Fight to the third generation

It can only be said that it is worthy of Christie's spring auction. After a short period of heat, three works of Monet appeared at once, namely "Chrysanthemum Group", "Haystack", and a "Water Lily".

Monet painted dozens of "Water Lilies" throughout his life, some of which were good and some bad. Today's painting is so abstract that Su Yehao had no idea of ​​selling it at all. In the end, it only sold for more than 400 million US dollars.

Instead, the painting "Haystacks" sold for more than 700 million US dollars and was auctioned off online by a phone buyer.

When I came to the auction, the picture was just a sign to stimulate. Su Yehao was not as busy as others, so it must be more interesting to be there in person.

Some artists' works seem to be very valuable, but he doesn't know it at all. For example, an oil painting by Jean-Michel Basquiat successfully sold for more than 1000 million US dollars.

More than 20 minutes after the shooting started, the brand has not been raised yet. Today, it mainly focuses on western art. If you want to buy something, the best choice is actually the Asian sales of major auction houses, which are divided into different regions for customers. It is easier to sell at a high price.

Yang Zhiyuan sat next to Su Yehao and bought a piece of "Pumpkin" by Japanese painter Yayoi Kusama with a sign. The yellow pumpkin with black dots made Su Yehao almost suffer from intensive phobia.

No need to guess, it's probably to pamper his wife. His daughter-in-law has Japanese blood, so she probably likes it.

On the stage.

The auctioneer spoke very fast and introduced a special gold Rolex watch.

Rolex Ref.6062 is not rare. According to the slideshow, a total of [-] pieces were produced at the beginning, but there are only three black faces with diamond scales, which are very valuable for collection.

The piece that was auctioned today, named Ref.6062 "Bao Dai", was custom-made by the last emperor of Vietnam, and it is still in good condition until now.

Su Yehao suddenly became interested, and raised a sign casually, pushing up the price by at least 66 US dollars.

After the hammer was sold, the auctioneer smiled and congratulated him, saying that he broke the previous auction price record of Rolex in one fell swoop.

It was followed by a custom Chopard diamond watch.

Su Yehao continued to hold up the placard, and successfully won the female watch for more than 90 U.S. dollars. He smiled and said something to Yin Liuli in a low voice, planning to give her this unique watch.

When Jeff Koons' Balloon Dog stainless steel sculpture appeared, only pictures were released because the real work was too large.

The thing looked really interesting. Yang Zhiyuan held up the sign lazily, as if he didn’t need money every time he raised the sign. Finally, he took it at a price of 110 million US dollars, which made the sculptor famous and wanted to sell it later. For balloon dog sculptures, there are prices for reference.

Regarding this, Su Yehao was helpless. The higher the auction price today, the higher the cost he wanted to buy.

Now that he knew that Jeff Koons still had two stainless steel balloon dogs, one orange and one blue, and he could pick them up if he bought them as soon as possible, he was ready to contact the sculptor as soon as possible.

It was not easy to wait for the big Qianlong bucket color bottle. The real bottle looks more beautiful than the photo.

A Japanese and a Chinese American bid with Su Yehao. They started at $150 million and kept calling the price to $[-] million before the other two competitors gave up.

It's cool to have a strong waist. Other people's wealth and life can't be compared with Su Yehao's pocket money.

……

There were a lot of good things at the auction, and Su Yehao didn't sell them after he bought the big bottle of fighting color.

Relying on good credit, after leaving early and signing the contract, the Rolex gold watch and Chopin diamond watch were taken away directly, and the large bottle will be delivered to Mr. Tang's home by the auction house. It doesn't matter if the funds are paid after two days.

Christie's gave him a full credit line of 1000 million US dollars, which is not available to ordinary people.

Leave the auction house, let someone arrange a few rooms in the hotel, and don't plan to rush back to Silicon Valley tonight.

Get out and wander around Union Square.

Yin Liuli was cautious, looked at her new watch from time to time, sighed and said, "Or give it to someone else, I don't need such an expensive watch. It's more than 90 US dollars, plus commissions, it's more than 100 million. Converted to The Hong Kong dollar is nearly 1000 million, and now I feel that my hand is not my own, if I fall, wouldn’t it be over?"

"A watch is just a watch, it's just an ornament, there's no need to take it to heart."

Su Yehao took her hand and continued to tell:

"Hey, hold me, it means you have billions more dollars in your hand, why don't you watch you carefully? Instead of buying cheap watches, it is better to buy more expensive ones, which can appreciate in value after wearing them for a long time, from consumer goods to watches. Works of art, if you think about it this way, it is much better, it is equivalent to depositing more than 100 million US dollars for you, and enjoying the interest of appreciation."

Although he understood that what he said was unreasonable, but after thinking about it carefully, Yin Liuli felt that it was very reasonable and could not refute it.

