Chapter 591: The Rolling Pearl

Lin Sicheng narrowed his eyes: I was careless.

He had been too busy looking at the catalog and didn't notice for a moment that two troublemakers had popped up.

According to his estimate, this set of Medical Book could be secured for around 300,000, but it had already reached over 400,000.

An extra 100,000 wasn't much to him, but the principle was wrong.

Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng realized it belatedly: Are these two bastards causing trouble?

"Was this instructed by Liang Shiya?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head: "No!"

Although that woman was stubborn and difficult, she wasn't this petty, and she certainly wouldn't use self-defeating tactics just to annoy others.

Wang Qi Zhi took a look: "Have you offended them?"

Lin Sicheng shook his head.

"It should be related to Zhang Yuanfan!" Tian Rulong explained, "According to their agreement with Mr. Zhang, if they win the manuscript at auction, Uncle-Master Zhang will buy it back at a twenty percent markup. If Zhang Yuanfan raises the paddle, their travel expenses are guaranteed: one million Hong Kong dollars!"

"When we were discussing earlier, they must have noticed something and felt that Sicheng was cutting off their path to wealth."

So that was it?

Lin Sicheng stared at Li Chengkai: "Ms. Zhang, who is that?"

"A senior Appraiser and auctioneer from Christie's."

"Does he have seventy million?"

Zhang Yuanfan thought for a moment: "He shouldn't, but he, Zhou Zhilin, and He Jian have very good relationships with several Art Foundation in Hong Kong. For Cultural Relics that are extremely rare, highly valuable, and offer significant profit, they can provide joint guarantees and ask the foundations to operate them."

Zhang Yuanfan thought for a moment: "There shouldn't be, but he, along with Zhou Zhilin and He Jian, have very good relationships with several Art Foundation groups in Hong Kong. For cultural relics that are extremely rare, highly valuable, and offer considerable profit, they could provide joint guarantees and have the foundations handle the operations."

But who said this manuscript is definitely valuable?

Lin Sicheng's heart stirred: "You mean they will raise the paddle?"

"Yes!" Zhang Yuanfan nodded, "According to their agreement with my grandfather yesterday, that is indeed the case, provided that I do not participate in the bidding!"

Because Zhang Yuanfan hadn't arrived in Beijing yesterday, she wasn't very confident and wasn't sure if she would bid.

And the price of this item was so high, and the preview time was so short, that by the time many major collectors heard the news, the preview had already closed.

Without seeing the actual object, who would dare claim to have absolute certainty?

So there was a high probability it would be bought back by Zhou Zhilin and Li Chengkai at the reserve price.

However, after Zhang Yuanfan arrived in Beijing, the relevant departments convened experts overnight to study the image data.

Although there was a suspicion of being overly rigid, the purpose was self-evident: even if it were fake, they would bid for it first.

This meant Zhang Yuanfan already had absolute certainty; even if she didn't raise the paddle, others would. Could the Hong Kong Art Foundation really have unlimited funds to support Zhou Zhilin and Li Chengkai?

Whether it was the twenty percent or the travel expenses, neither had anything to do with these two anymore.

But Lin Sicheng felt that no matter how the accounts were calculated, they shouldn't be calculated on his head.

One couldn't let the country lose hundreds of millions and let Tian Rulong and Sheng Guoan receive undisclosed disciplinary actions just so you could earn those meager travel expenses, right?

But then again: this is an auction, and bidding is everyone's freedom. Although unethical, it is at least not illegal.

Lin Sicheng thought for a moment: "Ms. Zhang, what is their reserve price? I mean for the manuscript."

Zhang Yuanfan shook her head: "I don't know!"

No, Zhang Yuanfan definitely knew.

Zhang Zongxian had absolutely discussed it with these two: what the maximum bid could be, and at what point they must stop.

But Zhang Yuanfan certainly wouldn't tell Lin Sicheng: if he knew Zhou Zhilin's reserve price, he would be close to knowing Zhang Yuanfan's reserve price as well.

