Jefferson had considered using shills arranged by the auction house to drive up the price, but he didn't dare, because if the buyers in the audience were indeed colluding, the consequence of having a shill sell the item would be that the auction house would ultimately acquire it.
Chapter 658 Connection (Part 2)
"This Mr. Zhao is quite lucky..."
Zhuang Rui flipped through the auction brochure in his hand and smiled as he spoke to Huangfu Yun, who was sitting next to him.
As seen in the pictures on the brochure, this large blue-and-white plate from the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty has a pure blue color. Even from the photos, you can tell that the patina is very thick, confirming that it is indeed an official kiln porcelain from the Kangxi period. At a price of 700,000 euros, which is more than 7 million RMB, Mr. Zhao has gotten a pretty good deal.
"What's wrong? Getting envious? You set the rules, and you've already bought one today, so you won't have another chance..."
Huangfu Yun gloated and laughed at Zhuang Rui, but at this moment he was also a little tempted. Huangfu Yun still had a net worth of about 300,000 euros. He couldn't afford to bid on big items, but he might be able to get a good deal on some small trinkets that others didn't care about.
Just as Zhuang Rui and Huangfu Yun were chatting and laughing, the lights in the auction hall suddenly began to flicker, and several lights went out. This caused panic among many people in the hall, and some of the women they brought even screamed.
"Zhuang Rui, what's wrong?"
Qin Xuanbing was also a little panicked, and she tightly grabbed Zhuang Rui with one hand. Things were not peaceful abroad. Although 9/11 attacked the United States, Britain and France were not good either. They might also be targeted by Al-Qaeda.
"It's alright, it's alright..."
Zhuang Rui grabbed Qin Xuanbing's hand and whispered words of comfort. Just then, Jefferson on the auction stage also spoke up.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm so sorry, but due to some unforeseen circumstances, the building's power supply is experiencing a problem. We're currently working on repairs, so please take a break. It should be back up soon..."
Jefferson's words quieted everyone in the hall. It was just an electricity problem; that was nothing. People often get trapped in elevators.
"I've heard there's an old Chinese saying, 'Good things come to those who wait,' so I believe the auction will resume soon. Please wait a moment..."
After Jefferson finished speaking, he left the auction stage and walked out through the side door in the dim light.
"Damn it, this must have been done on purpose by the auction house..."
Zhuang Rui's gaze remained fixed on Jefferson. After passing through the wall next to the side door, Zhuang Rui noticed that the lights outside were working fine; this situation only occurred inside the auction hall. Without a doubt, something fishy was going on.
Zhuang Rui guessed correctly. This was orchestrated by Richard and Daniel at the behest of the hotel, with the aim of targeting these Chinese collectors who were networking and discussing countermeasures.
However, the hotel's electrical control system was quite complex. They only cut off the power to the auction hall. If the guests went outside to take a look, they would all understand. But time was of the essence, so Richard simply resorted to this underhanded tactic. ...
“Mr. Jefferson, didn’t you say things were still under your control? Why did these damned Chinese collusion incidents occur? I need an explanation!” Richard was furious. He wondered if it was because he had slept with a widow yesterday that he was so unlucky today.
First, he was humiliated by a young upstart, and now there's this whole Chinese collusion thing. At this point, Richard no longer cared that Jefferson was a "white glove" he'd hired at a high price. As soon as Jefferson walked in, he started yelling loudly.
Jefferson remained relatively calm. After wiping the spittle Richard had sprayed on his face with a tissue, he said, "Mr. Richard, as you know, these Chinese people have never been very united. I didn't expect things to turn out this way, but there are still ways..."
"What method?"
Richard quickly grabbed Jefferson's hand, causing Jefferson to shake it off. Even if he were gay, he wouldn't look down on this vulgar fat man.
"Raise the price..."
Jefferson calmly wiped his hands with a tissue and continued, "Raise the starting price. Only in this way can we ensure that the auction house's interests are not harmed to the greatest extent possible..."
