PDLP Chapter 35 Buying a fake for 1
Chapter 35 Buying a fake for 1
"He brought it on himself," Shen Yu said calmly, his gaze falling on the items that had just been brought to the stage for auction.
The auctioneer, microphone in hand, announced loudly:
"The next item is Lot 10 of this auction: a Ming Xuande blue-and-white porcelain bowl with a dragon and cloud design! Our expert team has confirmed it to be a rare and exquisite piece from the Ming imperial kilns! The starting price is three million! Each bid must be at least one hundred thousand higher! Bidding begins now!"
On the large screen, a high-definition detailed image of the small bowl was instantly displayed. The glaze was lustrous, and the dragon pattern was vivid, making it look like a genuine antique.
A chorus of bidding erupted from the audience.
Shen Yu's divine sense had already scanned it. The small bowl was a top-notch replica, almost flawless. The clay, glaze, and mark were all perfectly imitated, and the naked eye could not detect any problems.
Only with a super-high magnifying glass can one see the extremely fine modern machine engravings hidden in the inscription on the innermost side of the foot rim of the bowl.
Let alone ordinary experts, even a seasoned collector who has been collecting porcelain all his life would not be able to spot this hair-thin flaw without examining it for hours with a high-powered magnifying glass.
Otherwise, the organizer's expert team wouldn't have been so fooled as to give the product a genuine authentication.
This is exactly the perfect target for the money-grabbing dragon.
Just as the price reached four and a half million and the bidding slowed down, Shen Yu leisurely raised his bidding paddle and calmly said, "Five million."
The entire room fell silent for a moment, and everyone turned to look.
Qian Long, who had been waiting for Shen Yu to make a move, suddenly lit up and slammed his hand on the table:
"Here it comes! This kid really wants this! Grab it!"
He immediately raised his bidding paddle, "Six million!"
The entire room erupted in uproar, and the price was immediately increased by one million!
This is clearly malicious price gouging!
The people below the stage started discussing among themselves, and they could all see that the eldest son of the Qian family had clashed with the young man in booth number one.
Jiang Xinlan suppressed a laugh, lowered her head to take a sip of water, and pretended to be nervous.
As if provoked, Shen Yu raised the sign again:
"Seven million."
"Eight million!"
Without a second thought, Qian Long immediately followed, and after shouting, he looked at Shen Yu triumphantly, his eyes full of provocation.
The audience gasped. This small bowl was worth at most four or five million on the market, but now it had been raised to eight million, completely exceeding its actual value.
Chen Limin, sitting beside Shen Yu, whispered, "Mr. Shen, don't go for it! This price is outrageous, it's not worth it!"
Shen Yu, however, seemed to be possessed. He gritted his teeth and raised the sign again:
"Eight and a half million."
"Ten million!" Qian Long shouted out an astronomical price. After shouting it out, he stared intently at Shen Yu, with only one thought in his mind.
Let's see if you still dare to follow me!
In his view, ten million was definitely Shen Yu's limit.
Even if a poor boy with no status or background gets close to Lu Zongming, he couldn't possibly have assets exceeding ten million.
Even if he did have some, he couldn't possibly gamble it all away and use his entire life savings to buy antiques.
Antique collecting is something only established and wealthy families with deep-rooted traditions like theirs can afford.
Sure enough, Shen Yu put down the number plate, looked deflated, leaned back on the sofa, and stopped talking.
The auctioneer was so excited his voice trembled, and he immediately began calling out bids:
"Ten million for the first time! Ten million for the second time! Any further bids?"
The entire room fell silent; no one would be foolish enough to spend ten million on a small bowl that was only worth five million.
Finally, the auction gavel fell heavily:
"Ten million for the third time! Sold! Congratulations to Mr. Qian Long on successfully bidding for this Ming Xuande blue and white porcelain bowl with dragon and cloud design!"
A hammer is fixed.
Qian Long laughed triumphantly.
"See? Trying to mess with me? He's too green! Want to take something? No way!"
The henchmen immediately began flattering him: "Brother Long is awesome! That kid was scared off!"
"Brother Long is truly wealthy and ruthless! He doesn't even blink an eye at ten million!"
Qian Long became increasingly smug as he listened, completely unaware that he had fallen into a trap set by Shen Yu, spending ten million to buy a high-quality counterfeit product worth only a few thousand.
Jiang Xinlan leaned close to Shen Yu's ear and whispered:
"He really fell for it. He bought a fake for ten million. He'll be furious when he finds out."
