Chapter 1443: Haunted House
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
After getting the first villa at a lower price than expected, Li Du felt a bit strange. He looked around and listened to the chat going on between the house-pickers. Then he wondered what was going on.
It was because of Logan. All the other house-pickers had thought that Logan would fight the bidding war with Li Du. They had been waiting for Logan to strike.
In the end, Logan had only bid once, and the other people were shocked. Therefore, they had not been able to call out their bids in time. Hence, Li Du managed to take advantage of that.
The second villa was presented, but the auction did not start immediately. Instead, the auctioneer first gave a short introduction. After all, those houses were of great value. The government and banks hoped to sell them at high prices, and hence, would naturally publicize them with more efforts.
Taking advantage of this idle time, Logan went to Li Du and said, “You have landed many deals today, congratulations.”
Li Du looked around and asked in surprise, “Are you talking about me? I just landed myself one house.”
“Aren’t they your subordinates?” Logan jerked his chin towards the treasure hunters. “They bid for the houses under your instructions, right? Aren’t they yours too?”
Li Du gave him a smile and shook his head. “No, no. You’re mistaken. We are friends. I did offer them my opinions but their winnings will belong to them. It has nothing to do with me.”
Saying that, Li Du added, “Of course, it’s the same for their losses. They have nothing to do with me either.”
Logan revealed an unconvinced smile. Obviously, he did not believe those words.
After hearing Li Du’s explanation, Logan said slowly, “The rest of the houses… why don’t you give up bidding? They are not highly valued. I’m bidding for them for other motives. Give me some face.”
The second villa was a standalone cottage. The word ‘Cottage’ conveyed the meaning of a village lodge, a standalone family house. While the name sounded dated, the house was in fact very modern and comfortable.
Such houses tended to be built in a variety of styles. They might be designed to resemble the cottages in fairy tales. Those were built in an unusual way and looked dreamy. Some houses had large balconies, beautiful courtyards, and various small turrets.
American families tended to be on extreme ends. They could be dual-income couples who did not want children. They could also be crazy about having kids. American dramas reflected such cases well. Many on-screen families had many children.
For such families, the village cottage was attractive. That was because kids loved to stay in those houses.
Li Du could remember that house. The outer walls were pink, orange, yellow and green. From the outside, it looked beautiful. The decorations and quality of the house were also in good condition. The house even had furniture and appliances inside.
Li Du was interested in that house. However, from Logan’s words, it seemed like he was even more interested in it.
After some consideration, Li Du said slowly, “I would really love to show you some face. After all, you gave up on the bidding just now. That gave me face too.”
The auction was about to start and Logan was somewhat nervous. He said, “You’re a smart guy. You know what to do. Trust me, as long as you maintain an amicable relations.h.i.+p with me, no one can do anything to you in the Los Angeles real estate auction trade.”
Those words sounded exaggerated. Li Du was amused and said, “So you’re saying that I’d have a tough time in this trade if I’m unable to win over your friends.h.i.+p?”
Logan said, “That would be a terrible decision. Believe me, young man, I don’t always offer my friends.h.i.+p, especially to someone Chinese…”
Hearing that, Li Du changed his mind. He smiled and said, “Then you’d better take back your words. Because, honestly, I’m not someone who will take up an offer of friends.h.i.+p easily either. I’m rather proud, in fact. For a Chinese.”
After listening to Li Du’s words, Logan’s expressed darkened. He stared at Li Du and asked, “Do you understand what you’re doing?”
Li Du shrugged. “Seems pretty clear to me.”
Logan turned and walked off, not saying another word, showing off a conceited demeanor.
The starting bid for the cottage was 1,200,000. Li Du remembered that the estimated value of the house exceeded five million. That starting bid was considered rather low.
This kind of house was often located at the foot of a mountain or on the mountainside. The purpose was to emphasize the quaint style of the building by placing it in picturesque surroundings. Therefore, the location of the house was considered very good, raising its value further.
Hearing that bid, Logan frowned. He seemed to feel that the starting bid of 1,200,000 was slightly high.
Li Du helped Logan decide on joining the bidding war. “1,300,000!”
The rest of the house-pickers did not bid. They looked at Li Du with a strange expression. Many of them looked like they were watching a show.
Li Du understood now. Logan had already settled with the rest of the house-pickers. These people were watching him challenge Logan.
Hearing that bid, Logan shook his head. “Alright, 1,400,000!”
Li Du snapped his fingers. “1,500,000!”
It was just he and Logan who were in the bid war now. Each time the new bid surpa.s.sed the previous one by a hundred thousand dollars. Very soon, the price got up to two million.
After Li Du shouted that bid, Logan took a deep breath and said to him, “Congrats, China man, you got this house.”
As he said that, Logan was clapping. The surrounding house-pickers also started to applaud. It was different from the situation before. Previously, whenever Li Du or his people managed to land a house, the house-pickers would look angry.
Seeing that, Li Du’s heart sank. He felt that something was not right.
He quickly went through the information he had about the house in his head. He recalled no problems. The house was in a good position, the building quality was good, and there was no one living inside. Whichever way one looked at that house, it was truly a quality piece of real estate.
That was until he thought of the previous chat with Logan. He suddenly realized that he had underestimated his enemy. Logan’s actions from before did not seem to be typical for someone who was trying to ask him to give up on the house. Logan had used reverse psychology to egg him on to buy that house!
Li Du had not thought about that too much and had fallen into the trap.
He had yet to figure out what was wrong with the house. Hence, he nodded to everyone calmly and said, “Thank you all for the good wishes. I’m very pleased with this house. I believe that it will bring me good returns.”
His words were meant for fis.h.i.+ng out more information. He believed that if he acted so arrogantly, and if there was a problem with the house, someone would tell him about it to mock him.
Sure enough, after he finished talking, Abel, who had pitted against him for the termite house, sneered: “Ha, returns? You’re getting ahead of yourself. You want to rely on a haunted house to make money? You have this wretched house in your hand now, Chinese dude, and you’re stuck with it because it definitely can’t be sold!”
That was the answer, then. Other people also started to laugh when they heard that. “Two million to buy a haunted house! Chinese people are really rich.”
“Only Wolf King would have thought of this. Taught him a lesson so easily, a good lesson.”
“Of course, Logan is not an easy character. Didn’t he deal with this Chinese man well?”
“Hey, don’t spout nonsense. Wolf King did not deal with him. He is merely educating him. This is to help him gain valuable experience.”
The treasure hunters started to grow anxious. Shocked, Olly asked, “This house is haunted? We didn’t hear anything about that.”
Li Du, too, had not heard that piece of information. After all, he had just entered the trade. During this auction, he had been busy to bring along new blood. Hence, it was inevitable that he was not completely prepared.
However, Li Du felt that the matter was not so simple. That was because the expression on the face of Logan, who had supposedly come up with the plot, did not look good. He did not exude the happiness of someone whose ploy had been successful.
Li Du had noticed that Logan had looked at him with a sinister expression. He did not know the particulars yet, but he felt that there was more than meets the eye.