Chapter 189 - Auction

Although the auctioneer was enthusiastically introducing the item on stage, the people below were whispering to each other, showing no interest in the Wenwan peach pits.

After all, Hua Hai is a city in the south, not the north, and it’s one of the most open and internationally connected cities in the country.

There isn’t the same atmosphere of traditional Chinese culture ingrained to the bone as there is in the Forty-Nine City, so people weren’t very interested in traditional items like Wenwan peach pits.

As a result, most of the people present were somewhat listless.

“The starting bid is one hundred thousand, and each bid must be no less than one thousand.

Let’s begin the bidding now,” the auctioneer announced.

When the people heard the auctioneer’s starting price of one hundred thousand, they whispered even more among themselves, “Aren’t they just two peach pits?

Although they are a bit odd, are they really worth so much money?

Every year the world produces countless peach pits, by the billions.”

“It’s a bit old, but it’s not an antique.

It’s not worth that much.”

“Yeah, if it were thirty to fifty thousand, maybe I’d bid out of curiosity, but starting at one hundred thousand?

Forget it.”

Although they knew about Wenwan peach pits as antiques, they just didn’t have that cultural atmosphere.

“One hundred and one thousand.” After some hesitation, finally, someone raised their paddle to bid.

“One hundred and five thousand.”

“One hundred and ten thousand.”

“One hundred and ten thousand and one.”

The crowd raised their bids slowly and sporadically, nearly all at the minimum increment, which made the auction seem much duller compared to the earlier bidding for the Nose Snuff Bottle and the Sealed Door Green.

Just as everyone was about to doze off from boredom, a voice suddenly energized the crowd.

“Two hundred thousand!” Ye Fan called out, raising his bid by sixty thousand in one go.

The crowd couldn’t help but turn their heads in the direction of the voice to see who was willing to spend two hundred thousand on a pair of Wenwan walnut pits that nobody else seemed to want.

Ye Fan was seated in an unassuming spot, but he had a tall figure, an erect posture as straight as a spear, and an air of self-assuredness.

His presence was somewhat distinct from the rest of the crowd.

However, people also noticed that Ye Fan’s clothes, though new, seemed very ordinary, which made him stand out in a gathering where everyone was dressed in exquisite international brand-name clothes.

“Who is that guy?

He has a fresh face.”

“Spending two hundred thousand on a pair of Wenwan peach pits, someone’s playing the fool.

Could he have been swayed by the auctioneer?”

“Judging by his clothes, he doesn’t look like a real rich person.

Could it be that he can’t afford other items at the auction and is picking up what others don’t want in order to stand out and attract the attention of Shen Yan and Dongfang Yunqi?”

The crowd was abuzz with conversation, essentially concluding that Ye Fan’s bid of two hundred thousand was brainless.

Xiao Yichen saw Ye Fan as well and a faint sneer appeared on his handsome face.

Zhao Shuai Jiang, Tang Mingyi, and others all looked at Ye Fan in surprise.

They knew from dinner at Mingxuan that although Ye Fan was a remarkable person, he came from a humble background and didn’t have the financial capability to spend so frivolously on a trinket.

Bobo was also surprised and worried; she quietly tugged at Ye Fan’s clothing and whispered urgently, “Brother Ye, those Wenwan peach pits aren’t as mysterious as the auctioneer claimed, they’re not worth that price!”

Ye Fan turned his head slightly, a calm smile on his face, and whispered back, “Don’t worry, I have my own plan.”

Shen Yan and Dongfang Yunqi also turned their gazes toward Ye Fan.

When Shen Yan saw that it was Ye Fan, a smile couldn’t help but appear on her lips, and she greeted him with lively eyes that seemed to speak.

Shen Yan and Dongfang Yunqi were too eye-catching, especially since they were seated at the front.

So when they looked back, Ye Fan noticed immediately.

Therefore, when Shen Yan greeted him with her gaze, Ye Fan immediately nodded back with a smile.

