world class art fanatic

Zhong Ying looked at him in astonishment, even Fan Chengyun, who was always calm, couldn't restrain himself from making a sound.

"Mr. Fries, are you sure?"

Fan Chengyun has traveled around the world for many years, and he is not familiar with the Mauthausen concentration camp in Austria, nor is he ignorant.

"Mr. Chu went to the United States. He boarded the cruise ship back to China from the United States. Why did he appear in Austria?"

It is not surprising that Mulan Pipa appeared in the Vienna auction house.

Musical instruments are always musical instruments. It is reasonable to appear in any corner of the world with the migration, emigration, and gift of the owner.

But Chu Shuming left China to find Mulan Pipa.

After getting back the pipa, the cruise ship he boarded with his wife and daughter has evidence and records, as well as archives and photos of the Chinese Mutual Aid Association.

And the route opened up during the Republic of China must not pass through Austria!

"I can't be sure."

Faced with the master's question, Fliss answered very frankly, "Everything I know about the master of the lute is just hearsay."

"I'm only 34 years old this year, do you think I can live from 1944 to the present?"

Zhong Ying didn't like Fliss' evasion of the important, "Then, who did you listen to?"

He eagerly walked off the stage, not caring about the eyes of the judges of the music association and the musicians of the two orchestras, holding the Mulan pipa, and asked: "How can he be sure that the person he saw is Chu Shuming? There is no way that the pipa was not in the hands of Mr. Chu at that time!"

Fliss has become a talkative Fliss, but it doesn't mean he knows everything.

He spread his hands, looked at the anxious Zhong Ying, and raised his voice, "My friend, do you think this is a suitable place to discuss this matter?"

Zhong Ying immediately realized that there were too many curious gazes from musicians, and it involved old things, which were really not suitable for discussion with fanfare.

He solemnly put the pipa in his hand back into the piano case.

"If Mr. Fries doesn't mind..."

"mind."

Fliss interrupted him with certainty, as if he knew what the persevering Zhong should say.

"I am Jewish. Although I have not experienced brutal massacres, I will always remember that hatred in my blood. When talking about the past, I don't want too many people to see my vulnerable side."

He pointed at Zhong Ying, with the same arrogant attitude as before, "If you want to hear my story, that's no problem. But I don't want to tell more people my story."

"You mean..." Fan Chengyun asked after pondering for a moment.

Fliss has the information they want to know, so he has absolute initiative.

He smiled proudly and said politely, "Master Fan, I want to have a private chat with your apprentice."

Zhong Ying was startled, and immediately lifted the qin case to keep the pipa away from the proud businessman, fearing that he would make trouble suddenly, and put the pipa back.

Seeing the young man's resistance, Fries was full of confusion.

Fan Chengyun knew it all.

He took the piano box, patted his apprentice on the shoulder and stepped back two steps to the side.

"Xiao Ying, you go."

Zhong Ying looked surprised, thinking that the master would reject it straight away.

"When dealing with people, remember to be gentle and introverted, and think about this pipa when you speak."

Master's exhortations came from the heart, with high expectations in his eyes.

Zhong Ying opened his mouth, wanting to argue, but recalled that he was not dignified and gentle, and was often taught by his master, so he silently swallowed the rebuttal.

"Well, Master, I don't dislike Mr. Fleece."

Although Fries is slanted in his words and deeds, he values ​​Pipa's sincerity, and Zhong Ying can fully feel it.

Fan Chengyun got the assurance, smiled and patted him on the shoulder, then lifted the piano case and looked at the arrogant Fries.

"It just so happens that I don't know pipa either, so let Xiao Ying chat with you alone."

After finishing speaking, he also warmly invited Li Jinqiu, "Mr. Li, we can talk about the commemorative song composed for the victims. Since two orchestras are going to play together, we have to discuss it together."

Li Jinqiu's idea of ​​following Zhong Ying to listen to the story was directly cut off by the master.

I can only watch Zhong Ying and Fliss leave with regret.

"I'm sorry for being rude to Mr. Fan." Fliss got into the car and said.

