Damn, How could my family be so wealthy?!-Chapter 474 - 473: The Patron

"Grandfather, the fish has taken the bait."

Hearing the auctioneer shout out Old Man Gu’s latest bid, Su Mu’s face curved into a faint smile.

He tilted his head slightly and said to the elder,

"Hmm, this fish is very obedient."

Elder Su nodded, indicating that he was very satisfied with the outcome.

The lesson Su Junqiang wanted Old Man Gu to remember was not about continuously driving up the price, preventing Old Man Gu from obtaining the authentic Tang Bohu painting.

For Su Junqiang, it was just a painting.

It happened that Su Junqiang liked to collect these things, and coincidentally, the Su Family was very wealthy.

Of course, they could buy it and put it in a safe, and whenever they remembered, they could take it out and appreciate it or whatever.

So, it wasn’t like Su Junqiang absolutely had to acquire this Tang Bohu’s "Thoughts on Riding a Donkey" painting.

Su Junqiang was also someone who believed in fate.

Today, because of Old Man Gu’s repeated nuisances, Su Junqiang felt that he might not have any destiny with this Tang Bohu original.

Since they weren’t fated, Su Junqiang, of course, wouldn’t force it.

Thus, Su Junqiang had already made up his mind quite early on.

The subsequent bids were just meant to teach Old Man Gu a lesson.

Su Junqiang’s temper had mellowed out a lot by now.

But that didn’t mean anyone could bully the Su Family.

If someone wanted to act unruly before the Su Family, they had to see if they had the strength to do so.

And they had to consider whether they could handle the consequences of their unruliness.

Today, Su Junqiang had indeed taught Old Man Gu a lesson.

Otherwise, Old Man Gu, in his old age, might remain out of touch with reality, not recognising his true situation.

"Grandfather, are you preparing to haul in the net?"

Su Mu felt that Old Man Gu’s bid of "two hundred million" should also be about right.

If Grandfather continued to raise the price, then Old Man Gu might not dare to follow suit.

So generally, when the fish is in the net, it is better to haul it in early.

Otherwise, if the fish escapes, it would be rather lose than gain.

"It’s time to pull in, if we don’t, the fish will be frightened away."

Elder Su nodded and gave Su Mu an affirmative answer.

Ah Fook, sitting on the side and listening to the conversation between the elder and the young master, already knew what he should do next.

That was to do nothing and just watch how Old Man Gu would wrap things up.

Since the Elder had decided to pull in the net, Ah Fook naturally didn’t need to raise the bidding card anymore.

This also meant that today’s auction had come to an end.

Since Elder Su wouldn’t bid anymore, of course, no one else would either.

As a result, Old Man Gu would naturally "willingly" acquire Tang Bohu’s "Thoughts on Riding a Donkey."

As for whether Old Man Gu could gather the two hundred million he himself had bid, that was not for others to consider.

Of course, if you wanted to see Old Man Gu’s jokes, you could pay more attention.

After the auctioneer called out Old Man Gu’s two hundred million, his gaze was constantly on Elder Su’s side.

Seeing the elder and the young master had a conversation, and then Mr. Fook’s hand was no longer holding the bidding paddle, but instead laid the bidding paddle on his legs,

The auctioneer thought to himself, "This is not good."

Looking at the situation, Elder Su wouldn’t continue to bid.

This meant the thing the auctioneer was worried about might indeed become reality.

The auctioneer felt something about to drip down his forehead and lifted his left hand to wipe it.

It turned out to be sweat ready to roll down his forehead.

The temperature of the air conditioning in the auction hall was set to be very pleasant.

If it weren’t for the auctioneer’s internal sense of urgency and anxiety, there would be no chance of sweating.

"Boss Gu bids two billion."

A bid of two billion was already very high, but when the auctioneer called out this price, there was not a trace of joy on his face.

It was as if the auctioneer was naturally at odds with Old Man Gu; anyhow, every time Old Man Gu made a bid, the auctioneer was not in a good mood.

Old Man Gu didn’t care about the auctioneer’s attitude in the slightest.

In Old Man Gu’s eyes, the auctioneer was just a worker who wouldn’t have any dealings with him in the future.

Therefore, Old Man Gu didn’t care at all how the auctioneer viewed him or what his attitude was.

Right now, Old Man Gu was just looking forward to seeing Mr. Fook raise his bidding paddle.

Old Man Gu felt he hadn’t really lost out this time.

Although Old Man Gu couldn’t possibly regain what one might call ’face’.

