Chapter 73: Where the Heart Desires
So that's it... Jiang Xian tapped the armrest lightly with his fingers and looked at Hardison. Hardison said nothing, but there was a hint of anxiety between his brows.
After watching for a few seconds, Jiang Xian smiled slightly, put down the wine glass in his hand, and said playfully: "If Mr. Hardison doesn't mind, let's chat together?"
Hardison forced a dry smile and shook his head: "Of course not...mind."
Soon, everyone came up. When they saw Hudson, everyone's face changed slightly. Hudson, on the other hand, took the initiative and adjusted his mentality. He smiled and nodded at everyone.
The private room was just the right size for six people, and when everyone was seated, four business cards were handed up at the same time. Jiang Xian collected them one by one, glanced at them, and put them in his pocket.
"Mr. Jiang." Hardison spoke first: "What do you think about what happened just now?"
As soon as he finished speaking, Oren, the thin British man, said, "Mr. Jiang, why don't you listen to our proposal first? Although Christian is old enough, it can no longer keep up with the times. The future belongs to Sotheby's auction house. We have the contact information of all the rich people in the world, whether it is Bill Gates, Mr. Bezos, or Mr. Musk..."
"Mr. Oren." Hardison picked up the wine glass and shook it gently. "Christian can't keep up with the times? What you said is really ridiculous. So far, the auction amount of our bank has always been the leader among all auction houses in the world. I think I need to remind you."
"But that's because you have so many auctions!" Oren pushed up his black-framed glasses and said without hesitation, "Have you forgotten? At every major auction in every quarter, Sotheby's has always set the record for the highest transaction volume..."
"Doesn't that prove that Christian Auction House has extensive channels and a large collection of items?"
"Excuse me for being frank, but our bank has always been promoting an auction method that values quality over quantity. Our aim is that only the best items can be auctioned in our bank, and we will never accept inferior items. This is completely different from some auction houses that need a large number of items to maintain their sales!"
Swish… The two elderly men looked at each other for a moment, but did not speak again—for fear that excessive noise would cause a counterproductive effect. After saying enough, Hardison continued to fiddle with his pipe, while Oren slowly tasted the red wine.
"Mr. Jiang." After a minute of silence, Ms. Li spoke fluent Mandarin with a smile and said, "I am Li Huiying from Phoenix Auction House under LV Company. Very happy to meet you."
Jiang Xian was a little interested: "The Korean auction house is also interested in me?"
"I'm not interested. I think you are Yi Sun-sin from Phoenix Auction House." Li Huiying said with a smile, "Although Phoenix Auction House is not as big as Sotheby's and Christian, we have unique means of publicity . If the wealthy people they invite are mainly the richest men, our target is the wealthy women. The highest price of our quarterly auctions has always been close to that of Sotheby's. As long as you join, you will be the last piece of the puzzle to become the auction king!"
"Heh..." Oren sneered at the right time and didn't say anything.
"China and Japan are neighbors." After Li Huiying's brief introduction, a thin Japanese man smiled and said, "If Mr. Jiang chooses another auction house, he will have to leave Asia. I believe it will not be easy for Mr. Jiang to adapt to the British food and customs. But if he chooses our Yamato Sanyou Auction House, it will be completely different. In Asia, Yamato Sanyou Auction House is the best."
"And most importantly, we are the only ones in Asia who are most proficient in promoting Chinese auction items. We clearly understand the preciousness of Chinese auction items. There is no shortage of wealthy people in Japan who are willing to spend a fortune on Chinese antiques. Our country is the best guarantee that your auction items will be sold at a high price!"
"I forgot to mention one thing. We are a professional auction company that has been with antiques for a lifetime. We are fundamentally different from those so-called auction houses that sell antiques but actually sell clothes. Some auction houses probably can't even tell the difference between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, right? But I can recite all the dynasties and era names of China."
The smell of gunpowder is somewhat pungent.
Everyone's eyes turned to Jiang Xian. Even though they knew they might not be able to achieve their goal this time, they did not hide their desire.
Jiang Xian didn't say anything, but thought quickly in his mind. He had completely understood the meaning of Lin Fangruo's words in the afternoon.
First of all, in China, the archaeological industry is not particularly developed. It is large in scale and has many discoveries, but after the great purge around 2000, there are very few young people. The older generation is unable to go to the field in person due to health reasons. This has created a talent vacuum.
