How A Ride-Hailing Driver Comes To Dominate The World? [EN]: Chapter 185

Are You Trying to Extort Me with Fakes?_So What If a Didi Driver Has Some Money?

The Lin sisters led Yang Chen to Lin Zhengtian’s study. Although it was called a study, it was very large, even more spacious than their living room.

The old man usually wrote and painted in it, and the walls of the room were covered with his works.

Lin Zhengtian was exchanging ideas with some experts. Seeing Yang Chen arrive, he introduced him with a smile, “Let me introduce a young friend to you all. This is Mr. Yang Chen. Mr. Yang, let me introduce these old friends to you.” They were Liu Qingguo, the curator of the Municipal Museum, Zhang Tiancang, the deputy curator, Chen Yingjie, the president of the Haicheng Calligraphy and Painting Association, Liu Chuanxiong, the CEO of Chenxiang Collection Art Appraisal and Trading Company, Zhao Jingzhong, a Qingfeng Hermit [a reclusive scholar or artist], and Tang Shoucheng, a master of traditional Chinese painting.

Yang Chen greeted everyone very politely. Because Yang Chen was a friend specially introduced by Lin Zhengtian, and he was also called “Little Mr.,” everyone thought he was a painting genius like Zhang Quan, so they were all curious to ask who Yang Chen studied under and which family he belonged to.

Yang Chen never hid his job, truthfully telling everyone that he was just a Didi driver [ride-hailing app driver, similar to Uber].

In an instant, all the experts were stunned, and then they all looked at Lin Zhengtian with curiosity. Lin Zhengtian said with a smile, “Anxiang, go and bring that painting for the seniors to appreciate.” Lin Anxiang nodded and hurried to her room to get the painting “Lakeside Maple Leaf Girl” that Yang Chen had painted.

Lin Zhengtian said with a smile, “Little Mr., come, take a look at our paintings and give us some suggestions.” The other experts naturally showed a look of contempt. What kind of appreciation level could a Didi driver have?

Give suggestions? Lin Zhengtian was either deliberately pretending, or he was too humble. There was really no need to do this.

Yang Chen casually looked at a few paintings and found something wrong, but there were too many people today, and people in the arts valued face, so Yang Chen didn’t want to point out the problems in public. He nodded with a smile and said, “Not bad, Old Lin paints well, and everyone paints well.” What the hell?

Not bad? Was this kid too impolite? Lin Zhengtian, who was unparalleled in both calligraphy and painting, Tang Shoucheng, a master of traditional Chinese painting, Zhao Jingzhong, an ancient style master… Any one of them was an authority, and he actually said it was not bad?

Liu Qingguo: “Young friend, you are being a bit impolite!” Liu Chuanxiong: “It’s more than just impolite! Old Lin’s paintings are treasures that many collectors are vying to buy but can’t get. You actually said it’s not bad. What? Can you paint better?” Zhang Tiancang knew that his son Zhang Quan had some grudges with Yang Chen, and he was holding back his anger.

He would naturally not miss such a good opportunity to attack Yang Chen.

“You ignorant child, talking nonsense! How can you belittle the paintings of these masters?” Zhang Tiancang reprimanded angrily.

Yang Chen was dumbfounded. What’s going on? Aren’t the words “not bad” praise? Do people in the cultural and art circles understand these three words differently from ordinary people?

That shouldn’t be the case. Aren’t they all Dragon people and Dragon characters [referring to Chinese people and language]? Are these three words derogatory here? Lin Zhengtian said with a smile, “Everyone, don’t be so excited. If Little Mr. says it’s not bad, then that means there is room for improvement, right? Then I, old man, will have to ask Little Mr. for advice,

hoping to take it a step further in painting in the future. I hope Little Mr. will not hesitate to give me some advice.” Yang Chen probably understood why these people were angry. So, saying “not bad” was not okay, and he had to say “fantastic,” “awesome,” “invincible,” and so on.

