Seeing Harris give Lil’ Rick a slap, Hans stuck his tongue out and then said, "Wow, that guy’s temper is as terrible as ever. Why does he like slapping people so much?"
Lil’ Rick was dumbfounded by the slap. He didn’t understand what he’d done wrong. He looked to Harris in shock and said, "Uncle Harris, what’s going on?"
Hearing his son’s friendly way of addressing Harris, Rick’s eyebrow twitched again.
He went up to pull his son away and reprimanded him coldly, "Shut up, shut up!"
Lil’ Rick felt wronged and extremely embarrassed. His face was stinging, and he didn’t know if it was from the slap or from the embarrassment.
If it were in private, a slap wasn’t a big deal. Rather than a slap, at the Comanche Casino, when they were being pursued to pay their debts, he had been beaten until his bones almost broke.
However, it was in the public light now. The people who had seen him get slapped were low-tier treasure hunters, which fueled his level of embarrassment. He felt that all eyes were on him now, and those gazes were full of pity, ridicule, and apathy. This feeling was driving him crazy.
Without another word, he ran to the truck and drove out of the parking lot.
Li Du glanced at Harris and Rick, saying, "You guys went over the top."
Rick almost vomited blood from anger after hearing those words. He roared, "You were the one who started things, b*st*rd, don’t act like a nice guy now! You are always the one inciting things!"
Such groundless accusations annoyed Li Du. Clearly, there was no way of communicating logically with them, so he kept silent.
However, Hans couldn’t bear seeing his brother getting insulted. He poked Rick’s chest with his index finger as he said, "Hey, buddy, your son was the one who came over here to provoke him. Li has already been nice enough to him. If the person he had wanted annoy were me, then he wouldn’t have been slapped only once!"
Rick wanted to say something, but Harris gave him a shove and said with frustration, "Enough, stop stirring up trouble! It was your son who came over here to start things, can you just keep quiet and focus on making money?"
Harris’s attitude enraged Rick and he snapped, "Old friend, you’re too much, what was that for? Who do you think I am?!"
Facing Rick’s anger, Harris was unfazed. He said coldly, "When you finish paying your debts, I will return to that friendly demeanor."
Since the start of this commotion, Frank and York had been watching silently at the side and had no intentions to butt in.
The crowd dispersed, and York said, "These people from the countryside are interesting."
Frank curled his lips to the side as he said, "Interesting my *ss. Seems that Arizona is truly a gathering of crude men. Still, I like it here, and I love kicking the *sses of these d*mn barbarians."
The auctioneer came out and the place started returning back to order. The auction was going to begin soon.
Unit 41 was the first to be opened. Neatly-arranged mahogany furniture appeared before the eyes of the treasure hunters.
Seeing the furniture, the crowd immediately heated up:
"D*mn, the news was right, there is mahogany furniture!"
"It’s fragrant rosewood! Look, the color goes from pale yellow to a dark red. The surface has dark rings—it’s rosewood!"
"Too far, I can’t see clearly. Still, it sure looks good! I must get it!"
Li Du had blended into the crowd. When it was his turn, he received a pair of binoculars from Hans and examined the unit. He then leaned his head in to smell, and even stretched out his hand to touch a chair near the door.
Seeing that, the auctioneer called out from behind, "No touching anything inside, buddy. Don’t make me warn you a second time."
Rick and the others were carefully observing the scene. Frank went up to Rick and said in a quiet voice, "We’ll need to examine it close up, huh?"
"Who knows?" Rick shook his head and walked away.
The viewing was over. The auctioneer glanced at his price list and said, "Ok, ladies and gentlemen, gather around, I’m going to start the bidding. I’ll assume everyone knows the rules, so I’ll start straight away. A thousand dollars, the price is a thousand."
Hans gave Li Du a glance, but Li Du shook his head. "Relax first."
For a unit full of mahogany furniture, 1,000 dollars was extremely cheap. Immediately, someone raised his hand up and said, "I’ll take it!"
"One thousand five hundred dollars!"
"Two thousand dollars!"
"Three thousand!"
"Five thousand!"
The price quickly shot up. Clearly, the treasure hunters were full of interest in the furniture.
Harris shot a look to Rick as he whispered, "Hurry up and bid. Why aren’t you bidding?"
Without a change in expression, Rick said, "Don’t be hasty, Mr. Harris. We’ll let them fight amongst themselves first. This isn’t a good time to enter the competition."
Harris nodded and said, "Looks like there’s no chance of getting this unit for a cheap price anymore, right?"
