Zhuang Rui was pushed by Hu Rong and came to his senses. Given his relationship with Hu Rong, he wasn't afraid that his older brother would try to steal the deal halfway through. Hu Rong wasn't that unreasonable.
Besides, this is Hu Rong's material, and Zhuang Rui could easily offer an exorbitant price. After deducting the fees taken by the Myanmar government, the money would still end up in Hu Rong's hands, which would be a way of keeping the profits within the family.
"Are you kidding me, kid? That rock, a legend, a miracle? Fine, if you have too much money, go ahead and bid. It's all for my money anyway..."
Hu Rong was stunned by Zhuang Rui's expression. The fact that the material could appear in the Myanmar National Jade Exchange Center was just an unintentional act. Hu Rong would never believe that there could be jade inside that thing.
"Hehe, Brother Hu, believe it or not..."
Zhuang Rui didn't explain, and there was no way to explain it anyway. Just then, it was time to bid, and Hu Rong sat back down at the front desk.
Countless red numbers flashed on the big screen, and the previously noisy bidding hall immediately fell silent. Everyone's eyes were fixed on the numbers that had begun to slowly jump.
This wasn't Zhuang Rui's first time participating in open bidding, and he was well aware of the tricks involved. After finding the few rough stones he had selected, he lit a cigarette and leisurely smoked it.
Zhuang Rui's behavior drew the attention of the other bidders. It wasn't that they were criticizing Zhuang Rui for lacking a sense of public service; the key point was that everyone was focused on their preferred rough stone grade and dared not relax for a moment.
The sudden appearance of this oddball smoking in the lobby left everyone puzzled. Could it be that he came here specifically to cool off because the air conditioning in the lobby was so strong?
"This guy is interesting..."
"What do you know? That's Teacher Zhuang, that's called being confident..."
"Yes, he has the air of a master. We should learn from him..."
Zhuang Rui hadn't expected that his attempt to relax with a cigarette would attract so much discussion, and he immediately put out the cigarette, feeling embarrassed.
There's no need to rush with this open bidding process. The outcome is decided in just a few minutes. As long as you have a bottom line in mind, whether you pay attention to other things or not is irrelevant.
Zhuang Rui is now far more mature and knowledgeable than he was two years ago. Even though the rough jadeite, which can be called the king of jadeite, was among them, Zhuang Rui was able to control his emotions very well.
Zhuang Rui wasn't the only one in the hall who understood things. Many people started chatting with the people next to them after staring at the screen for a while, otherwise, those two hours wouldn't have been so easy to pass.
"Teacher Zhuang, you absolutely have to win! I'm betting on you to win..."
"Yes, Teacher Zhuang, the first time I ever gambled on stones was when you cut them. You're my idol..."
Zhuang Rui naturally became the focus of everyone's attention, especially after the gambling incident, he received even more attention, and people around him tried to get close to him.
"Alright, alright, everyone, I'm just saying this because I got lucky. Please don't say that. Gambling on stones is about communication. Let's go to the stone-cutting area and exchange ideas sometime..."
Although Zhuang Rui wasn't exactly thin-skinned, he was still embarrassed by everyone's comments. "I'm a big shot in the jade gambling circle, how did I end up with such a bunch of idol-like fans?"
"Okay, Teacher Zhuang, after the bidding is over, let's go to the stone-cutting area together..."
"Yes, let's all go and cheer for Teacher Zhuang..."
"This...maybe it's Tang Laoying who will win..."
"No way, Mr. Zhuang, you've never seen anything like gambling on stones..."
Zhuang Rui's comment instantly turned the entire bidding hall number two into a bustling marketplace, almost sparking a dramatic reunion of the old and new "Jade Kings"!
A situation of fans fighting each other.
The other bidding halls nearby were filled with doubt. Could it be that some sky-high bid had appeared, making them so excited? They all craned their necks to observe the bids on the screen, but found nothing unusual.
Amidst the noise and commotion, time flew by. With ten minutes left until the bidding deadline, everyone seemed to have timed it perfectly, and the bidding hall immediately fell silent.
Zhuang Rui selected a total of twelve pieces of jade this time. Apart from the "rock" rough jade, the rest were almost all icy jade rough jade, with only two pieces reaching the high icy jade level.
Zhuang Rui, who had initially been indifferent, became more generous with his spending after gaining confidence. After all, even if he spent more money on relatively ordinary materials, he could make up for it with this Imperial Green Jadeite King.
The eleven pieces of jade cost Zhuang Rui a total of sixteen million euros. As for how many pieces he could win, Zhuang Rui no longer cared. At this moment, his eyes were fixed on the lot numbered 23356.
