Finally slowly straightened out the whole outline, haha, changed twice and straightened out, my festival is really overflowing. Pen "Fun" Pavilion www.biquge.info

Time passed in a hurry as always, summer went to autumn, autumn went to winter solstice, and in a blink of an eye it was the last season of the year. For the ordinary residents of W City, the past is just a quiet year, and if there is a change, it is that the housing prices have risen a little.

In the west side of W City, there is an ordinary hotel by the standards of W City. At this time, in the large conference room on the second floor of the hotel, the door was closed, the windows were all closed, and several security guards stood outside the door to ensure that no idlers were approaching. Because an auction is going on.

This is a closed auction organized by the W City Connoisseur Association. With the exception of members of the W City Connoisseur Association, only special guests are allowed to attend.

As people know, the W City Connoisseurship Association is an influential organization, or rather, a group of wealthy people, within the city of W. However, this group is not involved in business, it really only does one thing, and that is the collection and appreciation of all kinds of rare treasures. And rare treasures, as everyone understands, are actually just another word for "antiques".

The entire auction was attended by antique collectors, or at least those who thought they were. In modern society, the collection of several antiques can greatly show their own taste and make people look at it. Although, to be honest, almost all of the people who can collect antiques now are nouveau riche. But it can't be helped, it's popular now.

"The following one is a Tang Dynasty Rui beast flower and bird painted vase, this is a typical Tang Dynasty three-color glazed pottery, the time should be the middle Tang Dynasty ......" The auctioneer explained in detail on it.

In an inconspicuous corner of the hall, two young men sat there, quietly awaiting the results of the auction. Almost all of the attendees were middle-aged uncles, and there were only a handful of young people (and it was easy to see that they were brought by the elders), so if these two young people were not sitting in the corner, they would probably be quite noticeable.

Of course, only maybe, because after all, people's attention is almost always focused on the auction items displayed on the stage.

Two young men sat together, and there was nothing unusual about their appearance, one of them was slightly fat, and had a habitual smile on his face that peculiar to a trader, but nothing more, and was of the type that would not be found at all if thrown into the crowd. The fatter one looked more relaxed, while the other looked a little nervous.

"Don't worry, Lu Wu, it's definitely no problem. The fatter one seemed to notice his companion's emotions and spoke comfortingly. But to be honest, he was only superficially relieved, as his hands were equally tightly gripping the armrests of his chair.

After this time, they had developed a certain understanding of antiques, especially ceramics. There are three main points of antique porcelain, one is the degree of intactness, one is the rarity (usually the older the rarity), and the last is the artistic value. These three aspects determine the price of antique porcelain. Just like the ceramics fired in ancient official kilns are far more valuable than private kilns, the most critical factor is that official kilns are rarer and the production level is more exquisite.

"Don't worry, remember that jar?" Ren said.

Ren Jian was referring to the first piece of porcelain they took out and sold—it was a jar fired in a private kiln, and the color was not outstanding, so the price was not very high. But even if it is not very high, it is also said within the scope of antiques of the Tang Dynasty. One of the most inconspicuous of all porcelain, it has little merit other than its intact. But just such a jar was auctioned for 120,000 yuan.

For antique collectors, this is not an outrageous price. The porcelain of the Sui and Tang dynasties, if intact, would have been a relatively rare item, and the price was actually on the low side.

The auctioneer introduced the antique in a very provocative tone, and the bidding began immediately.

This vase is a carefully selected high-end product, both in appearance and shape, far above the jar, even among the thousands of pieces of porcelain. As expected, everyone enthusiastically quoted, and the price rose rapidly.

"500,000 yuan, this gentleman has already quoted 500,000 yuan! Does anyone offer a higher price? Ah, this gentleman has quoted 550,000 yuan, and the current highest price is ......."

A figure walked over and took a seat next to Ren Fitness. It was an old man in his sixties and seventies, with gray hair, but he looked very energetic.

"Young man, this is a good thing, it's really a bit of a loss to auction here. The old man said with a smile.

This old man is the honorary president of the W City Appreciation Association, and his surname is Song Mingquan. Although he is said to be the honorary president, he is actually a powerful figure within the association. In recent years, various associations have found one or several "honorary presidents" when setting up "presidents". For example, the president of this appreciation association may only be a rich nouveau riche, but this "honorary president" has to be really talented. Otherwise, relying on money alone, you don't have the ability, and you can't support such an association.

For example, this Song Quan can be called a well-known archaeologist in China. In the antique industry, it is a well-known figure. Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, at the level of this person, it would not be a problem at all to be the leader of a pawnshop in a big city.

