Road to becoming the wealthiest: Starting From Treasure Hunting in the Cabinets
Chapter 591 - 391: The Trick is Not Small! _2

Chapter 591: Chapter 391: The Trick is Not Small! _2

"I’m not going to get into the characteristics of the ’Yongle Encyclopedia’, but I can assure you that, following expert appraisal, these two volumes are indeed the ’Yongle Encyclopedia’, albeit without their covers."

At this point, Mikhainov curses the people in Andrew’s home for mishandling such treasures. If he hadn’t recognized the value of these books and saved them from Andrew’s warehouse trash bin, they would likely have been discarded by now!

"You can put on gloves and take a closer look at these two books. They are ancient books written hundreds of years ago by the order of the emperors of China. Of course, you are more aware of their value than I am."

Mikhainov had initially wanted to show off his knowledge about the Yongle Encyclopedia, but quickly realized who these three men were, immediately shut his mouth and gestured for them to come and see for themselves.

Sean Knight had already scanned them with his Sky Eye, so he didn’t move. Instead, Mr. Hashishita from Japan suddenly darted out with a speed completely mismatched to his short stature. He grabbed the gloves and, before they were fully on, was already clutching the two books in his hands.

Of course, as soon as he held the books, his movements became remarkably gentle.

Sean felt that people like Mr. Hashishita had an obsessive pursuit of Chinese culture and ancient books.

Unlike those in Korea who would claim others’ accomplishments as their own, Mr. Hashishita seemed genuinely intent on turning himself into a bona fide descendant of Chinese civilization. Even though he knew this was impossible, he remained determinedly on that path.

Mr. King was peeved that he wasn’t the first one to get there and started swearing in his native language. However, he soon squeezed his way to Mr. Hashishita’s side, eagerly waiting for his turn to examine the books.

"Alright, put them down. If you win these two books, you’ll have plenty of time to look at them!"

Mikhainov cast a puzzled glance at Sean, who remained motionless. Was he uninterested in these exceptional books?

Or had he spent all his budget already and didn’t plan to bid?

Or was he holding back on purpose, so he didn’t come over to look?

Regardless, the auction had to continue. After Mr. Hashishita and Mr. King sat down, Mikhainov announced:

"The reserve price is 100,000 dollars, with each bid needing to be at least 10,000 dollars higher... The auction begins now!"

This was the real deal!

Given the ’Yongle Encyclopedia’ has a high profile internationally, Mikhainov likely knew this and priced it accordingly.

"200,000 dollars!" Mr. Hashishita called out this high bid for the first time today!

Mr. King wasn’t expecting Mr. Hashishita’s sudden fervor, but he wouldn’t back down either. After bagging that painting earlier, his confidence was sky-high. He raised his hand and confidently submitted his difficult-to-understand English bid:

"210,000!"

"250,000!" Mr. Hashishita immediately increased his bid.

"260,000!" Mr. King was purely running on the high of winning the previous round and decided to compete with Mr. Hashishita despite knowing his limits. So, he only added 10,000 each time.

Mr. Hashishita was irked but there was nothing he could do to retaliate against Mr. King, he just bit the bullet and raised his bid.

"300,000!"

"310,000!"

"350,000!"

"360,000!"

...

When Mr. Hashishita reached 500,000 and Mr. King went to 510,000, Mr. Hashishita couldn’t keep up.

Mr. King was pleased with himself but then quickly glanced over at Sean.

He wasn’t sure if Sean would participate this round.

Mikhainov was certain Sean would join in this time.

Indeed, as soon as Mr. Hashishita fell out of the competition, Sean finally raised his hand:

"0.6 million."

Mr. Hashishita, who was unable to compete with Mr. King, was thrilled to see Sean join in and immediately gave Sean a thumbs-up:

"Go, Sean!"

True friendship between China and Japan always involves a Korean!

Sean nodded, looking at Mr. King and waiting for him to raise his bid.

Mr. King was taken aback; he had not expected Sean to raise his bid by 100,000 to start. He hesitated.

