Chapter 546: Chapter 55: The Celebrity Effect (Bonus Chapter for 10 Fans Combined)
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People moved forward, an open-style exhibition hall facilitating easy walking.
"What is this?" The first thing that appeared before everyone’s eyes was a black swan specimen.
White swans are common, but an all-black swan is truly rare.
The sweet-voiced lady from Huan Yu explained, "As we all know, swans are beautiful and noble birds. Black swans are even more rare in this world. This black swan specimen comes from Perth, the homeland of black swans. Black swans are famous for being exquisite ornamental birds. This is a swan that was incubating its eggs. It had barely survived the harsh winter. As spring arrived and the ice began to melt, just as the mother swan was about to spread its wings to forage, a poacher’s bullet shattered its joy of welcoming its next generation."
That perfectly shaped black swan, with finely detailed feathers all over its body without a single stray hair, and its back covered in shiny, velvety black feathers, had its despair well preserved by the taxidermist.
People stared at the swan specimen, clucking their tongues in admiration.
Xiao Xian felt nauseous with emotion, as if she could see the vortex-shaped bullet hole in the swan’s belly, her heart seemingly flowing with the reverse surge of blood into that bloody hole. What a cruel piece of work.
"Xuerou, remind Mrs. Zeng, this swan specimen cannot be bought," Xiao Xian was worried Mrs. Zeng might also be interested in the black swan specimen and reminded Xuerou.
"Why not?" Xuerou wasn’t very fond of turning live birds into specimens either, but Mrs. Zeng had just opened several new properties, one of which was named Swan Garden. If this black swan were placed in the sales office of the property, it would look quite impressive.
"Once animals are made into specimens, aside from having toxins like boric acid, this black swan died for no reason and is filled with malevolent energy. Long-term contact with it is bound to be detrimental to one’s health," Xiao Xian noticed a mass of dark, ominous energy swirling around the black swan. Although she could not observe animals the way she did plants, she could roughly discern whether something was beneficial to human health or not.
After completing the appraisal of the black swan marked with the number 1, a few guests wrote down their bid prices and dropped their papers into the Black Box that President Qiu had mentioned. Not many people participated, and Mrs. Zeng did not bid after being reminded by Xuerou.
Moving on, there was a replica of the Armless Venus, carved entirely from Greek White Jade Stone, over half a person tall, with a complete and intact chisel work, and the female lines were soft and flawless. Although it was only a replica, because it was the work of contemporary Italian master sculptor Pike Nairu, it was exquisitely crafted, noble and elegant, attracting many people to place their bids in the Black Box. Mrs. Zeng also wrote down a number, and Xiao Xian and Xuerou saw that Mrs. Zeng’s bid was 220,000.
"Is this price high or low?" Xiao Xian was here to learn today. The material of the white jade stone was similar to marble, and Xiao Xian had seen the photo of the Armless Venus in art class, which seemed quite similar.
"It’s reasonable. Pike Nairu specializes in male statues, so his skills in female sculptures are somewhat inferior. Mother is probably just joining the fun," in a place like this Advanced Level Club, where all patrons are people of status, it would be impolite not to bid at all. Many people, like Mrs. Zeng, would write down a low bid, proposing a price not intended to win, just to give face to Mr. Qiu.
From this, it seemed that Mr. Qiu from Taiwan is indeed well-liked.
Halfway through the appraisal event, the guide led people to the Purple Bamboo Mat that Xiao Xian had woven. The mat’s number was 23, located in a corner of the club’s north-east side.
The lighting on the north-east side was ordinary, which made the Purple Bamboo Mat appear dark and unremarkable. At first glance, it didn’t seem very appealing.
Xiao Xian felt a mix of comfort and dejection in her heart. The comforting thought was that among a series of art pieces, either very high in quality or from famous artists, her mat took less time to make and had nothing special about it.
According to Xuerou, the Venus Armless White Jade Sculpture required the master to spend three or four days, and the Han white jade itself was expensive. Xiao Xian’s Purple Bamboo Mat was made of ordinary bamboo.
Guests, dazzled by the previous array of art pieces, were suddenly switching their focus to an unassuming mat, puzzled. Yet these were face-conscious people, thinking that since Mr. Qiu had given such a late number to the mat, it must have some value. Many people thought so and even if there were a few with doubts, they kept it to themselves, waiting for the guide to explain.
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