ushernet Chapter 297 The auction begins
Chapter 297 The auction begins
Chapter 297 The Auction Begins
After sending the clingy child away, Qiu Huoming simply stopped reading. He took out the "Auction Instructions" given to him by Jin Chaopu and started reading.
After watching, I turned off the lights and went to bed.
The next morning, Jin Chaopu knocked on the door wearing a suit and tie.
Qiu Huoming opened the door, and he was holding a bunch of things in his arms and threw them all to Qiu Huoming.
Qiu Huoming unfolded all the things, which were a suit, a shirt, and a shoe box. Jin Chaopu instructed, "Change your clothes. Today is a formal occasion, so dress formally."
Qiu Huoming carried all the things into the bathroom.
It was a light-colored suit and a starched white shirt.
Inside the box was a pair of large black leather shoes, which had been polished so well that flies could die on them...
Qiu Huoming put on the clothes, looked at himself in the mirror, and asked loudly, "Uncle, why does this suit fit me so well..."
He glanced at Qiu Huoming and said, "I heard that you are good at boxing and kicking. Stay in Hong Kong for a few more days this time and teach them the basic skills."
"Okay, then stay a few more days. I want to go around Hong Kong City."
The two of them sat down and had tea. After a while, the dining cart came over and Jin Chuopu took some snacks from it with familiarity...
"Last night, Guansheng cried and looked for his mother. I tried to comfort him until late at night, but they were still catching up on their sleep..."
He said gently: "A little more?"
"Today's auction is a temporary event. The official spring auction will be held in April..."
"Smart, it's right there. You can see Victoria Harbour over there. It's a nice view."
Jin Chuopu immediately took out a stack of banknotes from his wallet and said, "These are Hong Kong dollars. Buy whatever you want. If you don't have enough, give me some."
The waiters vary greatly in age, some have gray hair and some are young.
Qiu Huoming touched his nose and asked, "Why are you crying?"
"I'm too old to learn..." Jin Chaopu said dejectedly.
Jin Chaopu looked at him with a smile, "I don't need small money. Your uncle only likes to make big money."
Jin Chuopu smiled and said, "Come out and let me see..."
"What do you mean by 'I'? Forget it. I don't want to talk to you. I had this suit custom-made in advance. As for how the size came about..." He smiled mischievously, "I won't tell you."
The waiter held a piece of paper and stamped a round stamp on each portion of dessert he brought.
Jin Chuopu took the bill and went to the cashier with Qiu Huoming to pay.
"You know?" Jin Chaopu asked in surprise.
Jin Chaopu took several different snacks and spread them all over the table.
"I asked him, but he didn't say anything. He just cried, holding an origami in his hand and refused to show it to his mother..." Jin Chaopu sighed, "Guansheng is smart, but too emotional. I want him to be more manly."
Qiu Huoming took it and said, "Thank you, uncle. I'll deduct it from my commission later..."
Jin Chaopu showed a hint of pride on his face, "The total length is nearly 2 kilometers."
Qiu Huoming rubbed his stomach and said, "I can't eat anymore..."
"Uncle, why don't you buy a car?"
Qiu Huoming: "I..."
But Jin Chuopu had a different meaning. In the early years, the living standards in the mainland were not high, and people could only eat meat during festivals. It must be the same for Qiu Huoming, a child who rarely had the chance to eat good food.
The two chatted, and before they knew it, Qiu Huoming had eaten too much...
Qiu Huoming seemed to be thinking about something. He had no interest in the tunnel and asked directly, "Is the auction held in the Mandarin Hotel?"
"Okay, let's go then."
Jin Chuopu drank a sip of tea, picked up a piece of beef with tangerine peel, put it into his mouth and slowly ate it, while explaining science to Qiu Huoming.
"Let's go downstairs first."
The store downstairs was not open yet, so they went down the stairs at the back. Only then did Qiu Huoming discover that his house had an entrance and exit.
"I looked through the atlas in your study yesterday. You mentioned the sea. The closest place after crossing the sea is the Mandarin Hotel. I guess..."
Most of the people who drink morning tea are middle-aged and elderly people, and there are almost no young people as old as Qiu Huoming.
Seeing him taking something, Qiu Huoming picked up the teapot and washed the dishes in front of the two of them first. This was also a rule he learned from the Cantonese.
"Don't young aunt and the two little ones have morning tea?" Qiu Huoming asked.
The morning tea is on the second floor and it is already crowded at this time. Jin Chaopu is familiar with the boss and he took him to a seat near the window.
Jin Chaopu explained: "This is also an escape route. There are shops downstairs. It's okay if you are careful."