Lin Sicheng didn't care either, extending his hand: "Senior Brother, give me the paddle!"

Zhao Xiuneng paused, handed him the paddle, and gestured to Zhao Da in the corner.

Zhang Yuanfan was startled: What is he doing, trying to drive up the price?

Just to settle a grudge?

She was about to persuade him, but Tian Rulong shook his head: "Yuanfan, don't speak—"

Before the words had even faded, Lin Sicheng's paddle was already raised.

The auctioneer asked for the price: "Number thirty-nine, 460,000. Any further bids?"

Before he had even finished, Li Chengkai also raised his paddle.

"Number six, 480,000. Any further bids? Very well, 480,000 for the first time—"

Just after the first call, with a 'whoosh', another one was raised in front.

"Number forty-two, 500,000. Over 500,000, now increasing by 50,000—500,000 for the first time—"

"Any bid for 550,000—any bid for 550,000? Very well, 500,000 for the second time—"

"Last chance, 500,000 for the second time, any bid for 550,000?"

The auctioneer paused and raised his gavel.

But the venue was deathly silent.

Lin Sicheng put down his paddle, and Li Chengkai put down his paddle as well.

The person who shouted 500,000 stretched their neck and stared this way, bewildered and at a loss.

Bid, why don't you bid?

Forget 50,000, even 5,000 would do.

But the two remained unmoved.

With a 'bang', the wooden gavel fell: "Congratulations to number forty-two, sold for 500,000!"

Number forty-two trembled, lips quivering, wanting to cry but having no tears: Congratulations my foot, this thing was already mine to begin with, okay?

Number Forty-two's lips trembled, wanting to cry but having no tears: Congratulations my foot, this thing was originally mine to begin with, okay?

He turned his head and glanced toward Lin Sicheng, his teeth nearly grinding to pieces.

He had originally thought that selling this item for one hundred or eighty thousand would be fine. But for some reason, as soon as the bidding started, two groups of people acted as if they were locked in a feud; the moment one side put their paddle down, the other side raised theirs.

At first, they increased the bid by two thousand at a time, but after reaching one hundred thousand, it became five thousand per bid, making it ten thousand for a round trip. Yet the two groups stubbornly held on, going all the way to two hundred thousand.

It is no exaggeration to say that the auctioneer didn't even have a chance to call out the price (the first, second, or third time); before the paddle from the first round was even put down, the paddle for the second round was already raised.

This was clearly a battle fueled by Fire Qi; he took one look and thought, isn't this the opportunity to make a fortune?

Then, adding himself and three shills who would occasionally stir things up, the price reached four hundred thousand.

But these two groups still didn't stop, round after round. They only paused occasionally, at most calling out to the second time.

Truly, he dares to swear: the bid he just made was really the last one. He only thought: as long as it exceeds five hundred thousand, it would be a nice round number.

But who could have guessed that the two groups, who were fighting tooth and nail just a blink ago, would suddenly stop?

It meant the item was stuck in his own hands; he didn't earn a single cent, and instead, he had to pay a one-hundred-thousand commission first—fuck his mother—

Seeing that man's face turn from green to white, Zhang Yuanfan realized belatedly: "Is that man a shill?"

Tian Rulong nodded.

Zhang Yuanfan looked back again.

She was not at all surprised that Li Chengkai could tell who the shills were. After all, she is an auctioneer at Christie's with extremely rich experience.

As long as the price has been called three times, he can basically judge who is bidding for real and who is driving up the price.

Sensing that the timing is wrong, he can withdraw immediately.

But why could Lin Sicheng also tell, and why was his timing even better?

The key is that he had been studying the manuscripts in the catalog the whole time, without even lifting his head.

Tian Rulong didn't care: if Lin Sicheng didn't even have this bit of discernment and judgment, how could he possibly pick up a bargain at an auction?

