Uncle Li was quite unconvinced, but since Tang Qi had spoken, he could only keep his mouth shut.
Soon, the ceramic bowl was sold for seventy thousand yuan.
After that, the auctioneer sold a few more small items, and the atmosphere in the auction hall finally heated up.
It was only then that the auction officially began, and various auction items were gradually brought out.
Bidding cries filled the hall, carrying a palpable tension.
However, what was strange was that after five or six items had passed, Wu Tian showed no reaction at all.
Several of the items had even caught Tang Qi's eye, but when she turned to look, Wu Tian was resting with his eyes closed, showing no interest.
Puzzled, she asked, "Wu Tian, why haven't you reacted for so long? Are those all fakes?"
Wu Tian opened his eyes and smiled, saying, "What's the hurry? Let's wait a bit longer."
"Those items, while not fake, are not top-grade either."
"I always only pick the best, so there's no harm in waiting."
Tang Qi trusted Wu Tian. Seeing that he had said so, she nodded and didn't say anything more.
As for Uncle Li, he was still bothered by the matter of the ceramic bowl.
He said with disdain, "What top-grade or not, from what I see, he doesn't know what to look at at all!"
Tang Qi's delicate eyebrows furrowed. "Uncle Li, do you have any past grievances with Wu Tian? Why do you always distrust him?"
Uncle Li snorted, "It's not that I don't trust him, it's that I trust my own judgment!"
"I've lived for over fifty years and seen all sorts of people. I can tell who is capable and who isn't at a glance!"
"Ms. Tang, don't blame me for being blunt, but this young kid is definitely a swindler. You absolutely must not be deceived by him!"
Hearing Uncle Li's unreasonable behavior, Wu Tian sighed inwardly.
He could somewhat understand Uncle Li's thinking. After all, someone who had lived so long and remained so ordinary would be jealous of others and unwilling to acknowledge their abilities.
But understanding aside, Uncle Li's repeated targeting made him feel a bit uncomfortable.
He looked at the auction items on stage, wondering if there were no treasures today.
Just as Wu Tian was feeling perplexed, his eyes suddenly lit up as the next item was brought on stage!
"Next, the treasure I'm recommending to you all is this."
The auctioneer said to the crowd, "This is a scholar's chest left behind by a scholar who was traveling to the capital for imperial examinations during the Tang Dynasty."
On a table next to the auctioneer, a worn-out scholar's chest lay quietly.
Someone in the audience called out, "Who was this scholar? Did he become an official later?"
The auctioneer smiled and replied, "That's a good question. According to historical records, this scholar did not become an official, so this is just an ordinary scholar's chest."
"Because it's ordinary, our starting bid will be quite low: ten thousand, with increments of five thousand. You may now begin bidding."
If this had been a scholar's chest used by a famous historical figure, many people would have eagerly bid.
But alas, it was merely the scholar's chest of an ordinary scholar.
Therefore, even as an antique, it didn't hold much value.
Consequently, after the auctioneer announced the start of bidding, only a few people raised their paddles.
The price only rose to twenty thousand.
The auctioneer didn't have high hopes for this scholar's chest, and selling it for this price was within his expectations.
So, he nodded slightly, preparing to bring down the hammer.
But just then, someone from the darkness raised their paddle again!
"I bid another ten thousand!"
Instantly, all eyes turned towards that direction.
The person bidding was Wu Tian. Facing the crowd's gaze, his expression was calm.
"Wu Tian."
Tang Qi was also surprised by Wu Tian's action. She asked in astonishment, "Why are you bidding?"
Wu Tian smiled faintly and said, "Trust me, with the value of this scholar's chest, you'll make a fortune."
Uncle Li, who already disliked Wu Tian, couldn't stand it when he saw Wu Tian daring to bid.
"Are you crazy!" he whispered, cursing. "You weren't interested in so many treasures before, but now you're treating this shabby thing as a treasure. Do you even know anything?"
Wu Tian ignored him completely and raised his voice again, "I'll say it again, I'm adding ten thousand. Is anyone else following?"
The audience members looked at each other.
Soon, rustling discussions spread like a tide:
"What's going on? Why did this guy suddenly bid another ten thousand?"
"How should I know? Wait, could this thing actually be some kind of treasure?"
"It shouldn't be a treasure, it's just a broken scholar's chest, it can't have any value."
"I know, this guy must be a shill for the auction!"
More and more speculations arose, and finally, everyone concluded that Wu Tian was likely a shill hired by the auction.
After all, this was a common practice. When an item wasn't selling, a shill would often step forward to make it seem valuable, thereby driving up the price.
Wu Tian paid no attention to the murmurs and gossip.
He reminded the auctioneer, "No one else is bidding. You can announce it."
The auctioneer reacted and, skipping the final inquiry process, directly struck the gavel.
Uncle Li acted as if he had lost money himself.
He gritted his teeth in anger and exclaimed, "You swindler! Don't you feel guilty for deceiving people like this?"
Wu Tian smiled and said, "I didn't intend to retort, but since the item is already in my possession, I'll let you broaden your horizons."
After speaking, he asked the auctioneer again, "May I take the scholar's chest now?"
The auctioneer replied, "If you pay immediately, then yes, you may."
Wu Tian nodded, had Tang Qi make the payment, and then walked directly to the center of the stage.
"Everyone, watch closely!"
Wu Tian shouted to the crowd, "Now, it's time to witness a miracle!"
As his words fell, he directly smashed the scholar's chest onto the ground!
Crack!
With a shattering sound, under the watchful eyes of everyone, the scholar's chest was broken into several pieces by Wu Tian!
Faced with Wu Tian's action, everyone present was stunned.
Even Tang Qi's small cherry-like mouth parted slightly; she couldn't understand why Wu Tian would do such a thing.
"Sir! Sir!" The auctioneer thought Wu Tian was trying to cause trouble.
He quickly tried to dissuade him, "Please calm down, don't do anything out of line!"