After leaving Qin Haoran's place, Zhuang Rui went to the room where Fatty Ma was staying. This guy and Song Jun had been waiting anxiously for a long time. They had bought some Burmese specialties and were drinking in the room.
When Zhuang Rui asked, he was both amused and exasperated. The two brothers had been acting recklessly. In addition to bidding on the few open-bid stones that Zhuang Rui had given them, they had also bid on several other rough stones in the past few days, spending nearly 20 million euros. Now, the two of them together only had less than 10 million euros left.
Zhuang Rui thought for a moment and then wrote down the numbers of 10 rough stones and handed them over. If they were lucky, they should be able to win four or five of them. Even if the two of them lost all of their previous 2,000 yuan gambling, these few stones would be enough for them to break even.
These two men knew nothing about jade gambling and had been counting on Zhuang Rui for this trip. They hadn't even brought a jade gambling expert, so they naturally trusted Zhuang Rui implicitly. They didn't even bother to read the note Zhuang Rui handed them before pulling him aside for drinks. ...
"Damn it, wouldn't it be great if this person could create clones of themselves?"
Standing amidst the mountains and seas of rough stones in the sealed-bid area, Zhuang Rui stood up from beside a piece of raw jade and thought with a touch of helplessness, "If I had a clone technique, I could place a clone next to each of the boxes I want to bid on the day after tomorrow, and then bid a price higher than the highest bid in the box before the sealed-bid deadline."
With only two days left until the sealed bid closes, Zhuang Rui has revised his bidding proposal repeatedly, constantly changing the raw stones he's focusing on. The reason is simple: there are just too many worthwhile raw stones to choose from, leaving Zhuang Rui unsure which one to pick.
Not only green jadeite, but he also saw many rare colored materials in the past two days, including red jadeite, blue jadeite and purple jadeite. This made Zhuang Rui very conflicted. He could only give up the materials he had previously liked and shift his focus to these few pieces. There was nothing he could do, since he didn't have enough money.
"Hmm? What kind of material is this?"
After more than a week of observation, there were not many jadeite pieces in the sealed-bid area that Zhuang Rui hadn't seen. When he walked to a corner, a rough jadeite caught his eye.
From his first experience gambling on jade in Nanjing, through his trip to Pingzhou, to this comprehensive Myanmar jadeite auction, it can be said that no one on Earth has seen a more complete range of jadeite varieties than Zhuang Rui. However, the jadeite in this rough stone that is now in front of him is something that Zhuang Rui has never seen before.
This is a rough piece of jade weighing over 100 kilograms. Its surface is somewhat reddish-brown, and at first glance, it looks a bit like a piece of red jade from the Dakan Wood Factory.
Chapter 468 Secret Bidding (12)
But when Zhuang Rui's gaze pierced through the rough stone's outer skin, which resembled the red rust at the bottom of a pot, what he saw was a misty, yellowish crystal. Zhuang Rui had seen at least tens of thousands of rough stones, including red, white, and even purple and blue mists, but this was the first time he had ever seen yellow mist.
These yellow crystals are interspersed with some red mist, but the red color is relatively light and is completely enveloped by the yellow crystals, making them difficult to distinguish without close inspection.
Passing through these yellow mist crystals formed by weathering, Zhuang Rui's gaze fell upon the central part of the raw stone. A bright color caught his eye—a bright yellow, like oil, giving it a delicate, fragrant, and alluring feel.
The spiritual energy contained within this rough stone was different from that of other jadeite; it didn't have that cold, icy feeling. On the contrary, the spiritual energy was like the sunshine overhead, making Zhuang Rui feel warm and cozy.
"Yellow jade? Or chicken-fat yellow..."
Zhuang Rui's heart skipped a beat. If there was any type of jadeite he hadn't seen before, it was probably yellow jadeite. It wasn't that he hadn't seen it before; there was yellow jadeite in the rough stones in the market, but the quality was too low. It looked greasy and dirty, and Zhuang Rui didn't even want to look at it a second time.
However, the yellow jade in this rough stone was completely different from what he had seen before. The yellow color was as pure as chicken fat that had just been slaughtered, and the jade was as transparent as glass. In terms of both texture and color, it was the best of the best among yellow jade.
Like all colored jadeite, the formation of yellow jadeite requires the presence of secondary minerals such as limonite during its formation process. Countless years of erosion and fusion create this unique color. Unlike red, blue, purple, and green jadeite, top-quality yellow jadeite is much rarer.
Because of the favor shown by the old lady of the Qing Dynasty and the "First Lady" of the Republic of China, the idea that "only green is valuable" has been formed in people's minds, which has also led to the misconception that "green is good". Jade lovers have been pursuing green jade blindly.
