Chapter 48: The King of Bids

Chapter 48: The King of Bids

Following Li Yun's announcement, the people in the venue immediately began operating the bidding devices in their hands, though the prices on the screen did not change instantly. This was hardly surprising; after all, each bidding round involved five rough stones, while the screen displayed only ten at a time, yet the total number of rough stones was as high as one hundred.

"Look, jadeite rough number three hundred and eighteen has made the list!" A few minutes later, the previously static main screen finally updated as the price of a specific rough stone shifted, and a stone that had not been on the screen before suddenly leaped into ninth place.

Rough stone number three hundred and eighteen?

Looking at the display on the screen, Yang Qi let out a slight internal sigh. He knew that this particular piece contained a high-ice-variety jadeite. Unfortunately, its external appearance was quite good, and Yang Qi had already guessed its price wouldn't be low beforehand, but he hadn't expected it to climb onto the rankings so soon.

One had to know that rough stones capable of making the leaderboard generally carried a price tag of around one million.

A price around one million was certainly not low.

Rough stone number three hundred and eighteen, having appeared on the screen, showed no intention of dropping and continued to climb, slowing down only after reaching over one million two hundred thousand.

"Yang Qi, this rough stone..." Shen Yuxuan couldn't help but speak up.

"There's no need to continue competing. Even if we buy it, there's no real profit to be made." Yang Qi shook his head. Although he had marked this rough stone, it wasn't one of his primary targets. The reason was simple: while it was high-ice-variety, its estimated value was probably only around two million, and the price had already surpassed one million.

Sure enough, with just over ten seconds remaining, the price of this rough stone surged again, actually reaching over one million six hundred thousand, placing it fifth among the ten displayed stones.

Clearly, more than one person had their eyes on this rough stone; otherwise, its price could not possibly have quadrupled in the span of just three minutes.

One had to remember that although this was a semi-exposed rough stone, the green was not particularly pure; otherwise, it would likely have been relegated to the sealed-bid section rather than the open auction.

At a price of over one million six hundred thousand, breaking even required at least an ice variety, and making a profit demanded a high-ice variety.

Shen Yuxuan felt somewhat grateful that she hadn't placed a bid in the end; otherwise, the price would have been driven even higher.

Thanks to Yang Qi's reminders, Shen Yuxuan had deliberately focused on a few specifically marked rough stones. Fortunately, the competition for these stones was not overly fierce, and she ultimately secured ten rough stones, four of which were Yang Qi's primary picks.

The open auction was held in the morning, while the afternoon was dedicated to collecting the rough stones and cutting them. Yang Qi had little interest in this process, and Shen Yuxuan had no desire to court that kind of attention; she intended to take all those rough stones straight back to Qingzhou to be processed.

On the sixth day, the open auction continued, followed by the revelation of the sealed bids. Without a single suspenseful moment, rough stone number eighty-eight sold for a final price of twenty-one million eight hundred thousand, and the buyer who secured it was none other than Liu's Jewelry. This rough stone had also virtually become the undisputed King of Bids for this exhibition in advance.

"It really was won by the Liu family?" Upon hearing Li Yun announce that the final winner of rough stone number eighty-eight was Liu's Jewelry, Yang Qi was slightly stunned. Could it be that his silent prayers had actually worked?

Yang Qi knew very well that this rough stone was an enormous trap. Though he couldn't explain why, anyone who bought it was bound to take a loss. Even though Liu's Jewelry was one of the top-tier jewelry merchants in Qingzhou with a total valuation in the billions, their liquid capital was only around three hundred to five hundred million. Dropping over twenty million in an instant was no small blow!

"Ha-ha, President Shen, my apologies, but this King of Bids belongs to the Liu family." Wu Shan looked toward Shen Yuxuan's direction with a hearty laugh, shooting a provocative glance at Yang Qi as he spoke.