Yang Chen: “Old Lin, don’t call me Little Mr. I feel ashamed when I hear it. Just call me Yang Chen, or call me Achen or Little Chen like my little aunt. I’m just a Didi driver, how can I have the ability to communicate with an authority like Old Lin?” Lin Shuying: “Everyone is just exchanging ideas, there’s nothing wrong with that. It doesn’t matter whether what you say is right or wrong, good or bad. Art is subjective. The same thing can be painted differently by different people, which is normal.” Lin Zhengtian: “Haha… Shuying is absolutely right. I’ll call you Little Chen then. Little Chen, don’t overthink it, don’t feel pressured, just say whatever you think.” Looking at the ugly faces of those experts, Yang Chen also felt disgusted.

Damn it, you don’t want me to save face for you, do you? Fine! Then I’ll make you recognize your own level one by one.

Yang Chen randomly pointed to a “Farmer Returning Home” painting in front of him and commented.

“This painting is a masterpiece in terms of its composition and color, depicting the scene of a farmer returning home after a day of work, accompanied by stars and the moon.” This painting was the work of Qingfeng Hermit Zhao Jingzhong. Hearing Yang Chen’s praise, a smile appeared on his face.

However, Yang Chen then changed the subject and said, “But the author of this painting made a common-sense mistake, which may be related to his seclusion.”

As soon as he said this, the smile on Zhao Jingzhong’s face disappeared.

Zhang Tiancang: “Nonsense! Do you know whose painting this is? How dare you talk nonsense!” Yang Chen: “I’m commenting on the painting, not the person.” Zhao Jingzhong: “Hehe… Little brother is right. Then can you tell me what kind of mistake the author of this painting made?” Yang Chen: “Judging from the farmer’s white hair and silver beard, he should be an old man. In ancient times, an old man of this age who still had to work in the fields could not possibly have such a straight posture. He must have hunchbacks and other phenomena. Moreover, he is a farmer, not a warrior, so how could his body be so upright and strong? The most accurate way to paint him would be to paint him as an old man with a hunched back and staggering steps. The author of this painting must have painted the old farmer in the painting based on his own or the physical condition of the old people around him, without really going to the countryside to see what the old people in their seventies and eighties look like. So I said he made a common-sense mistake, which is a typical example of seclusion, am I wrong?” Oh crap, how embarrassing.

Zhao Jingzhong’s face turned red, and the other experts were also speechless. This type of painting requires as much realism as possible. The more it returns to nature and conforms to the essence, the more valuable it appears.

After listening to Yang Chen’s analysis, everyone instantly felt that Zhao Jingzhong’s painting was worthless. Yang Chen then pointed to a “Green Mountains and Green Waters” painting next to him and commented, “This painting is good in terms of content and color, but I still have to call it garbage.” The face of Tang Shoucheng, a master of traditional Chinese painting, suddenly tightened, because this painting was his proud work.

Zhang Tiancang: “Little one, how can you talk like that?” Yang Chen couldn’t stand this guy anymore

and said, “Deputy Curator, you are very jumpy. The curator and experts haven’t said anything, but you keep saying ‘little one’ and ‘talking nonsense.’ How did you get the position of deputy curator with this kind of mentality? Did you buy it with money? Didn’t your dad teach you not to interrupt when others are talking? You don’t even have the most basic manners, how dare you show up here?” Zhang Tiancang: “You… you… are just trying to be clever with your words…” Curator Liu Qingguo said loudly, “Enough! We won’t say anything, let him speak his mind! I didn’t see any flaws in this painting, I want to hear how he finds fault with it.” Everyone nodded and stopped talking.

Lin Shuying looked at Yang Chen with admiration, thinking, “This guy has been avoiding it, I thought he was timid and afraid of trouble. I didn’t expect him to be so brave when his temper flares up. Hehe…” Originally, Yang Chen didn’t want to attack them, but they insisted on asking him to communicate with them because they had some fame.

Then let’s communicate, but you have to only say good things and not bad things? What’s the point of communicating then! Yang Chen said that Tang Shoucheng’s painting was garbage, and he naturally had his reasons.

Even elementary school students know that writing an essay should conform to the theme. If the essay topic is “Green Mountains and Green Waters,” then the emphasis should be on highlighting the green mountains and green waters, and you shouldn’t waste paragraphs describing other things.

