The auction is scheduled for seven days.
This auction was extraordinary. The participants were all the upper echelons of the empire. They were either powerful or had soldiers and wealth.
Ye Zhen followed Fatty Zhang as he approached the magnificent semicircular exhibition hall. It was an independent building with five floors. The first floor was the public hall, the second and third floors were private rooms, and the fourth and fifth floors were special halls. It is very difficult to get a position, and those who can get in here mean that they have a good status.
Ye Zhen was sitting in the fifth row and saw more and more people sitting in the hall, but there were not many people.
Fatty Zhang explained to her that because the auctions were all extremely precious ancient cultural relics, there were hundreds of millions of people in the entire empire, but less than a thousand people had actually come to the present. Because of the special nature of this auction, people from other countries wanted to come. No, the exhibits auctioned here will not be made public.
In fact, Ye Zhen has always had a doubt, wondering why writing has become a monopoly and private property of major families? No matter how precious and rare the ancient writings are, they should not completely disappear among the common people.
Even if the natural disaster hundreds of years ago indirectly caused a cultural gap, the first thing human beings at that time sought was survival. Later, because they discovered the advantages of "evolution", they were ecstatic and began to pursue power in order to survive. Eternal life and neglecting other things, after two hundred years of evolution and migration, eventually led to the loss of writing. But this loss is not all. Major families such as the Li family, the Yan family, the Shen family, etc. still know a lot of ancient writing within their families. , if it is just to pursue the prosperity of ancient culture again, why does every family hold the text so tightly
Just like the general's tomb, she didn't see any written records in the museum. Even some of the explanations were specious and did not give the clearest explanation.
Why do all aristocratic families regard the ancient characters they know as treasures that are kept secret within the family? Wouldn't it be better for the revival and development of ancient culture if the ancient characters known by the major families were sorted out and managed by the government
Unfortunately, no, the ancient text became a private collection of the family.
Fatty Zhang suddenly received a message, and then excitedly said to Ye Zhen: "Miss Ye, someone from the Yan family is here. I heard that they are the head of the Yan family, Yan Kaicheng, and Major General Yan Li!"
Ye Zhen frowned, and she hummed, her doubts getting even worse.
After a while, Fatty Zhang said again: "There are also people from the Shen family. The eldest master of the Shen family is Shen Qing. The Shen family has been in business for generations and is the richest man in the empire. I heard that their family's brain evolvers and body evolvers are special." It's amazing. In the past ten years, some of the Shen family's children have been attacking the political circles. There is also the Wang family. The Wang family is the first lady's natal family and is highly regarded by the Prime Minister. Their family's brain development is very advanced. In addition to holding important civil servants in the palace, they have done a lot of work in the empire. Almost all major research institutes have Wang family members.”
The three most prestigious families in the empire were all here, and all of them were important figures in the family.
Ye Zhen said: "In the past, when there were auctions of ancient cultural relics, would people from these three companies also come?"
Fatty Zhang thought for a while and said thoughtfully: "I will come, but it won't be as grand as today. For example, Yan Kaicheng has not been to the auction for several years. If he wants anything, he will send someone to help him. There is no need for him to do it himself. This time, they are 100% here for your "Thousand Character Essay"."
Ye Zhen suddenly said "Oh", "It seems that everyone likes ancient writing."
Fatty Zhang shrugged and said: "They are rich and powerful people. They are too idle every day, so they like to buy some high-end gadgets to fill the scene, especially in recent years, when the speculation has become more intense. Let me tell you, It’s better to have a few more trucks.”
As soon as he finished speaking, someone slapped him on the forehead. Fatty Zhang stared up and raised his head to scold, but found that it was his eldest brother and was immediately frightened: "Brother, why are you here?"
Brother Zhang said: "Don't talk nonsense all day long. What do you mean what happened to me? Shouldn't I be here?"
“…”
… You should, you should.
Brother Zhang: "Why don't you introduce it to me quickly?"
