Damn, How could my family be so wealthy?!-Chapter 472 - 471 Misjudgment

The time between the second and third bids wasn’t very long.

It was just a few minutes.

But for those attending the auction today, those few minutes felt incredibly long.

Those who were not involved in bidding for the last item, in theory, should have been quite relaxed.

Everyone could have just watched with indifference, as if the matter did not concern them.

However, since Elder Su was the protagonist today, everyone felt they could not remain aloof.

Now, everyone was filled with dissatisfaction towards Old Man Gu.

Of course, since Old Master Su himself hadn’t said anything,

everyone remained quiet at this time, after all, they shouldn’t overstep their bounds; everything depended on Elder Su’s attitude.

Old Man Gu, seeing that Su Junqiang’s side was temporarily quiet, couldn’t help but feel anxious.

Even if it was just a few minutes, there was still the possibility for something unexpected to happen.

Old Man Gu knew that to truly win this battle between himself and Su Junqiang, he had to wait until the auctioneer’s hammer fell.

Old Man Gu’s eyes were no longer on Su Junqiang now.

After all, he could only see the back of Su Junqiang’s head, and though Su Junqiang took good care of himself, with no signs of thinning hair,

there was nothing of interest for Old Man Gu to see there.

Old Man Gu’s gaze was fixed tightly on the little hammer in the auctioneer’s hand.

He was just waiting for that hammer to strike down, for then he would be the ultimate victor.

Compared to Old Man Gu’s confident demeanor, Young Master Gu’s face clearly showed displeasure.

Though Young Master Gu wasn’t the person in charge of the Gu Family,

he had a very clear idea of the family’s finances; if not a hundred percent, then at least ninety percent.

Honestly, Young Master Gu was very reluctant for the elder to bid for Tang Bohu’s "Musing on the Way While Riding a Donkey."

If the elder ended up winning the authentic Tang Bohu painting, it would not be a good thing for the Gu Family.

At most, it would just satisfy the elder’s sense of having won a battle.

But what good was that triumph?

It would only prevent the people of the Gu Family from living comfortably.

Besides, Young Master Gu was not as pretentious as the elder.

Young Master Gu knew that even if the elder acquired Tang Bohu’s "Musing on the Way While Riding a Donkey," it wouldn’t help him gain the so-called face he desired.

Everyone at the auction had seen what unfolded,

and even Young Master Gu felt that his grandfather’s actions were somewhat rogue-like.

Wouldn’t others feel the same?

After all, these tycoons were already very dissatisfied with Old Man Gu.

Naturally, they wouldn’t "appreciate" Old Man Gu’s somewhat petty behavior.

At this moment, Young Master Gu could only pray that Su Mu would make his bid soon.

Young Master Gu felt that only by making the old man face reality, could he be prevented from harboring unrealistic dreams.

That way, Young Master Gu wouldn’t have to lower his standard of living due to the elder’s purchase of a painting that had no practical use.

You have to understand, Young Master Gu had quite a few beauties and young stars out there.

It wouldn’t be possible to maintain such close "friendly" relationships with those girls and little stars without a financial investment.

Of this, Young Master Gu was very well aware.

Young Master Gu, accustomed to such luxuries, was naturally unwilling to see this situation unfold.

Compared to the anxiety of others, Elder Su, Su Mu, and Ah Fook were evidently much more composed.

Su Mu knew his grandfather had his own way of doing things and was content to sit on the side and enjoy the spectacle.

Ah Fook glanced at Elder Su and understood what he meant when he saw the elder’s right hand clenched into a fist.

With a look, Ah Fook communicated to Elder Su that he had received the elder’s message.

The subtle exchange between Elder Su and Ah Fook could be said to be almost nonexistent.

At least, it was imperceptible to others.

So, the rest were still there, worrying, fuming, and dissatisfied.

Old Man Gu, on the other hand, was still there, feeling smug and expectant.

Of course, Young Master Gu was praying.

After all, everyone, standing from different perspectives, held different hopes in their hearts.

The auctioneer glanced at the time, feeling that these few minutes were indeed too brief.

Because he hadn’t seen Mr. Fook raise his bidding paddle, the auctioneer naturally felt that this time was insufficient.

