Chapter 618

Not to mention state-owned units, Lin Sicheng doesn't even have a company; at most, he counts as an individual.

To put it bluntly, even if he dares to say such things now, if a fake is auctioned from him, by the time it is discovered, will he still be in Beijing? If he is not, where can one go to find him?

Even if one finds him, what if he refuses to acknowledge the debt afterward?

Of course, in such an occasion, words spoken must certainly count; buyers can fully demand the signing of a "Sales Contract" and write the after-sales guarantee he just mentioned into it.

As long as one has this, the lawsuit can be won eighty or ninety percent of the time. But the problem is, even if the lawsuit is won in the end, if he has no money to compensate, what can be done to him?

Subconsciously, similar thoughts popped into everyone's minds.

Lin Sicheng also understood this point, pointed backward and said: "As the old saying goes: the monk may run away, but the temple cannot. I would like to solemnly introduce to all the teachers: this is our soon-to-open Cultural Relic Appraisal Center and Antique Sales Center. With these as a foundation, we will sign a 'Sales Contract' and 'After-sales Agreement' for all collections auctioned today————"

"So all teachers can rest assured, at least I am not a wild monk!"

The guests in the venue raised their heads in unison, looking at the few new pictures appearing on the screen: a building with a house number hanging at the entrance, No. 28 Desheng Technology Park.

Below is the signpost:

10th floor, Lin Sicheng Cultural Relic Appraisal Center, 11th floor, Lin Sicheng Cultural Relic Restoration and Research Center.

12th floor, Lin Sicheng Antique Sales Center.

If one only looks at these three names, they don't seem eye-catching, but there is more below: 8th floor, Artron Cultural Relic Appraisal Center.

In an instant, many people remembered: isn't Artron's Calligraphy and Painting Appraisal Center and Database in Desheng Technology Park?

But Artron only rented one floor, yet Lin Sicheng rented three whole floors?

Looking further down: they are all photos of the interior of the center, with restoration rooms, appraisal rooms, and even various instruments.

Looking at the nameplates again: they are all imported from abroad, big items that cost millions at every turn.

At the very least, it shows that these three centers of Lin Sicheng are not empty shells, let alone shell companies.

As long as the "After-sales Agreement" is signed, at least there is a place to find him————

Just as they were looking carefully, Lin Sicheng picked up the microphone again: "Here, I will announce another piece of news: having the honor to cooperate with Mr. Zhang Yuanqiao, this auction will be fully guaranteed by Beijing Yongyuan Auction Company and Yongyuan Hang Antique Art Company————"

As soon as the voice fell, Zhang Yuanqiao in the front row stood up and bowed slightly toward the back.

At first, many people were still thinking: what kind of company is Yongyuan Hang? It seems there is no impression of it.

As for this Zhang Yuanqiao, they hadn't even heard of him.

Immediately, Zhang Yuanqiao stood up, and everyone was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: this Zhang Yuanqiao, sitting next to Zhang Zongxian, and right beside him?

Recalling again: isn't this Zhang Zongxian's grandson?

And this Yongyuan Hang, isn't it Zhang Zongxian's company in Hong Kong?

So, the one cooperating with Lin Sicheng and providing him with a guarantee is Zhang Zongxian————

Everyone came to their senses: is Lin Sicheng playing for real?

In the collection and auction circles, Zhang Zongxian is not just a senior collector. He is a benchmark, a banner, and even more so, a shining golden signboard.

Even setting aside all his public or hidden identities, the name Zhang Zongxian alone can still guarantee one hundred percent appeal and credibility.

Not to mention anything else, look at the art investment institutions present today, look at these fund companies: do they know who Lin Sicheng is?

They hadn't even heard of him before, but today they swarmed over just because Zhang Zongxian would also come.

And their demand was merely to meet Zhang Zongxian and get familiar with him.

Only then would they think of ways to make further contact, but the ultimate goal is one: to be able to appropriately reach a cooperation with Zhang Zongxian, such as letting Yongyuan Hang buy some of their funds, or seeking to purchase a batch of collectibles with explicit profit growth from Yongyuan Hang.

And then, through appropriate and reasonable publicity, attract more art investors to come in.

They had also envisioned: this process would be very long, very likely two or three years, or even five or six years, and the possibility of success is very small.

Because whether it is Zhang Zongxian or the Yongyuan Hang he represents, they have never publicly cooperated with any domestic art institution. At most, they just participate in the bidding of large auctions.

Therefore, that Lin Sicheng could cooperate with Zhang Zongxian's Yongyuan Hang was something no one expected.

The key is, this is not an ordinary cooperation, but a guarantee, and it even has to be written into the Sales Contract.