Consumers often overlook the fact that green jadeite can be either pure or mixed colors. Its value also varies, and some people are even unaware that red and yellow jadeite also exist; green has almost become synonymous with jadeite.
However, in recent years, as people's appreciation ability and taste in jewelry have continued to improve, the outstanding decorative and personalized characteristics of red and yellow jadeite have become increasingly popular. Their warm color characteristics are also easy to coordinate with the skin tone of Chinese people, so their value is increasingly recognized by jade lovers.
Although in the current jade jewelry market, the natural value of jadeite is lower than that of jadeite, this is based on the principle of equivalent quality. Vibrant jadeite is obviously more valuable than dull jadeite.
In fact, red and yellow are both primary colors, and their mixed colors are quite vibrant. Green and purple are secondary colors, and if mixed with other colors, they can easily become gray and dark. In other words, many jadeite pieces are not actually more valuable than jadeite.
In terms of the natural value of jadeite, jadeite with pure color and good texture is more valuable. A bright, translucent golden-yellow jadeite is a very precious and top-grade jadeite, just as topaz is more valuable than cultured white jade. Top-quality golden-yellow jadeite is extremely rare on the market, even more precious and scarce than imperial green jadeite.
It is worth mentioning that when using jade as an ornament, in addition to considering the common values mentioned above, one must also consider its individual value. Although jade is expensive, it is more suitable for people with fair skin to wear, while people with darker skin will find that jadeite is more harmonious and beautiful. Therefore, for people with darker skin, jadeite has a higher individual value than jadeite.
Since decorative appeal is the main advantage of jadeite, color is particularly important. A piece of jadeite with good color but average texture has more potential value than one with both good color and texture, and therefore its natural value is also higher.
Of course, if the jadeite is of low quality, or even loses the basic characteristic of transparency, then no matter how good the color is, it is just a stone and not jade, so it has no value. The yellow jadeite in this stone can be considered top-quality in terms of both quality and color.
Since the Song Dynasty, bright yellow has been the exclusive color of the emperor in China, with the emphasis on "yellow as the most precious". Therefore, in recent years, as soon as the best yellow jadeite appears, it will immediately be sold at an astronomical price, and yellow jadeite items can hardly be seen circulating in the market.
There was once a renowned jade carver from Sihui, Guangdong, who by chance acquired a piece of exceptional yellow jade in Myanmar. He carved it into a roast chicken and later presented it on a plate at the China Art Expo in Beijing.
Many people were stunned at the time, thinking it was a freshly baked, fragrant roast chicken. When they looked more closely and realized it was indeed a jade carving, they couldn't help but admire the artist's ingenious conception and skillful carving technique, as well as the natural color and texture of the yellow jade.
It is said that the piece of roast chicken-shaped yellow jade was later offered for over 100 million yuan but was not sold, because the owner of the piece regarded it as a family heirloom and vowed never to sell it.
Yellow jadeite is called "Fu Yi" in the "Fu Lu Shou" tricolor of jadeite, symbolizing good fortune, prosperity, and longevity, and the ability to coexist for thousands of generations. Therefore, in recent years, many wealthy people have been pursuing top-quality yellow jadeite works.
Of the yellow jadeite in this rough stone, the one in the very center has the purest color and texture. Zhuang Rui examined it carefully. It was slightly smaller than a football and weighed about ten kilograms. It could be carved into a decorative piece. Based on the quality of this yellow jadeite, its value was probably no less than the jadeite fruit plate he had given to his grandfather.
"Take it, we must buy it..."
Thinking of this, Zhuang Rui felt excited. Compared to red and green jadeite, pure yellow jadeite is even rarer. This piece of yellow jadeite could definitely be the prized possession of Qin Ruilin's shop in the capital.
Taking a deep breath, Zhuang Rui stood up, first stretching his legs which had gone numb from squatting, then observing from a different angle. To onlookers, it seemed that Zhuang Rui was looking down at the rough stone, but in fact, his eyes were fixed on the bidding box.
So many bids?
The spiritual energy had just entered the bidding box. Before Zhuang Rui could even discern the numbers on the bidding slips, he became frustrated. A huge stack of business card-sized bidding slips had already been densely packed in that box. A rough estimate suggested there were at least two or three hundred slips. In other words, at least one-tenth of the people participating in this auction had bid on this piece of rough jade.
Actually, this was Zhuang Rui's own doing. After he won the gamble on that piece of icy red jadeite, not only Chinese buyers but also buyers from other parts of the world started paying more attention to colored jadeite other than green. People were bidding on pieces with slightly better outer skin.
This piece of jade has a typical red jade skin, so even though it was in a corner, it was still discovered by discerning people.
"Two hundred and eighty thousand euros...three hundred thousand euros...damn it, one million six hundred thousand euros..."