Zhong Ying couldn't feel the apology in his words, and said calmly: "We respect your decision. But I'm curious, is this matter worth being so mysterious?"

"Um……"

Ferris pondered for a moment, then replied with slightly raised eyebrows, "It's worth it."

His luxury car speeds along with Zhong Ying.

That luxurious modern villa once again invited Zhong Ying to visit, and Fliss led him leisurely through the corridor full of famous paintings and into the spacious and bright library.

There are many bookshelves in the library in Fries, and Zhong Ying can see countless books in English, German, French, and Chinese with a glance.

The square characters stand out especially in the cursive letters.

They looked less like a facade than like Fleiss would actually turn them over and peruse them.

Fliss turned on the computer in the library, and a familiar desktop appeared on the wide projection screen.

Before clicking on a video, Fliss looked at Zhong Ying seriously.

"If you hadn't played the pipa, I would never have taken out this video and played it for you."

His tone was solemn and his expression was serious, "You swear, after reading it, you are not allowed to mention it to anyone."

Zhong Ying looked at him blankly, "I won't."

"You swear." Fliss insisted.

Zhong Ying raised his hand helplessly, "I swear, if I mention it to the outside world, I will be struck by lightning."

"Including your master." Fliss reminded him, "You are not allowed to tell him about the image."

Zhong Ying sighed, feeling that Ferris was so childish, and added, "I won't tell my master."

Ferriss was satisfied.

He asked Zhong Ying to sit down and clicked on the video that he would watch repeatedly.

80s video recording equipment is not very high-quality.

The images they shoot have a more or less rough picture texture and slight noise.

Soon, Zhong Ying saw a kind old man in a wheelchair appearing on the narrow screen.

His hair was gray, his teeth were sparse, his skin was dry and black, and there seemed to be scars that couldn't be covered by wrinkles.

But his appearance does not affect his happiness.

Because, with a bright smile, he was holding a pipa.

It is a six-phase 24-fret modern pipa that can be seen everywhere.

The neck is made of red sandalwood, and the panel is carved with magnolia flowers. It is slightly similar in appearance to the magnolia pipa, but completely different.

But this old man is like playing a guitar, holding it obliquely, just like Zhong Ying holds a Nanyin pipa.

"Fliss, would you like to hear Grandpa play?"

He smiled and looked down at his feet, waiting for someone's answer.

The camera followed the trend and finally captured the cute baby at the old man's feet.

The child may not be a full year old, lying on all fours on the soft flannel carpet, with a ridiculous pacifier in his mouth, pulling his short and fat arms, and making a babbling sound with his head raised.

Zhong Ying finally knew why Fries was so secretive, because this child was fat and cute, and he couldn't tell it was the hateful Fries himself.

"Oh, you want to hear it."

The old man smiled and saw the baby waving his arms, bent down and reached out to shake his little fist.

"That's very nice, Ferris."

When the words fell, he leaned on his wheelchair, plucked the silk strings in the way of playing Nanyin Pipa, and sang a song with a unique accent.

The whole library reverberates with age-old songs.

The old man's voice was hoarse and deep, and he couldn't restrain his intermittent heavy breathing when he sang, as if singing was also very reluctant for him.

But he likes it.

The old man plucked the strings casually like a guitar, indulged in his playing and singing, and looked kindly at the little Fries at his feet.

The singing in Zhong Ying's ears didn't have any beautiful melody, and even the sound of the pipa was just the accompaniment of the old man's random plucking and playing.

Only the lyrics sung in an unfamiliar language made Zhong Ying clearly feel his piety.

It seemed that when he sang this song, he could call on Chaoyang and give him the strength to live.

This song is not long, it should be said that this video is not long.

After the old man sang, he looked at the camera with a smile, "Fliss understood, he said I sang very well."

"Yes, Dad." The soft female voice outside the camera stopped abruptly.

The end of the video proves that it is just an ordinary home video, except for the old man holding the pipa, there is nothing special about it.

However, Fliss sighed softly and said, "The old man you saw was my grandfather Medwitz."

"Everything I know, everything about Mulan Pipa, he told me during his lifetime."

Medwitz was only in his sixties when the video was recorded.

