Chapter 654: A Very Different Scene

On August 10th, the day of Sotheby's summer auction, Xia Yu and Wu Hongyi went together.

At the auction site, Xia Yu also saw many important British figures. Of course, Xia Yu also saw many Chinese people, but when placed in the entire venue, the number of dark-haired and yellow-skinned Chinese people seemed very small.

Xia Yu and Wu Hongyi sat together, and they could chat occasionally.

Watching one lot after another being presented and then being sold at the auction table, Xia Yu remained indifferent.

Wu Hongyi leaned over and whispered, 'Xia Yu, have you seen anything you like at this auction?'

Xia Yu glanced at the auction catalogue on the table in front of him and gave a faint smile, "Just one or two items. They haven't arrived yet, and at the current pace, there's still forty or fifty minutes to go.'

'Hongyi, I'm sorry to limit you this time,'

Wu Hongyi said nonchalantly, "Why be so formal? I don't want to see others leech off our Chinese cultural relics.'

Seeing Wu Hongyi say this, Xia Yu smiled and didn't say anything more.

In fact, these days, Xia Yu, when he was free, also participated in the daily affairs of the Chinese Business Consortium, and greeted the group of Chinese tycoons in the Chinese Business Consortium.

That is, in this current Sotheby's summer auction, they will not participate in the bidding for Chinese cultural relics and artworks.

Although Xia Yu did not explain why, everyone very graciously agreed.

After all, buying antiques is not limited to Sotheby's auctions, and not everyone has the hobby or spare money to collect antiques.

If Xia Yu wants these antiques, then give him face!

Not only that, but in order to show Xia Yu their good will, many people even volunteered to persuade their friends who could afford to do so to give up bidding.

Although Chinese cultural relics were once sought after by the Western upper class, most of them were for the purpose of investment and profit protection.

Most of those who truly appreciate and sincerely collect Chinese antiques are overseas Chinese.

However, when all the powerful Chinese in the UK did not participate in the auction of Chinese antiques, an embarrassing scene unfolded at Sotheby's auction.

Within half a minute of the auctioneer announcing the start of bidding for the first Song Dynasty blue and white porcelain masterpiece, there were very few bidders, and the price only rose from the starting price of £10,000 to £11,500, after which the scene fell silent.

Even the experienced auctioneer with the white hair on stage felt embarrassed, and quickly switched to flattery to try to liven things up.

Xia Yu crossed his legs and ate the grapes fed to him by Li Qian, waiting with interest to see how things would develop.

Giuseppe Eskenazi had also arrived at the auction, and because of his close relationship with Sotheby's, he was seated in the VIP box.

However, the completely different atmosphere at the scene made Giuseppe Eskenazi, who was always full of confidence, frown, as this scene completely surprised him.

You see, in order to inflate the prices of Chinese cultural relics, the Chinese cultural relics he offered this time were all valuable and exquisite items. This Song blue and white porcelain was expected by him to fetch at least £25,000.

But now it has stalled at less than half of the psychological expectation, and after observing it for a while, he noticed that none of the previous bidders were Chinese!

Giuseppe Eskenazi did not initially think in malicious terms, but only comforted himself by thinking that this Song blue and white porcelain might not be appealing.

However, this Song blue and white porcelain is after all the first Chinese cultural relic, and if the transaction price is too low, it will inevitably trigger a series of adverse effects, making it impossible for the prices of the Chinese cultural relics auctioned later to rise.

Thinking about this, he looked straight ahead and nodded slightly.

This seemed to be a signal.

Just as the auctioneer read out £11,500 for the first time, someone immediately raised their paddle and bid £500 more.

'Bid 12,000 from number 235!'

The auctioneer, who had been scanning the room, immediately saw the lone paddle being raised and shouted out.

The person had originally raised the bid by another £500.

Xia Yu watched with a smile, focusing on the sudden appearance of 235, the middle-aged man with blond hair.

Xia Yu, who had been observing Giuseppe Eskenazi, of course noticed his two abrupt nods, followed immediately by 235's bid, and the fact that it had been holding firm.

Unfortunately, 235 didn't look like something he particularly wanted, and it was only gradually increasing the price by the smallest increments.

Without a doubt, 235 was a stooge arranged by Giuseppe Eskenazi.

When 235 increased the price again, pushing the price up to £17,000, the atmosphere once again turned cold and no one bid again!

Seeing this, Xia Yu knew that it was time for him to make his move.

He would have all the Chinese cultural relics on the auction block bought, otherwise how could he let his plan have the perfect impact?

He held out his hand, the index finger of his left hand straightened, and he tapped the table lightly.

Two seconds later, a middle-aged white man with a hooked nose and curly hair at number 333 raised the sign in his hand.

He bid an additional £1,000!

"Number 333 has bid an additional £1,000, and the Song blue and white porcelain is now priced at £18,000! Is there a higher bid?'

The auctioneer said, and his gaze fell on the middle-aged blonde at number 235.

This time, Giuseppe Eskenazi's lips curled into a smile. No. 333 was not a plant he had arranged. It seemed that a real buyer had appeared, and he had a strong desire to buy, as he had immediately raised the price by £1,000.

The plants he had arranged were experienced, and there was no need for him to do it again on time. The good plant at No. 235 immediately followed suit.

£18,500!

£19,500!

...

£26,500!

When number 333 raised the bid again to £26,500, number 235 realised that number 333 might have reached his limit, and that this price also exceeded the estimated selling price predicted by the owner Giuseppe Eskenazi.

He was already able to complete his task. So number 235 let the auctioneer have his way and did not raise the bid any further.

'duang!'

'...£26,500 going once, twice, three times. Congratulations to Mr 333 for winning the Song Dynasty blue and white porcelain!'

After the Song Dynasty blue and white porcelain, there were several European and American cultural relics and works of art, and the atmosphere in the venue once again heated up.

However, no one expected that when the second Chinese cultural relic was put up for auction, the atmosphere once again cooled down.

This was an ancient painting, but no Chinese people came forward to bid. Only five or six white people were bidding, and the bidding price was rising very slowly.

As a last resort, Giuseppe Eskenazi once again used the 235th bidder.

A similar scene played out again, and in the end, 333 made the bid, paying £35,000 for the painting.

Once, twice, three times... five times!

When the fifth Chinese cultural relic was auctioned, the bidding atmosphere once again cooled, and Giuseppe Eskenazi had to use another bidder, 268, to drive up the price.

In the end, the fifth Chinese cultural relic was bought by a British man with the number 388.

However, by this time, many people at the scene had already sensed something was wrong, especially the auctioneer on the stage.

And if Giuseppe Eskenazi in the VIP box had not reacted yet, he would really be a pig!

Five Chinese cultural relics, from porcelain to bronzes to calligraphy and painting, but not a single Chinese person participated in the bidding.

It wasn't that the Chinese people there didn't bid, it was just that they were bidding on other things, and not Chinese cultural relics.

'Fortunately, each one was eventually sold, and although the prices weren't too high, they weren't low either.'

Thinking about this, Giuseppe Eskenazi subconsciously glanced at the two white British men at numbers 333 and 388.

But Giuseppe Eskenazi also made up his mind that after the auction was over, he would definitely investigate what had gone wrong.

After all, the big buyers of Chinese cultural relics were Chinese, and if the Chinese stopped buying Chinese cultural relics, then his plan would be ruined!