Zhuang Rui noticed that the bid number was still displayed in red. If someone were to bid, the color would change to green. He secretly rejoiced, thinking, "No one has bid yet. It seems nobody thinks this piece is promising..."
Zhuang Rui didn't even consider that although jadeite is currently in high demand and the market is booming, no one's money comes from thin air. Only a fool would throw money at a rough stone that doesn't look like jadeite at all.
How much should I invest?
Zhuang Rui's fingers rubbed against the bidding machine. Besides the sixteen million euros he had just received, Zhuang Rui still had one hundred and ten million euros, which he had withdrawn from his father-in-law yesterday.
The timer on the big screen ticked away second by second, and when the last minute for bidding arrived, Zhuang Rui saw that the bid had not changed at all. Immediately, his fingers flew across the keyboard, and he entered a number into the bidding device.
When the countdown timer reached five seconds, Zhuang Rui pressed the confirmation button. At the same time, countless numbers on the screen began to jump, and even with Zhuang Rui's eyesight, he could not make out the final winning bid amount for lot number 2356.
"It shouldn't be stolen!"
At this moment, Zhuang Rui was also a little nervous. In order to ensure that everything went smoothly, Zhuang Rui finally entered a number of 10.5 million euros.
Zhuang Rui was confident that he would win the bid at this price, but since the final result was not yet out, he was feeling a bit anxious. As for the other bids, he had long forgotten about them.
"The results are in, the results are in..."
"Wow, what rough stone is lot number 23356? Someone actually bid 10.5 million euros!"
"10.5 million euros, that's today's top bid. Let's see who won it!"
"Forget about who won, let's go to the open bidding area and take a look at this piece of jade first..."
"Are you stupid? Open bidding, the open bidding area has been sealed off and under martial law for a long time, can you see that?"
After three or four minutes of dazzling flashing on the big screen, the dust finally settled, and the highest single bet price of the day, as calculated by the computer, was displayed on the big screen.
Seeing the glaring red numbers, Zhuang Rui finally breathed a long sigh of relief, putting his heart, which had been pounding in his throat, back down.
As previously mentioned, the procedures for handling the formalities after winning the bid are arranged in order of the winning bid price. Therefore, as today's top bidder, Zhuang Rui can be the first to handle the winning bid procedures.
After payment, Zhuang Rui can choose to pick up the goods on-site or have them shipped, and the staff will handle all of this for the customer.
"Zhuang Rui, is it really you? That bid... was it you who submitted it?"
Just as Zhuang Rui was about to turn around to go to the door to complete the formalities, Hu Rong's voice rang out from behind him. This shout drew everyone's attention in the entire bidding hall.
Chapter 973 The Jade King (5)
"If no one else bids this price, I think... I'll be the one who wins the bid..."
Zhuang Rui had already decided to cut this "mountain rock" raw stone now. This piece is a rare and unparalleled treasure, and Zhuang Rui felt that it should be allowed to shine with the brilliance that it should have.
So Zhuang Rui didn't hide it and openly admitted it. Even if he didn't admit it now, everyone would find out when they went out later.
"It was Teacher Zhuang who won it, that's really generous..."
"Over 10 million euros, that's more than 100 million RMB..."
"You're so naive. In a sealed-bid auction, materials worth hundreds of millions of RMB would be quite common..."
"Let's skip the formalities today, let's go with Teacher Zhuang and see what it's like..."
When the crowd learned that the stone belonged to Zhuang Ruizhong, they immediately erupted in excitement. They knew that Zhuang Ruizhong was competing with Elder Tang today, and that he had gone to such great lengths just for the stone-cutting competition later.
Thinking of this, the successful bidders no longer cared about their raw stones and flocked to Zhuang Rui's side. As long as they completed the formalities within the ten-day bidding period, they would not be punished by the organizing committee, so they were not in a hurry.
"Zhuang Rui, you...you actually gave me money?"
Hu Rong pushed through the crowd and walked to Zhuang Rui's side, a look of bewilderment on his face. He hadn't expected that a roadbed stone he had casually picked up would be auctioned off at a high price by his own family. Wasn't this just giving money away to the Myanmar government for free?
It's important to know that the Myanmar organizing committee's water extraction fees are substantial. Out of 10 million euros, they would take at least 4 million. In other words, Zhuang Rui's single bid contributed over 40 million RMB to the Myanmar government.
Zhuang Rui glared at Hu Rong with annoyance and said in a low voice, "You have the nerve to say that? If it weren't for the sky-high price of 4 million euros, would I have paid so much? Fine, anyway, it's a great deal. You'll regret it later..."