Of course, it was normal for Lu Wu to recognize this, because just yesterday, Ren Jian dragged him to meet with Chairman Song. The two of them were able to appear here entirely because of President Song.

Moreover, this President Song definitely has real materials. Ren Jian had appraised several pieces of porcelain to him before, and the valuation was very accurate.

"Ahh......h Because I'm short of money, I can't ......" Lu Wu didn't know how to answer, so he could only say so.

"If this thing is auctioned in Beijing or Hong Kong, it can be sold for at least three million, four or five million. But here in W City, I'm afraid it can only sell for more than two million. Song Quan said.

"......" two people said they had nothing to say.

"That's pretty much it. Song Quan said. As he spoke, his eyes were on the porcelain on the stage.

"That, Chairman Song. Ren Jian and Lu Wu exchanged glances. “…… My porcelain, that?"

"From an industry perspective, it's a good thing. To tell the truth, this item, if it is a small antique shop, is enough to be used as a treasure in the town store. Song Quan said.

As he spoke, the price had risen to 1.5 million. After all, it is an appreciation association, even if it is mixed with a large number of nouveau riche who don't actually understand anything, but there will be some discerning people in it. Several members of the association are aware that this is a rather valuable collection, and most importantly, the current price is not high, which is a rare opportunity to "pick up the slack".

Now, there are only three people left who are still bidding. The three of them are all senior members of the Connoisseurship Association, which means that they are all wealthy people in W City. The three of them competed to bid for the price, and soon raised the price to two million.

"After the auction is over, can you keep it for a while?" asked Song Quan. "I have something private to talk about. ”

The two men looked at each other, and it was obviously impossible to refuse the other's request in this situation.

Song Quan got up and left, while the auction in front of him was still continuing, and the bidding had entered the final stage at this time, and everyone seemed a little obvious when they increased the price. In the end, a senior member of the Connoisseurship Society won and bought the vase for two million six hundred and twenty thousand.

The next auction item came to the stage, this time it was an ancient painting from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties, and the price was relatively low, which was suitable for members who did not have a very large wallet but wanted to pretend to be forced. It stirred up a small craze.

"What's going on with President Song?" Lu Wu asked Ren Jian beside him softly, he was not interested in that ancient painting at all. "What does he want us to do?"

"Normal," Ren replied. "Probably wanted us to do a little favor or something. He must have seen that we had a lot of good things in our hands. ”

"Isn't it a problem? It can't be that you want to blackmail, right?" Lu Wu was a little uneasy. He knew that a treasure like this—and everything else was fine, but the vase that had just been sold alone qualified for it—was in the hands of people like him and Ren Jian, and it was easy to arouse suspicion. You can't ignore this suspicion, because if nothing else, everyone knows that the law alone stipulates a "crime of unknown origin of a huge amount of property".

In fact, he really didn't have this concern when he set off to hunt for treasures, but that was the so-called "barefoot is not afraid to wear shoes", and when he put on his shoes, he naturally suffered a little bit of gain and loss.

"No problem, people who eat this bowl of rice don't have such a low vision. Ren Jian said with confidence. "And it's okay, he can't threaten us. I've found a way...... Actually, here in W we are at a loss, and now we are not so dependent on this line. ”

"What's the way?"

"I have a cousin...... I happened to know some people in a small circle in Beijing...... People are very interested in this kind of thing, oh, I sent a few to try it. ”

"How did I not know you had such a rich relative?"

"That's a distant relative...... It's nominally a relative, but in fact, it's just the level of the neighbors who nod their heads when they meet, and it's impossible to borrow money or something. Lu Wu, as I said, the most difficult thing to find in this world is money, except for money, everything else is easy to find, including relatives. Ren Jian noticed Lu Wu's expression. "Don't worry, the so-called rich everyone earns, I promise it is very safe. ”

"What do you mean when you have money?"

"Of course, I mean to give my cousin a little intermediary fee, rest assured, the number is not much, and it will not be more than the auction commission of this auction...... There is also an 8 percent commission for this auction! That's a business, and my cousin can't ask for it, and he will definitely get things done. ”

Although Ren Jian tried his best to pretend to be relaxed, Lu Wu knew that this matter really had to be cautious and walk on thin ice. In fact, in today's China, the potential risks of monetizing the treasures (and the kind that don't lose too much) may be much greater than the salvage itself.

This is also a specialization in the art industry, and Ren Jian really lived up to the cowhide he boasted before, and everything (at least so far) went very smoothly.

The auction went smoothly, with a total of about 20 antiques sold out in about two hours. Among them, the highest price was Lu Wu's vase. They had another piece of porcelain, but that one was more than a level less valuable.