The two men didn't walk far before they arrived at a newly renovated restaurant.
When Qiu Huoming came out of the bathroom, Jin Chuopu's eyes lit up and he immediately asked with his chin in his hand: "Are you really not considering joining our audio-visual company? I can spend a lot of money to support you..."
The lanes in Hong Kong City are completely different from those in the mainland. Qiu Huoming can drive, but he has never driven in Hong Kong City.
"In a moment, we'll take a taxi across the sea and show you our first undersea tunnel..."
After paying the bill, the two stood at the door of the store to hail a taxi.
Soon a red taxi stopped by.
After giving the address, the taxi turned around on the spot and started driving quickly along the narrow road.
He didn't slow down when he encountered a bend, which made Qiu Huoming stunned.
After passing the undersea tunnel, we drove for nearly ten minutes and arrived at the hotel lobby.
In the lobby, a uniformed Indian came trotting over to open the car door for them.
This should be the first time for Jin Chaopu to come to such an auction. Although he has never been there before, he comes from a wealthy family and his aura is enough. Although he is scared in his heart, he does not show it on his face.
He took the invitation card and immediately a staff member from the auction house came up, led the two of them upstairs, and issued admission certificates on the spot.
They are the clients and have signed an agreement with the auction house. The entry procedures are simple. Unlike the buyers, they not only have to pay a deposit in advance, but also need to submit a lot of relevant documents...
They arrived early and the auction was still an hour and a half away, so Qiu Huoming picked up a copy of today's auction items at the front desk.
There are seats in the middle of the hall, and various snacks and drinks are placed on both sides.
Jin Chaopu touched his shaved chin and said, "Let's go and have a drink first..."
There were already several people in the hall, all dressed very brightly. Qiu Huoming walked in, attracting their attention.
After all, it is rare to see a Chinese person who is 1 meters tall. In addition, the boy has a very good complexion, and a set of light-colored clothes makes him look elegant, and he looks like a handsome young man.
Qiu Huoming had just picked up a glass of tonic water when someone walked over quickly.
The other person was in his thirties, with a typical Cantonese look. He first greeted Jin Chuopu and introduced each other. Then he turned to look at Qiu Huoming and said, "May I take the liberty of exchanging business cards?"
Qiu Huoming didn’t know where the business card was, so he looked at Jin Chuopu.
"He is my nephew. He came here to see the world. I have no intention of letting him do business for the time being..."
Jin Chuopu came up and said politely.
After hearing what he said, the other party felt that Qiu Huoming's background was not simple, so he simply stayed where he was and talked business with Jin Chuopu.
Qiu Huoming was happy to have some free time, so he started drinking while flipping through the introduction of the auction items in his hand.
There were not many items for auction, only eleven in total, and the highlight was the enameled yellow-ground, rouge-red landscape-patterned bowl that Qiu Huoming had found.
Qiu Huoming took a look at the starting price and almost spilled the drink in his hand.
He took a deep breath and calmed down his emotions. This is probably the mentality that all poor people would have when they suddenly become rich.
Qiu Huoming put the empty cup on the waiter's tray beside him, then he calmed himself down, turned sideways to say hello to Jin Chuopu, and then he went to take a look around.
Seeing that it was still early, Jin Chuopu gave him a few instructions and then let him go.
Qiu Huoming walked along the hall to the terrace at the back. The terrace was decorated with lush greenery, and there was a faint scent of incense drifting among the flowers.
He walked through the carefully arranged green plants and went straight to the railing of the terrace, where several parasols were set up. Besides him, there was also a woman in formal wear, with long curly hair and a slim back.
Qiu Huoming took a glance and immediately looked away.
He held onto the railing and gazed into the distance. Not far away was the coastline; this was the famous Victoria Harbour.
The weather is nice today. The sun has penetrated through the clouds, making the sea sparkle. The white coastline and the deep sea reflect each other.
There were many speedboats parked along the coast, and ships were passing through the waterway.
The sea breeze has been baptized by the sun, so it doesn’t feel cold when it blows on your body.
Qiu Huoming's hair was blown by the wind. He half-closed his eyes and felt relaxed and happy at this moment.
He was enjoying this rare relaxing moment when a woman's voice came from beside him, "Hi, morning..."
Qiu Huoming turned his head and looked over. The other person was in her twenties, dressed very exquisitely and had an elegant temperament. She was the woman he had seen before.
"Morning." Qiu Huoming responded.
The other party opened her small bag and took out a card that exuded a faint fragrance. "I'm Anastasia. You can call me Anna. What's your name, sir?"
