This Bad Luck is Awesome!

Chapter 154: Chapter 117: There Are Gold Bars in the Wall

’Perhaps it meant that all the money the original owner had hidden in the house had already been found.’

’Otherwise, it wouldn’t make sense. Why would the original owner hide gold bars, which need to be exchanged, instead of cash that could be spent directly?’

’Gold bars are a hard currency, of course, but cash is definitely more convenient in a pinch.’

’Let’s see if there’s anything else.’

Chen Mo was in a good mood. Full of anticipation, he once again stuck his phone into the hollow space in the wall.

He used the phone’s light to scan the inside, wanting to see if the original owner had hidden anything else.

"Huh?"

Just then, he saw another object stored in a long, rectangular box.

’There really is something else?’

Chen Mo’s eyes filled with surprise.

He had only been searching on a whim, not expecting to actually find anything more.

Holding his phone in one hand, he carefully retrieved the long box with the other.

Once it was out, the bright light illuminated the box’s exterior.

It was covered in a thick layer of dust. Chen Mo blew on it a few times, clearing some of it away.

He discovered the box was completely covered in plastic wrap, which had kept it perfectly preserved.

The plastic wrap was dusty, but the box underneath was clean.

’I’ll open it when I get back.’

Chen Mo wanted to open it and take a look.

But considering the weather, he immediately dismissed the idea.

He guessed the box contained something very valuable.

’Even more valuable than the 4,000 grams of gold bars.’

’Otherwise, it wouldn’t have been placed underneath the gold bars and wrapped so tightly in plastic.’

If it got wet from the rain on the way back, it would be a huge loss.

’Let’s keep looking and see if there’s anything else.’

Filled with renewed anticipation, Chen Mo picked up his phone and explored the hollow space in the wall again.

Unfortunately, all he saw were bricks. He didn’t find anything else.

’Finding two things isn’t bad at all.’

Chen Mo’s mood was still good despite not finding more; he didn’t feel it was a great pity or regret.

Afterward, he crudely put the bricks back in place.

As for the mess on the living room floor, there was no way he could deal with it today.

’I’ll wait until the typhoon is completely over and then get a renovation company to fix it.’

Chen Mo then put all 20 gold bars back into the black signal-blocking bag, and left the villa with the bag and the long box.

He placed the gold bars and the box on the passenger seat and drove out of the villa complex.

By now, the sky had grown completely dark.

The wind and rain on the road had intensified.

Due to the weather, traffic was extremely congested.

For the first time, Chen Mo felt that being stuck in traffic was an eternity.

Fortunately, aside from the traffic jam, there were no other incidents on the road.

He made it back to his apartment’s underground garage without a hitch.

After grabbing the signal-blocking bag and the long box from the passenger seat, he took the elevator back to his apartment.

He closed the door and turned on the lights.

He immediately started to open the long box.

First, he gently tore off the dust-covered layer of plastic wrap.

Then, he picked up the box and carefully pried it open.

As soon as it was open, Chen Mo saw a rolled-up calligraphy and painting scroll lying inside.

’So it really is a painting.’

Seeing the scroll, Chen Mo couldn’t help but raise an eyebrow.

When he first saw the long box in the villa, he had guessed it might be a painting scroll.

That was why he had deliberately waited until he got home to open it.

He was afraid it would get wet in the rain and be ruined.

’I just wonder whose work it is.’

His eyes filled with anticipation as he took the scroll out of the box.

The value of such a work depended heavily on the artist.

’But I doubt it’s by someone obscure.’

After all, for the original owner to hide it inside a hollow wall, it must have considerable value.

He felt it wouldn’t be worth any less than the gold bars.

Chen Mo cleared a space on his dining table.

Then, he carefully placed the scroll on the table and slowly unrolled it.

Halfway through, Chen Mo saw that it was a painting.

The composition was simple: a peach tree and four bright red peaches.

’Peaches?’

A thoughtful look flashed across Chen Mo’s eyes.

He knew of a modern painter who was very fond of painting peaches.

’Could it be his work?’

He continued unrolling the painting and soon saw the signature.

Qi Baishi.

