Chapter 274: Chapter 274 Three Hundred Million_1
"Ladies and gentlemen, today thirty percent of the proceeds from the auction will be donated entirely to the disaster area, so please give generously!"
"The auction begins now!"
With the announcement from the host, the ceremony ladies pushed the first item of the day onto the stage.
It was a bronze laughing Buddha.
Nine cameras focused simultaneously on the laughing Buddha.
Immediately, the big screen at the venue displayed nine sets of close-up shots from different angles.
The big screens inside the private rooms also showed the real-time synchronized images.
From the uneven spots on the Buddha statue and the varied patina colors, one could tell.
The age of this Buddha statue, was indeed ancient.
However, despite its age, the exquisite craftsmanship made the audience gasp in admiration.
As per the sequence, the Buddha statue was first brought to the appraisal table at one side of the stage.
Sitting at the appraisal table were three white-haired elderly gentlemen.
Each one of them was a towering figure in the world of antique playthings, invited by Bai Yunfei at great expense and through many favors.
These three were not there to appraise the items, but to lend their prestige to this auction, elevating its style and influence.
After all, Bai Yunfei’s reputation alone was enough to guarantee no counterfeit goods would be auctioned.
The three master appraisers, each wearing gloves, closely examined the Buddha statue and then gave it a high valuation.
As the saying goes, a word from a master could triple its value.
The starting bid was five million.
Before the bidding had gone on for long, it had already reached ten million.
"Thirteen million!"
"Fifteen million!"
"Eighteen million!"
"Fifty million!"
While the regular seats were in the heat of the bidding, a voice suddenly came from the top-tier private room.
It stunned everyone present.
Because the top-tier private rooms were separated by a privacy glass and an additional layer of bulletproof glass,
those outside could only hear the voice and not know who was making the bid inside.
"Holy shit! Fifty million? Are you kidding me? No matter how valuable the laughing Buddha is, it can’t be worth that much."
"What do you know? The people sitting in there don’t care about a mere few tens of millions. What they want is a lucky start, a matter of face!"
"Ah, to be a top-tier boss really is something else. If I could someday have the privilege to sit in there, how great would that be!"
"Enough, enough, stop dreaming, would you? Wake up."
After confirming three times that no one else would bid higher,
the auctioneer brought down the hammer, sold!
Inside the top-tier private room.
Hu Wansan was all smiles, basking in triumph.
"A mere bunch of ants daring to compete with me, you think you are worthy?!"
As he said this, he glanced at Ye Fei by his side, intentionally or otherwise.
The latter, naturally, only had a slight smile on his lips, remaining indifferent.
The other tycoons hurried to congratulate Hu Wansan for securing such a good omen and praised his significant contribution to the disaster area.
But Hu Wansan hadn’t thought about doing a good deed at all.
His aim was straightforward: to ingratiate himself with Bai Yunfei.
After all, Bai Yunfei held the life-and-death power over his group’s most significant project.
Then, one antique after another took center stage.
Ninety million.
Sixty-three million.
One hundred and twenty million.
Seventy-one million.
None of the items sold for less than fifty million.
Moreover, about half of them were taken by Hu Wansan.
Hu Wansan grew increasingly smug,
casting a sidelong glance at Ye Fei, "Mr. Ye, you wouldn’t happen to be here as a lucky charm, would you? Not making a single bid in so long, that’s really not quite proper, is it?"
"Oh yes, yes, I remember now. How can the owner of a small clinic barely clearing ten million in monthly revenue afford such precious antiques? It’s like forcing a widow to have children, I’m expecting too much of you. Hahaha!"
Ye Fei didn’t have the time to pay attention to Hu Wansan,
since his focus was now entirely on the eighth item that had just been presented.
It was a studded lion’s head.
As soon as the item was presented, including the masters, everyone was dumbfounded.
Thinking that this early Qing Dynasty lion’s head, despite its fine condition and rarity,
was still just a lion’s head and absolutely not worth more than two hundred thousand.
How did such a low-grade item end up in Tianbao Pavilion’s auction?
Bai Yunfei’s face darkened immediately.
The butler scolded at once, "What’s going on! Who brought such a low-grade item here!"
The subordinate hastily explained, "Ma— maybe someone carelessly got the lots mixed up."
"Change it back at once!"
"Yes..."
Just as the subordinate was about to remove the lion’s head,
a voice from within the top-tier private room stopped him.
"Wait! I bid three hundred million for this lion’s head."
What?!
That single sentence confused everyone in attendance.
A broken lion’s head, worth less than two hundred thousand, was being bid at three hundred million?
Had they gone mad or stupid?!
Even though it was for charity, there was no need to go so wildly over the top.
Bai Yunfei frowned at the sound and quickly stepped into the private room.
Meanwhile, inside the private room, Hu Wansan was pointing fiercely at Ye Fei.
"Three hundred million?! You, just a small clinic owner, can come up with such an amount? Who are you trying to fool?"
"Don’t think because Brother Yunfei treats you as an honored guest you can do whatever you want here."
"I warn you, making wild, empty promises in an event like this can have severe consequences! Even if Brother Yunfei is magnanimous enough not to blame you, I will not let you off!"
