The Sovereign Dragon Ring

Episode 5's

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, the grandfather clock in the hall rang eleven times, signaling that it was now 11am.

"Is Hogg home?" A clear voice sounded. Baruch Palace had no guards, so obviously, this person had already arrived at the noble land.

Hogg frowned, putting the thick book in front of him. "Linley, today we will stop here. ”Revealing a smile, Hogg turned around and walked towards the living room.

“Ah, Hogg, my dear friend! A few days ago, I heard the cry of a clothespin bird, and I just knew that something good was going to happen. Indeed, during the day, I received your cover letter, and as soon as I read it, I was overjoyed. ”

"Dear Philip, I'm so happy to see you too. Hillman, hurry up and bring me the stone statue, 'Fierce Lion'. Philip, come on, let's go to the main hall and wait. The statue will be here soon. ”

Hearing these words, Linley felt his heart thump.

"We sell more family stuff?" Linley knew that the statue of 'Fierce Lion' was one that his father liked very much. But the Baruch clan, which took very little tax from the town of Wushan, was really in dire economic straits.

Fortunately, the Baruch clan was an ancient clan, and based on its age, it had stored many rare and precious items.

Unfortunately, not even the biggest teams can survive for years in auctions and sales. At this point in time, the number of valuable items in the clan was very few. Linley could not help but turn to stare at grandfather's clock. “I want to know how long before this hour should be sold. ”

A middle-aged man with golden long hair and noble aura walked into the hall beside Hogg. Linley could immediately guess that this middle-aged man must be 'Philip'.

"Oh, this adorable child must be your son, not Hogg?" Philip smiled very warmly at Linley. "Linley Baruch, right? May I call you Linley? "

“It will be my honor, Sire. "Linley placed her right hand onto her and respectfully bowed.

“Adorable child. "Philip looked very pleased.

By his side, Hogg laughed. “Philip, stop wasting time with that kid. Look, the 'Fierce Lion' you've been wanting for so long has arrived. "When he spoke, Hillman easily brought the large statue into the hall, and then easily placed it down.

It was a stone sculpture that weighed almost thousands of pounds, but in Hillman's hands, it looked like a toy, which clearly showed Hillman's strength.

"Mr . Hillman, your strength amazes me. My own house does not have a person as hard as you, the captain's guard, even though I control twelve cities. ”Philip smiled as he spoke, but the implied meaning in his words was quite clear; he wanted to invite Hillman to work for him.

Hillman said coldly, “Wushan City is my home, sir. ”

"I'm sorry . "Philip quickly apologized.

Philip looked over to see Hogg. “Hogg, I must say, although I really like this stone statue, the workmanship of this 'Fierce Lion' statue cannot be considered as the upper level, let alone the work of those grandmaster sculptors. ”

"Philip, if you don't want to buy it, forget it. “Hogg is pretty compact.

Philip's eyes couldn't help but narrow, but then he laughed. "Haha .. Hogg, don't be angry. I'm not saying I don't want to buy it. I'm just telling the truth. How about this . I will buy this statue for five hundred gold coins. What are you thinking?"

"Five hundred?" Hogg frowned.

This price was much lower than Hogg had expected. He expected at least eight hundred.

In the Yulan continent, one gold coin was equal to ten silver coins equal to a thousand copper coins. The average commoner would be able to earn twenty or thirty gold coins in a year. Even an average warrior would only earn a hundred or so gold coins.

“The price is too low. "Hogg shook his head.

“Hogg, you should know that throughout the ten thousand years of the Yulan continent, there were many statues made. The true value of a sculpture is in terms of its expertise. As far as this one works..well, heh, that's enough to say, I just love it. Five hundred gold really is my highest bid. If you don't accept it, then let's just forget it. ”

Hogg's face turned cold.

“Ahem, two thousand gold is also acceptable. This will be my highest offer. "Philip hurriedly said.

Hogg loudly shook his head strongly. “Grandfather's hours are not for sale! As for the statue, six hundred gold. Take it or leave it . ”

Philip carefully observed Hogg for a moment, then chuckled. "Good, Hogg. I'll give you some face. Six hundred gold. Housekeeper, bring me six hundred gold. "His guard at his residence, who had been waiting outside the entire time, immediately ran carrying the gold.

Six yellow gold sacks.

"Six hundred gold, Hogg. You can count them, if you want. "Philip smiled.

Hogg's stocking up on sacks. Based on his weight alone, Hogg was convinced that there were six hundred gold coins in it, one hundred gold per sack. Hogg smiled and nodded. "Philip, how about staying and having dinner with us?"

“No need, I still have business at home. Philip laughs.

Housekeeper Philip then instructed two powerful warriors to lift and carry the statue, which they did with great difficulty.

After Philip and his entourage left, Hogg stared at the six golden sacks, a dim look in his eyes. This time, he sold the stone statue. Next time? Although the palace still had a lot of things left, sooner or later, they would have nothing left.

"Dad, I want to learn to be a sculptor!" Suddenly Linley said.

Linley knew very well that in the Yulan continent, those famous master sculptors could produce works worth tens of thousands of gold pieces each. Some famous statues can even reach hundreds of thousands of gold pieces. And besides wealth, the social rank of these sculptors was also very high.

"If I can become a sculptor, then .. then father will no longer have to sell our family property. "This is what Linley was thinking.

"Empreshing?" Hogg glanced at Linley, his eyes cold.

"Linley, did you know that among the hundreds of millions of people in the Holy Union, there are at least several million who have studied sculpture. But in the entire Holy Union, the number of true masters could be counted with one hand. In addition, if you do not have a good instructor, you will not succeed on your own. ”

“The circle in the sculptors is not a circle allowed by ordinary people. You only see sky-high appraisals of the master's works, but did you know that most sculptors only make a few dozen gold coins each year? "

Hogg's voice was very loud.

Linley was so frightened, he immediately knelt down. Just now, he was just talking because he thought that the statue could improve his family situation. He did not expect his father to say so much and lectured him loudly.

"Enough . The ancestral hall needs to be cleaned. After lunch, go and clean up. "Say Hogg cold.

"Yes, dad. "Said Linley respectfully.

Looking at Linley, Hogg sighed in his heart. "Empathize? Oh, kiddo. Did you know that in the past, I also practiced sculpting? I spent ten whole years of my life trying to learn. But unfortunately, my sculpture is not worth a single coin. Hogg, too, once foolishly dreamed of becoming a master sculptor and thus improved the situation of his clan.

But in his heart, he felt extremely helpless. Despite spending ten years of training, his sculptures were still worthless. The sculptural field can be described as a pyramid.

The famous sculptors were at the top of the pyramid. They enjoyed a high status, and every sculpture they made was worth hundreds of thousands of coins.

But the assessment of the work of countless low-level sculptors at the bottom of the pyramid was very low. Most of their works would only be purchased by commoners with just a few silver coins to use as decorations in their homes.