Before I knew it, it was past ten o'clock in the morning.

"Bang ......"

There was a crisp knock on the door.

Ye Tian put down a document in his hand and said aloud to the door:

"Please come in!"

The next moment, Jason pushed the door and walked in.

"Steven, the Sotheby's guys are here, I brought them all to the conference room, are you going to go over now, or are you going to make them wait?"

"Sure enough, these guys still don't give up, go now, it's okay anyway!"

Ye Tian said with a chuckle and stood up from his seat.

He couldn't be clearer about the intentions of the Sotheby's people.

These guys have a very clear purpose, that is, they are coming for those top antique artworks in their hands!

Not only Sotheby's, but also Christie's, Bonhams and other major auction houses will come to the door one after another, trying to raise a batch of top lots from themselves.

Although the FBI has not yet officially announced the cracking of the Thompson International Art Crime Group, in the field of antique art collection, this matter has already been spread and almost everyone knows about it!

Top international auction houses like Sotheby's and Christie's are extremely well-informed, how can they not know such a major event?

They probably not only knew the whole story of the incident, but perhaps they all knew exactly how much Ye Tian had in his hands and those top-level antique artworks.

Since the day Ye Tian returned to New York, these guys at Sotheby's have been extremely enthusiastic, calling one after another, or inviting him to Sotheby's, or planning to visit!

But Ye Tian was busy at that time, his feet didn't touch the ground, how could he have time to take care of them! He directly declined everyone's invitations and requests to visit.

At the same time, Christie's and some other guys were politely denied requests under various names.

Obviously, these guys still don't give up and come straight to the door!

Two or three minutes later, Ye Tian took Jason and pushed the door into the company's conference room.

Sitting in the conference room were old friends from Sotheby's.

Larry, the head of jewelry, Simon, the head of the Impressionist and Modern Art department, Robinson, the head of the American Contemporary Art Department, and the director of the Modern Sculpture Department, etc., a total of seven, are chatting at this time!

When Ye Tian pushed the door in, these guys immediately stopped talking and turned their heads to look at this side together, everyone's eyes were extremely hot and their eyes were full of anticipation!

"Good morning, gentlemen, Christmas is coming, I wish you all a Merry Christmas!"

Ye Tian greeted with a smile, stepped forward and shook hands with everyone.

"Good morning, Steven, and Merry Christmas to you!"

Sotheby's got up one after another and greeted each other.

"Gentlemen, how can you be in the mood to come here on a day like today, when you are not at home preparing for Christmas?

To be clear, I didn't expect you to come at all, so I didn't prepare Christmas presents, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint you!"

Ye Tian joked as he pulled out a chair and sat across the conference table.

"Steven, we're not here for Christmas presents, but you do have the best Christmas presents you have, the best antique art you brought back from Boston!

Before we get to the point, we would like to congratulate you on getting so many top-notch antique artworks, what a huge fortune it is, it's just crazy!"

Robinson, the head of the Department of Contemporary Art in the United States, opened his mouth and said, his eyes full of envy and undisguised!

The rest of the people are the same, they are all very envious, and their eyes are almost red!

"Hahaha, it's just a coincidence! I didn't expect such a huge gain, it seems that good luck has always been by my side!"

Ye Tian said with a smug smile, smiling extremely brightly.

But he did not say a word about the facts of the case and the specific circumstances of the antique artworks.

He doesn't mention it, it doesn't mean that Sotheby's doesn't know.

"As far as I know, among these top antique artworks, there are several famous paintings of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, such as the works of top masters such as Monet and Pissarro!

Steven, entrust us with the auction rights of these top artworks, just like the previous autumn auctions, we will definitely auction the best price and give you the most perfect answer!"

Simon, the head of Impressionist art, said urgently, his eyes full of anticipation.

As the head of Impressionist art, he naturally cares most about the top works of Impressionism and Post-Impressionism!

Sure enough, these guys know all too well about that batch of antique art!

Ye Tian complained secretly.

However, this was completely expected by him, so he was not surprised.

"I'm sorry, Simon, I'm afraid I can't say yes, I'm going to put this batch of antiques up for auction and sell them all, but it's not now!

As you know, the April 15 tax filing deadline is just around the corner, and I don't really want to get a big amount of cash in my account before that date, let alone be robbed by the IRS guys!

If nothing else, I will still entrust most of this batch of top antiques to Sotheby's, preferably in April and May next year!"

Ye Tian didn't hide his thoughts, and said it easily.

Fools are sending those top antique artworks to auction at this time, so don't you wait to be slaughtered by the IRS!

What he is thinking about now is how to spend money reasonably and spend a large sum of money on the huge savings lying on the bank account, so as not to cheapen the IRS!

