Seeing that the matter had been resolved, Daniel no longer wanted to stay there. After saying a few polite words, he pulled Richard out of the conference room. As they walked out the door, they heard applause coming from inside, and their expressions turned somewhat gloomy.
"Daniel, could you..."
Richard gestured towards his neck with an unfriendly expression.
Everything that happened today was caused by Zhuang Rui. This incident is estimated to bring the auction house at least several million euros in revenue, but it will also have a very bad impact on the auction house's reputation.
As a renowned auction house with branches all over the world, Richard has undoubtedly dealt with all sorts of people from all walks of life, including international mercenaries, international thieves, and even international tomb raiders.
Behind capital often lies bloodshed. For Richard and the auction house, making someone disappear is not a difficult thing. This is not the first time Richard has done something like this.
"No, absolutely not, Richard, please give up on this idea..."
Daniel was startled by Richard's words. If Zhuang Rui were just a nobody with no background, that would be one thing, but according to his information, he had extremely deep connections in China. If they were to take him down and it was discovered, even the French and British governments wouldn't be able to protect them.
Richard, furious, kicked the trash can next to the elevator and said viciously, "Notify all branches that from now on, this client is the most unwelcome guest in our auction house..."
Unable to provoke Zhuang Rui, Richard could only vent his anger in this way. He swallowed his anger, and Richard wondered if he would develop a disease from holding it in.
However, this had no deterrent effect on Zhuang Rui. There were other auction houses in the world besides this one. Besides, if Zhuang Rui took a liking to an item they were auctioning, he could entrust someone else to conduct a telephone auction even if he wasn't present. This was a common practice in international auctions.
"Xiao Zhuang, thank you, thank you so much..."
After Richard and Daniel left the meeting room, Ms. Zhang led the applause, and everyone followed suit. The applause echoed in the meeting room for a long time.
Although this was just a private business activity, it enhanced national prestige and brought honor to the Chinese people. All of this was brought about by Zhuang Rui, and he deserves this applause.
"No, no, Ms. Zhang, Mr. Liu, and all the seniors in the antique industry, the auction house's concession isn't because I'm arrogant, but because of everyone's support. Without your help, I probably would have been kicked out of the auction house long ago. I should be thanking you all..."
Zhuang Rui stood up and bowed deeply to everyone in the room. He was sincere this time. If the auction house could issue a public apology, Zhuang Rui felt that the trip had been worthwhile.
Ms. Zhang smiled and waved her hand, saying, "Let's not talk about that anymore, Xiao Zhuang. When I have time, I want to go to Beijing to see your antique shop. You have to recommend some good stuff to me then..."
"Hehe, Ms. Zhang, the items in my little shop certainly won't meet your standards. However, in a while, I'm going to open a private museum in Beijing. If you have time when it opens, I would really appreciate it if you could come and give me your guidance..."
Upon hearing Ms. Zhang's words, Zhuang Rui had an idea and told her about his plan to open a private museum. The people present were all top Chinese collectors, both domestically and internationally. If they were willing to contribute, his museum would have no shortage of exhibits.
"Oh? A private museum?"
Ms. Zhang was taken aback when she heard this. Although many people in China have opened private museums in recent years, they are people who have been in the collecting circle for many years and have a certain network and reputation. Zhuang Rui is so young, yet he wants to open a private museum. Ms. Zhang was a little surprised.
Not only Ms. Zhang, but everyone else felt a bit incredulous after hearing Zhuang Rui's words. Although the threshold for private museums is not particularly high, it is not something that everyone can afford.
Opening a private museum requires not only a large and rich collection, but also substantial funds. Given that state-owned museums are ubiquitous and many offer free admission, the prospects for private museums are not considered very promising.
If a private museum charges admission, it will be criticized. But if it doesn't charge admission, the maintenance of the collections, staff salaries, land use, utilities, and other expenses add up to a considerable sum that most people can't afford.
"Xiao Zhuang, why do you want to open a private museum? It's a thankless and arduous task. By the way, what collection do you have now? Share it with us..."
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, General Manager Liu also became interested. A group of people quickly surrounded Zhuang Rui in the middle. This young man was truly unfathomable, and everyone's interest in him grew significantly.
"Hehe, I didn't originally plan to open a museum so soon. It's just that I want to exchange some of my collections with some museums abroad, so I need a proper designation. As for my personal collection, it's not that large, so I'll have to rely on the help of you seniors..."
Zhuang Rui didn't go into details about exchanging collections with the Guimet Museum. The matter was still far from being finalized, and if it didn't work out, it would be a waste of breath. However, Zhuang Rui did want to take this opportunity to get these people to donate some items.
"Ahem, Xiao Zhuang, you can go ahead of us now. We're here photographing artifacts. You've already exchanged collections with museums abroad! You're a promising young man. I'll definitely visit your museum when it opens..."
