The next auction item is a wooden carving from the Qing Dynasty!

Based on the unanimous appraisal by our Wuji Group, the carving, made of golden nanmu wood, originates from a noble's residence in the Qing Dynasty.

Therefore, the starting bid is 500,000 yuan, with a minimum increment of 30,000 yuan!

As the auctioneer announced this, he struck the gavel.

Just as Ye Chen was about to raise his paddle to bid, Zhang Jingshan beat him to it.

"Ye Bro, since we're here, I'm planning to get something for the old man back home. He loves antiques and collectibles, and I think he'd appreciate this piece!" Zhang Jingshan explained.

Ye Chen was at a loss for words.

This boxy wooden carving happened to be one of the items he came here for.

If anyone else had bid on it, Ye Chen wouldn't have hesitated to fight for it.

But since it was Zhang Jingshan, he decided to let it go.

"Kid, you've got some good luck," Ye Chen said with a wry smile, shaking his head meaningfully.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Zhang Jingshan looked confused.

"Just win the bid," Ye Chen said with a faint smile.

At that moment, the auctioneer's voice echoed through the room.

"Seat 79, 500,000 yuan!"

Quickly, others joined in the bidding:

"Seat 41, 530,000 yuan!"

"Seat 63, 560,000 yuan!"

"Seat 93, 590,000 yuan!"

The bids kept rising.

What had started at 500,000 yuan soon climbed to 890,000 yuan.

"Seat 130, 890,000 yuan, going once!"

"Seat 130, 890,000 yuan, going twice!"

If this had been an ordinary situation, even with the intention of gifting the piece to his grandfather, Zhang Jingshan wouldn't have pushed the bid further.

After all, at this price, he could find something much better for his grandfather.

But remembering Ye Chen's cryptic comment earlier, he raised his paddle at the last moment.

"Seat 79, 920,000 yuan!"

The room went silent as the other bidders shook their heads.

After all, an item like this didn't have much intrinsic value for collectors.

890,000 yuan was already an exorbitant price!

And only in Jiangzhou could someone bid this much.

In fact, during the previous seven auction tours, no one had been willing to bid on this item.

"920,000 yuan, going once!"

"920,000 yuan, going twice!"

"920,000 yuan, going three times! Sold!"

"Congratulations to the gentleman at Seat 79 for winning this Qing Dynasty wooden carving at 920,000 yuan. Please proceed to the backstage with our staff after the auction to complete the transaction!"

Amidst applause, Zhang Jingshan couldn't help but whisper to Ye Chen, "Ye Bro, does this piece have a backstory?"

"We'll talk later," Ye Chen replied, leaving Zhang Jingshan guessing.

Meanwhile, sitting at the three o'clock position from Ye Chen and Zhang Jingshan, Peng Lei furrowed his brows.

He recognized Zhang Jingshan and still felt humiliated from being embarrassed by him twice before. Unfortunately, with Zhang's powerful grandfather, Peng Lei could do nothing about it.

As for the man sitting beside Zhang Jingshan, Peng Lei found him vaguely familiar but couldn't place him, no matter how hard he tried.

The auction continued.

The next item displayed on the big screen was a porcelain cup from the Qing Dynasty.

"Up next is a porcelain cup from the Kangxi Emperor's reign during the Qing Dynasty," the auctioneer announced.

"According to Wuji Group's appraisal, this is a blue-and-white orchid porcelain cup, popular during the Kangxi era. Although it has some damage, its value as a collectible remains intact!

"The starting bid is 800,000 yuan, with a minimum increment of 50,000 yuan!"

The gavel fell, but no one raised their paddle.

Perhaps it was herd mentality at play.

During the first auction tour, this damaged blue-and-white porcelain cup had a starting price of 1.1 million yuan.

However, without any interested buyers, it went unsold in the third round.

In subsequent tours, it remained untouched.

Most people thought the same: why bid on a repeatedly passed-over item? Even if you won it, its value would be questionable, and you'd likely face ridicule.

This collective mindset forced Wuji Group to repeatedly lower the starting price.

Still, even with the reduced price, this auction seemed headed for the same outcome.

As the auctioneer was about to declare it unsold, Ye Chen raised his paddle.

"Seat 78, 800,000 yuan!"

The auctioneer, delighted, called out the bid twice in quick succession.

But no one followed.

"800,000 yuan, going once!"

"800,000 yuan, going twice!"

"800,000 yuan, going three times! Sold!"

"Congratulations to the gentleman at Seat 78 for winning this blue-and-white porcelain cup from the Kangxi era for 800,000 yuan. Please proceed to the backstage with our staff after the auction to complete the transaction!"

With another round complete, the big screen displayed the final item of the auction.

A painting!

It was a reproduction of Emperor Qianlong's "Pine and Cypress of Songyang."

The description clearly indicated that this was a modern reproduction.

"Ladies and gentlemen, the final item in this Wuji Group auction tour at Jiangzhou is up next:

"A Republic-era reproduction of Qianlong Emperor's 'Pine and Cypress of Songyang'!

"Though the artist is unknown, our appraisers unanimously agree that the reproduction skill is extraordinary-so much so that it rivals the original and could even pass as authentic!

"The starting bid is 800,000 yuan."

As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, Ye Chen raised his paddle again.

"Huh? Him again?"

"Is he deliberately choosing items no one wants?"

The crowd was stunned.

If Ye Chen's earlier purchase of the damaged porcelain cup had merely left them perplexed, bidding on this reproduction left them completely baffled.

Items like these, unsold since the first auction, had little appeal.

If this reproduction had been done by a renowned artist, it would've been worth much more than 800,000 yuan.

But an anonymous reproduction, no matter how skillfully done, was virtually worthless.

Art collections are primarily about the artist's name-appreciation of the artwork itself is secondary.

Thus, an anonymous reproduction, no matter how lifelike, held no real value.

Yet Ye Chen bought both the damaged porcelain cup and this unknown reproduction. What was he thinking?

Amid the confusion, the auctioneer's voice rang out again.

"800,000 yuan, going three times! Sold!"

"Congratulations to the gentleman at Seat 78 for acquiring the Republic-era reproduction of Qianlong's 'Pine and Cypress of Songyang' for 800,000 yuan. Please proceed to the backstage with our staff after the auction to complete the transaction!"

With that, the Jiangzhou stop of the Wuji Group auction tour concluded.

"Thank you all for coming!" the auctioneer said with a sigh of relief.

The wooden carving, porcelain cup, and painting-unsold in previous rounds-had finally been taken off their hands.

Meanwhile, Ye Chen also exhaled deeply.

Though he let the wooden carving go to Zhang Jingshan, he secured the other two treasures without a bidding war.

In his previous life, these three items were revealed to be worth nearly a billion yuan shortly after the auction.

In this lifetime, now in his possession, their value would soon exceed two billion yuan-even without the wooden carving!