"Truth be told, my friend," Rick said hesitantly. "I don’t recommend buying this furniture. I told you: according to some sources, they seem to be just a bunch of fakes."
Harris glared at him and said, "Your sources? What kind of sources are they? Let me tell you: the Chinese man said that the furniture is all red and yellow rosewood!"
"Don’t you feel that the appearance of that Chinese man was too coincidental?" Rick said in a cautious tone. "That he appeared right before the auction started?"
"What do you mean?" Harris asked.
"I suspect that the storage company hired that Chinese man to trick us!" Rick said.
Hearing that, Harris also began to feel hesitant.
Indeed, the appearance of that so-called expert was too coincidental. They weren’t fools and wouldn’t blindly believe the statements of a stranger.
But then Li Du’s side started bidding. Hans raised his hand and bellowed, "10,000!"
It jumped from 7,000 to 10,000 dollars. Many treasure hunters shook their heads disappointedly as they hadn’t brought that much money.
Still, there were some treasure hunters who could keep up. "Ten thousand five hundred dollars!"
"Eleven thousand dollars!"
On Frank and York’s side, the two remained unsure. "Buddy, wanna have a go? If it’s real, getting it for 10,000 dollars is a great bargain."
On the American market, mahogany furniture was relatively uncommon. Frank and York were unfamiliar with it.
However, they had a database. Frank flipped open his notebook to search for information on mahogany. After some quick research and comparison with the actual furniture in front of them, he gritted his teeth and said, "We’ll have a go—bid for it!"
Hearing that, York immediately raised his hand and stated, "15,000 dollars, here!"
This increase was another big jump. Again, several treasure hunters backed out.
One of the treasure hunters said in a frustrated tone, "Where are those two from? They seem to be loaded."
Someone on the side laughed, "Are you a rookie? You don’t know those two? If you’ve ever been to California, then you’ve definitely heard of them: Frank and York!"
Li Du glanced at Frank, and then nodded calmly.
Hans also raised his hand up and said, "20,000 dollars!"
The jump in price was getting wider!
At that moment, Harris couldn’t take it anymore and said, "Listen, Rick, are you certain that the furniture is an imitation?"
Rick pondered this for a short while and then shook his head. "No."
Harris instantly raised his hand up and said viciously, "Then they have to be real—26,000 dollars!"
Seeing Harris give Lil’ Rick a slap, Hans stuck his tongue out and then said, "Wow, that guy’s temper is as terrible as ever. Why does he like slapping people so much?"
Lil’ Rick was dumbfounded by the slap. He didn’t understand what he’d done wrong. He looked to Harris in shock and said, "Uncle Harris, what’s going on?"
Hearing his son’s friendly way of addressing Harris, Rick’s eyebrow twitched again.
He went up to pull his son away and reprimanded him coldly, "Shut up, shut up!"
Lil’ Rick felt wronged and extremely embarrassed. His face was stinging, and he didn’t know if it was from the slap or from the embarrassment.
If it were in private, a slap wasn’t a big deal. Rather than a slap, at the Comanche Casino, when they were being pursued to pay their debts, he had been beaten until his bones almost broke.
However, it was in the public light now. The people who had seen him get slapped were low-tier treasure hunters, which fueled his level of embarrassment. He felt that all eyes were on him now, and those gazes were full of pity, ridicule, and apathy. This feeling was driving him crazy.
Without another word, he ran to the truck and drove out of the parking lot.
Li Du glanced at Harris and Rick, saying, "You guys went over the top."
Rick almost vomited blood from anger after hearing those words. He roared, "You were the one who started things, b*st*rd, don’t act like a nice guy now! You are always the one inciting things!"
Such groundless accusations annoyed Li Du. Clearly, there was no way of communicating logically with them, so he kept silent.
However, Hans couldn’t bear seeing his brother getting insulted. He poked Rick’s chest with his index finger as he said, "Hey, buddy, your son was the one who came over here to provoke him. Li has already been nice enough to him. If the person he had wanted annoy were me, then he wouldn’t have been slapped only once!"
Rick wanted to say something, but Harris gave him a shove and said with frustration, "Enough, stop stirring up trouble! It was your son who came over here to start things, can you just keep quiet and focus on making money?"
Harris’s attitude enraged Rick and he snapped, "Old friend, you’re too much, what was that for? Who do you think I am?!"
Facing Rick’s anger, Harris was unfazed. He said coldly, "When you finish paying your debts, I will return to that friendly demeanor."
Since the start of this commotion, Frank and York had been watching silently at the side and had no intentions to butt in.
