An old man wearing reading glasses adjusted his spectacles. "I say, Uncle Feng, where did you find this treasure? Old as I am, with one foot in the grave, I've never seen such an exquisite gem."
Uncle Feng smiled. "There's always someone better, something more wondrous. We're all getting old. Let these young folks figure out this curious item, ha ha."
Seeing the continuous murmuring, Uncle Feng raised his hands. "Quiet, everyone. Please listen to me. Now, I invite our family patriarch to speak."
The crowd spontaneously burst into applause. "Clap, clap, clap..."
Qing Kong Yue Zhang stepped onto the stage and raised his hand. The crowd immediately fell silent again.
Addressing the microphone, Qing Kong Yue Zhang said, "First, I thank everyone for attending my birthday banquet despite your busy schedules. Second, I hope you all have a wonderful time. Lastly, I am willing to contribute five hundred million in startup capital to nurture the antique talents of the younger generation, enabling them to excel in the cultural relics world in the future. The condition is to identify the origin of this object. You can all sign up with Uncle Feng first. And now, I wish you all good luck."
After speaking, Qing Kong Yue Zhang descended the stage and took his seat. A waitress promptly poured him a glass of Boston red wine.
The guests began to stir. Some were already rushing to Uncle Feng's side to sign up, while others immediately made phone calls, summoning their young prodigies knowledgeable in antiques.
Some, hoping for a stroke of luck, registered with Uncle Feng but were immediately seen through. "No irrelevant individuals or those with only superficial knowledge need to apply."
Except for Ming Zhi Tian and Xiao Hong, everyone else went to join the fray. Ming Zhi Tian, meanwhile, was accompanying Xiao Hong at the buffet, picking out food. It had been overwhelmingly crowded earlier, but now, with no one hindering them, they could feast to their hearts' content.
Moreover, Ming Zhi Tian was a martial artist. The average martial artist consumed twice the amount of food as an ordinary person. For someone at Ming Zhi Tian's level of cultivation, a twenty-fold increase in appetite wouldn't be an exaggeration.
The younger generation from various influential families gathered. Apart from those who had genuinely dealt with antiques or were from economics departments who dabbled in them occasionally, the rest were completely clueless.
There were about twenty of them. Uncle Feng glanced towards Qing Kong Yue Zhang, who nodded, signaling him to proceed. Uncle Feng understood and nodded back.
Uncle Feng looked at the approximately twenty young attendees. "Please introduce yourselves first."
"My name is Zhu Xiao Dao, eldest son of Qi Hai Group, with one year of experience in antiques."
"My name is Wen Qian Fang, eldest daughter of Mei Mu Ruo Hua Group, with one and a half years of antique experience."
"My name is Huang Zhong Yi, second son of Yi Xiao Group, with two years of antique experience."
"My name is Chen Dong Cheng, fourth son of Miao Shan Group, with three years of antique experience."
...
"My name is Bo Yi Jian, third son of Hong Ya Group, with half a year of antique experience."
"My name is Yi Dong, second son of Hui Ya Group, with five years of antique experience!"
"Wow!~~~..." A stir went through the guests below. This was the highest level of experience among the younger generation so far.
"My name is Hai Zhu Yao, eldest son of Ruo Luo Group, with one and a half years of antique experience."
"My name is Qi Hai Sheng, second son of Di Da Ba Group, with three and a half years of antique experience."
...