At this moment, more and more people crowded in, and Jin Muchen was unwilling to stay with that guy any longer. He simply withdrew from the crowd and stood behind.
The crowd squeezed in front of the two ancient bookshelves, and Jin Muchen smiled helplessly. It seemed that he had underestimated the situation before. In this room, it was now filled with connoisseurs from Manhattan. The items he recognized, others would surely recognize as well.
Moreover, these fellows had far better channels for sourcing goods than himself, and they had more abundant funds. If they took a liking to those items, he would certainly have little opportunity. And indeed, the facts proved Jin Muchen's speculation. The items he had his eye on were already targeted by others. In just a short time after he gave up his spot, several guys crowded in, examining those bowls and plates non-stop.
Even the export porcelain on the other side, which he didn't fancy much, was not overlooked. While examining them, those guys argued endlessly. They were more professional than him in terms of dating those porcelains, and what they mainly debated was the pricing of these items. Jin Muchen listened in for a while and then left dejectedly. The prices these guys mentioned were obviously beyond his means for now.
Earlier, he sold the famille-rose bowl, then a set of signed Yuan Shikai silver dollars, and even a set of antique French tea sets, earning quite a bit from each transaction. However, he had almost sent all that money back home. Now, he only had his salary from working and some odd savings, totaling just over ten thousand dollars.
This amount of money might be enough to bid for and buy a bowl or something similar, but such bowls couldn't be sold smoothly every time like the first two times with Mr. Wang. Who knew if he would have to hold onto it for a month or two? If so, his cash flow would be a problem. Moreover, bidding a high price for a bowl wasn't his original intention for coming here. He came here to hunt for bargains.
"Well, gentlemen, you've seen enough. Let's begin. Please put back the items in your hands to their original positions, and let's proceed with the auction according to the numbers!" At some point, Josh Bentley returned to the room. It seemed like his work was closely related to the auctioneer because he was very familiar with the auction process. He had already labeled the small antiques in the room, and when people were looking, if they were interested in an item, they would jot down its number in their little notebook, along with their psychological price, waiting for bidding.
"The first item we are auctioning is No. 1, this painting above the fireplace behind me. It's by Tangning Chandler, as you all know. Although Tangning Chandler may not be as famous as David, Angell, or Delacroix from the same period, he studied under Drevflek Leiden and is quite well-known for his realistic sketches..." This painting was being introduced by Josh, followed by announcing the starting price and bidding principles.
Jin Muchen stood behind a group of antique dealers with a bitter smile. It seemed that he was going to return empty-handed this time.
"Eight thousand dollars. Any higher bids?"
"Eight thousand one hundred dollars. Good, any higher bids? Eight thousand one hundred dollars. First time, second time, third time. Okay, this Qing Dynasty blue and white porcelain plate belongs to Mr. Goodridge!"
The auction in the study was in full swing. It seemed that everything in the room was valuable, and there was no reason for anyone to leave empty-handed or uninformed about the value of the items.
The first painting sold for fifty thousand dollars, and even those old hunting rifles sold for thousands of dollars each. The most astonishing was a twelve-point deer head, which sold for fifteen thousand dollars.
Soon, some Western-style miscellaneous antiques at the front were swept away by the antique dealers. When it came to the finale of Chinese porcelain, the atmosphere of the auction room quickly heated up.
Although the individual auction prices of these Chinese porcelains might not be higher than those before, the key was that these items were in high demand! The Western auction items before might have higher prices, but selling them might not be particularly easy. For example, the oil painting by the somewhat famous Tangning Chandler might sit in a store for a year or two before someone who genuinely liked his style would pay for it. Considering inflation and currency devaluation over several years, such antiques couldn't be considered hot sellers.
Moreover, they would tie up a large sum of money. For antique dealers, liquidity of cash was equally important. But these Chinese porcelains were different. Despite the individual prices not being high, they had excellent circulation in the market. If you bought one for eight thousand one hundred and sold it for ten thousand within two months, you'd make a considerable profit from it.
