The Amazing son in law Chapter 6300
In addition, there are numerous palace collections that have been meticulously documented by the Qing court, often fetching even higher prices. For such a vast array of ceiling-level cultural relics, it’s noteworthy that even when offered at a discounted rate, the lowest price quoted by the other party over 20 years ago was a staggering 200 million U.S. dollars.
Although my family’s business was quite substantial at that time, it’s important to recognize that the antique industry is inherently capital-intensive. When we evaluate our family assets, they may exceed a billion or even several billion U.S. dollars. However, a significant portion of that is tied up in inventory spread across stores globally, making it nearly impossible to allocate 200 million U.S. dollars.
Furthermore, in the antique sector, inventory cannot be liquidated too hastily. The greater the inventory, the heavier the burden it represents, necessitating a calm approach.
“The antique industry, much like the stock market, is particularly vulnerable to concentrated selling, which can destabilize the market. For instance, I could purchase ten Yuan blue and white porcelain pieces all at once. While acquiring more can drive up the market price, I certainly cannot sell ten pieces in one go. Such an action might induce panic among other collectors of Yuan blue and white, leading them to sell their pieces, which would ultimately crash the market price,” I explained.
Thus, at that time, it was unrealistic to liquidate items to raise funds. If we did, we risked losing the potential profit from this order due to our own selling actions. Additionally, the mortgage loan terms were relatively lengthy, making it nearly impossible for us to afford such a significant order.
Knowing that your father had a keen interest in antiques, I considered bringing him into a partnership. This would not only help solve my immediate funding issue but also allow us to potentially profit together. I had estimated that if we acquired that batch of antiques and auctioned them off to collectors on Hong Kong Island, we could easily clear and recover 350 million U.S. dollars within two years.
Thus, I proposed that you and your father each invest half of the required capital, with profits also split evenly. However, your father indicated he could contribute 100 million U.S. dollars but requested that I divide the batch of antiques into two portions. He wished to manage his half and donate it back to China through the Chinese Embassy in the United States.
I truly admired his decision at that time. After we successfully secured the antiques, I discreetly transported them to New York and then invited him to come over and select the pieces personally.
My intention was clear: regardless of which items your father chose or their value, as long as he selected them for the embassy, I would accept the outcome. Even if the Zhou family ended up incurring losses, I would be at peace with this arrangement.
Reflecting on this, Zhou Liangyun expressed his sentiment, “Most of the antiques were porcelain pieces. Together with your father, I began meticulously checking and counting them one by one. The verification process was straightforward; we would open the individual packaging of each porcelain piece, compare it against our list, and confirm the specific details. After verifying each item, we would set it aside and proceed to the next one.”