The Versatile Master Artist

At three in the afternoon, alongside the sound of a gong.

A man who looked like the host stepped onto a simple platform made of a few tin boxes and formally announced the end of the bidding process with a loudspeaker.

”Please remain calm, everyone. We are currently tallying the bids from various boxes. It will take about half an hour. We have prepared a rest area for everyone with refreshments and fruit...”

The crowd bustlingly left the bidding area.

Gu Weijing noticed several police cars following a blue-black riot armor vehicle into the warehouse entrance.

The armored vehicle’s door opened, and a group of patrol officers in black uniforms emerged.

They leaned against the car, huddled together, lazily smoking there.

They didn’t look like elite forces, but all their belts were equipped with real, armed weapons.

”Later, there will be large cash transactions. You know the security situation here; without police supervision, we can’t feel at ease.”

The elder noticed Gu Weijing’s gaze, patted his nephew’s shoulder with a knowing look: ”Every year, the jade trade fair is the big event. Those jewelers from the Dongxia Continent and Dongxia Mainland and Taiwan Region are billionaires at the drop of a hat. To ensure the stability and security of the trade fair, there might even be MiG-29s flying overhead.”

Gu Weijing nodded.

Boss Wu’s business dealings were legitimate.

Apart from the young woman dressed in a professional style, no one else bothered to look at the painting titled ”Old Church on a Stormy Day.”

Ideally, even robberies wouldn’t involve him.

”Have you seen anything you fancy? Your family, Gu Tongxiang, has quite the discerning eye. Gu’s Painting and Calligraphy Gallery is considered a big operation locally. How about it? Can you secure the top bid?”

Boss Wu appeared at that moment from somewhere unknown.

With a half-burned cigarette in his mouth, he puffed away casually.

”I just made a bid in the miscellaneous section.”

Gu Weijing clutched the number 69 card he received upon entering the venue, his gaze fixed on the whiteboard in front of the miscellaneous section.

Several staff members were tallying the boxes in the miscellaneous section.

Once the bidding amounts for each booth were tabulated, the winning number would be written on that whiteboard.

”Miscellaneous section, huh? That’s just children’s play stuff.”

Realizing Gu Weijing hadn’t aligned himself with Brother Hao, Boss Wu’s demeanor suddenly became much more elevated, addressing him with a junior-minded attitude: ”How can a businessman succeed without a bit of courage?”

The elder smiled wryly too: ”The top bid... ’Mountain in the Snow’ has a starting price of over ten thousand dollars, that’s quite expensive.”

”That’s not the right way to look at it; expensive for a reason. The price of Impressionist artworks has indeed soared in recent years. Recently, at the private collection auction of Microsoft founder Paul Allen, Impressionist pieces accounted for 30% of the total 1.6 billion dollars in sales.”

Boss Wu calmly blew a smoke ring, ”If you find it pricey, you can follow your nephew to the miscellaneous section, where you can buy up the place with just one or two thousand dollars.”

”A few thousand dollars to buy up a place only to send it to the dump?”

The elder shook his head: ”Nobody’s money grows on trees, your miscellaneous section is quite diverse, how come it even has Coca-Cola bottles.”

”Maybe some fool actually likes that.” A nearby businessperson chimed in with a laugh.

The air instantly filled with a lively atmosphere.

About twenty minutes later, all the bids in the boxes were tallied.

The host started reading out the winning number for each booth from a small notebook.

”Congratulations, Mr. 06, for purchasing the auction’s top bid ’Mountain in the Snow’ at the price of $27,001.”

As the winning number was announced through the loudspeaker, a sparse wave of polite applause sounded among the crowd.

Gu Weijing noticed that the buyer wasn’t from any of the prominent galleries he was familiar with in Yangon.

It turned out to be the elderly man who handed him tissues, claiming to rather have a bite of a heavenly peach than buy a basket of rotten peaches.

This unfamiliar old man seemed quite capable, being able to secure the top bid of the entire auction, no wonder he adopted the posture of a collector expert.

”A wealthy old man from Dongxia vacationing here, reportedly in the building materials business, with a hobby of collecting. He’s bought quite a few good jade pieces in Myanmar recently.”

Boss Wu glanced at the elderly man with the thermos, explaining: ”Really a dragon crossing the river.”

”Congratulations to Boss Wu on flourishing too.”

The elder glanced at the elderly gentleman.

It’s standard for collectors to bid higher than galleries.

Collectors only need to consider whether they like the artwork they buy. Even if they want to invest for appreciation, it’s usually for long-term holding over ten years.

Whereas galleries are in the business.

The elder estimated that if the painting encountered an ideal buyer, it might sell for around thirty thousand dollars, providing at least over a 10% profit margin.

But one must consider how long it takes to sell the painting.

Holding onto several thousand dollars in a piece for a long time could strain the shop’s cash flow.

The auction continued.

The elder made two bids in total, winning once, while another gallery won a print for 350 dollars less.

Among them, the Lv.6 grade Impressionist oil painting previously seen by Gu Weijing.

Was secured by the elderly man for a price of $2700.

Though the elderly man couldn’t discern the significance of Gu Weijing’s earlier ”Old Church,” his acumen among ordinary people was not bad.

If Gu Weijing hadn’t once appraised ”The Dance at the Moulin de la Galette,” even he would have nearly missed out on that piece.