But Old Man Gu thought that, through his "unceasing efforts," making Su Junqiang spend more money was also good.

You must know, this so-called bit of money was not just a small amount.

Because of Old Man Gu’s several nonsensical interferences, the auction price had directly increased by tens of millions.

And that was not all.

In Old Man Gu’s perspective, Su Junqiang’s next bid would certainly be no less than the fifty thousand increase he had previously made.

Thus, Old Man Gu had already calculated for Su Junqiang in his mind.

This time Su Junqiang would have to spend at least an extra billion to secure this Tang Bohu’s "Returning Donkey Thoughts."

Old Man Gu felt he had managed to let off some "steam."

If he couldn’t outdo Su Junqiang in terms of wealth, then he might as well make Su Junqiang bleed a little more "cash."

Doesn’t matter how rich someone is, if they have to spend an extra billion on the same item, they should feel the sting, right?

Crucially, Old Man Gu thought, if Su Junqiang ended up spending an extra billion to get this genuine Tang Bohu piece, it would seem rather foolish.

It sort of gave off the impression of a foolish son from a landlord’s family.

Of course, given Su Junqiang’s age, it would be more apt to call him the foolish old man of the landlord’s family.

"Two billion for the first time."

The auctioneer had understood by now, knowing that Elder Su was probably letting Old Man Gu follow deliberately.

This also meant that Elder Su really wasn’t going to bid this time.

Looking at Mr. Fook’s hand, the auctioneer was confident in his speculation.

If Elder Su had any intention of bidding, Mr. Fook wouldn’t be so reluctant to even hold the bidding paddle anymore.

Mentally cursing Old Man Gu and his whole family in his mind, the auctioneer began to call out the bids as per the procedure.

Whether or not Old Man Gu could cough up that much money was no longer within the auctioneer’s considerations.

All the auctioneer could say was that he was unlucky to encounter a customer like Old Man Gu.

And even Old Man Su, who was practically a god of wealth, had been "angered" into not bidding any more.

Old Man Gu’s eyes began to fixate intently on the back of Su Junqiang’s head.

Old Man Gu at this time was different from his earlier instances.

Now, Old Man Gu was anticipating Su Junqiang’s move.

And moreover, Old Man Gu felt the more Su Junqiang raised the bid, the better.

Doing so would only reinforce Old Man Gu’s belief that the humiliation he suffered at this auction was all worth it.

After the auctioneer called out the first bid, everyone seemed to be holding their breath.

It seemed like everyone had realized that a critical moment had arrived.

Now, it was all about Elder Su’s attitude.

If Elder Su continued to bid higher, it would only mean that he was indeed very fond of this authentic Tang Bohu painting.

Of course, no one would think that Elder Su was foolish or anything for spending so much money on the painting.

After all, for the Su Family, a few hundred million was merely a drop in the bucket.

Just the news of the Su Family’s acquisition of the central parcel in the Metro Economic Circle alone caused the stock of the Su Family enterprise to hit multiple daily upper limit price stops.

And that was just a small taste of the benefits.

Once the Metro Line 5 officially starts, that piece of land owned by the Su Family corporation will indeed become a prime location.

And this much-envied plot of land was just a minor part of the Su Family’s wealth.

As to just how lucrative the Su Family corporation truly is, no one could really give an exact number.

After all, that’s their closely guarded secret, something outsiders could not possibly know.

In a nutshell, that means the Su family members are rich among the rich.

So for Elder Su to spend a few hundred million on a painting was as simple for him as it is for ordinary people to buy a piece of white paper.

Therefore, everyone thought it would be perfectly normal for Elder Su to bid again.

With money no object, they could do whatever they pleased— no one else had a say in it.

However, some shrewd individuals sensed that things might not be so simple.

Many people had vivid memories of the commanding presence Elder Su once had in the business arena.

Thus, naturally, some believed that Elder Su would not be passively dragged along by Old Man Gu’s tactics.

If Elder Su kept raising his bid alongside Old Man Gu, wouldn’t he fall right into Old Man Gu’s trap?

Keep in mind that if Elder Su continued to bid higher, but Old Man Gu stopped following, then Old Man Gu’s sticky middle-of-the-road incremental bids would merely have inflated the auction price for this eighth item.

As the final buyer, Elder Su would naturally be at a loss.

And that’s not just a small loss but a significant one.

Although the Su Family wouldn’t mind a billion or two, others certainly would.

