Someone wants to challenge the Tang family!

The guests all turned their heads, secretly wondering what kind of background this generous young man had that dared to suppress the Tang family in Haishan, and not only twice, once to suppress Tang Ke, but now to suppress Tang Rui again—what a passionate young man!

Tang Rui clearly hadn't expected someone like Cheng Yaojin to suddenly appear out of nowhere, and even dare to spout such nonsense. This was a competition between him and Tang Ke, and he didn't want anyone else getting involved. Besides, even if someone wanted to get involved, they'd have to consider their own status. In this game of the Tang family, ordinary people weren't even qualified to watch, let alone participate.

What's more, this person is a complete stranger.

Tang Rui frowned. "Who are you? Are you here to stand up for my useless cousin? This is a matter for the Tang family, and you'd better not get involved." He felt that Duanmu Ci was there to take sides.

Duanmu Ci smiled reservedly, "I am also very interested in this calligraphy copybook, but it has nothing to do with your cousin." Then he added, "I have no close relationship with Tang Ke." Not only did he not have a close relationship, he didn't even have a "superficial" relationship with him.

Tang Rui clearly didn't believe it. "Then what are you arguing with me about?"

Duanmu Ci was losing patience. "Because I like it."

Tang Rui was furious; few dared to speak to him in such a tone. Just as Tang Rui was about to retaliate, the auctioneer on stage struck the jade chime again, clearly to warn certain guests.

Tang Rui sneered and remained silent. He knew all the local tycoons and prominent families, and he was also familiar with some wealthy people from other places who frequently traveled to Haishan, but he had never seen Duanmu Ci. Haishan was the economic center of the country. A wealthy person who had never appeared in Haishan was at most just an ordinary local business owner. How much power could he possibly have?

Tang Ke has already been defeated, so how many blows can this little dragon from out of town take from Young Master Tang Rui?

"15 million!" Tang Rui didn't hesitate to drastically raise the price. He wanted to sweep away all obstacles with overwhelming force and establish his reputation as Tang Rui!

However, this prestige was of no use to Duanmu Ci. 15 million seemed like a lot, but in ancient times it was only a few thousand taels of silver, which was the cost of a few Yangzhou slender horses for salt merchants in the Ming Dynasty. What was that?

Duanmu Ci's description remained unchanged: "16 million!"

Seeing that Duanmu Ci still wouldn't give in, Tang Rui shouted loudly, "18 million!"

It increased by 2 million in one go!

Tang Rui's true colors have been revealed; the competition has reached a fever pitch, and this is both the final battle and the end. The outcome will soon be decided!

Tang Rui was no ordinary fool; he was well-versed in the ways of auctions. Since his side possessed superior strength, he needed to intimidate others with sheer force of will. While intimidation might seem intangible, it wasn't nonexistent. When you were determined to demonstrate your strength and intimidate other buyers, you had to be bold enough to raise the price, showing your unwavering determination and making your opponents reconsider whether continuing the fierce bidding was worthwhile.

Tang Rui remained unfazed, while Duanmu Ci stood firm as a mountain. Their spirits were similar, but the underlying qualities they possessed were worlds apart. Tang Ke's ability to spend lavishly without batting an eye wasn't due to his deep cunning, but rather because his playboy temper had flared up, and he was simply trying to settle a score.

The reason Duanmu Ci was able to keep up with the bidding without changing his expression was because he genuinely didn't care; all he wanted was to get back that "IOU".

Duanmu Ci took a sip of tea to moisten his throat, "19 million!" The tea was top-quality Lushan Yunwu, brewed perfectly.

The guests could no longer contain themselves and began to discuss the astonishing price of 44 million for the Qing Dynasty enamel porcelain piece. However, no one was particularly surprised, because it was worth it! Recently, the price of porcelain on the international market has been rising. If you spend tens of millions to buy it here today, it might double in value if it is auctioned again at Sotheby's tomorrow! So for this kind of sure-fire deal, no one would be surprised if someone offered a lot of money.

However, this Su Shi calligraphy copybook is different; its price will only reach seven or eight million at most, with little room for appreciation. Spending tens of millions to buy this copybook is almost like throwing money down the drain.

This is like if Japan spent $100 million to buy a V-22 Osprey fighter jet from a US arms manufacturer, everyone would think it's perfectly normal. But if Japan spent $1 million to buy a plastic remote-controlled airplane from a factory in Yiwu, China, the whole world would think the Japanese have gone mad!

Qing Dynasty enamel porcelain is like the American V-22 Osprey aircraft, and Su Shi's calligraphy is like a plastic remote-controlled airplane from a factory in Yiwu, China.

This is not to say that Su Dongpo's calligraphy is worthless; on the contrary, his calligraphy is very valuable. It's just that this particular piece of calligraphy is not that valuable—at least not worth more than 10 million.

Spending money like it's nothing is true generosity! Compared to that, spending tens of millions on porcelain is utterly pathetic!

Now that things had come to this, Tang Rui could no longer remain calm; on the contrary, his face was quite gloomy.

Tang Ke was delighted and, adding fuel to the fire, chuckled, "My cousin has plenty of money; surely a mere ten or twenty million is nothing to him. Quickly make an offer to him, lest you embarrass the Tang family!" This sarcastic remark was extremely precise and to the point; this fellow must have been a master bayonet fighter in the Eighth Route Army in his past life.

Tang Rui pursed his lips and remained silent. His father was merely the second young master of the Tang family, in charge of sales and finance; he wasn't Bill Gates. He only had the authority to allocate 20 million yuan to find a birthday gift for his grandfather, which was double that of Tang Ke, but judging from the situation, it seemed that 20 million yuan wouldn't be enough!

The auctioneer began counting, and Tang Rui gritted his teeth, "20 million!" He was betting that Duanmu Ci's target price was the same as his, also 20 million!

The psychological price point is a strange thing. For example, 998 and 1000 aren't that much different, but 998 feels like a bargain. Even though it's only a few dollars difference, very few people can see through it. Tang Rui is betting that Duanmu Ci won't be able to overcome this hurdle!

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!