Zhuang Rui and Fatty Ma naturally trusted Song Jun, and immediately nodded in agreement. The three of them walked out of the lounge, preparing to bid, but when they were still far from the bidding area, they were startled by the crowded people.
When Zhuang Rui was bidding this morning, although there was a queue, there were only about ten people at each bidding window. Now, wow, there's a long line at every window. They're probably all people who heard the news and came to change their bids.
"Brothers, have all these people gone mad?"
Seeing the bustling scene, Zhuang Rui was stunned. Everyone was eager to give him money.
"Alright, you go and queue up first. The bidding will close in less than three hours. I'll explain it to you later."
Song Jun and Fatty Ma were probably somewhat prepared for this scene. The reason why jade gambling was so popular was because of people like them.
Squeezed in the crowd of people queuing to bid, Zhuang Rui pondered, "Should I also change the prices of the bids I submitted earlier?"
Chapter 218 The Mark Begins, the Winds of Change Stir (7)
As noon approached, the number of people at the jade gambling venue gradually dwindled. Apart from the armed police and security guards, there were very few people selecting rough stones. Even the owners of the rough stones at each stall left one person to watch the stall and disappeared without a trace.
"Damn it, the organizers of this jade gambling event are so stingy. They should at least get a few more air conditioners. It's so hot!"
Fatty Ma kept wiping his sweat with a towel, looking at the people sitting on the front row of the stage with a resentful expression. Those people were sitting right in front of the air conditioner vent.
The bidding site was also located inside the raw material trading hall, in a converted enclosed warehouse. Ten chairs were arranged in rows in front of the stage, forming over thirty rows in total. Even so, more than half the people were still standing in the aisles on either side of the chairs, waiting for the sealed-bid material auction to begin.
Actually, there are three or four air conditioners installed here, but the space is just too big, so they don't really work.
Zhuang Rui, Fatty Ma, and Song Jun are currently waiting at the bidding venue of the Pingzhou Stone Gambling Conference. They arrived early and managed to get seats. Sitting next to Zhuang Rui are Lei Lei, her maternal grandfather, and her uncle. As for Lei Lei's cousin, Wei Zijiang, he can only enjoy the treatment of standing in the aisle.
Zhou Rui just took Bai Shi back to the hotel, and it's not appropriate for Bai Shi to be here now.
"Oh right, Lei Lei, I forgot to tell you, the rough stones at this jade gambling convention are likely to increase in price. You might not be able to get your piece for 130,000."
Zhuang Rui only found out about this this morning, and then he was busy queuing up to bid. He only realized now that he had forgotten to tell Lei Lei about it.
"By the time you tell me, it'll be too late. I bid 180,000 for that rough stone. How about it, you should be able to get it for that price, right?"
Lei Lei had a hint of pride on her face. She had gone to bid on the stone all by herself. The reason was simple: her grandfather and uncle didn't support her, so she had to put up a deposit of 18,000 yuan herself and bid on the rough stone.
Zhuang Rui nodded but didn't speak. He wasn't sure either. Who knew how high the price of raw materials would rise this time? Judging from the frenzy at the bidding site just now, apart from the raw material merchants, there probably wouldn't be many winners among the rest.
Looking at Song Jun sitting upright beside him, Zhuang Rui suddenly remembered the topic from that morning. He turned to Song Jun and asked, "Brother Song, it seems that about 40% of the people gambling on stones are not actually in the jade business. Are they all like you and Brother Ma, hoarding and investing?"
Upon hearing Zhuang Rui's question, Song Jun scoffed, "They're hoarding goods for nothing, just trying to get a bargain. If the price goes up, they'll make a fortune. And this stuff isn't taxed. It's much more profitable than traditional business..."
Zhuang Rui thought about it and realized that it was true. Since the introduction of jade gambling into China, apart from a symbolic customs duty charged through normal channels (since they were all broken stones, there wasn't much customs duty to be charged), no other fees were incurred for the transactions.
For some reason, there has never been a clear definition of taxes for both parties involved in jade gambling. This has led many people from traditional industries to get involved, resulting in the somewhat distorted prosperity of jade gambling today.
However, this situation is unlikely to last long. The government cannot simply watch tax revenue from this area go to waste. Everyone with eyes can see this. So, while there is still no clear explanation, they are extending their reach into this field. Even if they can't last long, they can still make a quick buck and leave.
"Cough cough..."
The sound of a test microphone came from the microphone at the front desk, and the noisy bidding venue immediately quieted down.
"Friends and guests, the 2004 Pingzhou Jade Bidding and Trade Fair is now open for sealed bids..."
At this point, the middle-aged man on the stage looked a little embarrassed, hesitated for a moment, and continued, "Due to the large number of last-minute changes to the bid prices, it's quite troublesome to tally them up. The opening of the sealed bids will be postponed by half an hour..."
Upon hearing these words, the audience erupted in a cacophony of reactions, some expressing dissatisfaction, others understanding, some cursing, and still others dismissing them—a true reflection of the diverse reactions from all walks of life.
