777米奇影

“880 million!” Long Jianfei raised his bid card high. With a generous budget, he was determined to acquire the jade seal. His museum had already secured the previous seal, and thus, it was fitting to acquire the second one as well.

“Hehe, old man, I wonder how you’re going to compete against me when the imperial robe is unveiled if you’re already going out at the start?” Sun Daozhen of the Shanghai Museum clenched his teeth and decided to back off.

“Deal! 880 million!” The jade seal had fetched an astonishing 1.7 billion yuan more than the previous one, leaving Luo Feng quite surprised.

!!

“Why are only the officials bidding for the tiger-head token and the jade seal? Does no one else want them?” asked a beautiful 18-year-old actress sitting in the back row, puzzled. She reasoned that although 800 million yuan was a lot of money, many billionaires could still afford it.

“Private individuals wouldn’t dare to bid price for such items; this is the playing field of the state-owned institutions!”

“Why is that?”

“Because they’re afraid the items will leak out!”

Upon hearing this, the adorable young actress finally nodded in understanding.

Zheng Bailin, holding his bidding card, glanced at the numerous billionaires around him, who had all sent their minions to the auction. He suggested, “Regarding the 3 calligraphy pieces and paintings laters, let’s each take one, so that everyone gets a share! What do you all think?”

“What if others try to outbid us? The officials also have a lot of money!”

Zheng Bailin laughed, “If ordinary billionaires try to outbid us, we can respond correspondingly. As for the officials? Hehe, they are here for the Yongle Encyclopedia and the imperial robe! They won’t compete nor, would they have the budget for the other items!”

“Are you so sure? The imperial robe hasn’t even been confirmed yet. What if it’s not what we think it is?”

“Why worry about that? The main point is that the three of us should not undercut each other to avoid wasting more money!” The 3 billionaires beside Zheng Bailin had all just entered the hundred-billion league. One of them sold jewelry, another was in real estate, and the third was in logistics. The logistics tycoon even had a milk tea girl by his side.

In truth, most museums operated on insufficient budgets, and the appearance of so many treasures resulted in them having to request for sponsorships or loans. The imperial robe and the Yongle Encyclopedia were undoubtedly prioritized, followed by the jade seal and tiger-head token. Since the jade seal and tiger-head token had already been auctioned off, their primary targets were now the imperial robe and the Yongle Encyclopedia volumes. This meant that the calligraphy pieces and paintings were easy pickings.

Some museums were interested in the paintings, but they would inevitably have to compete with private billionaires and might not be able to outbid them.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look! This item, named by the Cultural Relics Bureau as the Ming dynasty Golden-Lidded Jade Bowl, is made of gold and jade, both precious materials with high economic value. The jade bowl was exclusively used by the emperor, making its historical and cultural value even more significant.”

“The jade bowl is slightly blueish-white, thin as paper, round, with a wide mouth and a ring foot. The gold cover fits seamlessly with the jade bowl and is adorned with a blooming lotus flower on top, with a ruby at its center. The gold tray is round, with a bowl-shaped base in the center, decorated with auspicious cloud patterns. The bottom of the tray is also engraved with dragon patterns, while the rim is adorned with auspicious cloud motifs.”

“A similar artifact was auctioned in 2019 for 56.39 million yuan. However, that was a Qing dynasty piece, and it cannot be compared with a Ming dynasty artifact.”

“My suggested starting bid is 80 million yuan!”

“Our Jiangnan Museum bids 85 million!” Without any hesitation, Lin Yide raised his bidding card. He knew that the competition for the imperial robe and the Yongle Encyclopedia would be fierce. The museum had planned to secure the jade bowl and then aim for two volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia. After all, a single museum could not possibly acquire the entire Yongle Encyclopedia.

The imperial robe was a unique item, with the majority of the competition likely to be between the Forbidden City and the Shanghai museums. The Guangdi Museum also stood a chance, but the Jiangnan Museum and other museums would most likely only play supporting roles in the race for the imperial robe. Therefore, Lin Yide of the Jiangnan Museum was determined to acquire the jade bowl.

“88 million!” Evidently, the Guangdi Museum had a lot of money, but they were not confident about intervening in the battle between the Forbidden City and the Shanghai museums either. Like Lin Yide, they intended to secure the jade bowl. Several museum representatives participated in the bid for the bowl. Many minor billionaires could only sigh in admiration as the price approached 100 million yuan. The female actress in the back row exchanged glances with others, finding the price quite exorbitant. Wasn’t it just a jade bowl?

They thought the agate price was reasonable, but the items here seemed strangely expensive.

“I bid 100 million!” At this moment, a middle-aged woman with a Taiwanese accent joined the fray. Her bid attracted many gazes.

She was from Taiwan? “I represent the Taiwan Palace Museum! We desperately need such an item!” The middle-aged woman noticed the sharp yet restrained looks from the crowd.

She understood that in the current situation, the mainland’s attitude towards them was sharp yet restrained.

“I bid 110 million!” Just when the woman believed that she had secured the item after 8 or so seconds without any counter-bids, an elderly billionaire spoke calmly.

The Taiwanese woman looked towards the source of the voice and saw Long Jianfei, the director of the Forbidden City Museum. His casual tone seemed to imply that any museum with the title “Palace” other than the Forbidden City’s Palace Museum was inferior.