Chapter 141: Chapter 140: Dream Girl and Manganese Youlian Stone
Inside the auction house.
Richard, Pandora, Gro, and Gro’s guard entered the auction venue and followed the guidance into a private box on the upper level.
The box was not small, over ten square meters, and furnished with several soft, comfortable chairs; Pandora unapologetically claimed the largest one and began to sleep with a yawn. Richard and Gro had no choice but to settle for the slightly smaller ones, while Gro’s guard stood around.
Richard pulled aside a curtain on one side of the box and looked out over the whole auction venue, finding it very exquisite.
The entire auction venue was not very large, as there were not too many participants who could attend the auction; either nobles or wealthy people. However, the venue was not too small either; it could accommodate close to three hundred and fifty people with about three hundred seats, plus some private boxes, which was quite enough. At this moment, over half of the seats in the venue were occupied, creating a bustling scene with people talking excitedly.
From within the box, Gro spoke up, “Basically, they are all here for the ‘Examination Exemption Certificate’. They initially wanted to snatch it by force, but all failed, so now they have to sit here honestly and compete with their financial power. Last night, every family suffered losses, and I heard that some even had members of their direct lineage killed, so there is bound to be anger. There will be quite a show to watch later.”
Richard glanced at Gro, who seemed somewhat gleeful, and said, “Aren’t you worried about these people competing with you for the ‘Examination Exemption Certificate’? Since they all have anger, what if they, in a fit of rage, bid a high sum to win the certificate just to keep you from getting one? What would you do then?”
“Ha, them?” Gro looked slightly disdainful, “True, they all come from not so small families and have quite a bit of money. But most of their wealth must be used to maintain family operations on a daily basis, so they do not really have much to offer.
If they could mortgage lands, properties, and shops, I dare not compare with them. But the auction house does not accept material goods, only Gold Coins from the Jade Kingdom. And when it comes to Gold Coins, I really don’t know who would have more than me. Being a Prince, technically, part of the entire Jade Kingdom is mine, isn’t it? I can have as many Gold Coins as I want.”
“Ah,” Gro suddenly thought of something and sighed, “It’s just a pity it isn’t like the old times. I heard that when the Jade Kingdom was still powerful, the Royal Family’s word carried much more weight than now. Back then, if there really were such a thing as an ‘Examination Exemption Certificate’, it wouldn’t have needed money at all—a single command, and the nobles below would obediently offer it to the Royal Family. Unfortunately, the Royal Family’s power has weakened a lot now, and the nobles are becoming more and more disobedient. Nevertheless, I’m still confident that I can crush them with Gold Coins.”
“So, you’re planning to win all three ‘Examination Exemption Certificates’?”
“I do have that idea,” Gro said with a slight smile brimming with confidence as he looked at Richard, “But Lord Richard, if you want one, I would naturally give it to you.”
“There’s no need; do as you please,” Richard smiled.
“Er…” Gro thought Richard was just being polite and didn’t think much of it.
Richard continued to look outside the box, noticing that while they had been talking, the number of people in the auction venue had increased quite a bit, with the occupancy rate almost reaching 60 percent.
After 80 percent, the influx of new attendees began to slow down, and finally, it plateaued at around 85 percent, and there were no further increases.
This was not surprising; after all, not all nobles from Cuijin City could come here. With 85 percent, which was nearly three hundred people, the numbers were already exceptionally daunting.
At this time, an auctioneer in his fifties, dressed in a black suit, appeared and stepped onto a high platform at the center of the auction venue. He knocked a wooden gavel on the table and, without much ado, announced directly, “The auction begins!”
The whole place fell silent.
“Please bring in the first item for auction,” the auctioneer said crisply, “This is a miniature stone statue from the famous sculptor Habakus.”
As the auctioneer finished speaking, someone walked onto the stage carrying a tray and displayed a pink miniature stone statue about fifteen centimeters tall for everyone to see. It depicted a naked young girl, carved so lifelike that every detail—from the expression on the face to the realistic features, the protruding breasts, and the taut thighs—was flawless. It was a masterpiece of craftsmanship, clearly showing the artist had put in a great effort.