The crowd dispersed, and York said, "These people from the countryside are interesting."
Frank curled his lips to the side as he said, "Interesting my *ss. Seems that Arizona is truly a gathering of crude men. Still, I like it here, and I love kicking the *sses of these d*mn barbarians."
The auctioneer came out and the place started returning back to order. The auction was going to begin soon.
Unit 41 was the first to be opened. Neatly-arranged mahogany furniture appeared before the eyes of the treasure hunters.
Seeing the furniture, the crowd immediately heated up:
"D*mn, the news was right, there is mahogany furniture!"
"It’s fragrant rosewood! Look, the color goes from pale yellow to a dark red. The surface has dark rings—it’s rosewood!"
"Too far, I can’t see clearly. Still, it sure looks good! I must get it!"
Li Du had blended into the crowd. When it was his turn, he received a pair of binoculars from Hans and examined the unit. He then leaned his head in to smell, and even stretched out his hand to touch a chair near the door.
Seeing that, the auctioneer called out from behind, "No touching anything inside, buddy. Don’t make me warn you a second time."
Rick and the others were carefully observing the scene. Frank went up to Rick and said in a quiet voice, "We’ll need to examine it close up, huh?"
"Who knows?" Rick shook his head and walked away.
The viewing was over. The auctioneer glanced at his price list and said, "Ok, ladies and gentlemen, gather around, I’m going to start the bidding. I’ll assume everyone knows the rules, so I’ll start straight away. A thousand dollars, the price is a thousand."
Hans gave Li Du a glance, but Li Du shook his head. "Relax first."
For a unit full of mahogany furniture, 1,000 dollars was extremely cheap. Immediately, someone raised his hand up and said, "I’ll take it!"
"One thousand five hundred dollars!"
"Two thousand dollars!"
"Three thousand!"
"Five thousand!"
The price quickly shot up. Clearly, the treasure hunters were full of interest in the furniture.
Harris shot a look to Rick as he whispered, "Hurry up and bid. Why aren’t you bidding?"
Without a change in expression, Rick said, "Don’t be hasty, Mr. Harris. We’ll let them fight amongst themselves first. This isn’t a good time to enter the competition."
Harris nodded and said, "Looks like there’s no chance of getting this unit for a cheap price anymore, right?"
"Truth be told, my friend," Rick said hesitantly. "I don’t recommend buying this furniture. I told you: according to some sources, they seem to be just a bunch of fakes."
Harris glared at him and said, "Your sources? What kind of sources are they? Let me tell you: the Chinese man said that the furniture is all red and yellow rosewood!"
"Don’t you feel that the appearance of that Chinese man was too coincidental?" Rick said in a cautious tone. "That he appeared right before the auction started?"
"What do you mean?" Harris asked.
"I suspect that the storage company hired that Chinese man to trick us!" Rick said.
Hearing that, Harris also began to feel hesitant.
Indeed, the appearance of that so-called expert was too coincidental. They weren’t fools and wouldn’t blindly believe the statements of a stranger.
But then Li Du’s side started bidding. Hans raised his hand and bellowed, "10,000!"
It jumped from 7,000 to 10,000 dollars. Many treasure hunters shook their heads disappointedly as they hadn’t brought that much money.
Still, there were some treasure hunters who could keep up. "Ten thousand five hundred dollars!"
"Eleven thousand dollars!"
On Frank and York’s side, the two remained unsure. "Buddy, wanna have a go? If it’s real, getting it for 10,000 dollars is a great bargain."
On the American market, mahogany furniture was relatively uncommon. Frank and York were unfamiliar with it.
However, they had a database. Frank flipped open his notebook to search for information on mahogany. After some quick research and comparison with the actual furniture in front of them, he gritted his teeth and said, "We’ll have a go—bid for it!"
Hearing that, York immediately raised his hand and stated, "15,000 dollars, here!"
This increase was another big jump. Again, several treasure hunters backed out.
One of the treasure hunters said in a frustrated tone, "Where are those two from? They seem to be loaded."
Someone on the side laughed, "Are you a rookie? You don’t know those two? If you’ve ever been to California, then you’ve definitely heard of them: Frank and York!"
Li Du glanced at Frank, and then nodded calmly.
Hans also raised his hand up and said, "20,000 dollars!"
The jump in price was getting wider!
At that moment, Harris couldn’t take it anymore and said, "Listen, Rick, are you certain that the furniture is an imitation?"
Rick pondered this for a short while and then shook his head. "No."
Harris instantly raised his hand up and said viciously, "Then they have to be real—26,000 dollars!"