Zhuang Rui meticulously examined each of the bids, spending nearly an hour before finally identifying the highest price. After reading the numbers on that bid, Zhuang Rui couldn't help but swear.
It's worth noting that the starting price for this rough stone was only 50,000 euros, or 500,000 RMB. The highest bid has now exceeded that by more than 32 times.
Although he knew there was something good inside the rough stone, Zhuang Rui was still somewhat indignant. He didn't know whether to praise the person who bid for it for having good taste or for being foolish and rich, daring to pay such a price just because the outer skin looked like red jadeite.
"Hey, brother, move aside. I want to submit a bid..."
Zhuang Rui's upper body was blocking the bid box at that moment, and someone behind him nudged him, signaling him to move aside.
"Oh, it's Boss Zhuang! You've also taken a liking to this rough jade?"
Zhuang Rui didn't recognize the person speaking, but he must have seen him gambling on stones before. Seeing Zhuang Rui's attention on the rough stone, the man didn't put the bidding form in the bidding box.
"I heard there's a piece of red jadeite here that looks pretty good, so I came to take a look..."
Zhuang Rui smiled. He knew that whatever he said now would make the person in front of him suspicious, so he might as well admit that he had seen the rough stone.
"Oh, what does Mr. Zhuang think?"
"Yes, Mr. Zhuang, please tell us about it..."
The conversation between the two attracted the attention of several people observing the rough stones nearby. If we were to name the most prominent person at this Myanmar jade auction, it would undoubtedly be Zhuang Rui. Among the merchants who came to Myanmar to gamble on jade, perhaps nine out of ten did not know who the Prime Minister of Myanmar was, but they all definitely knew Mr. Zhuang from Beijing.
"I should have just glanced at it and left..."
Zhuang Rui felt a little annoyed. He could imagine that the person who took the bid would definitely change the price on it before throwing it into the bid box.
"Alright, kid, let me share my thoughts. Everyone can tell from the surface that if there's jade inside, it definitely won't be green jade; red jade is the most likely possibility. Moreover, the whole piece is seamless, without any cracks. Although it's a completely gambled piece, the risk is still very high. Hmm, I'm very optimistic about this piece..."
After saying the above words, half-jokingly, Zhuang Rui took a bid form from the bid box next to him and continued, "However, the price still needs some careful consideration. Please take a look, and I'll take my leave now..."
Zhuang Rui's actions left everyone gathered around the rough stone dumbfounded.
They hadn't expected Zhuang Rui to speak well of the material, because everyone here was a competitor in the bidding. As the saying goes, rivals are enemies. If Zhuang Rui really liked the rough stone, even if he didn't say anything bad, he probably wouldn't be so praising it.
Chapter 469 Sealed Bidding (13)
"Could it be that they deliberately want us to bid on this piece of rough jade?"
For a moment, a question arose in the minds of the onlookers. Perhaps this was a trap set by Zhuang Rui. The person holding the completed bid also looked somewhat doubtful and hesitant, and hesitated to put the bid into the bid box.
Zhuang Rui had already walked far away; he had no time to speculate about these people's thoughts. However, on the first page of his notebook, he had already noted down the number of the rough stone and made a symbol that only he could understand. ...
"Peng Fei, if anyone knocks on the door, just say I'm not home, I've gone out shopping..."
Zhuang Rui gave Peng Fei some instructions, and then moved everything off the coffee table in the hotel living room. The only things left on the coffee table, besides his own notebook, were more than twenty bid forms.
Tomorrow is the deadline for bidding. After Zhuang Rui called Song Jun and Qin Haoran to tell them not to disturb him, he prepared to categorize the key raw materials and then decide which ones to keep based on his funds.
So many people have come to visit Zhuang Rui these past few days that even with the "Do Not Disturb" sign hanging outside his hotel room, people still knock on the door, which annoys Zhuang Rui to no end. This makes him miss the White Lion. If that big guy were guarding the door, no one would bother him.
"A piece of colorless glass-type jadeite, 420,000 euros; a piece of bright green glass-type jadeite, 970,000 euros; a piece of purple glass-type jadeite, 1,290,000 euros; a piece of blue jadeite, 1,380,000 euros..."
Zhuang Rui spent the entire day yesterday carefully examining the twenty most precious rough stones he had selected, and recorded the highest bids in the boxes at the time.
"Fortunately, it's less than 20 million euros in total..."
Zhuang Rui looked at the figure of 18.9 million euros on the computer and breathed a sigh of relief. You see, these twenty rough stones were the ones he had selected after many days of looking at them. The jade inside was of the highest quality in terms of texture, color and clarity. Zhuang Rui was unwilling to give up any of them.
