My 1991.

Chapter 260, an instant hit, setting a record (please vote for me!)
After the two appetizers, the auction ushered in the much-anticipated highlight.

After the staff brought up the third painting, the auctioneer introduced: "Next is Pablo Picasso's "Woman with a Hat". Our starting price is 230 million."

"240 million!"

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, someone started bidding.

The auctioneer shouted: "240 million, is there any more?"

"250 million!"

"260 million!"

After raising the price by 3 three times in a row, many people who originally wanted to take action fell silent.

The auctioneer kept shouting: "260 million, 260 million, okay, the bid for No. 99 is 270 million, 275 million, 280 million, 283 million, 285 million, 288 million, 290 million, 295 million, 300 million."

After someone picked it up, the auction price skyrocketed again, reaching 300 million.

Then the price settled here again and stopped moving. No matter how the auctioneer encouraged it, everyone had their own price for the painting.

Although this painting was painted by Picasso, he is not particularly famous. Many people were waiting and watching, hesitating, and then chose to give up after hesitation.

Obviously, 300 million exceeded the expectations of many buyers and collectors in the market.

Just when the auctioneer shouted the price three times in a row and was about to drop the hammer, the telephone booth on the right raised the number plate. A staff member asked the customer on the phone: "Can I increase the price by 5000?"

Everyone was stunned, including the auctioneer. Is there such a price increase?
The auctioneer confirmed and asked: "How much to add?"

The staff said: "5000."

The scene suddenly seemed lively, and everyone was whispering and talking.

The auctioneer was very educated, and immediately called out the latest price: "300 million 5000, is there any price increase?"

At this point, the price could no longer be raised, and the final transaction price was set at 300 million 5000.

Meng Qingshui asked him in a low voice: "Can you add this to the rest?"

Lu An explained: "Logically speaking, you cannot increase the price like this, but the auctioneer has this authority."

The fourth painting is Camille Pissarro's "Bazincourt Laundry Pool" with a starting price of 150 million. After a series of biddings, the final transaction price was set at 238 million.

The fifth painting is "Stairs" by Claude Monet. This is the painting with the highest starting price, a full 5 million, and many buyers are here for him.

Sure enough, as soon as "Stairs" went up for auction, the on-site bidding situation changed completely from before. Not only were there many bids, but the intensity of the bids was also not comparable to the previous four paintings.

When the auctioneer introduced: "Our starting price is 250 million."

Then immediately raised a placard: "260 million!"

"270 million!"

"280 million!"

"290 million!"

"300 million!"

"310 million!"

"340 million!"

After rushing all the way, the price reached 340 million in one go. This scene left many people behind stunned.

too fast!
In the blink of an eye, before he could react, he rushed up to almost 100 million.

However, the price seems to have hit the first hurdle here, and buyers with weak strength can no longer compete at this point and begin to die down.

Then many real bigwigs who had not bid before began to appear.

The first person to break this price barrier was a Macau collector, who directly increased it to 350 million.

Then a blond foreigner raised his sign, 355 million.

Not to be outdone, the other big guys raised their cards one by one.

After a while, the price exceeded 440 million like a rocket!
The auctioneer shouted: "440 million! This is Mr. Sun's bid at No. 157 in the back area."

Listen, the auctioneer personally called Mr. Sun. I think this man was a frequent visitor to Sotheby's auction house in the past, and even the auctioneer knew him.

Of course, it is a symbol of strength to have the auctioneer say "Mr. Sun", otherwise these people who have no profit and can't afford to be early would be so kind and warm?
However, the price has almost reached the ceiling here, and the number of bidders has suddenly decreased.

No. 103 discussed with her daughter and finally raised the sign: "450 million!"

Adding 10 in one breath again, the intention is to tell everyone that he is going to order this painting.

The lady in black dress No. 89 who had quarreled with him thought for a moment and stopped raising her cards. Instead, she set her target on the final "Eternity".

At this moment, whether they were buyers from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, or collectors from abroad, the scene was completely silent. They were obviously thinking about the same as Ms. No. 89, and they all focused on the final painting today and did not bid any more.

After all, there are many masterpieces by Monet, but "The Steps" is not among the top among all his works, so there is really no need to go to war.

"Eternity" is different. Many colleagues and collectors believe that this is a work that can be recorded in the history of art. It established a school with a new concept and made an important contribution to the development of the entire art.

In other words, this painting is not only Lu An’s debut work, but also his representative work. It is also the cornerstone of his innovative ideas. It is a benchmark and a symbol, whether it is of great artistic value or historical value. Both mean a lot.

The more famous Lu An is in the future, the greater the collection value of this preaching painting, and it can be regarded as a "orphan product" in a certain form.