Everyone understands this principle, right? Applying this principle to painting is actually the same. Tang Shoucheng’s “Green Mountains and Green Waters” should have focused on showing the green mountains and green waters, which means that these two themes should occupy most of the entire painting.

However, the effect he painted was that the green mountains and green waters were all in the distance, occupying only a small part, while the pedestrians and woods were in the foreground, occupying most of the painting. Can this still be called “Green Mountains and Green Waters”?

After listening to Yang Chen’s analysis, everyone suddenly understood. The picture should pay attention to the distinction between primary and secondary, and the theme that the painter wants to express must occupy the absolute C position [center position, most prominent spot], and the length should be the largest, and the most taboo is to steal the spotlight and not distinguish between primary and secondary.

Lin Shuying: “Then what if you change the name of this painting? For example, call it ‘Walking in the Mountains and Forests,’ etc.?” Yang Chen shook his head and said, “Still not okay! Because the theme of this painting is green mountains and green waters, so although these two parts occupy too little of the picture, they occupy the C position. If you change the name of this painting, for example, just call it ‘Walking in the Mountains and Forests,’ it is true that the pedestrians and mountains and forests are in the foreground and occupy most of the picture, but they are not in the C position. When I stand in front and look at it, what I see is the green mountains and green waters that occupy only a small part, not the pedestrians and mountains and forests. If you call it ‘Walking in the Mountains and Forests,’ you still haven’t perfectly expressed the theme. Therefore, this painting is garbage, and there is no possibility of saving it!” Oh crap!

The proud work of Tang Shoucheng, a master of traditional Chinese painting, was actually evaluated as garbage by him! The key is that no one can find a reason to refute it. They just don’t want to accept it in their hearts, and they are very annoyed, but they can’t do anything about it.

Lin Zhengtian was a little nervous now, Yang Chen hadn’t commented on his paintings yet. If his paintings were also found to have problems, it would be too embarrassing.

“This Anxiang, why is it taking so long to get a painting? It’s killing me.” Lin Zhengtian thought to himself.

Yang Chen walked to the front of Lin Zhengtian’s painting “Tiger Roaring in the Mountains and Forests.” Lin Zhengtian immediately became nervous, his heart beating faster, and his palms sweating, like a student

about to face the teacher’s assessment.

Yang Chen carefully appreciated it and said, “This painting is very good, basically there are no flaws to be found.” Lin Zhengtian was unhappy again. If there are flaws, there are flaws, and if there are no flaws, there are no flaws. What does it mean that basically there are no flaws to be found?

Lin Zhengtian: “Hehe… Little Chen, just say what you have to say. We are all old timers, and we don’t have such narrow minds. Don’t have any concerns.” Yang Chen nodded and said, “I’ve seen the ‘Tiger Roaring in the Mountains and Forests’ on the Internet. It is said to be a work by Tang Bohu [a famous Chinese painter]. If I remember correctly, he painted a tiger and a big tree, mainly to show the momentum of a fierce tiger descending the mountain, swallowing up rivers and mountains. However, the author of this painting obviously considered it more carefully than Tang Bohu, and the expressiveness is also more sufficient. In addition to the fierce tiger descending the mountain, he used a certain amount of ink to depict the mountains and forests. However, it is precisely this forest that makes this painting a bit flawed. We can imagine what kind of impact a fierce tiger roaring to the sky would have on other animals in this forest?” Lin Zhengtian: “Other small animals would be scared to flee in all directions, but since they are in the forest, there is no need to paint them.”

Yang Chen: “That’s right, but what about the birds? A tiger roars, and there can’t be no birds in such a large forest, right? If a group of panicked birds could be shown flying in all directions above the forest, it would be perfect, and it would better reflect the domineering spirit of a tiger roaring and wild animals scattering. After all, the theme of your painting is ‘Tiger Roaring in the Mountains and Forests, Swallowing up Rivers and Mountains.'” Lin Zhengtian suddenly understood and nodded不停 [non-stop].

Putting aside Yang Chen’s painting skills, his level of appreciating paintings is really high.