But thinking of the content of this auction, Mr. King finally gritted his teeth and raised his hand:

"610,000! Dollars!"

He even emphasized ’dollars’!

Sean calmly said:

"700,000."

"710,000!"

...

When Sean increased his bid to a million, Mr. King gritted his teeth but didn’t raise his bid anymore.

While a good item was a good item, one needed to consider whether they had the means to get it.

Sean Knight ultimately acquired these two uncovered volumes of the "Yongle Encyclopedia" for a price of one million.

With no delay, Sean immediately transferred the payment to Andrew Petrov and began gathering the two volumes. Before they even had a chance to react, he had already handed over the stuff to Lincoln Harrington.

Lincoln carefully placed the items into his backpack.

He knew exactly how important these items were.

Although his face was devoid of any expression, his heart was pounding with excitement!

They could even be considered as National Treasures!

Only he noticed that the pocket Sean initially used to hold the Imperial Jade Seal was considerably depleted.

Mikhainov was taken aback by how swiftly Sean acted, leaving him a bit taken aback.

Following a mutual glance with Andrew, both men roughly conceived a plan for the next step during the look they exchanged.

Sean showed no interest in the next few Qing Dynasty items up for auction, such as court beads, and allowed Japan and Mr. King each to obtain one or two pieces.

The auction was off to a start.

Next came the auction of the pure gold crown.

"This is a crown made of gold," Mikhainov introduced, "Look at its exquisite craftmanship, the regal aura it emanates - this is undoubtedly a golden crown donned by a true member of the royalty!"

Despite his words, the expressions of Sean and his companions remained unchanged.

Mikhainov, alarmed, wondered whether the three men were interested in the golden crown at all.

After glancing at Andrew, he noticed that Andrew himself seemed to be at a loss.

However, despite their indecision, the auction had to proceed.

"As you can see, this golden crown weighs 926 grams and is made entirely of gold... Please, come forth and take a closer look. Please avoid touching the item."

Sean thought to himself, ’You seem to value it now, but if you weren’t running out of money, would you even have thought to auction off this badly-preserved crown? Who knows where it was collecting dust before!’

Just as before, Sean remained unperturbed and permitted Mr. King and Japan to inspect the golden crown.

When the two had finished inspecting, Mikhainov began:

"The starting price is 100,000 US dollars, the increment per batch should not exceed 10,000 dollars. The auction begins!"

"110,000." Japan bid first, devoid of any excitement.

Mr. King picked up the bid:

"120,000 dollars!"

Neither of them seemed excited, leaving Andrew unsettled.

This was supposed to be the grand finale!

Could it be that this item was not considered valuable by these East Asians?

Sean maintained his indifferent demeanor, intensifying Andrew’s unease.

If it continued like this, their plan for what was to come would be difficult to execute.

Mr. King and Japan were slowly bidding in increments of 10,000 dollars, neither seeming to be in a rush nor showing any signs of pressure.

Sean probably guessed the intentions of the other two.

What a pity, all their plots come to naught in front of overwhelming financial power!

From the very beginning, Sean had no intention of letting this golden crown slip out of his hands!

These two were merely putting on an act, they were nothing more than clowns performing on this stage!

Of course, if their act could deceive Andrew and Mikhainov, they would have accomplished a good deed.

As expected, after the two had been bidding for a while and the price reached 350,000, Mr. King looked at Japan and gritted his teeth, saying:

"The price has reached its peak, are you still bidding?"

Japan seemed to be gritting his teeth in determination, upon hearing Mr. King ask him, he put on a brave face and said:

"Of course I’ll bid!"

"Then I’m out!" Mr. King renounced his bid.

Sean raised his hand:

"500,000." He didn’t bother with petty increments.

With such a sudden spike in bidding, Japan became overwhelmed.

On the other hand, Andrew and Mikhainov were overjoyed!

Great! The moment this man stepped in, the money started rolling in!

However, they needed to keep a close eyes on things. They could not let him snatch away the item immediately after the bidding, otherwise, their next step in the plan would be impossible to execute!