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Chapter 613 A Deadly Blow and a Close Call
Chapter 613 A Deadly Blow and a Close Call
Chapter 613 A Deadly Blow and a Close Call
Everyone looked at the person who was raising the paddle, only to find a 60-year-old man with a plain appearance wearing a bright yellow gown underneath a hand-sewn fur vest. Compared with the businessmen who were in suits and ties from famous brands, he was really unimpressive.
During the previous bids, the old man had never raised his card from beginning to end. No one had expected that the person who followed Saionji Tsunekatsu’s crazy bid would be this old man who had never raised his card before at the auction!
Li Yundong suddenly looked at the old man and was stunned. He couldn’t believe his eyes and asked in surprise, "Why did Mr. Shen raise the paddle?"
Zhou Qin said in surprise and excitement, "That’s great. Mr. Shen raised it! I was scared to death thinking that the Medicine King Tripod would be bought by the Japanese!"
Su Chan stared at Shen Wancai with her eyes wide open, stunned. She asked Li Yundong in a low voice, "Yundong, how rich is Mr. Shen!? It’s four hundred million, not forty thousand!"
Before Li Yundong could get a word out, Zhou Qin laughed and said, "Su Chan, don’t look down on Shen Wancai. He is a real billionaire. Just because he keeps a low profile, he is unknown. You see, when he met the mayor at the opening ceremony of the Disanxian, he didn’t even disdain to cotton up with him. He just greeted the Secretary of the Provincial Party Committee. Just from this, you can guess at how powerful he is!"
Su Chan stuck out her tongue. "He’s so influential? I underestimated him. I thought he was just an ordinary rich guy."
Zhou Qin chuckled. "There are many rich people in China now, and hidden rich families are countless. Shen Wancai is one of them. My father once commented on him, saying that he is a decisive and shrewd man. He has never fought an unprepared battle. If he takes action, he will be well-prepared."
Zi Yuan looked at Shen Wancai. She stared at him for a while and then looked at Li Yundong. Her deep, dark eyes seemed to be able to see through their hearts and emotions in an instant. She dimly touched upon something and a faint smile appeared at the corners of her mouth, but she did not speak.
At this time, all of Li Yundong’s attention was on Shen Wancai and Saionji Tsunekatsu. Although he had become a spectator like most people there, it was better to watch the Medicine King Tripod, Sun Simiao’s Taoists powerful magical weapon, fall into Shen Wancai’s hands than the hands of the Japanese!
Saionji Tsunekatsu hadn’t expected that after pushing out Zhang Ling, there would turn out to be another bad old man!
It was like a bloody warrior breaking through the encirclement. Just when he thought that he would be the final winner, suddenly fresh troops had appeared, striking a huge psychological blow to Saionji Tsunekatsu.
Saionji Tsunekatsu glared at Shen Wancai fiercely, as if he wanted to swallow up the old man who had appeared so suddenly!
Tobaku said in a trembling voice, "Tsunekatsu, what can we do? Just give it up!"
Saionji Tsunekatsu was shaking. He stared at Shen Wancai unwillingly. His eagle eyes were like a sharp knife, as if he wanted to cut Shen Wancai in half and read his true thoughts.
Shen Wancai was indeed someone who had been through all kinds of dramas. He did not even glance at Saionji Tsunekatsu. Instead, he looked straight ahead with an indifferent smile on his face, looking like he was above it all.
Shen You and Shen Hui, who were beside him, were also shocked by Shen Wancai’s sudden act. After a long time, Shen Hui stuttered, "Grandfather, are... are you okay? 400 million! You’re going to spend 400 million just to buy such a thing?"
Shen You was also shocked. "Dad, are you crazy?"
Shen Wancai glared at them unhappily and growled in a low voice, "Shut up! What do you know?"
Seeing that Shen You and Shen Hui were both questioning Shen Wancai, Saionji Tsunekatsu came up with an idea. He thought, "Is this old guy bluffing? Has he actually reached his limit?"