Qiu Huoming took the card with both hands. The card was written entirely in English and the other party’s title was the host of the auction.
"Hello Anna, my name is Qiu Huoming, I don't have a business card yet, I'm very sorry..."
Anna smiled and said, "Looking at your age, you should be in your early twenties, right?"
"Well, it's almost there."
"Then you have to call me sister. I am 32 years old."
Qiu Huoming looked at her in surprise, "I thought you were only in your early twenties..."
The woman burst into laughter. "Your words touched my heart. Thank you..."
The two simply stood in the sun and chatted for a while. The other party had extremely profound professional knowledge and a generous personality...
After chatting for about ten minutes, a staff member came to the terrace and approached Anna and whispered something to her.
Anna then turned around and apologized to Qiu Huoming: "It's really nice to chat with you, but I have to go to work. I hope I have the opportunity to talk to you again in detail..."
"It's my pleasure to chat with you."
Qiu Huoming said politely.
Anna was in a very happy mood. She smiled, waved, and followed the staff back.
Qiu Huoming stood there for a while. The sun began to get scorching hot. After all, it was a subtropical climate. Even in early spring, the temperature still rose. Qiu Huoming turned around and walked back.
As soon as I arrived at the entrance, I saw Jin Chaopu.
He glanced at Qiu Huoming and breathed a sigh of relief, "Go in, the auction is about to begin."
The two returned to the venue, which was already crowded with people, all dressed up and well-dressed. Half of them were Chinese, and the other half were foreigners, probably from all kinds of nationalities, with different accents...
Qiu Huoming followed Jin Chaopu and found a seat to sit down.
Not long after, Anna was seen walking out quickly from the side door. She walked to the front stage and the music at the exhibition stopped.
Anna's English is excellent. She opened her speech directly in English and then repeated it in vernacular Chinese.
After the opening remarks, I started talking about the auction rules...
This auction house uses the British rules, that is, "bid ascending auction", in the end the highest bidder wins, and each increase must not be lower than the preset amount...
The venue was very quiet, and only Anna's voice could be heard.
As a host, the ability to control the situation is extremely important. Her voice is contagious and has an inexplicable bewitching power.
After saying this, she began to introduce the highlight of the day: the auction items.
Qiu Huoming listened carefully. He couldn't afford any of the auction items here, but one of the paintings by Qi Baishi caught his attention. Although his paintings were famous at that time, their prices had not risen yet.
Qiu Huoming knew a thing or two about how this painting ended up in Hong Kong. He stroked his chin and stared at Anna on the stage. She was just announcing the starting price for the painting, which was much lower than expected.
But this is only temporary. In two years, the prices of Qi Baishi's calligraphy and paintings will be driven up.
Qiu Huoming's thoughts were flying. The works of Zhang Daqian on the scene were auctioned for 1 Hong Kong dollars, and the starting price of his bowl was 200 million Hong Kong dollars.
You know, the Hong Kong dollar follows the US dollar, which means that the Hong Kong dollar is very valuable at this time.
After the host introduced these, the auction officially began.
The first auction item is a beautifully crafted gold ornament from the Qing Dynasty...
The auction atmosphere at the scene had not yet become lively, and there were only a few people holding up placards... Anna was not flustered on the stage, and remained calm and composed, but her tone was a little more seductive.
She began to focus on introducing the story behind the hairpin. Not long after, Qiu Huoming heard a woman not far away suggesting to her companion, "This is a great gift as a gift, why not take a picture of it..."
The other party responded and immediately raised his card.
Anna smiled just the right way, "Okay, the current price is 2 Hong Kong dollars..."
Although there weren't many people holding signs around, it was more lively than before.
Jin Chuopu whispered to Qiu Huoming: "This woman is not simple. With just a few words, she warmed up the scene..."
Then he continued, "Generally, for this kind of first show, there will be someone to help, the purpose is to make people feel that the items are in high demand and the auction items are valuable..."
Qiu Huoming also responded in a low voice: "I know, this is the so-called hunger marketing..."
When these words were spoken, Jin Chuopu was stunned. He carefully savored these words and didn't care about what was happening on the stage.
The more he thought about it, the more he felt that these words had some kind of magic.
"Bang!" the gavel on the stage rang.
The first auction item was sold to two women.
Jin Chuopu finally came back to his senses. He glanced at Qiu Huoming and said, "Huoming, when we get back, tell me in detail what you understand by 'hunger marketing'?"
Qiu Huoming was watching intently, and responded without thinking: "No problem, I can tell you all day and all night..."