Watching the thoroughly pleased and arrogant Wu Shan, Yang Qi suddenly felt a twinge of sympathy for him. When a King of Bids with such outward appearance ended up proving completely worthless, he wondered if Wu Shan might literally pass out from anger.

Liu Xiangnan made no move to restrain Wu Shan's provocation. Their original purpose in coming here had been to suppress Shen's Jewelry, and he hadn't expected Shen Yuxuan to sit out the competition for the King of Bids entirely. Even if Shen Yuxuan chose not to participate, a rough stone of this caliber was not something Liu Xiangnan would simply let slip away, so the Liu family had spared no expense to secure it.

Sealed bidding was a game of strategy in itself. Securing this rough stone for over twenty million might not yield much profit, but the mere title of the King of Bids alone was enough to generate massive publicity for the Liu family at this exhibition.

"Let's go." Shen Yuxuan said with a somewhat unsightly expression.

Very few Kings of Bids turned a massive profit, and some even resulted in minor losses. However, the title of the King of Bids, along with the jewelry company behind it, could achieve phenomenal renown, which was why everyone pushed the price past the twenty-million mark.

"President Liu, I wonder if you plan to cut open the King of Bids tomorrow?" Li Yun asked, looking toward Liu Xiangnan.

"Of course." Liu Xiangnan nodded slightly. Unveiling the King of Bids was a major event of the exhibition and served as prime publicity for Liu's Jewelry; naturally, Liu Xiangnan would not let such an opportunity pass.

Everyone attending this exhibition was a jewelry merchant from all over the country, and quite a few possessed a net worth rivaling that of the Liu family. As the man who had single-handedly built the Liu family enterprise to its current standing, Liu Xiangnan naturally hoped the reputation of his family business wouldn't remain confined to Qingchuan Province.

"Very well, I will arrange everything for you." Li Yun nodded.

As the host of the convention, while he felt a shred of disappointment that Shen Yuxuan hadn't managed to claim the King of Bids, the Li family conducted business not only with Shen Yuxuan but also with Liu Xiangnan. Naturally, he showed none of this disappointment on the surface.

In an instant, the news that the King of Bids had been claimed spread throughout the rough stone street. Even more thrilling was the announcement that the King of Bids would be cut live on-site the next day, raising the anticipation of countless people to a fever pitch. If the ultimate perfection of stone-cutting was the appearance of vibrant jadeite at the end, then the ultimate perfection of the exhibition was a massive surge in value from the King of Bids!

Naturally, the King of Bids became the focal point of everyone's expectations.

"Little Yang, will that King of Bids really trigger the reversal of extremes?" Shen Yuxuan asked doubtfully.

After all, the King of Bids was a rough stone favored by countless experts. If only one person liked it, it could be blamed on poor judgment, but with so many people favoring it, could they all have misjudged it?

"Sister Shen, even if you regret it now, it's too late." Hearing this, Yang Qi gave her a somewhat helpless look and continued, "Anyway, my intuition tells me that the Liu family is about to take a massive hit."

"Let's hope so; otherwise, our Shen family's situation will go from bad to worse." Shen Yuxuan offered a bitter, forced smile.

It wasn't as if Shen's Jewelry had never claimed the King of Bids before, but now that the Shen family was on the decline, if the already aggressive Liu's Jewelry captured all the spotlight through the King of Bids, the Shen family would truly be in deep trouble.

"Let's hope tomorrow's outcome goes our way," Shen Yuxuan muttered softly to herself.

Regardless of what others were thinking, everyone was eagerly anticipating tomorrow's stone-cutting ceremony for the King of Bids, burning with curiosity to witness whether this year's King of Bids would soar in value or plummet into worthlessness.

Even the Liu family entourage, the actual owners of the rough stone, couldn't help feeling a trace of nervous apprehension in their hearts. Perhaps at this very moment, they finally understood what Yang Qi meant when he said that until a rough stone was completely cut open, no one could possibly know the final result!