While pondering, he turned his head: "Sicheng, do you still want it?"

"Of course I do!"

Lin Sicheng replied and took out his phone: "Boheng, go find number forty-two, two hundred and fifty thousand including tax!"

"Only ask once; if he hesitates for even a second, turn around and leave!"

Zhang Yuanfan was dumbfounded: "Uncle Tian, can you even do that?"

"Of course!"

Lin Sicheng has plenty of tricks.

"Then what role did Master Zhou and the others play by driving up the price?"

"At the very least, they helped the auction company earn an extra one hundred thousand in commissions!"

Zhang Yuanfan opened his mouth, speechless.

After giving a few instructions, the call ended, and Lin Sicheng looked back again.

Li Chengkai lifted his chin, revealing a sneer full of provocation. It was as if he were saying: What can you do to me?

Beside him were Zhou Zhilin and He Jian, both of whom had no expression. Liang Shiya, on the other hand, did not look very good.

Meeting Lin Sicheng's gaze, she moved her lips, looking as if she had something to say but stopped herself.

Lin Sicheng returned a smile, meaning it had nothing to do with her.

Liang Shiya curled her lip, because she understood.

Immediately, she nudged her chin: "Master He, is that tall man one of General Manager Lin's people?"

He Jian squinted and took a look: a young, sturdy man was talking to number forty-two.

They were far away, so he couldn't hear what they were saying, but he could see that number forty-two's expression was somewhat ugly, looking quite hesitant.

Just as the sturdy man was about to leave, number forty-two grabbed him again and nodded vigorously.

The one who was bidding against Li Chengkai earlier was this sturdy man; he must be Lin Sicheng's Top Hammer.

He Jian nodded: "Yes, Miss Liang."

"What are they doing?"

"Miss Liang, number forty-two is a shill, very likely the seller himself! General Manager Lin looking for him might be to buy that set of Medical Book back at a low price—"

"How much can Lin Sicheng offer?"

He Jian thought for a moment: "Not much, probably no more than three hundred thousand, otherwise the seller wouldn't be in such a difficult position."

Then you all drove up the price for so long, what did you achieve?

She looked at the expressions of Li Chengkai and Zhou Zhilin: uncertain, caught in a dilemma.

Liang Shiya was thoughtful: "Can Master Zhou and General Manager Li buy it too?"

Of course they can buy it, as long as the price they offer is higher than Lin Sicheng's.

The problem is, this time it's real money. And they truly cannot see where that pile of old books is worth two or three hundred thousand.

More importantly, they aren't sure if Lin Sicheng is buying for real or just pretending. What if he's setting a trap for them: you guys love driving up prices, right? Come on, try driving it up now.

If they really tried and it got stuck in their hands, what then?

To them, three hundred thousand isn't much, but it isn't little either; who would be so brainless as to rush to be a sucker?

For a moment, the two of them were like people who had eaten a piece of meat with feces on it—they couldn't swallow it, and they couldn't spit it out.

Liang Shiya suppressed a laugh and snorted again: If Lin Sicheng were that easy to trap, why would I be unable to sleep at night and losing hair every day?

Why don't you think about it: if he were that easy to deal with, could he have forced six international giants to transfer nineteen cutting-edge technologies for free?

Li Chengkai and Zhou Zhilin stubbornly held back and didn't move; after two minutes, the sturdy man took a receipt and handed it to Lin Sicheng.

This is the settlement procedure; whoever holds it, the auction item belongs to them.

Lin Sicheng took a look and then handed it to Li Zhen.

Two more items were auctioned, and the hand of the clock pointed to twelve.

The auction company arranged a buffet, but Lin Sicheng did not go. He booked a guest room upstairs and had the meal delivered to his room.

At two in the afternoon, the auction continued. There were more than twice as many guests in the venue as there had been in the morning.

Among them were many representatives from major banks and large companies.

