"It’s that Boss Qian, really knows how to splash the cash," Lin Tian said with a shake of his head and a smile.
Lin Tian had looked over tag number 222, which had a window opened on it; it was a semi-gamble material. The window that was rubbed showed very promising results, revealing a high ice-type jadeite with an apple green color. The combination of these two factors greatly increased the value of this piece of material, with a starting price of ten million.
However, the jadeite inside was estimated to be worth between twenty and twenty-five million yuan. Lin Tian wouldn’t bother bidding on such a tag. Even those with mediocre knowledge of stone gambling could tell it was a good piece, so the bidding would definitely be fierce, and in the end, it would almost certainly sell for more than it was worth.
Indeed, the bidding was ridiculously high. But if one could store it away, the value of this piece of material would sooner or later appreciate to fifty or even sixty million yuan. Only a fool would do such a thing, though, pressing that much money into their home, which in itself is a loss.
Think about it, if there were a good investment opportunity, turning fifty million yuan into much more would definitely yield a higher rate of return than just waiting for it to appreciate in value.
"Every Gambling Stone Festival has these rich but clueless stone gamblers. With them around, the bids can be driven up a lot, which means the organizers make more money," Miss remarked, as though it was quite normal to her.
Listening to her, it seemed she was also one of those wealthy businesspeople who didn’t understand stone gambling, but she was more rational and wouldn’t impulsively splash out money everywhere.
The host kept on announcing tag numbers non-stop with a break of fifteen minutes after every few hundred tags. Even so, the host was exhausted. Halfway through the event, another host took over.
"Tag 2223, eight hundred thousand yuan, winning bidder ID 1314..."
"Oh yeah, another win!" Xiao Manxuan was in a constant state of excitement, and in order not to let anyone else realize that this was bidder 1314, she spoke softly. So far, Lin Tian had won nearly two hundred pieces of jadeite rough.
This result shocked everyone, a question arose in their hearts: just who was this Immortal, having such a terrifying rate of winning? Even the host would subconsciously pause whenever they saw bidder ID 1314, fearing they had read it wrong.
The number 1314 was not to say that there were over a thousand invitees; it was randomly assigned. So, others wouldn’t know which bidder each ID represented. At this point, Lin Tian had become a mysterious figure in the minds of everyone present.
"Tag 3112, five million yuan, winning bidder ID 236..."
"The last tag!" After a tough session of announcements, the host finally got to the last tag, his voice slightly hoarse as he declared: "Tag 4800, winning bidder ID 532!"
As the host finished speaking, the tally Xiao Manxue was keeping in her notebook was also completed. She said with disbelief, "We actually won three hundred and sixty-five tags, an unprecedented haul. Even the old craftsmen of the Xiao Family combined couldn’t achieve this miracle before!"
"Don’t celebrate too early; we’re also going to be spending hundreds of millions of yuan. If we can’t sell these pieces of jadeite and recoup funds, Tianxue Jewelry will have to declare bankruptcy," Lin Tian said, still keeping a clear head.
Winning over three hundred roughs was entirely within Lin Tian’s expectations; what he worried about was how to sell the jadeite.
"We’re going to pay three hundred and eighty-six million RMB, plus over one hundred and eighty million for the number one rough. That’s a total of more than five hundred million, way over our budget. How to quickly turn them into jewelry and sell them is indeed a top priority," Xiao Manxue calculated swiftly, coming up with the result in two minutes.
"Worst case, we can sell the roughs once we’ve cut them out; there will definitely be people fighting over them, and we won’t lose out. But that’s a last resort," Lin Tian knew that the added value of jewelry greatly exceeded that of the raw materials, sometimes even doubling it, so he wouldn’t opt to sell the raw materials until absolutely necessary.
After the last tag was announced, there was a fifteen-minute break, but the mood among the attendees didn’t relax—it only intensified with excitement. It signified that an even greater climax was on the horizon, as the winners of the coveted number one and two roughs were soon to be unveiled.
Fifteen minutes later, the host returned to the stage and said sternly, "Before announcing the winners of the feature roughs, I must state again that the winning bidders must pay in full and collect their roughs within twenty-four hours after the end of the session. Failure to do so will be considered forfeit, and the deposit will be forfeited and not returned."
"Now, the moment of excitement has arrived. The first thing I’m going to announce is..." The host paused deliberately before shouting loudly, "Tag number one, one hundred and eighty-six million six hundred and sixty-six thousand six hundred and sixty-six yuan, winning bidder ID 1314, congratulations to the bidder!"
"It’s the 1314 bidder again!"
"Who is this guy? Simply too awesome!"
As soon as the winner was announced, a huge reaction erupted in the hall, with all kinds of discussion converging like waves. As for Lin Tian, the man of the moment, he leaned back in his chair, looking relaxed.
"I don’t accept this!" Suddenly, a middle-aged man in a suit stood up in the front row and protested loudly at the host, "I bid eighteen million yuan, so why did he win with a higher bid? I think bidder 1314 is cheating, his winning bid must be canceled!"
When he said this, those around the middle-aged man deliberately distanced themselves, feeling like he had lost his mind. Accusing with no evidence was ridiculous, placing the organizers in an awkward position!
As expected, the host said very seriously, "Sir, by saying that, you’re questioning the fairness of the organizers. Please present your evidence. If you cannot, you need to watch your words, or else I will have to ask the police to escort you out for disrupting order!"
The host, having been through many a Gambling Stone Festival, had seen all sorts of people and situations, and with the Ou family’s strong backing, he could afford to talk tough.
"This..." The middle-aged man in the suit was suddenly lost for words. He had just been unable to accept the truth, which led to his outburst. Now regaining his composure, he dared not bring up the issue of cheating again.
"All right, down to the number two rough, which is considered a semi-gamble. The competition was also the fiercest. Will this festival’s bidding king emerge from it?" The host held everyone’s attention before announcing, "Tag number two, five hundred and eighty million yuan, winning bidder ID 661, congratulations to the bidder."
"Without a doubt, bidder 661 has won the title of bidding king of this Gambling Stone Festival with a bid of five hundred and eighty million yuan. Let’s congratulate him with a warm round of applause!" After announcing the king of the bidding festival, the host excitedly urged everyone to applaud and then said, "I would like to add that another bidder came in second with a bid of over five hundred and sixty million yuan, just a little bit short."
"Hehe, the Bai Family got it," Lin Tian heard the result, relieved and chuckled. He had known early on, but now that it was confirmed, he was finally at ease.
"Damn it! I’ll never believe in lucky numbers again, making me fail my bid. Damn it all!" Mr. Qian stood up, cursing and raging.
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