In the evening, Xiao Ran and the others had just returned to the Plaza Hotel.
At this time, all antique artifacts and artworks found in those two warehouses had been stored in two bank vaults on Wall Street.
The reason for storing them separately is naturally to avoid risks.
Xiao Ran still understands the truth that eggs cannot be put in one basket.
As for that set of antique Victorian furniture.
Swift sent bodyguards to take over and took her directly to her top mansion on Long Island.
While Xiao Ran was dealing with these matters, he discovered that news of these antique artworks had spread throughout the antique art collection field in New York and even the entire United States.
In particular, the discovery of the seven top-notch works of art caused a huge sensation and attracted countless attention and even coveted eyes.
Before Xiao Ran returned to the hotel, some friends called him one after another to verify the authenticity of the news.
Among them were the general managers of the three major auction houses, who were particularly enthusiastic.
When they got the affirmative answer, everyone was shocked and exclaimed.
Immediately afterwards, they raised it in unison.
If you want to take over the auction business of these top-notch works of art, the conditions offered are very attractive.
However, Xiao Ran did not agree to any of them.
He only said that he would think about it and notify the three major auction houses after making a decision.
In addition to the three major auction houses, other people who called also expressed their strong intention to buy.
In particular, Delacroix's three "Dante's Ark" almost made the entire American art and collecting circles crazy.
Even Swift, who was staying in the presidential suite of the Plaza Hotel, behaved the same way.
As soon as Xiao Ran and the others entered the door, before they had time to say anything, Taylor Swift couldn't wait to greet them.
"Sean, can you sell me a copy of Delacroix's "Dante's Ark"? I don't care if it's a depiction of hell."
"I'm also very interested in those pop art works. It would be great if you could sell me one."
Swift said expectantly.
Obviously, Fang Yufei did not translate all the words Xiao Ran said in Chinese in the live broadcast room to Swift.
For example, he planned to trade three paintings of "Dante's Ark", as well as his evaluation of Pop Art, etc.
Xiao Ran looked at the super actress in front of him, then at Fang Yufei, then smiled and shook his head.
"I'm very sorry, Swift, but I will not handle these three paintings of "Dante's Ark" by the romantic master Delacroix separately."
"And their valuations are all over US$100 million, and three of them cost at least US$300 million. Although you can sell them, it will be very difficult."
"More importantly, I have other arrangements for these three top-notch works of art, so it is impossible to sell them to you."
"As for the pieces of pop art, I advise you not to touch them. Those things are financial products used for speculation."
"Whenever this frenzy of speculation subsides, the people who finally take over will definitely be in tears and will lose all their money."
"ah!"
Swift exclaimed, her eyes still somewhat disappointed.
After chatting for a few more words, Xiao Ran and Elaine went upstairs to wash and disinfect.
Ten minutes later.
After washing up and changing into clean clothes, they came down from upstairs and walked into the living room.
As soon as they sat down on the sofa, Swift and Fang Yufei couldn't wait to ask about attending the auction today.
Even though they witnessed the whole process in the live broadcast room, they were still in high spirits.
Xiao Ran could only tell them once to satisfy their strong curiosity.
In the blink of an eye, ten minutes passed.
While he was talking, Xiao Ran's cell phone suddenly rang.
The caller was Counselor Wang from the Consulate General in New York.
Xiao Ran glanced at Laixian, and then chuckled.
As soon as the call was connected, Counselor Wang's voice came over.
"Good evening, Xiao Ran, congratulations on discovering so many top-notch antiques and artworks."
"What Lao He said is absolutely right, your luck is extremely good."
Xiao Ran smiled and then said politely:
"Good evening, Uncle Wang, I didn't expect your news to come so soon."
"I just got back to the hotel and your phone call came."
"I was really lucky today and found some valuable treasures."
After a few polite words, Counselor Wang got down to the topic.
"Xiao Ran, just half an hour ago, we received an overseas call from the Cultural Relics Bureau."
"The Cultural Heritage Administration asked us to cooperate with you and provide necessary assistance to complete related art transactions with the United States."
"I have to say, your idea is really brilliant. Once it is realized, it will definitely be a great achievement!"
"But I still have to ask, how confident are you in completing this heavyweight art transaction? We feel confident."
Xiao Ran smiled softly, and then replied confidently:
"Uncle Wang, don't worry, I will never make a joke about such a serious matter."
“I can’t say that I can definitely complete this art transaction, but I am very confident that it will be completed.”
"Even if I can't succeed this time, I believe it won't be long before I can achieve my goal."
Listening to his confident answer, Counselor Wang immediately felt relieved.
"Since you are so confident, you'd better trade the 40 volumes of "Yongle Dadian" collected by the Library of Congress first."
"As for the national treasure-level antique artworks collected by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, such as the "White Picture at Night", we can leave it to another time."
Xiao Ran smiled and nodded and said:
"I think so too. The weight of "Yongle Dadian" is heavier. Fortunately, the chips in my hand are also heavy enough!"
