157: Chapter 157 Shanghai Pudong Development Bank Building

Four items. He flipped through them one by one. Hu Tian leaned back against the sofa, rested the brochure on his knees, and tapped his fingers lightly against the paper.

He thought for a moment, flipped back, went through the entire brochure from the beginning, and found the location of number forty-two.

A bronze censer.

An Official Kiln bronze censer from the Tianqi period of the ming dynasty. The body was thick and sturdy, the handles square and upright, the inscription on the bottom was clear, the patina was deep and steady, and the surface texture was seasoned. The starting bid was 22 million.

This was the fifth item, and it was also his.

Five items, scattered among the seventy or so lots in the entire Ancient Chinese Art section. They didn't stand out much, but Hu Tian knew the weight of these pieces.

Hu Tian glanced at the Contemporary Art section. He didn't pay much attention.

He just flipped through the page for jewelry and luxury watches.

His gaze finally landed on the last page—the introduction to the "Dispersion of East and West—Historical Artifacts Along the Silk Road" special auction.

The star lot of this special auction was a Sogdian silver vessel from Central Asia. The craftsmanship was exquisite, and the patterns combined Persian, Central Asian, and early Tang Dynasty styles. According to research, it was an artifact from approximately the 7th to 8th century AD. The valuation placed on it was a significant figure.

Additionally, there were several Byzantine-style religious metal artifacts, a batch of early Buddhist stone carving fragments originating from Afghanistan, and a set of ancient inscribed bronze wares said to originate from the Arabian Peninsula.

Hu Tian stared at the brochure page for a while. The Silk Road. Sogdian silver vessel. Byzantine artifacts.

He mentally superimposed the three bronze medals he had collected from Antique Street today with the items described on the brochure page before him, and a vague feeling welled up in his heart.

It wasn't a definite judgment, just an intuition.

Historically, those scattered items sometimes approach each other in a very wondrous way, like leaves drifting from the same river, separated for hundreds of years, finally gathering again in some water bay.

He refolded the brochure, put it back into the envelope along with the invitation card, placed it on the coffee table, picked up the glass of water, and finished the remaining half.

The light outside the window dimmed a bit more. The surface of the Huangpu River turned into a dull gold in the evening afterglow, and the buildings on the opposite bank began to light up with specks of light.

Hu Tian sat on the sofa, holding the empty glass, his eyes looking out the window, but his mind had already drifted to the auction three days later.

The Sogdian silver vessel in that special auction was something he was somewhat interested in.

Hu Tian put the empty glass back on the coffee table, leaned back against the sofa, and the corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Two days later. Christies Autumn Auction.

He pulled the invitation card back out of the envelope, twirled it in his hand, and casually placed it in the most conspicuous spot on the coffee table, right in the center, facing the sofa. A reminder to himself not to forget. Although, he knew he wouldn't forget.

The Huangpu River outside the window entered the evening. The lights began to illuminate the building complex on the Bund one by one. That row of old western-style houses revealed all their confidence again in the lights—solemn, quiet, and carrying a bit of an inviolable aura of the old days.

Hu Tian turned to his side on the sofa, watching the lights outside the window. The Magic City, over a hundred years of history; this city has too many things buried deep within it.

Hu Tian had a good sleep. No dreams.

A little bit of orange light from the night in Shanghai seeped in through the curtains. The lights over at the Bund never went out all night. That light was warm, not dazzling, as if the city was guarding something for him.

He woke up naturally just past eight o'clock the next morning, lay there for a while, glanced at the ceiling, and then sat up.

Breakfast was the buffet in the hotel restaurant downstairs. He ordered a bowl of century egg and lean meat congee, paired with two xiaolongbao, and ate unhurriedly.

There were already a few guests dining in the restaurant. A middle-aged man in a suit was scrolling through his phone while quickly shoveling food into his mouth. At another table sat an elderly couple who looked like tourists from out of town, whispering to each other about where to go today.

Hu Tian finished the last bite of congee, folded the napkin and placed it on the table, then left the restaurant.

At a quarter to nine, he stood at the hotel entrance and hailed a taxi, giving the address: Pudong Development Bank Building.

The driver accepted the order and stepped on the gas to get on the elevated road. The car passed through the Bund, went into the tunnel, and headed east all the way. It was only a matter of ten minutes or so from the Bund to Pudong.

Hu Tian sat in the back seat, watching the scenery outside the window change from old western-style houses to glass curtain walls, from French plane trees to the straight and wide Pudong Avenue. He had no special feelings in his heart, just silently measuring the scale of this city.

They arrived at the Pudong Development Bank Building. The driver stopped at the intersection, Hu Tian paid the fare, pushed the door open to get out, and looked up.

This building was located on the edge of the Lujiazui financial core area. It was not far from the Oriental Pearl Tower and the World Financial Center, yet it lacked the noise and showiness of those two landmarks.

It was built in the late 1990s and was one of the first batch of financial buildings that sprang up during the initial development and opening of Pudong. It was not the tallest building in Shanghai, but it was one of the oldest buildings that witnessed Lujiazui transform from farmland and reed marshes into a global financial highland.

The history of the Pudong Development Bank Building dates back to 1923. The HSBC Shanghai Branch.

