Opening an antique shop and getting rich through all the worlds

Chapter 44

Authentic Jun kilns were extremely rare and highly sought after, with pieces selling for tens of millions at foreign auction houses. While later reproductions held little interest for these industry magnates, this particular piece was different. Hence everyone remained uncertain whether this quality could really be classified as a reproduction.

“This was brought for me to see, so why are you all crowding around!” Old Master Xu protested with displeasure.

“Master Xu, you already have two or three Jun kiln flowerpots at home.” Mr. Zhang said with a smile. “How can you still compete with us for this one?”

“Miss Shen, how do you plan to handle this piece? Or perhaps you’re looking for something to trade?” Someone asked.

Only at this moment did the assembled collectors truly acknowledge Shen You as Boss Shen, someone who could hold her own in this gathering.

She was no longer merely an ornamental figure who had gained entry through Old Master Xu and Old Li’s connections to familiarize herself with their circle.

“What price range do you gentlemen think this might reach?” Shen You looked toward the several collecting circle magnates.

Others asking her first was a matter of courtesy, but she couldn’t bypass these magnates to call out prices directly.

Mr. Zhang spoke up first: “A Ming Dynasty Jun kiln piece in good condition sold for over 40 million at Christie’s. Miss Shen’s piece is no inferior in condition to that one, though it’s slightly smaller, so we could expect around 20 million.”

In antique circles, they sometimes omitted the word “million” when speaking, hence “twenty” meant twenty million.

Modern renowned masters’ Jun kiln creations could sell for millions per piece, so ancient ones could never be cheap. This twenty-million price point worked well for both buyer and seller.

Old Master Xu turned his head and said to Shen You with considerable pride, “The piece he mentioned was actually bought by me. Next time when you have time, let Jiayan bring you to my house to take a look.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

Shen You didn’t notice the unusual smile on Xu Jiayan’s face, but in such circumstances, since the old man had extended the invitation, she naturally wouldn’t dampen the mood.

“I heard Mr. Zhou has collected several handed-down ancient qins?” Shen You turned to the collector who had initially asked if she was willing to sell.

This was information Xu Jiayan had shared with her on the way here, mentioning that his collection was much superior to the one at yesterday’s auction.

Hearing this, Mr. Zhou immediately understood that the Jun kiln porcelain was available for negotiation!

“I happened to store a qin in the auction company’s safe for this trip – a Ming Dynasty Lianzhu style. If Miss Shen is interested, I can have someone bring it over right now.”

Mr. Zhou made a phone call, and the other party handled matters very efficiently, quickly delivering the item.

When the qin case opened, it revealed an entirely black instrument with the qin’s name ‘Bright Moon Among Pines’ carved on the back, along with the craftsman’s name and the year of creation. This was exactly where the value of antique instruments lay.

“If Miss Shen finds this acceptable, how about we calculate it at twelve million? We can trade directly, and I’ll add eight million on top.”

Shen You plucked the strings to test the tone quality – it was truly excellent. Both the wood material and craftsmanship were on a completely different level from yesterday’s auction piece.

“Shall we settle on this arrangement then?”

“Excellent!” Mr. Zhou was a straightforward person, and afraid Shen You might change her mind, he transferred the money before the dishes were even served.

This meant that Shen You had earned over ten million in these two days, plus acquired an antique instrument. From this moment forward, her name officially began to emerge prominently in collector circles.

Of course, no one present could have anticipated that the next time she appeared at an auction house, she would be seated in the VIP lounge.

During the dinner, Shen You exchanged contact information with Mr. Zhang, confirming the delivery time for the item that needed restoration at her shop. After the banquet ended and after saying goodbye to everyone, Xu Jiayan helped Shen You carry the qin case as he escorted her out of the hotel.

“Will you be alright going back alone tonight?”

“It’s fine.” Shen You took the item from him. “You should go back inside.”

Those magnates were staying at the hotel for two more days of vacation, so Xu Jiayan would naturally accompany Old Master Xu.

“Send me a message when you arrive home.”

“No problem.”

They parted ways in the lobby, where Shen You met Jiang He, who greeted her cordially, her gaze falling on the black qin case.

As someone responsible for liaison work with the auction company, she naturally knew that several industry heavyweights had organized a private gathering at the hotel, viewing items superior to those at the auction. These would have to be antiques worth at least ten million.

This case was clearly recognizable as the qin their company had been safeguarding. Yet it had ended up in Shen You’s hands – what conditions had she offered to make the original owner, Mr. Zhou, agree to part with it?

One had to understand that collectors with private museums like him were never short of money. She herself had once considered purchasing it, but Mr. Zhou had declined.

“What treasure did you trade for this?” Jiang He asked curiously.

“A piece of porcelain.”

Shen You didn’t specify exactly what it was, and Jiang He tactfully refrained from pressing for details. However, she knew that if it had been an ordinary piece, Mr. Zhou would definitely not have been interested.

“Miss Shen was so generous – are you studying traditional instruments?”

Shen You shook her head. “I haven’t even learned the rudimentary part yet, so I can’t say I’ve studied them.”

Jiang He was stunned. She wasn’t studying qin, yet was willing to trade porcelain for one? The market for porcelain was much larger than that for ancient instruments. It seemed Miss Shen must have even finer porcelain pieces in her possession.

With this thought, she smiled again and said quietly, “Miss Shen, if you ever have good pieces you’d like to sell in the future, our company would be happy to handle them for you.”

Shen You nodded politely. Jiang He’s guess wasn’t wrong – she still had two more Jun kiln pieces, along with porcelain of even better condition. This qin was truly rare; in Great Qi, she couldn’t obtain instruments with modern historical value, which was why she was willing to make this trade.

Shen You got in her car and glanced at the consistently quiet avatar on her phone, then simply set the phone aside. Not knowing what to say, she decided to say nothing at all.

Returning home and settling her acquisitions properly, Shen You was in excellent spirits as she grabbed two bags of snacks, lay on her bed, and turned on the projector to watch a movie. Her delightful nightlife was just beginning.

At the same time, back at the hotel, Gu Yue had just learned that Shen You had acquired a ten-million-level ancient qin. Unable to contain herself, she threw her limited edition bag onto the sofa.

Thinking about how she had been pleased yesterday that Shen You hadn’t even dared to continue bidding after two million, yet now she had casually… She simply didn’t look like someone with that kind of financial capability!

The only designer item she wore was the most basic, cheapest style of shoes. And her clothing was clearly specially prepared for the auction, not her usual attire.

The more she thought about it, the more something felt wrong, until Gu Shaoyu returned from his information-gathering mission.

“I told you it couldn’t have been given by Grandpa Xu or Brother Jiayan. Shen You brought out a precious porcelain piece herself.”

Gu Shaoyu sighed helplessly. “Next time something like this happens, I’m not going to ask around anymore.”

His sister had been competitive since childhood. Like many in their circle, while she wouldn’t speak directly about it to someone’s face, she looked down on people from backgrounds inferior to her own. Yet when she encountered people of higher status than herself, her attitude would change completely.

“You’re so protective of her. Are you sure you don’t have feelings?” Gu Yue considered this possibility.

If Gu Shaoyu got together with her, as long as she knew how to conduct herself properly, it wouldn’t be impossible for her to enter their family.

Gu Shaoyu didn’t respond and simply left the room. He did have feelings, but that required the other person to be interested as well.

Gu Yue really thought Shen You was just taking commercial restoration jobs, earning two hundred thousand per project.

He had come to understand that this was simply Shen You’s personal interest, as well as a channel for expanding her network and influence.