Do Not Speak Ill of My Mother!
Chapter 176 Boss Tao is determined to win

Chapter 176: 176 Boss Tao is determined to win

Unlike the conventional seated auction, Kang Family Auction House provided completely private booth service.

Many private buyers were not willing to disclose their collections publicly, and to protect their identities, each booth at their auctions was of an enclosed type.

Inside every booth was a tablet where a price could be entered. Buyers could either hand-write the price or use the buttons provided to increase the bid by amounts ranging from ten thousand to one million. Once the increase was confirmed, the auctioneer’s overhead LED screen would display the bid amount from the respective booth number.

Besides those with insider information, no one knew who was sitting in those rooms. There was no such thing as courtesies derived from relationships; bidding was very free.

The starting price of the first auction item wasn’t high; it mainly served as a means to draw out other bids.

The bidding started at fifty thousand, with guests from booths number 8 and 15 each adding ten thousand at a time.

When the price reached one hundred and fifty thousand, the speed of bidding from both sides had slowed down compared to before.

Boss Tao sat leisurely on the sofa, his tone very relaxed, "Meimei, it’s your first time here, and you might not be aware of some unspoken rules at the auction house."

Wang Meitong was eager to learn, "Meimei would like to hear Brother Tao’s expert opinions."

"Apart from the items that some people fiercely compete over, most people have an understanding of the value of the auction items!" Boss Tao, looking like a knowledgeable teacher, lit a cigarette. "Take this blue and white porcelain, for example. Although it is from the Qing Dynasty, there are many of them in circulation, and they aren’t as scarce as ones from before the Qing."

Upon hearing this, Boss Shi nodded, "I remember last month at the Futeng auction in the capital city, there was a similar piece of blue and white porcelain that went for two hundred thousand, right?"

Boss Tao chuckled, "This piece, although better than the one last month, won’t sell for more than three hundred thousand. You see, after competing with me for a few rounds, they’re now bidding slower and slower, indicating hesitation about whether to continue raising the price. I estimate, you see, that their ’Pass price,’ or what’s commonly referred to as the ’P price’ in the industry, is around two hundred and sixty thousand."

Wang Meitong was impressed, "Brother Tao is really amazing!"

Her camera wasn’t aimed at the two magnates, but rather focused on the 3D projected model on the table.

When the fans saw this scene and heard Boss Tao’s explanation, they were all awed.

"Such high-tech, really classy!"

"What high-tech? I can create a similar projection with a smartphone and a few pieces of glass. Isn’t there a tutorial like that on Bilibili?"

"Laughing to death, are we surfing the same internet? I just came across it last night."

"Is the focus on high-tech? The point is the auction they are at is really posh, right? A vase auctioned off for two hundred and thirty thousand?!"

"Didn’t you hear Top Brother say that the price will top out at most at three hundred thousand?"

"When I was getting married, I had to scrape together even the eighteen thousand for the dowry, yet rich people casually spend two or three hundred thousand on a vase... wuuu..."

The lively discussion continued among everyone, while Brother Tao here raised the price of the vase to two hundred and sixty thousand.

As expected, the guests in booths number 8 and 10 hesitated for a whole minute without making a bid.

Brother Tao raised his chin, looking determined to win.

At today’s auction, he, Old Shi, and Old Qian had pooled nearly a billion in funds, determined to outbid Boss Cai for that piece of land.

Everything else was just trivial.

It was somewhat amusing that, in order to thwart them, Boss Cai went through some connections to have the land auctioned here at Boss Kang’s place.

Didn’t he think... there are only so many top real estate developers in City C.

Who else could possibly take it on?

It was all just a formality.

One could see that when pushed to desperate straits, people could make foolish moves.

But this was good! Through an auction process, all contracts and transactions must be signed onsite. Once he secured the bid, there would be no fear of Boss Cai reneging on the sale, which saved a lot of trouble!

He made a big show of his presence, even allowing Wang Meitong to live stream, not in the least worried about leaking information about the auction items. The reason was simple—he wanted this moment to be recorded! To document how, amid Boss Cai’s anxious waiting, they threw down a fortune to snatch up his lifeline!

Boss Tao was a very vindictive person. Since Boss Cai was unwilling to cooperate nicely, he had no choice but to be ruthless.

The auctioneer raised his gavel, "260,000, once..."

Wang Meitong chimed in, "It seems just as Brother Tao had guessed; the guests in the other private rooms are preparing to give up!"

"260,000, twice..."

Boss Tao hooked up the corner of his lips, "Just small change, buying it for good luck to start with."

The relaxed tone made the viewers feel envious and resentful.

"260,000—" The auctioneer was interrupted by a light from private room number one.

He saw the amount, startled, "Private room number one bids 300,000! Any further bids?"

Boss Tao took a sharp breath and sat up from the sofa, "Private room number one? Who are they?"

They had been to Boss Kang’s auctions many times and had never seen when he had ever rented out private room number one?!

Old Shi also sat up in surprise, "Could it be Old Master Yan?"

The Kang Family held a significant status in City C, and since Boss Kang had said that private room number one was reserved for esteemed guests, no one would dare to boldly ask for that spot.

Privately, everyone thought—it was reserved for Old Master Yan.

Old Master Yan was getting on in years and didn’t socialize much, but apart from him... who else was worthy of sitting in private room number one?!

Boss Tao hesitated for a moment, then decided to test the other party’s limit by raising the price of the blue and white porcelain to 350,000.

"350,000, once!"

"350,000, twice!"

Yan Yueqing furrowed her brows, "Ah, the person from private room six is bidding so slowly. What are they hesitating about? If you like it, just buy it."

She entered a price, going for a quick decision.

"Ding—" The bid was refreshed, and the auctioneer gripped the gavel tightly, "Private room number one bids 500,000!"

"500,000?!" Boss Tao fell silent.

Did the other party not understand the value of the item... or did they simply not care about money at all?

It is normal for auction items to be sold at a premium.

Some even use auctions to launder money, and Boss Tao had seen plenty of such cases...

However, the Kang Family Auction House prided itself on being reasonable and legal for audit!

If they weren’t going down the money-laundering route... why did the person in private room number one insist on paying nearly double the value for this vase?

Wang Meitong looked eagerly at Boss Tao, her tone persuasive, "Brother Tao, this price is too much above the real value, maybe the other party is trying to raise your bid? If we add more, they might drop out immediately!"

Boss Tao thought for two seconds, "Meimei is right."

Then, he pressed the red give-up button.

The auctioneer called out, "500,000 once!"

"500,000 twice!"

"500,000 three times!"

"Sold!" As he hammered down, he said excitedly, "Congratulations to private room number one for acquiring the Double Dragon Playing with Pearl Blue and White Porcelain Vase!"

As an auctioneer, he got a commission for every item sold.

It was like being in sales—if an item itself was worth 100 yuan, selling it for 100 yuan was just enough to break even. But the more you sell, the more profit there is, and the boss’s commission to you would naturally increase!