"Fourth Brother, you must keep your word. But this matter has put you in a difficult position. Let's count my 40% share as 30%, and I'll go back and change the paperwork with you..."
A plot of land of nearly 20,000 square meters, even at 10,000 yuan per square meter, would be worth 200 million yuan. Zhuang Rui didn't want to take advantage of this for nothing, and it would be more convenient to register the property as his own in the future.
"Ten percent? Okay, you're really rich, kid. That's settled then..."
Zhuang Rui's 40% stake will be worth more than 2 billion yuan after the market opens. Zhuang Rui gave away nearly 500 million yuan at once, which is quite a generous move. Ouyang Jun's original feeling that he had been extorted by Zhuang Rui again suddenly felt a little better.
"Hey, Fourth Brother, turning that land into a museum will require your help. It would be best if you could get busy these next few days and help me with the museum application procedures..."
Zhuang Rui knew that if he were to handle these approvals himself, it would take three to five months to get them done smoothly. It would be too foolish not to use the rightful heir to the Ministry of Culture.
"Take Wei Ming to handle this. Give him the information, and I'll put in a good word for him later. But let's make it clear first, the first floor will still be used for sales for now. I'll have Wei Ming find someone to renovate the second and third floors. Anyway, you just need a name for it right now. At the latest, it'll be cleared out for you in three months..."
After listening to Zhuang Rui's words, Ouyang Jun thought for a moment and nodded in agreement. Zhuang Rui's matter was not a big deal; it was just applying for a private museum. As long as he met the requirements, it would be a piece of cake for Ouyang Jun to put in a good word for him.
"Okay, thank you, Fourth Brother." Zhuang Rui was overjoyed upon hearing this. With the location of the museum secured, the rest would be much easier.
"Wait, something's not right..."
After hanging up the phone, Zhuang Rui felt something was off. He was the second largest shareholder of that land, and he couldn't possibly acquire the sales office at the market price, could he? If he bought it at the development price, the cost would probably be only about one-fifth of what he had calculated. Had he been too generous just now?
However, having already made that boast, Zhuang Rui couldn't go back on his word. He could only smile wryly and accept it reluctantly. In truth, he didn't care much. Once he had a lot of money, it was just a number in the bank.
With the house settled, Zhuang Rui finally felt relieved. He found a blank sheet of paper and began calculating his current net worth. He knew that according to Beijing regulations, applying for a private museum required submitting a catalog of the collection.
If you want to apply for a private museum with the name "Guo" (国) in your name, the catalog of your collection is particularly important, as there are certain requirements regarding the quantity of national first-class cultural relics.
After listing them on paper, Zhuang Rui realized that he already had quite a few nice items.
According to the national standards for classifying cultural relics, the paintings and calligraphy by Giuseppe Castiglione and the Qing Dynasty imperial porcelain obtained from gambling in Hong Kong should all be listed as national second-class protected cultural relics.
The Longshan Culture black pottery jar, the Dingguang sword that I just acquired, the three-legged ding I bought in Jinan, and the Ru kiln porcelain I found in Pingzhou, among other items, should definitely be listed as national first-class protected cultural relics.
Chapter 646 Auction (Part 1)
After thinking for a moment, Zhuang Rui simply listed all the items, including the Guiguzi Descending the Mountain blue and white porcelain jar that still belongs to Ezkena and the white jade tiger belonging to the Guimet Museum. Having a large number of national first-class protected cultural relics among the items being applied for would be beneficial for the approval process.
In addition, Zhuang Rui also included Huangfu Yun's batch of antique swords and knives, as agreed beforehand. With over 20,000 square meters of exhibition space, Zhuang Rui's collection alone would not be enough to satisfy everyone's curiosity.
However, Zhuang Rui will definitely not open the entire exhibition hall at the beginning. He will open the museum to a limited extent based on the actual collection and gradually add items. Rome wasn't built in a day, and this museum will also need to be gradually enriched.
Moreover, once the museum opens, it can collect artifacts from the antique world. The ownership of these collected artifacts still belongs to their original owners. Zhuang Rui simply signs an agreement with them and then displays them in the museum. Of course, Zhuang Rui will have to pay some fees for this.
With the museum's location secured, the current issue is the quantity of its collection. Huangfu Yun's collection of antique swords and knives, including those from domestic and international collections, totals over three hundred.
Adding to the dozens of antiques in Zhuang Rui's possession, although the quantity still feels a bit small, the quality is not low. There are as many as 10 national first-class protected cultural relics alone. In addition, there are several Picasso sketches that Zhuang Rui plans to keep. If he applies for a museum name with the word "national" in his name, it doesn't seem so bad.
