"You, you brat!"
Zhao De's face instantly flushed red as he glared at Li Yang, gritting his teeth. He never imagined Li Yang would play him like this.
Many in the audience almost burst out laughing.
"Eight million once, eight million twice, sold!"
The host paid no mind to the back-and-forth. After calling out three times, the hammer fell, sealing the deal. He then instructed a server, "Seal the lot."
"Congratulations, Boss Zhao, for acquiring our first auction item for eight million."
"Damn it!" Zhao De was so furious his face turned ashen.
Secretary Chen quickly soothed him, "Boss, please calm your anger. Who hasn't made a mistake before? When we see that kid later, we'll have plenty of opportunities to get even."
"Hmph," Zhao De grunted, still displeased.
The second item was also a piece of raw jade, half a meter long and wide, with a quality that seemed similar to the previous one. However, Li Yang only occasionally had Sister Shui bid. Once the price exceeded a certain amount, he would tell her to stop.
Zhao De, still smarting from the previous incident, didn't dare to act rashly and let them acquire four items at relatively low prices.
Soon, the auction was drawing to a close.
"Item number sixteen, and the final item of this auction, is a set of jade from the old pits of Southern Myanmar. Each piece is approximately half a meter in length, width, and height, with extremely high quality. There are eight pieces in total, with a starting bid of two million, and increments no less than ten thousand."
The host waved his arm, and someone immediately brought out item sixteen. "Everyone can go up and examine it. We will begin the auction in three minutes."
Several people immediately went up to view the items.
Sister Shui also wanted to go up, but seeing that Li Yang hadn't moved, she asked suspiciously, "Aren't you going to take a look?"
"No need, it's the same looking from here," Li Yang said with a smile.
Sister Shui was surprised. "Are your eyes that sharp? Then tell me, what's the approximate value of this set of old pit jade?"
"In my opinion, it's best not to participate in the auction," Li Yang's eyes flickered. He realized that although these stones were from old pits, they had been tampered with, and all of them had problems.
If he bought them, it would surely ruin his reputation.
Sister Shui was puzzled. "It can't be that bad, can it? Not even worth the starting bid?"
"It can be," Li Yang said. "Sister Shui, if you trust me, don't bid on these stones."
"Alright, I'll listen to you." Sister Shui hesitated for a moment before finally agreeing.
Beside them, Lin Xiaoyu looked at Li Yang with a hint of doubt. "Brother Li, aren't stones from old pits usually of very good quality? Why do you say that?"
"When someone buys them later, pay close attention to the results, and you'll know why," Li Yang smiled, offering no further explanation.
The three minutes passed quickly, and the host began the auction.
"Eight million!"
"Ten million!"
"Twenty million!"
The bidding prices soared, quickly reaching ten times the starting bid.
Zhao De loudly shouted, "Twenty-five hundred..."
"Wait a moment, Boss. Boss Shui hasn't bid," Secretary Chen quickly reminded him.
Hearing this, Zhao De glanced at Li Yang and Sister Shui. After a brief hesitation, he said, "Stones from old pits have never had issues. Such good items, they definitely wouldn't miss out. They're doing this deliberately to confuse me."
"Boss, what do you mean?" Secretary Chen asked suspiciously.
Zhao De sneered, "They must be having someone bid privately. If I don't make a move, they can buy it at a low price."
"I see. Boss, you are wise," Secretary Chen said, enlightened.
This was indeed a tactic used in auctions to avoid being targeted by enemies, deliberately driving up the price of items they desired. This move had a name: the clone technique.
Li Yang chuckled, "Boss Zhao, the reason we're not bidding isn't because of any clone technique. It's simply that these stones are not worth this price."
"Hmph, kid, you're still trying to trick me?" Zhao De glanced at him coldly and said, "Let me tell you, I won't fall for your schemes!"
"Fine, if you insist on jumping into the pit yourself, I won't stop you. Just shatter yourself," Li Yang shrugged, looking unconcerned.
"Ridiculous. Would I shatter myself? You brat, you're using the clone technique, you think I can't see it!"
Zhao De's words convinced even himself, and he immediately shouted, "I bid twenty-five million."
"Alright, Boss Zhao, twenty-five million. Are there any higher bids?" the host said with a smile. "Ladies and gentlemen, these are raw jade stones from the old pits of Southern Myanmar, a total of eight pieces, with excellent quality. It's very rare."
"Twenty-five million once."
As he spoke, his eyes glanced towards Sister Shui.
Sister Shui was tempted, but after looking at Li Yang, she ultimately closed her eyes and said nothing.
Seeing this, the host sighed inwardly and said, "Twenty-five million twice, three times, sold."
"Congratulations, Boss Zhao, for acquiring item number sixteen."
"Good!" Zhao De stood up happily.
At this price, buying eight pieces of jade from the old pits of Southern Myanmar was definitely a great value.
Li Yang shook his head with a smile and said, "Sister Shui, let's go."
"Hold it right there!"
Zhao De said with a cold smile, "Kid, you said earlier that these stones weren't worth this price. During the first item, you clearly couldn't compete with me, yet you deliberately said those things to annoy me."
"You can't just leave."
"Then what does Boss Zhao want?" Li Yang asked with a smile.
Zhao De snorted twice and said, "It's simple. There's a branch of my store nearby. Let's go there now and cut the stones on the spot. I want everyone to know that your eyesight is no good. Boss Shui is truly foolish to trust someone like you."
"Alright, I'll accompany you to the end," Li Yang said with a smile. "Sister Shui, will you join us?"
"Mm," Sister Shui nodded slightly. Lin Xiaoyu also came closer.
Zhao De waved his arm. "Secretary Chen, have someone send the stones to the branch store."
"Yes, Boss," Secretary Chen replied.
The crowd was also curious about the outcome and followed along to watch the excitement.
Soon, they all arrived at the branch store.
Zhao De picked up a marker and drew lines on the stones, saying, "Kid, you said this stone is only worth tens of thousands, right?"
"That's right," Li Yang said with a smile. "And I can tell you more accurately, if the lines aren't drawn precisely, this stone might not even be worth a few thousand."
"Preposterous!"
Zhao De patted the stone and said, "The outer shell of this stone is fine, and it's so transparent. There definitely won't be any major problems."
"Secretary Chen, cut this stone according to my lines and let this kid see how crooked his eyes really are."