Chapter 204: There’s a Mystery Within!

Translator: 549690339

Shu Jie’s eyes spun around a few times, ‘This piece of garbage wooden ox sculpture, has already been bid up to 305,000, I see this country bumpkin, looking unfocused… If he plays the same trick as just now, am I to be fooled by him again… If I spend this much money to buy such a worthless piece of junk, that would be a great joke… a final price addition… I will raise the price one last time…’

Shu Jie took a deep breath, “500,000.”

After he announced the price, Shu Jie felt extremely anxious and uneasy inside!

He was setting a trap for Huang Xiaolong. Once Huang Xiaolong gives up bidding, Shu Jie would essentially be shooting himself in the foot!

“Uh  ” Huang Xiaolong, as expected, fell silent and eyed Shu Jie with a mocking gaze.

“Damn it!” Shu Jie cursed in anger!

He thought to himself, have I been tricked again?

“Hahaha! Country bumpkin, do you not dare to play anymore?” Shu Jie goaded him. “Hahaha If you can’t afford to play, then don’t come here to make a fool of yourself! A measly 500,000, you scared already? hahaha idiot!”

“What am I scared of?” Huang Xiaolong pretended to be angry. “500,500!”

“Phew   ” Shu Jie let out a long sigh of relief, then… “Hahahaha  stupid! I’m not playing anymore! 500,500, take it! Hahaha! I’m dying of laughter! Spending 500,500 to buy a piece of junk wood…hahaha only an idiot like you would do such a stupid thing…hahaha ”

Shu Jie had his revenge!

So satisfying!

Great!

Just now, Shu Jie splurged 8 million to snatch up a pottery pot worth 2 million, above a premium of four times.

And for the wooden ox sculpture, mere thousands piece, Huang Xiaolong spent up to 500,000 – a premium of 50 times!

Comparatively, it seemed that Huang Xiaolong was much more foolish than Shu Jie…

“500,500 once! 500,500 twice! 500,500 three times! Sold!” Auctioneer Yang Liu brought down the hammer.

“Pfft ” Huang Xiaolong suddenly laughed and looked at Shu Jie, “You can laugh now, but who gets the last laugh, we still don’t know yet…”

After the deal, Huang Xiaolong eagerly ropes in Cui Feiyan and heads towards the auction stage.

Huang Xiaolong has Cui Feiyan swipe the card, paying a total of 500,500, then auctioneer Yang Liu personally hands the wood sculpture of the ox to Huang Xiaolong.

However, in Yang Liu’s eyes, there emerges a slight hint of ridicule.

Being an experienced auctioneer, Yang Liu has never seen someone shell out tens of thousands for an awkward and worthless wooden ox sculpture.

A burst of laughter rings around the stage.

Everyone can see that Huang Xiaolong has been played by Shu Jie.

Just then, Teacher Liu could not help but stand up and ask Huang Xiaolong, who was standing on the stage, “Mr. Huang… I beg your pardon, my sight must be very crude, but I really can’t see any peculiarities about this wooden ox sculpture… Since Mr. Huang was willing to pay high price for it, there must be a reason. Could you perhaps clear this up for us?”

Teacher Liu, after having spent most of his life in antique collection and appraisal, is one hundred percent convinced that this wooden ox is the scum of the rubbish, too shabby to even be displayed at home.

Yet, Huang Xiaolong splurged to get his hands on it.

If someone else had auctioned off this wooden ox, Teacher Liu wouldn’t even question it and would ignore their stupidity.

However, Huang Xiaolong, in his prowess in traditional art, had already won Teacher Liu’s respect. He believes that, given Huang Xiaolong’s mastery in traditional art, he wouldn’t just spend unnecessarily on this ugly wooden ox for no reason.

There must be some secret here!

Feeling curious and impatient, Teacher Liu could not help asking on the spot!

Of course, his attitude remained highly humble.

Mr. Huang?

Hearing Teacher Liu address Huang Xiaolong with such respect, everyone present was shocked.

Isn’t Teacher Liu being too humble? There’s no need!

“Hahaha   Mr. Liu, this wooden ox sculpture is just junk.” Shu Jie laughed triumphantly. “What aesthetic appreciation could a bumpkin have? He is just a fool trying to show off, couldn’t afford the expensive ones, so he has to satisfy his vanity by shelling out tens of thousands for a piece of junk wood… Hahaha   Everyone has seen this thing, what could be special about it? Even if you let him explain it, he won’t be able to!”

“Hm ” Huang Xiaolong, standing on the stage, looked at Shu Jie with a mocking gaze. Then, he turned to Mr. Liu. “Sure, I will explain.”

The whole audience went silent, countless pairs of eyes looking at Huang Xiaolong on the stage.

Huang Xiaolong slightly flipped through the wooden ox in his hand, then spoke aloud, “This wooden ox, with a larger form, assembled from tenon and rivet structure. The body, four limbs, tail, as well as the ears and horns of the wooden cow are all carved separately, then assembled using riveting. All parts of the sculpture exhibit the expression and character traits of an ox. An important detail not to be overlooked is the tail of the ox, which is quite long and curves upward, forming an arc. This is very consistent with the tail design of Han Dynasty horses, oxen, and other animals. Before or after the Han Dynasty, the tails of animal models rarely appear flowing and flying, the end of the tail often curls in or droops…”

Huang Xiaolong’s words are meaningful and substantial, thus the guests under the stage are seriously engrossed.

Only Shu Jie, with a mockingly sarcastic smile on his lips, confidently said, “Brag, keep bragging, keep bluffing. I want to see what you come up with. Trash is trash, regardless of how much you gloss over it. It’s still just trash!Just like even though however you dress up, you’ll always be a country bumpkin!”

As he spoke, suddenly!

Crack!!!!!!

Huang Xiaolong broke the wooden ox into two halves!

He gave a slight jerk and the two pebbles, embedded as the eyes of the wooden ox, came out lightly.

Huang Xiaolong, grinning, held the two pebbles in his hands.

These two pebble stones were about the size of goose eggs, and the surface had a sandy sediment.

“Could it be? Are these two stones, the eyes of the wooden cow, the issue here?” Auctioneer Yang Liu exclaimed in shock.

Whispers and discussions erupted under the stage.

“Sir, can, can I take a look at the two stones that you’ve taken out?” Yang Liu asked shakily.

“Haha, doesn’t matter. If you want to see, then look.” Huang Xiaolong nonchalantly handed over the two pebbles to Yang Liu.

Having received them, Yang Liu carefully weighed them in her hand, then squinted to study them for several minutes, and murmured, “There’s nothing wrong, they’re just ordinary pebbles…”

Unable to figure out the riddle, Yang Liu could only return the pebbles back to Huang Xiaolong.

Huang Xiaolong was holding the pebbles, and explained, “Look closely, with each pebble, the lighter half is the ox’s eye that was exposed outside, and the darker half was hidden inside the wooden ox. Uhm…”

Surprisingly!

Huang Xiaolong squeezed hard with his hands!

The sand clinging to the latter half of the pebbles began to fall off!

Huang Xiaolong has a particularly strong grip strength. Squeezing the pebbles lightly, the sand on the latter half of the pebbles quickly fell off.

Finally!

The truth was revealed!