Furthermore, among these are several objects of considerable historical significance, such as the "Dingguang Sword" and the bronze "Elephant-shaped Zun" that did not yet belong to Zhuang Rui. These are national treasures, and even some renowned state-owned museums may not possess such collections.
After compiling the list, Zhuang Rui called Wei Ming, faxed the list over, and then discussed it with Wei Ming on the phone.
To apply for a private museum registration, you also need to fill out a registration application form, museum bylaws, exhibition outline, proof of right to use the premises, proof of funding, and academic credentials of the curator and key technical personnel, as well as resumes and other materials.
The registration application form and museum charter, including the exhibition outline, are easy to obtain. The Beijing Museum should have readily available materials. Ouyang Jun can simply make a call, and Wei Ming can just copy a similar one.
As for the land use right certificate for the museum site, it should be fine to use the developer's name as a guarantor. As for the proof of funds, Zhuang Rui gave Wei Ming his Euro account information. When the museum verified the funds, his several million Euros were not a small amount.
However, the issue of obtaining academic qualifications for the museum's professional staff was giving Zhuang Rui a headache. In the end, Wei Ming came up with an idea: to temporarily recruit staff from several schools in Beijing that offered museum programs. As long as the pay was good, this problem could be solved.
Finally, it's Zhuang Rui's own business. To become the curator, one needs qualifications, but this is no problem for Zhuang Rui. He simply asked the National Jade Association to issue a certificate proving that he is an expert in jade identification, thus making him a truly deserving curator.
"Mr. Zhuang, what would be a good name for our museum?"
After discussing the matter to the last minute, Wei Ming finally asked the question. With Ouyang Jun, such a powerful figure, there shouldn't be any major problems with the procedures, but the museum still needs a name, right?
"name?"
Zhuang Rui was taken aback. He had been so focused on the details that he hadn't thought about the name of the museum. In fact, it was a difficult name to come up with because Zhuang Rui's collection was too diverse, including ceramics, ancient paintings, bronzes, and ancient swords, making it impossible to name it by category.
"The Xuanrui Museum in China? Damn, no way, I'm still young, I'm not going to visit a museum that early..."
Zhuang Rui thought of a name, but it was immediately rejected. What kind of place is a museum? It's a place for people to visit and admire. Using your own name would be like cursing yourself, wouldn't it?
"Zhuang Rui, how about we call it the Dingguang Museum? Isn't the Dingguang Sword you have the most valuable thing?"
Seeing Zhuang Rui scratching his head in frustration, Qin Xuanbing, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but suggest a name.
"Dingguang? The China Dingguang Museum?"
Zhuang Rui read it aloud, finding it quite natural. He wasn't particularly concerned about the name, and immediately said into the microphone, "President Wei, let's call it Dingguang Museum. It would be best if we could add 'China,' but if that's not possible, don't force it. How about Beijing Dingguang Museum?"
"Okay, Mr. Zhuang, don't worry, this matter should be resolved in three to five days. I'll call you back later..."
Although Zhuang Rui's official title in the company was Assistant General Manager, and he was under Wei Ming's direct supervision, Wei Ming knew that Zhuang Rui was the second boss of the real estate company. Therefore, he did not dare to be arrogant and respectfully took over the matter. In any case, he did not need to do anything. With Ouyang Jun's instructions, he only needed to send someone to handle the specific tasks.
After hanging up the phone with Wei Ming, Zhuang Rui originally wanted to call Professor Bass, but after thinking about it, he decided that he couldn't appear too hasty. The meaning of "rare commodity" is to have something that others don't have, so that others can ask for it and offer a high price.
After finishing these tasks, Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing enjoyed a meal for two at the downstairs restaurant. Peng Fei wasn't so lucky; he stayed in the guest room with Bai Shi, eating takeout that Zhuang Rui had brought up. The food was decent, but… the person he was dining with was a bit… well, you know.
"Brother Zhuang, you're late! Luckily, the auction hasn't started yet. Let's hurry inside..."
The next morning at 9 o'clock, Zhuang Rui brought Qin Xuanbing to the venue where the Paris Chinese Art Auction was being held.
Huangfu Yun had been waiting at the door for more than half an hour. When he saw Zhuang Rui, he grabbed him and pulled him inside, handing him a number plate. This was something he had applied for for Zhuang Rui in advance. For this auction number, a deposit of 100,000 euros was required. Of course, this deposit was refundable after the auction.
"What's the rush? We're not planning to make a move anyway, so being a little late won't matter..."
Zhuang Rui was quite excited because the museum matter was finalized yesterday. He and Qin Xuanbing did some exercise last night, which was quite intense and difficult, so they woke up late this morning. If Qin Xuanbing hadn't also wanted to see the artifact auction, Zhuang Rui wouldn't have wanted to come.