Secondly, China is developing its economy at a high speed, and the industry of archaeology is taking a put-it-on-hold attitude at this time. This has led to the fact that archaeology-related majors are not popular, and the number of people and funds invested is small, resulting in insufficient research and development of corresponding equipment. Most of the equipment currently selected by archaeologists or prospectors is from foreign countries, such as Marmot or Arc'teryx. Even the exploration of the Mausoleum of Qin Shihuang in Mount Li in 2015 seemed to have borrowed foreign equipment.
But, that was in the past.
In recent years, China's industrial upgrading has obviously been completed. It has begun to invest in other aspects, and the investment in humanities and history has increased significantly. And this time, such a shocking discovery... is just in time. Lin Fangruo has told him that the country will have a series of actions and needs his cooperation. Then, he is the first business card submitted by China's humanities.
If this business card was auctioned by a foreign auction house, how many people would be slapped in the face?
"There should be... The great purge around 2000 has left the entire industry with lingering fears. Now, they probably want to take this opportunity to test and see what the country's attitude is towards this industry?" He looked out the window. It was already dark and all the lights were on.
"As the person recommended by everyone, if I choose a foreign auction house, it would be a slap in their face... Mr. Lin should have guessed this... No, maybe when we were exploring Wowokeng, people from these auction houses joined us. So they specifically pointed me..."
Gathering his thoughts, he turned his gaze back to everyone: "Sorry, I have made a decision."
"Excuse me, is this Shenzhou?" Oren was not disappointed, but asked with a smile.
"Everyone will know soon." Jiang Xian stood up with a smile and nodded slightly: "I'm afraid you haven't eaten yet? I have reserved a table. I hope everyone enjoys their meal. I have already paid the bill."
With the sound of the door closing, the air in the room suddenly turned cold. The general managers of several large auction houses looked at each other and left the compartment one after another.
…………………………
Yasuda Nakamura walked down the stairs of the Sheraton Hotel slowly with his walking stick. When he walked down the last step, he couldn't help but look back and sighed with regret. He walked into the black car parked on the roadside reluctantly.
"Didn't succeed?" As soon as the car door was closed, a middle-aged man's voice came from the back seat. Nakamura Yasuda, who was sitting in the passenger seat, combed his hair painfully and said in Japanese: "No."
"Is his request too high?"
"No... he didn't make any requests." Nakamura Yasuda didn't order the car to drive, but continued to look out the glass window at the Sheraton outside, and said faintly: "Phoenix, Christian, and Sotheby's are all here... What a pity, what a pity!"
He could not help but knock on the car door lightly, and his voice became excited: "This discovery will surely shock the world! I have seen the photos sent back by the exploration team. Those mechanisms are so ingenious! Anyone who can survive these mechanisms must be a dragon among men!"
"We are different from Sosby and the others. They know that Mr. Jiang will never join them! Mr. Jiang previously joined the Shenzhou exploration team. They just hope that such exploration experts will not be intercepted by other opponents, so they came here. But...but we are different!"
He breathed a sigh of relief: "We really hope he will join us... Chinese cultural relics can be sold at sky-high prices in Japan, South Korea and South Asia! This is something that those British auction houses cannot do. Our cooperation is simply a match made in heaven! But... these bastards just happened to come out to mess things up!"
The car was silent for a moment. After a few seconds, the man behind the car sighed and said, "We were hoping to recruit him before the Archaeological Bureau officially recruited him. It seems... he is also very smart... We went out together , but it made him realize something... You have only been up there for half an hour, and he didn't even let you make any requests. Obviously, he figured it out halfway."
If it was clear from the beginning, he wouldn't even meet with the others.
Silence again.
Another five seconds passed, and the middle-aged man's voice sounded again: "It took a lot of effort to get Mr. Long to give Mr. Song that thing, and then he allowed us to meet with Mr. Jiang... It would be a pity to give up."
Swish... The car door opened, and the light from outside poured in. Nakamura Yasuda looked up in astonishment and looked at the opened back door: "You want to..."
"No matter what, we have to try hard." Outside the car, a middle-aged man in his early forties combed his long back hair and strode towards Sheraton: "Even if the other party does not join, we have to reach some cooperation intentions... Yes, we are completely different from those British companies. We... have enough sincerity!"
He snapped his fingers, and even though there was a car between them, the driver seemed to have heard it. He immediately opened the door, trotted out, and handed a computer bag to the man in the suit.
The man in the suit gently stroked the paper bag, his eyes slightly solemn: "I'm actually very surprised. If Mr. Jiang had seen the thing we handed him, he should have called me. But... I didn't wait."
"It seems that he either didn't realize what it was. Or... Mr. Song broke his promise... But it doesn't matter. This time, I will personally make this dragon nod!"
"Our sincerity is incomparable to other auction houses!"