Saionji Tsunekatsu quickly thought in his heart, "Although Masako Tachibana didn’t set a bottom line for me, according to my understanding, the maximum should be about 500 million yuan, but even if it’s over just 400 million yuan, she will be angry. Now the price is 410 million yuan, which will already make Masako Tachibana very angry, but... if I spend 500 million yuan to complete the task, it should also be acceptable."
Saionji Tsunekatsu’s hesitation made almost everyone on the scene realize what was going on. Zhou Qin whispered in Li Yundong’s ear, "This Japanese is a little timid. The current price should be close to the limit that he can bear, so he can no longer raise the price unscrupulously. Let’s see what price he will offer now and guess at his bottom line."
Saionji Tsunekatsu thought for a while. When he saw that the hammer in the auctioneer’s hand was about to fall, he suddenly showed a grim smile, raised his paddle again, and shouted, "500 million!"
"No way!" Almost half of the people on the scene jumped up instantly and stared at Saionji Tsunekatsu, stunned.
Tobaku was so frightened by Saionji Tsunekatsu’s behavior that he almost fell off his chair. He looked at Saionji Tsunekatsu with a pale face and his lips trembled slightly. He shouted in his heart, "He’s crazy, he must be crazy! When we go back, we will be locked in the Ghost Prison by Lord Masako Tachibana! No, I must stop him!"
Just as Tobaku was about to speak, he saw that although Saionji Tsunekatsu had a ferocious smile on his face, his hands, which were hidden behind his back, were trembling slightly.
Seeing this, the words died on his lips.
Zhou Qin was also stunned. He was shocked and couldn’t speak for a long time. Li Yundong chuckled at this time and whispered, "It’s said that settling a score is like using an array of soldiers, and that business is like a battlefield! This Japanese is using some good psychological warfare! I know what you said just now, but if even I know this, how could he not? So, he’s directly showing his sword and fighting courageously at bayonet-point range against you with all his might!"
At this time, everyone’s preconceptions had been seriously shaken. "Does this Japanese have no limit at all? Or is he bluffing now?"
At this time, Li Yundong had completely cast aside his desire to compete for the Medicine King Tripod and jumped out of the ring to watch this fierce battle from the perspective of a third party. Thinking of the previous situation wherein various people had raised the prices at the auction, he seemed to realize something and couldn’t help whispering, "The art of war says that the virtual one is the real one and the real one is the virtual one. In my opinion, this Japanese is at his wits’ end!"
Su Chan asked in confusion, "Yundong, what do you mean? Why do I feel that the Japanese still have a lot of money? Look, he raised the price by nearly 100 million once again! It’s terrifying!"
Li Yundong said with a smile, "The reason why Saionji Tsunekatsu raised the price several times was to scare off his competitors, especially as his opponents’ bid increments are also considerable. But Shen Wancai is different from them. He suddenly appeared, and the increase is much smaller than what we saw in the previous rounds. If Saionji Tsunekatsu really had the confidence, he would add 10 million yuan with Shen Wancai, and then grind down his opponent all the way to see who’ll give up first.
"But Saionji Tsunekatsu knows well that cutting flesh with a blunt knife is the most painful way, so he decided to cut his wrist. He would rather severe one finger than hurt all ten! Therefore, he’s raised the price greatly the fourth time because he’s aiming to completely defeat his opponent with a momentum that could cover ten thousand miles."
Zhou Qin couldn’t help glancing at Li Yundong with appreciation and smiling. "Master, you are right. If you go to do business, you will definitely be successful. For a newcomer, it is very likely that Saionji Tsunekatsu’s move will have an effect, but Shen Wancai is different. He is an experienced businessman who has been working in the industry for a lifetime. How could he fall into such a trap?"
It seemed that in order to fulfill Zhou Qin’s words, Shen Wancai’s expression did not change. He slowly raised the paddle in his hand, and only increased the price by 10 million once again, making the price of the Medicine King Tripod reach 510 million!
