CHAPTER 303: CHAPTER 97: THE OLD RELICS

Su Ziceng, tense to the point where even her pores seemed to be blocked, was icy all over. She could only smile, her mind a blank.

The guests’ puzzlement was quickly replaced by impatience. A high-quality auction, including the presentation of the items, the setting of the reserve prices, and even the standard of the auctioneer, all require strict demands.

No matter how well Subi Auction House had prepared and promoted the event beforehand, this clearly valueless, old Taishi chair had already turned all prior efforts into naught.

The exceptionally valuable Dragon Chair was now discarded in a corner of the alley behind Subi Auction House, where a few mice that had awakened from hibernation were scurrying over it with "squeaks".

Next to the "Dragon Chair," a hand appeared. Pello reached out his hand to Su Ziceng and said with a smile, "It’s time for the intermission. Let me take over." At this moment, Su Ziceng was in desperate need of a helping hand, so even under countless gazes, she still firmly grasped that hand, then let Pello lead her down as he took her place.

A magnetic male voice rose in the hall, casual and easy, as if announcing the act of a performance: "Ladies and gentlemen, our beautiful Miss Su has given us all a real surprise."

He bent down, took the dusty but still plump gray seat cushion in his hands, and gave it a firm tug.

Hang Yishao also noticed the change in Su Ziceng’s demeanor before and after. Although he was very unhappy with Pello’s "heroic rescue," he dared not rush forward clueless about the auction and could only hope in his heart that Pello would make a mess of it. However, if Pello messed up, it would mean Ziceng had as well. With that thought, Hang Yishao also became tangled in his own worries.

"As everyone can see, this seat cushion is very sturdy, and its history is also very long," Pello continued with salesman-like gestures, yet his performance was inexplicably elegant, prompting private whispers among the female guests.

"Why not let him down and we’ll start with the other auctions?" Director Luo was by this time indifferent to the whereabouts of his beloved Dragon Chair; all he could think about was bringing the auction to a swift close. A shoddy seat cushion, the more it was flaunted, the sadder its ending would be.

"But this seat cushion is far more significant than it appears on the surface," Pello deliberately elongated his tone, placing the seat cushion back onto the Taishi chair. Compared to Director Luo, Pello seemed more like a highly skilled hype man. His unexpected appearance and the twists and turns in his explanation had a great enhancing effect.

"In the 1940s, the government forces in alliance with the Soviet Government comprehensively eradicated elite troops including the Japanese Guandong Army. Generals Deng and Ye led the charge at that time..." Pello’s voice followed the progression of the war, pulling the guests among their trains of thought.

Those a bit older could not help but tear up, while the younger generation also envisioned the glory of those times, the valiant actions of the revolutionary forebears.

"This seat cushion was a gift from General Ye to General Deng during the war. There are only two in the world, and the other one is now with the greatest leader of Z country in the Central Military District," Pello’s voice was like the most emphatic auction hammer strike, setting the tone and stirring every soul.

"Oh my god!" Su Ziceng covered her mouth in surprise as she gazed at the unremarkable seat cushion, which was now radiating astonishing brilliance.

In the auction house, all guests, including the carefree Shang Yin and the attendants serving beverages, held their breath.

Outside the auction house, beneath the large loudspeakers, nearly ten thousand people beside the continuously broadcasting "Light Wall" were also holding their breath.

"Dragon Chairs" are so named because they are protected by true dragons. But those that have been dead for hundreds of years can hardly protect the true dragons of Z country today; how can they compare to the "great dragons within the country" that have protected Z country for over half a century, weathering countless storms.

"Boss, that cushion, does it really have such a big background?" Zhou Dagen nervously asked Su Ziceng.

"Mr. Deng, Mr. Deng! It should be true," Su Ziceng couldn’t assert with total confidence, but why did Pello seem to know so much about it?

"The nearly hundred-year-old Mr. Deng works tirelessly on this seat cushion every day..." Pello was still continuing.