He Yongwang has been learning the appraisal of ancient bronzes since he was a child. He has been inspecting major ancient tomb sites across the country since the 1990s. After his retirement, He Yongwang has continued to use his spare energy over the years to help museums and auction houses appraise bronzes, and has collected Zhang Shengyuan
This closed disciple.
The first impression He Yongwang gave Zuo Shisan was that of a meticulous old expert. After he entered the room and greeted them, he focused all his attention on the long bronze tube, and even asked his apprentice to use the magnifying glass.
And I brought the audio device over.
After careful and professional appraisal by Mr. He Yongwang, the final result was obtained: This long bronze tube was identified as genuine, dating from about the Warring States Period to the Eastern Han Dynasty, and Mr. He Yongwang could not identify the strange inscriptions on it.
After the fat man saw that the appraisal was over, he quickly asked He Yongwang:
"Uncle, how much do you think this bronze object can fetch?"
He Yongwang glanced at the fat man and asked:
"Where did you get this stuff from?"
He Yongwang's eyes were so vicious that he could tell at a glance that this long bronze pipe was unearthed from the ground.
After hearing He Yongwang's words, Zuo Shisan was worried that the fat man had spilled the beans, so he quickly went over and said:
"Old sir, to be honest, we went to the countryside to collect this long bronze pipe from the hands of the people. We didn't understand this object, so we sent it to be auctioned to see how much it was worth."
He Yongwang knew that the young man in front of him was not telling the truth to him, so he continued to ask:
"If you don't understand, how can you buy this thing?"
Zuo Shisan said:
"We just have the mentality of getting rich overnight and don't know whether this thing is real or fake, so we just bought it yesterday and sent it to you today."
He Yongwang laughed dryly and said:
"I hope you didn't lie to me. This is an unearthed cultural relic. If you obtain it illegally, you will get into trouble."
The fat man also spoke at this time:
"Old man, don't worry. We are good citizens who are down-to-earth and law-abiding."
Zhang Shengyuan also helped Zuo Shisan talk to Fatty:
"Master, I have also investigated before. There is indeed a village south of Dongdian that dug out a lot of things during farming. It should be right..."
When He Yongwang heard his apprentice's words, he sneered in his heart. This kid Zhang Shengyuan had been following him for several years, but his learning was in vain. This long bronze tube was not their product in terms of craftsmanship or the inscriptions on it.
There are already signs of rotten rust, which proves that the air in that place is extremely humid and the geographical temperature difference is large. It is probably in Yunnan!
However, He Yongwang did not intend to expose them, but wanted to play into their trap. On the surface, he believed in them and arranged for his apprentice to help with the auction. Secretly, he planned to play a long-term game to catch the big fish.
Even if a mere long bronze pipe had a strange inscription, it would cost hundreds of thousands at most. He didn't take it seriously. What he cared about was where exactly these three young men dug it out and whether their bodies were
There are also other bronze cultural relics hidden.
The fat man still cared about the specific value of this long bronze tube, so he then asked He Yongwang:
"Old man, you haven't told me how much this thing can cost? The three of us spent three thousand sixty-six dollars just to buy the tickets."
He Yongwang sighed at the fat man and said:
"It's not the peak season for auctions yet. I estimate it's only worth 200,000 yuan at most."
The fat man was a little surprised:
"Damn it, such a gadget is so valuable, if I had known..."
"Fat man!" Zuo Shisan interrupted the fat man, immediately changed the topic, and asked Zhang Shengyuan on the side:
"By the way, we still don't know how much handling fee your auction house charges."
Zhang Shengyuan said:
"The service fee for ancient coins, silver coins, calligraphy, paintings and porcelain is seven points, and the service fee for bronzes, various miscellaneous items and silver jewelry is fifteen points."
"So expensive?! Two hundred and fifteen points, the handling fee alone will cost you thirty thousand yuan," said the fat man.
Zhang Shengyuan looked helpless:
"There is no other way. Our auction house still needs to make money. After all, we have to feed so many people."
After arranging the auction, Zhang Shengyuan took them to the lounge. Before leaving, he asked the three of them:
"Are you going to wait in the lounge until the auction is over for you to settle the bill, or are you going to participate in the auction and see if there are any items you like?"
Zuo Shisan said:
"Let's go and have a look. Although we can't afford it, at least we can gain some experience."
So the three of them, led by Zhang Shengyuan, entered the auction venue. After paying an auction deposit of 10,000 yuan, the three of them received a number plate to enter.
Zuo Shisan glanced at the number plate in his hand. The number was pretty good: three 8s.
After the three of them found their seats and sat down, the number of people gradually increased. The entire auction venue was very large, and it would have no problem at all to accommodate seven or eight hundred people at the same time.
The three people on the left, Thirteenth, were sitting relatively far back. Fatty was a master who couldn't sit still. When he looked left and right, he saw Ye Long and others sitting in the first row.
Just as the fat man was about to speak, the music in the auction hall suddenly rang, and the host walked onto the auction stage and began to explain the rules of the auction.
When the host was explaining the auction rules, An Rushuang leaned close to Zuo Shisan's ear and said:
"Thirteen, I always feel uneasy. The old expert looked at you a little differently."
Thirteen from the left nodded:
"I also saw that he didn't believe the lies I told at all."
The fat man heard this and said:
"real or fake?"
An Rushuang continued:
"Since he knew you were lying, why didn't he expose you and even arranged for our collection to be put up for auction? Could it be..."
Fatty said:
"It's all about profit. As long as they can earn handling fees, why not do it? Everyone has to eat, so just turn a blind eye."
Zuo Shisan shook his head slightly:
"It's not that simple. I think the old man wants to play a long game to catch the big fish. He believes that we have more than just this bronze."
When Zuo Shisan said this, Fatty also reacted:
"Let me go, there is really a possibility of being targeted by their auction house, then...then what should we do now?"
"Take a step at a time and make sure you get rid of the thing smoothly first," Zuo Shisan said.
An Rushuang nodded:
"Hope everything goes well."
The auction began, and the first item in the collection was a flower-and-bird landscape painting by the modern painter Hu Gongshou. The starting price was 30,000, and the final price was 75,000.
The second auction item was a gilt hairpin from the Ming Dynasty, with a reserve price. The starting bid was 20,000 yuan and the transaction price was 30,000 yuan.
When the third lot appeared on the LDE display behind the auction table, An Rushuang was stunned when she saw this lot!
