At this shihou, hearing the discussions of Boss Yang and the others, Wang Guan also grew somewhat curious, "Which stone are you referring to?"

"What, you haven't paid attention?" Boss Yang reminded him, "The biggest one."

"Which one?" Wang Guan still had no shime impression.

At the same time, Boss Yang realized something and immediately laughed, "Oh, right, you hǎoxiàng haven't been to the open bid section, have you? No wonder you don't zhidào what we're talking about. But it doesn't matter; you'll know when the time comes." "The novel chapters update the fastest."

As they spoke, everyone slowly walked into the venue, preparing to participate in the open bidding. However, speaking of it, among those present, perhaps excluding An Shengxian and Jia Qin, most others, including Wang Guan, were mostly just there to make up the numbers.

Perhaps they would raise a paddle to stir things up a bit, or maybe if the price seemed right, they'd just buy it outright. But at most, it would be an occasional occurrence, definitely not frequent bidding.

After entering the venue, everyone found their wèizhi and sat down to wait patiently. Before long, the open bidding commenced as scheduled, and chunk after chunk of jade rough was presented for the attending parties to compete over. The open auction proceeded in an orderly manner; as soon as a piece of rough was displayed, many merchants started raising their paddles to quote prices, and each subsequent price was higher than the last, creating a situation where they were essentially booking the entire event.

"Those are the big spenders from the Guangdong and Guangxi regions, especially the jade merchants centered in Jieyang, Guangdong Province, as well as middlemen from Tengchong and Ruili. In any case, they came in organized groups to participate in the bidding."

Boss Yang's eyes were filled with envy, "Last year, the Jieyang jade merchants won bids totaling several billion yuan at the Myanmar Public Auction, making them the group with the most acquisitions at the auction. They seem to be repeating the trick this year, showing no intention of leaving any chance for others."

This sounded a little tart, but it also voiced the frustration of other small and medium-sized jade merchants. Their strength was insufficient; whether it was a blind bid or an open bid, their chances of winning were slim.

If this trip yielded no significant gains, they would likely have to procure goods from those intermediaries again. The price certainly wouldn't be cheap, and the cost would naturally increase. In the end, the selling price would certainly not be low, possibly scaring off customers...

So, every family has its own difficult problems. Small and medium merchants have their difficulties, and perhaps large merchants have their own sorrows as well; it's impossible for everything to go smoothly and for wealth to pour in constantly.

However, what surprised Wang Guan somewhat was that during the auction process, there were instances of items failing to sell.

"That's also quite normal," Boss Yang explained. "Some rough stones have too many fissures, and the asking price is too high, so people dare not take the plunge, lest they suffer too great a loss."

"But don't look at the current unsold items; perhaps next year someone will take them up."

At that moment, Boss Yang smiled broadly, "You saw the stone that sold for three million Euros just now, didn't you? I recall that one failed to sell the year before last. The estimate then was seventy thousand Euros, but méiyou takers. Now, after shaving off just a little from the edges, the estimate is fifty thousand Euros, yet it was inflated to three million Euros... Crazy, everyone is crazy!"

Wang Guan clicked his tongue, deeply agreeing; it truly was madness. Because just then, someone announced a bid of ten million Euros, successfully taking a piece of jade rough into their possession.

Boss Yang sighed, "In previous years, around this shihou, hearing such a price, everyone would stand up and applaud to show respect. But now there's no reaction at all; I suppose they've become numb."

"Who says not," someone beside them said with a wry smile, "I originally wanted to raise a paddle just to join the fun, but now I don't even dare to move, for fear the price gets stuck with me. Then I wouldn't even have a place to cry."

"Right, right..." Others nodded one after another. Never mind participating, even hearing these prices made them jumpy; how could they dare join in on any fun?

Of course, only those without money would remain silent out of fear. Those with substantial wealth were often bold enough to showcase themselves.

Take Jia Qin, for instance, and An Shengxian as well; they managed to outcompete numerous rivals and secure several pieces of good-quality jade. However, even after securing the jade, neither of them showed much joy. After all, millions of Euros—equivalent to tens of millions of RMB—had vanished.

But that’s how the world works; if you want to gain something, you must give something in return. And today was merely the appetizer; tomorrow was the main course. Especially when vying for the 'King of Bids,' the competition would surely be even fiercer.

When the last piece of rough for the day was sold, and the smoke of battle cleared, some departed proudly while others returned disappointed. After all, if someone succeeds, someone must fail; that is the most basic principle.

However, for spectators like Wang Guan, who succeeded and who failed mattered little to them; their duty was to be onlookers enjoying the spectacle. If asked what insights they gained, they would probably reply that today's bidding was exciting and they looked forward to tomorrow!

The second day naturally continued, and the atmosphere was even more heated. Right at the start, someone secured a piece of red jade with a bid of five million Euros, signaling that today's bidding was likely to be even more explosive.

In reality, this was the final day of the public auction. Those who had been hesitant and observing made their moves, and naturally, prices climbed steadily, soon seeing bids exceeding ten million Euros.

