Chapter 53

Bryant fell silent. He wasn't short of money, but he felt it wasn't worth it. A porcelain bowl like this was already very expensive at five hundred million, and seven hundred and sixty million was simply not a good deal!

"Mr. Bryant?" the host asked politely.

Bryant didn't respond but sat back down in his seat.

The host felt a bit awkward and picked up the hammer. "Seven hundred and sixty million, first call. Seven hundred and sixty million, second call. Seven hundred and sixty million..."

"Eight hundred million!" Bryant, who had already sat down, softly uttered two words, sending the scene into another climax.

Eight hundred million! This teacup had unexpectedly sold for eight hundred million! No one had anticipated such a sky-high price!

Ni Liqun sat down. He had mortgaged four real estate projects and borrowed two hundred million to gather the eight hundred million in cash. Now that Bryant had bid this price, he couldn't afford to follow.

The host saw Ni Liqun gently wave his hand and guessed the result. He announced loudly, "Eight hundred million, first call. Eight hundred million, second call. Eight hundred million, third call! Congratulations to Mr. Bryant from the United States, who has won all four exquisite Ru porcelain teacups!"

The audience burst into enthusiastic applause. Although they were somewhat resentful that an American had bought their country's antiques, the amount of money he had spent deserved the applause.

Among those clapping, Li Ting clapped the loudest. She said with an extremely happy tone, "We have eight hundred million again! ... Oh no, after taxes and commissions, another two hundred million is gone..."

The host said cheerfully, "Ha ha, all four teacups belong to Mr. Bryant. Next is the final item of our exhibition, the soul of the tea set—the teapot!"

"This teapot is fully glazed inside and out with a light sky-blue glaze. The glaze surface has no cracks, and the color is lustrous and clean, with a natural contrast in depth. It is a masterpiece of Ru porcelain. Although its body is not painted like the phoenix vase, its value is no less than that of a single phoenix vase. Like the phoenix vase, we will start the auction at one hundred million!"

"Five hundred million!" Mr. Li from Taiwan immediately revealed his bottom line.

Seeing the confident Bryant on the other end of the internet, Ni Liqun felt a surge of anger and shouted, "Eight hundred million!"

"Oh, eight hundred million already!" The audience let out a chorus of exclamations.

After three bids reaching six hundred million, it was already astonishing. Now, in just two bids, it had reached eight hundred million!

"Eight hundred and ten million!" Bryant said calmly.

The teapot was the soul of the tea set. He had already bought the four bowls; how could he not buy the teapot? Besides, he had spent eight hundred million on a single bowl, so he wouldn't hesitate to spend more on the teapot.

The scene was silent because the price was too high. Apart from Ni Liqun, who had gathered eight hundred million in cash, no one else had that much money!

"Alas! It seems the teapot will go to the American!" Ni Liqun sighed.

He didn't want to admit defeat, but he simply didn't have as much money as the other party!

"Eight hundred and twenty million!" a voice called out over the phone.

Bryant was taken aback but then smiled, recognizing the voice as that of Amadeo from Italy.

When Amadeo had bid on the porcelain vase, Bryant had raised the price to break the record. It seemed Amadeo wanted to return the favor. This guy held grudges.

But it didn't matter; Amadeo would only raise the price once, just for show. A few tens of millions didn't bother Bryant.

"Eight hundred and thirty million!" Bryant said.

This price clearly set a new record for Chinese antiques. Hearing such a sky-high price, no one could respond for a long time.

The host smiled, "It seems the teapot will go to Mr. Bryant again. Eight hundred and thirty million, first call..."

"Old Ni, we meet again. It seems you haven't bought anything today?" Mr. Li from Taiwan greeted Ni Liqun.

They had no business dealings, but they had met multiple times at antique auctions and were familiar with each other.

"Alas, I just wanted to buy a piece of Ru porcelain, but I don't have the financial power!" Ni Liqun sighed. "I really don't want to see our national treasures fall into American hands!"

"Me neither!" Mr. Li, though in Taiwan, was still concerned about the country. "I think we can cooperate. I brought five hundred million. As long as the price doesn't exceed one billion, we can work together to win it!"

"Really?" Ni Liqun's eyes sparkled.

"Ha ha, you can keep the item, but I need to see it when I want to!" Mr. Li smiled.

"Deal!" Ni Liqun said.

"Eight hundred and thirty million, third call..."

Just as the host was about to hammer down, Ni Liqun, who had already discussed with Mr. Li, raised his hand and said, "Nine hundred million!"

"Mr. Ni has bid nine hundred million!" the host became excited.

"Nine hundred million, amazing! Today's records are one higher than the other!"

"Indeed, it's truly unimaginable!"

As the audience erupted, Bryant, in front of the American camera, lit a cigarette and took two puffs before saying, "Nine hundred and thirty million!"

"Nine hundred and thirty million!"

Ni Liqun said, "Nine hundred and fifty million!"

"Wow, nine hundred and fifty million!"

Bryant flicked the cigarette into the ashtray and crushed it with his hand. "Nine hundred and eighty million!"

"Nine hundred and eighty million! I wonder if it will reach one billion today. If it does, that would be a ten-digit astronomical figure, absolutely hard to surpass!"

"Indeed, can it reach one billion? To sell for such a price is truly unimaginable!"

Ni Liqun and Mr. Li exchanged glances and nodded. Ni Liqun called out, "One billion!"

"Really one billion!" The scene erupted again!

No one could have imagined that this tea set would create such an incredible myth!

One billion! A single auction item sold for one billion!

This was a milestone record for Chinese antiques, likely to remain unbroken for a long time!

"One point one billion!"

Bryant was genuinely furious. He had already bought all the teacups and would not let the teapot fall into anyone else's hands!

He was an extreme perfectionist!

"Mr. Li, can we bid again?" Ni Liqun asked.

"Alas, Old Ni, I only have five hundred million in liquid funds now. I can't come up with more," Mr. Li, whose real name was Li Changhe, shook his head.

Ni Liqun said, "I have a bit more. Can I add it? Can we bid one point two billion?"

Li Changhe thought for a moment and said, "Alright, let's bid one point two billion. I'll raise the money and pay you back later, okay?"

Ni Liqun smiled, "No need, no need. You said you'd keep the item with me, so it's only right that I contribute more!"

Li Changhe said, "We'll discuss the details later. Let's bid now!"

"Alright!" Ni Liqun slapped his thigh and said with great confidence, "One point two billion!"

"Wow, Mr. Ni has bid one point two billion! It seems the teapot will ultimately go to Mr. Ni. Truly remarkable!"

The host was overjoyed, his face beaming. One point two billion! What an astronomical figure! Just thinking about the teapot being worth one point two billion made him dare not touch it again!

It was too precious!

When Bryant heard the host's words translated by his secretary, his face turned extremely dark. No one had ever outbid him on something he wanted!

He took a sip of water and called out, "One point two five billion!"

"Wow, one point two five billion!"

Everyone felt a burst of stars in their eyes. The price was getting more and more outrageous, completely beyond their common sense!

One point two five billion, what an astronomical price!

Seeing this, Mr. Ni laughed three times, "Old Li, it seems I have to put all my assets on the line. I must do my utmost to keep the treasure in China, even if I don't succeed, I'll at least try!"

"I support you!" Li Changhe nodded.

"Grandpa, go for it!"

Mr. Ni had brought his granddaughter this time. The girl was in high school and was exceptionally pretty. Seeing the two grandfathers put all their assets on the line, she waved her delicate hands to cheer them on.

"One point three billion!" Ni Liqun called out loudly.