Owen Sutton carried the bronze statue downstairs. Seeing him lift the statue as easily as if he were carrying a bucket of water, Krzyzewski's eyes nearly popped out of his head. At this moment, a refined-looking man in his thirties wearing glasses, standing beside him, smiled and said, “Mr. Sutton is very strong.”

Upon hearing this, Owen Sutton suddenly remembered an issue he hadn’t paid attention to recently—his strength seemed to have increased a lot. In fact, this bronze statue was solid, probably weighing seventy or eighty kilograms, but when he held it, it felt effortless, as if he were lifting something weighing only seven or eight jin.

He guessed this was probably also related to the Heart of the Sea God.

Auerbach introduced him to the refined middle-aged man, who turned out to be the general manager of Li’s Auction House, Robert Black IV.

Owen Sutton already knew that the Black family was a famous family in eastern Canada. They controlled the Black Consortium, one of the eight major financial groups in Canada, and wielded significant influence.

“You can just call me Little Black, that’s what all my friends call me, Little Black.” Robert Black IV took the initiative to extend his hand, and while shaking hands, he smiled and said, “Mr. Sutton, you are truly accomplished at such a young age, already managing such a large fishery. When I was your age, I was still spending my parents’ money chasing after pretty girls.”

With just a few words, Little Black had already closed the distance between himself and Owen Sutton.

Owen Sutton made coffee for everyone, and Little Black pulled him aside to chat, starting with the Forbidden City and the Great Wall at Badaling. After learning that his hometown was in Dongshan Province, he began to talk about Confucian and Mencian culture and Confucian philosophy.

As expected of the general manager of a renowned auction house, Little Black was very skilled in conversation. He only claimed to know a little about these topics, mainly asking Owen Sutton for advice, and with just a few words, he put the latter on a pedestal.

Auerbach stood by, smiling without saying a word. This was also an opportunity for Owen Sutton to grow, to let him witness the tactics of those upper-class capitalists.

The final appraisal report came out. After reading it, Little Black handed it to Owen Sutton; the statue was indeed authentic.

Owen Sutton still had some doubts and said, “Yesterday I checked online, and this ‘Perseus and Medusa’ statue seems to be in Michelangelo Square in Florence, Italy, right? How come there’s another one here?”

Little Black laughed and said, “No, no, no, my friend, that one is fake, it’s a replica. You have to know, this statue was created by the master sculptor Cellini in 1545 at the commission of Grand Duke Cosimo, and it was lost two centuries later. Afterwards, there were claims of sightings in several regions of Europe, but no one was ever able to present it to the public—until now, you have done it.”

Owen Sutton quickly said he was just lucky. The people around weren’t particularly surprised; they had seen many auction items, and some people had even better luck.

Little Black cleared his throat, and Owen Sutton knew it was time to get down to business. He immediately sat up straight, ready to refuse Li’s Auction House’s request.

There was no doubt that an artwork of this value would fetch a higher price at a top-tier auction house like Sotheby’s.

“Mr. Sutton, as you know, our company has always specialized in mechanical auctions and has had only modest achievements in art. But at the beginning of the year, our board unanimously decided that the company would transition toward art auctions, so I hope you can grant us the honor of auctioning these artworks.”

“I know Sotheby’s and Christie’s are more suitable for these kinds of artworks, but there’s less than half a month until the spring auction. You should understand that the value of art is directly proportional to the investment in publicity. I think if you send it to the spring auction now, it won’t fetch a good price.”

“If our company can obtain the auction rights, I assure you, we will use all our resources to promote these artworks, including Mr. Pinault’s paintings.”

“In addition, the international standard commission for art auctions is 12%. If you are willing to let us handle the auction, we are willing to reduce the commission to 5%. Also, I believe you may be in urgent need of funds to operate the fishery, so our company can pay you 10 million Canadian dollars in advance!”

Owen Sutton paused for a moment—deal!

Chapter 0011: Opening a Bank Card

The price of an artwork is directly related to the auction house; the larger and more established the auction house, the more wealthy clients it can attract.

Owen Sutton believed that if this Perseus and Medusa statue were handled by Sotheby’s or Christie’s, he would ultimately receive at least 10% more money than with Li’s Auction House.

However, he still decided to give the auction rights for this statue to Li’s Auction House. First, because Little Black gave him a very good impression; second, because Li’s Auction House was willing to reduce the auction fee by 7%; and third, because Li’s Auction House was willing to pay him a ten-million-dollar deposit in advance, which was the most important factor.

Right now, Owen Sutton was extremely short on money—he couldn’t even afford to pay the inheritance tax.

After Owen Sutton agreed, Little Black immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He unbuttoned his suit and asked, “Buddy, shall we go to the bank now to transfer the funds and sign the contract?”

Li’s Auction House attached great importance to this bronze statue. They were currently entering the art auction field and urgently needed a flagship item to attract clients. Without a doubt, the Perseus and Medusa statue was perfectly suited for this role.