Chapter 492 — The Final Bid

The bidding opened, and the first to leap forward was still Fatty Lai; wriggling his enormous bulk, he raised his paddle: "Two hundred million!"

"Whoa—" No one in the hall had expected Fatty Lai to bid two hundred million this time! Yet a moment's thought explained it: he had lost out twice in a row, and this was his last chance. If he did not seize it now, he might never get another.

Of all those present, the one most baffled by Fatty Lai's bid was Yu Haitian. He had already won a Life-Extending Detox Pill, yet at this moment he only grew more alarmed, ever more certain that the pill was a treasure. "Second Uncle, should we bid for another one?"

"You mustn't!" The middle-aged man shook his head. "You bid low for that pill of yours to begin with. Lai Changyi didn't raise his price—most likely only out of respect for the Yu family, and the others probably did the same. If you bid again, you will merely cheapen yourself, and that is not the way of the Yu family!"

"What? Low?" Yu Haitian was taken aback.

"Watch, and you will understand." The middle-aged man spoke indifferently. "I suspect the price this time will break three hundred million!"

Hearing his second uncle's words, Yu Haitian silently cursed himself. He was still young and had weighed the matter too lightly; he had assumed that matching the highest bid of the first round would be enough, never imagining that he had still bid too low!

As a rule, when several identical items come up at an auction, the first sells for the highest price and the rest decline in turn, since the would-be buyers have already fought their battle, and whatever remains should only come cheaper. This time, however, there was plainly an exception.

Liu Tianyi had meant to join the fun, but at the price of two hundred million his hopes died, and he decided not to bid. For though the Liu family was wealthy, much of its wealth lay in real estate and securities that could not simply be sold off; and even if there was liquid capital, one could hardly spend every last cent on pills.

"Two hundred and ten million..." A scion of one of the great families, with a silent nod from his elder, raised his paddle—and promptly drew a round of contempt. Others raised their bids by tens of millions at a time; he had raised a mere ten million. Rather stingy.

"Two hundred and fifty million!" Fatty Lai declared with swagger.

Doctor Kang frowned. He had wanted to bid in the second round, but the Yu family had beaten him to it, and he dared not contend with the Yu family, so he could only wait for the third round to make his move. But judging by Fatty Lai's manner, the man was set on winning. Doctor Kang began to fret.

Wei Zhao and Guan Xuemin had remained seated the whole time; it was Fatty Lai who stood to raise the paddle, so no one could see Wei Zhao and Guan Xuemin clearly—even Doctor Kang gave it no particular thought.

"Two hundred and eighty million!" At Doctor Kang's signal, Kang Guifeng bid a fairly high price, the same as the closing price of the previous two Life-Extending Detox Pills. He had thought Fatty Lai would not compete. But life is always full of surprises.

"Three hundred million!" Fatty Lai gritted his teeth and, without the slightest hesitation, rose and raised his paddle.

The crowd was briefly stunned, then understood why he had bid three hundred million. He had given up the first time because other chances remained; the second time the bid had come from the Yu family, and he neither wished to nor dared to compete, so he had yielded again; but this third round was his last chance, and he had no choice but to grit his teeth and fight.

Seen that way, three hundred million did not seem so very high after all!

Doctor Kang was angry enough to curse aloud. Was this Fatty Lai not bullying them too far? He had not raised his bid when Liu Tianyi bid, nor when Yu Haitian bid; but the moment it came to him, the man jumped to three hundred million!

Warned by what had gone before, Doctor Kang had assumed that two hundred and eighty million was more or less a sure thing. But it seemed things were nowhere near as simple as he had imagined.

"Dad, what do we do?" Kang Guifeng frowned. "This is the last Life-Extending Detox Pill, and that damned fat man looks just as determined to have it!"

Xiao Ji and Xiao Ben, standing to one side, found it rather strange. "Doctor Kang, is this Life-Extending Detox Pill really such a treasure?"

Doctor Kang did not answer them. Instead he said to Kang Guifeng, "Whether he is determined or not, we must take this last Life-Extending Detox Pill. It matters greatly to our family!"

"I understand!" Kang Guifeng plainly knew what his father meant: once the components of this pill were analyzed, the day the Kang family soared to fortune would not be far off.

"This may be the sole surviving specimen of a lost ancient remedy." Only after he had finished instructing Kang Guifeng did Doctor Kang begin to explain to the Xiao brothers. "Once I buy one, I mean to take it home and study it."

"Oh? So that is it! No wonder it fetches such a price—it is the last survivor of a lost ancient formula!" Xiao Ji said in sudden understanding. "Then it is indeed worth buying to examine. With your learning, Doctor Kang, you are sure to succeed in the research!"

"Heh, that is far from certain. Was it not also some miracle-doctor company that discovered these pills? And did they not fail to understand them? I can but give it a try." Xiao Ji's words were sweet to the ear and put Doctor Kang in excellent spirits.

Meanwhile, Kang Guifeng had already entered the bidding: "Three hundred and twenty million!"

"Three hundred and fifty million!" Fatty Lai shouted a higher price before the auctioneer could say a word.

Kang Guifeng was startled, and a sheen of cold sweat sprang up on his forehead. This Fatty Lai truly had money—and truly dared to keep raising.

"Continue." Though Doctor Kang felt the sting of the money, he was, after all, a man of ample means: the Kang Miracle Doctor Pharmaceutical Group currently held nearly five hundred million in liquid funds, which could still be brought out for use.

"Three hundred and eighty million!" Kang Guifeng raised his paddle once more.

On Fatty Lai's side there was a visible hesitation—but just as the auctioneer called out, "Three hundred and eighty million, first time," Fatty Lai sprang up again.

"Four hundred million!" Fatty Lai named his price.

"Whoa—" Gasps of astonishment rose without cease. Those great families and rich merchants who had been itching to throw their hats into the ring now shut their mouths. True, Liu Tianyi and Yu Haitian had both vouched for the Life-Extending Detox Pill, but no one had ever laid eyes on such a thing, and what it was truly worth remained unknown; to spend so much money on an unknown was something they would not do.

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