Lin Shuying: “Yang Chen, you are very 厉害 [amazing/skilled]. After listening to your analysis of these paintings, I feel that my level has improved a lot. I thought there were no problems with the previous works, but you can pick out the problems in them. Amazing!” Yang Chen: “Hehe… Miss Lin is too kind, I’m just talking on paper. It’s like I can’t cook, but it doesn’t affect whether I think the dish is delicious or not. Right?” Lin Zhengtian: “Haha… Little Chen, well said.” The other experts also smiled awkwardly.

At this time, Zhang Quan and others came with the paintings. Zhang Quan brought the “Lonely Fisherman on a Snowy River” that his mother had 拍走 [won at auction], Liu Zhenping and Liu Yanzi brought the “Mountain Stream Washing Silk” that Liu Chuanxiong had 拍走, Zhao Rulong brought the “Lotus Blossoms Reflecting the Sun, Unusually Red” that Zhao Jingzhong had 拍走, and the “Spring River Flower Moon Night” was in Lin Zhengtian’s hands.

In this way, the four paintings of spring, summer, autumn, and winter were gathered together. At the same time, Lin Anxiang also arrived late.

Lin Shuying 责怪 [blamed]: “Why did it take you so long to get the painting?” Lin Anxiang explained: “Don’t mention it, something happened to the members of my poetry club who got into a fight, and they asked me to go over and help. I didn’t have time to help them, so I had to call someone to help solve it. These people are really annoying, they all think they are scholars, but they are always causing trouble outside. If this continues, I will just disband the poetry club to avoid having to clean up their messes every time.” Obviously, people are treating Lin Anxiang as a big 怨种 [sucker/pushover], 白嫖 [freeloading on] her social connections.

Lin Anxiang handed Yang Chen’s painting to her grandfather, but now that Mr. Jinghu’s four paintings had arrived, everyone was not in the mood

to appreciate Yang Chen’s painting.

Lin Zhengtian said with a smile, “Come, let me show everyone this painting by Little Chen.” Lin Zhengtian unfolded the painting, and everyone moved closer to appreciate it carefully.

Zhang Quan looked disdainful and deliberately turned his head away to look elsewhere. Because of this painting, he lost the confidence and opportunity to pursue the Lin sisters.

Hmph! I don’t want to see it! Qingfeng Hermit Zhao Jingzhong: “Hehe… Little brother’s painting does have some level. If he can paint well on the scroll, it will definitely be a good painting.” Tang Shoucheng: “It’s okay, it’s good for a young person. However, the color matching is a bit lacking, the whole painting is also very rough, and the artistic conception is a bit lacking.” Liu Qingguo: “It feels too vulgar, not as grand as Old Lin’s painting.” … Just now Yang Chen picked out their faults, and of course they had to take the opportunity to pick out Yang Chen’s faults.

What kind of 大气磅礴 [grandeur/magnificence] can be painted on a 1*1 piece of paper? Lin Zhengtian said with a smile, “This painting was painted casually, so there must be some flaws in the details. But everyone, look at the brushstrokes, the overall composition of the painting, etc., is it a bit similar to Mr. Jinghu’s painting?” As expected of a 权威 [authoritative] expert in calligraphy and painting, he has some vision.

Everyone turned their attention to Mr. Jinghu’s four paintings and gave their own opinions. Zhao Rulong: “Impossible! Mr. Jinghu’s paintings are so good, what is this thing?” Zhang Quan: “That’s right! How can this be compared to Mr. Jinghu’s painting?” Tang Shoucheng: “It is somewhat similar, but I would rather believe that he deliberately imitated Mr. Jinghu’s painting.” Liu Qingguo: “Yang Chen, have you been to the Municipal Museum to visit Mr. Jinghu’s painting?” Yang Chen nodded.

Zhao Jingzhong: “That’s right, he did go, and we also discussed and exchanged ideas.” Liu Qingguo: “Hehe… No wonder. He is clearly imitating Mr. Jinghu’s style, but he didn’t imitate it successfully, it’s neither fish nor fowl, it’s meaningless.” Alas… They are all Yang Chen’s paintings, and if they are labeled with Mr. Jinghu’s name, they are called good paintings, but if they are said to be painted by Yang Chen, they are neither fish nor fowl. These experts are really speechless.