The reason why Yu Guanzhi and Chen Quan did not set the starting price too high and chose to place it below "Stairs" and "Woman Wearing a Hat" was because of two considerations:

First, Luan is a newcomer, and this price tag can protect him to a certain extent.

Second, it is a kind of respect for art giants such as Monet and Picasso, and it also represents a humble attitude. Regardless of the subsequent auction price, this move will make many colleagues favor it.

However, anyone who cares will understand that Haibo Auction House left "Eternity" for the finale, which shows its ambition.

But no one present felt offended, and they felt that it was understandable. To a large extent, they came to today's art auction more eager to obtain "Eternity" than "Stairs."

As "Stairs" came to an end, the scene ushered in a brief commotion, and then entered a dead silence. Everyone held their breath and looked at the front desk, quietly waiting for the final auction.

Somewhat unexpectedly, Yu Guanzhi suddenly walked over from the back door. After whispering to Ding Chao, the latter got up and left his seat, going to the front seat on the left.

Wu Dan was very discerning and took the initiative to sit inside, giving up the seat next to Lu An.

Lu An asked: "If you don't sit in the front, why did you come to the back?"

Yu Guanzhi said gently: "Witness history with you."

Hearing this, Lu An was startled and lost his voice.

Wu Dan asked her: "Your behavior will not expose Lu An, right?"

Yu Guanzhi didn't explain much, but said two words confidently: "No."

Wu Dan was thoughtful and believed her.

After saying a few words to Wu Dan, Yu Guanzhi turned to Meng Qingshui and Wu Yu and said, "I have arranged for someone to prepare supper. Let's have a drink later."

Lu An curled his lips: "I agreed to treat you, you are robbing me."

Yu Wanzhi smiled nicely: "I thought you would be very nervous, but I didn't expect you to even promise to go out for the celebration banquet."

Luan sighed, "I'm definitely nervous."

Yu Guanzhi calmed down and said, "I'm just like you."

Lu An looked forward and asked, "Where's Uncle Chen, what's his condition?"

Yu Guanzhi replied calmly: "He is better than the two of us. He has more confidence than worries."

Then she added: "But this is a good thing. In the past year and a half, Uncle Chen has been with "Eternity" almost every day. He has received more voices from the outside world and can judge the quality of the work more accurately than us."

Lu An agreed with this view and cheered: "I hope that after tonight, we can have a good sleep together."

Listening to these ambiguous words, Yu Guanzhi glanced at him and said nothing with a smile.

The conversation ended abruptly, because after so many calls, "Eternity" finally met everyone.

The auctioneer looked around the crowd and said in a magnetic and comfortable voice: "You have been waiting for a long time. Don't worry. The final painting of China's first Impressionist and contemporary art night auction is right next to me, "Eternity" , it is a masterpiece of Mr. Luan's mature style"

As the flagship painting of Haibo Auction House, and as a painting that carries the ambitions of Lu An, Yu Guanzhi and Chen Quan, the auctioneer introduced it in great detail and spent 2 minutes explaining its particularity, history and artistry.

After singing his praises passionately, the auctioneer faced the crowd and said, "Our starting price is 200 million."

Hearing the paused starting price, many people laughed and then started bidding.

There were so many placards that the auctioneer shouted that he could not win:
"210 million!"

"220 million!"

"230 million, 240 million, 250 million, 260 million, 270 million, 280 million, 290 million, 300 million, 310 million, 320 million, okay, 330 million, 340 million, 360 million, 370 million!"

After shouting out countless bids in a row, the auctioneer had to change his tone, then stretched out his hand to Mr. Hu in the back area and said: "400 million! Mr. Hu bids 400 million! Thank you! Is there any increase in price for 400 million? 400 Ten thousand!"

Mr. Hu is worthy of being Mr. Hu!
Everyone was asking for an increase of 10 to 10, but this pot-bellied man jumped directly and added 30, which made many buyers who had followed suit and raised their eyebrows frown.

Hearing that the bidding price soared to 2 million in less than 400 minutes, Long Yan was stunned, and Li Zaimei's eyes were shining.

Zeng Yuanye and his eldest sister-in-law Li Zhiyi glanced at each other. As the wife of the Golden Horn King of Suzhou, they both felt that the world was too crazy.

Zeng Yuanye understood that this was just the beginning, and the good show was yet to come, because the stamina was very strong.She laughed and teased her daughter: "As long as "Eternity" surpasses "Stairs" and reaches 500 million, I will help you convince your dad to allow you to love freely."

After listening to the encouragement, Long Yan said: "Bring out your uncle's identity and coax Lu An, maybe it will happen."

Li Zaimei was not so excited, "I have inquired, the owner of this auction house is called Yu Guanzhi, and he is sitting with Lu An in the back."