Mr. Liu chuckled and patted Zhuang Rui on the shoulder, but made no mention of donating the collection. Firstly, Zhuang Rui was too young, and it was unknown what scale the museum would eventually reach. These old foxes wouldn't take action based on just one word from Zhuang Rui.
Secondly, although these major collectors often donate cultural relics to certain official museums, and each donation is worth tens of millions of yuan, there are benefits to it. Doing such things will result in some preferential treatment and assistance in other policy areas.
Just like some companies that can be exempted from certain taxes by the local government after donating a certain amount of money to charity each year, the same principle applies to the Chinese collectors present. In fact, there are quite a few people with this idea. Although it may seem like they have impure motives, it is the truth.
"Definitely, definitely, all of you seniors must grace us with your presence and offer your guidance..."
Zhuang Rui nodded with a smile and agreed. He knew that words alone were not enough; why would someone hand over an item worth hundreds of millions to him?
It's not too late to ask to borrow the collection after your museum opens and others see its scale.
Chapter 657 Connection (Part 1)
"Mr. Zhuang, how was your dispute with the auction house resolved?"
"Mr. Zhuang, I am a reporter from France Soir. May I have a brief interview with you?"
"Hey buddy, tell me, have they given in over there?"
When it was lunchtime, as soon as Zhuang Rui and the others left the conference room, they were immediately surrounded by dedicated reporters. What happened today was excellent news material, and reporters from all countries wanted to get first-hand information.
"I'm sorry, I have no comment..."
Since he had already accepted the money, he shouldn't have done anything to kick someone when they're down. Besides, when Zhuang Rui was handling the auction, someone had specifically instructed him on this, and Zhuang Rui had nodded in agreement.
"Sir, may I ask what happened inside just now?"
"Did the auction house apologize to Mr. Zhuang?"
"Madam, please wait..."
When the reporters saw that Zhuang Rui refused to cooperate, they immediately turned their microphones to other people. As long as they could get the content of Zhuang Rui and the others' conversation, it didn't matter whether it was what the parties involved said.
"I'm sorry, I have no comment..."
"I'm sorry, please ask the person involved in this matter..."
"Please make way, please make way..."
However, these Chinese collectors from home and abroad were clearly seasoned veterans, and they were all very skilled at dealing with reporters. From the meeting room door to the restaurant, not one of them revealed anything, much to the disappointment of the reporters.
When they arrived at the restaurant, the reporters were stopped again. The restaurant had been booked out by the auction house for lunch, so the reporters couldn't get in and could only wait outside, peeking in. Zhuang Rui shook his head at the sight.
Qin Xuanbing sat down next to Zhuang Rui, nudged him, and said, "Honey, should we give this to them?"
"What's this?"
Zhuang Rui asked, somewhat puzzled.
"A home camcorder, I just filmed those two apologizing..."
Qin Xuanbing opened a corner of her handbag, and what was revealed inside surprised Zhuang Rui. No wonder Qin Xuanbing wasn't standing next to him in the conference room earlier; she was taking pictures of this thing.
"Quickly put it away, no one saw it, right?"
Zhuang Rui quickly zipped up Qin Xuanbing's handbag. This matter couldn't be publicized, otherwise, if this auction house joined forces with other auction houses, he could really become a pariah in the international auction world, hated by everyone.
Seeing Zhuang Rui's expression, Qin Xuanbing replied somewhat strangely, "Of course no one else saw, but... why are you being so careful?"
"Hey, grandma, I've already agreed to their settlement. Bringing this thing out again would be like slapping them in the face. If that happens, I can forget about ever entering an auction house again..."
When Zhuang Rui said this, he didn't know that he was already on the auction house's blacklist. This was probably the first and last time he would participate in an auction organized by this auction house.
“We can send it to some media outlets, we don’t have to show up ourselves, how would anyone know who took the picture…”
Qin Xuanbing's eyes darted around, and she gave Zhuang Rui an idea.
"Well... that's not impossible. Let's talk about it after we leave France, otherwise we'll still be considered prime suspects..."
Zhuang Rui nodded in agreement. Inspired by Qin Xuanbing, Zhuang Rui thought it might be a good idea to upload this directly to the internet. However, he didn't want to be a celebrity and had to blur his face.
After lunch, everyone rested for a while, then returned to the auction hall at the urging of the auction house staff. ...
"Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests and friends, due to a minor misunderstanding in communication this morning, the auction was interrupted. The auction will now resume, and the next item to be auctioned is... a large blue and white porcelain plate from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, China..."
Jefferson, standing on the auction stage, looked noticeably less energetic than he had been that morning. His deliberate revenge had caused the auction house significant losses, and Richard had spat a lot of spittle in his face at noon. Now, Richard was behaving properly and dared not overstep his bounds in the slightest.
