Baiyue Cave Master

In the following days, Wang Yuanchao lived frugally and used the remaining 1300 Hong Kong dollars to finally make it to Sotheby's summer auction at the end of the month.

As the auctioneer, Wang Yuanchao received an invitation letter from Sotheby's auction house early on.

I arrived at the auction venue early and found a corner where no one was paying attention to me, sitting there waiting for the auction to begin.

After all, Wang Yuanchao is just an unknown little guy in Hong Kong now, and he doesn't have much money to spend.

Hiding in the corner and watching the show, Wang Yuanchao felt that this was very consistent with his current status and position.

As various luxury cars of this era were parked one by one in the parking lot of the auction house, the seats at the auction site were gradually filled up.

A middle-aged man in a suit and tie, with a sleek smile on his face, nodded to the guests and said:

“Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen:

Welcome to today's Sotheby's auction! Today, we will witness a series of precious artworks and rare treasures.

Each lot carries unique history, culture and value, and they are about to shine brightly on this stage.

Here, we will experience the charm of art and feel the passion of collecting together.

I am Haring, your host for today's Sotheby's Summer Auction.

Now, let us start this auction journey full of surprises and expectations!

The first treasure in our auction today is this Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln celadon glaze washbasin.

This Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln piece was produced between the first year of Yuanyou reign of Emperor Zhezong of Song (1086) and the fifth year of Chongning reign of Emperor Huizong of Song (1106). Its short existence makes Ru kiln porcelain extremely rare.

It is the imperial porcelain of the Song Dynasty royal family, and its status is second to none among all the porcelains of the Song Dynasty.

At that time, the firing standards of Ru kiln porcelain were very strict, and only high-quality porcelain could enter the palace. Therefore, its quality and craftsmanship reached an extremely high level.

As we all know, the Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln celadon porcelain has an extremely important position in the history of Chinese ceramics. It has been praised by successive dynasties and has the reputation of "the first of famous porcelains" and "the crown of Song Dynasty porcelain".

Its simple and elegant shape, warm glaze color, unique crackle texture and exquisite craftsmanship perfectly combine art and technology, reflecting the superb porcelain-making level and unique aesthetic concepts of the Song Dynasty.

This Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln azure glaze washbasin has a light azure color with a relatively stable tone, between blue and green, neither blue nor green, and has a subtle and timeless beauty.

It is as beautiful as "the sky clears after the rain", with moderate warmth and coldness.

It is the aesthetic taste of "lightness and restraint" advocated by the upper class in the Northern Song Dynasty.

Moreover, under different lighting conditions, the color of Ru kiln's celadon glaze will produce subtle changes, giving people a rich visual experience, sometimes elegant and fresh, sometimes deep and restrained.

There are very few of these treasures in the world and they have extremely high collection and artistic value.

Ladies and gentlemen, this Northern Song Dynasty imperial porcelain is now on display in front of you.

Now I declare that the lowest price for this Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln celadon washbasin is 20 Hong Kong dollars. Each bid must not be less than 1000 Hong Kong dollars.

Now, please bid."

"20 yuan?"

"Okay, this lady offers 21 yuan."

"Here, this gentleman is donating 22 yuan."

Wang Yuanchao was sitting in a corner at this time, watching the auction prices rise from several thousand to ten thousand, and was stunned.

Wang Yuanchao remembered that in his previous life, a Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln celadon washbasin was auctioned in 2017, but it was sold for a whopping 21 billion yuan, making headlines in major newspapers across the country. But it was auctioned in 1975, and that’s it? ? ? ?

Wang Yuanchao was tempted by the price, but unfortunately he only had 300 Hong Kong dollars in his pocket, so he could only sigh.

"Okay, this gentleman bids 36 Hong Kong dollars. Is there anyone else who wants to bid?

36 million for the first time.”

Ladies and gentlemen, does anyone have any bids?"

"36 million for the second time."

"Do you have any bids for this rare Northern Song Dynasty Ru kiln celadon washbasin?"

"36 for the third time. Well, congratulations to this gentleman for winning this precious Northern Song Dynasty Ru Kiln celadon glaze washing porcelain. Congratulations, congratulations."

Wang Yuanchao watched the hammer fall for 36 yuan and couldn't help but sigh that the price of such antiques was really uncertain.

It is no wonder that many ordinary people in the past thought that antique auctions were a way to rationalize money laundering.

To ordinary people, it is simply incomprehensible to spend tens of millions, hundreds of millions, or even billions of dollars to listen to a weird story.

Wang Yuanchao has never liked collecting in his past or present life, nor does he like spending money to buy so-called antiques. He thinks these things are only popular in a small circle, the channels for monetization are too small, the audience is also small, and it is easy to lose money in his hands.

Wang Yuanchao was short of money, so he just looked at the various jewels on display at the auction, picking up gems, diamonds, antiques,

Time passed by little by little, and finally it was the last item to be auctioned, which was the wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain auctioned by Wang Yuanchao.

"Dear guests, ladies and gentlemen,

The treasure below is the finale of our Sotheby's summer auction.

Please hold your breath, open your eyes and look.

This arm-thick ginseng has been authoritatively tested by our Sotheby's auction house.

It is a 340-year-old authentic wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain.

Since ancient times, there is a saying that wild ginseng weighing six liang is considered ginseng, and seven liang is considered precious.

After being processed, this wild ginseng weighs 16 taels.

It is a real rare treasure, a treasure that can snatch people from the hands of the King of Hell.

It is one of the few rare treasures in the world that can extend a person's life.

According to information from Sotheby's auction house, this is the only wild ginseng over 300 years old that can be purchased with money in the market today.

I believe everyone should have an idea of ​​the value of this treasure.

Ladies and gentlemen, please pay attention. The reserve price of this 340-year-old wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain is HK$1000 million. Each bid cannot be less than HK$10.

Dear distinguished guests, please note that the auction is now starting."

As soon as the host's voice fell, the entire auction site fell silent. Rich people are most afraid of death. The money that every rich person spends on their own health care is an astronomical figure.

At this time, a wild ginseng that can prolong life appeared, and all the rich people present began to breathe harder.

The only sound at the auction was heavy breathing.

"I'll offer 1000 million."

As Wang Yuanchao shouted the bid, the auction scene instantly ignited a war.

"I'll offer 1100 million."

"1200."

"1500."

"The Li family will pay 2000 million."

"Sun Hung Kai's Guo family offered 2500 million."

"The Bao family offered 3000 million."

When the price reached 3000 million, the bidding for Wang Yuanchao's wild ginseng from Changbai Mountain had slowed down, and only a few wealthy consortiums were left making bids.

"3500."

"Hey, who is this? I've never seen him before. How dare he compete with the four major families and the world's shipping king?"