Chapter 104: 16.5 Million? You Must Be Kidding

At this moment, Fang Nian had become the center of attention for everyone. They were all waiting for his final decision. After all, Fang Nian had just boasted boldly—no matter how much Xu Fan offered, he would raise the bid by 1.5 million. Even Liu Yunduo stopped calling out first or second bids, simply standing there waiting for Fang Nian’s answer.

Suddenly, Fang Nian became the focus of the crowd, but his expression turned awkward. He didn’t give them the answer they wanted. Instead, he stood up and patted his pockets, as if searching for something. After a moment, he looked at the chubby man beside him with a sudden realization.

“Ah, right, isn’t my card with you? Did you check it when you came? How much money is left? I’m not sure if it’s enough for 16.5 million.”

The chubby man immediately understood what Fang Nian meant and was happy to play along.

“How much? 16.5 million? Brother, what are you joking about? There’s less than ten thousand left on that card. The money for the relic still needs to be asked from your wife at home. And 16.5 million? You’re really funny.”

Hearing this, Fang Nian instantly put on a genuinely clueless expression, scratching his head.

“Ah... so that’s how it is. I thought I was pretty rich. Looks like I’m making a joke of myself.”

After speaking, Fang Nian turned to Xu Fan with an apologetic look.

“Sorry, Mr. Xu. I just realized I don’t have that much money. I probably can’t afford 16.5 million. I’ll give it to you for 15 million then.”

Hearing Fang Nian’s words, Xu Fan’s lips began to twitch with suppressed rage. It was painfully clear now that Fang Nian never intended to buy the item. He was only trying to drive up the price and force Xu Fan into a bidding war.

Because of Fang Nian’s unreasonable behavior, Xu Fan had ended up spending an extra 6.5 million. That was nearly double the original price, and it hurt Xu Fan deeply.

But compared to Xu Fan’s grim mood, the audience below had very different thoughts. They were mere spectators, eager for the drama to unfold. Now that Fang Nian had turned the situation upside down like this, they were even more delighted.

“Hahaha, I never expected it. The young master Fang is quite the trickster, making Xu Fan spend an extra 6.5 million. That’s enough money to open another large-scale hunting ground. This guy’s really wicked.”

“Exactly! Look at Xu Fan—he’s so angry, almost ready to kill someone. Usually, he’s the one causing others to lose their temper. Who would have thought that smart Xu Fan would get outplayed? This is definitely today’s biggest scoop.”

“Ha, I like Fang Nian. His act was convincing. Carrying not a penny yet daring to bid for something worth over ten million, and keeping such a calm face—he really cracked me up.”

“Right? Now this arrogant Xu fellow has met his match. Look at Fang Nian’s innocent look at the end—it’s infuriating. If I were tricked by this guy, I’d really want to get rid of him.”

…

The audience below buzzed with chatter, but Xu Fan couldn’t bring himself to be happy. At this point, there was nothing to do but remember this grudge and settle it later.

Jin Jindao and Jin Jinhui were nearly doubled over with laughter, also feeling relieved they hadn’t joined the bidding war with Xu Fan.

“Bro, luckily we didn’t get involved with those two just now. Xu Fan really took a big loss this time—he must be furious.”

Jin Jindao was unusually joyful because of Fang Nian. Perhaps he was also glad Fang Nian’s opponent wasn’t himself this time.

“Yeah, even for the Xu family, this is a severe blow. 15 million is no small sum—such a big hemorrhage.”

The Xiao family was actually quite excited since the item belonged to them. They were thrilled it sold for such a high price, although Xiao Xuefeng’s face twitched with tension. He never dreamed the item would fetch 15 million.

After teasing Xu Fan, Fang Nian finally turned to face Xiao Xuefeng, who was still wearing a stern expression.

“Mr. Xiao, I helped you get quite a bit more money for this. Don’t forget your promise.”

Xiao Xuefeng glared at Fang Nian’s triumphant smirk, his face darkening with anger. He hadn’t expected Fang Nian to be so shameless. Before the auction had started, Xiao had confidently promised to donate half of the proceeds.

At the time, Xiao thought his mechanical component would only fetch seven or eight million. Donating three or four million would be painful but would earn a good reputation.

But who knew it would sell for 15 million? That meant he had to donate 7.5 million—a painful sum. Even for the Xiao family, losing that much money was a heavy blow.

His family didn’t know he had swapped the auction item on his own. If they found out he wasted so much money again, his father would surely punish him harshly.

Yet, facing Fang Nian’s question, Xiao Xuefeng could only smile stiffly, helpless and unable to complain.

After a period of settling accounts, all the auction items had been handed over to their buyers, and the payments quickly cleared, deposited into the Northern City Grand Hotel’s account.

Liu Yunduo, holding the total charity funds raised tonight, gasped softly—she never expected the fundraiser to collect so much money.

“All right, the total charity funds are now in my hands. Thank you all for your generous donations. Tonight’s charity banquet has raised 11.5 million Hope Coins. These funds will be used to support the construction of homes for the Huaxia people outside the walls. Now, I will read out the list of donors.”

“Mr. Xiao Xuefeng, 7.5 million.”

“Mr. Xu Fan…”

…

After the list was announced, the audience sighed in amazement—they hadn’t expected so much money to be raised at a single banquet.

“Oh my, that’s so much money. I’ve never even dreamed of seeing this much. The upper class in District 16 is truly full of hidden talents.”

“Exactly. We should thank the Xiao family. Over ten million in donations, and the Xiao family accounted for a big portion. They’re really generous. With this much money, it’ll probably take the Xiao family a year or more of selling props to break even.”

“Right, but I feel like Xiao Xuefeng wasn’t very willing to donate. He probably didn’t expect the item to sell for so much.”

“Hmm, I noticed that too. So, the one we should really thank is Fang Nian, right? He’s the one who drove the price up to 15 million.”

“Definitely. Thanks to him. Oh, what about the Xia family’s auction items? It seems like they didn’t bring anything to auction. That seems a bit off.”

…

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