Chapter 24: Auction Storm

  After seeing Zhou Huan, I felt that things were getting more and more interesting. This painting scroll we unexpectedly obtained has caused such a big stir. Japanese businessmen, underworld bosses, including transnational tomb raiders, every organization seems to have a strong interest in this painting. It looks like this auction will definitely not lack excitement.

  Zhou Huan smiled at me after that, and it was like she had greeted me. Then she went upstairs to the second floor with Hei Lian Dui Zhang and entered the second private room on my left, sitting face-to-face with that Japanese businessman.

  At this time, Liangzi smiled at me and said: "Hey, I said, your old lover has arrived, why don't you go say hello?" After finishing, he sucked his tongue twice and said: "This woman is much more sexy than the one we saw last time, ah, this set of clothes and figure, oh my..."

  I don't bother to pay attention to Liangzi's cheap tricks, but what he said is also right. After all, Zhou Huan and I have been through thick and thin together, so it won't hurt to go say hello. Besides, if she encounters any accidents here, at least there will be someone to take care of her. With Hei Lian Dui Zhang's skills, I reckon no one in this house can be his match.

  I thought of this and asked everyone to wait here first, and as soon as I walked out of the package room, I was ready to go to Zhou Huan's place, but as soon as I stepped out of the door, I was stopped by two guards outside. One of them politely said to me: "Sorry, Mr. Qiu, you can't leave this room before your auction starts."

  "Ah, I'm not leaving, I just met an acquaintance and wanted to say hello." I explained hastily.

  "Sorry, Mr. Qiu, but it's not allowed for buyers and sellers to communicate in advance, this is also a rule we've had at Wanbao for many years, please leave!" After saying that, he stretched out one hand, indicating for me to go back.

  I had no choice but to turn around and go back to the package room, Liangzi wanted to go up and reason with me, I stopped him, thinking that we were new here, it's better not to stir up trouble, let's just sell the painting and go home to count our money.

  I had just sat down when I heard the door burst open again, and several big men pushed their way through the crowd in front of the door and walked in. They were shouting: "Make way, make way! Put your hands up high, everyone sit quietly if you don't want any trouble."

  Then, Zhang Zhuang appeared, smoking a cigarette, and walked in. He seemed to be in a bad mood today, casting a sideways glance at our private room before heading up the stairs to the second floor. Finally, he stopped in front of the private room next to that Japanese businessman's and stepped inside.

  Zhang Zhuang brought the most people, with over thirty of them. The corridor on the second floor was almost packed with his men, and there were several more lingering at the entrance on the first floor.

  Seeing this scene, I felt uneasy in my heart. Liangzi whispered: "Damn it, this son of a bitch brought so many people here, if he can't get the shot, will he resort to robbery?"

  Actually, I'm also worried, a underworld figure like Zhang Zhuang can do anything, but looking at the expression of Boss Wan, it's not ordinary either, don't know if he can suppress Zhang Zhuang. Thinking again, after all, we can't control the situation, let's just wait and see what happens, if there's any danger, I'll immediately go find Zhou Huan for help.

  After waiting for a while, the entrance door was closed, and it seemed that the auction was about to begin. We widened our eyes to see what this underground force's auction would be like, and each of us looked somewhat excited.

  The whole venue gradually quieted down, and the store's staff began to walk to the center of the first floor. First, a red carpet was laid out, then a round table with gold lacquer was carried out. A woman with a seductive figure wearing a cheongsam walked up to the round table, picked up the microphone and started speaking in standard Mandarin for the opening speech.

  "Ladies and gentlemen, esteemed guests, bosses, and foreign friends: First of all, I would like to thank you on behalf of Wanbao Mountain Villa for attending this auction. There are four treasures to be auctioned off today, and I will introduce them one by one later. If you think you like something and want to bid, please ring the copper bell on the table. You can shout out a price for any item without any restrictions, no minimum or maximum price, and no need to worry about anything. Wanbao Mountain Villa guarantees that you will not encounter any unexpected events in our jurisdiction."

  The cheongsam lady finished her opening remarks and had the first item brought up, we also didn't have the mood to drink tea anymore, so we all crowded at the door stretching our necks to take a look.

  The first item for sale is a white porcelain vase, the entire body of which is silver and white in color. My initial impression was that it looked like the one Guanyin Bodhisattva holds in her hand on TV, although I have no knowledge of antiques, but at first glance, I felt that it must be very valuable.

  As the porcelain vase was displayed, the bidding started immediately. A middle-aged woman first bid 700,000 yuan, and then someone else raised the price. I think the people here are all experts in the antique industry, because the vase had been held by a man's hands all along, and no buyer went up to check it during that time.

  Before we could figure out what was going on, the vase had already been bid up to 33 million. Liang Zi excitedly exclaimed: "Now this is what I call making a fortune! This broken vase is worth so much money, our precious painting must be even more valuable! Tonight, it looks like we'll have to find some beautiful girls to spend some money on."