Lin Zhengtian: “Hehe… Mr. Jinghu’s paintings are indeed very good. He has very precise control over the content, lines, pigments, and light and shadow of the paintings. Little Chen, what do you think?” Zhao Rulong: “What can he see?” Zhang Quan: “That’s right, a Didi driver is okay at driving, but let’s forget about appreciating calligraphy and painting.” Liu Zhenping: “Old Lin, don’t embarrass him. If you let him evaluate, it’s like letting a farmer play golf and appreciate Beethoven, playing the lute to a cow.”

“Haha…” Everyone laughed. Lin Shuying: “What do you know? Maybe Yang Chen’s painting level is a bit lacking, but his appreciation ability is no worse than anyone present. Besides, Zhang Quan, what qualifications do you have to laugh at him? He defeated you with this painting that day.” Lin Anxiang: “That’s right! Anyone can 嘲笑 [mock] Yang Chen, but you are the only one who is not qualified. You are his defeated general, 嘲讽 [mocking] him is equal to 嘲讽 [mocking] yourself even more 不堪 [pathetic]!” Zhang Quan was speechless by the Lin sisters’ 怼 [roasting/bantering].

Zhang Tiancang was present after all, and Lin Zhengtian had to give him some face. Lin Zhengtian quickly said with a smile, “We are here today to appreciate

Mr. Jinghu’s four paintings gathered together, and everyone can express their own opinions. Art is a very subjective thing, and everyone’s opinions and aesthetics are different, which is a very normal thing. Come, Little Chen, tell us what you think of these paintings.” Yang Chen smiled and nodded, walked forward and looked at them carefully.

Yang Chen said with a smile, “Although I don’t know who this Mr. Jinghu is, judging from his paintings, he should be a young man with both looks and wisdom, definitely 帅到掉渣 [extremely handsome].” I 擦 [damn], let’s just say, Brother Chen, can we not be so 自恋 [narcissistic]?

Lin Shuying: “Huh? Why do you think he is a young man? I think he is an old man with white hair and silver beard.” Yang Chen: “If he is an old man, his painting style would be the same as that of Old Lin, Old Tang, Old Zhao, and other 前辈 [seniors/predecessors], giving people a sense of 稳重 [steadiness]. But look at Mr. Jinghu’s paintings, the four paintings of spring, summer, autumn, and winter all give people a sense of 简约冷峻 [simplicity and coldness]. Only the 狂傲不羁 [arrogance and unruliness] and 年轻气盛 [youthful vigor] of young people can paint this kind of effect. There is a saying called ‘words are like the person,’ and I think the same can be said of ‘paintings are like the person.’ Mr. Jinghu must be a 美少年 [handsome young man].” Lin Shuying’s mind suddenly appeared a 翩翩少年 [graceful young man] image in ancient costume, and she instantly felt a bit 春心萌动 [a stirring of romantic feelings].

Lin Zhengtian: “Haha… Putting aside everything else, Little Chen’s appreciation ability is really strong.” Zhao Rulong and others were very unconvinced.

“It’s just talking on paper.”

“That’s right, he can’t paint well, he just relies on his mouth.”

“I’ve seen Zhang Quan’s paintings, they are much better than his.” … Yang Chen came here this time not really to appreciate his paintings with them, but to teach Zhang Quan and Liu Zhenping these two bastards a lesson.

They spent money to hire someone to 打 [beat] Yang Chen, and this debt must be settled with them. Next, it was the Lin sisters’ turn to appreciate the paintings.

Although Lin Anxiang didn’t understand much, Lin Shuying was a professional painter, so she could understand a little. Two young and beautiful girls 撅着屁股 [sticking their butts out] appreciating the paintings, and the men on the scene focused their attention on their 屁股 [butts].

Zhao Rulong and others couldn’t wait to go up and 摸一把 [grab a feel], and they were watching more 认真 [attentively] than when they were studying in school. Yang Chen came to Zhang Quan, who was at the back of the crowd, and said in a low voice, “How are you going to settle the matter of you and Liu Zhenping hiring someone to 打 [beat] me?” Zhang Quan’s eyes flickered, and he replied in a low voice, “What do you want? There are so many people here, you wouldn’t dare to do anything, would you?”