"Hmm? Brother Huangfu, what's wrong with you?"
After Zhuang Rui finished speaking, he noticed that Huangfu Yun's expression was a little off, so he couldn't help but ask.
"Hey, brother, yesterday I saw a waist knife marked 'Made in the Qianlong Period,' and I felt it was Emperor Qianlong's personal sword, so I snapped it up..."
Huangfu Yun went around persuading domestic buyers not to bid at this auction, warning them not to fall into the trap of the auction house and the owner's rigged bidding tactics. But in the end, he himself bid on an item, and he couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed.
Zhuang Rui smiled and shook his head. He could understand how collectors felt when they saw the real thing. He didn't say much, but simply asked, "How much did you pay for it?"
Seeing that Zhuang Rui didn't blame him, Huangfu Yun's face relaxed a little, and he said, "The starting bid was 6,000 euros, but I won the bid for 220,000 euros. Including the handling fees, the total cost was about 2.6 million RMB..."
"Sword collecting isn't very popular, so even if you sell and drive up the price, it's fine. I believe international speculators aren't targeting that market, Brother Huangfu, it's alright..."
Zhuang Rui comforted Huangfu Yun, saying that what he said was true. Sword collecting is a relatively niche market, and generally no one would deliberately inflate prices because there are few collectors. If the price were driven up too much, the item would be stuck with a bad investment.
The three of them talked as they passed through the verification at the entrance of the auction house and entered the auction hall.
Unlike the blond-haired, blue-eyed foreigners he saw outside, Zhuang Rui saw many black-haired, yellow-skinned faces as soon as he entered the hall. Looking around, he realized that out of the more than 100 people in the auction hall, 70 or 80 would be Asian or Chinese.
However, most of those people were in their forties or fifties. After seeing Zhuang Rui and Qin Xuanbing, they looked at them for a while. It was rare for a young person like Zhuang Rui to participate in such an international auction, unless he was entrusted by some reclusive tycoons who did not want to show their faces.
As for Huangfu Yun, these people were quite familiar with him. In recent years, they had often seen him at such international auctions. As they walked to their seats, people would greet Huangfu Yun from time to time.
Of course, some people pulled Huangfu Yun aside to ask about Zhuang Rui's background, but Huangfu Yun gave vague answers. Zhuang Rui had a buzz cut at the moment, which was quite different from his image when he appeared on CCTV a few months ago, so no one could recognize him.
"Ladies and gentlemen, I am Jefferson Downey, the auctioneer for this auction. I am delighted that you are all here to attend this special auction of Chinese art. Yesterday, we sold a total of eighteen precious Chinese artworks, and I believe today's auction will be even more successful..."
About five minutes after Zhuang Rui and the others sat down, a white auctioneer walked to the front of the auction stage and delivered an opening speech in fluent French and English, which was met with sparse applause from the audience.
Actually, yesterday's situation was not as Jefferson described. It is true that eighteen Chinese antiques were auctioned off, but fifteen of them were bought by people arranged by the auction house.
Otherwise, only three lots would have been sold yesterday. Jefferson wasn't the main auctioneer yesterday; as an internationally renowned auctioneer, he came to salvage the situation today.
Chapter 647 Auction (Part 2)
Auctioneer, or registered auctioneer, is a professional qualification title for hosting auction events.
A skilled auctioneer can optimize the combination of items to be auctioned, determine the best bidding strategy, and, combined with creating a lively atmosphere, often achieve unexpected results in the bidding process.
What you see is the auctioneer presiding over the bidding at the auction, which is only the final stage of the entire auction process. In reality, the auctioneer's work goes far beyond that.
First, the auctioneer must participate in the collection of items and the signing of consignment contracts. They must also have a thorough understanding of the items to ensure that buyers are fully informed and willing to bid during the auction. Next, the auctioneer is involved in attracting buyers, which is one of the more complex aspects of the auction process. Auction houses typically use various channels to disseminate information, such as media announcements. More buyers are not necessarily better; rather, the more relevant and relevant the buyers are to the auction items, the better.
Therefore, an excellent auctioneer should have a good grasp of the auction items. Before entering the auction, they should be able to predict which items will be sought after, roughly estimate the maximum value of each item, and even know who the potential buyers of each item will be.
An auctioneer's income depends primarily on the auction house they work for. Of course, their reputation also plays a role; therefore, auctioneers often enhance their value and attract clients' attention through numerous successful live auctions.