At this time, Saionji Tsunekatsu’s expression changed dramatically, and he suddenly came to his senses. He knew that his opponent was a very cunning old fox. Not only was he cunning, but he was also experienced. This move was useless to him!
But Saionji Tsunekatsu had already bid the highest price he could afford. What could he do?
He could not help trembling slightly and grinding his teeth. When the auctioneer repeated the price again and again, he suddenly roared, "Five hundred and twenty million!"
At this time, there was a burst of exclamation again amongst the crowd.
What was different from the previous exclamation was that, at this time, everyone could tell that the Japanese were on the verge of collapse.
Everyone’s eyes turned to Shen Wancai involuntarily. They thought, "Is this old man also on the verge of collapse? But he’s just not showing it?"
Although both of them had lowered the price increases, the atmosphere on the scene had become tenser and tenser. Su Chan gripped Li Yundong’s hand tightly and nervously murmured, "Yundong, this Japanese has also raised the price on a small scale. Is he going to have a war of attrition with Mr. Shen?"
Li Yundong smiled and said, "That should be the case. However, I don’t know what Mr. Shen’s bottom line is, so I don’t know who will win if the two of them fight it out. But in terms of momentum and psychological advantage, Mr. Shen already has it."
As soon as Li Yundong finished his words, Shen Wancai slowly raised his paddle and raised the price again by 10 million.
Saionji Tsunekatsu was like a red-eyed gambler who had lost a lot of money. He immediately roared, "Five hundred and forty million yuan!"
However, Shen Wancai was not in a hurry to raise the price immediately. He waited until the auctioneer shouted a third time, and then he slowly raised the paddle again. "Five hundred and fifty million yuan!"
Saionji Tsunekatsu immediately yelled in response, "Five hundred and sixty million!"
After a while, Shen Wancai raised his paddle. "Five hundred and seventy million!"
The two raised the price back and forth as if they were volleying. Although it was not as wild as before, the atmosphere was still intense. The price was about to reach 600 million yuan.
A price of 600 million yuan would make it a world-shocking price, let alone how the country itself would react.
At this time, everyone was holding their breath and didn’t dare to move.
Tobaku, who was standing beside Saionji Tsunekatsu, grabbed his arm, trembling. He couldn’t help but say loudly in Japanese, "Chang Sheng, you can’t increase it anymore. You really can’t!"
Saionji Tsunekatsu turned his head and roared in Japanese with a ferocious look on his face, "Asshole, shut up!" After that, he screeched with a face twisted like a devil’s, "Six hundred million!"
Everyone on the scene took a deep breath and looked at Shen Wancai in unison.
Li Yundong’s face was also a little serious. He whispered, "This should be his final move!"
However, Zi Yuan shook her head and said, "Not necessarily! Japanese people are famous for their tenacity. Their ability to handle pressure and endure can be said to be the best in the world. If Shen Wancai is still willing to raise the price as he did before, maybe they will continue to fight!"
Li Yundong nodded. "You’re right. Let’s see how Mr. Shen bids."
However, this was the first time that Shen Wancai had turned his head. His eyes were bright as he sized up his opponent, who had been fighting a bloody battle with him on the battlefield of Jin Yuan. His brows were tightly furrowed and he muttered to himself, then for a moment, he did not speak.
The auctioneer on the stage saw that Shen Wancai had not spoken for a long time. After ceaselessly repeating the price, he also thought that 600 million should be the end point. After quickly repeating it a third time, he breathed a sigh of relief and raised the gavel in his hand up high.
At this time, Saionji Tsunekatsu seemed about to collapse. He showed a smile which represented that he had won in this desperate fight, laughing hysterically.
"Ah? Mr. Shen is giving up?" Seeing the gavel fall little by little, Su Chan cried.
But at this critical moment, Shen Wan suddenly smiled. He raised the paddle in his hand and said slowly, "Seven hundred million!"