My Mother-in-Law Gifted Me a Building

"Next, you will have ten minutes to view this raw stone up close. Due to the number of people, we ask that you please step down from the stage immediately after taking a look," the woman on stage announced to the crowd.

After all, with something like this, you could only get a more accurate feel for it by seeing and touching it in person.

Chu Feng couldn’t sit still when he saw this.

"Sixth Master, I’m not going to wait for them to bring it over. I’m going up to take a look," Chu Feng said eagerly.

With that, he pulled Su Miaoke along with him.

Chu Feng only needed a single touch to know whether the raw stone contained any jade.

But he couldn’t judge it through a video or a screen.

After Chu Feng got to the stage, he waited in line, examined the stone for a dozen seconds or so, and gave it a touch. Then, he led Su Miaoke back to their private room.

Seeing Chu Feng return, Zhao Liu immediately shot to his feet and asked, "So? What’s the verdict?"

Seeing Zhao Liu’s anxious expression, Chu Feng gave a faint smile. "The raw stone is decent."

With just a touch, Chu Feng had already discerned the stone’s internal structure, whether it would yield jade, and the quality of that jade.

"Brother Chu, are you sure? If you are, I’ll place a bid right now," Zhao Liu asked, his voice filled with excitement.

He now had immense faith in Chu Feng’s words. After all, that gamble on the high seas had let him make a killing.

"I was going to bid on this one myself, but since you want it, Sixth Master, you should go for it. I’ll wait for the later items," Chu Feng said with a smile.

"Alright, I’ll bid on this one then. I’ll let you have the good ones that come up later, Brother Chu," Zhao Liu said, laughing. He was utterly obsessed with and passionate about jade.

So upon hearing Chu Feng’s confirmation, he was eager to start bidding.

"Alright," Chu Feng said.

’This raw stone isn’t all that important to me, anyway.’

’Since Zhao Liu wants it, I might as well let him have it.’

Soon enough, Zhao Liu started bidding.

The bidding for the raw stone had already reached two million. Zhao Liu saw this and jumped straight in: "Three million!"

"Super VIP Room Eight bids three million!" the female auctioneer shouted, her voice ringing out at the new price.

However, no one else made a new bid. This prompted the auctioneer to call out, "Three million going once! Any higher bids?"

She deliberately drew out her words, trying to buy time in case someone else decided to bid.

A murmur of discussion went through the crowd, but still, no one made another offer.

After all, it was only the first raw stone, and the bidding had already hit three million—not a low price by any means.

Besides, to be honest, the stone itself didn’t look particularly promising to many of the attendees. Most people thought two million was its absolute limit.

Adding another million on top of that? Only a fool would be willing to keep bidding.

"Three million, going twice!"

"Three million, going three times! Sold! Congratulations to the patron in Super VIP Room Eight."

The auctioneer slammed her gavel down, and just like that, the raw stone belonged to Zhao Liu.

"Next up is our second auction item." The female auctioneer maintained her gentle and charming smile.

The second raw stone was soon wheeled out. It was a bit smaller than the previous one, but its outward quality was slightly better.

Just as he had before, Chu Feng went up on stage to examine it.

He didn’t bid, however, instead letting Zhao Liu have it. The stones were too small, and the quality of the jade within wasn’t exceptional—merely acceptable.

And so it went. For ten straight items, Chu Feng didn’t make a single bid. Zhao Liu, on the other hand, bid three times, and each time he won, the stone was cut open to reveal fine-quality jade.

In the blink of an eye, more than two hours had passed.

"Next, let’s welcome the eleventh item of our auction! This raw stone is considerably larger and heavier than the ones you’ve seen so far," the female auctioneer said with a smile.

"After the bidding on this stone concludes, we will be taking a short break."

A moment later, the raw stone was wheeled onto the stage.

Even with a trolley, it took a full three people pushing together to move it.

One glance was enough to tell that this raw stone was not light; it had to weigh at least a hundred kilograms.

"As all of you can surely tell just from its appearance, this raw stone is in a completely different league from the previous ones. In terms of both weight and quality, it can rightly be called the main event of this afternoon’s session."

"This stone comes from a century-old mine abroad. This old mine’s yield is now extremely scarce, but the jade it produces is of exceptional, top-tier quality. The probability of it containing ’glassy’ jadeite is very high. For those of you who have been holding back, now is the time to seize your chance!"

"The starting bid for this item is fifteen million, with minimum increments of one million!"

As the auctioneer’s words echoed through the hall, a buzz of discussion erupted from the crowd.

"The material looks pretty good, sure, but fifteen million? Isn’t that a bit ridiculous?"

"Yeah, that’s way too expensive. You probably wouldn’t even make your money back."

The female auctioneer simply smiled calmly as she heard the comments.

She then continued, her pace unhurried, "Let me share a piece of information with you all. This very stone was examined by the venerable Golden Pupil himself. He personally stated that the probability of this stone yielding glassy jadeite is ninety-nine percent!"

This declaration stunned many in the audience.

"Examined by Golden Pupil? Ninety-nine percent? Doesn’t that mean it’s a sure thing?! I’m bidding!"

"You should have said so earlier! I’m bidding too!"

Instantly, a wave of excitement surged through the room.

When the time came for inspection, Chu Feng went up again for a look and a touch.

Back in their private room, Su Miaoke immediately asked, "Honey, will this stone really produce glassy jadeite?"

But Chu Feng shook his head. "It will, but not much. There’s only a thin layer on the surface. At this price, it’s a guaranteed loss."

’It’s true that according to the conventional wisdom of so-called experts, this stone looks like a winner with a high probability of success.’

’But my own investigation revealed it’s just a surface layer. The inside is almost entirely worthless, ordinary rock.’

’Even if you sold all the jade it contains, you’d get a few million at most.’

Just as Chu Feng finished speaking, Zhao Liu came bursting in from outside, a triumphant grin on his face.

"Brother Chu, are you going to bid on this one?" Zhao Liu asked Chu Feng first.

Chu Feng simply shook his head, showing he had no intention of bidding.

Seeing that Chu Feng wasn’t interested, Zhao Liu said decisively, "Well, if you’re not bidding, Brother Chu, then I will!"