Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Expanding on the construction and development of the Chinese village, the two men squatted at the door and went into a lengthy discussion.
After they had been talking about it for some time, Da Mao walked out, disenchanted.
Li Du noticed that he was in a bad mood and asked, “What’s up? If there’s anything you need help with, tell us.”
Da Mao forced a smile and said, “No problem. I got Master Liu to continue to help me with the investigation. Master Liu said that he would be able to do that. There’s no need to trouble you, boss.”
Hearing that, Li Du stood up and squeezed Da Mao’s shoulder. He did not ask further questions.
Everyone had their own private stories. Everyone had their own concerns. Although Da Mao spoke casually most of the time, he was a smart man. He had a clear judgment of things and Li Du respected his decision.
Besides, Li Du did not have connections and was not familiar with Hpakant. In the matter of the investigation, Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi, the two local people, had a clear advantage. As for Li Du, it would suffice for him to bring Da Mao to prepare for the public auction.
Every time Myanmar held the jade public auction, it was a grand event. The auction would go on for seven to ten days. The total transaction could go up to a terrifying sum of billions of RMB.
Although the transaction amount was very high, the auction itself was comparatively low budget.
The auction would be held in Hpakant. Li Du had gone over earlier to check it out. The workers were setting up the place and endless amounts of stones were being sent over.
According to the new national land law of Myanmar, jadeite ore was state property. However, first, the country had serious corruption issues, and the collusion between government and business had been severe. Second, the Hpakant areas had been privately contracted for hundreds of years, for various reasons. The trading of mined stones among the people remained a key activity.
Li Du had attended many auctions. Only Sotheby’s could compare to the jade public auction in terms of the value of the transactions. He recalled that Sotheby’s was much more grand and stylish that this public auction, however.
In comparison, the jade public auction appeared a lot less classy. The management did not even rent a hotel as the location. It was held on a random plot of land, with a large shed made from iron bars and colored steel tiles. Those were effective in blocking the rain but could not shelter the place from the wind.
The shed was surrounded by barbed wire. There were many military people and police officers all around, and they were armed with guns. There were also patrol cars backing them up. The security measures were flawless.
Li Du walked the circumference of a tent and said in surprise, “We are attending the auction here?”
“That’s right,” Zhong Da Pao said as he smoked a cigarette.
Li Du said, “But what kind of location is this? I feel that this is more similar to a training camp.”
Zhong Da Pao laughed. “Any place where we can make money is considered a good place. Who cares if it looks like some training camp?”
Li Du could not help but shake his head. The mining department in the Burmese central government and the jade association were too negligent. Such an important auction and they got it done in that fashion!
The people who came to attend the auction did not care much about comfort. They were more concerned about security. After all, everyone had brought in a huge amount of money into Hpakant.
There was not an issue with the security measures at the auction. Li Du and his people only walked one round when a military officer came over with his gun and asked, “What are you guys doing? Hey, stop there!”
Zhong Da Pao went over and stuffed a pack of cigarettes to him. The officer retained a stern look. Only when he glanced around and noticed that no one was looking, he furtively pocketed it. Then, he frowned and said, “Master Pao, please don’t cause trouble, alright?”
“What trouble could I cause?” Zhong Da Pao rolled his eyes. “I accompanied my friend here for a look. Tomorrow, we are coming to attend this auction together.”
The military officer laughed. “You want to attend? Do you have a lot of money to burn?”
Zhong Da Pao gave him a shove and said with a blank face, “Go to hell! I’m capable of more than you think!”
Apparently, the military officer and he were familiar with one another. He did not give them a difficult time. He walked off with the cigarettes, wearing a smile on his face.
After surveying the location, Li Du reminded Zhong Da Pao that he had never attended a public auction before and asked for a brief introduction.
The auction would be carried out in two ways, a secret one and an open one.
A secret auction was mainstream. When one entered the place, someone would be giving out slips for the bids. The businessmen would go in search of the stones that they were interested in. Then, they would indicate on the bidding slip their registered number, name and the price and a serial number of the jade piece. Finally, they would submit the slip into the corresponding bidding box for the item.
During this process, those who entered the bids would not know who else was interested in the jade, or how high their bid was. At the time of the reveal, the winner and the bidding price would be publicly announced along with the item’s bidding number, completing the transaction.
Open bidding was rarer. It was similar to other auctions. The jade businessmen who were entering the open bidding would gather in the trading hall. The staff would announce the item’s bidding number and the bidders would place their bids on the spot. Whoever bid the highest would win. It was a fair and square process.
“In terms of scale, the secret bidding takes a larger portion, about eighty percent overall. Open bidding would only be twenty percent,” Zhong Da Pao explained.
Li Du nodded. “Alright, I understand now.”
Zhong Da Pao said, “D*mn, the mining department is too smart. In this way, after everyone set their eyes on their stones, they would be forced to make a high bid to make sure nobody else snatches their piece from them. So frustrating!”
Li Du smiled. “The motive of the mining department is to sell ore at a high price. What’s frustrating about it? When it comes to that, watch me. I’m good at that. Do you know what my profession is?”
“A top executive at Harry Winston Inc.?” Zhong Da Pao asked.
Li Du shook his head. “No. Brother Wolf, tell him.”
Brother Wolf said, “Boss works in the auction trade. He is a professional expert in auctions. Every year, he attends hundreds of auction, including property auctions, car auctions, Sotheby’s, and other luxury items auction. He knows all about it!”
After hearing that, Zhong Da Pao perked up. “Ah? Master Li, you understand jade so well. I thought you were a professional gem expert.”
Li Du started to laugh. Brother Wolf was pretty decent at talking. He made the warehouse and property auctions sound very impressive. Those two trades were considered low-level in America.
Understanding the rules of the auction facilitated their work the next day.
Li Du followed Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi towards the auction location. As there were huge numbers of police and military force in charge of security, there was no need for them to bring the bodyguards in. Hence, Li Du got them to wait outside.
The auction space was rather crowded. If he had not known otherwise, Li Du would have thought that it was an old supermarket.
The auction was set by the roadside. Not far away, there was an entrance. There were many trishaws, forklifts, tractors, cranes and other machinery that seemed to be meant for transporting the stones. The trishaws were also meant to ferry the people.
As the road was narrow and the road conditions were poor, trishaws were the main transport vehicle in the area. Regardless of how much net worth people had, they all arrived at the auction in trishaws.
Hence, when Li Du walked over, he saw a curious show. In front, there was a man with a big belly in a tattered trishaw. The gold ‘H’ logo on his belt shone brightly from his waist. With just that belt, he would be able to buy a few of those trishaws.
Besides, there were also beautiful ladies who got off the trishaws, sauntering in. When they alighted, they wore a look of disgust, quickly shaking invisible debris off their clothes. Every time that happened, Liu Zi’s eyes would follow the contours of their bodies.
