Doubling the Bid

Suddenly, someone felt sorry for them. Clearly, these two were newcomers to the Stone Gambling Trade, and they had really messed up.

"Five million!" Xu Mingxian roared in anger, having lost his temper, which was exactly what Zhang Yang wanted—for this kid to lose his temper completely.

"..." Zhang Yang was about to raise his hand again to finish off Xu Mingxian, but Cheng Dongxue stopped him, "Zhang Yang, stop playing around, or I'll get mad at you."

"Hmph..." Ling Junsheng snorted coldly from the side, expressing his contempt for Zhang Yang. Indeed, Zhang Yang was a blockhead.

"Five million once, five million twice..." The beautiful auctioneer stared at Zhang Yang, but Zhang Yang suddenly stopped. "Five million three times, sold! Congratulations to this gentleman for winning Stone No. 14."

In the end, the hammer fell for five million, Xu Mingxian bought Stone No. 14.

Xu Mingxian was stunned when he heard that he had bought Stone No. 14. Why didn't Zhang Yang raise the price? If he had raised it, Xu Mingxian would have given up, and the stone would have gone to Zhang Yang.

"Did I lose out?" Xu Mingxian sat down heavily and asked the man next to him.

"Five million is indeed a bit expensive, but we've already won the bid. We'll see once we open the box. There might be some surprises. My estimate is one million," the man told Xu Mingxian.

Xu Mingxian nodded silently. If that's the case, the stone must have yielded some material, but the quality remains to be verified.

"The Cheng Family's good-for-nothings, how about it? The stone is mine after all!" Xu Mingxian wasn't satisfied yet, and suddenly stood up again, smiling at Zhang Yang with a smug look on his face.

Xu Mingxian looked at Cheng Dongxue again, only to find that she didn't even glance at him, which disappointed him greatly. This move had not won him the beauty's admiration.

"Young Master Xu, Young Master Xu! Congratulations on buying a stone that's not even worth five cents!" Zhang Yang chuckled, his mood much better now.

"Ah..." Xu Mingxian exclaimed in surprise, then said after a moment, "Useless son-in-law, what do you know?"

"I don't know. Open it and see. If there's something there, I'll swallow this stone. If not, how about you call me 'Dad'?"

"Call..."

Upon hearing this, everyone started to jeer.

Xu Mingxian glanced down at the man beside him, his face darkening. He suppressed his anger; Zhang Yang dared to provoke him. He was furious. "Fine, let's gamble! Today's all about betting! If you're right, you'll not only have to swallow the stone, but you'll also have to divorce Cheng Dongxue, or you'll cut off your own arms."

"That's really high-stakes?"

Some people were shocked.

"I promise..."

"Zhang Yang, you're crazy! I'm not a bargaining chip, I won't agree!"

The first to object was Cheng Dongxue, who suddenly stood up, glaring angrily at Zhang Yang. Zhang Yang, however, chuckled and hugged her, pressing her back into the chair.

Since the stakes had been increased, Zhang Yang couldn't let himself be at a disadvantage, so he devised a plan.

"Okay, but I also have to add a clause: if you lose and can't find any jade, then you'll have to pay for any stones I win in the future."

Zhang Yang flamboyant and playful demeanor was quite provocative. At this moment, Xu Mingxian couldn't afford to lose face, otherwise it would be tantamount to admitting defeat.

"Okay, it's decided then."

"Excuse me, may we do this?" Zhang Yang nodded and then asked the auctioneer.

"I'm just an auctioneer. I'll just do my job. As for anything else, I'm afraid I know nothing." The auctioneer had no intention of getting involved in their dispute.

"Gentlemen, are you willing to be witnesses?" Zhang Yang turned to the crowd and asked.

"This is a great show! Let's go watch it!" the crowd cheered. They had participated in auctions before, but they had never encountered one as exciting as tonight's. Since they had come across one, they naturally had to participate; it was sure to be fun.

"Everyone here is a witness, Young Master Xu, don't try to renege on your promise!" Zhang Yang with a playful taunt.

"Anyone who cheats is a son of a bitch," Xu Mingxian vowed.

Zhang Yang nodded, sat down, and thought to himself, "How could someone with a thousand years of experience like me be outsmarted by a pretty boy like you? You little punk, let's see how arrogant you get."

"Zhang Yang..." Cheng Dongxue was still complaining about Zhang Yang. This was too risky, and not only did it cost her her life, but it also cost Zhang Yang his life.

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. You're definitely my wife, and I promise you'll sleep in my bed tonight," Zhang Yang said, gently patting Cheng Dongxue's hand.

"Alright, let's continue the auction tonight, and as the grand finale, let's have the stone-breaking ceremony as the climax." The auctioneer had a sudden inspiration and put the stone-breaking ceremony last, and the auction continued.

The atmosphere suddenly changed; there were more people waiting to watch the show than to buy the stones, which made the auctioneer somewhat embarrassed.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Stone No. 1, the highlight of this auction. The starting price is ten million, and the increment is one million," the beautiful auctioneer then exclaimed, gesturing with her arms crossed.

Zhang Yang was the first to raise his hand and call out the price.

"Twenty million!"

"Zhang Yang, are you crazy? Didn't you say this stone was worthless?" Cheng Dongxue was shocked and pulled Zhang Yang back to sit down.

Xu Mingxian's face turned green. Wasn't this spending his own money?

"Don't worry, it's all paid for by Young Master Xu anyway. If I had known you would stop me, I should have asked for fifty million. Even if it was just a stone to use as a weight for my mother to pickle vegetables, it would have been fine." Zhang Yang chuckled. He didn't care about the quality or the cost, since someone else was paying for it.

The auction was bustling. Zhang Yang was a very conservative person, and he never raised the price too high, but this time, a bid of ten million suddenly appeared, shocking everyone.

Then, those who really wanted to get the Stone No. 1 turned ashen-faced. Playing like Zhang Yang, they probably had no chance tonight.

"Twenty-one million."

At this moment, someone tentatively raised the price once, however, no one's attention was on the beautiful auctioneer, even though she was pretty, had a great figure, and was dressed appropriately.

All eyes were on Zhang Yang, seemingly hoping Zhang Yang make an offer.

"Hehe..." Zhang Yang chuckled mischievously.

Everyone was stunned. It turned out that Zhang Yang was just trying to annoy them and didn't really want to buy Stone No. 1.

"Who the hell told you to look down on people? I'll disgust you to death," Zhang Yang thought to himself with a laugh.

Actually, if Cheng Dongxue hadn't held onto Zhang Yang's arm, Zhang Yang really intended to bid again. After all, Stone No. 1 was highly anticipated by everyone, and its price would definitely rise to a high level. But if he bought it, he would definitely lose money, probably losing several wives in the process.

Stone No. 1 isn't even worth the starting bid; it only has a thin patch of green in the windowed area.

"Twenty-five million."

Zhang Yang shut up, the auction continued, and the price kept rising.

Ling Junshan snorted coldly and called out the price.

"Twenty-six million."

"Twenty-seven million."

Ling Junshan called out a price once, but dared not bid again, because it had exceeded his psychological tolerance.

Thirty million.

Forty-five million.

"Forty-five million once, forty-five million twice, forty-five million three times." Finally, the auctioneer brought down the gavel, and Stone No. 1 was successfully sold for forty-five million.