"Are you trying to use our identities to drive up the price of the 'King Ginseng'?"
Seeing Qin Xuan's expression, Chen Zhongping immediately guessed Qin Xuan's intention.
Qin Xuan nodded.
"That Hu Hao fellow seems really keen on acquiring this 'Thousand-Year King Ginseng'. If possible, I'd like to see him bleed a little."
"Good heavens, this fake King Ginseng will fetch at least a billion, possibly more. If Hu Hao actually buys it, he might really spit blood from anger."
Chen Zhongping agreed with a laugh, and Ye Shuliang chimed in with a jest, "Brother Qin, you always get revenge. It seems we'll have to be careful from now on."
"What if we accidentally offend him someday? We might end up losing a fortune too!"
"Hahahaha!"
As the three chatted and laughed, the bidding for the King Ginseng officially entered its final stages.
The bidding was fierce. In just over ten minutes, the price of the 'Ginseng King' had soared from its starting bid of 30.32 million to match the Emperor Green Jade Bangle at 1.2 billion Dragon Coins.
Throughout the bidding process, Hu Hao lived up to Qin Xuan's expectations, becoming the most active bidder.
"1.55 billion!"
Before long, the price of the Ginseng King was pushed up another notch.
Hu Hao also took the bidding paddle from Liu Ying.
"1.6 billion!"
"1.6 billion! The current price of the King Ginseng has reached 1.6 billion!"
Yi Ruo exclaimed in surprise, continuing to play her role in guiding the auction.
"Are there any further bids?"
"No more bids?"
"Could it be that this exceptionally rare, top-grade King Ginseng will welcome its new owner now?"
"1.6 billion, once."
"1.6 billion—twice!"
"1.6 billion—thrice!"
"Sold..."
"1.61 billion!"
Just as Hu Hao was filled with joy, believing he had secured the King Ginseng, a robust voice announced a higher price.
Hu Hao suddenly realized the voice was a bit off and looked towards its source.
What met his eyes was indeed Qin Xuan's smiling face.
"Why is it him?!"
"And he's using Chen Zhongping's paddle?"
Hu Hao's heart clenched, and a bad premonition washed over him.
He didn't know if Qin Xuan was participating in the bidding for the Ginseng King on his own behalf, but to secure the Ginseng King, he still raised his bidding paddle again.
"1.7 billion!"
"1.71 billion."
"1.8 billion!"
"1.81 billion."
"Damn it!"
Hearing Qin Xuan's nonchalant bid, Hu Hao couldn't help but curse.
The other party was always bidding 10 million more than him, clearly provoking him.
Hu Hao desperately wanted to give up so Qin Xuan would suffer a major setback, but for the sake of his future, he had to continue bidding higher.
"1.9 billion!"
"1.91 billion."
"2 billion!"
"2.01 billion."
...
"2.4 billion!"
After several rounds of bidding, Hu Hao's anger had reached its peak.
Seeing this, Qin Xuan spread his hands.
He placed the bidding paddle on the table and turned to continue chatting with Chen and Ye.
As Yi Ruo's auction hammer fell suddenly, the exceptionally rare 'Thousand-Year King Ginseng' finally fell into Hu Hao's hands.
Chen Zhongping burst into laughter and gave Qin Xuan a thumbs-up, "Brother Qin, your move truly pushed the art of annoyance to its extreme."
"Look at Hu Hao's gritted teeth; he probably dreams of tearing you apart!"
Qin Xuan also wore a broad smile, "What can I do? When some people constantly annoy me, I can only return the favor a little."
"However, I must thank you, Brother Chen, for bearing the risk with me. I won't forget this favor, Qin Xuan."
Chen Zhongping waved his hand, "You're being too formal."
"Without you, perhaps it would have been me or Old Ye who bought the 'Ginseng King' this time."
"While billions of Dragon Coins wouldn't cripple us, it's still a considerable sum."
"Since you cleared the path for us, we naturally had to show our appreciation."
Qin Xuan nodded upon hearing this, silently remembering the kindness of Chen Zhongping and Ye Shuliang.
What he could do now was limited, but if he ever struck it rich, he would definitely bring Chen and Ye along to enjoy the prosperity.
A moment later, Yi Ruo's voice sounded again.
And this time, the item was the final highlight of the entire auction—the Northern Song Dynasty Jian Kiln Tenmoku glaze tea bowl.
"Brother Qin, take a look, what do you think of this item?"
"Is it real?"
Seeing Chen Zhongping's anxious expression, Qin Xuan couldn't help but chuckle.
After carefully listening to the tea bowl's inner voice, he confidently replied, "Brother Chen, you can bid with confidence. This bowl is real, absolutely no problem."
"No problem?"
"That's good, that's good!"
Hearing Qin Xuan's confirmation, Chen Zhongping breathed a sigh of relief.
However, he wasn't in a hurry to bid.
Items like this usually wouldn't be sold without bidding for tens of minutes.
As expected.
After a full thirty minutes of intense bidding, Chen Zhongping finally acquired the Northern Song Dynasty Tenmoku glaze tea bowl for a staggering 3 billion Dragon Coins.
With this, the regular auction officially concluded, with all items successfully auctioned.
After the auction, Qin Xuan and his party proceeded to the banquet restaurant as arranged by the staff.
As they were heading to the banquet hall, a staff member in black suddenly called Qin Xuan aside outside a guest room.
"Miss is waiting for you inside, please."
With that, the staff member opened the door and left.
Leaving Qin Xuan alone, somewhat bewildered.
Well, since he was here, he might as well go in and see.
With this thought, Qin Xuan opened the door and walked in.
Upon entering the living room, he found a stunningly beautiful young woman.
She was dressed in black, wearing a black lace hat, her eyes slightly closed and lips slightly parted, reclining lazily on the living room sofa.
"Mr. Qin Xuan."
"You've arrived?"
Seeing Qin Xuan enter, the young woman straightened up slightly.
"Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Xiao Ya."
"Of course, you can also call me Black Widow."
Xiao Ya smiled slightly, her beautiful eyes holding an indescribable charm.
"Miss Xiao Ya."
Qin Xuan returned a smile.
Without any pretense, he pulled up a chair and sat down.
"You are very beautiful, but your hospitality is truly lacking."
He said this while appraising the beauty opposite him.
"But speaking of which, we don't seem to know each other, do we?"
"How do you know my name?"