When the two first met, she didn't even want to accept a Chanel purse.

We have known each other for almost two years now, and our relationship is getting closer and closer. In addition to this custom-made diamond watch, Su Yehao also gave her an apartment, a villa, a set of diamond jewelry, and a Porsche 911... There are too many things. It made Yin Liuli numb.

Girls, when you encounter really beautiful and rare jewelry, you will inevitably be tempted.

Yin Liuli said: "Then I'll save it for you first, but in this case, I need to get a better safe at home. My current safe can be carried away by two men, so I'm not at ease. "

"Okay, let's go shopping for clothes first. I haven't had dinner today and I'm a little hungry. Let's go shopping first to see if there's anything to eat..."

Walked into a shopping mall and ordered a set meal at Pizza Hut.

Not long after, he received a call from Yang Zhiyuan, asking him if he wanted to take the helicopter back to Silicon Valley together, Su Yehao declined, and made an appointment to meet for dinner in two days.

The phone just hung up not long ago.

Yang Zhiyuan sent another number, with Jeff Koons written on the back.

While eating, Su Yehao called according to the number, and the call was quickly connected, only to hear the other party's tone was quite impatient, and told him: "What time is it already? Who are you?!"

Glancing at the newly bought Rolex gold watch, it was already [-]:[-] p.m. in San Francisco.

Su Yehao knew he was wrong, and asked with an awkward smile: "Mr. Jeff Koons, is the sculptor who made the balloon dog right? Sorry, I'm on the west coast, and I forgot to calculate the time difference. I want to buy something from you."

On the other end of the phone, Jeff Koons could tell from his accent that Su Yehao didn't seem to be American.

See you have business to discuss.

Jeff Koons' anger dissipated a bit, and he asked, "It's okay, I'm holding an exhibition in New York, and I just went to bed, what are you going to buy?"

"The two balloon dogs in your hand, just now I participated in Christie's auction, my friend Jerry Yang, the founder of Yahoo, bought it for 110 million US dollars, he told me that you are willing to sell, so... How about selling me orange and blue balloon dogs for $200 million?"

Su Yehao asked tentatively.

I only heard Jeff Koons suddenly swearing at my mother, not at Su Yehao, and said very fast: "My work sold for 110 million US dollars?! No wonder someone suddenly found me and wanted to use 35 US dollars for a piece. Bought them at a reasonable price, fortunately the contract has not been signed yet..."

"...As expected of professionals, their speed of action is really fast."

Su Yehao tapped his fingers on the table, and then asked: "I like your work very much. 200 million US dollars is a fair price. After all, you have to pay a commission when you send it to the auction. If you sell it to me, I will send someone to , send the check to you."

Jeff Koons has been in the industry for many years. Of course, he knows that works in the same series sell for high prices, and the rest will follow suit.

He hesitated for a while, and said to Su Yehao: "If you are really sincere, let's talk about it tomorrow. I need to find out the details first, and I can't give you an answer right now, OK?"

"Okay, how about we meet tomorrow? I want to see those two things with my own eyes."

Su Yehao has a private jet, which is parked at San Jose Airport, so it is very convenient to transfer to San Francisco.

Although Jeff Koons was well-known in the past, before the Balloon Dog series became famous, he could only make some money by selling volume. Things were not easy to sell. Thousands of works of art were produced, many of which were still in warehouses. Eat ashes.

Seeing that Su Yehao was going to chat face to face, Jeff Koons agreed and told him that an exhibition was being prepared, and he just happened to be able to see the two balloon dog sculptures.

A large stainless steel dog with a length of more than three meters was troublesome to transport, and there was no way to send it to San Francisco for Su Yehao to have a look at.

The reason why I took the initiative to mention going to New York.

The real reason is that Su Yehao remembers this sculptor, and there is also a particularly valuable stainless steel rabbit work. Because of its peculiar shape, he still has an impression until now.

If you have the opportunity, buy some in bulk and then increase the price. It seems to be quite interesting, and it is worth traveling all the way.

Anyway, I can go back and forth on the same day, without delaying the urgent business, and I can also take the opportunity to go to Wall Street and find a few market makers to discuss the details of Yanwen Group's issue price.

……

It takes more than five hours to fly from San Francisco to New York.

Su Yehao transferred to the plane, continued to eat pizza, and then went shopping with Yin Liuli to buy clothes.

I asked about the weather in New York. It snowed recently and it was much colder than San Francisco. The clothes they brought were not thick enough.

Until more than eleven o'clock in the evening, I left temporarily for the airport.

The hotel room is useless before you live in it, and more than 2000 US dollars in room fees were wasted. Compared with art investment, this small amount of money is nothing.

If you go to New York late, and you are caught first, and you don't buy those modern artworks that have the potential to appreciate in value, then the loss outweighs the gain.

