty-third year of the Jiazi cycle... if I am not mistaken, this should be from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty. I do not know who the owner of this 'Drunken Studio' is, but let me take a look in my books later."

In a short while, Zheng Zheng had completely removed the top layer of drawing paper, and the second layer of the painting, which had been concealed for an unknown period, was finally fully revealed.

As the knife came down, the nearby vendors all closed their eyes. Zheng Zheng's cut created a large gash in the paper, causing the quality of the painting to plummet. Even if there were buyers willing to purchase this painting, it would certainly not sell for more than 3,000 yuan.

This damage was cut open by approximately five centimeters, but there were no abnormalities at the cut area. Zheng Zheng furrowed his brow, disregarded this damage, and proceeded to cut open another area of damage

While the two were engaged in a verbal spar, Zheng Zheng's phone in his pocket vibrated. Upon seeing the phone number, he disregarded the young man and the scroll lying on the ground, turning to walk out of the noisy crowd

In a short while, all the damages on the brocade of the framed painting were cut open by Zheng Zheng, yet these cut areas revealed nothing unusual.

This is a landscape painting, featuring towering mountains and steep cliffs. The mountain formations are perilous, and the artist's brushwork is sharp, showing no signs of hesitation or sloppiness; the craftsmanship is exceptionally exquisite. In the lower left corner of the painting, there are several vermilion seals left blank, clearly indicating that it has been treasured by numerous collectors. Beside these seals is the title of the work by the author.

After speaking, Zheng Zheng turned his head to glance at the young man again; it was evident that the term "showing off" he mentioned was referring to him.

You are just being deceived! This is simply a coincidence! The young man felt a burning sensation on his face, wanting to find a way to save himself, and in a moment of frustration, he spoke without thinking.

Zheng Yonghe let out a cold snort, picked up the coarse porcelain bowl in his hand, and said: "The antique hidden within this bowl was pointed out to me by my brother. Even if one is lucky enough to guess correctly once, can he really guess right twice in a row?" He looked at the young man, whose face was filled with embarrassment, and sneered disdainfully, saying: "Fool."

Haha

At a glance, the expression of triumph on the young man's face instantly froze

However, Zheng Zheng took out the Swiss Army knife from his pocket, shaking his head as he opened the small scissors on the knife, saying: "I really dislike pretentious people, especially those who try to show off at my expense. When I encounter such individuals, I can only catch them and give them a good beating"

The young man who had provocatively spoken, upon seeing this, let out a few cold laughs and was just about to speak when he was interrupted by Zheng Zheng.

Young people certainly know what Zheng Zheng means, they want to erupt, but standing beside them is Zheng Yonghe, which makes them very apprehensive, unable to erupt.

The young man was taken aback, but before he could speak, Zheng Zheng no longer paid him any attention and turned to the vendor, saying: "Old brother, may I borrow your stall for a moment"

In the summer month of the twenty-third year of the Jiazi cycle, the owner of the Not Drunk Studio.

Zheng Zheng no longer looked at the young man; he carefully searched the painting for a while and finally found a slightly larger small damage on the brocade of the frame. He carefully placed the blade of the small scissors against this damage and then carefully cut open this small area of damage.

As everyone lamented the loss of the three thousand yuan due to Zheng Zheng's single stroke that ruined the painting, at that moment, Zheng Zheng chuckled a few times and tore open the damaged paper of the painting with one hand

Zheng Zheng coldly glanced at the young man who was staring blankly, then turned away and carefully tore the already damaged paper little by little, revealing the paper beneath it.

Those who watch the commotion are not afraid of trouble. The onlookers, upon witnessing the situation, instinctively stood back a little, and no one intervened to mediate, merely waiting to see the spectacle unfold

With a sharp sound, Zheng Zheng found himself holding a piece of torn paper the size of a palm.

You ... ... '' the young person gritted their teeth

"How should one speak?" Zheng Zheng did not respond, and Zheng Yonghe became displeased. He cast a sideways glance at the young man, clicked his tongue in annoyance, and said, "Do I need to teach you how to be a person? Huh?"

Along the junction between the drawing paper and the brocade, Zheng Zheng carefully inserted the tip of the knife.