Fatty Zhang rubbed his head and dared not introduce Ye Zhen to his eldest brother. He also told Ye Zhen that this was his eldest brother and told her not to be afraid. Brother Zhang is more powerful than him. He is also the head of the Zhang family and knows more than Fatty Zhang.
Brother Zhang first lamented that Ye Zhen was so brave and actually chose to trust the fat man in his family and cooperate with him, and then said to Ye Zhen: "Those big families are not just looking for ancient characters to restore the Chinese civilization hundreds of years ago."
Ye Zhen nodded and said: "Each of them is hiding their secrets. If it is just to restore civilization, all the major families need to tell them what they know. Even if Chinese civilization cannot restore its past glory, otherwise it will not be what it is now." …”
Brother Zhang said "hmm" and said, "Miss Ye, I don't think you are an evolver?"
"No." Ye Zhen is very smart and can tell almost immediately, "Does ancient writing have anything to do with evolvers?"
Brother Zhang said: "I also heard my father say that as long as you master the ancient characters, you will become the most powerful evolver in the world. You see, the Yan family is so strong, isn't it because their family has mastered the most ancient characters? "
"No, isn't this a rumor spread by outsiders? Isn't it credible?" Fatty Zhang was puzzled, "And didn't we just meet thirty characters? Why haven't we become stronger yet? I don't feel like I have become stronger at all. , and Ye Zhen knows more than us, and we haven’t seen her become stronger!”
Brother Zhang: "...you know nothing!"
Fatty Zhang: "..."
Ye Zhen frowned and thought for a while. She didn't know whether she had become stronger or not. She only knew that the feeling that her strength had increased in the "emptiness" before was not an illusion. After being reborn in this world, she felt that her five senses were stronger than before. It was much more flexible before.
It should be more than just words.
…
The auction officially begins.
The first thing to be put on the table were some porcelain and jades. Because they were very historical, they were of course worth a lot of money. Fatty Zhang and Brother Zhang looked at it with great interest, and even took a picture of a blue and white porcelain. Ye Zhen saw that it was the kind of ordinary thing that she had seen before, but hundreds of years had passed, and it was once so ordinary that no one even looked at it. , here it becomes an antique worth thousands of gold. Time is indeed the most precious treasure.
She sat upright and watched the antiques being put up one by one and being competed for. Until half way through the time, the speaker suddenly made a mistake: "The next auction is the second most valuable treasure in our auction. According to the rules, , only the first sentence will be revealed, and only the final winner will be eligible to read the entire content, a total of 137 words."
A piece of old and yellowed paper appeared on the huge white screen. Because it was blocked by something, only the first few unclear words were revealed. However, Ye Zhen still recognized it at the first glance. It was "Tao Te Ching". "A sentence from "Heaven and Earth are unkind, treating all things as stupid dogs."
This should be one of the ancient books, but it is actually the second most important treasure in this auction
Just when Ye Zhen was confused, the price was already called. The lowest price of ten million was directly raised to hundreds of millions. Fatty Zhang and Brother Zhang were already used to this kind of scene, and of course they didn't have the money or power to join in the fun.
Ye Zhen noticed that the private rooms on the second and third floors were extremely active this time, as if they were bound to win over a hundred words.
Fatty Zhang whispered to her, "Look, the final winner must be the Yan family again."
Ye Zhen said: "Have they ever filmed this kind of text before?"
"The Yan family is very passionate about ancient writing. As long as there is such a single page at auction, no matter how valuable it is, they will compete with you to the end."
Sure enough, within a short time, these 137 words were bought by the Yan family for 200 million.
Ye Zhen frowned slightly and looked back at Private Room No. 5 on the second floor. It was located in the center of the stage and could see every bit of the scene from the most perfect angle. However, she didn't expect that when she turned around, she saw Yan Li standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window. He was dressed in black and his dark eyes were looking at her, cold and emotionless.
Ye Zhen was startled.
