We're building a super chaebol in Hong Kong

Su Cheng's relationship with the "Charter King" was one of the best here, after all, the two had multiple collaborations.

So, before the auction started, Su Cheng chatted with the "Charter King".

It turned out that this kind of large-scale charity auction was considered the largest in Hong Kong in recent years.

Except for the wealthy who were not in Hong Kong, almost all the millionaires in Hong Kong came.

Since ancient times, there has been a saying that "officials and businessmen are inseparable." The meaning of this is actually very simple: if you want to make your business bigger and stronger, you must have a good relationship with the officials.

Everyone still had to give the Governor of Hong Kong face for the invitation issued by the Government House, after all, they were making a living within his jurisdiction.

Only the Governor, MacLehose, could gather so many wealthy people together in this era in Hong Kong.

Su Cheng looked around and found that more than a hundred people had already arrived in the entire venue.

The number of Chinese and foreigners was almost equal.

From this, it can also be seen how high the proportion of wealthy foreigners in Hong Kong is.

You need to know that the entire population of Hong Kong in 1978 was approximately 4.77 million.

And the vast majority of people were Chinese, with foreigners accounting for only about 8%.

And within this 8%, there were not only Westerners, but also many Orientals, such as those from the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, Dongying, etc., who accounted for a large part of it.

So, there are not many real Westerners.

However, there are almost half as many foreign wealthy people on the scene.

From this, it can be seen that much of Hong Kong's wealth is in the hands of Westerners.

Su Cheng silently withdrew his gaze.

This situation cannot be changed in a short period of time.

However, with the rise of Chinese capital consortia and the withdrawal of some British capital consortia, this situation will gradually change.

Of course, it is inevitable that the departing British capital consortia took away a great deal of wealth acquired in Hong Kong.

At the venue, each invited guest could bring a companion.

Like the "Charter King" next to him, he brought one of his sons-in-law.

Lin Baixin, on the other hand, brought a son.

Those who can be invited are basically middle-aged and elderly people, with very few young people, after all, the huge wealth they have worked hard for has been accumulated over at least ten years.

Young people like Su Cheng in their early 20s are even rarer.

So, the vast majority of people choose to bring a younger generation to broaden their horizons.

And Su Cheng, at this age, naturally has no younger generation.

So he chose to bring Zhong Chuhong.

Each main seat has a secondary seat next to it.

This also allows people at the scene to distinguish who is in charge.

If someone with ulterior motives investigates, they can also find out that Zhong Chuhong previously worked as Su Cheng's secretary.

Bringing her to participate in a charity auction is naturally not a problem.

The time is almost eight o'clock in the evening.

At this time, the venue is already full of people, waiting for the start of the auction.

Etiquette ladies distributed auction paddles and tonight's auction list to the guests at the venue.

Su Cheng handed the auction paddle to Zhong Chuhong next to him.

He can't just not bid on anything, or bid randomly!

Su Cheng took the auction list and looked at it carefully.

There are actually more than fifty items being auctioned.

Basically, on average, every two people can bid on one item.

Of course, some people may bid on a few more items in order to show off in front of the Governor.

Judging from the list of items, most of them are works by some teachers in the art museum. In addition, there are also some paintings by children in disaster-stricken areas.

The funds raised from these auctions will be 100% used for disaster area reconstruction, because it is written behind that the funds will be donated 100%.

However, when he flipped to the last ten items, Su Cheng found that the donation ratio of the items was not 100%, but between 10% and 50%.

After reading the notes next to it, Su Cheng understood.

It turned out that these 10 items were originally entrusted to the Hong Kong Royal International Art Auction for auction.

After obtaining the consent of the item owners, these items were brought to the charity auction for auction.

And the donation ratio between 10% and 50% behind is the donation ratio decided by the item owner themselves.

That is, if the auction price of this item is 1 million, and the item owner promises to donate 20% of it, then 200,000 will be donated to the disaster area reconstruction.

These 10 items include antiques, calligraphy and paintings, jade, and jewelry.

Su Cheng took a look, and one item caught his attention.

Dog Head Bronze Statue!

The bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads in the Old Summer Palace were originally part of the fountain outside the Haiyan Hall in the Old Summer Palace. They were bronze statues cast during the Qianlong period of the Qing Dynasty. In 1860, the Anglo-French Allied Forces invaded China and burned the Old Summer Palace. The bronze statues of the animal heads began to be lost overseas.

And the Dog Head Bronze Statue is one of them. The cultural relic originally belonged to the Old Summer Palace, Xiyang Building, Haiyan Hall.

Su Cheng asked Xiao Ai to send out the final situation of the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads decades later. He was surprised to find that the Dog Head Bronze Statue was still missing even decades later.

That is to say, after this auction, this cultural relic that witnessed the humiliating history of China will disappear.

The loss of the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads in the Old Summer Palace overseas has become an epitome of the loss of Chinese cultural relics - in the hundred years since the Opium War, as many as millions of Chinese cultural relics have been lost overseas due to wars, looting, theft, etc.

It must be taken down!

This is what Su Cheng thought in his heart.

When he was young in his previous life, he learned about this history of being invaded.

How many Chinese sons and daughters hope that one day, the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads can be reunited in the Imperial Capital and reunited in the Old Summer Palace!

Su Cheng guessed that if he did not bid for this cultural relic this time, it would most likely be taken away by foreigners.

Because, if it was bid for by a Chinese tycoon, it would not be missing decades later.

However, Su Cheng also knows that the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads are not valued by too many people in this era.

At best, they are just regarded as one of the millions of antiques lost overseas.

So, the cost of taking it down should not be too great.

However, as people from all over the world discovered that the Chinese seemed to pay special attention to the return of the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads, the price of each auction became higher and higher, until it cost tens of millions or hundreds of millions later.

Why do the Chinese attach so much importance to the bronze statues of the animal heads in the Old Summer Palace?

During the Qianlong Prosperous Era, the national strength of the Qing Dynasty was strong, and the craftsmanship was at its peak. This is fully reflected in the bronze statues of the twelve zodiac animal heads in the Old Summer Palace.

More importantly, they are the cultural heritage of our Chinese nation for thousands of years, and they also symbolize the strength of our motherland in those years.

Therefore, Su Cheng wants to take this antique cultural relic that will be missing in the future into his hands while everyone does not pay attention to it, as for the others, we will talk about it later.