In China, the highest income for an auctioneer is around 100,000 yuan, while the average auctioneer earns between 40,000 and 70,000 yuan. Of course, in some auction houses with poor business conditions, the income of auctioneers will be even lower. There are also some well-known auctioneers who are not fixed to any particular auction house, but work as freelancers and specialize in presiding over some top-level auctions.
Jefferson is a top auctioneer in the international auction world. While most auctioneers can only earn a few thousand euros per auction to make ends meet, Jefferson earns a large commission from the auction house. Of course, this is inseparable from his excellent auction skills.
The highest honor for an auctioneer is to receive the "white glove" award, which signifies that an auction has achieved a 100% sell-through rate.
Being a "white glove" signifies high recognition from others. So, if you achieve the status of a "white glove," it's like winning an Oscar in the auction industry—your income will be very substantial.
Jefferson is a three-time white glove winner, a feat unmatched in the current international auction world. Therefore, the auction committee specially invited Jefferson to preside over the auction, despite the low sales volume yesterday.
Yesterday's auction was a complete failure. Of the twenty-four items, six went unsold, and the remaining eighteen were either bought by the owners themselves or by agents of the auction house. The organizing committee, which had been preparing for several months, was extremely dissatisfied and fired the auctioneer who was made a scapegoat on the spot.
"Chinese artworks occupy an important position in the international art market, and their value has appreciated rapidly in recent years. If I weren't short of money, I would definitely be sitting here today competing with you ladies for business..."
Jefferson, as expected of a world-class auctioneer, did not rush into the main topic after the auction began. Instead, he stood on the stage and chatted idly. His humorous remarks drew laughter from the audience from time to time, which immediately eased the tense atmosphere before the auction.
"Alright, I'm sure you've all been waiting impatiently. You're probably cursing me in your heart for wasting everyone's time. Now, let's move on to this special auction of Chinese art." Jefferson suddenly changed the subject, drawing everyone's attention to the auction room. The first item of the day was brought to the table in front of the auction stage by a staff member wearing white gloves. From the old rosewood scroll and the yellowed, curled paper, everyone could tell that it was an ancient painting.
"Our first lot today is an oil painting by the Chinese court painter Giuseppe Castiglione (Lang Shining) from three hundred years ago, from the Frey family collection. It's a portrait of an imperial concubine from ancient China, embodying the gentleness and grace of Eastern women. This is the 'Half-Length Portrait of Consort Chunhui.' After authentication by multiple experts from France and China, it has been confirmed as a genuine work by Castiglione, without any forgery. It is also one of only three authentic Castiglione works available today."
Jefferson's words caused a stir in the room. No one who came to the auction expected that Jefferson would bring out the item that was originally scheduled to be the fifth lot ahead of time. This caught those who intended to bid for the painting off guard.
Normally, auctions produce brochures to promote the lots and the auction order, and buyers use these brochures to focus on the items they want. However, Jefferson broke with convention by making the order chaotic, which immediately made some people interested in the painting nervous.
"It is said that after Emperor Qianlong painted this portrait of his concubine, he forbade anyone to see it, and he only saw it three times in his entire life. This oil painting of an ancient emperor and his concubine has a starting bid of 100,000 euros, with each bid increasing by 20,000 euros. Perhaps if you make just one bid, you could gain the right to enjoy such a painting, and bring it into your private possession..."
It seems Jefferson put a lot of effort into this painting, bringing up stories about the Qianlong Emperor and speaking with great persuasiveness, causing the audience to whisper among themselves.
Jefferson was very satisfied with the effect. The reason he asked the painting to be auctioned in advance was because he considered the Chinese people's fervent pursuit of ancient emperors' items. Although it was just a portrait, it was still worth it because it depicted the emperor's woman. Maybe some people with special hobbies would like to fantasize about the painting?
"Alright, the auction begins now. The starting bid is 100,000 euros. Anyone interested, please place your bid..."
With Jefferson's words, the second day of the Paris Chinese Art Auction officially began.
Just like on the first day, there was a nearly one-minute silence after Jefferson called out the price. No one made a bid. The Chinese people who came to participate in this auction were all highly intelligent, and after being reminded by Huangfu Yun, they became much more rational.
Seeing this, Jefferson still had a smile on his face, but his left little finger curled up almost imperceptibly, which happened to fall into the eyes of a white man sitting in the front row of the auction.
“I’ll offer 100,000 euros…”
Upon receiving Jefferson's prompting, the white man immediately raised the number in his hand.
"Alright, Mr. Number 12 has bid 100,000 euros. Oh, I didn't expect Chinese art to be so captivating. This gentleman must be British, and he's so passionate about Chinese art. Anyone else bidding? There are quite a few lots today. If not, then I congratulate this British gentleman; you're about to acquire a concubine of the Chinese emperor! Alright, first bid..."