Chapter 956: 250 million!

Liu Shaoquan opened his mouth, wanting to say something else, but he felt that before Xia Yu's words, whatever he said would seem pale and powerless, and no reason would hold water!

Whether something is right or wrong takes time to verify.

But one thing can be discerned directly, and that is whether it is politically correct or not.

These last eight words of Xia Yu are politically correct, and he cannot and will not refute them!

Even Zhuang Siping and Wang Kuancheng, who had been awarded positions in the Mainland, had no hope at all, and could only lament in their hearts for Liu Shaoquan.

Bao Yugang said in his characteristic loud voice: 'President Liu, Ah Yu is right. Hong Kong is Chinese soil, and the Yongle Encyclopedia is no different here than it is in the mainland.'

'And you can rest assured. Since Ah Yu has promised not to transfer the Yongle Encyclopedia again, he can keep his word. I can vouch for him!'

Xia Yu smiled and nodded at Bao Yugang.

Liu Shaoquan smiled a little reluctantly and nodded, saying, 'Mr Xia is right. Hong Kong is also part of China. I believe Mr Xia can keep his word, otherwise his career would not have grown so big!'

'And I must also apologise for my words. I was out of line. Please forgive me!'

With that, he bowed to Xia Yu and Hua Shengshi to apologise.

'President Liu, you don't have to do that. You also have a passion for patriotism. How can you be wrong when you love your country and your people?'

Xia Yu quickly stepped aside and held him up, smiling.

Liu Shaoquan's mood improved slightly, and he responded with a smile. Then he looked at Zhuang Siping and the others, bowed again to thank them, and said, 'Gentlemen, I also sincerely thank you. It is you who have allowed me to truly experience the patriotic passion of my fellow countrymen overseas!'

Zhuang Siping and the others also responded politely one by one.

For a while, the atmosphere in the reception room gradually eased.

Liu Shaoquan also figured it out. Although as the director of the Palace Museum, he would definitely feel regretful for not being able to bring back the Yongle Encyclopedia,

it was fortunate that the worst-case scenario of the Yongle Encyclopedia being bought by a foreigner had not happened, and the national treasure remained in Hong Kong.

Moreover, with Xia Yu's last sentence, he was also able to go back and report for duty, and the department leaders would definitely not blame him in any way.

But since he was already in Hong Kong, Liu Shaoquan was reluctant not to take a look at the 122 volumes of the Yongle Encyclopedia that the Palace Museum did not have.

He asked, 'Mr Xia, I was wondering if I could take a look at these Yongle Encyclopedias these days?'

This was not a difficult request. Xia Yu smiled and said, 'Of course there is no problem. President Liu might as well stay in Hong Kong for a few more days. Apart from the Yongle Encyclopedia you just purchased, the Kowloon Museum of Cultural History also has nearly 12,000 antique cultural relics. Although it is far less than the Palace Museum, there should also be quite a few that you have never seen before.'

Liu Shaoquan's body trembled, and he said with wide eyes, 'There are actually nearly 12,000 cultural relics?'

'Then of course I have to take a good look!'

Huo Yingdong and the others were also amazed.

Huo Yingdong exclaimed, 'Ah Yu, I didn't expect you to have collected so many antiques, amazing!'

Bao Yugang also exclaimed, "Yes, and you have built a museum without making a fuss about it, which is beneficial to the people of Ligang and a model for us!'

Zhuang Siping nodded in agreement, "With 120 million cultural relics, it can easily surpass the several existing museums in Xiangjiang, and we overseas Chinese will have another place to learn about Chinese culture.'

'Everyone, don't praise me so highly, I'm just doing what I can,' Xia Yu said modestly.

Then Xia Yu looked at Hua Shengshi and said with a smile, 'Hua Lao, after we transport the Yongle Encyclopedia back later, I'll have to trouble you to entertain President Liu.'

With Liu Shaoquan no longer a threat, Hua Shengshi naturally wouldn't be hostile anymore.

After answering, he looked at Liu Shaoquan, smiled kindly, and offered his hand, saying, 'President Liu, I spoke a little harshly just now. Please don't be offended. You can find me these days.'

'No, no, I'm sorry. I'll have to trouble you these days. Let's communicate more.' Liu Shaoquan shook hands with Hua Shengshi and laughed amicably.

...

Later, Hua Shengshi was about to go and transport the photographed Yongle Encyclopedia back, and Liu Shaoquan couldn't hold back either, proposing to go together, and Xia Yu readily agreed.

As a result, the others also shouted and yelled to go together.

When they went out, Hua Shengshi went out alone first to deal with the reporters waiting outside, while Xia Yu went out with Zhuang Siping and others through other exits.