However, you can't fight city hall. After the commotion subsided, everyone had no choice but to stay put and wait for the bidding to begin. If you're not happy about it, that's fine. Just turn around and you'll see the main entrance. People here would love for more people to leave so it won't be so crowded.
"Isn't this just kidding?"
Zhuang Rui was speechless.
"Hey, what's the rush? Even if others use computers to compile statistics, they still have to manually enter the data, right? Zhuang Rui, looks like you've submitted quite a few bids, haven't you?"
Seeing Zhuang Rui's impatient expression, Song Jun smiled and said.
"Not many bids, and my bids were all relatively low. What about you, Brother Song?"
Zhuang Rui casually steered the conversation toward Song Jun.
"I submitted more than two hundred bids, but it's hard to say how many I'll win. There were many bids that I didn't have time to change because of time constraints."
Song Jun's words left Zhuang Rui speechless. He had thought that submitting more than fifty bids was already quite a lot, but he didn't expect that others were submitting hundreds of bids at a time. But thinking about it, it made sense. Song Jun's purpose in coming here was to stockpile raw materials. If he didn't cast a wide net, he wouldn't be able to catch any fish.
“We’re a bit late to this business. I heard that a few years ago, you could get these rough stones for just a little over the reserve price. Now, it could cost double that. It depends on what other people are asking for and whether the owner of the rough stone is happy. We’ve missed a good opportunity.”
Fatty Ma was quite resentful that he hadn't ventured into this field in the past few years.
Song Jun said dismissively, "Come on, if you had started playing with raw jade a few years ago, the price would probably have doubled by now."
"The bidding is about to begin..."
Zhuang Rui heard a buzzing sound coming from the two large speakers next to him, each taller than a person, and immediately became nervous. Not only him, but the originally noisy warehouse also immediately became quiet. The only sound at the bidding site was the sound of the microphone being adjusted.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, friends. The Pingzhou Jade Bidding Conference is about to begin with the opening of sealed bids."
The voice from earlier rang out. Thankfully, there was no speech from the leader; the opening of the bids was announced directly. The opening of the bids for the sealed bids is based on the number of the raw materials, starting from bid number one.
"Bid number 1, 7.5 million yuan, winning bid number 580, congratulations to this friend."
"Bid number 2, 4,365,000 yuan, winning bid number 23, congratulations."
"Bid number three, 11.88 million yuan, winning bid number 198, congratulations."
"Lot No. 4, 2.55 million yuan, winning bid number 68..."
"Bid number five, 9,888,000 yuan, winning bid number 568..."
As the sound emanated from the speakers, the entire bidding venue fell silent. The first five bids revealed stunned everyone present. With only five bids, there were already bids worth tens of millions, and all of them exceeded one million. This was simply too crazy.
Then, the silence was broken by someone. The whole scene exploded like cold water being poured into a hot oil pan. Discussions arose everywhere, even drowning out the sound of the bids being read out from the speakers. The person on stage holding the microphone looked at the audience with some confusion and temporarily stopped the bidding process.
Zhuang Rui knew that the order of the numbers was based on the appearance of the window cut into the rough stone. He vaguely remembered that the number three piece was a semi-rough rough stone weighing more than 40 kilograms. The window cut revealed glass-type jade with good water content and transparency, but the color was a little light, so it could only be considered a top-grade rough stone.
Furthermore, Zhuang Rui had previously examined the inside of that rough stone and found that it could yield at most about three kilograms of jadeite, which was scattered and unsuitable for making bracelets. As a result, its value would be greatly reduced. With a price of over ten million, the person who bought the rough stone would probably lose a fortune just by making a few pendants or ring faces.
The starting bid for this lot was set at 1 million. Zhuang Rui also bid, with a bid of 1.2 million. Although he knew his chances of winning were slim, he never expected that the final winning bid would be ten times higher than his bid. His meager amount wouldn't even be enough to fill someone else's teeth.
It seems that the news from Myanmar has had a huge impact on the Pingzhou jade gambling conference. With such a disregard for cost, Zhuang Rui really can't imagine how the winner will make a profit. It's likely that the person won the rough stone and won't dare to cut it easily. They'll either hoard it or resell it. Otherwise, they'll just lose money no matter what they do.
"This...this is just too outrageous!"
Even Song Jun, who was usually very calm, lost his composure at this moment, muttering to himself with an incredulous expression on his face.
"It seems that in the future, anyone who wants to enter the jade business circle will not be able to survive without substantial funds."
Fatty Ma's words rang out, and the people next to him nodded repeatedly. Lei Lei's maternal grandfather and uncle looked particularly distressed, presumably because they had also bid on these rough stones, and the result was evident from their expressions.
"Brother Ma, do you think we'll win the bid for that raw material?"
Faced with such an outrageous price, Zhuang Rui lost all confidence.
"It should... be okay, no rush, let's see first..."