He did not look away, indifferently and calmly, staring at her quietly, as if he was exploring something, but also as if he did not pay attention to her at all.
Ye Zhen curled her lips slightly. This smile was exactly the same as what he had seen in the video.
Yan Li did not completely believe the investigation report. His intuition told him that the girl was not simple. She was too calm and calm, which made people more vigilant. What's more, he also heard that this girl somehow had some spare money, so she started spreading food. In his opinion, the "food competition" was just a joke, and in the end, it was just a loss of people and money, and the private soldiers That’s not how he was raised.
Ambitious but lacking in means. After all, he is young, has no plan in doing things, and has no available talents. But what big things can a big brother with mediocre qualifications and a precarious street gangster do
He didn't think so.
Until the last auction item was finally presented.
"This is the Thousand-Character Classic. Although it is not the same book as the "Thousand-Character Classic" unearthed from the general's tomb, the content is exactly the same and even clearer. Of course, it is not just this book that is being auctioned here, but It is the 'pronunciation' and 'meaning' of a thousand words in this book, and the auction price is based on an area of 500 square meters in the uninhabited forest, with no upper limit."
Everyone was in an uproar. They had only heard that Li's Auction House was going to auction the "pronunciation" and "meaning" of a thousand words. They naturally started to collect money in order to get what they wanted. However, when they arrived at the venue, they found out that they wanted to get it. Not money or power, but a forest! Those who have a huge appetite just start with 500 hectares. This is simply a slap in the face for them who only have money but no power! You've been preparing for a relationship for so long and you haven't even passed the first hurdle yet and it's all in vain
If I had known, they would have joined forces with several of them to contribute money where necessary and effort where necessary. There would always be a chance to compete!
The auction finally became lively, and the sounds of private discussions could be vaguely heard.
The Li family looked at this scene with a smile and knocked on the door with a thud -
"The bidding begins!"
The person who was a gentleman before and waited to see the momentum, this time, almost as soon as the previous person made a bid, someone immediately followed and called again, never giving in! After a lot of hard work and fighting, in the end only a few major families were left able to compete.
The Shen family called for three thousand, the Wang family called for three thousand and five thousand, and the Yan family directly increased it to five thousand.
Everyone was in an uproar!
Fatty Zhang couldn't help but get a little excited. He pulled his eldest brother and said, "I'm done with it. I'm really done with it this time!"
Brother Zhang frowned, and he began to worry that the families who did not win the auction would use some despicable means against them? After all, this world is dominated by the jungle. If this is the case, they will not be able to hold Ye Zhen.
Ye Zhen pursed her lips and listened to the increasingly higher bids around her, but she felt very peaceful in her heart: "What I want is the forest, not this paper auction."
She wouldn't be stupid enough to hand over everything she knew as soon as the auction was over. Even if she had to hand over, she could only hand over half, and the rest would have to wait until she saw the forest.
So before that, the family that auctioned "The Thousand Character Essay" will protect her safety. During this period of time, she will be safe. What's more, the Li family's auction house has privacy confidentiality, and they will not Easily leak the auctioneer's information.
She glanced at Box 5 behind her again.
Yan Li's tall figure was still standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window, staring at the "Thousand-Character Essay" in the showcase with cold eyes.
He put his hands against the seam of his trousers, he was meticulous and extremely cold, and there was an imperative edge in his coldness.
The Shen family was about to be driven crazy by Yan Li, "That lunatic is willing to fight without his own life. This makes the price even crazier! Is it so easy to conquer a forest? They actually increased it to five thousand!"
"This shows that the Yan family still has some reservations about its strength."
"Damn it, if the Yan family gets these thousand words again, the empire will reform!"
"The Prime Minister will not sit idly by. The Yan family is already strong enough. If you show too much edge, you may get angry. Don't worry, not to mention there is a Wang family."
"That's not good. No matter which family gets these thousand words, their strength will grow by leaps and bounds. If our family's "Book of Changes" does not break through, in the next few decades, the empire will probably no longer have a place for our Shen family!"
