Chapter 425 Grand Opening

In 1984, Mike Hatcher devoted himself to studying the former "Sea Coachman" - the Netherlands.

In the dusty archives of the Dutch East India Company, the "Gothenmarsen" caught Hatcher's attention.

In the winter of 1752, the merchant ship "Godmarsen" sailed from Guangzhou to Amsterdam, the capital of the Netherlands, loaded with porcelain and gold.

The ship hit a reef and sank after sailing for 16 days.

Hatcher took great pains to detect the shipwreck in the South China Sea.

Hatcher was dazzled by the salvaged artifacts: 23.9 pieces of blue and white porcelain, 125 gold ingots weighing a total of 45 kilograms, and two bronze cannons engraved with the abbreviation of the East India Company, VOC.

Hatcher quietly pulled them to the high seas and after hiding them for more than a year, he took out the international convention that "unclaimed shipwrecks are allowed to be auctioned" and handed over the treasures on the shipwreck to Christie's auction house in the Netherlands.

In April 1986, Christie’s special auction of Chinese cultural relics opened in Amsterdam.

As many as 23.9 Chinese cultural relics appeared at a single auction, a grand occasion unprecedented in the history of European collections.

The Netherlands fell into a frenzy, and the mainland embassy in the Netherlands urgently sent a telegram to China to seek instructions on the matter.

Yang Lin from the Cultural Heritage Department of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage was urgently ordered to do so.

He looked through the International Convention on the Law of the Sea and the maritime laws of various countries in the world, but could not find any legal basis to stop this.

At that time, the mainland's laws were completely blank regarding the protection of marine cultural heritage.

Helplessly, the State Administration of Cultural Heritage had to send ceramic experts Geng Baochang and Feng Xianming to Amsterdam to find out.

Although there was no precedent, everyone thought of one thing: buy it back.

So they carried $3.

At this moment, the second floor of the Amsterdam Hilton Hotel and the Christie's auction hall looked like a large theater.

The aisles, carpets, and even outside the door were packed with experts from all over the world.

23.9 pieces of exquisite blue and white porcelain fill two floors.

The auction house gave priority bidding to the Chinese - license plate number 1.

However, during the entire three-day auction, the Chinese did not even get a chance to raise their bids - the starting price of each piece of porcelain was more than 3 times the estimated price, and the bidding kept going up. The $10 was like waste paper, and more than 3 precious Chinese cultural relics were lost to other buyers.

Through this auction, Mike Hatcher not only earned more than 2000 million US dollars in return, but also became the "richest treasure hunter" in the world.

Fang Hexuan had memorized these events by heart, whether from reading books or listening to people's vivid descriptions.

It would be fine if he had no ability, but since he had money and connections, why would he give such a good opportunity to Hatcher, a foreigner?

Not to mention leaving more cultural relics for China, at least marine salvage is not only a business that can make money, but can also help him train his team and develop marine technology. It has only benefits and no harm.

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After seeing off Jiu Wenlong and the fleet, Dayanming returned to Europe again to reunite with the team in France, while Fang Hexuan continued to stay in Hong Kong.

November is about to end, and the end-of-month work summaries of subsidiary companies have been submitted one after another. DreamWorks General Manager Liu Tianci personally traveled from Kwun Tong to the Universal Building.

As an executive and a boss, Liu Tianci has a much closer relationship with Fang Hexuan than with others, so their meeting is more like a conversation between friends rather than a rigorous report from a subordinate to his superior.

The two of them each held a cup of coffee and sat opposite each other. Liu Tianci took a sip and sighed:
"It's a pity that I didn't keep Zhang Yimou after all. What a pity!"

Fang Hexuan raised his eyebrows, a little surprised. He didn't know that Zhang Yimou left ten days late, and thought that the exchange group had already returned to the mainland, so he asked:
"Have you talked to him before?"

Liu Tianci nodded and said angrily, "For this reason, I asked him to stay longer than the others, thinking that he could see the strength of DreamWorks clearly. Moreover, I explained the pros and cons to him in detail. I thought he would agree after considering it for a day or two, but who knew..."

Fang Hexuan didn't take it seriously, but smiled and continued:

"Who knew they would insist on going back?"

"Ok!"

"Don't worry. I told you that it's not easy to win over such a talent in one go. Besides, I've investigated this person and he's not the kind of person who values ​​fame and fortune. Perhaps honor and the country's recognition are equally important to him."

"Maybe, but I don't believe he will always refuse. I'll find a chance to try again a few more times later."

"as long as you are happy!"

Liu Tianci let go of this obsession, then looked at his boss with a strange look in his eyes and said cautiously:

"Master Xuan, DreamWorks is planning to sign an actress soon."

Fang Hexuan didn't understand what the other party was thinking, so he asked uncertainly:

"Just sign it. Why are you bothering me with such a small matter?"

Liu Tianci smiled frivolously, leaned closer and whispered:
"From Sock Island."

Fang Hexuan looked puzzled and continued to ask:

"Sock Island? Didn't you already sign Brigitte Lin? And the others?"

This time, Liu Tianci answered calmly:
"An actress named Hu Yinmeng, introduced by Miss Lin."

Fang Hexuan's face froze, and he asked in a gloomy tone:

"Oh, Mr. Liu, when did you think so highly of an actress? Did you agree to her request?"

Liu Tianci looked aggrieved when he heard this:

"Master Xuan, I heard a piece of news that you and Miss Lin have a good relationship, so..."

Fang Hexuan's face immediately turned dark, and he cursed rudely:
"Bullshit! Which bastard is making up rumors about me?"

Liu Tianci shook his head and said helplessly:

"I haven't found out the source either, but luckily it was spread among the top management, and the people below didn't know about it."

Fang Hexuan snorted in anger and warned:
"So the top brass can gossip about their boss? It's irrelevant now, right?"

Liu Tianci was so frightened that he quickly waved his hands and advised:
"Master Xuan, please calm down. I will immediately clear up the rumors when I return. But what about Hu Yinmeng?"

Fang Hexuan glanced at him, and the displeasure he had just shown disappeared. He just said calmly:
"It's up to you. If her acting is good, sign her. If not, let her go back to where she came from."

Liu Tianci immediately nodded in agreement like a little chicken:
"Mmm Good!"

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On December 12, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index fell to 2 points, setting a historical low since 632.3.

The Hong Kong stock market became depressing as a result, and news of suicides by jumping off buildings frequently appeared in the newspapers.

On December 12, in order to warm up the dull and cold market, the Hong Kong government and Alphabet Group jointly held a grand celebration for the official opening of Lan Kwai Fong.
(End of this chapter)