The method Jefferson described is a common tactic auction houses use to deal with colluding buyers. Although the starting prices for each item are set in advance on the pre-auction brochure, and arbitrarily changing them would cause dissatisfaction among buyers, auction houses don't care about that when it comes to this.
Generally speaking, the prices of items auctioned at auction houses are much lower than the actual market prices. If the auction were to start at the original reserve price, the auction house would have no way of explaining this to the owner.
Fortunately, nowadays, both domestically and internationally, there is a common practice of this kind of unfair contract term: the organizer has the right to interpret all terms, and even if others are dissatisfied, there is nothing they can do.
"Okay, let's do it this way. Double the current reserve price for all unsold items. Even if they don't sell, we can't let those damn people get away with it..."
After hearing Jefferson's words, Richard thought for a moment and made the decision. Too many unsold items would definitely affect the auction house's reputation, but Richard was also unwilling for the auction house to lose money while gaining publicity. After all, he had signed agreements with the owners of some of the items, and if the price was not achieved, the auction house would have to cover the costs.
Richard spared no expense in organizing this special auction of Chinese art. He spent considerable effort persuading those who possessed valuable Chinese antiques to agree to put their collections up for auction. However, judging from the current situation, the auction has clearly been a complete failure.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am so sorry to have startled you just now. The auction will now continue... The next item to be auctioned is also a piece of porcelain, a Yongzheng imperial kiln celadon vase. This piece is even more precious than the previous blue and white plate, with extremely few surviving examples. Its starting price is... 1.6 million euros."
After Jefferson returned to the auction stage, he glossed over the earlier electricity issue and immediately put forward the next item for auction. However, this time, after Jefferson made his bid, the audience fell silent, and no one made a bid.
The color brochure printed at the auction clearly showed that the starting price for this Yongzheng imperial kiln celadon vase was only 800,000 euros, but Jefferson bid 1.6 million euros, doubling the price. Everyone was wondering whether it was worth it.
Zhuang Rui was also looking through the information on this porcelain piece. The entire object was wide at the mouth and narrow at the base, about 16 centimeters high, but the diameter of the mouth was about 13 centimeters. Although the shape was relatively small, it was very grand, and the glaze was thick and pure. The price of 1.6 million euros did not seem out of the question.
"Brother Huangfu, if you bid, anything under 2 million euros will be profitable..."
Zhuang Rui had already made a move once, so of course he wouldn't break the rules he had set. However, Huangfu Yun could bid for it. Even if he didn't get it, it would be a good thing if his friend got the benefit.
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's words, Huangfu Yun instinctively reached for his bidding paddle, but immediately lowered his hand, looking at Zhuang Rui with a wry smile, "Brother, I'd love to bid, but I don't have enough money..."
Huangfu Yun's entire net worth is only four or five hundred thousand euros. He spent the last auction on a sword belonging to the Qianlong Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. Now he can only come up with about three hundred thousand euros. Asking him to bid on this porcelain piece worth one million six hundred thousand euros is beyond his means.
"Take the photos first. If you don't have enough money, I'll lend you some. If all else fails, consider it as you taking the photos for me..."
Zhuang Rui's museum is currently lacking in artifacts. As Jefferson said, this Yongzheng official kiln sky-blue glazed vase is extremely rare and can be classified as a national first-class cultural relic. Now that Zhuang Rui has seen it, he is not willing to let it go.
Huangfu Yun nodded and said, "Okay, I'll take the picture for you..."
"One million seven hundred thousand euros, I offer one million seven hundred thousand euros for this porcelain piece..."
Just as Huangfuyun was about to raise his number, Ms. Zhang in front of him took the initiative and raised her number, breaking the silence in the room.
"Buyer number 89 has offered 1.7 million euros. Does anyone else have an offer?"
"Okay, the Yongzheng imperial kiln celadon vase has been sold to bidder number 89 for 1.7 million euros. Congratulations to this lady! The next item to be auctioned is today's third item, which is..."
