Chapter 38
After leaving the tailor shop, Shen You headed straight to the auction venue—Xilu Study.
Since there was an upcoming auction, it was no longer open for public tours. Which meant she needed the invitation from the Collectors Association that had been mailed to her to enter.
This was an extremely well-preserved ancient garden with pavilions and waterside structures, very elegant indeed.
A staff member led the way, and carrying her case, she arrived at the rear courtyard.
The reception was handled by a beautiful woman and a forty-to-fifty-year-old appraiser named Wu Zhiyuan, who was also a member of the Collectors Association.
He was said to be recognized in the industry as having high standards, and auction houses without sufficient credentials couldn’t even invite him.
After completing the preliminary procedures, they waited for authentication to determine the starting bid—this process would take some time.
Sitting there made her drowsy, so Shen You drank two cups of strong tea to stay alert.
“This inkstone has exquisite carving work and excellent jade quality! So white and lustrous. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen such a complete piece of fine jade! And this jade screen as well.”
Wu Zhiyuan’s obviously quickened speech made everyone nearby look over.
While appreciating these treasures, their gazes fell on the owner of the items.
Jiang He observed Shen You discretely, finding it hard to believe that this woman who appeared to be about her own age—whom she had never seen at auctions or in the circle before—could produce such fine pieces on her first appearance.
Normally, those with family backgrounds who came for the first time were just playing around, trying to gain some experience, or just coming to spend money on items that interested them. They rarely brought things to auction.
Or was there someone backing her?
“Bringing these three study room items together will result in a high starting bid.”
“I wonder if this could set a record for transaction prices at Xilu Study in the past two years.”
Amid others’ quiet discussions, Wu Zhiyuan, along with a member from the auction house who also served in the Collectors Association secretariat, gave their starting prices.
Brush and inkstone: 1.2 million yuan
Jade screen: 350,000 yuan
Other small items: starting bids of 100,000 to 200,000 yuan each
This was how auctions worked. Starting prices were usually set somewhat low.
Shen You reviewed them and found no problems, so she signed her name, pressed her fingerprint, then proceeded with the storage process for auction items.
The entire procedure was both standardized and rigorous. And since this was her first participation, Jiang He thoughtfully introduced the security system.
The safes used the highest security level available, featuring not only comprehensive camera coverage but also infrared sensors.
Both the appraiser and auction company had signed documents. Meaning if anything happened to the items here, they would be held responsible. This explained why the commission fees were so high.
Shen You nodded as she listened, feeling more at ease.
She was someone who extremely lacked a sense of security. When things weren’t in her own hands, she always felt uneasy.
“I heard the auction is divided into several sessions. Do you have a booklet with the schedule for each session?” She asked.
Jiang He smiled elegantly. “Yes, we do.”
She handed over an exquisite booklet.
“Tomorrow and the day after are the preview exhibitions, where all items for this auction will be displayed first. The formal auction begins the day after tomorrow and lasts for two days.”
“Your scholarly antiques will be in the afternoon session the day after tomorrow, starting at 3 PM. The morning session features porcelain.”
“The other items will be in the afternoon session of the second day.”
Shen You browsed through the schedule briefly. The first day featured porcelain tea sets, fans, scholarly antiques, and rubbings.
The second day had ancient coins in the morning, with a special session for jewelry and jade in the afternoon.
Quite interesting—it would be good for gaining knowledge and familiarizing herself with the auction market.
Of course, asset verification would begin from the preview, and formal auction participation with bidding paddles required a deposit.
With her current account assets, none of this was a problem.
After learning enough, Shen You said she wanted to stroll around the open area in front of the garden to appreciate the ancient architecture.
Jiang He offered to accompany her, guiding her along the scenic route to the exit.
While passing a pond with aesthetically pleasing Taihu stones, they met an acquaintance—Boss Huo.
He was walking with two other bosses from Antique Street, and seeing Shen You, he greeted her warmly:
“Boss Shen, you’re here too? What good items did you bring for auction this time?”
Boss Huo looked curious.
Shen You smiled. “Just some small items. Jade carvings, wood carvings, and such.”
“Nothing you produce is ordinary.” Boss Huo laughed, clearly not believing her description of ‘small items’.
He had brought a pair of Ming Dynasty blue and white porcelain bowls for auction—also fine pieces.
Jiang He watched Shen You and Boss Huo converse, maintaining her smile throughout.
Boss Huo was a notable figure in the circle with extensive connections and networks.
Whether Miss Shen had backing or came from a distinguished family, maintaining good relations with her would certainly be beneficial.
After bidding farewell to Boss Huo, Shen You moved to Xilu Study’s dedicated parking area from the side.
Jiang He waved goodbye. “Miss Shen, drive safely. Please contact me if you have any questions.”
“Thank you for today.”
Right next to Xilu Study was Jiang City’s most famous attraction, South Lake. Now with autumn breezes blowing gently, there were pleasure boats on the lake as well as several high-end restaurants around the lake, plus bed-and-breakfasts costing 5,000 yuan per night.
This showed just how valuable this scenery was.
Shen You’s car driving out from inside seemed somewhat out of place.
The auction process didn’t allow photography, so it was only after returning home that she took her phone out to check messages.
Both Xu Jiayan and Gu Shaoyu had asked whether she was going to Xilu Study’s auction.
Shen You typed: “Yes, I’m going.”
These two had probably already guessed she would go, since she had previously asked about auction matters.
Xilu Study’s autumn auction was also quite prestigious in Jiang City.
Gu Shaoyu replied: “Perfect timing. I’ll probably attend a couple of sessions to take a look. Maybe the three of us will run into each other.”
While Xu Jiayan asked what time she would go to the preview tomorrow, offering to pick her up on the way.
Shen You: “Better not, I haven’t confirmed my timing yet.”
After chatting briefly on the phone, she casually browsed the auction company’s website for historical transaction records, especially for items that interested her.
Then with nothing particular to do in the afternoon, she received some packages and sat in her rocking chair browsing videos.
She wasn’t sure if it was meant to be abstract, but someone was having a beer bottle bracelet appraised as imperial green jade.
But glass bracelets were indeed valuable in ancient times.
Just yesterday she had bought two crystal and aquamarine bracelets from a livestream.
Modern ones cost a few hundred to a thousand, but in ancient times they would have been treasures.
Ancient people couldn’t make such bracelets either—the material was too brittle. This included most nan hong (southern red agate), which in modern times required resin injection before machine pressing. Resin injection was nationally approved and harmless to the body.
**
On the first day of the preview, Xu Jiayan sent another message saying he planned to go to the preview at 1 PM.
Shen You thought about it. She didn’t seem to have much to do today, so she replied:
“I’ll probably arrive later.”
Yesterday she had forgotten—she had only ordered custom clothing but hadn’t prepared matching shoes. So before going to the preview, she first went to the downtown shopping mall.
The original salesperson at the luxury store barely paid attention to her, but Shen You wasn’t having it. She directly switched to someone else and bought two pairs of versatile low chunky-heel shoes.
She didn’t want to wear high heels. It was too tiring.
Two pairs of shoes cost 17,000 yuan. When spending her own money, comfort and personal preference came first.
Then she tossed the shopping bags into her trunk and drove to the study.