The Second Map Fragment Appears
This kind of thing would've caused quite a stir in a normal auction, but the noble house heirs obviously weren't interested in it here. In the end, it was won by a normal merchant with a red invitation card, and the price wasn't more than 150,000 RMB.
The third item was the map fragment that Lin Yi had his eyes on. The starting price was 100,000 RMB, and when the auctioneer showed it, there was a brief silence in the hall.
Because the description on the map was very brief, and the lines on the map were not clear, no one knew what this thing was used for. Even if it was an antique, there was no corresponding appraisal report, and it was not even clear when it was made! If it wasn't an antique, there was no explanation of what it was used for. It was similar to the hand-drawn maps used by bandits in the old days, and it was just a fragment!
This kind of thing didn't have any real value at all. It was fine to sell it in the antique market to people who didn't know anything about it, but in an auction, it seemed a little out of place.
However, there were always some strange things that appeared in auctions, and while many of them were left unsold, there were always a few of them every year.
In fact, the auctioneer didn't know what this map fragment was, so there was no introduction.
Therefore, there was no introduction at all. According to the introduction on the booklet, this was a strange sheepskin map. It might be a treasure map of a huge treasure!
Of course, he also said that it was just a possibility. There were many possibilities, like picking up a million RMB on the streets. No one would believe something as ridiculous as that!
The noble house heirs and rich merchants who came to the auction weren't idiots. They were here for things that were useful to them, and naturally, they wouldn't participate in anything they didn't want!
An auction wasn't a market, after all. Things they didn't want had to be bought in the end, and they couldn't go back on their word. As a result, no one made a bid for a useless map fragment like this.
It wasn't like the auctioneer hadn't encountered a situation like this before. There were plenty of items that were left unsold, and this one wouldn't make much of a difference. He cleared his throat. "Auction item number three, a sheepskin map. Anyone up for bidding?"
"Ha, 110,000!" Fatty Lai raised the sign in his hand. "This thing might really be a treasure. I'll buy it and study it!"
Fatty Lai's words attracted a lot of confused and disdainful gazes from the crowd. Finding the treasure with a tattered map like this? That was ridiculous. Fatty Lai looked like a rich nouveau riche, and those who knew him were confused. Fatty Lai was a smart guy, so why would he buy such a tattered map? Could it be that he wanted to show off? Those who didn't know him all thought that Fatty Lai was an idiot with nowhere to spend his money.
"One hundred and ten thousand. Mister No. 183 offers one hundred and ten thousand. Is there anyone with a higher price?" The auctioneer was slightly taken aback. However, it was naturally good that there were people participating. Although it was only 110,000, 20% of the profits would go to the auction house. Even if a mosquito was small, it was still meat!
"One hundred and ten thousand going once … One hundred and ten thousand going twice …" The auctioneer looked at the people present, hoping that someone would raise the price, but unfortunately, no one did.
These rich kids weren't idiots. They wouldn't bid for something useless, and they might even become enemies with the other bidders! Those who could participate in this auction were people who put profit first. No one was willing to do something that would harm others without benefiting themselves.
If they were useless, then they might as well not participate and leave it to someone who was useful. But if they were useful, then they'd definitely fight until their necks were red. Messing around like this was rare, unless the two people had a grudge against each other.
In a corner of the auction house, a man's face tensed up when he heard that someone was bidding. He said into the earpiece, "Second Uncle, do you need me to raise the price?"
"The other party seems to be very cautious. I don't know if he wants it or not." A middle-aged man's voice came from the earpiece, "Let's see if we can add ten or twenty thousand symbolically."
"Okay!" The man replied. When the auctioneer said "One hundred and ten thousand going thrice", he raised the sign in his hand and said, "One hundred and twenty thousand!"
"Oh? Looks like it's something good. I'll have to raise the price then! " Fatty Lai looked at the man with a surprised expression. He didn't wait for the auctioneer to speak and stood up, "One hundred and twenty five thousand!"
"Huh?" Everyone at the scene froze. They were wondering if the scroll was something good when they saw someone bidding for it, but after hearing Fatty Lai's words, they understood. Fatty Lai's way of bidding was enough to tell that he wasn't determined to get it! Otherwise, why would he bid like this? It was like he was being shameless.
Although the minimum price for an item with a starting price of one hundred thousand was five thousand, it was rare for people to do that. They usually increased the price by ten thousand or ten thousand. Fatty Lai's increase could only mean that he didn't care about this item. If someone tried to compete with him, he'd just raise the price symbolically. If the other party raised the price too high, he'd just give up.
So the crowd wasn't interested in participating. Participating now was equivalent to starting a feud. It was all up to these two.
"Second Uncle, what does he mean by this?" The man asked hesitantly.
"I don't know. Add another five thousand and we'll see. If he raises the price again, just give up," the middle-aged man said.
"One hundred and thirty thousand!" The man raised the sign in his hand.
"One hundred and thirty five thousand!" Fatty Lai shook his butt and raised the sign.
"Give up!" the middle-aged man said, "Get someone to investigate his background!"
"Okay," the man said and didn't raise the sign again.
"One hundred and thirty five thousand going once, one hundred and thirty five thousand going twice, sold!" The auctioneer slammed the hammer down. The people who wanted to watch the show were disappointed.
The person bidding against Fatty Lai was obviously just playing around. He didn't have any intention of getting it, and Fatty Lai probably had the same intention.
As a result, no one thought that the map fragment would be anything good. Fatty Lai didn't look happy at all after the deal was done, and they were even more certain that he was only bidding for it for fun. He wasn't going to get it for real.
"Congratulations to Mister No. 183 for winning this sheepskin scroll at the price of 135,000. Later, a staff member will contact you to discuss the delivery." After the auctioneer finished speaking, he began to introduce the next auction item.
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