章節 953: Chapter 953: A record-breaking 100 million views in three days
Fortunately, Liu Shaoquan was not really uncouth, but he was just too anxious, which caused him to lose his sense of propriety when speaking.
After seeing Wang Ping's displeased expression, he hurriedly apologized, 'President Wang, I'm sorry, I was just too excited.'
He said anxiously, 'What I mean is that the Yongle Encyclopedia is a national treasure-level cultural relic that has rarely been published. If it is bought by the island country and the United States, then we will not have any chance of getting it back. Even if it is bought by overseas Chinese, there is no guarantee that it will not be lost to other places in the future.'
'The Yongle Encyclopedia means too much to our cultural community!'
Ji Xueming also agreed, saying, 'Yes, President Wang, the Yongle Encyclopedia is truly a national treasure. Otherwise, you wouldn't have reported it to the capital, and they wouldn't have sent us here. They even approved a special fund of two million Hong Kong dollars. It can be imagined that they also hope that we can take the Yongle Encyclopedia back with us.'
'The Yongle Encyclopedia is different from ordinary cultural relics!'
Watching the two men's true feelings, Wang Ping sighed inwardly, and the displeasure he had just felt disappeared completely.
After scanning the room, Wang Ping said to Liu Shaoquan, 'Director Liu, this is not the place to discuss this. If you don't want to look at it for now, let's go back to the office and talk about it.'
Liu Shaoquan nodded and said, 'I'm not in the mood to look at it now. Let's go back to your place first. We can buy it later. We won't run out of time...'
After saying this, he looked back at the crowd where the Yongle Encyclopedia was located, reluctant to leave, before leaving with Wang Ping and the others.
Xiangjiang Xinhua News Agency.
Seeing that Wang Ping, Liu Shaoquan and Ji Xueming had returned so quickly, Liu Fan asked in puzzlement, 'President Wang, Dean Liu, why did you return so quickly?'
Liu Shaoquan and Ji Xueming couldn't help but sigh, which made Liu Fan feel a bad omen rising in her heart.
Just then, Wang Ping said, 'Let's go inside and sit down and talk.'
Soon, the group arrived in the reception room, where Li Hua, the second president of Xinhua News Agency, sat down after getting to know Liu Shaoquan and Ji Xueming.
As soon as they sat down, Liu Shaoquan could not wait to ask, 'President Wang, do you have a solution?'
Li Hua immediately cast an inquiring glance at Wang Ping.
Wang Ping said slowly, 'President Liu, don't worry, President Li Hua and Dr. Liu don't know the situation yet.'
'Let's all understand the situation first, and then pool our wisdom!'
Liu Shaoquan calmed down a little, nodded and said, 'That's true, President Wang, you're very considerate.'
Wang Ping said to Li Hua and Liu Fan, "The situation is like this...'
Li Hua revealed a look of understanding and said, "In other words, we need to get the Yongle Encyclopedia through other means?'
Liu Shaoquan nodded and said, 'That's right, although I also know that this is very difficult, I still need the two presidents to help me think of a solution!'
Li Hua couldn't help but smile wryly, and glanced at Wang Ping.
This is really asking a lot!
Li Hua said helplessly, 'President Liu, there's no way to get something done without 20 million Hong Kong dollars. Even if you sell the Xinhua News Agency in Hong Kong, you won't be able to come up with that much money. You can't possibly go rob Sotheby's auction house, can you?'
'No way, that's illegal!' Liu Shaoquan was shocked and said hastily.
Li Hua shook his head and laughed, 'I was just joking.'
Then his face became serious and he said, 'This is all about money. Unless someone else is willing to pay for it and give it to us!'
Liu Shaoquan froze. Seeing that Li Hua wasn't joking, he frowned and said, 'That's impossible. It's at least 20 million Hong Kong dollars. Who would give it to us?'
Wang Ping and Li Hua exchanged glances, but fell silent.
Seeing the two of them like this, an incredible thought flashed through Liu Shaoquan's mind, and a look of hope rose in his eyes as he asked, 'President Wang, President Li, could there really be such a generous person in Xiangjiang?'
After a long while,
Wang Ping spoke up, "We don't know if there is or not, but we can try, it's the only viable solution.'
Li Hua continued, "But we're not the right people to come forward, we need to find someone with the right identity.'
'Who's suitable?' Liu Shaoquan asked anxiously.
Wang Ping and Li Hua looked at each other and said the same thing at the same time.
'Mr Zhuang!'
...
Nanyang Commercial Bank headquarters.
Nanyang Commercial Bank Chairman Zhuang Siping warmly received Wang Ping and his entourage.
After listening to Wang Ping's account, Zhuang Siping said without hesitation, 'I have also heard about the appearance of the national treasure. Since the Palace Museum needs it, I naturally feel obliged!'
'The Yongle Encyclopedia will never be taken away by foreigners on this land of Hong Kong!'
