Chapter 137: The Auction Begins
Chu Feng responded with a faint smile as well.
"Su Linsheng really stepped in shit, finding such an outstanding son-in-law. If you weren’t married, kid, I’d want to marry my own daughter off to you," another old man said with a hearty laugh.
They had all heard about Chu Feng’s exploits—winning tens of billions in a single night.
In fact, word of this had already spread through the most elite circles. It was just that many hadn’t met Chu Feng in person.
"Young man, I have high hopes for you. Don’t hesitate this time. When it’s time to make a move, make your move," one of them said, patting Chu Feng on the shoulder.
"Hahaha, I just hope you all don’t get red-eyed trying to outbid me," Chu Feng said with a laugh.
"It’s about to start. Brother Chu, let’s share a room," Zhao Liu offered.
He actually believed in Chu Feng’s abilities. With Chu Feng by his side, he could definitely make a lot of money. This was a money tree he had to hold on to.
"Boss Zhou, I’ll be going then. Let’s get together again when we have time," Chu Feng said to Zhou Ming.
’I haven’t known this Zhou Ming for long, but I can tell he’s a decent guy. At least he doesn’t seem to have any bad intentions.’
"Alright, I’m off then. Oh, right, you must be Zhao Si, right?" Zhou Ming asked suddenly, glancing at Zhao Liu as he was about to leave.
"I am. And you are?" Zhao Liu asked, looking at the young man, a bit perplexed.
He didn’t recognize Zhou Ming, so he was very confused.
"You don’t need to know." With that, Zhou Ming left. In his eyes, it seemed Zhao Liu wasn’t even worth mentioning.
This left Zhao Liu both confused and displeased.
"Sixth Master, let’s go. He’s a raw stone seller I just met," Chu Feng said.
Chu Feng was actually able to guess Zhou Ming’s identity because although the guy was running a stall, quite a few people were observing him, keeping an eye on him.
Moreover, no matter where Zhou Ming went, these people would follow, as if they were protecting him.
The key was that the people following him in secret possessed a certain degree of strength.
Obviously, Zhou Ming was also from a Martial Arts Family, but people like Zhao Qinghan didn’t have that kind of status.
Zhao Qinghan and the others were also disciples of Martial Arts Families, but they didn’t have dedicated personnel protecting them in secret.
"Brother Chu, do you know that man’s background?" Zhao Liu asked with a frown.
’In Beihai, of all the people who know my identity, how many would dare to disrespect me? Unless they’re from a Martial Arts Family.’
"He’s likely backed by the Southern Border Qing Bang. But I have to say, he’s made me reconsider my view of the Qing Bang," Chu Feng said lightly.
"I see. No wonder! I was just thinking, who in Beihai would dare to be so disrespectful to me!" Zhao Liu said with a nod.
"Alright, Sixth Master, let’s not talk about him anymore. The auction is about to start, so let’s hurry. I came here this time specifically to get some jade," Chu Feng said.
His purpose for coming here was to acquire jade to make Jade Boxes and jade vials.
After all, it was related to the medicines and Elixir Pills he planned to refine later.
"Brother, don’t you worry. There’s a lot of good stuff this time. If you get one big piece, it’ll be enough to make plenty of boxes," Zhao Liu said with a smile.
"I hope so," Chu Feng said.
’I’m really hoping a massive piece of jade shows up. I’ll buy it no matter the cost.’
His only fear was that no such large piece would be available.
"The raw stones that make it to auction are basically all guaranteed to contain jade. They’ve all had windows cut, so you can see a little something," Zhao Liu said.
Hearing this, Chu Feng couldn’t help but laugh to himself. ’Windows?’
’It’s not like people don’t fake them, deliberately gluing a bit of real jade onto the surface of what’s actually just a worthless rock that will never produce any jade.’
Chu Feng and Su Miaoke followed Zhao Liu to a private room. Inside, there were sofas, chairs, and plenty of food and drinks.
The temperature was comfortable, and a huge screen in front of them showed a clear view of the auction hall. There was also a bidding device to the side.
These kinds of private rooms were generally reserved for important figures. After all, for VIPs who didn’t want to show their faces, a room like this was the best option.
You could eat, drink, and relax while still participating in the auction.
Chu Feng sat on the sofa, feeling completely at ease.
’This sofa is incredibly soft and comfortable. Just from the feel of it, I can tell it must have been expensive.’
Soon, an image appeared on the screen—it was a live feed of the auction hall.
They could hear the sounds from the auction hall, but their own voices couldn’t be heard outside.
There was one huge display and several smaller screens, showing various angles of the auction hall and even views of some of the participants.
"Brother Chu, is this really your first time dealing with jade?" Zhao Liu asked suddenly.
"Yes, it really is my first time," Chu Feng said with a nod.
"It seems you’re truly a natural talent, Brother Chu. Someone told me earlier that you cut open more than thirty raw stones in a row downstairs, and every single one produced jade. And high-value jade, at that," Zhao Liu said with a laugh.
He gave Chu Feng a knowing look.
"Sixth Master, please don’t look at me like that. It really is my first time stone gambling. I just got lucky downstairs," Chu Feng said.
"Is that so? Well then, I’m rather looking forward to seeing your luck in action, Brother Chu," Zhao Liu said with a smile. He then opened a bottle of red wine, poured two glasses, and handed them to Su Miaoke and Chu Feng.
Before long, the auction began. It started with the usual pointless pleasantries and opening remarks.
After the opening ceremony was over, the real auction began.
"Our first item is a fifty-kilogram raw stone from an old foreign mine. The starting bid is two million, with minimum increments of one hundred thousand," the auctioneer announced in a sweet voice.
The auctioneer was a very beautiful woman in a cheongsam, with a well-proportioned figure and smooth, delicate skin.
"Raw stones from old foreign mines generally have a higher chance of producing jade. Plus, this one’s skin is a grayish-green, and a small window has been cut on the right side where you can clearly see ice-type jadeite. The probability of this stone yielding jade is very high," Zhao Liu commented from the side.
"Does Sixth Master want to bid on this one?" Chu Feng asked.
"Mhm, I feel like the chances are high for this one. Are you going to bid?" Zhao Liu asked.
"I just want to know, can they bring the stone here for us to look at?" Chu Feng asked.
"Of course. Others don’t get this chance, but I naturally have some privileges. However, so as not to disrupt the auction, you can only look at it for three minutes," Zhao Liu said.
"That’s fine," Chu Feng said with a nod.
He breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn’t judge the quality of the raw stone just by looking at a screen.