Chapter 95

Laoyezi was in a hurry to look at other things, so he didn't stay long and went back inside.

"Please come with me," Sophia said as she led the way.

While waiting for the elevator, she added, "The items are in my bedroom. Please wait downstairs for a moment."

There were too many people on the third floor, and the lighting was better on the first floor anyway.

Haoze nodded in agreement.

Sophia quickly came down from the second floor with a few paintings and two vases.

The people who had been eating breakfast on the first floor were already done, and someone had cleared the area.

She handed the paintings to Haoze for inspection.

She then waved over Manager Yang. "Are there still people who haven't arrived yet?"

Manager Yang had been stationed on the first floor. Hearing Sophia's question, he nodded. "Eight people haven't arrived yet."

Sophia understood and told him to go back to his duties. She checked her phone and saw that Professor Zhou had mentioned in the group chat ten minutes ago that he had already arrived in town.

She called someone over to accompany Haoze.

"Mr. Haoze, I still have guests to attend to. If you finish checking the paintings and vases and there's no problem, have someone come get me," she told him.

Haoze was completely focused on the paintings. Some of his older family members were collectors, including a great-aunt in her fifties who had never married and was obsessed with antiques. Because of that, Haoze had some knowledge in this area too.

He even had a table moved closer to the window and asked for a magnifying glass.

Since Haoze didn't respond, Sophia didn't disturb him. She signaled to the staff to take care of him, then walked out.

As soon as she stepped outside, three cars pulled up. Professor Zhou and a group of people got out.

"Professor Zhou!" Sophia greeted him warmly. Amelia, who had been waiting outside for a while, stepped up to hold an umbrella for the professors.

"Come inside! It's too hot out here," Sophia said.

The midday sun was intense, and it was easier to talk indoors.

"Are they all upstairs already?" Professor Zhou asked.

"Yes, they just went up," Sophia replied.

Professor Zhou was about to head upstairs when he spotted a familiar figure.

"Is that Little Haoze?" he asked.

He didn't wait for an answer and walked straight toward Haoze.

Amelia said, "Should the rest of the professors go upstairs now? Or would you like to rest on the first floor for a bit?"

There were refreshments prepared on the first floor. Since the third floor was filled with exhibits, no food or water was brought up.

The others agreed. After all, they had come to look at the collection. Professor Zhou had his own business to attend to, and they didn't need to follow him closely.

So Sophia led the rest of the group upstairs.

Amelia stayed downstairs, waiting for her teacher to finish before leading the others up.

Sophia didn't forget that Haoze was waiting to settle things downstairs. After bringing the group upstairs, she started introducing the exhibits.

"There are mostly accessories. There are a lot of them, but we also have some porcelain pieces and furniture—some made of rosewood and others of sunken wood," Sophia briefly explained to everyone before taking the elevator back down.

Since it wasn't a formal auction house, many things required her to handle personally, and she was starting to feel overwhelmed.

Thankfully, things on Haoze's side didn't drag on much longer.

Sophia came down, and Haoze immediately approached her to settle the payment.

He already knew the prices of the pieces; Laoyezi had informed him in advance.

They had all agreed on the prices in their group chat, and Sophia had confirmed them too, so the payment could be made right away.

While paying, Haoze couldn't help but take another look at Sophia with admiration. "Miss Sophia, you really are full of surprises!"

Sophia gave a polite smile but didn't reply.

Haoze felt like he had just punched a pillow—soft, with no resistance.

Laoyezi had first choice, so he naturally picked the most valuable and expensive pieces. He chose six items in total, which cost 450 million yuan.

Professor Zhou took a look at the items Laoyezi had chosen. After inspecting them, he noticed Haoze was paying, so he said, "Xiao Qi, I'm heading upstairs. Come up later—I need to talk to you."

After Sophia received the payment, her smile toward Haoze became a bit more genuine.

Two hours passed quickly, and as it approached noon, Sophia invited everyone downstairs for lunch.

Four tables were arranged, and lunch was prepared by a chef from a five-star hotel.

The presentation and taste were both excellent.

Everyone at the table chatted happily—most of them were long-time friends.

Their conversation revolved around the antique pieces they had seen upstairs.

The meal lasted about an hour.

After eating, everyone sat on the first floor to rest and chat.

Since everyone was gathered, Sophia took the chance to go over the rules.

"How was everyone's experience this morning? Did anything catch your eye?"

"I forgot to mention earlier—each item upstairs has a unique ID number. If there's anything you're interested in, we'll collect your preferences after the exhibition ends at 4 p.m. If only one person is interested in an item, you can buy it directly. But if two or more people like the same piece, we'll auction it."

She then handed each guest a small note and a pen.

After explaining the rules, Sophia asked Manager Yang to bring up a few mahjong tables for entertainment. Since they couldn't provide a proper space for an afternoon nap, they offered this instead, so guests wouldn't have to just sit around and wait.

By around 3 p.m., people began coming down from the third floor to wait on the first floor.

There weren't too many exhibition pieces, but there were a few hundred. Two to three hours was enough to see them all.

By now, if someone liked something, they already had a clear idea. If not, it probably didn't impress them enough.

Around 3:30 p.m., most guests were gathered downstairs, chatting or enjoying snacks in the courtyard.

Even though the guests were mostly older, many still had a sweet tooth.

At 4 p.m. sharp, Sophia gathered everyone and had Manager Yang and his team begin the count.

"There are 115 items total. Nine of them were selected by two to four people. We'll start with these nine items for the auction. After the auction, we'll move on to individual payments."

"Please follow me to the courtyard."

Sophia led everyone outside.

That morning, many luxury cars had attracted the attention of curious villagers. Some tried to peek in, but since they couldn't see much, they eventually left.

Now, Sophia asked Peng Ji'an to patrol the area to make sure no one disturbed them.

Ten minutes later, someone brought out the nine selected items, and the auction began right there.

"This is a blue-and-white dragon-pattern jar. Starting bid: 20 million yuan."

Those who wanted it began placing bids.

"40 million!"

Someone immediately doubled the starting bid.

"50 million!"

Sophia wasn't very knowledgeable about porcelain, so she had asked Professor Zhou for help with setting the base prices. But she hadn't expected them to be so popular or so valuable.