Even if Elder Su himself didn’t mind, there were plenty of others who would feel the sting on his behalf.

Unable to voice it aloud, all they could do was place their bets in their hearts.

Some wagered that Elder Su wouldn’t care about the billion or two and would continue bidding.

Others bet that Elder Su wouldn’t indulge Old Man Gu’s behavior and would teach him a memorable lesson.

Regrettably, Elder Su, Su Mu, and Ah Fook all sat there nonchalantly, giving no hint of what they might do next. freewebnσvel.cѳm

"Two hundred million for the second time."

"Mr. Fook bids two hundred million for Tang Bohu’s ’Thoughts of Return on a Donkey’ for the second time," the auctioneer said, as if to hold Old Man Gu accountable for his actions.

Old Man Gu’s palms started to sweat at this point.

Because what he saw was Su Junqiang sitting there as if utterly unmoved by his bid.

Old Man Gu had called out "two hundred million" because he was convinced that Su Junqiang would follow suit.

Old Man Gu realized he had misjudged Su Junqiang from the start.

Su Junqiang hadn’t given up bidding on this eighth auction item just because he kept raising the price.

So, knowing that he couldn’t possibly outspend Su Junqiang economically, Old Man Gu...

And indeed, the auction price for Tang Bohu’s "Riding Donkey Thoughts" had exceeded Old Man Gu’s financial limits.

Old Man Gu, of course, wanted to play some tricks.

Since Old Man Gu couldn’t obtain it for himself and couldn’t recover his dignity,

he thought he should make Su Junqiang spend more money, considering it a way to vent his own frustration.

Thus, this two hundred million bid was not a sincere offer from Old Man Gu.

It was specifically designed for Su Junqiang.

Old Man Gu was just waiting for Su Junqiang to take the bait.

Moreover, after Su Junqiang took the bait this time, Old Man Gu had no plans to continue raising the bid.

Otherwise, Old Man Gu wouldn’t have allowed his grandson to snatch the bidding paddle from his hand so easily.

If Old Man Gu had wanted to continue bidding, he wouldn’t have let go of it so readily.

Since he was not going to continue bidding, the bidding paddle was, of course, useless to Old Man Gu now.

Whoever wanted to take it could do so, Old Man Gu was very indifferent about it.

Now seeing that Su Junqiang showed no reaction at all,

even Ah Fook by Su Junqiang’s side had no movement either.

You should know that it’s Ah Fook who raises the paddle, but it’s definitely Su Junqiang giving the instructions to Ah Fook.

Shouldn’t Ah Fook be looking at Su Junqiang now, waiting for the next instruction?

But from Old Man Gu’s angle, Ah Fook seemed not to even glance at Su Junqiang at all.

Old Man Gu felt that Ah Fook was seriously neglecting his duty.

If Ah Fook didn’t look at Su Junqiang, how could he possibly know Su Junqiang’s specific instructions?

Without Su Junqiang’s instructions, of course, Ah Fook would not be able to raise the bidding paddle in his hand.

The calmer Su Junqiang appeared, the more anxious Old Man Gu became.

"Grandpa, do you really want to bid for this painting?"

With a forced bravado, Young Master Gu still voiced his doubts.

Young Master Gu did not know which wire had crossed in his grandfather’s head today, making him fixate on this last auction item.

If Elder Su was to spend two billion on a painting with no practical use, Young Master Gu wouldn’t find it odd at all.

He would simply think that Elder Su was being elegant.

After all, the Su Family is wealthy and naturally chooses the best in everything they want.

Even when collecting antiques, they certainly pick only the best.

But Young Master Gu was well aware of how much the Gu Family had in their coffers.

If his grandfather really did bid for this painting, Young Master Gu could even imagine how miserable his future would become.

Let alone continuing a life of luxury, it would be difficult to maintain even a regular affluent second-generation lifestyle.

Young Master Gu used to obey his grandfather simply because his grandfather was his financial backer.

Now, seeing his good days about to be squandered by his benefactor, it was natural for Young Master Gu to no longer fear his grandfather as before.

"Grandpa, do you even realize that you can’t come up with that much cash?"

"Without the money, what’s the point of swelling your face to fill out the fat man?"

Young Master Gu failed to keep his volume in check and thus, very successfully, became the focus of everyone’s attention once again.

Actually, everyone had been paying attention to Old Man Gu, solely because his actions today were too abnormal.

Old Man Gu actually wanted to compete with Elder Su, clearly not knowing his own weight.

Everyone was just waiting to see the drama unfold.