"Friends, please take a look at the brochure in your hands. This large blue-and-white plate is 38.5 centimeters in diameter, with a pure glaze, a thick patina, and a perfectly pure blue color. The base mark indicates it was made during the Kangxi period. After authentication by several experts, this large blue-and-white plate should belong to the Qing imperial kiln porcelain... Such a large piece of porcelain has never appeared in an international auction before. The starting bid is 500,000 euros. This is a rare opportunity, so please make your bids..."
After some enthusiastic promotion, Jefferson announced the starting bid for the Kangxi blue and white porcelain plate, one of the highlights of the auction. It was brought to the front of the auction to try and salvage the atmosphere from the morning session.
"Seven hundred thousand..."
"Six hundred thousand..."
"Five hundred and fifty thousand..."
Just as Jefferson finished speaking, four or five voices suddenly rang out at the same time, startling Jefferson. Normally, although this thing was in high demand, in his experience, there would be a pause of several tens of seconds to a minute before someone made a bid. So many people bidding at the same time so quickly made Jefferson a little uncomfortable.
"Buyer number 87 offered 700,000 euros, immediately raising the price of this porcelain piece by 200,000 euros. It seems the competition for this piece will be extremely fierce..."
However, Jefferson's reputation as a "white glove" auctioneer was well-deserved. He was able to identify the highest bidder immediately, and although he was a little surprised, he was still very happy.
Given the fierce competition from the very beginning, Jefferson had every reason to believe that the final price of this porcelain piece would definitely be higher than the price of the Lang Shining oil painting that Zhuang Rui had previously acquired.
"Mr. Zhao is really lucky..."
"Sigh, why didn't I think of setting the price a little higher from the start?"
"Yes, Old Zhao is truly cunning and shrewd, but whether the auction house is willing to sell this porcelain for 700,000 euros is still another matter..."
After Jefferson finished speaking, the people who had just made their bids did not raise their hands to bid again, but instead began to whisper among themselves.
Mr. Zhao, who offered 700,000 euros, was naturally beaming with joy. Although he might only be able to bid on this one item, the value of this porcelain piece was far more than 700,000 euros. As Jefferson said, such a large blue and white porcelain plate was extremely rare. If it were taken to China, someone would probably be willing to buy it for 20 million RMB.
Thirty seconds have passed...
A minute passed...
Two minutes have passed...
Jefferson's expression slowly turned grim as he stood on the auction stage. He didn't know why, but no one was bidding higher than the mere 700,000 euros. This made the experienced Jefferson feel that something was amiss.
"Seven hundred thousand euros for the first time! This Qing Dynasty Kangxi blue and white porcelain plate, even if it's not a unique piece, is extremely rare in the world. Interested parties should hurry and place their bids; this is a rare opportunity..."
Jefferson slammed the gavel on the table, spewing out incredibly persuasive words. But even with his eloquent speech, the audience remained silent. Apart from Mr. Zhao making the bid, no one else responded.
"Friends, this Kangxi porcelain piece would fetch at least 1 million euros at international auctions. Perhaps with just one more bid, it will be yours. Please, everyone, bid enthusiastically; this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity..."
Jefferson's clothes were completely soaked with cold sweat. Having presided over so many auctions, he was no stranger to the situation before him. This was the scene that auctioneers feared most: the buyers had "colluded."
Sure enough, the audience's reaction confirmed Jefferson's idea. Even after he said "once this opportunity is gone, it's gone forever" in Chinese, no one made a bid. The price of this porcelain piece is still 700,000 euros.
Time ticked by, and cold sweat dripped from Jefferson's forehead down his neck and into his clothes. For some reason, none of the foreign collectors interested in Chinese art made an offer for the porcelain. In this situation, even Jefferson was at a loss.
“Hey, Mr. Jefferson, as the owner of the ‘white glove,’ you shouldn’t be making such a basic mistake. Five minutes have passed since the first gavel fell. Are you going to wait until the auction is over?”
With Jefferson's repeated urging, more than five minutes quickly passed. However, apart from Mr. Zhao, who made the first bid, no one else made a bid. Finally, Mr. Zhao became impatient and simply stood up to berate Jefferson.
"No one else is bidding..."
Jefferson, unwilling to give up, asked one more question, then struck the auction hammer twice and said, "Congratulations to buyer number 87, you have successfully purchased this blue and white porcelain plate from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty in China for 700,000 euros. Congratulations again..."
Although he offered his congratulations, Jefferson showed no smile. He knew he had encountered the situation auctioneers dreaded most: buyers banding together to boycott the auction house.
This is extremely rare in large auctions, because buyers come from all over the world and it is difficult for them to reach a consensus. But for some reason, they managed to coordinate their efforts today.