Chapter 306: The Imperial Jade Seal! Starting Bid: 12 Billion! (2)
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
“Damn, only 200 million yuan?”
“I thought the starting bid would be at least 1 billion yuan!”
“Only 200 million? Multiply it by 12, that makes the entire collection worth 2.4 billion yuan, right?”
“Well, after all, they are replicas. If these were genuine Emperor Qin’s Twelve
Bronze Men, they would be worth a fortune, at least several billion yuan each.”
“Yeah! The real Twelve Bronze Men are considered priceless treasures. They are said to have been crafted by Emperor Qin after he collected soldiers from all over the world, symbolizing that metal cannot circulate throughout the world!”
In the end, due to there being 12 of these statues, each museum managed to acquire three of them. It was divided among four museums with the strongest reputation. The average transaction price ranged between 300 million and 400 million yuan.
“Hehe, everyone, keep an eye on the next item!”
“It’s a Nine Zhou Ding!”
“Carbon-14 testing has confirmed that this Nine Zhou Ding was crafted during the Qin dynasty, meaning that this is not the real Nine Zhou Ding made during the Xia dynasty!”
As Qin Rubing spoke, people below began to discuss the matter.
“Damn, is it actually fake?”
“How can it be fake?”
“Are you new to the internet? How do you not know about this? It has been said to be fake for a long time!”
Qin Rubing continued, “Back when it was in the ancient tomb, this Qingzhou Ding was situated towards the east! I think the province east of Mount Tai should take it, as the best symbolism, because Qingzhou is in today’s Dongshan Province… Bids for this Qingzhou Ding will start at 800 million yuan!”
After hearing Qin Rubing’s words, a middle-aged man with an Dongshan Qingdao accent immediately offered, “We bid 1 billion yuan!”
Damn! He directly added 200 million yuan?
How bold was this guy?
Everyone did not have much of an impression of him at first. But after taking a closer look, many recognized him as the curator of Dongshan’s Museum.
“Hehe, 1.01 billion yuan!” Long Jianfei did not care that Qingzhou was part of Dongshan’s territory; instead, he felt that this Qingzhou Ding was destined for the Palace Museum. The world’s treasures should all be housed in the capital.
“1.3 billion yuan!” The curator of the Dongshan Museum clearly had no intention of giving up on the item. He was determined to acquire it.
“Are we not going to acquire this item?” Lin Yide was about to raise the bid, but he noticed the high-ranking officials from the south sitting next to him signaling him not to.
“We have no chance!”
“Why?”
“It’s the Qingzhou Ding. The local officials from the Dongshan Province probably wouldn’t let the Qingzhou Ding go to others even for 10 billion yuan.
We have no chance!”
“I see, I was too foolish.”
Feeling the middle-aged man’s relentless bidding, everyone thought that spending too much on a replica of a Nine Zhou Ding was not worth it.
In the end, the Nine Zhou Ding was acquired by the Dongshan Province for 1.5 billion yuan. Of course, there were eight other great Dings left to be acquired. The Jizhou Ding was taken by the folks from North River Province. Xuzhou, naturally, was taken by the people from the Shanghai. As for Yangzhou, there was quite a story… The ancient Yangzhou had a vast territory, which could have belonged to either Jianfu Province or Guangdi.
Anyway, these two provinces competed fiercely for Yangzhou. In the end, the highest price for a great Ding reached 2 billion yuan.
Soon, the Nine Zhou Dings were almost all in the hands of the respective local parties.
“Next up is a large-sized item!”
“It’s a bronze coffin!”
“It has a total of seven layers, fit for an emperor!”
“The whole thing is made of bronze!”
“The starting bid is 1 billion yuan!”
Ultimately, this bronze coffin was acquired by the Guangdi Museum for 1.85 billion yuan.
“It’s getting late, we’ll end the morning session here. See you all this afternoon!” Qin Rubing checked the time, and it was lunchtime. She rubbed her belly under her qipao, feeling hungry. But when she saw many people in the audience looking at her with resentful eyes, Qin Rubing could not help but think, “Aren’t you all hungry too?” “Damn, this girl is ending the session again!” “Are you trying to keep us on edge?”
“When will the Imperial Jade Seal come out?”
“How inconsiderate!”
“What’s the point of eating now? With the Imperial Jade Seal not yet out, I have no appetite.”
Having no choice, the crowd left the conference room grumbling as they headed to the hotel’s dining area downstairs.
Of course, the short break was not without reason. After all, plans could not always keep up with changes. Some museums that had bought items earlier needed to apply for funding if they wanted to buy more. This brief break allowed them time to consolidate their finances.
Luo Feng was having lunch with Qin Rubing and Li Shishi, and he was enthusiastically serving food to Qin Rubing.
If she were willing, and once things were finally over, Luo Feng would gladly teach her what it means to be a woman and give her the experience of a lifetime. However, that all hinges on her decision, and as far as Luo Feng could tell, such a scenario was still a pipe dream.
Just as they were enjoying their meal, a foreigner at the door shouted, ‘Mr. Luo, hello!”
“Uh, who are you? You look familiar.”
“I’m from the Louvre!”
“Oh? The Louvre, huh? What can I do for you?”
“We wish to purchase the Imperial Jade Seal!”
Luo Feng shook his head helplessly, “You must be joking.. Go back to mourning, get lost! Security, escort him out!”
This 𝓬ontent is taken from f(r)eeweb(n)ovel.𝒄𝒐𝙢