Yunding Ranch

Chapter 287 Original Painting Author

The driver opened the car door, Lu Li got out of the car, buttoned his suit, and looked at the ancient building in front of him. Compared with the bar this afternoon, it was more refined, with a unique charm under the dark blue sky. And vivid, as if you can clearly read the traces of history between bricks and tiles.

"Sir, is it okay to come pick you up at eleven o'clock?" the driver caught politely.

Lu Li nodded in affirmation, "Eleven o'clock."

It is not uncommon for a meal at a riverside restaurant to take off for three hours and four hours.

Lu Li chose a navy blue suit, paired with a pearl white shirt, and a tie of the same color with a handmade anchor print. It was a traditional college-style outfit, but younger.He lowered his head to check his clothes, then lifted the long tube with the painting in his hand, and after confirming that there was no problem, Lu Li walked towards the restaurant.

"Good evening, sir, may I have the name and phone number for the appointment?" The waiter standing at the door was dressed in a neat suit and tall and straight. His attire was even more formal and grand than Lu Li's.The classic black suit is paired with a white shirt, and it is also a retro and cumbersome three-piece suit.

Lu Li paused for a moment. He didn't know Evelyn's surname, nor did she know her phone number. Everything happened in the blink of an eye this afternoon, and they didn't have time to exchange more confidence.Interestingly, he didn't even introduce himself to Evelyn, which means Evelyn had no idea who he was.

"I have an appointment with a friend, Evelyn?" At this point, Lu Li could only bite the bullet and ask.

"Evelyn - who?" The waiter still had a polite smile on his face, and he was asking Evelyn's last name.

"Strello." A capable voice came from behind, Lu Li turned his head, and then saw Evelyn in a red dress. She didn't have time to change her clothes, but just added a black suit on the outside. The coat adds a touch of neatness to the charm of a woman.

"Good evening, Evelyn." The waiter greeted politely, lowered his head and scanned his appointment notepad, "Both, eight o'clock, right?"

It can be seen from the familiar gesture that Evelyn should be a frequent visitor here.Lu Li recalled Anna's words in the afternoon. Evelyn is a gallery manager who deals with art. There should be some upper-class and elite customers among her customers. It's not surprising that she often goes to such occasions.

The waiter started to lead the way. Evelyn looked Lu Li up and down with affirmative eyes.This made Lu Li burst out laughing, puffed up his chest slightly, "Is this allowed to enter the restaurant?"

The joke made Evelyn laugh heartily, then nodded solemnly, "Barely pass."

The two followed in the footsteps of the waiter and entered the restaurant.This is a typical English country cottage, without any fancy decorations, just polished logs, a simple square table, and even the lights above the head have no novel design, the lemon yellow halo makes the whole The space looks spacious and bright.

The waiter pulled away the chairs, let Lu Li and Evelyn sit down respectively, and then handed Evelyn the wine list.

Lu Li noticed this small detail.When he was at the Olive Garden Restaurant, Lu Li knew that in a real top-notch restaurant, the task of choosing red wine is given to the female partner, while the task of ordering food is given to the male partner - men's menus have prices, and women's menus have a price. The menu does not.

This is a lucky thing. Lu Li's knowledge of high-end red wine is only at the entry level. What he has learned from Romanee-Conti is only limited to Pinot Noir, and his understanding of other top-level red wines is still limited.

After Evelyn finished ordering the wine, the waiter handed over the menu again—order in strict order of appetizer, appetizer, main course, and dessert.

Although I have heard before that the riverside restaurant has a rich menu, which can be called the first of the four Michelin three-star restaurants in the UK, but I only understand the meaning of this sentence after seeing it. The dazzling array of choices is simply dazzling, and it is impossible to start .This kind of ordering process tests a person's background, background and accomplishment.

Fortunately, before leaving, Lu Li did some research on the Internet, otherwise he would be embarrassed tonight.

"Do you have any taboos?" Lu Li briefly looked at the entire menu, and after getting an impression, he asked.

Generally speaking, ordering meals to men, in addition to cost and quality, also tests the men's understanding of women: Can the meals satisfy women?Is it to the lady's liking?Is there something in common between the two parties?and so on.

In Western dating situations, these seemingly inadvertent small details reflect the key to whether the two parties are compatible.

However, Lu Li and Evelyn only met for the first time, and they only spent 15 minutes together, so they didn't know each other at all, so Lu Li asked directly.

