777米奇影

They began rubbing their hands together in anticipation of what was to come.

The chicken cup was undoubtedly the grand prize of the auction.

Emperor Chenghua had personally inscribed and designed the treasure for Imperial Concubine Wan, after all.

It was no ordinary relic.

“Yes, let us proceed to the doucai chicken cup!”

“Miss Qin, how much is this thing worth in current market conditions?”

Everyone was curious about its price.

But they also knew that it was basically a national treasure.

As such, its price was likely not be lower than 200 million.

“Hehe, this kind of item is worth a lot of money. As you all know, it was designed by the Chenghua Emperor himself. There are only about 20 of them in the market! ”

Qin Rubing continued, “I’m sure that most of you have done your research before arriving, and I’m sure that you’ve seen the previous auction records, right? If memory serves, the last time a variant of this item was sold was around 2014, and I remember seeing you back then!” Qin Rubing gave a nod towards Pan Xiaogang.

“Yes, that’s right!” Pan Xiaogang nodded. “That auction was hosted by a few shopkeepers from the Pan Household. In the end, it had managed to sell for 291 million yuan!”

Qin Rubing added, “But that was the price in 2014. It’s been 8 years since then. Although its price hasn’t gone much since then, it will definitely not be worth lower than 300 million!”

Qin Rubing and Pan Xiaogang both owned antique shops.

As such, both of them were well aware of how much the artifact was truly worth.

However, Pan Xiaogang was an old fox, and he was wary enough to not make the starting bid.

If he were to set the opening bid too highly, he worried that he would offend the tycoons as well as the representatives from the museums.

And if he went too low, it would offend Luo Feng.

Therefore, it was not that he was unable to appraise the relic’s value, but rather, Qin Rubing had an amiable relationship with Luo Feng, which meant that she was best equipped to deal with Luo Feng.

In the world of antiques, chicken cups were as popular and well-known as blue-and-white porcelainware, and many wanted a cup of their own.

“Damn! At least 300 million?”

“Holy cow! Is this even more valuable than the eunuch seal?”

“Isn’t this price a little too exaggerated? I think it’s just a bowl at the end of the day.”

“What do you mean, exaggerated? There are only around 20 of these in the world. Each of them is a priceless! artifact!”

“This might sound a little far-fetched, but how much would it cost to purchase the entire set?”

“If it’s the entire set, it’s probably a sky-high price, perhaps around 10 billion!”

“Yes, if you were to compare the cups in a set, you’ll notice that each rooster is designed slightly differently! Some surmise that the roosters represent the 24 hours of the day!”

“You want them all in a set? These items were very famous since back in the Ming dynasty. There’s no way that a single person would be able to collect them all, what with all the snatching and counter-snatching taking place. We should count our blessings that there are even 20 of them left!”

“Yeah, these cups were made back when Concubine Wan was 24 years old, and hence, a total of 24 bowls were made. However, there are only 20 bowls left in this world!”

Qin Rubing took a deep breath and declared, “I think the starting price should be set at 300 million. What do you all think?”

Before anyone could even concur to the opening bid, someone had already made their first move.

“350 million!”

The person was a tycoon whom Wang Yousheng had called over.

The moment the offer was made, all hell broke loose.

“360 million!”

“361 million!”

“365 million!”

From the tone and dignity that suffused the ensuing bids, everyone could instantly tell that the latest bids were made by those from the state-owned museums.

Moreover, it had to be places like Guangdi and Shanghai which were swimming in cash.

Their status was enough to give pause to even the richest of private institution owners.

“Hehe, I, Pan Xiaogang, will bid 380 million! ”

Pan Xiaogang had already discussed the matter with his family beforehand.

It was an item that he must absolutely obtain to be made the Pan Household’s crown jewel!

“400 million!”

“The Shanghai Museum will have it for ourselves!”

Sun Daozhen from the Shanghai Museum spoke again.

Everyone cast him a look of disdain.

You b*stard.

Shanghai might be a rich county, but there’s no need to be this arrogant, okay?

After all, as long as a county prospered, then whether it was the museum, the Forest Bureau, the Industry and Commerce Bureau, or any other state-owned institution, they would all be rolling in cash.

The same applied to their workers as well.

The average salaryman in Shanghai could earn about 20 thousand yuan a month.

In contrast, the civil servants in a small county could only make a couple thousand at most.

...

“F * ck!”

“Why does this Shanghai museum want everything?”

“They’re really f * cking rich!”

“Look, those tycoons’ faces have turned green!”

“Back when they first arrived, I thought that they were awesome since they flew in helicopters, but compared to the official museum, they are like ants to a giant!”

“In the end, no one can match the wealth and might of the government!”

Seeing that the Shanghai Museum had added so much in one go, many private institutions were out of options.

They had given up.

“450 million! The Zhu Dafu Jewelry Store makes a bid!”

Suddenly.

A middle-aged man with a pot belly descended with a group of people from a helicopter.

...

The air of nobility he exuded was oppressive.

The billionaire Zheng Bolin had arrived.

“Little Luo, we meet again. You’ve really impressed me since we last met!”

Zheng Bolin went forward to greet Luo Feng politely.

Obviously, he was much more respectful towards Luo Feng this time.

After all, back when they had first met, Luo Feng was merely a lucky fool who had managed to get his hands on natural gold.