"Tsk, tsk, it looks like this year's King of Bids might break the legend of '010," Boss Yang chuckled. Discovering that the bids kept breaking his own psychological bottom line, he completely let go and settled in to watch the show, occasionally offering a comment or two, finding it quite relaxing.

Wang Guan naturally asked with curiosity, "What legend?"

"The legend of a twenty-million-Euro transaction."

Knowing Wang Guan was a complete novice, Boss Yang was happy to instruct him. "It is said that around '08, a Burmese merchant purchased a batch of rough stones for two hundred thousand US dollars and then put them up for open sale. However, due to excessive fracturing, everyone was hesitant to bid, so the rough failed to sell. But two years later, during the '010 Public Auction, that same rough reappeared in the open bids and finally sold for twenty million Euros, becoming the King of Bids at that time."

"Who bought it?" Wang Guan asked, astonished.

"A jewelry company from the capital," Boss Yang sighed. "But that jewelry company didn't cut open the King of Bids rough; they carved the entire piece into a decorative ornament and placed it in their main store as a treasure to guard the establishment."

"Saying it like that, I hǎoxiàng have some impression," Wang Guan thought for a moment, musing, "It was introduced in the promotional materials, something like the 'Amethyst King of Bids,' right?"

"Yes, the Amethyst one," Boss Yang nodded quickly, then smiled, "I don't know what this year's will be."

"Who cares what it is," someone nearby laughed, "it has nothing to do with us anyway."

"Who says it has nothing to do with us?"

At the same time, Boss Yang quietly pointed toward Jia Qin and said mysteriously with a smile, "Haven't you noticed? Young Master Jia didn't make many bids yesterday; perhaps he's targeting that rough stone."

"Oh?"

The others exchanged glances, feeling a surge of excitement.

That's right, excitement. They couldn't afford it, but since Jia Qin was buying, he would surely take it back to Beijing to cut it open. Watching from the side would be a rare opportunity.

With that thought, Boss Yang and the others naturally supported Jia Qin becoming the King of Bids. Onlookers never mind trouble; since it wasn't their money being spent, they were merely offering verbal support—why not?

Time passed, and before they knew it, the rough stone most likely to become the King of Bids appeared. Wang Guan looked over and saw that the stone was indeed large enough, taller than an adult, likely requiring two or three people to wrap their arms around it.

But although the rough was large, and there were patches of green color on the surface, the problem was that various cracks riddled it, and the weathering was quite severe, making one uneasy.

"High gambling potential, very high risk,"

Boss Yang sighed lightly, "There's inside information that many stone-gambling masters have examined this rough. Everyone has different opinions; some are optimistic, others pessimistic. It's either a huge gain or a complete loss; the probability is fifty-fifty either way."

"Old tune," someone nearby laughed. "Why does Myanmar push out a King of Bids every year? Isn't it to increase appeal? Spending a fortune—it could all turn to water, or it could multiply several times over. The thrill of success or failure resting on a single thought is certainly enough to attract many rich bosses for a big gamble."

Everyone deeply agreed, because at this moment, many big bosses had expressions eager to try their luck on their faces.

Next, there was no unnecessary talk. As the host announced the start, the price of this rough immediately soared, breaking past the ten-million-Euro mark in less than three minutes, after which the pace began to slow down.

Especially after crossing thirteen million Euros, only a handful of people remained in contention. Moreover, the bids were fiercely contested, increasing by only tens of thousands of Euros at a time, with no sweeping leaps in price.

Seeing this situation, Boss Yang immediately sighed, "It seems this year's King of Bids price won't get much higher; one hundred fifty million Euros should be the ceiling at most."

"It's mainly because the prices of other rough stones have risen sharply, and the big bosses have already spent a lot, leaving them with little financial capacity to compete for the King of Bids."

"I think it's because this particular rough has too high a risk factor that they are afraid to take the plunge."

Regardless of the reason, amidst everyone's murmuring, the price of the rough indeed stagnated after surpassing fifteen million Euros. Finally, the gavel fell, and it was sold, becoming this year's King of Bids at that high price.

However, it was also contrary to Boss Yang's prediction; the ultimate winner was not Jia Qin, but An Shengxian. Boss Yang and the others felt a bit regretful about this.

"It doesn't matter," Wang Guan laughed. "Since you know him, you can ask him shimeshihou he plans to cut the stone, and then go observe specifically. Boss An is a straightforward person; he shouldn't refuse."

"We'll see."

Boss Yang and the others were indeed tempted, but after thinking it over, they didn't actually ask. After all, they weren't novices like Wang Guan; they understood the rules and taboos surrounding stone cutting much better. It wasn't as if everyone welcomed onlookers when someone cut a stone; more people preferred private stone cutting, so that even if it failed, they wouldn't be laughed at.

"Suit yourselves..." Wang Guan smiled, then began estimating the time needed for the return journey. Staying here for a few days had indeed been quite dull, and he started missing the people and things in the capital. (To be continued.)

ps: Judging by the subscription status, everyone truly dislikes this kind of content, so I will gloss over it directly and return to the main plot tomorrow. Please give lots of support; I ask for monthly passes. No pop-up novel website www.RT