"Choose fried flounder as the main course. I haven't eaten it for a long time." Evelyn is also a straightforward type, without hiding anything, she said directly.

Lu Li nodded with a smile, "Okay then, I'll choose wild game as the main course."

Pan-fried halibut is the most classic dish on the riverside restaurant's varied menu. It has existed since the restaurant's opening, and it is currently the restaurant's most famous and oldest dish.Many people come here just for this dish.

As for the wild game, it has only entered the menu in the past two years, but it has become the trump card among the trump cards, choosing the best game of the season.This dish is not often available, and the frequency of appearing in the menu is not high, but every time it appears, it is bound to cause a frenzy.

With just one dish, Evelyn could tell Lu Li's taste, a smile flashed in her eyes, and after Lu Li finished ordering appetizers, appetizers and main courses, Evelyn chuckled lightly, " I thought you were just a tourist coming here."

Lu Li handed the menu to the waiter, "It's because I'm a tourist, so I have to make preparations in advance. It seems that at least my preparations didn't go wrong."

This modest and confident answer made Evelyn laugh, "So, did you bring the oil painting?"

Lu Li raised his eyebrows in surprise, "I thought it would be at least after dessert."

Evelyn shrugged nonchalantly, "After dessert, it will probably be midnight. I think we can take our time."

Lu Li had no objection. He picked up the long tube and handed it to Evelyn, "Our family has kept this painting for some years, and it came from my grandmother."

Evelyn opened the long lid, took out the oil painting inside, and carefully placed it on the table.Lu Li hurriedly helped her remove the stack of meals and the knife and fork from the table, leaving enough space.

After setting up the oil painting, Evelyn took out a small cylinder-style magnifying glass, and then carefully began to add a large amount.This reminded Lu Li of the situation when he inspected the paintings at Sotheby's auction house back then, except that Evelyn's movements were more concise.

Lu Li's mood also became inexplicably agitated. Following Evelyn's line of sight, he slowly moved over the oil painting. However, Evelyn did not inspect every inch, but looked for a few key points, carefully I really looked at it, and then nodded, "Yes, this is my grandfather's handwriting."

Lu Li couldn't help being a little surprised, "How did you make the judgment? This painting has slightly different colors and brushstrokes, so you can make a judgment just like that?" It's like authenticating a painting, where details win , the process is not that easy.

Although it is said that this painting is not the work of any famous artist, the identification work does not need to be so complicated; but Evelyn only inspected it for less than 3 minutes, so she came to a conclusion, isn't that too hasty?
Evelyn didn't panic at all, and moved the magnifying glass to the top of the building, pointing to the layers of windows, "Look carefully here. There is an abbreviation here."

Lu Li dubiously leaned over to take a look. Among the pile of lines, he could indeed see two clear letters, "HS".If you take the magnifying glass away, even if it is pasted on it, you will not be able to see it. You will only think that the two letters are part of the line.

This reminded Lu Li of one thing. Many artists who copy classic paintings, in order to leave their own marks, to distinguish fake works from real works, and of course the most important thing is to show off their great achievements. In a special corner, leave your own logo.

Initials, which are the most widely used signs.

"HS?" Lu Li raised his head and looked at Evelyn curiously.

"Hans Strelo." Evelyn said with a smile, "My grandfather's name is Hans Strelo. In the painting you saw this afternoon, the same place has the same sign."

"I thought they would leave a mark only after the painting was finished?" Lu Li continued to ask.

"Maybe he couldn't wait. Or, he realized that he was leaving and would never be able to finish that painting." Evelyn sighed softly, without saying anything, but the loss and sigh in her words were still looming.

Only then did Lu Li realize that the owner of the interspatial ring had been found, and it was Hans Strelo, and he was the one who drew the painting inside the ring.

After going around for a long time, he suddenly found the original owner. Instead, Lu Li lost his sense of reality, and there were still more answers in his mind that had not been answered.For example, why didn't Hans put all the paintings in the ring and take them with him?Is it because you are worried that your family will find out?So, does it have any special significance for those paintings he carried in the ring?What is the significance of this Chrysler Building?

More importantly, why was Hans' ring in the hands of Albert Cohen and finally left it to Yuan Qingzhu?
Faintly, Lu Li felt that he was opening a heavy history book, uncovering a certain unknown story in the history of World War II.This feeling is really amazing.

(End of this chapter)