For example, if Lin Sicheng sold fake goods but couldn't afford to compensate in the end, or even ran away, the buyer could take the contract and go directly to Yongyuan Hang.

Suddenly, the venue became lively again, and people speculated about the relationship between Lin Sicheng and Zhang Zongxian.

Those who didn't know the truth were better off, at most guessing wildly somewhere: is this excessively young General Manager Lin a glove for Zhang Zongxian, and are those three centers all named after his personal name actually all controlled by Zhang Zongxian?

Those who knew the inside story, and knew enough, didn't find it strange: for example, Sheng Guoan and Tian Rulong.

Zhang Zongxian had been chasing for so many years and couldn't catch the tails of the people behind the "Zhu Zi Manuscript"; suddenly encountering Lin Sicheng, was he forced into a panic and revealed his flaws?

Therefore, for the right thing, one must find the right person.

If the mountain will not come to me, I will go to the mountain. Since Lin Sicheng cannot go abroad in the short term, then simply open a branch in Beijing.

At least it is closer, so one can see him at any time and ask for advice at any time.

So, what does it matter if Yongyuan Hang guarantees Lin Sicheng? It's just that those few women are watching too closely, otherwise Zhang Zongxian could have covered all the project research funds that Lin Sicheng urgently needs.

And the most uncomfortable ones are those who know a little, but not very comprehensively, and are relatively close to Lin Sicheng.

For example, Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng.

They know that Lin Sicheng earned 60 million from Zhang Zongxian, but as the saying goes, business is business; this was just a normal commercial transaction, far from enough to establish any friendship with Zhang Zongxian.

Nor did they see Lin Sicheng being very close to this person, so the trust and goodwill suddenly released by Zhang Zongxian really left people confused.

But not understanding is one thing, Wang Qi Zhi and Zhao Xiuneng at least knew this was a good thing.

Just look at the guests in the venue and you will know: excited, high-spirited, and eager to try.

Since there is a guarantee from Yongyuan Hang, at least one is not afraid of buying fakes, because even if one does, one can return the goods.

The key is, this time the model is completely different from other auctions:

No preview, the actual items are placed directly for you. Where this thing is valuable, how much historical depth it has, how much artistic value it has, how much story it has, how you should tell this story well————etc., etc., everything is explained to you clearly and plainly, even a collection novice can understand.

Even, whatever kind of appraisal report you want, there is that kind of appraisal report, completely eliminating worries: you don't need to worry about whether the thing is real or not, you only need to estimate the price you can accept according to the known conditions I give you, add the profit you hope to earn, and then think about whether you can find a suitable buyer.

It is equivalent to listing a table for every auction item, and every factor that may generate appreciation is written on it for you.

The only difference is the price standard and measurement range in each buyer's heart: for example, a painting by Zhang Daqian, some people think the name Zhang Daqian alone is worth over a million, while some people think it is only worth seven or eight hundred thousand.

It is nothing more than adding and subtracting.

And how do other auctions do it?

First, you must have sharp eyes, at least ensuring you aren't fooled. Then, you estimate based on the pitifully little information provided by the auction: how much can this item be bid for, can it appreciate after being bought, and will there be anyone to take it off your hands in a few years?

The point is: what favorable factors can add points, and what harmful factors will subtract points; all of this must be analyzed and judged by the buyer themselves.

Thinking this way, Lin Sicheng's auction today is truly novel: it saves trouble, time, worry, and effort.

Moreover, the barrier to entry is very, very low; you don't need to have professional appraisal knowledge. As long as you understand the market trends, or even better, have clients in hand, you can bid boldly and confidently.

But it is not without its downsides: for those professionals, the difficulty of competition increases infinitely, and the cost-performance ratio decreases infinitely.

Therefore, some are happy and some are sad.

The break ended, the second half began, and Lin Sicheng's pace was noticeably much faster.

Because of the foundation laid by the previous three items, the guests' emotions were completely stirred up: being able to pick up a bargain at an international auction house, at least Lin Sicheng's eye and professionalism were beyond doubt. And with the guarantee of Yongyuan Hang, at least there was no need to worry about buying a fake.

The auction items were moved onto the stage one by one, and Lin Sicheng introduced them one by one. Although the content was brief, it was very detailed: era,

author, features, highlights, valuation, and even the target customer base and growth returns.

From the first item, the auction reached a climax: have you ever seen a Purple Clay Teapot that changes color?

And it came from the hands of famous masters, jointly made by Chen Hongshou and his disciple Yang Pengnian, imitating the Mingyuan Pot by Chen Mingyuan.

