As A Trash Collector, I Collected A Imperial Jade Seal - Chapter 102
102 Zhang Daqian’s 4-Word Piece! A 100 Million Yuan Bid! (5)
“This is shaping up to be the most expensive item thus far! Considering that the host risked his life to obtain it, it seems that his efforts were not in vain!”
“I have a feeling that the mine was placed there in order to protect this chest!”
“I daresay that this piece of art is worth at least 50 million yuan. What do you guys think?”
“Holy moly, 50 million? Wouldn’t that make this Luo Feng’s highest record for a single item?”
!!
“F*ck me, 50 million, are you for real? ”
“Can’t you see that the long-legged wife and Ji Shunjin are about to go to war over this item?”
“This can’t possibly be true, right? It’s just 4 words!”
“Hahaha, what would you guys possibly know? Should the Bank of Communications find out about this, I’m certain that they’ll hand Old Luo a supreme Black Card!”
“While it might not mean much for us commoners, the bank might feel quite differently regarding this piece of art!”
“Indeed, after all this time, the bank is still using the same logo, after all.”
At this moment, an unfamiliar old man arrived at the outskirts of the Yellowstone Manor.
Several other vehicles were trailing behind him.
“Who are you, old man?”
Luo Feng reasoned that the old man was there to see him, and thus, he decided to make the first move.
“Let me introduce myself, I’m Fang Guojun!”
“I’m the president of the Jiangnan Painting and Calligraphy Association!”
A mere instant later, heads were turned, and both Qin Rubing and Ji Shunjin had broken off their feud just to greet him with respect.
Holy cow.
Another big Shot has arrived.
This guy must be a great calligrapher of the current era.
Otherwise, he wouldn’t have obtained his current position in the first place.
The position he’s in, even for a branch of the Painting and Calligraphy Association, is not something that could be purchased with money…
“Mr. Fang, why are you here?”
Naturally, Wang Yousheng was acquainted with the man.
After all, they were in a small industry, and it was an industry where money alone would not grant you a place within their social circles, but a keen eye for treasure and an good ability for appraisal would.
Some rich second-generation heirs had attempted to integrate into the Painting and Calligraphy Association’s circle by paying their way in, all for the goal of seeming a bit more refined compared to the peers.
However, such riffraff were tossed aside. Even if they had somehow managed to gain access, they would be amongst the lowest-ranking members of the circle, essentially nobodies, unless of course, they had innate and immense knowledge regarding the fine arts of calligraphy and brushwork.
“Old Wang? You’re here too?”
“Yeah, I’ve been here all this time. So, tell me, what are you doing here, Mr. Fang?”
“It’s because of my granddaughter. She watched this livestream and informed me that quite a number of treasures have been discovered here!”
“Heshen’s sleeping sheep paperweight, a jade-carved lotus root brush washing bowl, and even the Qianlong Emperor’s Longquan seal paste, so I’ve heard?”
At first, Fang Guojun had refused to believe that such items had actually been discovered when his granddaughter showed it to him.
However, after thoroughly inspecting the livestream by constantly replaying it, he realized that there was a very high likelihood that they were a real deal, and upon realizing this, he rushed over with great haste.
“You must be Mr. Luo, right? Would you like me to assist in the appraisals?”
Fang Guojun bowed courteously towards Luo Feng. Upon closer look, he realized that he was a rather dashing young man.
“No need for honorifics. Just call me Little Luo!” Luo Feng replied politely, “Feel free to take a look!
With Luo Feng’s approval, Fang Guojun began looking around the chest’s contents.
Although he had already witnessed the wares countless time via the livestream, the live viewing experience was something that could not be replicated across a screen.
Around 7 minutes later, Fang Guojun finally spoke, “The craftsmanship of this paperweight is perfect. I believe that it should be worth around 12 million yuan, right? On the other hand, this lotus brush washing bowl is likely worth around 2 million yuan! And as for the Longquan seal paste used by the Qianlong royal family, my conservative estimate is that it’s worth around 30 million yuan!”
“Wtf?! How could a bowl be worth 2 million f*cking yuan?”
“I know right? Especially when it belonged to the corrupt official Heshen!”
“I believe the 30 million yuan appraisal of the Qianlong paste sounds rather reasonable, thought everything else sounds a tad too expensive!”
“I’ve already did some quick maths on Luo Feng’s earnings. If we consider the silver coins that have been appraised before this, Luo Feng should have made around 60 million yuan from his findings thus far!”
“The host has earned a lot! Damn, just imagine all the young models he can entertain… I can’t possibly fathom how many holes he’ll be able to service…”
“Pfft! How did you manage to type that message out without getting banned?”
“What about that calligraphy piece? I’m really excited to learn how much it’s worth!”
Naturally, what everyone was looking forward to the most was undoubtedly the calligraphy piece penned by Zheng Xiaoxu!
However, from the moment Fang Guojun laid eyes on it, he knew that it was not something he had the right to appraise.
There were no records of its sales, and thus, there was no point of reference for Fang Guojun to compare with.
In other words, there was potentially no upper limit to its price depending on who had discovered it.
“Ms. Qin.”
“Hmm?”
Qin Rubing was still in a daze when she was suddenly called out by Luo Feng. She was startled.
“I think it’s better that I hand over all these items in your auction house!”
“As for President Fang, I’m sure that something here that catches your fancy. Let me know what it is and I’ll let you purchase it directly!”
Luo Feng was certain that the old man had traveled all this way for a purpose.
He probably had no intentions of leaving empty-handed.
After all, the fact that he had personally appraised the calligraphy wares meant that the legitimacy of said wares had been backed.
Should the items be auctioned, they would gain much more traction than before, and as a result, their auctioned prices would also shoot to the moon.
As such, Luo Feng decided to return the favor.
“Thank you! Then I wish to purchase the lotus-root brush washing bowl! I’ll give you two million yuan based on my earlier valuation!”
Fang Guojun nodded to Luo Feng’s offer.
He felt that the young man had a good knack for business dealings.
At the same time, he also praised himself for his tact.
After all, he had withheld from requesting the Longquan seal paste even though Luo Feng did not impose any restrictions.
He was certain that Luo Feng had intended to sell the item at a high price in an auction and did not wish to trouble him.
“Thank you for your trust in our auction house, Mr. Luo. I promise we won’t disappoint.”
Upon hearing Luo Feng’s words, Qin Rubing leaped with joy. She had even shot Ji Shunjin a mischievous sidelong glance.
At the same time, she also realized that Ji Shunjin had struck a nerve with Luo Feng, and as a result, he would likely never trade with Ji Shunjin again.
After all, it was clear that Ji Shunjin had known that is was Zheng Xiaoxu’s calligraphy piece all along, but he did not utter a single word about its background to anyone.
It was simply detestable.
Why would Luo Feng knowingly work with someone who would actively screw over their partners?
…
While everyone was still mulling over as to how to appraise the calligraphy piece’s value…
A savior had seemingly appeared out of nowhere…
More than a dozen cars arrived on scene at the outskirts of Yellowstone Manor, and all of them had belonged to a certain bank.
An old man walked into the courtyard, surrounded by several of his employees.
“Mr. Luo!”
“In regards to Zheng Xiaoxu’s calligraphy piece, the Bank of Communications is willing to offer 20 million for reach word written!”
“This adds up to a total of 80 million yuan for the entire artwork!”
