In Hong Kong City in December, although there is no summer heat, people in the streets and alleys are still dressed in summer clothes. Girls are wearing cool clothes, and short skirts and hot pants are still standard.
Carrying a suitcase, Ning Chen strolled through the streets of Hong Kong City, listening to Cantonese and Mandarin in his ears. He looked at the various snacks and stores that he had only seen in movies. He stopped and walked, lingering.
Inside the suitcase is the box of treasures that Ning Chen fished out from the sea. There are more than a hundred gold coins, a small amount of pearls and a dozen gems.
Ning Chen was worried that he would forget this thing next time he came back from Bilanzhou, so while he still had time, he went to an auction house in Hong Kong City to send it for auction, so that he would have money to use it when he came back next time.
Alexandra Building is the most prosperous place in the Central District of Hong Kong City. Many tourists shop here and can hear the sounds of the world.
Juste, one of the most famous auction houses in the world, is also the destination of Ning Chen's trip. Its office is located on the 22nd floor of Lishan Building. As soon as Ning Chen came in, the front desk lady greeted him with a smile.
"Hello sir, how can I serve you?"
Ning Chen lifted the suitcase in his hand and said, "Send the photo."
Ning Chen looked around. The hall was very empty. There were not many people at this time. There were various books and souvenirs about Juste on the surrounding cabinets. There were also photos of various auction sites on the walls.
"Please come this way." The lady at the front desk nodded. People who come here usually come here either to send photos or to check the final payment. She has never met Ning Chen, so naturally they are customers who come to send photos.
The front desk lady guided Ning Chen to a private reception room nearby, bowed and asked, "I'm going to ask the manager. Would you like tea or coffee?"
"Tea, thank you." Ning Chen put the box on the table.
Not long after, the receptionist pushed the door open with a cup of tea, followed by a man in his thirties.
"Hello, sir, I am Liu Zhaoxing, the account manager of Hong Kong City Just." After the front desk lady closed the door, Liu Zhaoxing sat down and said, "Sir, what is your surname? What photos do you want to send?"
Ning Chen moved the suitcase to the middle, reached out and opened it and said, "Ning Chen, I want to auction these things."
As the suitcase was opened, several rays of golden light came into Liu Zhaoxing's eyes. In addition to more than a hundred gold coins, there were also two black pearls and a ruby that caught the eye.
"What are you..." Liu Zhaoxing looked at the treasure in the suitcase, then looked at Ning Chen, his eyes twinkling.
With so many European gold coins appearing in Asia at once, Liu Zhaoxing seriously suspected that Ning Chen had salvaged a sunken European ship from the Great Navigation Period. There were also many pearls and gems in this box of treasure, which seemed to corroborate his suspicions.
You must know that in that era, these were the most precious treasures.
However, for salvage on the high seas, the "United Nations Convention on the Sea" and "Salvage Law" have formed a sound legal system, and each country also has its own independent laws. China is the most domineering and Spain is the most rogue. Liu Zhaoxing doubts that Ning Chen has this
The batch of goods is the wealth that was salvaged privately.
Seeing Liu Zhaoxing's eyes twinkling, Ning Chen's heart moved. He really hadn't thought about it so much, nor had he studied these legal provisions.
You must know that salvaging sunken ships was too far away for him before, and he had also heard of cases of making money by salvaging ancient shipwrecks on the sea, so he didn't take it seriously this time.
For Ning Chen, the unowned wealth he fished out in a land without an owner is naturally his own.
"Can I ask you where these things come from?" Liu Zhaoxing asked tentatively.
"Fetched from the high seas." Ning Chen said nonchalantly, "Is there any problem?"
The problem is big! Liu Zhaoxing felt helpless. He thought Ning Chen would deny it, but who knew that he would just confess it directly.
“Are you a company or an individual?”
"personal."
Liu Zhaoxing was even more helpless. If you had been careless, we might have just gotten over it like this. But you explained it so straightforwardly, should I call the police or not...
Ning Chen frowned, "Is there a problem?"
"There is indeed a problem, but it can be solved." Liu Zhaoxing said with a faint smile.
Juste is a top international auction house. What kind of situation has it not encountered? They have auctioned stolen goods earned by black marketeers and national cultural relics. As long as there is a profit, there is nothing they dare not sell.
The only difference is that there is an additional "service fee".
Liu Zhaoxing explained to Ning Chen in detail the laws related to salvage of sunken ships, and then asked, "So, you are doing private salvage, and you have not registered a company or registered salvage activities anywhere."
"Yes." Ning Chen was ashamed. He really didn't expect that there were so many things.
"Justice can prepare a complete proof of the origin of the lot for you, but we have to charge a service fee of 20% of the final price." Liu Zhaoxing said sincerely, "plus 10% of the publicity and auction costs, and 20% of the tax paid on behalf of you.
, you can get 50% of the final price of the lot.”
"You still have to pay taxes?" Ning Chen grinned.
"If you go through formal channels, you still have to pay taxes. Even if we help you provide a source certificate, you still have to pay taxes." Liu Zhaoxing said helplessly, why don't you pay taxes now?
"Okay." It's not that Ning Chen doesn't want to pay taxes, it's just that he felt a little distressed after hearing it at first.
It took him an entire afternoon to help Liu Zhaoxing take photos and archive each item, including 188 gold coins, 14 pearls, and 11 large and small gemstones.
Although there is no super-quality one, according to Liu Zhaoxing's estimation, the final auction price is likely to be hundreds of millions.
"We will put these gold coins at the London auction this weekend; for pearls and gemstones, we will contact major jewelry groups to hold an internal auction, which should also be held at the weekend." Liu Zhaoxing said, "After all the lots are sold, we will
Contact you as soon as possible to make final settlement with you."
"Okay." Ning Chen accepted the contract and was sent to the door diligently by Liu Zhaoxing. As soon as he walked out of Lishan Building, Ning Chen received a call from Chen Yisong of Qingzhu Group.
"Mr. Ning, something happened to Miss Zhou!" Chen Yisong's anxious voice came from the phone.
"What?"
At that time, Zhou Mengyao told Ning Chen that he was going to work in Southeast Asia, so Ning Chen called Chen Yisong and asked him to take care of Zhou Mengyao.
Southeast Asia is not stable, with all kinds of forces running rampant. Guns are everywhere, gambling and drugs are endless, and it is not friendly to the Chinese. Ning Chen is worried that Zhou Mengyao is not safe, so he asks Chen Yisong to use the power of the Qingzhu Group to secretly protect him.
Originally, Ning Chen was just prepared to explain that Zhou Mengyao was also a senior member of a multinational group, so the safety factor should be quite high. However, less than two weeks later, Chen Yisong told him that something had happened to her?