Looking at the well-meaning vendor who was trying to dissuade him, Zheng Zheng smiled, yet did not stop his hands, gently making a stroke on the drawing paper, producing a soft sound like a tearing noise.

Upon hearing Zheng Zheng's words, the vendor felt relieved. However, he immediately became curious again about what this young man was actually planning to do

A crowd of onlookers gathered around, all silent, each one fixated on Zheng Zheng's movements.

While speaking, Zheng Zheng opened the box in his hand, took out the painting, and laid it out again in the same place as before

Zheng Zheng casually lit a cigarette and asked with a smile, "So who is the fool now, hmm?"

Without a care, Zheng Zheng tossed aside the scraps of paper in his hand, pointed at the painting spread out on the ground, and coldly said to the young man: "Take a good look."

What now? Zheng Yonghe responded with a cold glare, showing no sign of concern

When the young man saw Zheng Yonghe's unkind words, he felt a bit intimidated, but he did not want to back down so easily. He stubbornly replied, "I didn't say anything about you, why are you so anxious?"

"You didn't say it, so it must be about me, right?" Zheng Zheng handed a cigarette to Zheng Yonghe, lit one for himself, and then looked at the young man with a forced smile and said, "If he's a man, just accept it; don't act like a woman."

This is the end... The stall owner shook his head as he watched. After the painting was torn apart, it could only be sold as scrap among antiques, and selling it for three hundred yuan would be considered a profit

Hey, brother, this..." Zheng Zheng's actions made the stall owner feel uneasy, and he forced a smile as he said: "This, this... business isn't done like this, right..."

The young man scoffed dismissively, yet his eyes instinctively glanced over.

Little brother! What are you trying to do? If this painting gets damaged, it will no longer be worth 3,000!

Beneath the torn drawing paper by Zheng Zheng, there was not the brocade hidden underneath, but rather another sheet of drawing paper that was revealed

Come, laugh a couple more times for me to hear

Zheng Zheng could not understand what the stall owner was thinking, so he smiled and said, "Don't worry, I'm not going to return it to you, I'm just borrowing this place for a while."

The vendor closest to the painting gazed intently at it, and at that moment, he gasped in shock, feeling an immense astonishment in his heart

Zheng Zheng prepared the canvas but did not rush to do anything else. He glanced at the young man beside him and said, "Originally, I didn't want to do this here, because this kind of thing is a bit pretentious, and doing it can easily annoy people"

"Make sure to laugh while you can." Zheng Zheng did not look at him, coldly responding with a single sentence before opening the blade of the Swiss Army knife in his hand

At first, the young man was somewhat worried, but now he has set his mind at ease. He looked at Zheng Zheng, who was frowning incessantly, and said with a cold smile: "I told you, you just have to accept it. What are you going to do? Do you still want to prove that you are not foolish?"

Zheng Zheng and Zheng Yonghe chatted for quite a while, gaining some understanding of Zheng Yonghe's temperament. His earlier embarrassment with the vendor was simply because he had broken the vendor's item first, feeling somewhat guilty. Therefore, even though he knew that the vendor was trying to swindle him, he did not confront the vendor. However, after this period of interaction, Zheng Zheng felt that this uncle had a somewhat rough and unrefined demeanor.

The voice was not loud, but Zheng Zheng could hear it clearly. He stopped in his tracks and looked in the direction of the sound, just in time to see a young man with a small mustache looking at him with a face full of disdain.

However, regardless of who the owner of this drunken studio is, this is undoubtedly an authentic Qing Dynasty painting. Zheng Zheng looked at him and said with a cold smile, "Having bought it for three thousand yuan, I don't feel that I have lost out in any way."

This ... ...

Zheng Yonghe, standing nearby, glanced at the painting with a look of surprise, then looked at the coarse porcelain bowl in his hand, shaking his head and chuckling twice

The young man was also stirred up with anger, and he defiantly said, "So what if I said it? What do you want to do?"

The local customs of Xidu City are considered rather fierce. After these words were spoken, it was almost time for both sides to engage in a fight. Everyone expected Zheng Zheng to curse and rush at the young man to give him a beating, but Zheng Zheng, instead, calmly nodded and smiled, saying: "As long as you said it, that's fine. I was worried I wouldn't be able to find the main point later."