Walking further in, he heard the auctioneer's microphone calling out bids.
Stepping into the hall of the house, he saw a huge crystal chandelier hanging in the center, its soft light illuminating the entire room.
A female host in a red gown stood in the middle of the stage, energetically calling out bids for a green jade 'Peace Charm' (Wushibai).
"Five million once, five million twice, five million thrice! Sold! Congratulations to this lady!"
At this moment, everyone was focused on the auction item on stage, so no one noticed him.
Jiang Cheng subtly surveyed his surroundings, and after a quick look, he casually found a seat in the back.
The setup of this auction was not grand; it was clearly not a formal, large-scale auction venue.
It looked more like a small auction held in conjunction with a cocktail party, but there were quite a few people raising their hands to bid, so the atmosphere was quite good.
After several rounds of bidding, Jiang Cheng started to feel a bit bored, mainly because there was nothing that caught his eye. Just as he was about to get up and leave, a Patek Philippe enamel ladies' watch was brought onto the display stand.
The female auctioneer introduced the watch: "This enamel watch is a private collection of Ms. An, a top watch collector. As we all know, although Patek Philippe enamel watches are not highly priced, each enamel design is a unique, one-of-a-kind piece. This means that once an enamel pattern is designed, only one watch is made, so you don't have to worry about matching outfits. The starting bid for this enamel watch today is five hundred thousand, with each increment not less than one hundred thousand. Let the bidding begin!"
Jiang Cheng was slightly surprised by the price, not because it was cheap, but because it was a bit expensive. The official retail price for a Patek Philippe enamel watch was only a little over one hundred thousand.
However, although a few unique enamel watches are released every year, in reality, these enamel watches are always pre-ordered directly by certain super VIP users before they even hit the shelves. Generally speaking, ordinary buyers have no chance to purchase them.
Thinking about it this way, he could suddenly understand why the price of such enamel watches was so high in the secondary market or at auctions, after all, rarity makes something precious.
In a short while, the price of this enamel watch had already reached eight hundred thousand.
Looking at the enamel ladies' watch in front of him, Jiang Cheng suddenly thought of his mother, Li Yan.
This watch would suit his mother's temperament very well. Finding a way to give it to his mother to wear would be a good idea.
Just as the bid was about to close at eight hundred thousand, Jiang Cheng raised his hand.
After Jiang Cheng raised his hand, the host on stage quickly called out the new price.
"Nine hundred thousand! Is there anyone else who wants to bid? Nine hundred thousand once, nine hundred thousand twice, nine hundred thousand thrice! Congratulations to gentleman number 35 for winning one Patek Philippe enamel ladies' watch."
After the female host struck the gavel, people sitting in the front row all turned to look at Jiang Cheng.
A watch that originally cost over one hundred thousand was sold for so many times its price, which was indeed extravagant.
Soon, a new auction item was brought onto the stage.
"Next up is another collection provided by Ms. An—the Richard Mille RM056. Although this brand is young, established just over twenty years ago (founded in 1999), it has already entered the ranks of top-tier watches. This RM056 is known as the 'King of Watches,' limited to 10 pieces worldwide, with a starting bid of 15 million, and each increment not less than five hundred thousand. Let the bidding begin!"
Hearing this price, Jiang Cheng was momentarily stunned again. This time, he wasn't stunned because it was expensive, but because fifteen million was somewhat cheap.
Before his rebirth, Jiang Cheng remembered that the price of this Richard Mille RM056, which resembled a 'Little Genius' phone watch, had already been hyped up to twenty-five million in the secondary market.
But he quickly realized: it was 2017. Although Richard Mille had a certain reputation in high-end circles at this time, it had not yet entered the public eye.
What truly made it popular across the entire internet was the explosion of Douyin (TikTok) short videos in 2018.
At that time, various contents featuring multi-million dollar luxury watches were aggressively promoted.
The RM series became synonymous with "rich second-generation standard."
The reason Jiang Cheng recognized this watch was also due to Douyin's big data recommendation system.
His father, Jiang Jianmin, always wore various Rolex watches, and influenced by him, Jiang Cheng himself paid more or less attention to wristwatches on a daily basis.
And ever since he started using Douyin, big data would recommend all sorts of multi-million dollar luxury watches to him every day.
At that time, Jiang Cheng often complained that Douyin thought too highly of him, a "poor rich kid," recommending only series he couldn't afford.
However, at this moment, Jiang Cheng suddenly felt a bit grateful for Douyin's recommendation mechanism. It turned out this was all paving the way for him after his rebirth.
Before his rebirth, he could only look at pictures, but after his rebirth, buying one to wear didn't seem impossible; whether or not to buy it was entirely up to Jiang Cheng's personal preference.
At this moment, he raised his paddle without any hesitation.
The female host, seeing Jiang Cheng raise his hand again, couldn't help but take another look at him.
"Gentleman number 35, 15.5 million! Is there anyone else who wants to bid?"
No sooner had the host finished speaking than a young man with slender arms and a tattooed forearm raised his paddle.
"Gentleman number 8, 16 million! Gentleman number 8, 16 million! Is there anyone else who wants to bid?"
Jiang Cheng raised his hand again upon hearing this.
"Gentleman number 35, 16.5 million!"
After Jiang Cheng raised his hand, the slender, tattooed man raised his hand again.
"Gentleman number 8, 17 million!"
Jiang Cheng frowned and raised his paddle again. He was quite surprised, not expecting someone else to be interested in this watch like him.
In fact, only the two of them were raising their hands at the scene; no one else seemed interested in participating.
At this time, those who were familiar with the Richard Mille brand were only the rich second-generation and tycoons in their upper-class circles.
Wait another two years, and its popularity will increase. You'll see many rich second-generation and celebrities starting to wear this brand of watch when you go to nightclubs.
Compared to the skyrocketing prices it would command in the future, now was the perfect time to acquire this watch.
After all, this RM056 is known as the "billionaire's entry ticket" and the symbol of top-tier rich second-generation!