CHAPTER 300: CHAPTER 95: EMBROIDERING FLOWERS ON BROCADE

The invitations sent out in advance, plus those sold later on, meant that the Subi Auction House was expected to entertain over a thousand guests this time.

The "Evening Auction" at Subi Auction House later earned an excellent reputation in the industry. Even though some professionals criticized that the event lacked the essence of traditional auctions and was nothing more than a clown show aiming to please the masses, it indeed served as the foundation for Subi Auction House to undertake various large-scale auctions in the future.

Without any celebrities, the auction still garnered the most attention, like a legendary celebration would. It was an auction for which not even the items up for bid had been publicized beforehand. This auction at Subi Auction felt like an impenetrable black box, sparking countless speculations.

At this time, Su Ziceng, who would later be known as "the novice" in the auction world, was temporarily acting as a receptionist at the event. The staff from the Wine Shop were limited, and after leading group after group of guests inside, there would occasionally be gaps at the entrance, forcing Su Ziceng to reluctantly put on what she considered to be the standard "reception face" she had copied from Wen Maixue.

"Miss Su!" A succession of unfamiliar or vaguely remembered faces passed by her, and fortunately, before Su Ziceng’s facial muscles seized up completely, Su Qingzhang, Chang Mei, and others arrived just in time.

The crowd quickly divided into several groups, with Su Qingzhang specifically entertaining business figures from across the country, Chang Mei responsible for receiving the socialite ladies, and Chang Chi taking care of the other invited auction guests.

"Little boss," Zhou Dagen, who was busy to the point of distraction, hurried over and whispered in Su Ziceng’s ear, "Are you sure we don’t need to unveil all the auction items?" Zhou Dagen was in charge of maintaining order within the auction house. Drinks and a buffet had all been prepared, but as people entered the hall, they found that none of the auction items were presented openly, and instead were each covered under red silk cloth.

"Not until the very last moment; we mustn’t reveal them," Su Ziceng wanted that exact effect.

"Ziceng," Chang Chi came over, introducing a brown-haired, green-eyed foreigner at his side, "This is Mr. Richard from London, a representative from Christie’s Company. He wants to visit the auction, and I’m swamped with guests on my end. I’m afraid I won’t be able to attend to him properly, so it would be best if you personally take care of him."

After saying this, Chang Chi didn’t wait for Su Ziceng to respond and went off with a smiling face to greet a new arrival.

Su Ziceng and Zhou Dagen’s gaze landed on this distant guest. Both of them fell silent at once.

"Uncle Da Gen, didn’t you plan to go abroad for winemaking studies before? Your English should be quite good, right?" Su Ziceng glanced at the Christie’s representative, who was about to speak.

"How could that be? I was going to Germany to learn beer brewing from the Germans. Miss, didn’t you just come back from abroad? You’ve seen plenty of blond-haired, blue-eyed people, why don’t you take the lead?" Zhou Dagen tried to fend it off. Joking aside, even if he had planned to go to Britain, after all these years, he had forgotten all twenty-six letters of the English alphabet.

"Hello, Miss, can you let me..." Su Ziceng understood the first few words, but the string of what seemed to be professional jargon that followed left her only able to smile apologetically.

Damn that Chang Chi, Su Ziceng looked over the shoulders of the guests and saw Chang Chi chatting spiritedly with a group of people, emitting an annoyingly irksome laughter; she must have done it on purpose.

"Sir, welcome to Subr," the practiced English at her ear belonged to Hang Yishao and Hang’s father, who had just walked in. He also noticed Su Ziceng’s helpless look and took the opportunity to offer his assistance.

"Yishao, you’ve arrived just at the right time," Su Ziceng smiled beamingly. Hang’s father, noticing his son clearly leaving him out, sighed internally that indeed, as a child grows, they cease to belong at home.

Thanks to his proficiency in English, Hang Yishao naturally took a position beside Su Ziceng. He was dressed in a matte suit today, standing next to Su Ziceng in her light golden dress. They made a handsome pair, and just by standing together, they attracted the gazes of many passersby.

"Ziceng, there are still quite a few people outside making a fuss to get in," Chang Mei called out to the guests, but she didn’t forget to keep an eye on the situation outside. Among those who had not yet entered were media without interview cards as well as some who were just there for the spectacle; the outside of Subi Auction was almost completely packed.

"Wait a bit longer," Su Ziceng looked outside. It should be almost time.

"Chairman Su," an old man in a wheelchair and a young lady entered, immediately attracting a flurry of camera flashes.

"Even Mr. Wen, who hardly ever leaves home, has come," someone in the crowd marveled.

The elderly man who, despite his limited mobility in a wheelchair, greeted Su Qingzhang with a hearty voice, was none other than the Old Master Wen of the Wen family.

