Chapter 334: Gaining Experience at the Company (6)

Chapter 334: Chapter 334: Gaining Experience at the Company (6)

The final day: Pinnacle Night!

The auction of the Antiques Appraisal Convention.

From each of Apex’s thirty-four regions, a single representative was chosen. Upon their arrival in Aethelgard, experts, scholars, and antique enthusiasts from across the nation gathered to judge the thirty-four pieces and select a top ten. Afterward, all of the participating antiques would be put up for auction on the final day of the Antiques Appraisal Convention!

In truth, the Antiques Appraisal Convention had two crucial stages. The first was the selection of the top ten antiques—the higher an item’s rank, the more attention it garnered. The second was the final day’s auction—the higher the hammer price, the greater the acclaim. Often, the highest-ranked antiques didn’t fetch the highest prices. Some pieces that failed to make the top ten relied on this final night’s auction to turn their fortunes around.

The Antiques Appraisal Convention was a grand affair in The Antiques Circle. It was also an opportunity for Aethelgard’s most prominent families to display their wealth.

Antiques are vessels of history. They have witnessed its passage and represent the spirit of their time, making them perfect for both investment and collection. The Pinnacle Night of the Antiques Appraisal Convention was always exceptionally lively; many antiques had fetched astronomical prices at this very auction.

The Stelluna Hotel, Aethelgard’s most luxurious establishment, was closed to all other events tonight, reserved exclusively for the Antiques Appraisal Convention. Wealthy individuals from across the nation flocked here with the express purpose of spending lavishly at the auction.

This was a playground for the wealthy.

And auctions were their game.

Half an hour before the auction was set to begin, guests were already beginning to trickle in.

Walter Sterling, who rarely attended such commercial events, had made an exception this time. And, of course, he had dragged Seraphina Sterling along with him. If Walter Sterling wasn’t the ultimate authority in the business world, he was certainly close. Seeing that the old patriarch himself had arrived, a crowd quickly gathered to pay their respects.

That was the way of the business world. When you were down on your luck, everyone kept their distance. But the moment you recovered, those same people who had avoided you like the plague would suddenly flock to your side. Whether their intentions were genuine or false was of no concern to anyone; it was all just a matter of conflicting interests.

"Mr. Sterling, correct me if I’m wrong, but this young lady isn’t Maple!"

"Hahaha, you’re not mistaken! This is my eldest’s daughter, Seraphina! Maple’s older sister!"

"Orson Sterling’s daughter? No wonder she looks so familiar! Mr. Sterling, you haven’t attended an event like this in a very long time, have you? Is today a special occasion?"

"Our Seraphina is as smart as her father. She was supposed to be a junior in high school this year, but she insisted on skipping straight to her senior year and even took the college entrance exams. Tell me, isn’t a girl like that just too willful, too audacious? Luckily, she has what it takes—she got into Aethelgard University! My granddaughter is off to university, so as her grandfather, I have to do something to celebrate! And since it happened to coincide with the Antiques Appraisal Convention’s auction, I’ve come to pick out a gift for Seraphina!"

...

Seeing the flash of shock in the other man’s eyes, Seraphina herself felt incredibly embarrassed. ’Grandpa, do you really have to boast like that? It’s just Aethelgard University. Is it necessary to be so smug? Your eyebrows are practically flying off your face!’

"Whatever I set my eyes on in a little while, you’d best not try to outbid me!"

"Absolutely! Of course!"

When that encounter was finally over, Seraphina let out a huge sigh of relief, but she had relaxed too soon. One entrepreneur after another began to crowd around them.

"This is my granddaughter, Seraphina!"

"She’s my eldest son’s daughter, not my second’s!"

"Our Seraphina is brilliant. Come fall, she’ll be a student at Aethelgard University!"

...