Sure enough, it was just as he had suspected.

It really was a painting of peaches by Qi Baishi.

Once the painting was fully unrolled, the entire scroll was displayed before Chen Mo’s eyes.

He saw that the title of the painting was Immortal Peach Birthday Celebration.

It was painted by Qi Baishi when he was eighty-seven years old.

Chen Mo knew nothing about art, so he had no idea if the painting was authentic.

However, considering it was part of the original owner’s private stash, it was most likely real.

But he wasn’t sure about its value.

After all, even for similar works by the same artist, the value can vary greatly.

Moreover, the value of calligraphy and paintings was also related to their size.

The value of many such works was calculated by price per square foot.

’Huh? I think Liu Jianjun mentioned he works in the antiques and collectibles business, right?’

Chen Mo suddenly remembered Liu Jianjun, whom he had met a few days ago. The man had mentioned his line of work when introducing himself.

If he remembered correctly, it was indeed the antiques and collectibles business.

’A work of art like a painting should fall under collectibles, right?’

So, he took a panoramic picture of the fully unrolled Immortal Peach Birthday Celebration on the table with his phone.

Then he opened his WeChat conversation with Liu Jianjun.

"How is your mother’s health?"

Chen Mo first sent a polite inquiry about the old woman’s condition.

It would be too blunt to just come out and ask how much the painting was worth.

"Thank you for asking, Mr. Chen. My mother has been discharged from the hospital and is resting at home."

Liu Jianjun replied quickly.

"That’s good to hear. By the way, there’s something I’d like to ask for your help with."

After the pleasantries, Chen Mo stated his purpose.

"Mr. Chen, please just say what you need. As long as I can help, I absolutely will."

Liu Jianjun replied immediately and frankly.

He had been worrying about how to thank Chen Mo, so Chen Mo asking for a favor was exactly what he’d hoped for.

"Last time we spoke, I heard you’re in the antiques and collectibles business. I happen to have a painting by Mr. Qi Baishi, Immortal Peach Birthday Celebration, and I was hoping you could take a look for me."

Chen Mo explained the situation first, then sent him the photo.

After he sent it, a full two and a half minutes passed before Liu Jianjun replied.

"Mr. Chen, your Immortal Peach Birthday Celebration is very well-preserved, and its size is quite large. It’s quite valuable."

"About how much?"

Chen Mo asked curiously after seeing Liu Jianjun’s reply.

"Are you looking to sell it? If you are, you could sell it to me."

"As for the price, I can offer you 8 million."

Liu Jianjun could tell Chen Mo seemed interested in selling, so he immediately offered 8 million, hoping to buy it from him.

Chen Mo was slightly taken aback when he saw Liu Jianjun’s offer.

He never expected the painting to be so valuable.

He had thought it might be worth a bit more than the 3 million in gold bars.

He didn’t expect it to be 5 million higher.

However, he didn’t completely trust Liu Jianjun’s word alone.

It wasn’t that he suspected him, but out of caution, he couldn’t rely on just one person’s opinion.

He opened DeepSeek directly, typed in "Qi Baishi," "Immortal Peach Birthday Celebration," the painting’s dimensions, and other information, then asked for its value.

This time, the system wasn’t busy and quickly gave him an answer.

Immortal Peach Birthday Celebration

Sale Price: 7.13 million yuan (Jingcheng Poly 2024 Spring Auction).

Characteristics: A flower-and-bird painting by Qi Baishi. The peach theme symbolizes longevity. The colors are vibrant, and the brushwork is simple and powerful.

Price Range: His flower-and-bird paintings are generally valued between 300,000 and 1.5 million yuan per square foot, but masterpieces or special subjects (such as large-format longevity peaches) can break into the tens of millions.

After seeing DeepSeek’s response, he immediately searched online for the painting from the 2024 auction.

It was about the same size as the one he had, though his was actually slightly smaller.

Moreover, that was the price it sold for at an auction, which is usually on the higher side.

In other words, the value of his Immortal Peach Birthday Celebration was around 7 million yuan.

Liu Jianjun’s offer of 8 million must have been influenced by personal feelings.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!