Chapter 6: The Provocative Gesture
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The new bid offered by Xiao Ran clearly exceeded the psychological price limits of several professional treasure hunters. One after another, those guys shook their heads and regretfully withdrew from the competition. The remaining few competitors all felt a sudden jolt of unease, as if something serious was about to happen.
This newcomer suddenly barging in—no one knew if he truly coveted this pair of antique suitcases or if he was just picking a fight with that fool Leon, purely out of spite. Moreover, this young Chinese man was bidding generously, raising the price significantly twice without hesitation, making it seem more like an act of defiance.
If that was really the case, it would be troublesome. What if this irrational amateur drove the price up so high—should they keep bidding or not? If they followed along, even if they won these two antique suitcases, they probably wouldn’t make any profit, and might even suffer a loss! But if they didn’t follow, it would be quite regrettable. Such limited-edition antique suitcases were rare; missing out would be a shame.
Furthermore, no one knew whether these two suitcases contained many branded clothes and bags, or even limited-edition antique purses. If indeed filled with treasures, a big profit was certain. But if only filled with junk, they could lose a lot of money.
Thinking all this through, the remaining competitors hesitated, caught in a dilemma.
Yet, the auctioneer waited for no one.
“Four thousand one hundred dollars, second call. Any gentlemen or ladies willing to bid?”
The auctioneer called out the new price rapidly, quickly scanning the crowd. The assistants helping with the auction also fixed their gaze on the remaining competitors.
Before he finished speaking, Sylvia raised her bidding paddle.
“Here, Tom.”
The auctioneer named Tom immediately pointed at her and raised the bid to four thousand two hundred dollars.
This time, Xiao Ran did not raise his paddle but stared intently at Leon. As expected, Leon immediately raised his paddle to meet the four thousand two hundred dollar offer.
Before he could lower his arm, Xiao Ran loudly called out again:
“Five thousand dollars!”
As he shouted out the bid, he simultaneously made a beckoning gesture toward Leon.
Seeing this highly provocative move, Leon’s anger flared instantly; he was nearly bursting with rage!
“Fuck! Where the hell did this bastard come from? So damn infuriating!”
Leon cursed under his breath through gritted teeth, his expression extremely awkward.
As a somewhat well-known professional treasure hunter, being openly provoked and humiliated by an unknown passerby at the auction was incredibly humiliating!
His lifelong reputation was at stake—he could tolerate a lot, but not this!
If this weren’t a public auction and there were no airport security personnel maintaining order, Leon would have jumped on Xiao Ran right away and pounded him thoroughly to vent the humiliation!
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At this moment, everyone present understood the situation.
This young Chinese man was indeed vindictive—he was here precisely to get back at Leon for the earlier slight!
Realizing this, the remaining competitors secretly cursed their bad luck.
Of course, they now regarded Xiao Ran as a hotheaded fool, and Leon was equally branded a fool.
They knew that if the two continued this spiteful bidding war, the auction couldn’t proceed. In their irrational state, who knew how high the price of these antique suitcases could soar—perhaps many times their actual value, maybe even over tenfold!
If the price really got pushed that high, whoever ended up taking the deal would be the one to suffer a huge loss!
Everyone at the scene looked at both Xiao Ran and Leon, many wearing expressions of amused spectators enjoying the chaos.
“Kid, have you ever participated in this kind of lost luggage auction?”
“Such auctions require cash payment—no card transactions allowed. Do you have that much cash on hand?”
“If you don’t have enough cash but recklessly push the price up like you’re out of your mind, you’ll have to bear the responsibility!”
Sylvia suddenly spoke loudly, though no one knew her exact intention.
With her words, all eyes turned to Xiao Ran.
Even Tom paused the bidding, took a sip of water to soothe his throat, and watched this farce unfold with great interest.
Xiao Ran glanced at Sylvia, then smiled confidently and said,
“Thank you for the reminder, ma’am. I happen to have some cash on me and can play this game a while longer.”
“If the bid for these antique suitcases goes beyond what I can bear, I will naturally withdraw.”
“Since I’m participating in this competition, I’ll take responsibility for my actions!”
Hearing this, everyone rolled their eyes in frustration.
So this kid treats this like a game, not a business, and recklessly raises the price—who could stand that?
Leon was even more furious, grinding his teeth until they nearly shattered!
“Fuck! You bastard are going after me with such a grudge?”
Meanwhile, Xiao Ran’s live stream was buzzing like a boiling pot.
“So satisfying! That’s how you confront these people who harm others without benefit. Well done!”
The viewers laughed heartily, echoing with cheers.
Before the laughter died down, Sister Min’s voice came through.
“Xiao Ran, why do I have a feeling of unease?”
“Don’t worry, Sister Min. I know my limits and won’t act recklessly,” Xiao Ran said with a smile and a low voice.
Hidden behind his mask, he concealed his speech well. He spoke in Mandarin, ensuring the others at the scene wouldn’t understand.
Just as he finished, Tom’s voice rang out again, raising the bid to five thousand two hundred dollars.
“Swish!”
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Everyone at the scene turned to Leon, watching what decision he would make.
Xiao Ran also fixed his eyes on him and again made a beckoning gesture.
Under the public gaze, Leon’s face instantly flushed red, then quickly darkened.
He glared at Xiao Ran fiercely and raised his middle finger.
Immediately after, he raised his bidding paddle and took the initiative to raise the price.
“Five thousand five hundred dollars, Tom.”
Xiao Ran was momentarily stunned but quickly returned Leon’s rude gesture with a high middle finger of his own.
The next moment, he shouted loudly:
“Six thousand dollars! I’ve got money, Mr. Leon!”
Hearing this, Leon’s face turned even darker, almost spitting blood from fury!
When Tom announced a new bid of six thousand two hundred dollars, Leon immediately raised his paddle and pushed the bid to six thousand five hundred.
Before lowering his paddle, Xiao Ran raised his and bid seven thousand dollars.
From then on, the competition became a duel between these two; the others folded their arms and watched the spectacle.
Back and forth, the bid for the antique suitcases quickly broke the ten-thousand-dollar mark.
Faced with such a high price, the remaining competitors shook their heads helplessly and completely withdrew.
As professional treasure hunters, they all understood clearly.
According to the "what you see is what you get" bidding principle, the profit margin on these antique suitcases was already slim.
If they bought them for over ten thousand dollars, it was questionable whether they could resell them at a profit.
The market was bleak and unstable; even limited-edition antique suitcases were not as valuable as before!
Unless bought for personal use, there was a high chance of losing money or being stuck with them, tying up already scarce funds.
Thinking this through, many competitors, including Sylvia, shook their heads and quit.
Xiao Ran and Leon, still trading bids, had become complete fools in their eyes.
But little did they know the market value of these limited-edition Donkey brand antique suitcases in China!
Their price in the Chinese market was several times higher than in the U.S., even more!
This was precisely Xiao Ran’s confidence in bidding!
This was also why Sister Min and the others thought the price was high and doubted whether Xiao Ran’s thirty thousand dollars would be enough.
With all other competitors withdrawn, everyone’s attention focused on Xiao Ran and Leon.
After a few more rounds, when the bid reached twelve thousand five hundred dollars, Xiao Ran suddenly hesitated.
He glanced at Leon, then pressed his hands on the straps of the backpack on his chest, pretending to think it over.
After a brief pause, he called out a new bid:
“Thirteen thousand two hundred dollars.”