"This is just the beginning." Shen Yu smiled faintly. "Doesn't he like to snatch things? I'll give him another big gift."
The auction continued, and after a few more items were auctioned, a staff member presented an antique sandalwood box.
The auctioneer announced loudly,
"Next up is Lot 17 of this auction, a Qing Dynasty rosewood hidden compartment treasure box!"
This wooden box is a family heirloom from a wealthy family during the Qing Dynasty. It features a hidden compartment, said to contain precious treasures, but no one has been able to open it to this day. Starting bid: 500,000! Minimum bid increment: 100,000! Bidding begins now!
The wooden box looks antique and heavy, and it does have the patina of an old object. However, the hidden compartment design is extremely complicated. The organizers studied it for a long time but could not open it, and they did not know whether there was anything inside.
To put it bluntly, it's an auction item that's a gamble.
Therefore, the people in the audience were very cautious in their bidding, and the price was only raised to 1.2 million before no one else followed.
Shen Yu's divine sense had already scanned it. The wooden box was just an ordinary old wooden box from the Qing Dynasty. There were no hidden compartments or treasures inside. The so-called hidden compartment design was just a gimmick. The box was solid and empty.
He slowly raised the bidding paddle again: "One million five hundred thousand."
Qian Long instantly perked up and, without hesitation, raised his bidding paddle: "Two million!"
He's completely obsessed now; if Shen Yu raises his paddle, he has to snatch it. Whatever it is, he'll grab it first and worry about the rest later—he can't let Shen Yu get it for free.
The audience was stunned. This wooden box was an unknown quantity; they didn't even know what was inside, yet it had been raised to two million?
As if unwilling to accept defeat, Shen Yu raised his paddle again: "Two million two hundred thousand."
"Three million!" Qian Long shouted out an exorbitant price, and then made a provocative gesture towards Shen Yu.
Shen Yu once again feigned anger and put down the number plate, then fell silent.
The auctioneer brought down the gavel again: "Three million! Sold! Congratulations again to Mr. Zhao Long!"
Another one fell into Qian Long's hands.
Now, Qianlong has invested a total of 13 million yuan, and most of his working capital is tied up.
His henchmen were starting to panic and whispered words of advice:
"Brother Long, don't be impulsive! We don't know anything inside this wooden box; spending three million is a huge waste!"
"What loss?" Qian Long glared at them.
"As long as that kid can't get what he wants, it's worth any amount of money! Whatever he bids on later, we'll keep robbing him! I don't believe he has more money than my family!"
But while he spoke with conviction, he was already feeling a little uneasy inside.
Thirteen million is not a small sum even for him; he doesn't have much liquid capital left.
All of this was within Shen Yu's expectations.
This is exactly the effect he wanted.
Another ten minutes or so passed before Shen Yu's real target, the thousand-year-old pure yang lightning-struck jujube wood heart, was finally auctioned off.
The auctioneer announced loudly,
"The next item, Lot 22 of this auction, is a thousand-year-old pure yang jujube wood heartwood struck by lightning! It is taken from the heartwood of a thousand-year-old jujube tree struck by lightning in Mount Tai, possessing the utmost yang and strength, and is a supreme treasure of Taoism!"
"Starting bid: two million! Minimum bid increment: one hundred thousand! Bidding begins now!"
As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, several Taoist enthusiasts and collectors in the audience began bidding, and the price quickly rose to three and a half million.
Jiang Xinlan's heart started racing instantly. She tugged at Shen Yu's hand and whispered:
"It's our turn! Hurry up and bid, or someone else will snatch it away."
"Don't rush."
Shen Yu smiled, and when the price stopped at three and a half million and no one else raised the bid, he slowly raised his bidding paddle and spoke calmly:
"Four million."
As soon as he made his bid, all eyes in the room turned to Qian Long, waiting for him to raise the price again and try to snatch the item.
Qian Long sat up straight instantly, his hand already on the number plate, but then he stopped abruptly.
wrong!
The first two times, after he snatched the items that the kid had bid on, he always felt something was off.
Especially that wooden box. I spent three million to buy something with no idea what was inside. The more I think about it, the more I feel like I wasted my money.
This kid has made another offer. Could it be another trap?
Did you deliberately lure him into buying at a high price, only for him to back out, leaving you to be the one who gets ripped off?
Moreover, this lightning-struck jujube wood heartwood looks like a broken piece of wood, with a starting bid of only two million. What is it worth?
This kid is definitely doing it on purpose, trying to swindle him out of his money!