Chapter 50

"Four hundred million, it's already reached four hundred million!" Everyone present held their breath.

Currently, the most expensive antique in the country has sold for over six hundred million. Li Yi's porcelain vase started at four hundred million, and it is very likely to break the previous record!

"Four hundred and ten million!"

"Four hundred and twenty million!"

As the crowd bid, the price soared, reaching around five hundred million before the bidding slowed down. After the price exceeded six hundred million and three more bids were made, it finally stopped.

"Six hundred and thirty million once, six hundred and thirty million twice, six hundred and thirty million three times! Congratulations to Mr. Amadeo from Italy, who won this exhibit through a phone bid!"

As the auctioneer's hammer fell, some people breathed a sigh of relief, while others deeply regretted it. It was just a little short of breaking the highest auction price record for domestic antiques, a pity that it fell short at the last moment.

"Don't worry, there are still more exhibits to come. The next one might break the record," someone said.

"Impossible, this vase is part of a pair, and the first one sold will definitely be more expensive than the second. As for that tea set, if sold separately, each piece won't be as valuable as this vase," a seasoned collector analyzed.

"Alas, the news about the Ru porcelain at the exhibition was announced too late. Otherwise, this vase could have sold for a much higher price!" another collector lamented.

While most experts regretted that the Ru porcelain didn't break the record, two people were beaming with joy. Needless to say, they were Li Yi's aunt and sister.

"This Italian is really rich, he spent six hundred million on a broken vase," Li Ting whispered.

"Don't say that, he's collecting antiques!" Lin Ruxue gave Li Ting a meaningful look.

"What kind of antique is this? My brother and I bought it at the art market for only six hundred yuan. It was originally a pair, but Mimi broke the other one," Li Ting said nonchalantly.

"Ah?" Lin Ruxue blinked. So this thing was really bought at the art market? She glanced at Li Yi, thinking it was inconvenient to ask now but would definitely need to investigate later.

The host took a break and then returned to the auction stage.

"The next exhibit is almost identical to the previous one because they are a pair. The only difference is the pattern carved on them. The ancient mythical phoenix is actually two creatures, the male being the Feng and the female being the Huang. The one sold for six hundred and thirty million was the Huang vase, with the Huang pattern on it. Now, the auction for the Feng vase begins, with a starting price of one hundred million!"

"Four hundred million!" Mr. Li from Wanjie immediately outbid the others. No wonder, as the same pair of vases, the previous one sold for six hundred million, so this one, even if cheaper, wouldn't be much cheaper.

"Four hundred and fifty million!"

"Four hundred and seventy million!"

"Five hundred million!"

...

Seeing the price exceed five hundred million, Mr. Li sighed heavily. He had only brought five hundred million in cash, and he couldn't afford more. Watching the Ru porcelain vase go to someone else, his heart was bleeding!

"Six hundred million!"

Mr. Ni from the capital also broke into a sweat after bidding six hundred million. Six hundred million was his limit, and he couldn't come up with more!

"Six hundred and ten million!"

Mr. Amadeo from Italy easily surpassed Mr. Ni's bid, his tone full of pride.

Having just won the Huang vase for six hundred and thirty million, he was confident he could win the Feng vase at the same price. With this pair of Ru porcelain phoenix vases in hand, he could always show them off to his friends.

"Six hundred and thirty million!"

An English voice came through, it was Bryant from the American Rockefeller Group, participating in the auction online.

"Six hundred and forty million!"

After Mr. Amadeo bid this price, he smiled slightly. He had already seen that Bryant didn't want to compete with him but just didn't want him to get the vase too cheaply. Now that his bid was higher than the previous one, Bryant shouldn't follow.

"Six hundred and forty million once! Six hundred and forty million twice!..."

Sure enough, when the auctioneer confirmed the final bid, Bryant's voice didn't come through.

"Six hundred and forty million three..."

"Wait, six hundred and seventy million!"

A soft female voice suddenly came through the network, in English but with an accent. Then a beautiful woman with an exotic look appeared in front of the camera.

"Who is this..." The auctioneer was a bit confused.

"Sorry, I just connected with your exhibition site. My name is Moraviya Ahuomo, and my father is Suhajianfa Ahuomo. We are from the Ahuomo family in India!" the beautiful woman said.

When the interpreter repeated Miss Moraviya's words in Chinese, the audience was amazed.

No wonder she's so beautiful, she's an Indian beauty!

A wealthy tycoon from India is also bidding for Chinese antiques!

Mr. Amadeo from Italy frowned. He knew Miss Moraviya. When they were studying at Oxford University, he had flirted with her because of her beauty.

He thought India was a poor place, and students from there were all poor, so a little money would do the trick. But he never expected that Miss Moraviya was not only not poor but also from a family rich enough to rival a nation!

"An Indian can be so rich, how ridiculous!"

That incident made Amadeo and Moraviya enemies. Now, Moraviya was bidding, clearly not for the antique but to ruin his auction!

"Six hundred and eighty million!"

When Amadeo's bid in dollars was translated into RMB, the audience gasped. The record was broken! The highest price for a domestic antique was broken! Six hundred and eighty million, the Ru porcelain vase was worth six hundred and eighty million!

"Seven hundred million!"

Miss Moraviya from India calmly outbid Amadeo again!

"Over seven hundred million!"

The audience gasped again. No one expected the first vase to sell for six hundred and thirty million, but the second one to reach seven hundred million!

"Seven hundred and ten million!" Amadeo's voice trembled. The price was already beyond his plan. But he had already won the Huang vase, and he wouldn't be satisfied without the matching Feng vase.

"Seven hundred and twenty million!" Miss Moraviya continued, her tone surprisingly firm.

Amadeo fell silent, not responding for a long time.

"Seven hundred and twenty million once, seven hundred and twenty million twice!..." The auctioneer started the countdown.

"Seven hundred and forty million!"

Just then, Amadeo's voice came through again, raising the bid by twenty million at once!

"Seven hundred and forty million! Seven hundred and forty million, what a sky-high price!" The audience gasped in unison.

But before their gasps subsided, Moraviya's voice came through again.

"Seven hundred and fifty million!"

"Seven hundred and fifty million!" The auctioneer shouted loudly, never imagining his auction would be so successful!

This auction would surely go down in history, and even if not, it would be talked about for years!

"Mr. Amadeo, Miss Moraviya has bid seven hundred and fifty million. Will you follow?" the auctioneer asked loudly.

Amadeo was silent for a moment, then sighed, "I won't follow."

"Mr. Amadeo won't follow, what a pity!" The auctioneer said, but his face showed no regret. A vase sold for seven hundred and fifty million, what was there to regret?

"Seven hundred and fifty million once, seven hundred and fifty million twice, seven hundred and fifty million three times! Sold, congratulations to Miss Moraviya from India!"

"Amadeo, they say good things come in pairs, looks like you'll never have a pair, hahaha!"

Seeing the Feng vase was hers, Moraviya taunted Amadeo and then laughed like a silver bell.