Chapter 38 Jade Ring

The two did not argue for too long as the auction officially began soon.

This auction is held to help disabled children with their education. All auction items are donated by people present, and all proceeds from the auction will be donated to disabled children who have dropped out of school through the True Meaning Foundation.

The first few items were mostly jewelry. Things that were worth thousands of dollars in the eyes of ordinary people did not attract much interest here. The bids were also quite normal, and most of them were to give face to the donors or to make friends. For example, a flawless australian white necklace donated by Zhong Xue was sold at more than twice the market price. The winner was a well-known director of a film and television group who had a close relationship with Zhong Xue.

Jiang Wu had no interest in these things and was flipping through the manual boredly when Zhong Xue suddenly leaned towards him. He quickly moved aside and bumped into Han Zhong's arm.

Han Zhong glanced at him and curled the corners of his mouth slightly.

Zhong Xue was a little surprised, "What's wrong?"

Jiang Wu was speechless. It was because when he came back just now, Han Zhong insisted that he promise to keep a distance from Zhong Xue, otherwise he would have a cold face, as if someone owed him something. So he had no choice but to agree to avoid Zhong Xue.

"…I'm afraid of messing up your hair. What's wrong?"

"I wanted to ask you what you think of this watch?"

Jiang Wu glanced at the stage and found a new limited edition men's watch from a famous Swedish brand. The starting price was one million, with each bid increasing by one hundred thousand. Based on the experience of the previous auction items, if there were no watch collectors on the scene, it could be bought for less than one million and a half million.

Jiang Wu has never been interested in these things. The ornaments he wore back then were all made by himself using secret methods and could save his life when necessary. These watches can only be considered a burden.

"It's not as convenient as a mobile phone." He said frankly.

Zhong Xue couldn't help laughing, "People who buy this watch use it as an accessory. Who would use it to tell time?"

Although she said this, she could see that Jiang Wu was not interested in these things, so she did not ask any more questions and instead bought a ruby ​​necklace herself.

Jiang Wu looked at Han Zhong on his left. He had never taken pictures of anything before, but it was not surprising. With the financial resources of the Han family, these things would not be of interest to him.

Jiang Wu asked in a low voice: "Don't you have anything you like?"

Han Zhong frowned, "Your voice is too soft, I can't hear you clearly."

"I say..." Jiang Wu was helpless and could only straighten up and lean over to his ear, "Don't you have anything you like?"

A light and warm breath fell into his ears with a deliberately low voice. Han Zhong couldn't help but tense his muscles and stepped back a little. "...Yes, the second to last painting."

Jiang Wu immediately lowered his head and turned to the penultimate page of the manual. It was a painting titled Outing, and the artist was Zheng Xiaoxu, whom he did not recognize. However, the style of the painting looked more and more familiar, and the dress of the lady with flowers in her hair in the painting was also very familiar.

"Is this... an imitation of a painting from the Great Zhou period?"

Han Zhong glanced at him calmly. He remembered that Jiang Wu had not graduated from high school and knew nothing about calligraphy and painting. How could he recognize the dynasty style of this imitation painting at a glance?

"Well, Mr. Zheng is the president of the National Calligraphy and Painting Association. He is particularly good at court paintings from the Great Zhou period, but he usually doesn't attend such occasions. Today, he asked his daughter to represent him."

Han Zhong asked casually, "Do you know a lot about calligraphy and painting?"

Jiang Wudong paused and turned the page. "There was a play that required relevant knowledge before, so I just took a rough look at it."

He turned to the last page of the manual and was suddenly stunned. "Is this also a replica?"

Han took a closer look. It was a black ice jade ring inlaid with bronze. The picture showed that it was quite old. The item description only had four words: "Jade Ring". The donor was Tang Lin, the director of the film and television group that had previously bought Zhong Xue's necklace.