Jefferson knew that the Chinese people in the arena had already made arrangements, so he didn't bother to ask any more questions. After three minutes of routine questioning, he struck the gavel, and the valuable Yongzheng imperial porcelain piece fell into Ms. Zhang's hands.
"Xiao Zhuang, you're good at gambling on stones, and your skill in appraising antiques isn't bad either..."
After successfully bidding for the Yongzheng porcelain, Ms. Zhang turned around, looked at Zhuang Rui, and smiled. Coming from a family of collectors, and with porcelain being her greatest passion, it's safe to say that if anyone were to assess the price of this Yongzheng porcelain, no one in the room could do so more accurately.
“Ms. Zhang, you’re joking. It’s just that my museum has too few pieces in its collection, so I thought I’d take more pictures to bring back. My greatest wish is for people across the country to see these exquisite works of art…”
Although someone else snatched the item, Zhuang Rui wasn't too disappointed. He spoke with an air of righteous indignation, saying things he himself didn't believe, and continued watching the auction.
The subsequent auction process seemed more like a formality. The price of each item up for auction did not match that in the promotional brochure. Some buyers raised questions, but Jefferson shut them down by saying that the auctioneer had made the decision on short notice.
The auction house explained that, according to international practice, the starting price of an item can be changed on short notice. They gave an example, saying that the starting price of the first item was much lower than that in the promotional brochure, so raising the price now is normal.
"Damn it, you foreign devil, I'll send that videotape out right away..."
Zhuang Rui muttered a curse to himself before making his decision.
More than a hundred years ago, there was an old woman who said something like this: "If you make me unhappy for a moment, I'll make you unhappy for a lifetime."
Chapter 659 Hiring (Part 1)
Because the auction house changed the starting price, the auction process became more peaceful, and there was no longer any fierce bidding. After each item was announced with its reserve price, everyone had to assess the value of the item before deciding whether to bid.
However, this method made the auction process much faster. Almost every item was sold after the first bid. Some antiques with high reserve prices failed to sell if no one bid at the reserve price. All thirty-odd antiques from China were auctioned off by around 5 p.m.
Adhering to the rules he had set, Zhuang Rui did not make any further moves. Instead, Huangfu Yun spent 270,000 euros to acquire a Qing Dynasty Longquan sword, which nearly emptied Huangfu Yun's coffers.
Before leaving the auction house, Zhuang Rui exchanged contact information with Ms. Zhang and Mr. Liu, among others. Many collectors from China had a very good impression of Zhuang Rui.
In particular, Mr. Zhao, who won the bid for the porcelain piece at a low price, was naturally very grateful for Zhuang Rui's suggestion and even invited Zhuang Rui to visit his private collection after returning to China.
"Brother Huangfu, I'm going to London tonight. Are you staying here or going back to America?"
Back at the hotel, Zhuang Rui looked at Huangfu Yun, who was admiringly playing with the Longquan sword in his hand, and asked...
Huangfu Yun carefully wiped the sword with a white cloth, then sheathed it and raised his head, saying, "I'm almost penniless, what am I doing here?"
"I'm going back to China tomorrow. I'm packing up all the swords and knives I've collected at my home in the US and bringing them back. Your museum has to reserve a good exhibition space for me..."
Huangfu Yun felt that he was not strong enough to open a museum on his own, so he borrowed Zhuang Rui's place to fulfill his long-cherished wish. He still attached great importance to this matter. Although the name could not become a sword museum, Huangfu Yun was already very satisfied to be able to display his collection to the world.
"Fine, even if you don't want to, I'll still drag you along..." Zhuang Rui replied with a smile. "If it weren't for Huangfu Yun's hundreds of swords and knives, how could you possibly open a private museum with just a few dozen antiques? That would be utterly ridiculous. Not to mention that the museum would have nothing to exhibit, even with all the connections you had, your application might not have been approved."
Zhuang Rui had considered changing the museum's name to the China Dingguang Sword Museum, since the main collection after its opening would definitely be Huangfu Yun's batch of swords.
