Mind reading saves the whole family; I'm firmly in the role of a charlatan.

Chapter 212 What is your master's surname?
Both of them were amused by Du Anrao's boasting, but Xi Jingyue quickly noticed that Du Anrao did not intend to give all the finished products made of jade to Du Desheng and his wife, and a glimmer of hope arose in his heart.

"This is all waste material. Should we continue cutting it down?"

The experienced craftsman was also very excited looking at the jadeite rough he had unearthed. The owner of the stone was happy to have found such a treasure, and he, as the person who handled it, also felt proud.

The reason why something is called a treasure is precisely because it is rare and hard to obtain.

Based on the master craftsman's many years of experience in cutting stones, the fact that this stone could yield a piece of fortune, prosperity, longevity, and happiness is already considered a blessing from heaven.

The remaining large piece of uncut raw material is most likely just waste material and clods of dirt, hence this question.

Du Anrao didn't answer immediately, but turned to look at Old Master Wen: "Would you like to continue watching?"

Grandpa Wen seemed to wake from a dream, and his gaze towards Du Anrao softened even more: "No need, you can handle the rest yourself."

"Then I don't understand. The remaining stone happens to have a rather unique shape. If I take it back to my grandfather's garden and use it as a rockery, it will definitely blend in perfectly and no one will be able to tell the difference."

As soon as Du Anrao finished speaking, Old Master Wen couldn't help but burst into laughter: "Hahaha, you silly girl, you're really funny. I heard you also won the bid for the last item that was added to the auction. Come on, I'll go with you again and help you complete the formalities."

Du Anrao could sense that the old man had no ill intentions towards him, and instead felt a sense of closeness to him as if he were a younger member of his own family, so he was happy to joke with him.

"Are you worried that I won't have the money to pay, and you want to personally supervise me?"

"Hahaha, can't you think of something nice? You've spent so much money at our auction house, you're our most distinguished guest, and my old man is personally serving you. Are you not satisfied?"

"No, no, it's my honor to have you serve me personally. Let's go over there quickly."

The people around were initially admiring the "Fortune, Prosperity, Longevity, and Happiness" plaque, but when they turned around and saw Du Anrao chatting and laughing with Old Master Wen, they became even more surprised.

"This is the first time I've ever seen the old man treat a younger person who is even younger than his grandson so kindly."

"Does the old man know Ninth Master? His good attitude towards that child might be a way of currying favor with Ninth Master."

"That makes sense, but there's a difference between putting on a show and genuine affection. Even if she was just being nice to that girl to curry favor with Ninth Master, it's still quite an achievement for her to handle such immense wealth."

"What you said makes some sense..."

It has to be said that people love to watch a spectacle, and when a group of people watch a spectacle, they can't help but get together to share their thoughts.

While most people felt a mixture of envy and jealousy towards Du Anrao's plight, they didn't really hate him. Du Tianci and his friends, however, were different.

The group had always considered themselves direct relatives of Du Desheng and had long regarded his businesses as their own.

Who would have thought that Du Anrao would suddenly appear out of nowhere, spending the money that "rightfully belonged" to them, and even gaining the favor of Old Master Wen!

Du Tianci was so angry that he kicked the wall next to him, biting his gums so hard they almost bled.

If... if he hadn't been stopped by his father and hadn't been wary of the confidence Du Desheng gave Du Anrao to keep raising the price, wouldn't he have won this treasure worth hundreds of millions, and wouldn't he have gained favor with Old Master Wen?

By then, he will have hundreds of millions in his own hands, so why would he need to fawn over the so-called big shots behind his father?
It was truly a case of one wrong step leading to another. Feeling he had missed his chance to change his fate, Du Tianci now hated not only Du Anrao, but also Du Weilu, who had stopped him from bidding. He had completely forgotten Du Anrao's panic and regret when Du Anrao had deliberately kept him hanging on without raising the price.

Du Anrao didn't care about what these people thought at all, and soon followed Old Master Wen back to the original exhibition hall.

At that time, most of the guests had already received their items, and Du Anrao was probably the only guest who had not yet paid the full amount for the auction.

The moment the two appeared, they immediately attracted the attention of everyone in the hall, while Xi Jingyue and his companion behind them became mere background figures.

The young woman in charge of collecting fees immediately put on a professional smile upon seeing Du Anrao: "Hello, Ms. Du, the total value of items number 18 and 19 that you purchased is 1.5 billion and 2.05 million. In addition to this auction fee, you also need to pay taxes on the two items. Because the two items are different in nature—one is a commodity, and the other is land use rights—the types of taxes payable are also different, namely…"

These things touched on Du Anrao's blind spot. After listening for a long time, he was still confused and could only grasp one key point.

Besides the 1.5 billion and 2.05 million she paid for those two items, she also has to pay taxes on them, and these taxes are particularly high, possibly amounting to 200 to 300 million in total!

[I got carried away and forgot about paying taxes! Luckily, I still had some extra money in my account, otherwise I really wouldn't have been able to leave this auction house today!]

After feeling relieved, Du Anrao couldn't help but clutch his chest, looking as if he were in unbearable pain.

[But this tax is too expensive! Two or three hundred million! That's enough to buy dozens of my family's dilapidated Taoist temples! If my master finds out, he'll definitely scold me for being wasteful, sob sob...]

Xi Jingyue was amused by Du Anrao's heartfelt complaints, but it wasn't hard to tell that the girl's heart was bleeding at that moment.

Indeed, when bidding for that stone before, Du Tianci's interference caused her to spend an extra million compared to the expected amount, which was already enough to make her heart ache. Not to mention that now there are two or three hundred million more to come, it's like tearing flesh out of her heart.

Despite feeling the pinch, Du Anrao knew he had no choice but to pay. After the young lady finished calculating all the fees, he obediently took out his small card holder, pulled out the black card, and reluctantly handed it over.

No sooner had she handed over the card than her hand was grabbed by the person next to her.

"Grandpa Wen...?"

The old man with white hair had bright eyes, and his gaze toward Du Anrao was so intense that it seemed to burn her through.

Xi Jingyue and his companion were taken aback by this turn of events. Their expressions changed slightly, and they immediately wanted to step forward to help, but then the old man suddenly asked, "Where did you get this string of copper coins?"

Copper coins? Everyone around them looked down at the string of five Emperor coins hanging on the corner of Du Anrao's card holder.

"This...this is a gift from my master for my eighteenth birthday."

"Master? What's your master's surname?"

"His surname is Yuan, the Yuan of Yuan Tiangang."

"Yuan, the Yuan of Yuan Tiangang? Hahahaha, then it's definitely you, it really is you. I never thought this old man would live to see you appear. It's truly a blessing from heaven for the Wen family, and for this old man like me, hahahaha..."

(End of this chapter)