PCJ – Chapter 581 Unreasonable Trouble

“I won’t waste words—Biyu Spirit Tea, 188 grams, starting price: 1 yuan, with a minimum increment of 1,000 yuan. The auction begins now,” announced Luo Aiqi.

“100,000!”

Someone called out a tentative bid. While not a low price for most teas, for this one, it was clearly modest. At 188 grams—less than half a jin (500g)—this put the tea at around 250,000 yuan per jin. That was already the price of top-tier tea. However, for a product from the high-end Biyu Xianyin (Jade Immortal Tea) line, it was still far too low.

Anything produced by Biyu Xianyin was considered premium. Especially its flagship lines—Biyu Xianyin and Hongyu Xianyin (Red Jade Immortal Tea)—whose bamboo-canister variants always fetched prices far above this.

The crowd responded with knowing smiles. Even the bidder wore a grin. Everyone understood that although this new tea hadn’t yet been tested in the market, the starting price was not even close to what this new product deserved. Just seeing how many people had come specifically for this new Biyu Xianyin tea made that clear.

Gu Hao grew anxious. He was determined to win this tea, but looking around the hall, he had no confidence in prevailing against so many well-resourced competitors. So, he decided to strike early.

“One million! Everyone, my grandfather’s 90th birthday is coming up in a few days. He loves Biyu Xianyin tea more than anything. I want to buy this tea as a gift for him. Please, do me this favor. I promise, you’ll be rewarded!”

Gu Hao threw out this vague, insubstantial promise, hoping to secure the tea before the bidding heated up.

Xu Yanzhang’s expression immediately darkened. He hadn’t expected someone from the Gu family to act so shamelessly. This was outright rule-breaking. If everyone started using these tactics, auction houses would go out of business. What Gu Hao was doing amounted to threatening others not to bid, implying retaliation from the Gu family if they did. If the crowd was intimidated by the Gu name, Xu’s auction house would suffer major losses.

Even the auction-goers were stunned.

“Damn, when did the Gu family get this brazen? No shame left.”

“They’re only doing this because the Xu auction house doesn’t have enough backing. Would Gu Hao dare pull this stunt elsewhere?”

“Xu Yanzhang’s in trouble. If this ends like this, who would ever entrust valuable items to Xu’s auction house again?”

“But Xu Yanzhang can’t afford to offend the Gu family either.”

“Still, Gu Hao doesn’t represent the whole Gu family. He’s just a spoiled rich kid. Not everyone’s going to give him face.”

“Either way, this is a big headache for Xu Yanzhang.”

Just as the murmurs filled the room, someone loudly called out:

“Two million!”

The expression on Gu Hao’s face changed instantly. He had assumed that a one-million bid, along with the Gu family name, would be enough to secure the tea. He never expected a wild card to appear. Not only had his implied threat been nullified, but the price had just doubled. It was a figurative slap in the face.

Gu Heling was just hesitating over whether to step in and put Gu Hao in his place. She worried that openly opposing her own family member might be frowned upon within the Gu family. Whether Gu Hao was right or wrong, internal disputes weren’t to be aired publicly. So she had held back. But now, with Gu Hao’s tactics falling apart, she could breathe a little easier.

Gu Hao stood up, glaring venomously toward the voice’s direction—only to find it had come from a boy who looked like a student: Zhang Jiaohua.

“Young man, don’t make a scene! Xu Auction House, what are you doing? How could you let a child cause trouble here? Get him out, now!” Gu Hao barked, thinking Zhang was just a kid playing games.

“Causing trouble? You threaten people because you can’t afford to bid higher? If your Gu family is so powerful, why not just steal the tea? What’s the point of even holding an auction then? Doesn’t an auction house have its rules?” Zhang Jiaohua replied coldly.

“Where are this kid’s parents? Someone shut his mouth before he causes real trouble!” Gu Hao looked around, visibly trying to intimidate.

Zhang Jiaohua chuckled. “Never seen good tea before? Don’t be so vulgar while eating your fill.”

“Wait a minute. Let me clarify something,” Gu Heling interjected. “Not everyone named Gu represents the Gu family. Just because someone breaks the rules doesn’t mean the entire Gu family supports it. If anyone breaks auction rules, feel free to throw them out. Don’t blame the Gu family. We’re not carrying that burden.”

“What are you trying to say, Gu Heling?” Gu Hao snapped.

“What are you trying to say, throwing around the Gu family name while breaking auction rules?” Gu Heling shot back calmly.

Without waiting for a response, she turned to Xu Yanzhang and smiled. “My little brother was out of line and disrupted the auction. I apologize on his behalf. Everyone, please disregard his earlier remarks. Our Gu family does not use power to bully others. Of course, our family is large, and it’s inevitable that we have a few foolish, spoiled offspring. Just treat his words like the barking of a stray dog.”

Gu Hao tried to retort, but was pulled back by Wu Yaping.

“Young Master Hao, you must listen to me this time. This has gone far enough. If word of this gets back to the old man, your days will be numbered,” Wu Yaping warned.

“But I just can’t let this go!” Gu Hao slammed his fist on the table. His rage toward Gu Heling and the boy who embarrassed him burned like fire.

“You’ll have to swallow it. What’s the point of bidding on this tea if it ends up backfiring?” Wu Yaping advised.

“Find out who that kid is. I want to see who dares ruin my plans,” Gu Hao growled as he stormed out.

Wu Yaping shook his head helplessly. “Hopeless. He really is a good-for-nothing.”

Back on the stage, Luo Aiqi quickly resumed: “There was an unfortunate incident just now, but things are back on track. I hope it didn’t dampen anyone’s spirits. To the gentleman who placed the last bid—do you still intend to go forward?”

He looked at Zhang Jiaohua.

“Of course. I’m not playing around,” Zhang replied calmly.

His voice wasn’t loud, but it carried clearly to everyone in the room.

“Alright then, two million—once!”

“Two million one hundred thousand!” Gu Heling jumped in quickly with a new bid.

This left many unsure of what to do next. Even though Gu Hao had left, everyone could tell that Gu Heling had her own motives for winning this tea.