However, he was tossed in the isolation area and suffered three years of inhuman torture in the Mauthausen concentration camp, which made him decades old, and he did not have the spiritual temperament of 60 years old at all.

“His eyes were damaged, his vision was blurry, and he was able to pick out the most popular jewelry styles, work out the most popular business models, and build the jewelry group that I inherited.”

Fliss' emotion was accompanied by his gratitude.

He looked at Zhong Ying seriously, and said seriously, "Do you know why he likes to use your Chinese pipa to sing about our Jewish faith?"

Zhong Ying looked at him silently, and could see the reddened eyes of Ferris and the sadness that could not be dispelled in the memory.

"Because he said he was very lucky, lucky to get help, and lucky to meet the owner of the pipa."

Every time Ferris thought of this, he couldn't control his tears, "The master of the lute is the Messiah who made him live."

The Jewish faith has thirteen principles.

Zhong Ying couldn't understand the Hebrew that Medwitz played and sang, so Fries slowly translated it for him.

——The Messiah, the savior, will come.

——We always look forward to never slack off.

—The dead will rise again with me.

Pure faith, with Medwitz's lute, becomes a song.

He always sang the song of faith, mourning the savior who died in the concentration camp.

"I don't know the name of the owner of the pipa, and neither does my grandfather."

"My grandfather said that his name sounds like Schosummy, who once wrote his Chinese name stroke by stroke in the white snow."

"Unfortunately, grandfather can't remember clearly."

That seemed to be Medwitz's eternal regret.

He told Ferriss that it was a beautiful and correct name, in the most beautiful square characters.

Just like that gentleman, standing upright and unyielding until death.

Fries played another video, masking the low sobs in his voice.

"I always thought that it was my grandfather who didn't know how to play the pipa, so he played it like a guitar."

Fliss smiled and looked at his happy grandfather, "Now I find that I am the one who doesn't understand the pipa."

Zhong Ying listened quietly, and suddenly understood Fries' mood.

He truly loves his grandfather, and still remembers many words his grandfather said.

Listening to the respected elders since I was a child, telling the hope that the strange Chinese brought to my grandfather, and gave the young Fries the best fantasy.

The Messiah is a hero and should have statues, flowers, applause, and good people will go to heaven if they are rewarded.

But when he heard the beautiful story and actually saw the pipa related to the story, he was only angry.

He even wanted to lift the seller's collar and question loudly: Why did you sell the hero's musical instrument!

Zhong Ying can easily get caught up in his narration.

Fliss, who harbors beautiful fantasies, is just like Zhong Ying once, listening to his grandfather and master tell the story of Yiyin Yashe.

Those musical instruments have the indelible brilliance of time, like vessels for living gods, they should not be ruthlessly abandoned.

He looked up at Fries, the businessman was still angry that the pipa appeared in the auction house.

He asked, "How can you be sure that the Tang Dynasty pipa is the pipa your grandfather spoke of?"

"I went to investigate the seller."

As a shareholder of the auction house, Fliss can easily do this kind of thing, "They are very similar. The pipa is very similar, and so is the lady."

The current owner of Pipa has a surname similar to Schosummy, and has black hair and black eyes similar to Schosummy.

But she was born in Austria and is a complete Austrian. She speaks fluent Chinese, but she can no longer communicate normally, let alone tell the expectations carried by this pipa like Zhong Ying.

"I went to meet her. But I think that even if you go to see her, you won't get more information than me."

Fries said frankly, "So, I offered 1000 million euros. I want to use this to find another lute."

This may be the most shocking news for Zhong Ying.

"Do you know where the other Mulan Pipa is?"

Ferris smiled smugly with his handsome brows, "Thanks to the 1000 million euros and the reporters, I do know. However, the other Mulan Pipa is not an instrument that can be taken away by the auction house with a random bid. Its owner , it’s hard to describe.”

"He is an Austrian. He definitely doesn't know the musicians of your Republic of China Music Society, and he doesn't care about concentration camps and the Holocaust."

He chatted about the current owner of the pistil lute, full of playfulness and Jewish indifference.

