The auction was divided into two halves. After the first half, there was a ten-minute break.
Li Du and Sophie wanted to go out for some fresh air. Marate stopped them and said, "Buddy, are you here for our charity auction today?"
"Of course, as you can see, I've been sitting here the whole time." Li Du didn't know what Marate was up to, but he knew he was up to something.
Marate laughed scornfully. "Oh, really? I thought you were here to join us for lunch. "
He shrugged and made an understanding expression. He continued, "Of course, it's okay if you're here for lunch. Today's theme is charity."
Hearing his words, Sophie said unhappily, "Marate, watch your words. Are you here to provoke us? I don't understand why you're so ungentlemanly. "
It wasn't that Marate liked to provoke people; it was just that American culture was like that.
American men, especially young men, liked to flaunt themselves as tough men. They would train to be strong, they liked to play rough sports, and they would bully people who were weaker than them.
Bullying the weak was the rule of survival for young Americans. Watching American TV series and Hollywood movies showed that the handsome and elegant protagonists must have been bullied by school bullies a lot during their school days.
Not to mention the fact that Li Du had humiliated Marate and won Sophie's favor, even without that relationship, Marate would not have liked him.
Racial discrimination was an issue that Americans had always emphasized. It was also the biggest problem in society.
Li Du had been abroad for more than a year and a half. What he felt most was the low status of the Chinese in America. Everyone wanted to step on them.
Marate was a very arrogant person. That was what Sophie disliked about him.
He thought he could win Sophie's heart by showing off his muscles and toughness. In fact, it didn't work on Sophie. Because of her work, female doctors had been exposed to a lot of violence. She hated this kind of person the most.
It was a simple problem. Li Du, who was a newbie in love, could see it when he first met Sophie. However, Marate didn't see it.
Even if he did, he wouldn't change himself. Toughness, boorishness, and toughness were his manly charms, and he was proud of his personality.
Therefore, after being criticized by Sophie, Marate raised his head and said, "No, I'm not a gentleman. I'm not weak or a coward. Sophie, you've never seen me correctly. I'm sorry."
Sophie smiled and said, "Oh, maybe so, but I am glad."
Marate left angrily. Before he left, he glared at Li Du and said, "I'm glad I helped you, buddy. Eat more for lunch later."
After he left, Sophie said, "I'm sorry, Li. Marate is just so childish. I don't understand why he hasn't matured as he grows older."
Martin laughed, "Aren't all the youngsters in Flagstaff like this? Time will teach them the right attitude towards life. "
Li Du smiled bitterly and nodded. He had really suffered an undeserved calamity.
However, the items that had been auctioned earlier were really useless to him. Whenever something that looked valuable appeared, he would not hesitate to use the little bug to check it out.
Unfortunately, those things only looked valuable. He could only throw them away after he bought them. Under such circumstances, how could he sell them?
The second half of the auction began. The first item was very interesting. It was more than ten heavy books.
The auctioneer introduced the books. They were the 1990 edition of "The Encyclopedia of Biblical Interpretations." They had been donated by Mr. and Mrs. Martin and were in good condition. The starting price was 440 dollars.
This set of encyclopedias was very valuable to believers. It explained the Bible from various aspects such as life, science, culture, and customs. It was also very interesting and suitable for believers to read.
Li Du shook his head. It was something that was useless to him again. There was no need for him to bid.
Sophie made a bid to give her parents some face and make the bidding look more intense.
Marate made his bid again. He chased after the price and finally got the encyclopedia. The final price was 860 dollars.
After the auction, the crowd applauded. Li Du heard Martin whisper, "It's a pity that this set of books will be shelved. It would have been better for Sophie to get it for 440 dollars."
Mrs. Martin glared at him and said, "Don't be like that. It's not good if someone heard it. But it's a pity. We've carefully preserved this set of books. "
Li Du snickered. The old couple was very interesting.
Later on, the auction items were brought out one by one and all of them were sold. Regardless of the price, the believers were all enthusiastically bidding.
Halfway through the auction, a young lady brought out a small green box on a plate. It looked like a makeup box for girls.
Seeing the box, Sophie smiled happily and said, "Look, this is the item I donated. It's a lipstick box. It's beautiful. I wonder how much it will fetch."
The green box was only the size of half a palm. It looked like it was made of emerald or jade. The edges were covered with black enamel. There were red and blue gems inlaid on it. It looked very beautiful.
Li Du asked, "How much did you buy this lipstick box for?"
Sophie said, "100 dollars. I bought it from an ornament shop that was going to close down when I was a student in Phoenix. The owner said it was Burmese jade, but it's obviously fake. How can a jade box be so cheap? "
The auctioneer also began to introduce the box, emphasizing that the authenticity of the jade and gems on the box was unknown. Then he quoted a price of 50 dollars.
Li Du looked at the big screen. There was a close-up of the small box. After seeing the red, green, and blue gems on the box, he thought of a jewelry culture that he had read in a book. His heart skipped a beat and he released the little bug.
The little bug was not attracted to the box. It seemed that it had not been around for a long time.
Li Du let it fly over and used its ability to reenact old times. The reason he did this was that he felt that the box did not look like it was made of crude artificial jade. It seemed more like it was real.
The little bug's ability was used. Scenes of the old times were reenactment.
The first thing that appeared was someone polishing the box and writing a name at the bottom. The surrounding environment was exquisite. There were complicated instruments and exquisite blueprints.
There were some large and small pieces of jade on the table where the box was. Looking further down, someone opened the safe and took out some glittering and beautiful pieces of gemstones.
These gemstone pieces were carefully polished and finally inlaid on the box. The box was wrapped in soft deerskin and sent to the plane.
Seeing this, Li Du was excited.
He was not excited because he had found something valuable, but because his vision had improved!
Usually, when he was not participating in auctions, he had been diligently reading books. Obviously, this was the right thing to do. It could make him stronger.
The auctioneer started to call out the price. Li Du relaxed his body. He was ready to make his move.
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