Chapter 230 The Forbidden City Speaks! You Are Not Qualified to Bid on This! (2)
“As for the starting bid, truth be told, I am not sure how to set the price myself!”
“In October 2013, at 11 pm on the 7th of July in Beijing time, a volume of the Yongle Encyclopedia was auctioned off at an auction house in Paris, France. Starting at 5,000 euros, the bid rose like a rocket, reaching 5 million euros within minutes. The on-site buyers and telephone bidders fought fiercely, and the final hammer price was 6.4 million euros. Including the commission fees, the transacted amount was 8,128,000 euros, approximately 64.9 million RMB back then. The European Times reported that the bidding price had already exceeded the limit of the auction company’s display screen, and the bidding price could not be shown. The astonishing 1,200-fold premium shocked the market and made the collectors further realize the value of the Chinese cultural treasures.”
Upon hearing this, the female celebrities in the back row could not help but exclaim.
A starting bid of 5,000 euros that skyrocketed to 5 million euros?
!!
“Haha, these foreigners, who do they think they are underestimating? This is a volume of the Yongle Encyclopedia!”
“Exactly! A starting bid of just 5,000 euros, are they deliberately insulting our Yongle Encyclopedia?”
“Na?ve foreigners, what do they know about cultural relics?”
Qin Rubing said, “After discussing with our team of experts behind the Rare Treasure Pavilion, the starting bid is set at 64.9 million yuan!”
Wow.
They were using the final transaction price from the Paris auction as the starting bid?
What did this imply, you might ask?
Well, it was a resounding slap in the face of the foreign institution that auctioned the item back then.
Their affront of setting the starting bid at 5,000 euros was to be paid back today.
Who did they think they were looking down upon?
The fact of the matter was that a single volume from 9 years ago was already worth 64.9 million yuan.
As such, one can only imagine how ridiculous the 80 million offer from the New York Museum is.
As for the British Museum, how could they possibly think that they could secure the relic for a mere 100 million?
The contents recorded in the volume was simply too valuable.
Regardless, when the starting bid of 64.9 million was announced, everyone present gained a whole new understanding of this small volume of books and the true significance of the Yongle Encyclopedia.
Because each volume of the encyclopedia may very well contain great secrets.
“Luo Feng, those foreign museums from earlier were trying to get a bargain, weren’t they?”
“Yeah, an irresistible price, they said. Are they for real?”
“They are just daydreaming; even 100 million. is not enough!”
As soon as the price was announced, Li Shishi, who was sitting beside Luo Feng, immediately complained.
The wealthy heirs who had joined Luo Feng also began to curse.
Foreign museums were really something else.
“Mr. Luo! 1 billion! The New York Museum wants all of the volumes!” Suddenly, the interpreter for the Big Tiger Museum stood up and made an offer, “There is no need for you to auction them off one by one!”
Upon hearing this, the crowd quieted down considerably.
Not in surprise, but in anger.
“What the hell! Who is this guy? Get lost!”
“A foreigner trying to cause a scene!? What can you possibly hope to buy?”
“Those agates are all Grade II cultural relics; so why did none of you bother to bid for them?”
“Do you really think we’d be willing to let first-class relics like the Yongle Encyclopedia to end up abroad?”
“You foreigners have already snatched away many volumes in the past hundred of years, haven’t you had enough?”
“Are you trying to piss us off or something!?”
Many of the wealthy individuals began to curse.
These people were truly annoying. Luo Feng had also had enough of them.
He walked over to Qin Rubing, took the microphone from her, and said, “Ladies and gentlemen, I hereby declare that from now on, cultural relics above Grade II will not be sold to foreign nationals! Whether you are from the New York Museum or the British Museum, you can all keep quiet because there will be no more Grade II cultural relics up for auction! You are free to stay, but if you continue to cause trouble, we will have no choice but to call security and have you escorted out!”
“Get them out of here!”
“Yes, get them out!”
The wealthy heirs around, upon hearing this, all broke into laughter.
It was quite satisfying.
1 billion?
Do you think your 1 billion is so impressive?
What are you trying to show off here?
“My husband is so domineering!” Li Shishi stood nearby, her eyes sparkling with admiration, wanting to sneak a kiss on her husband’s cheek.
However…
Once, when Luo Feng was asleep in the mountains, she had secretly stolen a kiss.
Oh, how embarrassing it was to recall that memory.
After all, he was her husband, and a kiss not taken would be a wasted opportunity. But in truth, Luo Feng had noticed her making the act but simply chose not to expose her. Who would have known that such a goddess with a beauty score of 95 and a family fortune of several billion could be so infatuated with someone like him?
Luo Feng had not even agreed yet, and she was already fantasizing about him being her husband?
“Well done!” Qin Rubing did not hesitate to give a thumbs-up.
These foreigners were so annoying. “You are being discriminatory!”
“This is unreasonable! In any auction, the highest bidder should win! You have no right to prevent us from bidding!”
...
“That’s right, you have no right!”
“Why is it that you people are allowed to participate in our auctions freely, but not the other way around? Are you being biased!?”
The representative from the British Museum took the lead in speaking up.
The foreign museums stood up in protest.
“Haha, your Big Tiger Empire has no valuable cultural relics, just a few hundred years of national fortune. Compared to us, you are nothing but illiterate barbarians, do you understand?”
“Anyway, your most valuable relics were all stolen; and you have no sense of preservation!”
“Moreover, what is wrong with being discriminatory? It is my property; so I get to decide who I want to sell it to!”
“You are all here to cause trouble now, right?
Then I have no reason not to kick you out!” Quickly, Luo Feng spoke up, and those few individuals who were causing a ruckus were finally escorted out.
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