BXBX NOVEL Chapter 376: The Peel
Chapter 376: The Peel
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Rick’s 60,000 dollars was already nearing the previous closing bid. But for unit 42, it was just one of the first few bids.
For unit 41, everyone had been reluctant to bid because they were unsure of the authenticity of the furniture.
When it came to unit 42, the treasure hunters were now more confident since they had attempted to appraise the furniture with their own ways and had received positive results.
The furniture seemed to be mahogany material.
As such, after Rick called for 60,000 dollars, there was someone who followed almost instantly:
“Sixty-one thousand dollars!”
“Sixty-two thousand dollars!”
“Sixty-four thousand!”
“Seventy thousand!”
The treasure hunters were raising the prices themselves. There was no need for the auctioneer to speak, and he was happily watching with his arms crossed.
“Everyone’s going crazy, all thanks to you,” Hans said.
“Relax,” Li Du said. “With Harris here, the others can’t get this unit.”
Harris was a greedy man, and he had money. As long as he had confirmation that the unit would make money, he would definitely let Rick get it.
Different people also had different evaluations of the unit. Those who had more connections could sell the goods at a higher price, and thus would have a higher evaluation of the unit.
Rick and Frank were treasure hunters who would appraise the unit at a much higher value. Their bids would naturally be much higher than the ordinary treasure hunters.
Li Du made two calls, pushing the bid to 80,000 dollars. When the price came to that, he shook his head and backed out, as did many other treasure hunters. As he’d expected, Frank and Rick were the two remaining.
Eighty thousand dollars was within Frank’s acceptable range. He hadn’t just called for people to validate the authenticity, he also asked them to evaluate the price for him; he’d received an estimation of 120,000 to 150,000 dollars.
As long as it was in the 100,000-dollar range, he was willing to bid.
Rick had also found friends to help him make an estimation, and they too said it could go up to 120,000 dollars. Harris’s words were that anywhere under 110,000 dollars, they would make a profit.
The two exchanged blows with Frank and York: it went from 80,000 dollars to 90,000 dollars.
Harris was glaring at Frank and York with a look so sharp that it seemed to cut the air.
Seeing that there was only one person left competing against them, he decided to play underhanded. He gave a look to his two Native American henchmen, signaling for the two to take care of Frank.
Rick noticed it and quickly held him back, saying in a quiet voice, “Don’t do this, Harris, they’re our allies!”
Harris said irritably, “To hell with your allies. What kind of allies are these? Allies for getting in our way?”
Rick didn’t want to offend Frank and York. Harris didn’t belong in this business, so he could cause whatever troubles he wanted, but Rick could not.
Especially right now, Frank was not the enemy; Li Du was. He wanted to collaborate with Frank to deal with Li Du.
If Harris’s men threatened or injured Frank, then the two parties would become eternal enemies.
With that in mind, he stopped Harris. He walked over to Frank and whispered to him, “Buddy, you already have a unit. How about you let this one go?”
Frank said belligerently, “Dream on. Who doesn’t want to make more money?”
Rick was ticked off. However, he still had to hold back his temper and explained, “The guy with me is a Native American thug. He wants to get this unit. If you continue bidding, he might do something to you guys.”
“Are you threatening me?” Frank scoffed.
“No,” Rick said patiently, “that b*st*rd really will do anything to get what he wants. I want to remain on friendly terms with you, Frank. You should understand, that I’m really trying to help you!”
York remembered how Harris had taken out the blade in the coffee shop. He pulled Frank to the side and said, “Forget it, let this one go.”
Arizona was not their home turf. Frank had a bad temper, but he wasn’t mindless. After some consideration, he ended up accepting the request and backed out with a grim expression.
Rick smiled at Harris. “No need for violence. I’ve settled things with them.”
The auctioneer pointed to the two and rambled, “86,000 dollars, 86,000. Anyone going any higher? How about 87,000?”
Rick and Harris were about to claim the unit as no one was bidding, when suddenly Li Du’s voice rang, “90,00 dollars!”
Hearing his call, the vicious fire in their hearts that they were desperately trying to restrain started blazing. Harris glared at Li Du with murderous eyes. Beside trying to
intimidate the other party with a glare, he had no other ways to vent his frustration.
In fact, he was actually afraid of offending Li Du. If Li Du went to their casino and made a scene again, Marlin would kill him!
Rick suppressed his anger and shouted, “91,000 dollars!”
Li Du shrugged, indicating that he had exited this bidding. He was just trying to provoke the two and didn’t really have the intention to fight with them for the unit.
The auctioneer pointed to Rick and Harris again, shouting, “91,000, anyone else? Going once…” After three calls, the unit belonged to Rick.
Unit 43 was opened, and more mahogany furniture appeared.
The treasure hunters went into an uproar. With three consecutive units with precious mahogany, there was no way the situation was normal. The auctioneer continued with what he’d done for the previous unit and stood two steps back to allow them to enter.
For this unit, it was still difficult to see any flaws solely based on the appearance. The bids rose relatively slower, but everyone was still participating.
Li Du knew that unit 44 was also a bunch of mahogany furniture. These were the ones that were pasted with a coating of mahogany. At this point, Li Du wanted to reveal the truth.
For replicas like these, the best way to reveal their true identities was with the power of time. As time went on, the coating of mahogany and the actual wood inside would eventually separate. As the glue weakened, the coating would fall off.
However, it would take a long time: at least ten years. Li Du naturally couldn’t wait that long. He let out the bug to let it absorb the time from the furniture.
Unit 43 landed in Harris’s hands. The closing bid was lower than unit 42, at 75,000 dollars. Soon, unit 44 was opened.
Once again seeing a bunch of mahogany furniture, the treasure hunters turned doubtful. They began to realize that the furniture was suspicious. Logically speaking, no one would let go of that much authentic mahogany!
The auctioneer took two steps back and bellowed, “Let the viewing begin!”
The treasure hunters queued up to enter. When some of them approached the furniture, they sneakily touched the wood; it was one of the ways to discern the quality.
Someone touched a wooden table, and a layer of wood peeled off, revealing a surface of completely different gloss and lines underneath.