"Anyway, he is not at all like the Zheng Wanqing you mentioned, and certainly not like Mr. Chu whom my grandfather admired, but he is the younger brother of the lady who sells stamen pipas."

Chu Shuming saved his grandfather and is a hero admired by Fries.

Zheng Wanqing throws a cup and presents a poem, which makes Ferris lament who says women are inferior to men.

In his heart, the owner of the stamen pipa is indomitable, and the owner of the pistil pipa is a woman.

However, the current masters he saw with his own eyes were neither heroines nor mighty, which simply shattered Fliss' fairy tale fantasy since he was a child.

It also shattered the Mulan myth that his grandfather told him that a long, long time ago, a woman disguised herself as a woman and joined the army instead of her father.

Zhong Ying thought silently, only feeling that the world is impermanent.

Chu Shuming and Zheng Wanqing were indeed admirable couples during the Republic of China.

But their descendants, judging from Fries' description, are money-worshiping and vain, and they don't identify themselves as Chinese, but only as Austrians.

He hesitated for a moment and said: "Although there is an old saying in China that a tiger father has no dogs, it is common for the offspring to be inferior to the heroes of the past. The current owner of the stamen pipa... is she okay?"

"Not very good." Freest replied honestly, "If she had nothing to do, I'm afraid she wouldn't hand over the pipa to the auction house. But I don't think the 1000 million euros will go to her so smoothly."

"What did you do?" Zhong Ying asked in surprise.

Fliss smiled and stood up, spreading his hands to express his innocence, "I didn't do anything except 1000 million euros. It was her own brother who thought there was a problem with the ownership of the inheritance, and he was also involved in the 1000 million euros, so he is going through judicial procedures . Otherwise, how would I know that the other pipa is in his hand?"

Zhong Ying was surprised and shocked when he heard the words, "There is a problem with the ownership of the inheritance, will the stamen pipa be taken back?"

"Don't worry. If these two descendants of Mr. Chu don't finish the lawsuit, the pipa will not belong to me, nor to them."

Fliss smiled slyly, "It is temporarily stored in the auction house, a fair and reliable third-party organization, so you can use it as much as you want, because the auction house has prepared a contract and invited excellent performers to display the lot. You can play it for as long as you want."

A real businessman is always cunning.

Zhong Ying even felt that Fries didn't want to give them a penny, nor did he want to keep Mr. Chu's pipa in their hands, so he deliberately used money to sow relations.

Brothers fighting against the wall has been tragic since ancient times.

It doesn't take the businessman to elaborate on the conflicts between the siblings, he can imagine how 1000 million euros can make a person bruised.

"Mr. Fliss, is this why you bid 1000 million euros?" Zhong Ying looked at him with a frown and couldn't help asking out his guess.

Fries laughed, leaning on the sofa casually, not hiding his tricks at all.

"Yes. Money is always the touchstone of human nature. If they are good people, I don't mind repaying them sincerely. Now it seems that even if they are related to Mr. Chu and Ms. Zheng by blood, they are not worthy of being two people from the inside out. The offspring of the couple will only tarnish their reputation."

The lute worth 1000 million euros is well known in Austria.

The battle between the two siblings for money, regardless of affection, has not yet been staged.

Kevelis was looking forward to it.

He glanced at Zhong Ying and saw the solemn expression of the young man.

"Do you think the Jews are indifferent?"

Zhong Ying looked at him quietly, "Should I think you are indifferent?"

With his hands on his cheeks, Ferris helped him analyze innocently: "As the descendants of my grandfather's benefactor, I didn't give them money in return, I didn't help them tide over the difficulties, and I even set up conspiracy and tricks to make their siblings tear themselves apart. Shameless, he should be the villain among the villains."

He was right.

Knowing that he does not intend to repay kindness, but repays kindness with grievances, and provokes conflicts between benefactors and offspring, he is simply a villain.

However, Zhong Ying felt regretful and melancholy when he thought that 1000 million euros would cause his siblings to fall apart.

"What you did is not insidious."

His voice was low, mourning for the sacrificed Mr. Chu, and sighing for the failure of Mr. Chu's descendants.