Long Yan turned around and glanced: "You mean that Mercedes-Benz woman?"

Li Zaimei acquiesced.

Long Yan rarely saw her cousin like this, and knew that it was definitely not simple behind the scenes. However, her thoughts were not all on Yu Guanzhi. Her eyes flicked back and forth on Meng Qingshui and said, "I'm just wondering why Lu An is surrounded by beautiful women. Put aside Family background, if you were to fall in love with this woman, would you be confident?"

At this time, Li Zaimei became calmer, "I will lose regardless of my family background. She is studying at Shanghai Medical University and comes from Baoqing, Hunan Province. Her relationship with Lu An is obviously unusual. I can't make up for that. The feelings of childhood sweethearts."

Long Yan was surprised: "Have you investigated?"

Li Zaimei said: "Knowing yourself and your enemy will never lead to a defeat. My brother-in-law has connections with the Shanghai Medical University. It is easy to retrieve a person's information."

Long Yan asked: "What's her name?"

Li Zaimei said: "Meng Qingshui?"

Long Yan recited the name in a low voice and asked: "There is Huang Ting in the front, Meng Qingshui in the middle, and Yu Guanzhi in the back. So, are you still chasing after me?"

Li Zaimei said: "We can rule out Yu Guanzhi for the time being, but I shouldn't have come today."

Long Yan thought for a while and asked, "Are you afraid that Lu An will misunderstand that you are pestering him for fame and fortune?"

This is what Li Zaimei meant, so she has been regretting it today.

Long Yan is really attracted to Lu An now, and she can't help but ask: "Then what should you do?"

Li Zaimei said: "Let's figure it out. I made a plan for myself and chased him five times."

Long Yan asked: "Why five times? Why not three times? They say everything can only be done three times."

Li Zaimei said: "I'm not in Nantah, so I can't make an impression three times."

Long Yan felt reasonable: "After 5 times, what if you don't catch up? Are you going to give up?"

Li Zaimei said nothing, and her eyes turned to No. 103 and No. 89 along with everyone else. The two enemies were at odds again.

Ms. No. 89 was the first to call out the price: “410 million.”

No. 103 shouted with a Chaoshan accent: "415 million!"

Ms. No. 89 held up a sign: "420 million."

No. 103 was not to be outdone: "425 million."

No. 89 raised the sign again: "430 million."

No. 103 did not give up and continued: "435 million."

Wu Dan said to Yu Guanzhi with great emotion: "It's so lively. There's a fight, there's a fight."

When we got here, a foreigner got annoyed and immediately showed his cards: "450 million!"

The auctioneer was happy and immediately shouted passionately: "450 million! The bid on No. 72 is 450 million! Is there anyone who wants to increase the price?"

A staff member at the telephone commission table held up a sign: "460 million."

The auctioneer immediately sang in harmony: "Okay, the guests on the phone will bid 460 million, 460 million, 460 million. In addition, guest No. 89 will bid 465 million, guest No. 103 will bid 470 million, and guest No. 72 will bid 490 million."

Lu An wanted to give this foreigner a thumbs up, it was so damn cool to raise the price like this.

Sensing his expression, Yu Guanzhi quietly told him: "Guest No. 72 is from the UK."

Lu An realized that damn people use pounds. The current exchange rate is 1:12. Converting 490 million yuan into pounds is really not much for these rich people.

At this juncture of breaking through 500 million, the auctioneer did not dare to rest, "490 million, 490 million, hey, it's back to the Central District again, Mr. Liang bids 500 million! 500 million!"

This Mr. Liang is Liang Changhui. Last time he wanted to buy "Untitled" at a price of 500 million, but it was a pity that Lu An and Yu Wanzhi didn't sell it, which made him depressed for a long time.

When bidding just now, he didn't show his cards, he was just waiting here.

Seeing that the price soared to 500 million uncontrollably, and No. 103 wanted to bid, his daughter reminded: "Dad, it's already exceeded our budget."

No. 103 rubbed his temples: "I like this work very much. I may not encounter it once in my life. My intuition tells me that if I get it, it can be passed down as a treasure in the future."

His daughter said: "I agree with what you said, dad, but 500 million won't be enough to get it. Any more will affect our business."

No. 103 looked at his enemy No. 89, then at Liang Changhui, and then at the gringo in No. 72. He knew that this painting was probably no longer relevant to him, but he did not give up and said in a deep voice: "Shout it again, if it doesn't work, forget it. "

The daughter couldn't bear to see her father like this, so she took the number plate: "520 million!"

Whoa!
It's really brave, and everyone dared to increase the price at this price, and everyone looked over in unison.