The facade used a combination of dark gray granite and silver-gray glass curtain walls. The overall lines were tough and the edges and corners were distinct, carrying the understanding of "modernity" from the architects of that era. It did not pursue strange shapes, but only pursued stability and momentum.

In 1992, the Shanghai Pudong Development Bank was established. The country planted the banner of Pudong development here, and financial institutions followed the scent of capital and flooded in.

The Pudong Development Bank was one of the first state-owned joint-stock commercial banks to take root here. The location of the building was almost a political statement at the time, declaring the bank's determination to grow and thrive together with Pudong.

More than a dozen years have passed. The surrounding buildings have been built higher and higher, becoming increasingly strange in shape. This building, on the contrary, appears to have a bit of classical substance due to its restraint.

The building is rented by international organizations all year round. Various high-end exhibitions, auction previews, and business summits are held here. It is not the first time that Christies has chosen this place to hold the exhibition for its autumn auction.

Hu Tian stood at the entrance of the building and looked around. On both sides of the lobby entrance, staff members were already guiding people.

There were quite a few people coming, scattered here and there. There were collectors holding invitation cards, reporters with cameras, and groups of people who looked like industry practitioners walking in while whispering.

Hu Tian straightened his coat, walked up the steps, and entered the lobby.

The lobby floor was made of dark polished marble, reflective as a mirror. On the front wall hung the Christies logo and the theme poster for this autumn auction. The design was simple, the font restrained, revealing a confidence familiar with the high-end market.

Hu Tian showed his invitation card at the reception desk, exchanged it for a badge, turned right, and walked towards the elevator hall. The eighth floor.

The elevator door opened, and facing him was a row of Christies staff, all in black formal wear, with neat appearances and professional expressions.

"Hello, please present your invitation card."

The security at the door consisted of two people, a man and a woman. The man was tall and the woman was sharp, and both were wearing headsets.

The male security guard took the invitation card handed over by Hu Tian, carefully verified it, looked up and glanced at him, returned the invitation card to him, and stepped aside to make way. "Please enter, welcome."

The exhibition hall space was a bit larger than Hu Tian had expected.

The entire eighth floor had been transformed into a thematic exhibition space. The lighting was carefully designed, with warm tones hitting every lot, which not only ensured the visual effect but also did not damage the original tone of the artifacts.

The air had a faint scent of constant temperature and humidity. That slightly cold, clean feeling was the aura shared by every high-end art exhibition venue.

The lots were arranged by section, each with partitions and display signs. Visitors flowed among them, talking in low voices, occasionally taking out their phones to take pictures, and some stood motionless in front of a certain artifact, staring at it for a long time.

Hu Tian stopped at the entrance, scanned the overall layout, and quickly found his direction.

The Ancient Chinese Art section was on the left wing of the exhibition hall and was the most popular section today. From the entrance, one could see the heads gathered there.

He was not in a hurry. He would go see the items he had submitted for auction first.

He walked slowly into the left wing, weaving through the crowd, his eyes scanning the artifacts in the display cases on both sides, his footsteps not stopping.

Porcelain section, calligraphy and painting section, and further inside, the bronze and miscellaneous section.

His five items were scattered in this section. He remembered the lot numbers, so he didn't need to look at the brochure and walked straight over.

The first item was a Famille Rose plate with peach and bat patterns from the reign of Yongzheng Emperor of the Qing Dynasty. It was currently placed on a specially designated display stand. The light hit it from diagonally above, and the layer of light pink patina on the surface of the plate revealed an extremely calm luster in the light.

Beside the display stand, six or seven people were gathered.

Two men who looked like collectors, dressed in crisp suits, stood in front of the painting without speaking, just staring at it. Their gaze was so focused that it made people feel like they were reading some secret code.

Standing beside them was a young woman with a small notebook taking notes, followed by someone who looked like an even younger assistant.

There was also a couple, both advanced in age. The old gentleman was wearing glasses, leaning in very close, repeatedly examining the bottom left corner of the painting, muttering to himself.

Hu Tian stood on the outer edge of the crowd, not getting closer, just scanning the area with his eyes. The corners of his mouth twitched slightly. Quite a few people liked it. Good.

He confirmed the other four items one by one. There were onlookers to varying degrees in front of every display stand. The bronze censer from the Tianqi period of the ming dynasty had the most people in front of it. Seven or eight people surrounded the display stand tightly, and even Hu Tian had to stand on tiptoe to see the situation inside.

He didn't stay long; he was already very familiar with those items. Today, what he wanted to see more were two other places.

He turned around and walked along the right side of the exhibition hall toward the inner area. The Silk Road special auction.

This special auction was located at the innermost part of the exhibition hall, with a separate area carved out. The lighting was dimmer than outside, and the light hitting the artifacts was more concentrated, creating a sense of time travel.

At the entrance, there stood an exhibition board printed with the name of the special auction: Dispersion of East and West—Historical Artifacts Along the Silk Road.

Not many people came in, much sparser than the Ancient Chinese Art area outside. They came in twos and threes, walking slowly and looking carefully.

The Byzantine metal artifacts were on the left, in a row of glass display cases. Inside were four items, two gold and two silver. The patterns on them were complex, with obvious religious motifs, and the craftsmanship was extremely fine.

Hu Tian glanced at it and didn't stop much.