"Indeed, and look, Old Lady Qiu of the Qiu Family has also arrived," another car stopped. Old Lady Qiu, close to eighty years old, arrived accompanied by Qiu Zhi.

Compared to the rotund Qiu Zhi, Old Lady Qiu looked like a child, skinny and short, but when walking, she moved briskly, not the least inferior to the younger people present.

"Mrs. Qiu Senior, you also came to join the fun!" The Old Master Wen and Old Lady Qiu had been rivals in the business world for most of their lives. It had only calmed down at their age, and now when they met, they were like old friends of many years.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Old Lady Qiu turned her head away. She had always been forthright in her youth and maintained the same temperament presently. She was neither willing nor happy to deal with the likes of vulgarian businessmen like Su Qingzhang. Despite the great fuss made by the Subi Auction House this time, if not for her precious grandson Qiu Zhi’s persistent cajoling, she wouldn’t have come to show support.

"Is this Ziceng?" Old Lady Qiu didn’t bother meeting with Su Qingzhang but instead directly approached Ziceng who was talking to Qiu Zhi.

Upon being greeted, Ziceng hastily nodded in acknowledgment, guessing that Qiu Zhi must have mentioned him to his grandmother earlier. Speaking of the Qiu Family’s ancestors, they had produced several meritorious generals and loyal ministers, so even at nearly eighty years old, Mrs. Qiu Senior exuded an aura of imposing dignity. Being abruptly stared down by her felt like getting drenched in ice water.

"Even a bad bamboo shoot can sprout a good one, no wonder our Ah Zhi keeps talking about you every day," Ziceng had caught the eye of Old Lady Qiu. Qiu Zhi, sweating on the sidelines, dared not wipe it away with his hand and could only stare fixedly at the ground.

Listening in on the side, Su Qingzhang clenched his cane so hard it looked like it might deform, while Chang’s mother and daughter also showed faces full of displeasure.

After speaking, Mr. Wen went inside, and just as Qiu Zhi was about to assist his grandmother into the venue, Old Lady Qiu turned around for another glance at Ziceng and muttered, "It’s just that the frame is a bit too slender, look at that waist and rear, being overweight is not conducive for childbirth."

With that single comment, Hang Yishao, who had been performing greetings, halted his movements and cast doubtful glances back and forth between Ziceng and Qiu Zhi before sidling a few paces closer to Ziceng.

"Why is it so noisy outside?" By the time the last of the guests had entered, the noise outside the entrance actually became more intense.

Due to the large number of people, the city police department had deployed many special police and auxiliary police to help maintain order. They had created a cordon isolating the multilayered crowd inside and out. Normally, the crowd should have dispersed after entry began, but listening to one wave of noise surpassing the next led to suspicions that another high-profile individual had arrived.

Journalists, who didn’t secure an interview pass, were previously hesitating whether to put down their heavy cameras and retreat into their news vans, waiting to sneak into the venue after the auction event concluded.

Ordinary spectators who had been craning their necks for a long time also planned to disperse, waiting for the snippets of reports in the media the following day. One must understand that such a "billion-dollar auction" is exclusively for the wealthy, and uncovering their mysterious veil is indeed very difficult.

Outside the Subi Auction House, most of the crowd was gathered at the security-protected main entrance, but further away from the entrance, a large empty space remained.

It was when Wen and Qiu Zhi, among the last batch of guests, entered the scene that a twelve-seater medium-sized van arrived in the empty space.

A beam of light shone on the white wall of the City Museum adjacent to the Subi Auction House. Compared to the bright lights at Subi, this ordinary column of light didn’t attract much attention.

The light grew brighter and wider until it covered the entire wall of dozens of square meters before stopping.

The beam of light looked like a mirror made of water - smooth and sparkling white; slowly, ripples appeared on this "mirror". No, those weren’t ripples, but human silhouettes.

The wealthy guests who had previously vanished from the sight of the outside world were now appearing on the Light Wall as if raindrops had fallen from the sky into the "mirror".

A stack of champagne towers, various colored gowns, the gleam of jewels, and the still-veiled "auction items" could be seen.

One person happened to look up and discovered this "peeking wall," followed by two, then three. Those who found it first shouted as they claimed the best viewing spots. Next were the people along the security line, and finally even the police maintaining order stood agape, watching the shadows and silhouettes on the wall.

Inside the auction venue, the patrons were unaware that they had unwittingly become "performers". The clamor reached a pinnacle and then quieted down.

On the medium-sized van, Pello sat in the driver’s seat, watching Ziceng and Hang Yishao entering the auction house together, his eyes rippling with emotion. That ripple was quickly suppressed again.

Inside the venue, Zhou Dagen and Director Luo, one energetically explaining to others about Ziceng as a discerning guest with inquiries about wine, and the other clearing his throat, prepared to announce the start of the upcoming unusual auction. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for it with a recommendation ticket or monthly ticket on Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)