Xiang Tianhong's friend was a middle-aged man who was holding the auction catalog and talking at length about the items up for auction that day.
Luo Yunhang listened to this, and his confusion deepened.
“That’s how these underground auctions are; they have things you wouldn’t expect, which is why they’re so cautious. But we should see a lot of good stuff today,” Xiang Tianhong said meaningfully.
These "unexpected things" he mentioned were warm things dug out of the ground.
Luo Yunhang understood. He hadn't expected the antique market to be so chaotic. Despite the strict laws against it, some people were still secretly engaging in such activities, and it was impossible to stop them.
No wonder these people carry guns with them; it's like risking their lives. If they get caught, it's a serious crime.
As for these people, they only knew about the underground auction before they came. They only found out about the auction items when they arrived at the scene. You couldn't even leak the news.
Once the auction is over, whatever you want to do, the place will be long gone.
I don't know whether to call it lucky or unlucky.
Fortunately, I was able to attend a decent auction with many genuine and high-quality items.
Unfortunately, he couldn't bring all of these things home, haha.
Luo Yunhang was lost in thought when Xiang Tianhong suddenly nudged him.
Luo Yunhang quickly looked in the direction he indicated.
Two Japanese people were talking incoherently, while a Chinese translator was introducing the auction items to them.
Xiang Tianhong and Luo Yunhang's expressions instantly turned sour. How could there be Japanese people here?
Xiang Tianhong's friend also noticed this and told them, "Watanabe and Kawai are old acquaintances in the antique market. They have been active in China for the past two years, collecting some of China's rare and precious treasures."
Xiang Tianhong preferred research and didn't have much contact with antique dealers, so he didn't know the two Japanese men. Luo Yunhang was even less familiar with them.
Those Japanese bastards, if we hadn't met them, we wouldn't have said anything. But now that we've met them, we can't let them take away anything good.
Luo Yunhang thought to himself.
There's just one thing that's troubling me.
money!
Although he had more money than he could ever use in the bank, he only brought a little over 100,000 yuan in cash with him today. Xiang Tianhong was even less likely to come; they were just here to have some fun, and he only brought 70,000 to 80,000 yuan.
The two of them together only have 200,000 yuan. And look at the several large boxes at their feet, they must have made ample preparations and brought a lot of cash.
These underground auctions are all conducted in cash.
Luo Yunhang couldn't help but regret not bringing more cash; it was too late to leave now.
Judging from the current situation, there will probably be a lot of fresh and exciting things to come. If those two Japanese take even one of them away, he will be so angry that he won't be able to sleep.
Just when he was feeling lost and didn't know what to do, his savior arrived.
Then Yuan Tiangang swaggered in with his driver, Old Chen.
Yuan Tiangang seemed afraid that others wouldn't know he was rich, so the two of them each carried two large leather suitcases, making a total of four large leather suitcases, putting on quite a show.
"Brother Yuan!" Luo Yunhang quickly got up to take care of him.
Yuan Tiangang then noticed that Luo Yunhang and Xiang Tianhong had also arrived.
He quickly turned a corner and walked over: "What brings you two little ones here too? Is the thing all repaired?"
He's been busy every time he's invited them to events these past few months, but I didn't expect them to show up today.
"I'm almost done with my work, so I came out to get some fresh air," Luo Yunhang said, making room for him with two seats.
"Haha, you've heard there's something good to be had today? I brought a lot of money with me. And since you two are here too, let's go all out and get some good stuff." Yuan Tiangang sat down without any ceremony.
"Old Li, Old He, you two are here too?"
"Old Yuan, we're not as well-informed as you. If we had known this place would be this wild, we would have brought more cash," replied Lao He, Xiang Tianhong's friend.
"Haha, it's alright. Watching me, Old Yuan, dominate the battlefield is a wonderful thing!" Yuan Tiangang laughed.
His news was indeed a little better than theirs, but not by much. It said there was a batch of rare and valuable items, and you needed to bring a lot of money to have a chance to buy them, so he simply brought four suitcases.
Whether we buy or not, let's first build up our momentum; even if we lose the argument, we shouldn't lose face.
"Brother Yuan, it's good that you came. We didn't know the situation and didn't bring much money. If that Japanese guy wants to buy our treasure later, don't be shy. Just bid. If you make a profit, it's yours; if you lose, it's on me!" Luo Yunhang whispered in Yuan Tiangang's ear.
Only then did Yuan Tiangang notice the two Japanese men at the opposite table.
“Aren’t those Watanabe and Kawai? How did they get the news? Alright, your Brother Yuan isn’t a coward, let’s team up and take them down.” Yuan Tiangang said hurriedly.
The group had been chatting for a short while when the auction began.
"Hello everyone, my name is Yuan Laosan. I am very happy to welcome you all. Before our auction officially begins, let me first explain the rules of the auction..." A short, middle-aged man announced from the temporary stage in the middle.
He didn't waste any time; after explaining the rules and procedures, the first item was immediately put up for auction.
"This is a piece of porcelain from the Qing Dynasty. The starting bid is 10,000 yuan. Those who are interested can line up to come up and appreciate it."
Of course, people need to see it before they'll be willing to buy it.
Luo Yunhang now possesses many stunning and exquisite porcelain pieces, and has long since lost interest in these "commonplace" items.
Seeing that the Japanese man didn't go up to look either, he figured he wasn't planning to buy anything, so he didn't go up to look either.
Yuan Tiangang also showed little interest in such things.
Xiang Tianhong and Lao He went up to join in the fun, and after looking around, they shook their heads. It was just an ordinary piece of porcelain, but it was indeed an old object from the Qing Dynasty.
In the end, this piece of porcelain sold for 20,000.
"The second item is a seal with the two characters 'Liu Yong' engraved on it. It should be the seal of Liu Yong, a minister of the Qing Dynasty. The starting bid is 50,000. Gentlemen, young and old, come up and take a look." As soon as Yuan Laosan said this, everyone in the audience was shocked.
Liu Yong?
Could it be that all the things we photographed today were brought out from Liu Yong's tomb?
Yuan Laosan certainly wouldn't dare to say directly that he robbed Liu Yong's tomb, but this seal alone can explain a lot.
The man who snapped up the first piece of porcelain was overjoyed. It was one of Liu Yong's burial items, and he got it for only 20,000 yuan—it was such a bargain!
In an instant, everyone felt that it was so ordinary, but now they regretted it so much.
He hurriedly went up to examine the seal.
Luo Yunhang also went up to join in the fun, wanting to see if it was real or just a gimmick by Yuan Laosan.
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