Fatty Ma kept wiping his sweat with a towel, and his usual confidence was gone.
Chapter 219 The Mark Rises, the Winds of Change Stir (8)
Given the current crazy price surge in rough jade, it's really hard to say whether he can win the bid for that semi-rough jade with a starting price of over 20 million. Fatty Ma only placed one bid at this jade gambling conference, and he looked a little nervous.
"Damn it, who put up these bids?"
Fatty Ma angrily cursed, "The bidding only announces the bidder's number, not their name. No one else will know who won the bid. If the winner doesn't cut the stone afterward, the whereabouts of the raw material will probably become a mystery."
"Everyone, please be quiet..."
The people bidding on the stage shouted themselves hoarse, and it took a while for the commotion to gradually subside.
"Please be quiet, everyone. The successful bidders can pay the remaining balance first. If the remaining balance is not paid within 48 hours of the bid opening, it will be considered an automatic withdrawal from the bid, and the deposit will not be refunded. As for the collection of the raw materials, it will have to wait until all bids have been opened. Please be patient, we will continue with the bid opening."
"Lot No. 6, 4.88 million, winning bid number: 98..."
"Lot No. 7, 1.15 million, winning bid number: 116..."
"Lot No. 8, 6.95 million, winning bid number: 521..."
"Wait a minute, my bid for number eight was also 6.95 million, so why wasn't I the winner?"
Just as three bids for raw materials were announced, the bidding was interrupted again. A middle-aged man sitting in front of Zhuang Rui and the others stood up and questioned them loudly.
The host, who was presenting the bids, was clearly unaware of the situation. After exchanging a few words with the people behind him and temporarily retrieving the bid information from the computer, he said, "According to the rules of the sealed-bid auction, when bids are the same, the winner is determined by the time of submission. Well, according to our investigation, bidder number 521 submitted their bid ten minutes earlier than you, sir. So, I'm sorry, you are not the winner."
The bidder's words drew laughter from the room. This guy was unlucky; although he resubmitted his bid, he was a little slower in line than the others. Just 10 minutes short, and the rough stone he'd been waiting for slipped away.
"Damn it, if I hadn't gone to the bathroom, I wouldn't have been a little late..."
The middle-aged man cursed angrily and sat down with a disgruntled expression. His words elicited another burst of laughter.
However, after this incident, the originally tense atmosphere at the bidding site dissipated somewhat, and people accepted the fact that the price of raw stones had soared. The bidding process went smoothly until one hundred bids were issued, at which point the host announced a ten-minute break before continuing the bidding.
Of the first 100 rough jade lots offered, not a single one went unsold, which is extremely rare in jade auctions organized in various regions. Of course, the rough jade lots in the top 100 were already performing quite well, and with the news from Myanmar, the high demand is understandable. It's just that the prices are unbelievably high.
Zhuang Rui also placed several bids in the first 100 sealed bids, but without exception, he lost them all. The reserve prices of the winning bids were several times higher than his bids. Zhuang Rui could only accept this with a wry smile. Now, he prays that he can win three or five of these fifty-odd bids, and then he can go and burn incense in gratitude.
Song Jun's expression wasn't good either. He had submitted more than 30 of the first 100 sealed bids, but like Zhuang Rui, he had won nothing. Seeing Fatty Ma repeatedly scrutinizing his expression, Song Jun felt a little embarrassed.
Actually, it's not entirely his fault. When Zhuang Rui got to the queue, it was already past 11 o'clock, and the sealed bid was about to close. Song Jun didn't have much time to change his previous bid. As expected, none of his bids were successful.
"Lei Lei, your grandparents won the bid?"
Zhuang Rui saw that his maternal grandfather and uncle, who were sitting next to Lei Lei, both had happy expressions on their faces, so they must have won some jade stones.
"Well, lot numbers 78 and 92 were won by Grandpa and the others, Zhuang Rui. Do you think my bid on that rough jade will win?"
Lei Lei didn't show any joy on her face. She was actually a little anxious about this first time gambling on stones.
"Your rough stone probably won't be up for bidding until tomorrow. Even if it doesn't perform well, does that mean it has a higher chance of winning? Don't worry, I just submitted bids for several rough stones and didn't win any..."
Zhuang Rui had intended to comfort Lei Lei, but instead made her even more anxious, wishing the person on stage would announce the material she had submitted first.
Song Jun, who was listening nearby, had an expression that kept changing from sunny to cloudy. He had also bid on those two rough stones, but he didn't expect that the Lei Lei family would win the bid.
About ten minutes later, amidst everyone's anticipation, the bidding process resumed.
"The next auction is a sealed auction for the entire rough stone area. Those who are bidding, please take note."
Because there are too many raw jade stones in the sealed bid, in order to avoid the number of thousands of digits, an English letter is added before every five hundred digits. When it reaches the five hundred and first bid, it starts counting from 1 with another English letter. The number of raw jade stones that are completely gambled is relatively small, and only the letters H and I are used before the number.