These three are all famous masters: Chen Mingyuan was a master of purple clay in the early Qing Dynasty, on par with Shi Dabin; the latter two were slightly later, active during the Jiaqing period, and their prestige was also slightly lower.

But that is not the point; the point is that this pot changes color.

The pot was placed in front of Lin Sicheng, its whole body purple-red, full of ancient charm. Then, a pot of boiling water was poured in, and the pot body remained purple.

But when a beam of light was shone on it with a flashlight, "Swish," the pot body changed color immediately, actually emitting a blue glow.

To tell the truth, there were more than one or two collectors who had played with purple clay here today, and they had all seen blue sand pots: there were plenty in the late Qing Dynasty, all made by mixing clay with imported chemical pigments.

But this kind of Purple Clay Teapot that is purple at low temperatures and turns blue when it encounters high temperatures was a first.

Lin Sicheng did not hold back and went straight to the hard facts; the screen displayed a detailed test report: clay material, composition, firing era, and even the specific cause of formation.

Especially the last point, the report clearly wrote the reason for the blue tint of the Purple Clay Teapot: the clay contains rich copper elements. Before leaving the kiln, when the kiln temperature dropped to two hundred degrees, under specific humidity and a reducing atmosphere, the copper elements formed divalent copper salts, which precipitated from the pot body and neutralized with the iron elements.

In a normal temperature environment, the pot remains purple, but when water over seventy degrees is added, water vapor enters the micropores of the pot body, the refractive index increases, diffuse reflection is significantly weakened, and it will reveal a blue color.

To put it bluntly: this was not man-made, but a Kiln-Transmutation Pot generated in a specific and quite rare Kiln Furnace environment.

In addition, there were two appraisal reports issued by contemporary Sandware Appraisal Masters: from the pot shape, markings, inscriptions, calligraphy,

patina, etc., it was written clearly.

At the bottom, a line was specifically added: no similar colored Purple Clay Ware has been found yet.

To translate: a unique piece.

After the introduction, the crowd was still stunned, and Lin Sicheng announced the starting price: four million.

A group of guests woke up as if from a dream.

If compared with transaction records from previous years, this price was slightly high:

At the 2007 Spring Auction of Xiling, the Liyin Pot made by Yang Pengnian and inscribed by Chen Mansheng in the mid-Qing Dynasty had a transaction price of 3.1 million.

At the 2008 Poly 4th Anniversary Autumn Auction, the Mansheng-inscribed Stone-style Lifting-beam Pot from the Qing Jiaqing period had a transaction price of 2.82 million.

Also at the end of last year, at the China Guardian special session, the Stone-style Lifting-beam Pot made by Yang Pengnian and inscribed by Mansheng for Jiang Tingxiang in the Qing Jiaqing period had a transaction price of 3.68 million. But this was from the former collection of the famous contemporary painter Tang Yun, which had a certain premium.

Therefore, most Mansheng Pots are between two million and three million. And this was an imitation pot, not the classic pot shape of Chen Hongshou: the Mansheng Eighteen Styles.

However, it couldn't be helped that this pot changes color. And it couldn't be helped even more that the comment written by two famous purple clay masters on the Identification Certificate: no similar colored Purple Clay Ware has been found yet.

In fact, even without this sentence, those who have played with purple clay know how rare this pot is: it's not that there are no Purple Clay Teapots that change color when hot water is poured in, but at most, the color just deepens slightly. One that changes directly into another color like this has never even been heard of.

More importantly, it lies in the final detailed analysis report, which writes the principles of kiln transmutation and color change for you clearly.

Kiln transmutation plus a unique piece, starting this pot at four million has absolutely no issues.

Therefore, as soon as Lin Sicheng finished the introduction, Chen Yangyan was the first to raise his hand: "Five million!"

Suddenly, many guests gritted their teeth: can you even bid, you bastard?

Have you ever seen an auction where the first bid directly adds one million?

But then again, today was also weird: several items were auctioned in a row, and after more than ten rounds of bidding, I haven't seen a price increase of less than one million.

Even Lin Sicheng on stage was just a figurehead; he didn't even need to call out the price, as the guests below were scrambling to bid.

Cursing secretly, someone reminded: "This person is a shill, everyone don't be fooled!"

Nonsense, who doesn't know he is a shill?

When auctioning the painting by Zhang Daqian, the General Manager personally admitted: I am providing a floor for Teacher Lin.

The problem is, do you dare to say this pot isn't worth five million?

Therefore, before Lin Sicheng could quote the price, the second guest raised their hand. This person was more cautious and only added two hundred thousand.

Then came the third, the fourth, the fifth—

Finally, General Manager Zheng of Taikang won the bid: the transaction price reached a staggering 7.3 million.