Around five o'clock in the afternoon, Montmartre.
In a small antique shop.
Xiao Ran was reviewing a small bronze nude female sculpture, which he had just bought for only 1,800 euros.
Also at the scene, in addition to Elaine and the others, were Lawrence and others who arrived in Montmartre an hour ago.
It was Lawrence who suggested that Xiao Ran comment on this bronze sculpture.
As for the owner of this antique shop, although he hasn’t heard the result yet, he is so regretful that he is about to die!
The attitude of Lawrence and the others had already made this guy realize that he might have missed a valuable piece of top-notch art.
Such a result directly made him heartbroken.
At this moment, Xiao Ran finally expressed his opinion.
"As for the bronze nude sculpture in front of me, I think it is the work of Maillol, one of the three major sculptors in the West in modern times and a master of art."
"Mayall's nude female sculptures have plump bodies, concise lines, serene faces, full shapes and soft turns, comfortable rhythm and profound meaning."
"The characteristics of this nude statue are highly similar to those of Maillol's works, and it should be Maillol's work."
"The only regret is that this bronze nude sculpture is not in very good condition and is slightly damaged..."
Hearing this, the antique shop owner shook his body violently a few times, his vision went dark, and he almost fell to the ground.
"Oh my God! This is actually a work by Mayor, but I sold it for 1,800 euros. I'm a fucking idiot!"
The antique shop owner muttered to himself in despair.
Everyone turned to look at this guy with sympathy in their eyes.
Immediately afterwards, an appraisal expert who came with Lawrence also gave the same appraisal conclusion.
"Yes, I also think this is a work by Mayor, and it is a relatively rare small bronze sculpture."
"I come to Montmartre every week, but why didn't I find this bronze sculpture? What a bad luck."
Following his words, there was no longer any doubt as to the provenance of this bronze nude sculpture.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Ran called his employees and asked them to put the bronze sculpture into a suitcase and prepare to transport it away.
In a moment, Matthew and the others had installed the bronze sculpture.
Everyone immediately left the antique store and came to the street outside.
As before, the outside was still crowded with people watching the excitement, as well as many media reporters.
Seeing Xiao Ran and the others come out of the antique shop and gain something again, these guys felt envious and jealous.
Many of them and many media reporters began to ask questions loudly, wanting to know what treasure Xiao Ran had discovered.
Xiao Ran ignored these guys and walked along the street, laughing and chatting with Lawrence and the others.
During the march, Lawrence suddenly said:
"Sean, these discoveries you made in Saint-Ouin and Montmartre are so amazing. Your vision and luck are amazing."
"I have a suggestion. Aren't all your discoveries temporarily stored in our Musée d'Orsay? Do you want to hold a personal exhibition?"
"In this way, your discoveries can be displayed publicly, which will help increase the value, and the public can also see these rediscovered antiques."
Hearing this, Xiao Ran's eyes suddenly lit up.
After thinking for a moment, he nodded and said:
"This is a very good proposal that will benefit both of us and allow the public to see these antique works of art."
"I think we can organize such a special exhibition at your Musée d'Orsay. Let's go back and discuss the details."
Lawrence also laughed when he heard his proposal was accepted.
While talking, Xiao Ran and the others had arrived at the entrance of a gallery, then walked in and started visiting and sweeping again.
In the following time, they visited several antique shops and galleries, and found several very good antiques and works of art.
The most valuable among them are a painting by the Impressionist master Sisley, two paintings by Zao Wou-ki, and a Qing Kangxi blue and white jade pot and spring vase with cloud and dragon patterns.
It was already evening in the blink of an eye, and the sky was getting dark.
Xiao Ran's raid on Montmartre had to be temporarily stopped.
He really wanted to stay up all night, but many antique dealers and gallery owners on Montmartre refused.
As soon as it's time to get off work, these guys are busy closing their doors, fearing that they will be robbed if they are too late.
And indeed it is.
The looting that Montmartre suffered today has never happened before.
The many antique dealers and gallery owners doing business in Montmartre have never had so many top-notch antiques and artworks taken away in one day.
After today, it will definitely take a long time for the Montmartre antique market to recover.
In the next period of time, people who come to the Montmartre antique market to hunt for treasures will be hard-pressed to find any big surprises.
Seeing that antique shops and galleries were closing down, Xiao Ran and the others had no choice but to walk towards the location of the motorcade with the antique relics and works of art they had just discovered.
After a while, they arrived at where the convoy was.
Just as they were about to get in the car, François suddenly came over with a middle-aged man and said that he wanted to talk to Xiao Ran about something.
Coming closer, Francois first introduced the middle-aged man.
The guy's name was Frank, from the French Ministry of Culture, attracted by what he'd discovered at the Hotel Renault.
After getting to know each other, Frank immediately explained his purpose in a low voice.
"Sean, we hope to get your permission to further explore Reno's hotel and find out what is hidden deep underground in that hotel."
"If possible, I hope you can provide relevant detection data, and we will organize professionals to conduct analysis."
"We have just communicated with Renault about this matter, and he agreed to us conducting further exploration in the hotel."
"But Renault said that you have a verbal agreement that cooperation is limited to both of you and does not accept the intervention of a third party, so I came to you."
Xiao Ran looked at the French guy, then smiled and shook his head.
"I'm very sorry, Frank, I can't agree to let you conduct further exploration in Reno's hotel."
"The verbal agreement I reached with Renault is exclusive. I will not accept the intervention of any third party before signing a formal cooperation agreement."
"From now on, my staff and security personnel will monitor the activities of the Reno Hotel at all times and are ready to safeguard our interests."
"If Renault breaks the contract, we will take him to court as soon as possible to ensure our interests. Any third party intervention will require our permission."
"However, some of the data we have detected before can be provided to you so that you can make basic judgments, that's all."
Hearing his words, Francois and Frank couldn't help but froze, and felt itchy at the base of their teeth.
Next, they tried to fight for it, but nothing changed.
After chatting with these two guys for a few words, Xiao Ran said goodbye and left, taking Elaine and the others by car to leave Montmartre.
Looking at the convoy slowly leaving, Frank gritted his molars and said:
"The rumors are absolutely correct, this is an extremely greedy bastard."
"As long as we get the benefits, we will never give them up. It seems that we can only start with Renault."
After the words fell, Francois nodded helplessly.
"It seems that this is the only way to go. It seems that half of the suspected treasure buried deep underground may be swept away by this bastard. I am really unwilling to think about it!"
Maillol's sculpture
