The Versatile Master Artist

Mrs. Sakai lifted her eyelids and teased with a smile.

Thinking back, if there had been a Grand Gallery offering such generous terms when Sakai Ichiro went to college, he probably wouldn’t have refused.

Back then, the US Dollar was worth more.

But it also shows that this young man’s ambition is quite big.

"I know only at the top of the art pyramid can a piece be sold for this transaction amount." Gu Weijing nodded.

"Wrong, the art industry isn’t a pyramid, it’s a wide-topped peak, where the success of top artists contrasts with the struggle of those at the bottom."

"You can see KAWS and Damien Hirst earning hundreds of millions a year, but you also need to see countless others who can’t earn even a few thousand dollars."

Mrs. Sakai felt she should tell this young man about the harshness of the industry.

"I’ve heard rumors that last year, among the 193 signed painters at Ma Shi Gallery, more than a dozen had zero sales last year." She directed this comment at Hanks.

"NO, the rumors outside are unreliable, and some signed artists are doing avant-garde art, their creations are relatively slow..."

Hanks spoke without much confidence.

Since Ma Shi Gallery declined, it only publicly shares the sales figures for top painters, while the rest... um, is considered a trade secret.

"How many people had total sales exceeding one hundred thousand dollars?"

"39."

Hanks hesitated for a moment and stammered to say, this number is less than some second-tier galleries.

"But we have seven painters who exceeded one million dollars, including one who reached nine hundred forty thousand dollars..." He immediately tried to add some respectable numbers.

"Alright, I just wanted to share some simple numbers with Xiaogu." Mrs. Sakai waved her hand, cutting off the agent’s advertisement.

"Whether it’s Ma Shi Gallery, Lisson Gallery, or even Gagosian, they’ve signed some relatively ’not so successful’ artists."

Mrs. Sakai said softly.

"In this world, there are less than a thousand artists who can sell works for more than one hundred thousand dollars a year, fewer than three hundred who can sell for fifty thousand dollars, only a few dozen who can sell works for one million dollars, and those whose annual sales exceed five million dollars can rank among the top wealthy artists globally."

"In fifteen years, do you really believe, you can become one of the top thousand of the world’s art pinnacle?"

She looked directly into Gu Weijing’s eyes.

Gu Tongxiang opened his mouth, wanting to say something, hesitated for a moment, and closed his mouth.

Only a thousand people can earn one hundred thousand dollars?

When Gu Weijing heard this number, he suddenly felt a bit dazed.

It wasn’t that he thought the number was too small, but rather he suddenly realized that he seemed to be already one of those thousand people.

Including this year’s long-term publishing royalties, Scholastic Group’s offer for the "Little Prince" project already exceeded one hundred thousand dollars.

Although serious art has incredibly high ceilings and incredibly low floors.

In the middle and lower fields, illustrators, game artists, and graphic designers earn more than pure painters, making money more easily.

Even though a project like "Little Prince" is almost the pinnacle of illustration contracts, without the powerful Mr. Tree Sloth, no matter how well he paints, he definitely wouldn’t have gotten such a high-quality deal.

Despite so many contingencies,

He has indeed already earned one hundred thousand dollars, achieving something many painters could never reach in a lifetime.

In the next fifteen years,

In serious art, Gu Weijing saw no reason to believe that this sales figure was beyond his reach.

"Uncle Sakai is willing to recommend me to Ma Shi Gallery because he believes in my potential; Ma Shi Gallery is willing to offer this money because they also believe in my potential, thinking the royalties will bring more benefits than just several thousand dollars of stipend."

Gu Weijing softly said: "They all believe in me, why shouldn’t I believe in myself?"

"Mr. Gu, I believe in you too."

Koizumi Katsuko suddenly patted Gu Weijing’s shoulder.

Saying this kind of thing in front of outsiders and both families made Koizumi Katsuko blush since she’s quite shy, but she still felt she should say something.

"Alright, don’t worry, if you can’t earn money, I’ll support you." She touched Gu Weijing’s hair.

Damn,

Discussing contracts and showing off love at the same time!

Hanks almost spat out blood from envy while listening.

"This young lady is amazing, for Weijing to date someone like her is worthy of burning incense in front of the ancestors’ tablets after returning to his room." Gu Tongxiang happily leaned back in his seat, looking at Koizumi Katsuko with a pleased expression.

So benevolent, it was as if he was about to melt.

The old man felt that there was no need for him to speak anymore.

Forty thousand dollars is certainly good, he was a bit reluctant, but since Miss Sakai already spoke up, even if their family was about to starve tomorrow, they couldn’t wantonly be ridiculed by the other family.

"Gu Weijing! The family has a lot of expenses lately, you kids don’t know the hardships of earning money, forty thou—"

The aunt disagreed.

She held it in for a long time and finally jumped out.

The aunt felt this was foolish, always thinking naively while young, in such a chaotic place like Myanmar, promises are nonsense, only what’s in hand is truly one’s own.

They said it, globally so many people can’t earn this money, not even one thousand.

Everyone has two arms and one head, what makes her nephew special!

Empty promises of royalties, how reliable is getting steady money paid annually!

"I think since they’re here to sign Xiaogu, we should listen more to his own thoughts. If the young girl Gu Lin is interested, I can introduce her to a gallery, and if at that time they’re willing to sign, you can hear out her opinion." Mrs. Sakai just glanced at the aunt and stifled her words.

If it were someone else,

The aunt might have thrown a fit.

Ever since Mrs. Sakai came, despite being of the same age, so beautiful and graceful.

Middle-aged women only like to compare a few things.

Comparing husbands, appearances, jewelry, sons, and daughters.

The aunt was defeated by her completely, there was a kind of bloodline suppression.

"Gu Weijing is my nephew, I’m his own aunt, studying abroad is expensive, and currency exchange in Yangon is inconvenient, with this money..." She tried to say something awkwardly.

"Yes, then I believe you really care about Xiaogu. Xiaogu is an excellent young man, children with ideas should be supported by us as elders. Well, don’t worry about the money, I can help Xiaogu set up an overseas account." Mrs. Sakai said.

"Gu Weijing isn’t even an adult yet?"

"Citibank Private Bank’s overseas accounts don’t require one to be eighteen, there’s no need to go through Myanmar, it will be convenient for him to spend in the future. Since you care for him, you shouldn’t have any reason to oppose, right?"

Mrs. Sakai had seen many artists, after becoming successful, encountering various family disputes.

Uncle Sakai, after becoming successful, also had many relatives coming to seek support.

She knows that these things need to be clarified from the beginning, and the money should be in her own hands.

The aunt’s face turned green and white.

In a few brief exchanges, a large sum of money spun past her eyes, and then vanished. She was still unsatisfied and wanted to say something but was dragged away by an uncle who couldn’t bear it anymore.

Mrs. Sakai ignored it all,

She appreciated Gu Weijing’s previous answer, thought for a moment, made two numerical revisions on the contract papers, and pushed them back to Hanks.

"Let’s sign it like this." She commanded without room for doubt.