A collective gasp swept through the crowd.
Zheng Banqiao was a master of painting bamboo, and the idiom "chest full of bamboo" (胸有成竹) originated from his artwork.
How could it be cheap?
Lin Shiyou was also stunned.
Mr. Ye is too damn amazing!
Time and again, he shattered his understanding of reality!
"Mr. Wang, sell me this 'Ink Bamboo Painting' for two million!"
Instantly, an elder in the front row turned to Wang Hailin and made an offer.
Wang Hailin was still staring blankly at the 'Ink Bamboo Painting'.
He had initially considered it a loss, just to build goodwill with Ye Yun.
He never expected...
"Mr. Wang? Mr. Wang?"
Seeing Wang Hailin in a daze, the elder quickly reminded him.
"Ah?" Wang Hailin finally snapped back to attention.
"Mr. Wang, will you sell this 'Ink Bamboo Painting' for two million? If you agree, the money will be in your account immediately, how about it?" the other man said with a smile.
Seventeen thousand becoming two million in less than a minute?
Was this a bank heist?
Just as Wang Hailin was about to agree,
"Two million is a bit low, isn't it?" Ye Yun interjected.
"The price for normal Qing Dynasty ancient paintings isn't high, and Zheng Banqiao's works are around two million in market value, so it's not low," the elder replied.
"This is the origin of the idiom 'chest full of bamboo.' If you really want it, make it two point three million," Ye Yun stated.
"This painting isn't yours, is it?" the elder said with some displeasure.
He held a not insignificant position in Jinling, and Wang Hailin had clearly intended to accept.
However, as soon as he voiced his doubt, Wang Hailin immediately declared,
"I'm gifting this painting to Mr. Ye. Whatever he says the price is, that's the price!"
"Damn it, are you buying or not? If you don't want it for two point three million, I'll take it!"
At this point, the "foolish son of a landlord" beside them chimed in with support.
Hearing this, the elder immediately began to hesitate, his gaze lingering unwillingly on the 'Ink Bamboo Painting'.
He knew that with Lin Shiyou's nouveau riche mentality,
He might actually buy this 'Ink Bamboo Painting'.
Finally, unable to resist his desire, he gritted his teeth and said,
"Deal, two point three million, I'll take this painting! Give me your account number, and I'll transfer the money immediately!"
"Let's stick with Mr. Wang's. Mr. Wang, this painting belongs to you, it's destined to be yours."
Ye Yun said with a faint smile.
Upon hearing the word "destined," Wang Hailin no longer refused and then said,
"Then I won't be polite. Thank you, Mr. Ye. I, Wang Hailin, owe you a favor."
Over two million was a significant help to him, especially with his company currently in a difficult situation.
Furthermore, associating with a genius like Ye Yun, the more favors he owed, the better it would be for deepening their relationship.
"Oh, who was it earlier who said if intuition were useful, why would we need experts? Young Master Li, my memory isn't great, perhaps you can help me recall?"
Just as the elder paid and took the painting, Lin Shiyou immediately started his sarcastic jabs.
Li Zhaohui shot Ye Yun a venomous glare and cursed,
"Damn it, is it just your dumb luck! You're really something else, to curry favor with these two losers, you not only let your wife sleep with someone but also gave away a painting!"
That's right, in Li Zhaohui's eyes,
Ye Yun was just a sycophant fawning over Wang and Lin, no different from the bald man beside him.
As for the 'Ink Bamboo Painting' incident, it was clearly just Ye Yun's luck.
Otherwise, how could he explain Ye Yun seeing through the painting within a painting?
And why would he give this money to Wang Hailin for free?
Wasn't it to offer help to Wang Hailin while he was down?
And then have his wife whisper sweet nothings in his ear for his own advancement?
Repeatedly being mocked by Li Zhaohui, especially when it involved Li Mengyao, Ye Yun's eyes turned even colder.