That evening, Xia Yu hosted a banquet at the Marco Polo Hotel on Hong Kong Island for Zhuang Siping, Liu Shaoquan and others. Wang Ping, Li Hua, Ji Xueming and others who had not been at the auction were also picked up.

That evening, the guests had a great time!

That night, Global TV's 'News 30 Minutes' reported on what happened at the Sotheby's auction, causing a huge sensation. The name Kowloon Cultural Museum appeared for the first time and was already known to millions of families in Hong Kong, Macau and even Southeast Asia.

By the next morning, all newspapers, including the Jiuding News Group, were reporting the news like crazy, with the overwhelming majority of stories related to the Sotheby's auction the previous day.

'Sotheby's Spring Auction Breaks 250 Million, Making History!' - the headline on the front page of the Jiuding News, with an enlarged figure of the total transaction amount.

'The Kowloon Museum of Culture outbid the Japanese by 40 million to protect their national treasure!' - front page news in the "Wind and Cloud Daily".

'Kowloon is unrivalled! Hong Kong adds another top-class museum!' - Sing Tao Daily

'Big reveal!!! The true strength of the Kowloon Museum of Culture!!!' - Tin Tin Daily

'Single-day turnover breaks 100 million, Sotheby's crazy day!' - Nanyang Siang Pau

The newspapers of the Jiuding News Agency have a huge advantage. Detailed information about the Kowloon Cultural Museum is only presented in the newspapers of the Jiuding News Agency. People who are curious about the Kowloon Cultural Museum can only find out by buying the newspapers of the Jiuding News Agency.

The sales of the Jiuding News Agency's Jiuding Daily, Fengyun Daily, and Tiantian Daily have all soared.

Many people who have read the newspapers are full of anticipation for Saturday, April 3. They want to see what the 40-million-Hong Kong-dollar Yongle Encyclopedia looks like!

Xia Yu also received calls from various bigwigs, including MacLehose, who called to congratulate him and say that he would be there in person to witness the opening of the Kowloon Museum of Culture.

The large number of special invitations, which were quaint and elegant, had been prepared long ago, and a large number of employees had delivered them one by one according to the list.

It wasn't until nearly twelve o'clock that the phone stopped ringing, and Xia Yu picked up his clothes and prepared to go home.

In the car, he finally had time to read the report Ren Decheng had given him.

As reported in the Nanyang Siang Pau, the turnover for the day had indeed exceeded 100 million.

The exact figure was 111 million!

The total turnover in the morning was 31.2 million, and the first session in the afternoon had a turnover of 11 million, while the second session had a turnover of 9.2 million.

The final session in the afternoon, the special auction of ancient books, had a turnover of 57.8 million Hong Kong dollars, which was more than the previous three days combined.

Even if the 40 million turnover of the Yongle Encyclopedia is excluded, the other ancient books also fetched a price of 17.8 million Hong Kong dollars.

The reason for this high price is still due to the light of the Yongle Encyclopedia, as many ancient books sold for far more than the lowest estimate.

Of course, it is undeniable that many of the auctioned items are fine works such as Buddhist scriptures and Taoist scriptures, and most of the big players participating in the auction are people of faith, so they are not reluctant to bid high.

Back to the topic.

The total turnover of Sotheby's spring auction on the first day was 42 million Hong Kong dollars, the second day was 46 million Hong Kong dollars, the third day was 53 million Hong Kong dollars, and the fourth day was 111 million Hong Kong dollars.

The total turnover for the four days was 252 million Hong Kong dollars.

As for the commission, it is charged to the buyer and the seller respectively.

After Christie's auction house started charging buyers a 10% commission in 1975, Sotheby's auction house followed suit and has not adjusted it since.

For sellers, it is charged in a stepped manner based on the transaction price.

Over the four days, the total commission charged was 42.93 million Hong Kong dollars, an increase of 523% year-on-year!

If publicity and operating costs are excluded, Sotheby's Hong Kong made a net profit of over 30 million Hong Kong dollars from this spring auction, which is more than last year's net profit!

Xia Yu was very satisfied with the result.

He was also relieved about the future prospects of Sotheby's Hong Kong.

This spring auction has completely established Sotheby's reputation, and the Sotheby's name has spread throughout Southeast Asia, among both the general public and the wealthy.

Not to mention Christie's, which has yet to enter Hong Kong, even if it did, it would have to be honest and humble, and be rubbed on the ground by Sotheby's.

That night, Global TV specially invited Hua Shengshi to be a guest in the broadcast room, and spent an hour interviewing him face-to-face, which boosted the ratings.

The audience applauded Hua Shengshi's promise of free admission to the museum for a week, and they began to think about bringing their families to visit the museum.

On April 2, while other newspapers were still speculating about the popularity of the Kowloon Museum of Cultural History and Sotheby's auction house, an international news story in the Storm Daily shocked all of Southeast and East Asia, and Storm Daily was hard to come by!