But even if the time felt short, it was nearly up.

There are rules to an auction, and at the end of the day, the auctioneer is just an employee, unable to do anything against the auction’s regulations.

With a heavy sigh in his heart, the auctioneer silently said, "I’m sorry."

With a sense of resigned determination, the auctioneer took a deep breath and decided to call out Old Man Gu’s latest bid, though very reluctantly, for the third time.

"One hundred million..."

Seeing the auctioneer’s lips finally move, Old Man Gu was so delighted he almost stood up from his seat.

The auctioneer was making the final call, wasn’t this a sign that he had finally "defeated" Su Junqiang?

Old Man Gu felt his moment of vindication had finally arrived.

Unfortunately, before Old Man Gu’s smile could fully blossom on his face, the auctioneer suddenly stopped speaking.

It wasn’t for any other reason but that the auctioneer had finally seen the long-awaited raise of Mr. Fook’s paddle.

"One hundred and seventy-eight million."

Likewise, without needing the auctioneer to call the price, Ah Fook announced the latest instruction from Elder Su.

One of Elder Su’s fingers represented ten million.

A clenched fist was naturally fifty million.

This small understanding was something Ah Fook could never misconstrue.

Old Man Gu’s latest bid was one hundred and twenty-eight million, and adding fifty million was one hundred and seventy-eight million.

It could be said that Elder Su’s move truly caught everyone by surprise.

"One hundred and seventy-eight million, Elder Su’s bid is one hundred and seventy-eight million."

"With this move, Elder Su is essentially making a bid equivalent to some people raising their paddle fifty times."

"Elder Su is truly Elder Su, I’m at a loss for words to describe it."

The first to snap back to reality was the auctioneer.

After all, having the wit to be an auctioneer meant his mind was certainly nimble.

With these words from the auctioneer, it was a direct comparison between Old Man Gu and Elder Su.

Wasn’t it Old Man Gu who would have to raise his paddle fifty times to match Elder Su’s single bid?

You see, Old Man Gu appeared very eager with his paddle, essentially raising it every time Su Junqiang upped the bid.

But compared to Su Junqiang’s boldness, Old Man Gu truly seemed stingy.

Every time Old Man Gu raised his paddle, he only added that one million.

Faced with such a comparison, even if one didn’t consider Su Junqiang’s background, the auctioneer could tell who was his true god.

A god would not be so miserly when making a move.

Therefore, it was unrealistic for Old Man Gu to try to salvage some so-called face in this manner.

Even if Old Man Gu managed to acquire the genuine Tang Bohu painting in the end, he would only be ridiculed.

"Elder Su bid 178 million, is there anyone else following?"

The auctioneer’s words fell short of directly addressing Old Man Gu.

After Elder Su made his move, everyone else had already given up on the idea of bidding.

After all, everyone was quite clear about their own limits.

Competing with Elder Su, wasn’t that just asking for trouble?

If things didn’t go well, one might even become the enemy of the entire business circle of Huadong City.

Only a fool would take such a risky action.

Unluckily, there was such a disagreeable fool at today’s auction.

Therefore, the auctioneer needed to address this "fool."

Of course, the auctioneer knew that Old Man Gu was not really a fool.

Now that Elder Su had raised the price to such a high level, the auctioneer thought that Old Man Gu probably didn’t have the courage to raise his paddle again, right?

The starting bid of 80 million had now reached 178 million.

This was more than double the initial amount.

If Old Man Gu were to raise his paddle again, even if he shamelessly only added one million, it would reach 179 million.

Thirty percent of 179 million would require over fifty million.

In other words, if Old Man Gu continued to bid foolishly, and if Elder Su ultimately indulged him,

Old Man Gu would have to cough up over fifty million in cash at the end of the auction today.

Of course, there would certainly be a contract involved.

Then, within the stipulated time, Old Man Gu would have to pay the full amount of that over 170 million.

In the auctioneer’s view, Old Man Gu was not foolish enough to go that far.

Old Man Gu would only end up being unable to come down from the stage and would also suffer financial loss if he insisted on doing something that was clearly impossible.

You see, a bidding paddle isn’t a toy for children to play house with; you can’t just raise it whenever you want.

