Zhao Yuefeng’s face lit up the second he saw Gu Ning.
“What a coincidence, Miss Gu!” Zhao Yuefeng greeted Gu Ning with a broad smile, then his sight fell on Leng Shaoting. “Nice to see you, Mr. Leng.”
“Hi, Uncle Zhao, when did you come here?” Gu Ning smiled at him, while Leng Shaoting just nodded an acknowledgment.
Zhao Yuefeng understood that Leng Shaoting always stayed cool, so he didn’t mind it.
“I came yesterday. Miss Gu, did you just arrive?” Zhao Yuefeng asked because Gu Ning was still in clothes with long sleeves, while people in Burma were all wearing clothing with short sleeves due to the hot weather.
“Yeah, we just arrived,” Gu Ning said.
“Have you booked a room yet?” Zhao Yuefeng asked with concern, because there were no available rooms anymore.
“Yes, and we’re going back to our room now,” Gu Ning said.
Gu Ning only carried a small suitcase with her this time, containing some clothes and skincare products.
Because she came here with Leng Shaoting, it wasn’t appropriate for her to put it into the telepathic eye space.
“Great, see you then!” Zhao Yuefeng said. “I think you better be quick so that you can have more time to look for jade of high quality.”
In fact, Zhao Yuefeng hoped that he could join Gu Ning’s team, because he might get some guidance and help from Gu Ning given her outstanding stone-gambling ability. However, he was unwilling to bother her.
Anyway, the public jade bid would last for three days, and they could meet each other again sooner or later.
On the first day, jade was put out for closed bids, and the prices would be made public the next day. The jade could be cut out in the afternoon on the second day, which depended on the buyer.
The third day of the public jade bid was an auction.
“See you,” Gu Ning said, then walked away with Leng Shaoting.
They moved fast, and left the hotel half an hour later.
…
The public jade bid only accepted cash, or bank cards from Swiss Bank. Although Gu Ning had a bank card from Swiss Bank, she wasn’t sure she could use it here, so she still went to exchange for dollars from a local bank.
The public jade bid wasn’t located in the city center, but a place 20 kilometers away in a suburb.
Gu Ning and Leng Shaoting took a taxi and reached there about a dozen minutes later.
When they got to the entrance, Gu Ning showed her invitation letter, and a staff member gave Gu Ning a document with information of matters needing attention in bidding, a bidding item number, bidding category (open bid or closed bid), quantity as well as reserve price, and bid time on it.
…
Although the rules said that only people with an invitation letter could get inside, others were able to enter this place by paying some money too.
The public jade bid was held at a spacious square with shops on either side and stands of jade raw materials in the middle.
Jade raw materials that were placed in the shops were all selected with great care, so it was more likely to cut jade from them, and their prices were comparatively higher.
On the contrary, the jade raw materials placed on those stands were picked at random, so it was less likely to cut jade from them, and so their prices were lower.
The shops around the square had three stories. Only the first floor was open for buyers, and the second along with the third floor was a teahouse or a restaurant, which were only available for people with an invitation letter. And across the square, there was a five-story building where the jade auction would be held.
There were many people on the square, but luckily the square was large enough that it wasn’t crowded.
However, there were countless jade raw materials placed in the square, and it was impossible for a normal person to have a look at all of them. It wasn’t a problem for Gu Ning however, because she had a pair of Jade Eyes.
There was no limit for one’s bids. As long as you have enough money, you could bid for every piece of jade raw material. However, nobody would do that.
There were thousands of jade raw materials in the square, but there wouldn’t be jade in every piece of them. It was highly risky, and no one was willing to do that.
Gu Ning held a pen and a piece of paper in her hands. She started from the stands, because there were too many people inside those shops at the moment.
People could only make closed bids on the first day, so there might be many people who bid for the same piece of jade raw material, and only the most generous buyer could get it. Because there were too many jade raw materials, not every piece was bid for.
Gu Ning decided to put in a higher bid if she found any she liked. She was going to make a lot more money than the bid after all.
Leng Shaoting followed Gu Ning in silence. Even though Gu Ning didn’t talk to him, he didn’t feel bored at all.
Gu Ning would only choose jade raw materials with jade above medium-high level inside, but it wasn’t suitable for her to bid too many times, so she would let Leng Shaoting help her do it.
In most cases, there was only stone in those jade raw materials. There might only be 10 jade raw materials with jade inside among a pile of jade raw materials, so it wasn’t easy to find a jade raw material with jade of high quality inside.
After checking five stands, Gu Ning bid on five jade raw materials.
When she came to the ninth stand, she met Zhao Yuefeng again. He was with several other businessmen.
“Hi, Miss Gu!” Zhao Yuefeng greeted her.
Gu Ning glanced at the jade raw material in Zhao Yuefeng’s hands, then smiled and said, “Well, I don’t think there is jade in it.”
Hearing that, Zhao Yuefeng put it down at once.
