The crowd, already shaking their heads and sighing in resignation, never expected that at the very last moment, the young lady who had seemingly given up would raise her bidding paddle once more.

And the price she called out was only ten thousand euros higher than the previous bidder!

All eyes fell upon the young lady, trying to determine whether she was just trying to cause trouble.

But to their disappointment, these old foxes who had battled in the business world their entire lives couldn’t read her intentions at all. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

This left them sighing, lamenting how the new generation always surpasses the old.

When the auctioneer on stage heard her bid, it was like music to his ears. He let out a long sigh of relief, no longer concerned about his reputation as the top auctioneer.

Are you kidding? If his own shill had actually ended up buying an item that someone else had already bid two hundred million euros on, forget being the top auctioneer—this auction would have likely been the last of his career.

With that fear gripping him, the auctioneer didn’t dare let his shill make another move. After running through the mandatory one-minute procedure, he brought his gavel down hard:

"Congratulations to lady number 66 from Huaxia! Congratulations on your successful bid of two hundred million, one hundred and ten thousand euros for this precious Copper Beast Head! Let’s give this beautiful and wise lady from Huaxia a round of applause!"

Bai Menghan beamed and nodded at the people around her, then, as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, she resumed her quiet conversation with Fang Chenyi.

After the thrilling conclusion to the first item’s auction, the next few pieces sold without much excitement. It seemed Bai Menghan’s earlier move had left the auction house’s shills with some psychological trauma. From the moment the Copper Beast Head was sold, not a single shill came forward to drive up the price unless a bid was far too low.

About halfway through the auction, Fang Chenyi’s phone suddenly vibrated. He took it out and saw that the call was from Demo Did.

He didn’t need to ask to know what it was about. The appraisal of the sketches was surely complete.

After hanging up, he gave Bai Menghan a smile. Understanding immediately, she rose and followed Fang Chenyi out of their seats. Their movement quickly drew the attention of the venue’s security.

After all, this couple had just won an item for over two hundred million euros. Until the payment was settled, they absolutely could not be allowed to leave the auction house.

The security guards breathed a sigh of relief when they saw the two weren’t leaving the venue, but were instead heading backstage.

Upon entering the same reception room as before, they found only Averill and Demo Did inside. Clearly, the team of appraisers had already left.

Seeing Fang Chenyi and Bai Menghan enter, Averill quickly rose to greet them:

"Mr. Fang, after our auction house’s appraisal, we can confirm that your booklet is indeed an authentic work by the master Picasso. Moreover, it’s a complete set of sketch manuscripts, which makes it extremely valuable for collectors."

After she finished, her gaze shifted to the booklet resting on a tray, and she continued to speak:

"Here’s the thing, your booklet is incredibly rare; it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call it one-of-a-kind. As such, its value is nearly impossible to estimate. Our recommendation is to put it in the autumn auction. This would give us time to promote it heavily, which would ensure you receive the maximum possible return!"

Fang Chenyi led Bai Menghan to a sofa and sat down casually, then gave a nonchalant wave of his hand:

"The autumn auction won’t be necessary. I don’t have the time to wait. Just put it in today’s auction."

Averill wanted to say a few more words of persuasion, but Fang Chenyi cut her off with a wave of his hand. Left with no choice, Averill could only nod in agreement:

"Since you insist on today’s auction, Mr. Fang, we can only abide by your wishes. How about this: the morning session is about to go on break. We can use that time to do our best to notify people who might be interested in your item. We can also add a video bidding process for free, would that be acceptable?"

Fang Chenyi wasn’t concerned with these details. After giving Averill full authority to handle it, he signed the consignment agreement directly with Sotheby’s.

For the reserve price, Sotheby’s proposed a starting bid of fifty million euros, with each subsequent bid increasing by no less than one million euros!

However, Fang Chenyi immediately shook his head and rejected their proposal:

"No, no, no, Miss Averill. I have one requirement for this item’s auction, and it’s non-negotiable. I’ll have to trouble you to announce that the bidding for this item must be conducted in RMB! Furthermore, the starting price will be one RMB!"

Hearing Fang Chenyi’s words, both Averill and Demo Did, who stood beside her, were baffled. They couldn’t figure out what he was planning. Using RMB was one thing, but a starting bid of one yuan? What kind of play was this?

Of course, only Bai Menghan, who was sitting beside him, gave a resigned smile after hearing his words. ’This guy is such a die-hard nationalist.’

’They had set the starting bid for the Huaxia treasure, the Copper Beast Head, at one euro. Now this guy was giving them a taste of their own medicine...’

Of course, Bai Menghan didn’t think there was anything wrong with his actions. In fact, Fang Chenyi’s decision left her feeling quite pleased.

After questioning Fang Chenyi several times and seeing that he showed no sign of backing down, Averill had no choice but to leave and make the arrangements.

She had no choice. Although Sotheby’s was one of the top auction houses in the world, the item in Fang Chenyi’s possession was simply too precious.

To put it bluntly, if Fang Chenyi were to consign this item to any small auction house, it would instantly catapult that house into the top ranks of the industry!

After signing all the necessary paperwork, Fang Chenyi handed the item over to the auction house, then returned to the main auction hall with Bai Menghan and Demo Did.

Returning to their seats, he glanced at the time. There was only half an hour left before the end of the morning auction session.

As the auction for the next item concluded, the auctioneer on stage suddenly paused. After speaking a few words into his earpiece, he smiled, turned to the audience, and announced:

"Ladies and gentlemen, my sincerest apologies. I have just received an urgent notice. We will be ending the morning session half an hour early. Please remain calm. The reason for this temporary pause is that Sotheby’s will be adding a rare and priceless treasure to this afternoon’s session! Countless world-renowned figures will be rushing to attend. In the meantime, we will be moving the auction to a larger hall!"

[To be continued...]

P.S. Two Chapters are being released together. Xiao Youzi is asking for your monthly votes and comments!