Tian Rulong introduced them to Zhang Yuanfan one by one: "This is the Investment Department Director of China Guardian Art, and this is the Collection Department Person in Charge of Poly Auction—"

"This is the Fund Department Director of Ping An Insurance; they also have an art fund sector—and these two are from China Merchants Bank and Bank of China—"

"Oh, and there's Taikang Life and Fujian Province Bank? You should know these two—"

Zhang Yuanfan nodded: some of her grandfather's collections were managed through these two firms.

She tilted her head and looked at the empty seats next to her: "Mr. Lin didn't come?"

"I heard two friends arrived unexpectedly, so he went to welcome them!"

Just as they were talking, a large crowd swarmed in.

There were men and women, old and young.

The old one was Chen Yangyan, the young ones were Chen Daoqing and Chen Daoling, and the one who was neither old nor young was Hao Jun.

Tian Rulong introduced them again: "This is General Manager Chen, a friend of Lin Sicheng's, who runs mines in Shaanxi—coal mines and iron mines!"

Upon hearing "runs mines," Zhang Yuanfan understood: this person was wealthy.

Seeing Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong, Chen Yangyan hurried over and shook hands with them one by one.

They hadn't known each other originally, but at the Xiling auction last time, Lin Sicheng had specifically introduced them. After learning that these two were Experts from the Forbidden City, Chen Yangyan had kept them in mind.

Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong truly disliked business socializing, but they couldn't resist Chen Yangyan's business-like approach: he donated six million to the Forbidden City in one go, three million each to the Ceramics Research Institute and the Calligraphy and Painting Gallery.

Moreover, he specifically donated in the name of "supporting the academic Artifact Research of Director Sheng and Director Lu." As the saying goes, judge by actions, not intentions; regardless of whether he had ulterior motives, for this gesture alone, Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong had to express their gratitude.

After exchanging greetings, Tian Rulong asked casually: "General Manager Chen, you came here specifically, right? Which item are you eyeing?"

Chen Yangyan spoke bluntly: "I won't hide it from you, Director Tian, I am here for the Zhu Zi Manuscript!"

Everyone was stunned for a moment.

Lin Sicheng sighed: half the people in this venue—no, more than half—were here for that manuscript.

Counting them up, just the banks and funds alone accounted for six, and for these units, "ten million" was just a base unit.

So, could one say the organizer's promotional work was poorly done?

With these thoughts, Lin Sicheng settled Chen Yangyan down to sit in the front row with Sheng Guoan, Tian Rulong, and Wang Qi Zhi.

He sat in the back row, next to Ye Anning, with Zhang Yuanfan directly in front of him.

Just as he sat down, two figures appeared at the entrance, and Lin Sicheng stood up and waved.

Huang Zhi brought Huang Lan to watch the excitement.

As he passed by, Huang Zhi stopped every three steps, paused every two, constantly shaking hands and greeting people.

It looked as if he were the one hosting the auction.

Except for Wang Qi Zhi, Zhao Xiuneng, and Ye Anning, he didn't know the rest of the people. Lin Sicheng introduced them in advance: "This is General Manager Huang, who runs a restaurant in Beijing!"

The group was half-doubting: what kind of small restaurant owner shakes hands with a Fund Department Director of a bank while standing straight, yet the other party is hunched over?

This person was nine times out of ten the same type as Wang Qi Zhi—

After a long while, the person finally walked over.

The host had already taken the stage, and with no time for introductions, Lin Sicheng had him sit to the side.

Huang Zhi looked stunned: "Lin Sicheng, what's the situation today?"

After greeting everyone, every single person he recognized was here for that Zhu Zi Manuscript.

But didn't Lin Sicheng say there was something wrong with that item?

Lin Sicheng was concise: "There are manipulators behind it!"

Huang Zhi didn't understand: "In any auction, who doesn't have manipulators behind them?"

Either the organizer, the seller, or even the investors.

Lin Sicheng was noncommittal: "This time is different!"

This tactic is called the Rolling Bead Strategy—

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