Old Gods, Rapid-Fire Guns, and Prohibition

Chapter 100 [Orphans of San Quanti]

As the black cloth covering the drawing board was lifted, the entire audience was immersed in exclamations.

Because this painting is really good.

As a famous painter, although Constant's reputation is not as great as Pubol's, he is also someone who everyone knows a little about painting and has heard of.

He was a native of the Principality of Westergen in the Old World and a very devout believer in the Sun God religion. He studied in a church school since he was a child, and when he grew up he worked on murals in churches for a long time.

Therefore, his paintings have a strong religious atmosphere, and he is best at and most famous for his paintings on religious themes.

His painting "The Gaze of the Virgin" is of such a subject, and the subject in the painting is the famous saint of the Apollo cult, Saint Lucia, the Mother of Mercy.

According to legend, she was the adoptive mother of the Sun God when he first transformed into a mortal and walked the earth. Not only did she raise the Sun God, she also spread the teachings of illuminating the world and saved countless people. She is one of the most respected figures in the Sun God Cult besides the Sun God.

This time, San Quang Tho was destroyed and a large number of people were displaced, so it is quite relevant to produce such a painting.

The Madonna Lucia in this painting is indeed extremely kind and warm. Wherever her gaze reaches, everyone feels healed and warmed.

It is indeed a work of Constantine.

Soon, people started bidding.

Before long, the painting was sold at a high price of 500,000 gold Ruien.

You should know that the most sold price of those items before was less than 300,000, and that was the crystal brooch of the current Consul Osvaldo, which was said to be a private gift given to him by His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

Once the 500,000 was announced, no one followed suit.

Seeing that this painting had been finalized and it was Ethan's turn to paint, the people in the audience all showed a sense of being about to end and go their separate ways.

Everyone's eyes were no longer on the stage.

Everyone was discussing the exquisiteness of the painting "The Gaze of the Virgin".

The auctioneer on the stage was a little hesitant, as if wondering whether to continue bidding on Ethan's painting.

At this moment, someone in the crowd said, "Isn't there another item left? Ethan's painting, why isn't it being auctioned anymore? I'm still waiting to buy it!"

The person who spoke was Ethan's acquaintance, John Holt, who looked like he was standing up for someone who was wronged.

As a result, the others took a look and laughed even more disdainfully. Sure enough, those who stood with the people in the black mud had to be businessmen.

With John Holt speaking out, the auctioneer could no longer hide it. He lifted Ethan's painting and then removed the black cloth.

The people in the audience were already waiting to laugh and criticize, but they would never pay a penny.

As a result, when they saw the content of the painting, they fell silent.

It is a real silence.

It wasn't that he was scared and didn't dare to speak, but that he was shocked by the content of the painting.

There is nothing surprising about the content of the painting. It is just a scene of a skinny child standing in the snow, looking up with infinite longing.

People were shocked not because of how skinny and miserable the child looked in the painting, but most importantly, because of her eyes.

Her eyes revealed infinite desire, the purest desire, desire for food, desire for warmth, desire for... family.

Those are a pair of eyes that strike straight into the soul.

No one can remain unmoved after seeing these eyes. Even the most hard-hearted person will be somewhat touched.

Is this the orphan of San Quanti?
"I'll offer 200,000 gold!" After a long silence, someone raised his hand.

Then, that price was quickly surpassed.

"Two million!"

Amidst the scramble, someone called out a shocking price.

You know, even for a master painter like Pubol, the price of his daily works is only between two million and five million, and not every painting can be sold at a high price of tens of millions.

And Ethan is just a rookie who has just started out.

But this painting of "The Orphans of San Quanti" is really great.

If Constant's "The Gaze of the Virgin" is a work of art, then "The Orphans of San Quanti" is a masterpiece that will be passed down through the ages.

Art does not have high or low, but it has depth.

Those eyes alone are enough to see through everything.

"three million."

As a result, a higher price shocked the audience again.

This also shocked John Holt, who had just bid two million. He originally thought he had won it for sure, so where did this troublemaker come from?
At first glance, it was a stranger, well-dressed, with an extraordinary demeanor, and it didn't seem like he was from Winchester.

There were people nearby looking at him and whispering to each other, wondering who this stranger who spent money lavishly was.

In the end, "The Orphans of San Quanti" was sold at a high price of three million.

The whole audience was still silent.

Because on the one hand they recognized Ethan's artistic achievements, but on the other hand, they felt a little awkward, because this was painted by someone in the black mud...

At this moment, Ethan took the initiative to walk onto the auction stage.

He looked at the dignitaries below and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your recognition of my paintings. I also thank the gentleman who bought my paintings. I am sincerely happy for those children."

"I want to talk about the original intention of creating this work. It was a snowy afternoon a few days ago. I saw a ragged child begging for food on the street. I was shocked by her eyes. I felt her longing and her suffering, so I got out of the car and began to ask her. After learning about her experience, I decided to adopt her and some of her fellow orphans..."

"Because my family has also experienced such hardships and climbed out of such days, my father always taught me to lend a helping hand to those in need."

"My own strength is too limited. Fortunately, Miss Sophia contacted me and said she would hold a charity dinner to raise donations. She wanted me to create a painting to help the broken San Quanti. Then I thought of the child's eyes. I hope more people will know their suffering and lend a helping hand. Fortunately, tonight, it succeeded."

"My final words are that, in addition to the three million dollars raised from the sale of this painting, I will personally donate another one million dollars to help with the reconstruction of San Quanti."

After he finished speaking, the audience finally burst into applause. Ethan had taken a crucial step.

And what he said was half true and half false.

But most of it is true.

For example, he did rescue many orphans from San Quanti after he returned from San Quanti.

The prototype of that painting also exists.

After embarking on this path, Ethan no longer considered himself a good person, but there were some things he didn't mind doing if he could.

(End of this chapter)