“What’s wrong with doing something?” Yang Chen replied in a low voice, and then 撞了 [bumped] Zhang Quan 一下 [once] with his knee. Zhang Quan’s body rushed forward, and 一下 [suddenly] 撞倒了 [knocked over] Zhao Jingzhong. Zhao Jingzhong was already old, and his lower body was unstable, so he 一下子 [suddenly] 摔向了 [fell towards] the Lin sisters.

Zhao Jingzhong’s shoulder 撞倒了 [bumped into] the Lin sisters, and the two sisters 哎呀了一声 [exclaimed] and fell forward, instinctively reaching out to grab the two paintings in front of them.

“嘶 [ripping sound]! 嘶 [ripping sound]!” The two paintings were 撕断了 [torn] by the two sisters, one for each. The scene immediately quieted down.

The Lin sisters looked at the 残卷 [torn pieces] in their hands with a look of horror, and looked at their grandfather in a loss. Zhao Rulong quickly 扶起来 [helped up] Zhao Jingzhong and said, “Grandpa, how are you?” Zhao Jingzhong saw that the situation was not good, so he quickly sat on the floor and didn’t get up.

If he stood up, he might have to bear the responsibility. Everyone glared at Zhang Quan, and Zhang Quan quickly

pointed to Yang Chen and said, “He 撞了 [bumped] me.” At the moment when Yang Chen 撞飞了 [bumped and sent flying] Zhang Quan, he quickly 退到了 [retreated to] the chair behind him and sat down.

Yang Chen put down the water glass in his hand with a 懵逼 [dumbfounded] look, swallowed the water in his mouth, and said, “Young Master Zhang, this is not interesting, right? I am more than three meters away from you, did I blow you away with my mouth?”. Zhang Quan: “It was clearly you 撞了 [bumped] me, and then 跳过去 [jumped over] and sat down. Don’t deny it!” Just now, everyone’s attention was on the Lin sisters’ 撅着 [sticking out] 的 屁股 [butts], and no one really noticed Yang Chen and Zhang Quan at the back of the crowd.

Yang Chen 呵呵一笑 [chuckled] and said, “Zhang Quan, Liu Zhenping, is it interesting for you to do this? You hired someone to 打 [beat] me, and I didn’t cause you any trouble, but you have intensified and played it so big? You brought two 仿品 [fakes] over, and then deliberately 搞坏 [ruined] them, 讹诈 [extort] me, Old Zhao, and the two Misses Lin, right? It’s okay if you 讹诈 [extort] me, but you don’t let Old Zhao and the two Misses Lin go, which is a bit too much. Old Zhao is so old, and you still 撞 [bump] him like this. The two Misses Lin just don’t accept your 求爱 [courtship], and you hold a grudge in your heart, using such 卑劣 [despicable] means to 害 [harm] them. 啧啧啧 [tsk tsk tsk]… Is this the 龌龊丑事 [dirty secret] that your so-called 名门望族 [prominent families] can do?” What?

仿品 [fakes]? Zhang Tiancang 怒吼 [roared angrily]: “You are 放屁 [farting/talking nonsense]! How could it be 仿品 [fakes]?” Liu Chuanxiong: “If you don’t want to die, quickly 收回去 [take back] what you just said!” Zhang Quan: “You are 放屁 [farting/talking nonsense]! This is 真品 [genuine], and I have no intention of 害 [harming] Old Zhao and Miss Lin. Don’t 血口喷人 [make false accusations]!” Liu Zhenping: “You are 搞事情 [stirring up trouble], right? It must be you 撞了 [bumped] Zhang Quan, and you are 信口雌黄 [talking irresponsibly] here!” Today, let them know what it means to be 哑巴吃黄连有口难言 [like a mute eating Coptis chinensis–unable to voice one’s suffering], and let them know that whether the painting is 真 [genuine] is up to the author, not these 狗屁 [dog fart/worthless] experts!

It’s time to change the 破规矩 [broken rules] of the garbage art, cultural relic, and antique circle. Brother Chen will do what others don’t dare to do!

Brother Chen will do what others can’t do! In short, no one can 压 [suppress] Brother Chen 一头 [by one head/outdo]!