"Because what Mr. Chu did for your grandfather was not for repayment. 'Being kind to others is not true kindness; doing evil to fear others' knowledge is great evil'. He is a great kind person, and you are a hypocritical evil person."

Zhong Ying raised his eyes to look at him, his gaze was clear and clear, "You want to see clearly what kind of people Mr.'s descendants are, and what kind of person I am. It has nothing to do with Mr. Chu."

"So, can you tell me where is the pistil lute?"

Fliss had never seen such a sober man.

He set up tricks every step of the way, hoping to hear Zhong Ying accuse him or obey him, but he only got straightforward questions.

He suddenly realized that what the person in front of him wanted was a pipa, not a blood inheritor.

Whether Mr. Chu's descendants are good or evil has nothing to do with Zhong Ying's persistence.

Zhong Ying's sobriety amazed Fliss, and he suddenly felt as if he had lost again.

"I won't tell you where Pipa is."

He frowned and directly rejected Zhong Ying's request.

Ferris stretched out his arms, and said something meaningful, "Sooner or later they will take out the pistil lute and sell it. Just wait for my good news at that time."

With that said, he stood up and walked along the spacious library to the nearest bookshelf.

The series of books above are neatly arranged, and the beautiful printed letters show the beauty of patchwork.

There is a long row of side covers with black letters on a white background, which are placed in the most suitable and conspicuous position, with the title of the book written in German.

Fliss raised his hand and took out a book. It was a thin layer, but it condensed the last moments of a person's life.

"But I want to give it to you, my friend."

Zhong Ying took it, and the book in his hand had a white cover and black German.

It's called "Remembrance," and the author's name is Medwitz.

"Is this your grandfather's work?" Zhong Ying asked.

Fliss looked at it with nostalgia, "Yes, as you can see. It is the autobiography written by my grandfather, and he wrote all his experiences and thoughts in the concentration camp for three years, but unfortunately, you can only read it in my library. see it."

"Grandpa created it to record the story of Mr. Chu, and I hope more people will mourn him together. Mourning a great Chinese who has not been recorded."

"However, did you know that before the book was published, it was told by the publisher: Continental Europe does not need a Chinese Messiah."

The Jews returned to a peaceful life.

Publishers and filmmakers around the world are looking to these suffering nations to tell more great stories about misery and conscience.

Fliss looked at the white autobiography and found it ridiculous and ironic.

"They want the conscience of the Germans, they want the misery of the Jews, the Germans who kill the Jews and the Germans who save the Jews, and second best, the Spaniards, the French, the Americans, or the stateless, but , don’t want great Chinese people.”

An autobiography, met with rejection.

When Medwitz became a wealthy businessman and was able to publish "Remembrance" by himself, he encountered even tougher treatment.

Books have to be taken off the shelves and the chamber of commerce talks to him.

Even the cooperating official agencies will send prominent officials to advise him: Medwitz, why don't you write about an American with black hair and black eyes?

A Chinese with no official records, who is most likely Asian American!

Fliss talked about the old things with a smile, "Later, my grandfather collected them and told me with regret—"

"The Mauthausen Concentration Camp was liberated in Austria, but it is a pity that the racial discrimination wall still stands in people's eyes, language, and soul."

He stared at Zhong Ying and said seriously: "You are very lucky to meet the Messiah who saved your grandfather. If you can read this book carefully, you will definitely gain something."

"I am also very lucky."

Fliss raised his hand and tapped the side seal with black letters on a white background, and said reminiscently:

"At least, when I dream tonight, I will tell my grandfather: 'Yes, I can tell you with certainty that the gentleman you know is called Chu Shuming'."

Fliss, who can have a good conversation and chat, is obviously a good friend.

Zhong Ying held that book until he went back to the hotel, feeling his hands were heavy, bearing the weight of decades of memories.

Fan Chengyun hasn't come back yet, maybe he's still discussing with the two orchestras about commemorative concerts.

Zhong Ying walked to the hotel table and finally opened the modest autobiography.

The white title page clearly prints the author's message——

"I'm here to tell and commemorate a Chinese who might be called 'Schosummy'."

"He is the Messiah I will remember forever."