Moreover, these antique dealers all had their fixed channels for sourcing goods. So, the turnover time for them should be much faster than this. Therefore, the last Chinese porcelains undoubtedly became the most attention-grabbing antiques in this small auction.
Watching the increasingly intense competition in front, Jin Muchen could only stand behind the crowd with a wry smile. He had originally come here to pick up some bargains, but he never expected to encounter such a scene.
"Why? Aren't you going to bid on a few items?" Candice stood aside, looking at Jin Muchen and asked. She didn't know much about antiques, but she knew Jin Muchen was studying antique appraisal. Moreover, those antiques in front were all genuine. However, she couldn't understand why Jin Muchen had been hesitating to make a move, which puzzled her.
Jin Muchen glanced at Candice, shaking his head helplessly. "I do want to! But listen to their prices. A bowl can fetch eight thousand bucks. Although I want to buy, I don't have enough money!"
"Why? How much do you lack? I still have some. Otherwise, I can lend you some?" Candice looked at Jin Muchen and asked. In America, men and women were very clear about money matters. Especially in such a relationship where they had only known each other for a short time, those who were knowledgeable would not actively offer money to others.
Jin Muchen encountered such a situation where someone offered to lend him money for the first time, which made him feel a little touched.
"No, Candice, I can't use your money!"
"Why? Since you like it, just buy it. Besides, it's not for you; it's a loan. Anyway, when you sell those porcelains, you can repay me then!" Candice looked at Jin Muchen and said seriously. It seemed that she was genuinely concerned about Jin Muchen, without any guard or pretense, which made Jin Muchen even more touched. However, he still declined Candice's proposal.
"Thank you for your kindness, but I can't use your money..."
"So, the nerd turns out to be a fool who won't even accept a free lunch?" A sharp and slight voice suddenly sounded nearby. Turning his head, Jin Muchen saw that the annoying guy from Hong Kong had somehow approached them again. He had overheard their conversation just now.
Seeing Jin Muchen's gaze, that guy raised his
chin arrogantly, his eyes almost reaching the top of his head, and a disdainful snort came from his nose!
"Get lost, Hong Konger. If you're broke, why don't you go wash dishes in Chinatown? Why bother coming here to join the fun?" Jin Muchen clenched his fists, his pupils suddenly contracting. He was about to rush over to give that guy a few punches, but Candice grabbed his arm.
"Honey, don't argue with such trash!"
The guy just now used Cantonese, and although Candice didn't understand what he said, judging from Jin Muchen's angry appearance, she knew that guy must have said something unpleasant. If it were elsewhere, Jin Muchen might have already hit him, but it couldn't happen here. With so many people around, if Jin Muchen started a fight, he would definitely be in the wrong. If someone called the police, Jin Muchen would definitely suffer.
Jin Muchen's originally heated mind gradually cooled down after being pulled by Candice. Indeed, it was not worth it to fight with this guy now. If he accidentally ended up in jail, it would not be worth the trouble.
Seeing that Jin Muchen didn't retort or fight back, the guy from Hong Kong became even more arrogant. However, he didn't have time to continue harassing Jin Muchen. After all, he didn't come here to pick a fight but to collect antiques.
"Alright, now let's start the auction of item number 32. This item is a beautiful famille-rose vase, with the pattern of..." The auction on stage had entered its final stage, and now it happened to be the export porcelain being auctioned.
Chinese antique dealers were definitely not very interested in such porcelain, but these Western antique dealers were all eager. These porcelains were beautifully made, and both the style and the painted patterns were particularly appealing to them. So, once these porcelains were taken down, there was no worry about them not being sold.
And the guy from Hong Kong, who had just been at odds with Jin Muchen, was now eager to try his hand at these export porcelains. Seeing his expression, Jin Muchen suddenly had an idea.
Soon, several vases were auctioned off, and the guy from Hong Kong also participated in a few bids, but he came back empty-handed every time. However, when the 38th item was brought up for auction, his eyes lit up.
Jin Muchen, who had been secretly observing him, also turned to look at the item on the stage. It turned out to be a famille-rose porcelain plate.