While talking, Xiao Ran and the others had entered the Musée d'Orsay.
Just like the day before yesterday, the Musée d'Orsay was still closed today, without a single visitor.
At this time, the front hall of this top art museum has been transformed into a temporary auction venue.
In the center of the hall, there are nearly two hundred chairs.
In front of these chairs is a makeshift auction table with an antique auction table on it.
Two or three meters in front of the auction table are two French palace-style antique tables, which are obviously used to display the auction items.
In addition, there is a large-screen TV on both sides of the auction table, which is also used to display the details of the auction items.
Every passage leading to the depths of the museum and upstairs has been blocked at this time.
And there are staff from the Musée d'Orsay guarding it, so no one can pass through.
In order to ensure safety, a lot of monitoring equipment was temporarily installed in the front hall of the museum to monitor the entire front hall without any blind spots.
After entering the front hall, Xiao Ran quickly scanned the situation here and secretly looked through every corner.
After confirming that there was no problem, he and Lawrence pretended to inspect the temporary auction venue.
Soon, they had finished checking.
Then, Xiao Ran nodded to several of his employees and said to these guys:
"Guys, let the buyers outside line up and prepare to participate in this private auction."
"Everyone who enters the auction venue must undergo security checks. No one is exempt. If someone is unwilling to undergo security checks, please ask him to leave."
"Another point is that the internal space of the auction venue is limited. Each buyer can only bring two assistants at most. It is up to them to decide who to bring into the venue."
As soon as the words fell, those company employees responded immediately.
"Understood, boss"
Then, they walked towards the entrance of the art museum.
The company employees who stayed in the auction venue were also busy and began to make final preparations for the auction.
Immediately afterwards, Xiao Ran came to Ambassador Lu and whispered to him:
"Ambassador Lu, when the auction starts, my company employees and security personnel will cooperate with the embassy staff to launch escort operations."
"Don't interfere with the security of this escort operation. My security personnel will be responsible for everything from the Musée d'Orsay to the embassy."
"When those stone carvings, porcelain sculptures and other antique cultural relics are transported into the embassy compound, you will take over the security tasks. In this way, possible diplomatic disputes can be avoided."
"And I have already told my subordinates to tell me that if anyone dares to take advantage of these antiques today, I will never let them go, no matter who they are."
Hearing these murderous words, Ambassador Lu couldn't help but be stunned for a moment.
Then, he smiled and nodded.
"I understand, Xiao Ran, I will inform the comrades outside and ask them to cooperate with the work of your employees."
"In today's Paris, it is estimated that no gangsters would dare to try to kill you, and there should be no problem with your safety."
After a few more words, they ended the topic.
At this time, buyers have passed the security check and entered the front hall of the art museum.
The first ones to come in were some familiar old friends.
Among them is Max and the others, these wealthy guys who all look determined to win.
In a blink of an eye, several old friends were approaching.
Before he could stand still, Antoine asked impatiently:
"Sean, let me tell you what method you plan to use for today's private auction, so that everyone can be mentally prepared."
Xiao Ran looked at this guy, then smiled and shook his head.
"Don't be impatient, Antoine. With the amazing strength of your family, no matter which auction method I use, you will get a lot of valuable antiques, artworks and gold and silver treasures."
"What I can tell you now is that for all the antiques, artworks and gold and silver treasures being auctioned today, I will not ask for extravagant prices. They will all be auctioned based on valuations."
Hearing this, Antoine suddenly felt a little itchy at the root of his teeth.
You won’t ask for a high price, but you can’t stand so many buyers on the scene raising the price!
Once the competition heats up, many buyers may lose their rationality.
You know, most of the antiques, cultural relics and works of art in your hands are fine collections of royal families in Europe. Who wouldn’t want them?
In the blink of an eye, more than twenty minutes have passed.
All the buyers had entered the front hall of the art museum and each found a seat to sit down. The scene suddenly became noisier.
At this time, the time has also reached ten o'clock in the morning.
While everyone was talking about it, Xiao Ran had already stepped onto the auction stage and stood behind the antique auction stage made of black walnut wood.
Then, he raised his hands and pressed them down gently, signaling everyone to be quiet.
Following his actions, the scene suddenly became quiet, and everyone looked towards the auction table.
The next moment, Xiao Ran smiled and said:
"Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to my private auction. Thank you for coming."
"I won't introduce myself here. I think everyone knows me and I know everyone. Many of them are old friends."
Everyone at the scene nodded, but their moods were different.
Some people are full of expectations, some are indignant, but most people are very helpless.
After a pause, Xiao Ran continued:
"Most of the antique artworks and gold and silver treasures to be auctioned today come from the famous Napoleon treasures, as well as some Western antique artworks that I discovered and purchased in Paris."
"Due to the large number of lots, I divided all the lots into several groups, and then based on the valuation I gave, I auctioned them in a sealed bidding method. The highest bidder wins."
"For each group of lots, buyers only have one opportunity to bid. Once all buyers who want to participate have completed their bids, we will open the bids on the spot. This not only saves time, but also ensures complete openness and transparency."
"When everyone is confirming the quotation, it is best not to whisper, discuss with each other, and inquire about other buyers' quotations. If this is found, we will disqualify you from bidding."
Before he could finish speaking, there was a buzz of discussion.
"I knew that this guy Sean was very resourceful and would never suffer any loss. It seems that everyone will be killed by him today!"
"He uses a sealed bidding method to auction, and does not allow everyone to communicate with each other's bids, which completely eliminates the possibility of different buyers secretly joining forces."
"What a cunning bastard. He uses the valuation as the base price. If the on-site buyer wants to buy the treasure he likes, he can only increase the price crazily based on the valuation. The more he adds, the more he makes! ... …”
Listening to the ongoing discussions at the scene, Xiao Ran couldn't help but have a glimmer of pride in his eyes.
The reason why I am holding this private auction today is to kill you guys and make a fortune!
Just wash your necks and wait for the knife!
After the discussion at the scene subsided, Xiao Ran continued:
"Everyone is very familiar with the rules of sealed bidding auctions, so I won't introduce them in detail."
"Next, my staff will send you the tools for bidding, as well as an introduction to the bidding process. You can take a look."
"Before each group of lots starts to be auctioned, I will announce the auction base price, which is the valuation, and everyone can consider the bid based on this."
"After everyone completes their bidding, the staff will collect all sealed bids, and then open the bids on-site under the witness of a lawyer to ensure that the entire auction is open and transparent."
"One more thing I want to emphasize is that every piece of antique art and gold and silver treasures auctioned here today has a clear origin, and every item is authentic..."
Next, he quickly introduced some precautions for this private auction.
With his introduction, all the buyers on the scene have accepted the reality.
Then he quickly adjusted his emotions and prepared to plunge into this unique auction.
It took ten minutes for Xiao Ran to finish introducing the precautions.
Immediately afterwards, the auction officially began.
At the same time, in the square in front of the art museum.
Many company employees and embassy staff under Xiao Ran have begun to transport the stone carvings, porcelain sculptures and other antique cultural relics, preparing to transport those treasures to the embassy.