Lu An and Yu Guanzhi looked at each other and smiled.

But when the price reached 500 million, he was already very relaxed and asked, "Where do you think the auction price will stop?"

Yu Guanzhi thought about it for a while and gave the value: "It should be 550 million."

Then she asked: "What about you, what's your guess?"

Luan said, "I'm about the same as you."

The auctioneer is an expert, with his left hand facing No. 103 and his right hand pointing to Liang Changhui: "The guest of No. 103 bid 520 million, 520 million, and Liang always bids 500 million, 520 million, and there is an increase, 520 million.

Mr. Lu currently has only two peak works, one is "Eternity" and the other is "Untitled". "Untitled" is said to be not for sale and will be passed down to future generations. What does it mean?It means "eternity" is eternal and eternal."

At this point, someone asked the auctioneer, "Can I increase the price by 1?"

The auctioneer said, "Yes, yes."

Then he shouted: "The customer was asked to bid 521 million over the phone. Are there any guests in the venue who are participating?"

Hearing 1, Wu Yu said to Meng Qingshui: "It's already at this price, so I only add [-]. If I do, I will definitely add it."

Meng Qingshui also thought the same way, and many people thought the same way. 500 million has come, do you still care about [-]?

It’s just tens of thousands, right?

Sure enough, the lady in black dress No. 89 raised her sign again, "525 million."

The auctioneer said: "52525 million has returned to the hands of Ms. No. 89. It's 525 million. Are there any customers at the venue who are interested? Are there any customers who have made entrustments over the phone who want to increase the price? It's 525 million."

Turning around, he saw a sign light up in the back area. The auctioneer kept answering for a second: "Mr. Hu bid 530 million, thank you. Mr. Hu bid 530 million."

Liang Changhui raised his sign again: "540 million."

The auctioneer started to stir things up again: "Mr. Liang from Xiangjiang bids 540 million. Mr. Lu An's "Eternity" has detailed sources, authoritative publishing, and comes from a well-known family. Mr. Liang in the venue bids 540 million. Is there any increase in the bid?"

When the price reached this point, people who were active just now slowly gave up because it was beyond their budget.

No matter how much the auctioneer preached, the guests at the scene all looked tense, obviously unable to follow up.

After asking many times in a row, the auctioneer was very experienced and knew that it was almost there, so he looked around the scene slowly and shouted, "540 million, the first time!"

After a while, I shouted again: "540 million, the second time!"

After a while, the auctioneer shouted: "Last time, 540 million."

Before the auctioneer finished shouting, No. 72 raised his placard again: "545 million!"

The auctioneer's face was full of smiles, "Okay, our guest No. 72 bids 545 million, is there anyone who wants to increase the price? Are there any guests in the venue or those who made orders on the phone who want to increase the price?"

The lady in black dress No. 89 raised the sign halfway and put it down again. Her highest psychological price for "Eternity" was 480 million, which was already beyond her tolerance.

The same is true for Liang Changhui. His ideal psychological price is 500 million, and when he calls 540 million, it is already the limit.

But he looked at the foreigner, couldn't bear it, and raised the number plate with itch: "548 million!"

Just when the auctioneer was about to call out the price, the caller came and raised a sign, "560 million!"

Come on, the price increase exceeded 10 yuan at a time, and the unwilling customers at the scene immediately relaxed. Since they could no longer raise prices, they felt relieved.

Guest No. 72 wanted to raise his sign, but he didn’t know what his companion next to him said, so he made no move in the end.

The auctioneer couldn't believe that this painting could fetch 560 million, which was far more than the 450 million he paid when chatting with Chen Quan.

Chen Quan told him at the beginning: "After 450 million, our goal will be achieved."

But now, it's not even over 450 million, it's over 100 million.

The auctioneer shouted and encouraged three times in succession, but the needle drop could be heard in the venue. There was no sound and no one responded.

Finally, the auctioneer lowered the hammer with satisfaction and heard a "dang" sound. He announced: "Congratulations to the caller No. 33, thank you all, China Haibo Auction House's 1993 Winter Auction, Impressionist and Modern Art Night Sale, the total transaction The amount is 1548 million, and the transaction rate is 5000%. Thank you again for your participation."

560 million!
560 million!
"Eternal" sold a record 560 million!
There were many people at the scene, so Lu An suppressed his excitement and hugged Yu Guanzhi: "It worked, thank you."

Yu Guanzhi was also very excited and hugged him back in a rare gesture, "We succeeded! I have a hunch that the next time "Eternity" appears in an auction house, it may exceed [-] million."

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(By the way, "eternity" is compared to top-notch works of art, such as Monet's water lilies, so the setting is much higher.)
It's too late, post it first and change it later.

(End of this chapter)