Chapter 325 The Right Stand (2/2)

Everyone knew that 1,500 dollars was a very good price to win the bracelets. For many, it was impossible to challenge that amount.

Marate joined in the bidding. ”One thousand five hundred fifty dollars,” he said.

The price continued to rise steadily to 2,000 dollars, then it further went up to 2,200 dollars.

Li Du considered for a moment and placed another bid again: ”2,250 dollars!”

By the time the price reached this figure, there weren’t many contenders left. Everyone liked the bracelets, but at the same time, they didn’t want to spend too much on them.

The auctioneer’s arm swept over the crowd and he said, ”2,250 dollars, 2,250 dollars, 2,250 dollars, any higher bids? Don’t let 50 dollars block you from going on a date with a pair of gold bracelets. If no one else is bidding then I’ll say 2,250 dollars once—”

”Two thousand three hundred dollars!” Marate called out in a loud voice.

The auctioneer was overjoyed. He pointed at Marate and continued his auction chant.

Li Du gave it a thought again and said, ”2,500 dollars.”

There was scattered applause around the church. This was because this was a charity auction and the proceeds would be used to help church members in need, so a higher bid price meant that more people could receive help.

Marate made his bid again without any hesitation, and spoke in a slightly louder voice than earlier: ”3,000 dollars!”

The applause became much denser and louder now, and many believers turned their heads in their direction.

The obvious difference in treatment made Marate felt good. It was as he thought: the church was his turf. Everyone would support him, not a foreigner that they were unfamiliar with.

Li Du shook his head, backing off from the bidding. The auctioneer shouted ”3,000 dollars” three times. No one else made a bid. He pointed to Marate and announced, ”This precious jewelry now belongs to this adorable young man over there. Let us congratulate him with a round of applause!”

An even louder applause was heard. Marate was grinning from ear to ear; he raised his hand, looking proud of himself.

When he sat down, Mr. Martin shook hands with him. ”Congratulations, young man.”

Marate laughed and replied, ”Thank you, Mr. Martin. I’m a member of the church. I have to contribute—I’m not an outsider, afterall. I can’t just simply sit and watch.”

While the words in the beginning of Marate’s small speech were normal, his words toward the end of the sentence seemed to be implying something.

Li Du didn’t even turn to look at him, acting as if he hadn’t heard anything.

The second item was an embroidered blanket. As the art of Chinese embroidery had spread around the world, there were many people in the United States who used this craft to pass the time. There were many households with embroidered decorations.

The blanket was about six feet long, and three feet wide. It was embroidered with a scene of Christ giving blessings to his believers, which was probably based on a story in the Bible. As Li Du was not familiar with the Bible, he could not understand the story.

Because there was a lot of detailed embroidery, the starting bid was 400 dollars, which was not too low. The final deal price was 550 dollars. The enthusiasm of the crowd was much smaller, but the price was still reasonable.

The subsequent items for bidding were mainly common household products and ordinary jewelry. There were no expensive artworks on auction. This was understandable, as the majority of the believers here were part of the ordinary working class.

Li Du was not interested in the subsequent items, and therefore, he did not make any other bids and just looked on.

He had positioned himself since coming to the auction to simply be Sophie's companion. He did not want to stand in the limelight or to donate much money.

From his point of view, the charity auction was an internal activity of the church, which, to put it crudely, was none of his business. If he wanted to show his compassion for humanity, it need not be here.

Marate kept staring at Li Du; when he noticed that Li Du did not even attempt to make any bids, he felt that he had finally found a way to defeat this rival!