Aside from that piece of yellow jade, top-grade jadeite such as imperial green, blood jade bracelet, and purple-eyed jade did not appear at this public auction. However, this is normal. In the jade gambling circle, many people have been around for their whole lives and have never even seen imperial green, let alone gambled on it.
The top-quality jadeite of the categories mentioned above is extremely rare, with only one piece appearing every five or six years. Buyers who come to Myanmar are already very satisfied if they manage to gamble on a piece of icy jadeite.
The rough stones now in front of Zhuang Rui all have average appearances on the outside, but contain valuable material inside. Zhuang Rui originally thought he could easily acquire them, but after observing for the past few days, he didn't expect that even these poorly performing stones had received high bids.
Basically, the highest bid in the box now exceeds the price of the raw stone by more than 10 times. For example, Zhuang Rui took a look at that piece of yellow jadeite before the area was cleared out last night, and the highest bid in it had reached 2.1 million euros, which was more than 42 times the starting bid.
What reassured Zhuang Rui a little was that not many of the rough stones he was looking at had been ordered repeatedly. This meant that the buyers weren't focusing on these stones, but rather casting a wider net to catch some that slipped through the cracks. Zhuang Rui just needed to keep a close eye on these materials tomorrow and then put the bid in the box at the last minute.
As for those pieces with excellent surface finish or cut, Zhuang Rui deliberately lingered there for a few days. However, what surprised him was that one of the rough stones had already been priced at 18 million euros, and people were still flocking to see it these past two days. It seemed that the final price wouldn't be revealed until the bidding deadline.
After analyzing the condition of these rough stones, Zhuang Rui began filling out the bidding forms. He added between 30,000 and 80,000 euros to the highest prices that had already appeared for these rough stones. As for the red jadeite rough stone, Zhuang Rui thought for a long time and filled in a price of 3.18 million euros, which was 1.08 million euros higher than the existing highest price. Zhuang Rui was determined to get this stone.
"Damn it, I'm broke again..."
After filling in all the prices, Zhuang Rui used a computer to add up the numbers, which totaled 20.86 million euros. Not only did he add in all the 20 million euros that Qin Haoran had given him, but he also had to add another 860,000 euros to the 900,000 euros he had left. After all this, Zhuang Rui would only have 40,000 euros left in the end.
"This amount of money is probably only enough for the expenses of a courtyard house for one or two months, right?"
Before coming to Myanmar, Zhuang Rui had gathered all the funds he could access, including the money in Qin Ruilin's account in Beijing, the profits from Zhao Guodong's auto repair shop and 4S store over the past few months, the first dividend from the Xinjiang jade mine, and even 1 million yuan from the mastiff farm. This made Liu Chuan very nervous; if they hadn't just gotten married, he probably would have come to Myanmar with Zhuang Rui.
Zhuang Rui has experienced periods of financial hardship before, but the key issue is that he is getting engaged to Qin Xuanbing at the end of the month, and the 40,000 euros he has will probably not be enough to cover their expenses.
Zhuang Rui smiled bitterly. When he was poor, life didn't seem too difficult. But now that he has hundreds of millions in assets, he often feels that he doesn't have enough money. Maintaining the car doesn't cost much, but the various expenses for the courtyard houses in Pengcheng and Beijing amount to more than 100,000 yuan a month.
"Should we keep one or two pieces of material to cut and sell when the bidding starts?"
Zhuang Rui had this thought for a moment, but he quickly dismissed it. At the current Myanmar jade auction, people were using money to buy raw jadeite stones. It was conceivable that the price of finished jadeite products would rise further in the near future. Buying raw materials now would be too much of a loss.
"Treasure map?"
Zhuang Rui shook his head. Even if that thing was still there, he and Peng Fei couldn't move it. He was only going there to satisfy his curiosity. Zhuang Rui really didn't have any hope.
"Never mind, Qin Ruilin's sales this month are pretty good anyway, he should be able to collect several million by the end of the month..."
With only 40,000 euros left, Zhuang Rui felt a little uncertain, but it wasn't the time to starve yet. The revenue from his several stores at the end of the month could help him out in an emergency. His engagement ceremony with Qin Xuanbing couldn't possibly cost millions, could it? His mother would never agree to that.
Zhuang Rui now understands why those great collectors often complain about being poor. Faced with a room full of treasures, they sometimes can't even pull out two hundred yuan from their pockets, which is similar to his current situation. With so many raw stones, Zhuang Rui is reluctant to sell any of them. If he didn't have to sell to support his collection, he really couldn't afford to play this game.
"Peng Fei, come here, I need to tell you something. Tomorrow you'll be like this..."
After shaking his head to clear his mind of those chaotic thoughts, Zhuang Rui called over Peng Fei and handed him all the bid slips on the table, instructing him to put them into the appropriate boxes according to the numbers on the slips the next day.