“You know him?” Dongfang Yunqi asked Shen Yan in a low voice, slightly surprised.

Shen Yan nodded slightly and said, “Mm, he’s an interesting friend of mine.”

“Oh?” Dongfang Yunqi’s interest was piqued, and she said with a light smile, “Anyone who is considered interesting by Sister Yan must be very interesting indeed.

After the auction ends, I too want to get to know him.”

As the two conversed in hushed tones, they maintained their turned heads facing Ye Fan.

Others who saw this couldn’t help but feel envious; Ye Fan had actually managed to draw the attention of Shen Yan and Dongfang Yunqi, and it seemed that he had even sparked a discussion between them.

Just then, a shout suddenly drowned out the buzzing chatter of the crowd.

“Two hundred and ten thousand!”

Everyone’s attention was immediately drawn away as they turned to look, discovering that the person who bid was a young man sitting next to Xiao Yichen.

“Eh, isn’t that Zhou Hongzhi, the sole son of Riyang Group’s chairman?

He’s joining in the fray too?” the crowd couldn’t help but silently remark.

“Three hundred thousand!”

Ye Fan called out immediately, raising the bid by a hundred thousand.

He had initially thought that he could win the pair of top-grade playthings walnuts for two hundred thousand since everybody else seemed uninterested, but to his surprise, someone was competing with him for it.

“Three hundred and one thousand!” Zhou Hongzhi promptly followed with a bid.

Hearing this, Ye Fan frowned slightly, noticing Zhou Hongzhi’s bidding style was quite annoying, as it seemed designed merely to drive the price up.

“Hongzhi, do you know him?” Xiao Yichen suddenly asked Zhou Hongzhi in a low voice.

A resentful look flashed in Zhou Hongzhi’s eyes as he bit his teeth and said, “More than that, I have a grudge against him.

I’ve been looking for him, and I didn’t expect to run into him here; it’s his bad luck!”

At this time, Helian Bobo also recognized Zhou Hongzhi and quickly said to Ye Fan, “That guy seems to have had a previous dispute with us.

Last time we went to the Gulan Martial Arts Hall, it seemed like it was he who was blocking the hall entrance to forcefully confess to my master, and then we interfered, resulting in a conflict.”

“Mm, I’ve recognized him as well,” Ye Fan nodded slightly, not taking Zhou Hongzhi too seriously.

“Three hundred and ten thousand.” Ye Fan called out his bid in a calm manner.

“Three hundred and eleven thousand!” Zhou Hongzhi immediately followed with a bid.

Ye Fan showed a faint smile and paused in his bidding.

“Three hundred and eleven thousand, once!” the auctioneer called out excitedly.

He had originally felt sorry for the pair of playthings walnuts, not expecting there to be a connoisseur.

Now that the bidding had reached three hundred and eleven thousand, it slightly exceeded their real collection value.

Ye Fan did not bid.

“Three hundred and eleven thousand, twice!” the auctioneer called out again.

Now, Zhou Hongzhi became somewhat anxious.

This kid wanted the pair of playthings walnuts, didn’t he?

Bid already!

He only wanted to inflate the price to make Ye Fan overpay; he certainly did not want to win the bid himself.

Although winning the bid would be satisfying, he would not only spend the money, but he would also be ridiculed as a fool who overpaid, which would compromise his reputation in their circles.

The auctioneer, clearly wanting to sell at a higher price, deliberately mentioned the benefits of the playthings walnuts once again.

However, nobody placed a bid; Ye Fan didn’t either.

Seeing that really no one else was calling out, the auctioneer had no choice but to call out a third time: “Three hundred and eleven thousand…”

“Three hundred and twenty thousand.” Ye Fan finally called out, unhurried.

Zhou Hongzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

He didn’t continue to inflate the price, for fear that Ye Fan would really back out.

Consequently, Ye Fan successfully acquired the pair of top-grade playthings walnuts.