  In my heart, I was actually delighted, as money is something that nobody dislikes. However, after the excitement subsided, I still felt a bit uneasy because I saw that none of the three households on the second floor showed any interest in this vase.

  As the gavel fell, the vase was sold to the middle-aged woman who had first shouted out a price, for 41 million. Next, a second item was put on display - another ancient painting. However, it seemed that nobody was very interested in this painting, and after only a few rings of the bell, it was finally sold to an elderly man for 9 million.

  At this time, Liangzi looked not calm, stroking his chin and muttering to himself: "No way, could it be that nobody in this place likes painting? I'm so disappointed. If that's the case, I'd rather have sold it to those Japanese devils back then."

  I didn't care about Liangzi either, and I wasn't too worried about this aspect. Looking at the experience of getting this painting, the three families upstairs were the main force, and as for these buyers downstairs, they were just supporting roles to set off the atmosphere.

  After the third item was displayed, I saw Lao Lu's eyes widen immediately, and he stuttered to us: "Th-th-this... this is the 'ashtray' I sold to Mr. Tuo..."

  I also became interested, and when I looked around, I saw a fellow bring out an article on a tray covered with red cloth. It was of a dark green color, and it was impossible to tell what it was, but it really did look like an ashtray, only larger than the ordinary ashtray.

  At this time, the cheongsam lady said: "Thank you, Mr. Takashi, for providing us with this item at a discounted price. Mr. Takashi has named it 'Wu Mu Guan Wen Yin' and there is no reserve price. The auction will now begin."

  At this time, the curtain of the Japanese businessman's private room on the second floor was opened, and Mr. Takashi walked out with a big smile, bowing to the first floor, and immediately applause broke out downstairs. Mr. Takashi glanced in our direction and turned back.

  I asked Old Road: "What exactly is this so-called 'Wú Mù Guān Wén Yǐn'?"

  Lao Lu said with a bewildered expression: "I don't know either, I thought it was just an old ashtray, but it turned out to be an antique. That surname Tuo is really not a good person, he cheated me out of 20,000 yuan."

  I saw him cursing there, and I still wanted to laugh in my heart. You old man didn't think so at that time, did you? Those 20,000 yuan didn't make you happy, did they?

  Because of all the things we encountered before, it was all because of the appearance of this item, so I also seriously stared at the auction process to see who would buy this thing.

  At this time, the sound of the copper bell rang out one after another, and the price began to rise one by one. During my conversation with Lao Lu, it had already risen to over 20 million. Lao Lu was so angry that he gritted his teeth, and then the price soared all the way until it stopped at 45 million.

  As the cheongsam woman was about to shout out 'four hundred and fifty million for the first time... second time...' third time, I heard a 'ding ling' sound of a copper bell coming from the left direction on the second floor. Following the direction, I saw a team member walking out of Zhou Huan's private room, holding up five fingers towards the cheongsam woman.

  "Five million... five million... Now the Beijing customer on the second floor has offered a price of five million, is anyone going to raise the price?" The cheongsam woman shouted loudly to everyone.

  Lao Lu heard that it was already 50 million, and he was so angry that he almost fainted. I also wondered what Zhou Huan wanted this broken 'ashtray' for. Then I heard the cheongsam woman shout: "50 million for the third time... sold, congratulations!"

  As the three items have been sold, it's time for us to get nervous, because our treasure painting is about to be put up for auction. Whether it brings good fortune or disaster, we can't escape the outcome, and whether we can smoothly get the money depends on this one move.

  After the applause of everyone ended, I saw Mr. Wan, the owner of the Wanbao Mountain Villa, slowly walking to the center of the first floor. He took over the microphone from the cheongsam lady and said: "Ladies and gentlemen... The next item to be auctioned is the finale treasure of this time. Let's welcome Mr. Qiu and his 'Xianshan Mofu Tu' with applause..."

  As soon as I heard it was time for us to make our appearance, I followed a fellow down to the first floor with Liangzi. After arriving beside Boss Wan, I immediately felt my head swelling up. It seems that losing face this time is unavoidable. Having no other choice, I gave Liangzi another signal, telling him to take out the painting.

  Liangzi didn't have a small face like me, and without hesitation, he started taking off his clothes. Amidst the crowd's "psst... psst..." sounds, a big belly covered in band-aids was revealed. I felt like I was going to die from embarrassment, but had no choice but to take out the scissors I had prepared beforehand from my pocket and struggle for half a day to finally remove the drawing and hand it over to Boss Wan.

  The boss nodded to me immediately, then called over two partners, carefully opened the painting, and instantly the entire venue was silent. I quickly let Liangzi put on his clothes, stood nervously beside him waiting for someone to call out a price, feeling both excited and afraid, wondering who would end up with the painting in this one move.