Han Zhong couldn't be sure whether it was a fake, but if it could be auctioned, the procedures must be in compliance with the regulations. However, Jiang Wu's expression made him a little concerned, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just curious." Jiang Wu wasn't sure if it was what he was thinking of because he hadn't seen the real thing yet.

Soon it was the turn of Zheng Xiaoxu's painting. The starting bid was 300,000, and Han Zhong directly raised the price to 500,000. This price was not high, but when others saw him raise his card, they subconsciously stopped bidding, and Han Zhong successfully won the painting.

As the last piece of collection was brought up, everyone became interested. Although it was a charity auction, it was after all something brought out by a group of wealthy people, so if it was put last, it must be good.

The velvet red cloth was unveiled, and a black jadeite ring inlaid with bronze was placed in front of everyone. The inky black jadeite texture on the huge electronic screen looked like an ink painting, very artistic.

It is not uncommon to see jadeite used to make rings, and black ice jadeite is not considered to be of good quality on the market, but it is rare to see rings inlaid with thin bronze rings, especially those with patterns engraved on them and inlaid with ivory fragments. This craftsmanship is quite ingenious.

Jiang Wu was not surprised by this so-called craftsmanship, but the pattern on the embedded bronze sheet made him look surprised.

Han Zhong glanced at him and asked, "Do you recognize him?"

"Um."

Jiang Wu did not hide anything this time and said directly, "This item is called the Gou Ye Jade Ring. The pattern on the outer circle of bronze was first engraved and then inlaid with ivory. It is an item used by the royal family of the Great Zhou when hunting."

His voice wasn't loud, but he didn't try to lower it either. People around him looked over curiously, and when they saw Han Zhong next to him, they were all surprised.

Someone who knows jade couldn't help but retort, "Is something like black ice jade worthy of the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

Jiang Wu was not annoyed and patiently explained, "Although the value of black ice is not high in the market now, the Great Zhou Dynasty values ​​water and black, so black has always been the main color of the royal court dress and other formal clothing, even the emperor's dragon robe, so black ice is also highly respected, meaning the virtue of black water.

As soon as he finished speaking, the host on the stage began to introduce the item. "This jade inscription ring is made of black ice ink painting jade, with a thin bronze ring inlaid on the outside. The outside of the thin ring is carved with patterns such as the crescent moon and lotus that were popular during the prosperous Zhou Dynasty. The pattern is inlaid with ivory. It was the standard used by the royal family of the Great Zhou Dynasty at that time..."

The host's introduction was almost the same as what Jiang Wu said. Everyone fell silent for a moment, but when they looked at Han Zhong and Zhong Xue sitting next to Jiang Wu, they suddenly felt that it made more sense. It turned out that they were specially invited antique experts.

Only those rich second-generations in the entertainment industry like Bai Yuan who are hiding in the crowd are hurt. What kind of antique expert is that? He is just an 18th-tier actor who didn't even graduate from high school! What does he know about antiques?

Following the host's introduction, the atmosphere in the venue suddenly became lively, and even Zhong Xue became eager to buy. Although the black ice ink painting was not valuable, the patterns and craftsmanship on it were valuable. Moreover, it was Tang Lin who took it out. Everyone in Linhai knew that he loved collecting antiques and was very knowledgeable. The possibility that the collection he took out was a fake was extremely low. At once, many people followed the bid, and soon the price soared from the original price of one million to two million.

"Forget it, it seems it's not my turn now."

Zhong Xue sighed. Although she was rich, she was far less wealthy than the wealthy businessmen present. However, she had no money, while the man sitting next to Jiang Wu was extremely rich.

She tilted her head to look at Han Zhong, "Mr. Han is not interested?"

Han Zhong really had no interest in it. There were a lot of these things in his basement, all covered in dust.

Seeing that he was unmoved, Zhong Xue deliberately looked at Jiang Wu, "Jiang Wu, do you like it?"

As expected, Han Zhong looked over.

However, Jiang Wu shook his head and said, "If it's real, maybe I'll like it, but if it's fake, forget it."