Originally, he hadn't intended to target Li Zhaohui, as the man was on his way out anyway.
But with Li Mengyao being brought up time and again, Ye Yun decided to collect some interest before the guy completely fell.
"Damn it, Li Zhaohui, can't you spout anything decent from your dog's mouth? What dumb luck, Mr. Ye clearly has great abilities!" Before Ye Yun could speak, Lin Shiyou launched into a tirade.
"Li Zhaohui, didn't you bring some expert with you? Humph, I'd like to see how much money you plan to lose for us today. Don't forget, we've already multiplied our gains by 13.5 times!"
Wang Hailin also chimed in with a subtle taunt.
They had previously bet on the outer market.
And the highest multiplier Li Zhaohui had managed to get on his earlier picks was only 4 times, a far cry from the 13.5 times of the 'Ink Bamboo Painting'!
Li Zhaohui coldly sneered.
"Wang Hailin, you loser, are you mistaken? I made the bet with Lin Shiyou, what does this have to do with you, you old official's son? And the money from this 'Ink Bamboo Painting' was earned by you. In the end, Lin Shiyou gained nothing!"
Although this was already bordering on being a scoundrel.
Li Zhaohui wouldn't know that achieving a profit multiplier exceeding the 'Ink Bamboo Painting' through an auction was almost impossible.
With twenty million yuan at stake in the bet, what did it matter if he acted shamelessly?
"Humph, it doesn't matter. I'll still make you cry when you lose later!" Ye Yun said coldly at this moment.
Seeing Ye Yun speak, Wang and Lin, who were ready to unleash a torrent of curses, immediately fell silent.
Even though they knew Li Zhaohui was acting shamelessly,
As long as Ye Yun was present, they had no worries about the outcome of this bet.
Moreover, if Li Zhaohui lost even with this tactic, it would be an even more humiliating defeat for him!
"You're acting shamelessly, fine. Anyway, there are three more auction items left. Let's increase the stakes and play, do you have the guts?"
However, Lin Shiyou was not one to suffer silently and immediately proposed raising the stakes.
Li Zhaohui smiled sinisterly.
"Li Zhaohui, do you think I'm afraid of a loser like you? In all these years, have I ever backed down from anything you, Lin Shiyou, wanted to play? More importantly, have you ever won against me, you loser?"
"I'll be generous too. Whoever buys any of the remaining three items will count towards the bet!"
With Elder Fang backing him, Li Zhaohui was brimming with confidence.
After all, an unexpected windfall like the 'Ink Bamboo Painting' could only happen once.
With both sides agreeing, the auction quickly resumed.
"This is the thirty-ninth auction item, a sandalwood box from the Prince Rong's mansion in the Qing Dynasty. The starting bid is three hundred thousand. Let the bidding begin!"
On stage, the announcer smiled and said.
"Three hundred and twenty thousand!"
Li Zhaohui bid directly.
No matter what, he had to buy the remaining auction items.
Even if he couldn't buy them, he had to drive up the price!
This way, even if the other party made a profit, their multiplier wouldn't exceed his, and he would still win the twenty million!
"Four hundred thousand!"
At this moment, Ye Yun followed closely.
The entire hall erupted in an uproar at this bid.
Were they really competing now?
A sandalwood box from Prince Rong's mansion, was it worth bidding four hundred thousand?
And this rate of increase...
Was it madness?
"Five hundred thousand!"
Li Zhaohui sneered, unwilling to concede.
With a reminder from Elder Fang, he knew that the price of this sandalwood box would not exceed four hundred thousand.
This time, he planned to push it to two million!
He had already reached a 4x return previously. For Lin Shiyou to win with this item,
It would have to be worth at least eight million!
An antique worth eight million, and the auction house's appraisal experts wouldn't be able to see it?
What a joke!
"One million!" Ye Yun bid without hesitation!
"Kid, you're quite wealthy. But do you think you can scare me with this? Two million!" Li Zhaohui said with a cold laugh!