Traveling through the sword to engage in military industry

Knowledge is wealth. After some research, Ren Zhong discovered that auctioning high-value artworks in Hong Kong was the most cost-effective option.

Hong Kong is a tax-free haven, and the tax benefits are incredibly attractive. The auction tax is only 0.5%!

Isn't that practically nothing?

Ren Zhong carefully studied the auction house's rules and found that Westerners usually charge 10% of the auction price for ordinary auction items. However, for artworks with auction prices exceeding 40 million Island Coins, they don't charge any fees! It's essentially a free auction for you, but they collect a large sum from the buyer.

Furthermore, for artworks exceeding 140 million Island Coins, the seller can even receive 40% of the buyer's commission!

With such favorable terms, Ren Zhong immediately decided that he had to go to Hong Kong!

The money saved in this process would be enough to fill large sacks!

Of course, exporting goods to Hong Kong isn't that easy. According to new regulations, there's a list of famous artists whose calligraphy and paintings created after 1911 are restricted from leaving the country. Undoubtedly, Ren Zhong's paintings are on this list, so these artworks cannot be exported through normal channels.

If it were someone else, this problem might be incredibly difficult to solve. However, with Ren Zhong's ability to travel between two worlds, it's not a big deal.

Two days later, Ren Zhong, having obtained a free travel permit, appeared at a hotel in Hong Kong. In his backpack, he was carrying the scrolls containing the five famous paintings.

For others, it might be necessary to swim to get here, but Ren Zhong didn't need to. He simply packed the paintings, took them back to the Bright Sword world, then returned to the main world and flew to Hong Kong to stay in the hotel. He seamlessly achieved the 'Great Shift of the Universe' for the paintings.

Simply putting on sunglasses, sticking on a bit of a beard, and donning an artistic youth wig, Ren Zhong appeared outside Sotheby's Auction House in Hong Kong.

The Taikoo Place was bustling with people, and several modern skyscrapers rose from the ground. Twenty years ago, this was the epitome of the 'First City of the Far East,' but now, it was showing its age.

Ren Zhong looked up, opened the phone navigation to confirm that he had found the right place, and went directly to the 5th floor auction house by elevator.

"Sir, how can I help you?" The receptionist was polite and didn't look down on him.

"Miss, I have several artworks that I would like to consign for auction. I hope to communicate with your company's calligraphy and painting appraisal experts regarding the auction matters. My auction items are conservatively estimated to be worth over ten million," Ren Zhong said directly.

He had researched this auction house, and the best approach was to be straightforward. They don't ask about the origin; they only care about whether the auction items are valuable enough. If you have a few hundred thousand or a million, you might only be attended to by a junior account manager.

But for items worth over ten million, the auction house won't be so casual.

As expected, as soon as Ren Zhong finished speaking, the receptionist picked up the phone and called out, "Manager Peter, there is a customer at the front desk claiming to have high-value painting artworks, and he needs to arrange for a calligraphy and painting appraiser to appraise them. Please come and attend to him."

"Sir, please wait a moment. Manager Peter, who will be attending to you, will be here soon."

Ren Zhong nodded and wasn't in a hurry.

In less than two minutes, a young foreigner with golden hair hurried over. "Hello, sir, are you the one who wants to provide artworks for auction?"

"Yes, I am. You must be Manager Peter. I have several mainland Republic of China master-level artworks that I need to entrust to your company for auction. I would like your company to appraise them and provide a preliminary valuation," Ren Zhong didn't hide anything too much. Here, it's best not to be too humble.

"Sir, please!" Hearing Ren Zhong's words, Peter more enthusiastically guided Ren Zhong to the VIP room.

He wasn't worried about being fooled. In fact, not many people would be foolish enough to come here to mess around.

As one of the world's top auction houses, Sotheby's also has a world-class team of appraisers.

They have a thorough understanding of the authenticity of mainstream artworks worldwide.

"Mr. Ren, after our appraisers' assessment, the calligraphy and paintings you provided are all genuine works that have not been previously discovered. Daqian's Tiger and Baishi's Grasshopper are valued at 50 million and up. The other three paintings are also valued at 40 million and up. Therefore, Mr. Ren, you fully meet our VIP guest level. If Mr. Ren signs the 'Consignment Auction Contract,' we will arrange a hotel and temporary bodyguards for Mr. Ren, and all related expenses will be paid by our auction house."

When Peter heard the appraiser's conclusion, he was overjoyed. Ren Zhong's business would essentially complete half of his year's performance. Peter liked these kinds of customers the most.

"No problem, I accept. Please prepare the 'Consignment Auction Contract,'" Ren Zhong didn't waste any words. "Regarding the commission, you currently offer free services for items exceeding 40 million, right?"

"Yes, Mr. Ren, the information you have is correct. If the auction value exceeds 160 million, we also have a 40% buyer's commission split."

Peter wasn't surprised that Ren Zhong knew some of the company's preferential information. This person took out five rare paintings by top masters, with a net worth of over 100 million. It would be strange if he didn't inquire beforehand.

So Peter wouldn't hide anything.

Peter wasn't a fool. Sotheby's wasn't the only auction house in Hong Kong. Ren Zhong's high-quality auction artworks were essentially showstoppers here. Each one could be the highlight of an auction, so they absolutely couldn't allow it to fall into the hands of others!

"Alright, I want to have this clause written into the contract," Ren Zhong nodded. In the regulations he had checked, these were all vague. As expected, the policies were still in the hands of these receptionists.

With this confirmation, the cost of his auction trip would be very low. Now, he needed to consider how to spend the money.

According to the current financial management system, it would be impossible to directly bring so much cash back to the mainland after the auction was completed.

Therefore, Ren Zhong had already abandoned that idea.

The so-called background capital that he had previously used to fool Zhao Lidong and the others would truly exist after the auction was successfully completed!

Hong Kong is a highly liberal capital market. Ren Zhong planned to establish the investment company in Hong Kong. The shareholder would become an offshore company, and most of the proceeds from the auction would be injected into this offshore company, then transferred to the investment company in Hong Kong.

After such a process, Ren Zhong would have an investment company that he could independently control. More ingeniously, this company wouldn't have any direct relationship with Ren Zhong!

When choosing the offshore company, Ren Zhong's name would be replaced with a newly created English name, so there wouldn't be much connection between the company and Ren Zhong.

He would instantly transform his personal income into a substantial investment fund!

Second update, seeking readers!