“Master Habakus has named this statue ‘Dream Girl’. It is his latest work from the past six months and certainly fulfills many people’s imaginings of a dream lover. Whether displayed at home for decoration or fondled during leisure, it is quite fitting,” the auctioneer praised the statue before announcing, “The opening bid for the statue is 5 Gold Coins, with each bid increment no less than 20 silver coins.”
“Alright, does anyone wish to bid?” the auctioneer asked, waiting for the crowd to place their bids.
The bidding method was simple; everyone had a number card, and raising it once signified a bid increase. Of course, one could also directly call out the bid amount.
Gro’s number card was No. 1, and Richard’s was No. 2.
Richard guessed this was definitely not a coincidence. The auction house must have given the smallest number card to Gro to curry favor. This also indicated, from a certain perspective, that Gro was considered the highest-status individual in the entire auction.
Gro was confident in acquiring all three “Examination Exemption Certificates” by sheer force of wealth and status.
As Richard thought about these things, he looked around the auction hall with interest, only to find it rather quiet.
More than quiet, it was deathly silent. A full minute passed without a single bid. The atmosphere in the hall suddenly turned strange and awkward.
This wasn’t because the statue was junk—based on its quality, selling for just 5 Gold Coins was already a bargain. After all, Richard had spent 100 Gold Coins on a large Ruby. The Nobles maintained their silence because most of them were here for the “Examination Exemption Certificates” and didn’t want to waste money on something like the “Dream Girl”—not even a single Gold Coin.
Consequently, the auction’s first item seemed ready to pass without bids.
The auctioneer’s face started to look awkward as the many Nobles watched indifferently with cold eyes.
Wiping the sweat from his forehead, the auctioneer took a deep breath and was about to announce the result reluctantly when Richard raised his card and made a bid at that moment.
“Number 2! One more bid, 5 Gold Coins and 20 Silver Coins!” The auctioneer immediately shouted with trembling facial muscles, “Number 2 once, does anyone else bid?”
“Number 2 twice, 5 Gold Coins and 20 Silver Coins, does anyone else bid?” the auctioneer called out, straining his voice.
“Number 2 three times, 5 Gold Coins and 20 Silver Coins, any more bids? No? Okay, sold!” The auctioneer banged the gavel decisively, then heaved a sigh of relief.
Although the statue sold for 5 Gold Coins and 20 Silver Coins didn’t bring much profit, it at least avoided the embarrassment of a lack of bids. The auctioneer waved his hand without further hesitation, signaling the staff to deliver the item to Richard and Gro’s box.
Typically, funds were exchanged at the end of an auction, a system established in more recent times. In the imperfect auction system of the Medieval era, transactions were handled as was convenient.
Soon after, the item was brought to the box where Richard swiftly paid.
Gro looked at Richard with curiosity and asked, “Lord Richard, what use do you have for this item?”
“Oh, I just like it somewhat, and the price wasn’t high,” Richard replied.
“Oh, okay.” Gro didn’t press further.
In truth, Richard didn’t bid on the statue because he liked it; it was impossible for him to like it. The real reason was the pink stone material used to carve the statue, which Richard had his eye on.
Richard suspected that the pink stone was not just any ordinary material, but Manganese Youlian Stone. Manganese Youlian Stone was a variation of Youlian Stone, and due to its high manganese content, it was pink.
Richard had bid on the statue intending to crush it and extract the manganese. After all, he had used some manganese in the process of creating Cobalt Blue Glass, depleting his reserves, which now needed replenishing.
Such actions could be seen as buying the casket for the jewels it held, but Richard was unconcerned.
Compared to the statue, Richard valued the scarce manganese element more. Without needing to invest much effort in searching for it, it was altogether worth more than 5 Gold Coins.
Thinking this way, Richard stowed the pink stone statue away and looked outside the box.
In the hall, the auction continued.