Chapter 41
“Absolutely!” Shen You nodded solemnly.
Watching her serious expression, as if she were about to raise her hand and swear an oath, Elder Xu burst into hearty laughter once again. Before they knew it, only five minutes remained until the auction began.
Shen You also bid farewell to the elder and returned to her seat. On the water pavilion, the auctioneer in a qipao with her hair meticulously arranged was already in position, waiting for the opening.
“No wonder Old Li, despite being such a rigid person, was willing to support this girl. Chatting with her about porcelain and antiques is quite fascinating.” Elder Xu commented after Shen You left.
Hearing his grandfather’s high praise for Shen You, Xu Jiayan felt happy too. The elder noticed his grandson’s uncontainable smile and shook his head. The girl already knew about their family’s situation but showed no romantic interest whatsoever. This was probably one-sided affection.
“Someone from the Xu family?” Wen Zhi asked lazily, sitting in his Chinese-style chair while glancing at Shen You who had just returned.
“Do you know them?” Shen You wasn’t surprised. After all, he was the owner of this estate, so knowing who sat in the private boxes was perfectly normal.
“Not really acquainted. I’ve seen him here twice before. Someone approached the Xu family wanting them to broker a deal to buy this place, but I didn’t agree. This location isn’t suitable for living, but it’s nice to come back occasionally for tea and rest.”
Shen You looked around at the garden scenery – it was indeed lovely, positioned at the best viewing spot where one could probably see the lake surface.
The auction officially began. Having attended the preview, everyone had a good sense of the items they were interested in. The actual items wouldn’t be brought out for display since they’d be too far away to see details, so they were using projected enlargements instead.
The first auction item was a Qing Dynasty bamboo-carved mountain pine brush holder, starting at 60,000 yuan. Although bamboo wasn’t precious wood, this brush holder excelled in its vivid carving work and historical value, with an extremely beautiful patina color.
This was a rare treasure, with a starting price higher than another brush holder made of yellow rosewood. Antique auctions never priced items solely based on materials – craftsmanship and historical value were the key factors.
After a round of bidding, it finally sold for 90,000 yuan. Several more brush holders of different materials followed, with two bamboo-carved pieces failing to sell. The jade-carved piece was too small and lacked practicality, selling for only 50,000 yuan.
The most expensive was a red sandalwood brush holder that sold for 100,000 yuan. The fans that followed were the high-priced items. A fan carved by a famous artist started at 800,000 yuan and finally reached 1.5 million after competitive bidding.
The Ming Dynasty guqin was different from other items. They specially invited a master to play “Autumn Wind Song” on stage to let everyone hear the tone quality. It sounded beautiful and was made with a red sandalwood body, starting at 900,000 yuan.
Shen You joined in for fun, raising her paddle to bid 1 million yuan. She had learned for two days in a university club for free and could play, though badly. Her main purpose in bidding was to experience the thrill, plus the instrument had an attractive design and interesting marks left by time.
After several people bid, Gu Yue called out 1.5 million yuan. Only three or four people remained competing. Shen You raised it to 1.8 million yuan. Gu Yue increased it to 2 million yuan.
Shen You stopped bidding – 2 million exceeded her psychological price point, and she wouldn’t bid beyond what was worthwhile. The first hammer sounded. However before the second hammer fell, Shen You’s sharp eyes noticed Wen Zhi preparing to raise his paddle to bid 3 million, so she quickly reached out to stop him.
“Don’t be impulsive. Ming and early Qing Dynasty instruments aren’t worth that price. Having money doesn’t mean you should be taken advantage of.”
Simultaneously, the third hammer fell with a final price of 2 million yuan.
“Didn’t you want to win it?” Wen Zhi allowed her to stop him while looking at her delicate wrist.
“My wanting to win it was based on the item being worth that amount.” Shen You replied. “There are many instruments from the early Qing period remaining, with huge price differences. This one is indeed good, but not to the extent of paying such a premium.”
This instrument had the highest transaction price among the auction items so far, with many people discussing it around them. Not even halfway through, the bidding momentum was terrifying – previous autumn auctions had never been like this.
“Sister, if I remember correctly, you’ve never learned traditional instruments.” Gu Shaoyu said in a low voice.
Gu Yue replied happily, “Can’t I hang it at home as decoration?”
Gu Shaoyu frowned slightly without speaking, understanding in his heart that she was deliberately trying to outbid Shen You. It was fortunate this item wasn’t enough to make Shen You compete with her seriously, otherwise in the antique business, his sister really couldn’t compete. He couldn’t say this aloud – if he did, his sister’s competitive spirit would only grow stronger.
The elegant auctioneer on the water pavilion, with each falling hammer accompanied by clear bidding calls, truly embodied the saying “one hammer strike, ten thousand gold pieces.”
They reached Shen You’s submitted auction items. The first was the jade screen, which would be extremely valuable even as a standalone piece. Everyone knew there was also an inkstone coming up to complete the set, making them even more excited.
The high-definition projection enlarged the carving details while the auctioneer introduced this jade screen ornament: “This jade screen features lifelike carved figures with ingenious and elegant composition, demonstrating exquisite craftsmanship. Mr. Wu Zhiyuan has authenticated it as a late Song Dynasty work.”
Starting price: 350,000 yuan. Zheng Mingbo was the first to raise his paddle, bidding 400,000 yuan.
A calligraphy master from the Collectors’ Association spoke up: “420,000 yuan!”
“450,000 yuan!” An antique street boss wearing a thumb ring called out.
“500,000 yuan!” The calligraphy master continued bidding.
He had collected several similar ornaments before, but none were as fine as this one, and it was from the late Song period – truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Finally, it was driven up to 800,000 yuan and won by the calligraphy master, who was a major figure. Jade screen ornaments were generally not large, prizing refinement above all. Reaching this price absolutely broke all records for jade screens in the study’s autumn auction history.
Shen You was calculating how much money she would receive after deducting the commission. Having built up anticipation, the jade inkstone and brush set that most people were waiting for finally began.
With a starting price of 1.2 million yuan, this was the item with the most bidders so far in the auction. In just thirty seconds, it was bid up to 2 million yuan. The price continued climbing.
Although Shen You had already experienced the thrill of bidding, watching the current scene still made her heart race with excitement. The final transaction price was 3.2 million yuan, still won by the major calligraphy figure.
This was definitely the highest transaction price of the entire session. Shen You had originally estimated that reaching 2.6 million would be quite good. The calligraphy master who won the items was excitedly talking with people nearby. For collectors who loved these items, the price was expensive, but for those who truly needed them, no price could buy what their heart desired.
Having these pieces on his desk would energize him every day while writing and working. There were also paperweights, incense burners, and wooden boxes to follow. Shen You’s box, which she had bought at the Great Qi temple fair for just one or two silver coins, also sold for over 20,000 yuan.
At 6:30 PM, after the final auction item was completed, this session concluded perfectly. According to auction rules, payment would only be settled after the entire autumn auction ended, so she couldn’t collect the money yet.
“The auction was interesting – I’ll come again tomorrow.” Shen You said, in high spirits thinking about the excellent prices her items had fetched.