Even if it cost 50 million euros, Zhuang Rui wouldn't feel like he was losing out, let alone 10 million euros. After saying this to Hu Rong, he ignored the stunned Mr. Hu and went to handle the bidding procedures himself.
According to the rules of the Myanmar organizing committee, for bids of five million euros or more, the procedures are handled in a special office, and there is no need to squeeze through the window.
Although Myanmar's infrastructure is underdeveloped, it attaches great importance to the National Jade Center, which is equipped with advanced money transfer equipment and even has luxurious office decorations.
Led by a staff member, Zhuang Rui entered an office and found an acquaintance sitting inside.
Sitting on the sofa in his office, Old Tang looked at Zhuang Rui and smiled, "Young Zhuang, you've really gone all out! This time, the investment is quite substantial..."
The news of Zhuang Rui winning the bid spread throughout the entire bidding hall almost instantly. Although Old Tang was not in the same bidding hall as Zhuang Rui, he also received the news.
"Mr. Tang, your generosity is quite impressive..."
Zhuang Rui chuckled upon hearing this. The fact that Tang Lao was sitting in this office meant that his bid for this project was at least five million euros.
After Zhuang Rui and Mr. Tang greeted each other, the staff member next to him said in fluent Chinese, "Mr. Zhuang, you have won a total of nine rough stones this time, with a total value of 23 million euros. I wonder what you would like to do with them? Ship them or pick them up yourself?"
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and said, "Go pick up the rough stone worth 10.5 million euros immediately, and process the international shipping for the rest..."
"Xiao Zhuang, you've just made a move that involves hundreds of millions of RMB. There aren't many people in the country who can afford that..."
When Old Tang heard Zhuang Rui's total winning bid amount, he was also shocked. You know, the materials in the open bidding are usually not very good, and many people put their heavy bets on the sealed bid. If Zhuang Rui plays like this, he will probably have to invest at least more than 1 billion RMB this time.
"Old man, I'm just really eager to beat you, aren't I?"
Zhuang Rui smiled and made a joke. He knew that Old Tang had a very open-minded personality and liked to mentor younger generations, so he spoke quite casually.
"Alright, you've beaten me. This old man will treat you to a big meal!"
Old Tang laughed loudly, unconcerned. At his age, he had long since lost any competitive spirit. He was simply happy to see that there were successors in the jade industry.
"Grandpa, please don't blame me for not respecting the elderly this time..."
Zhuang Rui muttered to himself as he went to process the transfer with the staff next to him. He was already very familiar with these things, and after signing a few shipping agreements, it was completed in just a few minutes.
"Old Tang, see you at the stone-cutting area later..."
After bidding farewell to Grandpa Tang, Zhuang Rui took the delivery order to the open bidding area, which had been taken over by the military and police. After checking the delivery order, a modified flatbed shovel transported Zhuang Rui's piece of material out.
This bulldozer costs money. After Zhuang Rui handed over two hundred US dollars, the bulldozer driver drove the bulldozer with a smile toward the entrance of the jade trading center.
The bulldozer moved very slowly carrying the heavy stone, and many people followed along the way. Before they even reached the entrance of the Myanmar National Jade Exchange Center, Zhuang Rui was followed by hundreds of people.
"Is this the stone that Teacher Zhuang wants to unravel?"
"It shouldn't be, right? This doesn't look like a piece of raw jade. It looks more like a paving stone..."
"How fresh! If it weren't a rough stone, it would be transported to the cutting area. This must be it, but it is indeed a bit of junk..."
"Holy crap, this...this stone is just too outrageous! How could jade possibly be extracted from it?"
Everyone who joined the marching column would first glance at the rough stone on the bulldozer, and they would all stare in astonishment, not because the stone was exceptionally fine, but because everyone unanimously deemed it garbage.
If this rough stone had a life of its own, I wonder if it would be driven mad by these people's comments. This guy is a master of feigned wisdom. You common folk can't understand it, and you even resort to insults.
Zhuang Rui naturally ignored these idle gossips and walked ahead calmly, followed by Peng Fei and Li Zhen, displaying a bit of the demeanor of a boss.
The Myanmar organizing committee has been informed that there will be a stone gambling competition today. At this moment, the stone cutting area is filled with armed police and military personnel, and a cordon has been set up next to the largest stone cutting machine.
Mr. Tang's reputation is extremely high in the Myanmar public auction, and it has remained strong for decades. Zhuang Rui, this rising star, has also left a deep impression on the Myanmar organizing committee, so they attach great importance to this competition and have put a lot of effort into security.