The bodyguard hired from Silicon Valley chatted with Su Yehao about overtime pay for expatriates.

Since they were going to New York, the previous price was definitely not suitable, and they were temporarily given a subsidy of [-] US dollars per person per day, which was the only way to get rid of these white bodyguards.

It was nearly twelve o'clock when the plane took off.

After getting on the plane, he was about to go to sleep. What gave Su Yehao a headache was that two bodyguards were snoring. The sound was particularly loud and rhythmic in the small cabin.

This left him speechless.

If I had known earlier, it would be better to go to New York and temporarily re-hire a group of bodyguards there...

Chapter 483 Hype Invitation

On the way to New York.

Listening to the snoring, Su Yehao woke up and fell asleep.

Although he is the boss, he can wake up the snoring bodyguards and let him sleep quietly, but it is not very good to do so.

It has nothing to do with high or low status, it is purely a quality standard.

When I arrived in New York, I randomly found a five-star hotel in Queens, and started to catch up on sleep after checking in.

The biological clock is a mess.

After waking up, I looked at my watch and found that it was only past nine o'clock.

Su Yehao soon realized that he flew over from the west coast and did not adjust the time difference of his watch. It was already noon in New York time.

Picking up the phone to check the missed calls, both Xiao Nizi and Nong Qingying have called, as well as that Jeff Koons.

before yesterday.

No work by this artist has ever sold for more than $30.

Today, however, many people have contacted Jeff Koons and learned that his "Balloon Dog" was bought by the founder of Yahoo and sold for over one million dollars.

Among the people who contacted him, Su Yehao offered the highest price, which was millions of dollars higher than other people's quotations. This was probably the reason why Jeff Koons took the initiative to call.

After contacting Jeff Koons first, we made an appointment to meet at an exhibition hall in lower Manhattan at 02:30.

Then they sent messages to Xiaonizi, Jiang Yu, and Nong Qingying one by one, saying that they came to New York on a temporary basis, lest they miscalculate the time difference and have no way to contact him.

After some tidying up.

Su Yehao took Yin Liuli out, and the motorcade rented from the hotel was already waiting at the entrance of the hotel...

Just entered March.

The weather in New York is still very cold, the wind is howling in the city, and there is snow that has not melted in the shade of the street.The rats in the sewers were too cold to bask in the sun on the fence of the Brooklyn Bridge.

While driving slowly in a traffic jam, Yin Liuli saw a black shadow from the railing of the bridge. At first she thought it was a stray cat, but after looking carefully, she found out that it was a few big mice. She was shocked.

Su Yehao was not surprised by this, and joked:

"As expected of New York, the food is good, and the mice on the street are a few rounds fatter than other places..."

last time.

When I took Xiao Nizi to go shopping in New York, she was frightened by the black shadows scurrying in the alleys and parks.

The darker the sky, the more unscrupulous rats in New York have become a major feature of the landscape.

Surrounding New York City in the 90s, Su Yehao chatted with Yin Liuli.

He once heard from the driver that after research and investigation by experts, they believed that there were more rats in New York than the residents here, with an average weight of more than 330 grams, and even cats were afraid of seeing them.

As the economic center of the United States and even the world, I can't spend a few million dollars on rodent extermination. With the garbage on the street and the potholed roads, the good impression of New York was quickly shattered after Su Yehao came here last time. up.

Interesting to say.

New York officials have no money to kill rats, but they have the money to subsidize the management of those Manhattan office buildings, so that they do not turn off the lights at night to maintain a brightly lit and bustling night scene, in the name of not providing convenience for thieves.

For Su Yehao, the criterion for evaluating a city is whether he wants to live here or not.

Silicon Valley is quiet and comfortable, San Francisco has a high happiness index, and Beverly Hills in Los Angeles has female stars, which seem to be pretty good, but Manhattan, New York is hard to fall in love with despite the high-rise buildings.

The reason is probably because, although New York has the most densely populated millionaires in the world, it also accommodates the largest number of homeless people.

It has the highest density of skyscraper buildings, but it is not willing to repair infrastructure or hire more cleaners.

all in all.

The good places are very good, but the bad places are also really bad. The management is too hip, and the overall score is not high.

At least living in Silicon Valley, Su Yehao dared to go out to pubs and eat supper at night without worrying too much about safety issues, but in New York, even with bodyguards, he was a little worried.

After chatting with Su Yehao, Yin Liuli's sense of anticipation for this trip to New York dropped a little in an instant.

After careful observation, she found that the car bumped a lot. On the streets of Lower Manhattan, a long row of tents were set up. Homeless people wrapped in thick clothes squatted at the door of the tents and asked pedestrians for money, just like in Hollywood movies. The exquisite set is quite different.

Tens of thousands of homeless people live in New York, so it is strange that law and order can improve, and it is no wonder that in the 90s, the media described New York as "Gotham City without Batman".