Liu Shaoquan was overjoyed and said repeatedly, 'Thank you, Mr Zhuang!'
Zhuang Siping smiled faintly, his expression calm, and said, "It's all for the motherland, so why talk about thanking you?'
'Although my wealth is not among the best in Hong Kong, I am still qualified to participate in the auction of the Yongle Encyclopedia.'
Hearing that Zhuang Siping wanted to bear the responsibility alone, Wang Ping frowned and said, "Mr Zhuang, are you planning to fund the auction alone?'
Zhuang Siping nodded slightly and said, 'Well, President Wang, don't worry, I'm not impulsive and I won't do anything beyond my means.'
Liu Shaoquan opened his mouth, but although he was anxious, he didn't know how to speak. He was also a man of shame and naturally knew that Zhuang Siping's flippant remark represented an expenditure of possibly more than 20 million Hong Kong dollars, which was a huge sum of money!
Wang Ping shook his head and said, 'Mr Zhuang, I'm sorry if I didn't make myself clear just now. We don't want you to go it alone, but we hope you can take the lead and help contact other patriotic compatriots to see if we can unite to raise funds to bid.'
'Just think, with all the publicity surrounding the Yongle Encyclopedia, there will definitely be many compatriots who will also participate in the auction, and many of them are very powerful. It would be a waste if we compete with each other like crazy. Everyone's money is not just thrown away, and there is no need to benefit the despicable seller and Sotheby's auction house.'
'And we don't know how determined and prepared the foreign forces are. What if the price hits the roof? Wouldn't it be safer if more people work together?'
Zhuang Siping looked thoughtful and nodded slightly, saying, 'President Wang, you make sense.'
'However, it is not advisable to contact too many people in this matter, lest the news be leaked and other forces join forces as well. After all, there are 122 volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia, and it is hard to guarantee that they will not join forces to bid and divide it again.'
'I will try to contact a few powerful people.'
'Thank you, Mr Zhuang!'
'You're welcome, this is what I should do.'
...
Over the next two days, Zhuang Siping visited Huo Yingdong, Bao Yugang, and Wang Kuancheng one by one.
The three of them expressed their support for this kind act without hesitation.
As for why Xia Yu was not approached, it was because Zhuang Siping and Xia Yu knew each other, but their relationship was not particularly close, so he did not think of asking Xia Yu. Second, Huo Yingdong, Bao Yugang, and Wang Kuancheng were all more powerful tycoons than him, and Bao Yugang was even the richest man in China. He believed that the strength of this group was already sufficient.
As for Huo Yingdong and Bao Yugang, although they had thought of Xia Yu, Zhuang Siping was the one leading the charge, and they were not sure if there were other considerations within the group, so they did not want to interfere.
After all, Xia Yu had helped many people on the mainland, and it would not make a big difference because of this one thing. Since this matter required Xia Yu to pay, Zhuang Siping did not mention it and they did not feel comfortable speaking up.
Unfortunately, they didn't know that Sotheby's auction house had long been acquired by Xia Yu, and that the Yongle Encyclopedia was even auctioned off by Xia Yu as a ploy.
It's just a shame that Xia Yu hid it so well.
It seems like a huge blunder is about to happen.
...
Three days of the four-day Sotheby's spring auction have passed in the blink of an eye, and the turnover for each day has been higher than the previous day.
The auction turnover on the first day, including commissions, was 42 million Hong Kong dollars, which caused a huge stir!
On the second day, the auction turnover, including commissions, reached a new high of 46 million Hong Kong dollars!
On the third day, because there was a special porcelain auction, the turnover reached a new high again.
Last year, the owner of Tai Sang Bank and Tai Sang Land, Ma Jincan, broke the auction record for Chinese art in the international art market when he casually bid HK$5.28 million for a Ming Dynasty doucai chicken cup, breaking the price ice that had been stuck in the Hong Kong art auction market for seven years and giving Chinese art auction prices a new upward trend.
So this year, the porcelain market was enthusiastically sought after by the wealthy.
After all the auctions on that day had ended, the total turnover reached HK$53 million!
The turnover for the three days exceeded 100 million Hong Kong dollars!
It reached 141 million Hong Kong dollars!
This far exceeded the previous record of 83 million Hong Kong dollars set at last year's autumn auction!
It caused a huge sensation and made Ren Decheng so happy that he couldn't stop smiling.
And the most anticipated special session of this year's spring auction has yet to be held!
Major media outlets have predicted that Sotheby's spring auction's total turnover will all exceed HK$200 million. Opinions vary as to whether it will be HK$220 million or HK$240 million.
Dawn breaks the darkness, and the warm sun rises from the sea level.
The morning of March 31st.
In the midst of much anticipation, the final day of Sotheby's spring auction finally arrives!
每周推薦票狀態
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榜單 
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