Chapter 12 Eight Hundred Million for a Beautiful Picture

In Zheng Miying's sweet voice, the highlight of the commercial alliance banquet, the charity auction, began. One by one, the collections appeared on the stage, and the auctioneer elegantly introduced the origin and value of each item. As the annual grand event in Hanzhou, the collections brought out were naturally extraordinary. There were works by top silversmith masters in the world, luxury watches, unique jade artifacts, and celebrity calligraphy and paintings. Every treasure that appeared caused a stir. This was the game of the truly wealthy! Chen Qingzhi sat calmly, finding this auction rather ordinary in his eyes. Five years ago, at the World Gadeshi Auction, he had bought art treasures worth 2 billion in one go. Most of them were treasures that the foreign powers had taken from China in the past, and he had donated them all to the national museum. Su Wanying had already taken out her phone and looked at all her savings: "76,500 yuan..." It really wasn't even 80,000 yuan. "Find the cheapest thing, I don't know if this money will be enough." Su Wanying sighed wearily and picked up the catalog of collections beside her. Fortunately, there was a "Hundred Years of Harmony" red kunyu pendant, with a starting price of only 50,000 yuan. This was also the cheapest item in the catalog, with the rest starting at a minimum of 100,000 yuan. "Let's go with this one, it looks pretty good." Su Wanying sighed again, "I hope no one will bid for it." Chen Qingzhi looked at her strangely, "Wife, do you really want to use all your savings... to help me get through this?" Su Wanying's face turned cold, "What else can I do? After all, we're a couple. Can I just watch you go to jail?" She lowered her head, rubbed her tired face, and continued, "Actually, I also know that because of me, you have suffered a lot in the Su family. I'm tired, and I guess you're tired too." This silly girl, beneath her strong exterior, was a soul that had already been beaten down by life! Chen Qingzhi felt a pang in his heart, held her hand, and took a deep breath. He decided to tell the truth, "Wanying, actually I am..." Before he could finish his sentence, Su Wanying coldly broke free from his grasp and said in a flat tone, "This is the last time I'll help you. Let's go back and get a divorce!" Divorce... A wave of deep affection in Chen Qingzhi's eyes instantly cooled. He remained silent for a full 20 seconds before finally stiffly retracting his hand and saying, "Okay." Just one word? Su Wanying suddenly felt her nose tingling, three years of love, and he didn't even say a word of pleading? The two sat in the bustling Liujin banquet hall, but they both felt a cold distance between them. The red kunyu pendant went up for auction. Su Wanying raised her hand gently and bid 55,000 yuan. Before the auctioneer could speak, a proud voice rang out, "I bid 80,000!" It was Liu Zhenzhen, deliberately adding 30,000 yuan. Because everyone in the room knew that Chen Qingzhi and his wife didn't have a combined savings of even 80,000 yuan. Su Wanying put her hand down heavily, tears falling one by one. She didn't know if it was because she failed to bid or because of the indifference of the man beside her. Chen Qingzhi, on the other hand, no longer cared about the auction, and even the banquet he had personally planned was no longer important to him. He was still thinking about the word "divorce"! "I'm sorry, I did my best." Su Wanying raised her head sadly. The man remained silent, his gaze calm. The red kunyu pendant representing a hundred years of harmony was finally auctioned off for 100,000 yuan by a buyer in the fourth row. And on the stage, the final collection finally appeared. An ancient painting was slowly unfolded. Everyone in the room gasped. Because the introduction of this painting appeared on the big screen. The Ming Dynasty, the talented artist from Jiangnan, Tang Yin's "Appreciating Beauty in Peach Blossoms"! Even the host Zheng Miying was excited, "Tang Bohu's painting style combines the Southern and Northern schools of painting, with delicate brushwork and elegant beauty, especially in figure painting, following the tradition of the Tang Dynasty... The last painting of this kind was auctioned for 950 million five years ago at Gadeshi. Today, the starting price for this painting is 150 million because it is only half of the original!" Close to 200 million, the total cash flow of some small families would only amount to this. So, now it was truly the game of the big players. The wealthy in the first three rows lifted their cups of fragrant tea and enjoyed the legendary painting with great interest. Except for the Qian family, all ten of the Hanzhou's top families and consortia were present. They were the protagonists of this banquet. Tang Yin's "Appreciating Beauty in Peach Blossoms" reached 300 million in just three rounds! The bidding was still ongoing, and the atmosphere was heated. Suddenly, a line of information appeared on the big screen of the stage. Host Zheng Miying widened her eyes, "Wait a minute, a buyer has made a bid, let me see... Wow, 800 million! Oh my god, this buyer has bid 800 million!" The big players in the room all widened their eyes, frowning and saying nothing. This half of the painting, with a final value of 400 million, who could it be that bid 800 million in one go? The auctioneer quickly announced the buyer's name, "Congratulations to Mr. Chen Qingzhi, the deal is worth 800 million!" The auction hammer fell heavily, shocking the whole room! Chen Qingzhi?! Su Wanying almost jumped up, she must have misheard, it must be her mistake. Chen Qingzhi saw through it at a glance: The Su family used my identity information and set up an automatic auction online. This method is vicious enough. At this moment, the spotlight once again fell on Chen Qingzhi and Su Wanying. The entire room went from shock to laughter. "Wow, it's the useless son-in-law of the Su family, actually spending 800 million to buy a famous painting?" "Has he gone crazy?" "A poor guy who can't even come up with 80,000 yuan, bidding 800 million for an ancient painting, damn, this is the biggest joke of the year." Su Wanying felt her head spinning, unable to hold onto her bag in her hand, and with a clatter, a stack of black gold cards fell out, scattering on the carpet. No one noticed those black cards. The mocking laughter had already caused the banquet to spiral out of control. Su Wanying lowered her head humbly, down to the dust. At this moment, a firm and warm hand suddenly reached out and held her cold little hand. Su Wanying raised her head sadly. The man's gaze was so calm and yet so serene, as if he was in control of everything. "Anything that can be solved with money is not a big deal!" Could he really come up with 800 million? Su Wanying suddenly had a ridiculous delusion, perhaps this man really was hiding his true abilities, perhaps he really could come up with 800 million. At this time, the mocking laughter in the banquet hall was like a gale. And the tone of questioning and ridicule was like a torrential rain. Everyone was waiting to see a joke. Everyone wanted to see how this useless son-in-law would end up! Some people even took out their phones, ready to capture the scene of Chen Qingzhi kneeling and begging for mercy. In the midst of this storm of ridicule, Chen Qingzhi held his wife's hand and slowly stood up...