Once you raise the bidding paddle, you are responsible for your actions.

That is to say, if Old Man Gu couldn’t pay the full amount of over 170 million in the end, he would still have to pay a significant compensation fee to the auction.

This compensation fee would not be less than the deposit.

As a regular at the auctions, Old Man Gu naturally understood this principle.

When Mr. Fook raised his paddle, the smile on Old Man Gu’s face froze.

Hearing Mr. Fook announce Su Junqiang’s latest bid, Old Man Gu completely lost his composure.

The first time, he raised the bid by ten million, the second time by twenty million, and now the third time, it was a fifty million increase.

Old Man Gu felt that Su Junqiang’s performance today was somewhat abnormal, completely different from what he had anticipated.

Today, Su Junqiang was very assertive, making Old Man Gu feel as if he was witnessing Su Junqiang’s sharp business acumen from years past.

Could it be because he had offended the young master of the Su Family at the start, and that’s why Su Junqiang was treating him so aggressively?

million, Old Man Gu knew that this price had fully exceeded his own expectations.

There was also an extremely important point: Old Man Gu simply couldn’t determine whether this would be Su Junqiang’s last bid.

Initially guessing that Su Junqiang would bid at most three times, Old Man Gu now felt that it was impossible for Su Junqiang to just stop like this.

Old Man Gu grew more and more convinced that Su Junqiang’s change of disposition was because he had provoked Su Junqiang by mocking the Su Family’s young master at the start.

Old Man Gu was now somewhat certain that if he continued to raise his paddle, Su Junqiang would not give him a chance.

Moreover, considering the way Su Junqiang was raising the bids, wouldn’t Su Junqiang’s next bid directly increase by a billion?

Thinking of these things, Old Man Gu’s back started to sweat slightly.

The Su Family was wealthy; they probably wouldn’t care whether it was a billion more or a billion less.

But it was different for Old Man Gu.

As the person in charge of the Gu Family, Old Man Gu was very clear about how much liquid assets the Gu Family had.

Never mind how much more Su Junqiang would bid.

Even the initial expectation of Old Man Gu, 130 million, was not so easy to come up with.

Fortunately, Old Man Gu felt that it wasn’t necessary to pay the full amount all at once today.

Old Man Gu thought he could somehow scrape the payment together by borrowing from here and there.

But now the price had clearly exceeded Old Man Gu’s expectations, and he really was powerless.

Hold the bidding paddle in his hand somewhat in despair, Old Man Gu very much wanted to lift it up.

Unfortunately, at this moment, Old Man Gu’s arms felt as if they were being pressed down by something, utterly devoid of strength.

"I see that none of the distinguished guests here seem to be moving, so I’m going to call the price."

"170 million for the first time."

"This is the highest bid so far at our auction today, and I believe it will also be the final price."

The auctioneer’s over-the-top demeanor was honestly a bit offensive to Old Man Gu’s eyes.

Old Man Gu noticed that every time he raised his paddle, the auctioneer seemed rather displeased.

Even when calling out his bid, the auctioneer appeared to be doing so perfunctorily.

But it was different with Su Junqiang.

Every time Su Junqiang’s bid was mentioned, the auctioneer seemed as if he had taken a stimulant.

It made Old Man Gu somewhat suspect whether the auctioneer was working for Su Junqiang.

Of course, Old Man Gu also knew that this was just wild speculation, and the answer was definitely impossible.

If the auctioneer were working for Su Junqiang, then Su Junqiang wouldn’t have appeared here today.

Who auctions their own things?

Old Man Gu knew that Su Junqiang was not someone who would idly engage in such activities.

Thus, the auctioneer’s differential treatment also aggravated Old Man Gu.

Old Man Gu felt that today everyone was revolving around Su Junqiang.

He was completely and utterly ignored.

Actually, if it were any other day, Old Man Gu would certainly be one of those flattering and orbiting Su Junqiang.

But just because today Old Man Gu misstepped by offending Su Mu, and was sarcastically retorted by Su Junqiang, did he feel that he lost face in front of so many people and wanted to regain some ground.

Of course, this also included a factor where Old Man Gu misjudged Su Junqiang’s current personality.