Instead of sending these top antique artworks in your hands for auction, it will only increase the unnecessary burden, and the gains will definitely outweigh the losses!

In the field of collecting, top-quality antique artworks are equivalent to real money, which can be realized at any time, and can also perfectly avoid taxes, there is no need to rush to auction!

As for when these antique works of art will be auctioned for realization, of course, it will have to wait until next year's tax return date, so that there will be a year to figure out how to spend money, and there is a way!

Hearing these words, the few people on the other side couldn't help but be stupid, and looked at Ye Tian dumbfounded one by one, their eyes full of incredulity!

Although many people do this, it is tacit! Who is like you, who actually said it in a grand manner, so I can cover it up!

It was only a moment before the Sotheby's guys came to their senses.

Immediately afterwards, Robinson of the Department of Contemporary Art of the United States smiled angrily and said:

"Steven, you guy is so shrewd, even the IRS dares to calculate, I'm really convinced, I've never seen you so daring!

It's really a great way to send those top antiques to the New York Spring Auction, and if you can, I hope you will entrust all of them to Sotheby's."

After speaking, he stared at Ye Tian eagerly, expecting his answer.

The rest of the group was the same, everyone with anticipation in their eyes.

However, they didn't get the answers they wanted.

Ye Tian shook his head firmly and rejected Robinson's proposal.

"We have an old Chinese saying, 'Don't put your eggs in one basket', the literal meaning is simple, I believe you can understand, but the truth it reveals is very profound!

In addition to your Sotheby's, I will also entrust Christie's, Bonhams and other auction houses to help me auction those top antique artworks, which is in my best interest!

As I said earlier, I will still entrust most of these antique artworks to Sotheby's, and our previous cooperation was very pleasant, so there is no need to make too many changes!"

The voice fell, and the scene suddenly fell silent.

There was a trace of regret on the faces of the guys opposite.

After a moment's pause, Robinson said with regret:

"Well, we respect your choice, although I don't think it's necessary! After all, we are the world's top auction house, and we will never do anything stupid to harm the interests of our customers!

Another thing, after the New Year, we have a special auction of American contemporary art, which is currently soliciting lots, and it will be over soon, but unfortunately, the heavyweight finale has not yet been collected!

So, as the head of the Department of Contemporary Art in the United States, I would like to ask for your support and come up with one or two top-notch artworks of sufficient weight to help us elevate this special auction to the next level!

As for the settlement of the auction money, we can cooperate, delay it a little, and strive to put it after April 15, as long as the time does not exceed three months, no one can say anything!"

The words have already been said about this, and Ye Tian naturally has no reason to refuse.

Convenient with others, convenient for yourself!

After a moment's hesitation, he immediately nodded and gave an answer.

"In that case, then I can promise to support you with two of the best contemporary American artworks, one is the famous work of Abstract Expressionist master William de Kooning, "Names Written on Water".

The other is one of the masterpieces of the famous neorealist painter Andrew Wise, "The Man in the Rye", these two top paintings have very different styles and are believed to be enough to support any auction!

After Christmas, I will bring these two famous paintings out of the vault, and say in advance that these two top paintings have a reserve price, and I must make sure of my interests!"

Before he could finish speaking, Robinson jumped to his feet and began to cheer.

Steven, you are so generous, with these two top paintings, this American contemporary art auction is sure to be the best auction ever!

As long as the news of these two top famous paintings coming up for auction will definitely cause a huge sensation, there will be absolutely no problem in breaking through the reserve price!"

Looking at Robinson, who was cheering and celebrating, the rest of Sotheby's couldn't help but have a glimmer of envy in their eyes.

Next, the two sides continued to discuss the auction of these top antique artworks.

During this period, Ye Tian also told Sotheby's in advance that there was no need to pay attention to those Chinese antique artworks!

Those top antique artworks from China, he is ready to sell them all back to China through private negotiations, and that is where they should exist the most.

As for the private negotiation object, it is naturally Ma Ye's domestic collectors, as well as those domestic billionaires, who are not bad at money!

Even if you don't take the initiative to contact you, I believe it won't be long before Ma Ye's phone call will come!

Hearing this, Sotheby's and the others naturally felt very sorry, but there was nothing they could do, who let things belong to others! The initiative was not in their own hands at all!

At about eleven o'clock, Sotheby's got up and took his leave.

When they walked out of the brave dreadnought exploration company, these people had different expressions, some were satisfied and smiled brightly, and some were a little regretful!

Sending off Sotheby's and his party, Ye Tian returned to the office before his ass sat firmly, and someone came to visit again!

This time it was a few people from Christie's, also old acquaintances!