However, while such a name could highlight the theme at the beginning, it was not suitable for enriching the collection in the future. After thinking it over again and again, Zhuang Rui gave up the idea.
"By the way, Brother Huangfu, what are your plans for your future career development?"
Zhuang Rui poured Huangfu Yun a cup of coffee and placed it on the coffee table in front of him.
Career planning?
Huangfu Yun was a little confused by Zhuang Rui's seemingly random question. After a moment of hesitation, he replied, "I'm a contracted lawyer at a famous law firm in New York. But handling three or five cases a year is enough for me to live on for several years. Right now, I just want to collect some cold weapons from various countries around the world that have been lost to the public. Maybe in the future, I'll sell them to support my collection and even make a living from this industry..."
The law firm where Huangfuyun works is extremely famous in the United States. The cases they handle are either for the wealthy and powerful or for large corporations. Lawyers can make a fortune from a single case. Otherwise, where would Huangfuyun get the spare money to collect antique swords and knives all over the world?
Zhuang Rui asked with a smile, "Then why not consider becoming a professional collector now?"
"Now? Brother, I don't have as much money as you to buy this sword. I'll be penniless by now. If I don't go back to make money, how am I supposed to survive?"
Huangfu Yun glared at Zhuang Rui with annoyance, then twirled the sword in his hand, still in its sheath, before taking it out and playing with it again. It seemed he was quite obsessed with such objects.
"Brother Huangfu, I have an idea, I wonder if you can accept it..."
Zhuang Rui hesitated for a moment before speaking.
"What does your idea have to do with me? Hmm... tell me about it then..."
Huangfu Yun answered casually.
His attention remained focused on the Longquan sword in his hand.
"Here's the thing, I have quite a few investments, but I haven't hired a lawyer to manage them. I'm a bit clueless about the profits I've made. I was wondering if you, someone of your stature, could condescend to work for me?"
As Zhuang Rui's investment portfolio expanded, he felt he needed more people to help him with some tasks. He had to handle everything himself, including the subsequent negotiations and signing of agreements with the Guimet Museum. He was truly overwhelmed.
Zhuang Rui has always believed that professional matters should be handled by professionals. Therefore, whether it is a jade mine, a jade mine or an auto repair shop, Zhuang Rui has never haphazardly interfered in the management of these industries. However, these matters also need someone to help him summarize them, and Huangfu Yun is the most suitable person.
Huangfu Yun hadn't paid much attention to Zhuang Rui's words at first, but after hearing them, he paused for a moment, finally looking up from the Longquan sword and asking Zhuang Rui, "Brother, are you telling the truth? My worth isn't low..."
In the United States, the top and most renowned lawyers, often partners in law firms, earn annual incomes that, if converted to RMB, often exceed 50 million.
Huangfu Yun hasn't reached that level yet, but his annual income is around three to four million RMB. That's five to six hundred thousand US dollars, which is considered very high in China. Zhuang Rui smiled and said, "Brother Huangfu, then tell us about your net worth..."
"You actually believe me, kid?"
Huangfu Yun sheathed his Longquan sword and said solemnly, "I work for about six or seven months a year and can earn around three million RMB. If you want to hire me as a full-time private lawyer to handle your business and daily affairs, I can consider it for five million RMB a year..."
"Five million? Zhuang Rui was shocked by Brother Huangfu's offer. It seems that Manager Wu, whom Qin Rui had introduced, only earns two or three million RMB a year, but he can generate tens of millions in profit for him every year. Compared to the value that Manager Wu can create, Huangfu Yun doesn't seem to be that great."
"What's wrong, brother? Are you scared?" Brother Huangfu laughed when he saw Zhuang Rui's expression. "I have a double bachelor's degree in law and MBA in the United States and I also have a good understanding of the financial market. In the future, I will integrate your business and formulate investment plans."
Yes. Mitigating investment risks is a huge benefit. Five million RMB a year is only because we're friends. If a domestic company wanted me as their full-time legal counsel, I'd ask for at least eight million…