Chapter 299: The World Shudders in Anticipation! The Closing Price of Qin Shi Huang’s Sword! (1)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“The starting bid is at 900 million?”
“Hmm, that isn’t too expensive!”
“Indeed, for such a massive bronze artifact, 900 million really isn’t expensive!”
The audience at the time, especially the wealthy, had already become numb to the prices. The money was nothing compared to the edicts auctioned off earlier. After all, those edicts had fetched even higher prices, hadn’t they? They also knew that Qin Dynasty bronze artifacts were generally quite expensive. The better ones cost several hundred million, while the lesser ones still went for tens or hundreds of millions.
Such a large bronze tripod, over two meters high, truly did not seem like much. Moreover, it was an alchemy furnace, specifically designed for concocting the elixir of immortality for Qin Shi Huang, so naturally its value was meant to be quite extraordinary.
“Shall we try to acquire this?”
At that moment, Lin Yide had secretly made a phone call to an official.
Honestly, the amount of money they had spent in this auction had already exceeded what their Jiangnan Museum could manage. In reality, it was the Jiangnan officials who were in charge of the operation behind the scenes. Many cultural relics were desired by the local officials.
“In any case, the quota for this time is limited. You can decide on your own, as long as it doesn’t exceed 3 billion. I think such a giant alchemy furnace is still worth obtaining!” whispered the Jiangnan official representative on the other end of the phone.
“830 million!”
“840 million!”
Before Lin Yide could even hang up the phone, other museums had already begun their “battles.” Although the increments were not high, only ten million each time, the sheer number of bidders was overwhelming. In no time, the colossal alchemy tripod had been bid up to an astounding 1.8 billion, quickly approaching the price of the previous Qin Shi Huang’s edict.
Some smaller museums, lacking the financial means to continue bidding, reluctantly put down their bidding paddles. Lin Yide saw that everyone had more or less finished bidding and announced, “Our Jiangnan Museum bids 2 billion!”
Sun Daozhen glanced at Lin Yide. He couldn’t help but feel something was off today. The small Jiangnan Museum had spent nearly 4 billion already. How much quota had they applied for? Did they not want the Imperial Jade Seal that would be auctioned later?
“2.1 billion!”
However, Long Jianfei, who was clearly not very interested in the artifacts outside the top three today, placed a bid. It was not that he was uninterested, but he would only acquire them at a suitable price, without the need to compete aggressively. His intentions were clear to all – he had his sights set on the top three treasures.
Otherwise, how could the Palace Museum miss out on such a massive bronze tripod?
“Damn it! Long Jianfei interferes again? Weren’t you aiming for your top three treasures? Stop bidding!”
Lin Yide had just bid two billion but was immediately outbid. Annoyed, he secretly cursed the old man.
Lin Yide raised his bid once more, and finally secured the artifact for 2.2 billion. The Palace Museum did not continue to bid.
Subsequently, a bronze crane was auctioned off. Although its starting bid was not high, priced at only a mere 300 million, it still sold for an astonishing 1.2
figurine with red gold feet, suppressing the stone box, fetched the highest price, 340 million, acquired by Long Jianfei of the Palace Museum.
The other figurines went for prices ranging between 100 million and 200 million. Next were several taotie beast statues from the first false tomb, which sold for around one hundred million each.
The auction did not conclude until five o’clock in the afternoon. From morning until then, it had been a parade of sky-high prices. There were few items in the tens of millions range, with most starting at one hundred million, and the more impressive ones at a staggering one billion.
The final prices were not even worth mentioning. People from all over the world—viewers, antique enthusiasts, and those who had watched the recorded livestream—came to understand the true value of antiques, the profoundness and vastness of Chinese culture, and the meaning of cultural inheritance.
Without culture, could these antiques have fetched such high prices to begin with?
“Hehe, it’s finally over for today!”
“Yes, but the real treasures have yet to come!”
“Perhaps all the treasures will be auctioned off by tomorrow?”
“Most likely, there aren’t many items left! After all, the auction has been going on for several days!”
“The remaining items are even more incredible than today’s, the treasures among national treasures! In Cao Ren’s words, each one is the bravest of the brave, the finest of the fine!”
“I remember there’s also an Immortal Elixir, right? Will anyone buy that?” “Who would buy it? It can’t grant real immortality.”
“You guys are too superficial. Even if it doesn’t grant immortality, think about the value it holds for researching ancient alchemy. Once the chemical composition of the elixir is analyzed, experts will know the skill level of Qin Shi Huang’s alchemists. After all these years, no ancient records have mentioned what kind of elixirs emperors consumed.”
“Ah, in that sense, its research value is indeed enormous.”
“But I saw online that some people actually believe the Immortal Elixir can grant immortality?”
“Then why didn’t Qin Shi Huang eat it?”
“The internet says that consuming it would disfigure one’s face, and Qin Shi
Huang did not want to eat it.”
“Haven’t I seen this content in a cartoon before?”
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