30: Crushing you is none of your business.

Lu Fan understood the three women's scheme—they wanted him to immediately and without delay retaliate.

But Tang Jifeng looked puzzled: "With so many people present, won't they interfere?

Or what if they hold a grudge against Brother Fan because of this?

Just now you were advising against making too many enemies, so why are you pushing for an all-out war now?"

Xu Lai sighed, linking arms with Tang Jifeng to explain: "Don't worry, they won't.

Didn't Seventh Sister say that the reason for raising the price directly to 250,000 silver dollars at the start is right here.

This price is telling everyone present that this is Mr. Lu and Fu Sinian's game.

Those who don't get it and get humiliated when they enter shouldn't complain—they brought it upon themselves."

Tang Li blinked her big Kajilan eyes, further clarifying the point: "The next item is the finale auction piece.

The Chairman's item is definitely more valuable than that pocket watch.

Brother Lu Fan spending a lot to win it would be relatively better value for money.

Most importantly, this price gives the Chairman enough face—killing two birds with one stone!"

"Not only that, but this price also puts Fu Sinian in a tight spot."

Xu Lai smiled with her clever and elegant demeanor, continuing to elaborate: "He wants to latch onto a powerful figure, right? Let's give him the chance.

If he doesn't take the bait, he's indirectly telling everyone.

In the eyes of the Fu Family, the esteemed Chairman of the Magic City Chamber of Commerce, Yu Hede, is inferior to that hooligan boss, Zhang Xiaolin.

Even if the Fu Family latches onto Zhang Xiaolin, they won't be able to easily return to Magic City.

Who told him not to give the Chairman face."

Only then did Tang Jifeng fully understand: "There's another clever aspect to setting this price.

It indirectly helps Lu Fan ease tensions with Zhang Xiaolin.

It lets Zhang Xiaolin know that the highest bid we can offer is this price, not that we intentionally didn't raise it!

This isn't just killing two birds with one stone—it's killing four or five birds with one arrow!"

"Thank you!"

Understanding the intricacies, Lu Fan clasped his fists and cast a grateful look toward Sheng Aiyi.

"Next, I invite the finale auction piece, provided by Yu Hede, Chairman Yu: a Southern Song Dynasty silver oil-drop Jian ware tea bowl.

11.5cm in diameter, with blue-purple iridescence slightly weaker than Tianyao, currently the closest circulating piece to Tianyao on the market..."

The host's introduction continued.

But everyone present gasped in shock.

Although this auction piece wasn't the legendary Tianyao Jian ware, it was infinitely close to it.

Its value was definitely above the pocket watch from earlier; for this auction, Yu Hede had brought out something from the bottom of his treasure chest.

Lu Fan glanced at the auction piece and didn't think it was particularly impressive.

On some short video platforms, similar items were sold for just three to five hundred.

However, after snapping back to reality and observing the expressions of the ladies, he realized he might have been a bit narrow-minded.

Tang Li said with slight excitement: "Brother Lu Fan, if you successfully win this, it won't be a loss!"

"Hmm~~"

Sheng Aiyi nodded calmly, commenting nonchalantly: "Such Jian ware hasn't been seen for years.

Its estimated value is around 150,000 silver dollars. In a normal auction, paying a premium of 100,000 to win it would be standard practice."

Lu Fan, now fully aware, had already taken the bidding paddle in hand—everything was ready, just waiting for the auction to start.

On the other side, Fu Sinian had barely managed to regain some ground and was feeling smug.

But as soon as he sat down, the finale auction piece displayed on stage hit him like a heavy hammer, shattering the joy of his earlier bidding victory.

He knew exactly how much this Southern Song Dynasty silver oil-drop Jian ware was worth.

Compared to the pocket watch he bought for 260,000 silver dollars, its value was much higher.

The pocket watch was worth at most 120,000 to 130,000 silver dollars, while this Jian ware started at that price, and bidding up to 260,000 would be normal.

Moreover, its owner behind the scenes was none other than Yu Hede, Chairman of the Magic City Chamber of Commerce—the person he most wanted to latch onto, bar none.

To be honest, he regretted it—regretted raising the bid by 50,000 silver dollars at the last moment.

If he hadn't raised it by so much at once.

Perhaps this Jian ware could have ended up in his pocket;

Perhaps he could still have had a chance to latch onto Yu Hede.

He picked up his wine glass and took a sip to suppress the regret in his heart.

Through the reflection in the glass, he saw that Bidder 77 had already taken the bidding paddle in hand, looking determined to win.

Seeing this, a strong sense of crisis immediately rose in Fu Sinian's heart.

He realized that if he didn't take action now, he might offend Chairman Yu Hede.

Because he had bid high to flatter Zhang Xiaolin while ignoring Yu Hede, not spending a single coin.

What else could this be but blatant disrespect?

Before the host could finish announcing the start of the auction, he stood up abruptly and bid: "150,000 silver dollars~~"

This bid of 150,000 silver dollars far exceeded the funds he had brought, leaving a gap of a full 70,000 silver dollars.

If this price were to be finalized, he'd have to go through a lot of trouble to raise the funds during settlement.

But he had no way out now—he had to strike first.

For no other reason than to avoid offending Chairman Yu Hede.

At Table 77, the three women were quite surprised by Fu Sinian's sudden move.

This guy had fallen into the trap without realizing it and was now trying to cleverly break out on his own.

Wasn't this just like a lamb walking into a tiger's den, charging straight into the line of fire!

This saved people the trouble of having to figure it out themselves.

Tang Li mischievously gave Lu Fan a look.

What are you waiting for? He's already cleaned up and come to your doorstep—just go for it.

"250,000 silver dollars~~~"

Lu Fan calmly and firmly announced the price, his sharp gaze fixed on Fu Sinian, marking the beginning of the struggle.

Little guy, come on~~~

Weren't you the one jumping around the most just now?

I want to see how much change you have left in your pocket.

As soon as this sensitive price was announced, just as the three women had predicted, the venue instantly fell silent.

We're all old foxes here—what kind of tricks are you trying to play?

They all knew exactly what this calculation was about.

This was Bidder 77 trying to reclaim his dignity.

Everyone's first reaction was to give up bidding, as 250,000 silver dollars was indeed a bit high.

In the current tense situation, any family using such a large amount of funds would suffer significant losses.

Secondly, it was best to stay out of matters that didn't concern them—rashly entering could easily lead to getting caught in the conflict and getting hurt.

So the best choice was to quietly sit back and watch the tigers fight, waiting to see who would have the last laugh.

Faced with the price of 250,000 silver dollars, cold sweat broke out on Fu Sinian's back, and his clever intellect took over again.

The scenes from earlier flashed through his mind rapidly.

He had been thoroughly schemed against.

The inexplicable withdrawal in the previous round wasn't a sign of weakness—it was digging a pit for him.

If he bid, not only did he not have the money, but his family couldn't come up with that much in a short time either.

If he didn't bid, he'd both lose face and offend Yu Hede.

Because in Yu Hede's eyes, he'd rather flatter Zhang Xiaolin's stinky feet than flatter him.

Not holding a grudge? Fat chance!

As the countdown ended, Fu Sinian still hadn't made a bid, just sitting in his seat dazed and lost.

Lu Fan acted as if nothing had happened.

Perfectly illustrating what it means to: crush you, and it has nothing to do with you!