Chapter 29: The Huafu Auction Begins
Get down to business, call the manager of your logistics and warehousing company in Monrovia, tell him to arrange for someone to pick up the goods when the time comes, then park the ship in a quiet place not far from the port, don't worry about anything else, don't leave anyone on the ship, when the time comes, there will naturally be people to pick up the goods.
Wearing bulletproof vests, the three set off for Liberia in Africa. After waiting for two days, the manager said that the ship had arrived and was anchored in a quiet corner of the harbor as instructed by Guo Yu.
At night, Guo Yu didn't call anyone and went out alone. He took a taxi to the dock, rented a speedboat, and headed towards the cargo ship's anchorage.
It's a piece of cake for their own space to install these giant wheels. With just a few swings, all these huge guys disappeared.
He returned the rented speedboat and brought people back to Hong Kong the next day.
Departure, going to 1915.
Arriving at the manor, he called up Da Zhu and Er Zhu, bringing 200 guards and 500 Huafu Club members who had initially learned ship operations. These members were all carefully selected, and Guo Yu hoped they would grow up to have even greater uses in the future.
Set off from Los Angeles Port. Rented a boat at the port and let others wait, carrying two large pillars to set off on the sea.
Having sailed out for nearly thirty or forty miles, Guo Yu called Dazhu and Erzhu to hold the ship steady, and he himself released the big cargo wheel.
A cargo ship suddenly appeared, squeezing the seawater and causing their small boat to shake violently. Fortunately, Guo Yu had given orders in advance, otherwise Da Zhu and Er Zhu would have definitely fallen into the sea.
After releasing the four cargo ships, Guo Yu returned to the port and found a team of guards to board the ship together. He didn't expect them to be able to operate it yet, but just wanted them to get familiar with the ship's operations. After all, these ships were from a later era, and many things were more advanced than the current ships. Take communication equipment for example, even the main warships of Britain and America did not have such devices. However, the cargo ship's old appearance could conceal its advanced nature.
These people are all on the largest ship for the time being. Guo Yu took out the projector from the space and inserted a pre-prepared teaching disc on modern ship driving technology and operation methods into the projector.
Kuo Yu stood on the high platform, looking at everyone and said: "I brought these ships, which are more advanced than all the cargo ships now. You are members of the Huafu, you are the people I trust most. You will be given a sacred mission. Here, I will give you the methods for using these ships and operating the instruments on the ship. These methods are all in this machine. When the time comes, everyone will study hard. I hope each of you can become a captain, lead the fleet for me, and sail across the ocean."
"Later on, you will live and eat here, your task is to learn. After learning for a period of time, you can practice operating them. Later on, we will have more ships, and Huafu will be proud of you."
Kwok Yu's words made the students' blood boil, and they shouted in unison "We swear to die for the president!" The guards also shouted "We swear to protect the president with our lives!"
These members all have team leaders, class leaders and deputy class leaders who lead the team. Once on board, they naturally become captains, first mates, second mates, etc. According to different disciplines, each person enters a different role.
Guo Yu turned on the power supply of the boat and told a team leader about the operation method, then he had nothing to do.
Things went according to plan, and before he knew it, Guo Yu directly returned from the boat to modern times.
It's already April and the auction is about to start. This is Huafu Auction House's first large-scale auction, and Guo Yu must attend it.
Guo Yu specially invited Huang Wenjing to attend, and he was able to make money while having fun. The venue could accommodate more than 200 people, Guo Yu led the well-dressed Huang Wenjing to his seat, and the two were whispering to each other. At this time, many wealthy celebrities who had been invited also entered the scene.
The auctioneer said, "This is the first time that Huafu Auction House has held a large-scale auction of this magnitude. Thank you to all our distinguished guests for your presence. We hope that each and every one of you will be able to find an artwork that meets your expectations. The auction will now begin."
"The first lot is a Tibetan Buddhist Manjusri Bodhisattva gold statue holding a sword, with full-body gilding and colorful painting, and has an inscription. The base has the Qing dynasty imperial palace collection seal, and belongs to the Qing dynasty Qianlong period royal use treasure."
"At that time, the Qianlong Emperor was just like Manjusri Bodhisattva, and this piece of goods has some differences with other Manjusri Bodhisattva's head sculptures. It is very likely that the Qianlong Emperor cast it with his own face, and there are also records of this kind."
"There is conclusive evidence that all Buddha statues from the imperial family were consecrated by high-ranking monks at that time. I think everyone understands the significance of such items."
"Alright, this item starts at a price of 10 million Hong Kong dollars."
Tibetan Buddhism is popular in Hong Kong, and many wealthy individuals are home practitioners. This item may be a consecrated Buddha statue, which is a rare treasure in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia, capable of bringing peace, blessings, and good fortune to the home, unlike other items that are mere playthings.
In recent years, it has also been a Buddha statue craze. Last year, the highest price for a Shakyamuni sitting statue was sold for over 200 million yuan, leaving people speechless.
The atmosphere on the scene was very high, people wanted to hold their breath, constantly holding up signs, prices soaring, Guo Yu's mood became more and more excited, he even accidentally grasped Huang Wenjing's small hand, Huang Wenjing struggled a few times but couldn't break free, then stopped moving.
It's really exciting to accidentally grasp it, heaven knows. Do you believe it?
However, Guo Yu didn't make any progress either. After holding on for a few minutes, he let go voluntarily and took a sneak peek at Huang Wenjing's face, which was slightly red but still calm.
A good beginning is half the battle.
Indeed, the auction also started well and had a good omen. In the end, this Buddha statue was actually sold for as high as 1 billion 860 million, it's really a great success.
Zhang Chong's selection this time was all about the hottest and most popular antiques in the current market, so there were no unsold items. The auction ended with a Qinghua porcelain large bowl, which sold for HK$56 million.
Guo Yu was confused at this point. Why wasn't the last one the most expensive? Zhang Chong wasn't around, so he'd have to ask him later. What kind of trickery was this?
The distinguished guests dispersed, and Guo Yu took Huang Wenjing to find Zhang Chong. Zhang Chong was still busy with the follow-up work of the auction, and he couldn't stop his feet when he saw Guo Yu coming, so he just greeted him and continued to be busy. In the end, he had to grab the auctioneer to ask about the situation.
The auctioneer said: "This is the strategy we previously agreed upon, not a mistake. This reverse auction method also has precedent. Because of the publicity, many people actually came for this Buddha statue. We will first auction it off, and when people are excited, they will naturally bid at a high price. And those who didn't get it will naturally buy some other antiques. After all, our items are very good, and they all have several alternative purchases."
Guo Yu saw that he couldn't catch Zhang Chong, so he prepared to take Huang Wenjing out for dinner. The two of them walked out of the hotel.