As he spoke, he couldn't help but think of a crazy old woman.
That crazy old woman happens to be the controller of the U.S. Congress and has enough power!
More importantly, the Library of Congress is under the direct control of that crazy old woman!
Because of this, he dared to boast about Haikou.
Said that he had a way to exchange for the 40 volumes of "Yongle Dadian" in the Library of Congress
After a pause, Counselor Wang continued:
"Yes, the "Yongle Dadian" is so important. It records the achievements of our country's civilization for thousands of years and is our culture and history."
"With the destruction and loss of the Yongle Dadian, coupled with frequent wars, many gaps have emerged in our research on ancient history and culture."
"If those 40 volumes of "Yongle Dadian" can be returned to China smoothly, they will definitely fill in many historical gaps and solve many historical unsolved cases."
"In the past, domestic scholars wanted to study that part of the Yongle Dadian, but it was simply impossible. They couldn't even spend money to see what originally belonged to them. Not to mention how frustrating it was!"
"The Yankees simply don't let domestic scholars have access to those national treasure-level ancient books and documents in order to maintain their authoritative status in related research fields."
Xiao Ran knew what Counselor Wang said very clearly.
Not only the 40 volumes of "Yongle Dadian", but also the other ancient Chinese books and documents collected in major museums and libraries in the United States, as well as many top universities, are in the same situation.
For example, a large number of Dunhuang scriptures, the "Sikuquanshu" lost overseas, etc.
It is basically impossible for Chinese experts and scholars to access those ancient books and documents and conduct academic research.
As a result, many academic studies related to it cannot be carried out.
Chinese scholars have no chance to know the historical truth recorded in ancient books and documents.
Chinese scholars spend a lot of money, and the ancient books and documents they occasionally see are of less important content.
Those American scholars who study Chinese culture and history can enjoy various conveniences and can read any information they want.
This creates a strange situation.
In some research fields related to Chinese history and culture, the most authoritative experts are not Chinese, but blond foreigners or Japanese.
For example, in the study of Dunhuang studies, this situation was once particularly prominent, but it has slightly changed in recent years.
In other research fields, this situation is also common.
This is the consequence of having the right to speak in the hands of foreigners.
They can arbitrarily distort China's partial history and culture and interpret it in a direction that is beneficial to them.
What follows is the belittling, suppression, and misinterpretation of Chinese culture and history.
Going one step further, it is cultural penetration and cultural invasion!
It is precisely because he knew this that Xiao Ran took three paintings of "Dante's Boat" worth hundreds of millions of dollars in exchange for the 40 copies of "Yongle Canon"
And this is just the beginning. Next, he also wants to exchange for a large number of Dunhuang scriptures collected by the Metropolitan Museum.
The other heavyweight ancient books and documents that have been lost overseas are also his targets, and he cannot let go of any of them.
The fundamental purpose of Xiao Ran's doing this is to regain the right to speak!
In comparison, top Western antique artworks such as "Dante's Ark" are not worth mentioning at all!
After chatting for more than half an hour, Xiao Ran ended the call.
Toward the end, he made a request.
If you get those 40 volumes of "Yongle Dadian", I hope the Consulate General can use its diplomatic privileges to transport those national treasure-level ancient books and documents out of the United States as soon as possible to avoid long nights and nightmares!
The reason for making this request is that his private plane cannot currently fly directly from New York to Beijing.
If you want to use a private plane to transport those national treasures, you must first fly to Los Angeles and then fly back to China from Los Angeles.
In that case, it will undoubtedly increase a lot of risks.
If you are stopped midway by the FBI Art Crime Team, your success will be in vain!
Counselor Wang naturally would not refuse his request and firmly agreed.
As soon as he hung up the phone, before Xiao Ran could put it down, the phone rang again.
This time it was Griffin who called.
The moment he saw Laixian, a proud smile appeared on Xiao Ran's face.
This is a fat sheep delivered to the door. If you don't kill it ruthlessly, who can you deserve it?
The call was connected, and after a few polite words, Griffin went straight to the point.
"Sean, the four pop art works you discovered today originally belonged to an old friend of mine, Brown."
"After he died of illness, the four paintings disappeared. We thought he had sold them, but who knew they were hidden in the warehouse?"
"In the end, you, a lucky guy, got an advantage in vain. Your luck is so unbelievable!"
"I just discussed with Steve and plan to jointly acquire those four pop art works. Please set a price!"
Hearing this, the smile on Xiao Ran's face suddenly became thicker.
The Brown that Griffin was talking about was the futures company owner who unfortunately died of illness.
As for Steve, he is the boss of a famous Wall Street investment bank and a top collector.
It can be inferred from this that it is these Wall Street financial vultures who are hyping up Pop Art like crazy!
They wanted to completely control the high-end market for pop art works, so they proposed to jointly acquire these four pop art works from Xiao Ran.
The reason is actually very simple: I am afraid that he will jump out and disrupt the market!