While talking, the Wang family increased the price again, to six thousand.
Yan Li: "Ten thousand."
… Hold! This time it’s the Wang family’s turn to curse!
The Yan family is indeed like a mad dog, especially Yan Li, who looks cold but is actually extremely domineering and cold.
"Once in ten thousand."
"Ten thousand times."
"Ten thousand times."
"make a deal!"
"Please ask the Yan family to go to the backstage to handle the formalities."
After the auction ended, the Shen family and the Wang family faced each other. They looked at each other with disappointment. They thought you could withstand it, but what happened? He was directly suppressed!
When I saw Yan Li being invited backstage, I was immediately furious!
No matter where you are, taking control of the military ownership is equivalent to taking control of the initiative.
…
This was the first time Ye Zhen observed Yan Li up close.
That man stands like a pine tree and sits like a clock. Every move he makes is extremely powerful. Especially when he narrows his eyes slightly and looks at you, the feeling of being spied on makes you feel hairy on your back.
He is a very strong-minded man who is not easily influenced.
Ever since Ye Zhen took a fancy to Yan Li, she checked some information about him. It turned out that besides being invincible, he also did not smoke or drink, and was not close to women. Someone once tried to get close to him, but he threw him away. Even though there were many people who coveted him, no one dared to approach him because he was so incomprehensible to him.
It seems that he only sees evolution and war, and because of this, it adds a layer of mystery to him.
Although Fatty Zhang was arrogant, he was also very good at reading colors and was very good at chatting with people and flattering them. But he said a few words in a row, and Yan Li didn't even move his eyebrows.
Brother Zhang is more powerful than Fatty Zhang. Although the Zhang family is not as good as the Yan family, they are collaborators on the same line at the moment. This status puts him too low and it will be difficult to lift him up again. He gently He coughed and said: "Don't be offended, Major General. My brother is not sensible. I know that the Major General wants to learn the thousand words as soon as possible. We will not hide our secrets and break our promises. But the ten thousand words promised by the Major General We haven’t seen anything in the square meter forest, of course, and to show our sincerity, we will teach you the first hundred words first.”
Yan Li's dark eyes glanced at Brother Zhang, then at Fatty Zhang next to him, and then at the well-behaved girl sitting peacefully next to Fatty Zhang.
She is still dressed in the same gray color, thin and silent, and people can ignore her if they don't pay attention.
But he still remembered that it was this girl who was smiling at him before. There was no awe or joy in her eyes, just a simple and polite smile when they met by chance.
That's what makes people suspicious.
Brother Zhang felt a little uneasy when he saw that Yan Li hadn't spoken for a long time. If he didn't agree, he wouldn't be able to recognize the words behind him! This was because Ye Zhen didn't want to show up and taught them the first hundred words in advance. He then said: "If it doesn't work, then we can only wait until the last major general comes with 10,000 square meters of land in exchange."
Yan Li glanced at Brother Zhang, and there was no difference in the emotion in his eyes: "Okay."
However, he pointed at Ye Zhen: "I'll let her teach."
Ye Zhen was slightly startled and looked up at Yan Li. The man's eyes were the same as before, and he didn't look any different.
Brother Zhang and Fatty Zhang were shocked, and a layer of sweat started to form on their backs. They had many things to think about, unlike Ye Zhen who seemed to be indifferent to everything, and somehow believed in these two people. A person with a foreign surname dares to teach them a hundred words without asking for anything. He looks like a stupid girl...
Now that they have learned calligraphy, they naturally have to stand in front of Ye Zhen, but now...
Yan Li frowned: "No?"
Fatty Zhang glanced at his brother. Brother Zhang endured it and glanced at Ye Zhen. Ye Zhen was still quiet, not nervous or afraid.
She knew that Yan Li was a very smart man.
Brother Zhang then smiled and said: "Sure enough, I can't hide it from the Major General. The Major General is really powerful."
…