The dozen or so middle-aged and elderly tycoons were clearly very surprised by Shangguan Mingyue's smiling face as she sat down next to Li Wei. How come the most famous beauty in the small capital city's business circles, who has never been polite to anyone, has suddenly changed her attitude today?
But no one in the room knew the reason. Shangguan Mingyue wasn't doing it for Li Wei, but for Zhou Xuan. Of course, this didn't mean she liked Zhou Xuan, but rather that Zhou Xuan was too mysterious. Every move he made surprised and astonished Shangguan Mingyue. She could see through any man who had used any scheme to get close to her, and of course, she wouldn't treat them kindly.
Zhou Xuan had clearly done her a tremendous favor, and Shangguan Mingyue was eager to repay him. But Zhou Xuan seemed completely uninterested in her repayment, and was avoiding her like the plague, which truly puzzled her!
It wasn't that she wasn't pretty enough, rich enough, or charming enough; after thinking it over, she couldn't figure it out. Was the man trying to play hard to get? That wouldn't work on her, but Shangguan Mingyue didn't think it was likely.
The day before, her car tire inexplicably fell off. When she took it to the Porsche repair shop for inspection, the result surprised her. The reason the tire fell off was not because the lug nuts were loose, but because the lug nuts broke off at the root. What was even stranger was that if only one lug nut broke, it would be understandable, but all the lug nuts on the tire broke off!
Volume 1, Chapter 224: Golden Water
It's made of ordinary steel, but it's specially made. Don't be fooled by its small size, about the size of a finger. Each piece can withstand a tensile force of over two tons, and it has been tested and confirmed that it's not due to metal fatigue.
Metal fatigue is a phenomenon that only occurs over a certain period of time. Shangguan Mingyue's Porsche had only been off the production line for less than a year and she had only taken delivery of it for six months. It's absolutely impossible for metal fatigue to occur in such a short time. For metal fatigue to occur, it would have to be driven for at least ten years.
The situation with Shangguan Mingyue's car was very strange. In the end, I used an analogy to describe it to her, saying that it was like cutting vegetables. The lug nuts on her car looked like they were cut directly with a knife. But in reality, where can you find such a sharp knife?
These screws cannot be cut by any knife or even a hacksaw. Besides, the tire bolt broke inside, near the axle, so even with tools, you can't reach that spot.
There was no way to explain it, so I could only use the phrase "bad luck" to explain it.
Shangguan Mingyue secretly glanced at Zhou Xuan a few times, still deep in thought. On the table, Yang Shiyuan's two beautiful assistants took out the first item for auction.
This is a black object about three or four inches long, which looks like a sausage made by rural people using traditional methods. Zhou Xuan is very familiar with it because every family in his hometown makes it. It involves cleaning the pig intestines, mixing lean pork with other ingredients, grinding them into powder, and then stuffing the mixture into the intestines.
The final step is to smoke it over a heated brick bed, which turns it black and gives it a dark color. It's called cured sausage. Despite its unappealing appearance, it's incredibly fragrant and is a very distinctive local specialty from Zhou Xuan's hometown.
Is Yang Shiyuan going to put a sausage up for auction?
Zhou Xuan knew that was impossible, but he had never seen it before and didn't know what it was.
After Yang Shiyuan's two beautiful assistants brought out the black object on a white porcelain plate, she didn't explain it beforehand, but simply smiled and let everyone take a look.
The old men in front looked at it with surprise, then gathered around, seemingly sniffing the aroma.
Li Wei chuckled and said, "What are these old men sniffing about from three or four meters away? This thing is like dog poop, what can they possibly smell out?"
Hearing Li Wei speak so rudely, Shangguan Mingyue frowned.
Li Wei's rudeness was not intentional; it was a family trait. His grandfather and father, Li Lei, were both martial artists who spoke in a rough and straightforward manner, which was common knowledge among the people.
Zhou Xuan, however, liked Li Wei's personality and smiled dismissively. At this moment, everyone's attention was drawn to the black, dog-dung-like substance on the plate on the table.
Li Wei said it was dog poop, and its appearance was actually quite accurate. Moreover, at this moment, everyone seemed to smell a faint stench!
Zhou Xuan paused, a thought suddenly occurring to him. He immediately used his ice energy to probe, and sure enough, the result was ambergris!
Shangguan Mingyue had been paying attention to Zhou Xuan, and when she heard him say in surprise, "Ambergris!" she didn't think much of it and casually replied, "Ambergris?"
Shangguan Mingyue's voice was louder, and almost everyone heard it, with some people around her staring at her.
Yang Shiyuan on the platform chuckled and said, "Miss Shangguan has a good eye. I didn't expect that Miss Shangguan, who is so successful in business, would also have such profound knowledge about these things. I admire you!" Shangguan Mingyue blushed and remained silent. She had just casually echoed Zhou Xuan's words. To be honest, she was not familiar with ambergris, or even knew nothing about it. She thought it was some kind of perfume, but judging from its appearance, it was not. It was probably something like sage. Ambergris is also one of the precious fragrances, but untreated sage smells bad, which is quite similar to this one on the platform.
Ambergris is different from sage. Sage is also very precious, and now illegal hunting is strictly prohibited, so its production is scarce and therefore precious. But ambergris is even more difficult to obtain. Ambergris, also known as gray amber in the West, is a solid, waxy, flammable substance with a gray or black appearance, produced from the digestive system of sperm whales.
After Zhou Xuan detected that it was ambergris, he immediately remembered that he had actually seen it once before.
Yang Shiyuan chuckled and then said, "By the way, don't be fooled by its ugly appearance, this thing is actually the most precious spice in legend: ambergris!"
Seeing the interested looks on the faces of the wealthy people around the stage, Yang Shiyuan chuckled and said, "Ambergris is so precious because it's so hard to come by. Legend has it that ambergris is formed from the saliva of a dragon, but in reality, it comes from the sperm whale. Of course, this secret wasn't discovered until the Middle Ages by the British. In England, they call ambergris 'grey amber.' European perfume companies also use ambergris as a raw material for fragrances, and its price is higher than gold. Ambergris has even higher medicinal value. It can promote blood circulation, relieve pain, and promote urination. It can treat coughs, asthma, shortness of breath, abdominal pain, and gonorrhea. Burning ambergris in the room for a long time can prolong life and strengthen the heart and brain. Hehe, this stuff is a good thing for you wealthy people. As the saying goes, money is easy to earn, but life is hard to prolong. No matter how much money you earn, when you die, there's nothing you can do. Such a rare and good thing is something you can only dream of!"
Zhou Xuan glanced at Old Wu beside him, and seeing that Old Wu was smiling but not saying anything, he asked in a low voice, "Old Wu, what do you think of this ambergris?"
Old Wu smiled and said calmly, "I only look at antiques and collectibles. This thing is medicinal material, not an antique!"
Old Wu didn't answer Zhou Xuan's question, but instead changed the subject, pausing before asking Zhou Xuan, "Little Zhou, what's your opinion?"
Zhou Xuan smiled, glanced at the wealthy people around him, then turned his head and said to Old Wu in a very low voice, "I think this ambergris is worthless!"
Old Wu was taken aback, but his eyes lit up, and then he chuckled and said nothing more.
Zhou Xuan understood what Lao Wu meant. Here, people earn referrals and profits because the people who come here are all rich and powerful. Money means nothing to them. Zhou Shiyuan wasn't lying either. This stuff is indeed ambergris, but it's not the valuable kind of ambergris!
Ambergris is the excrement of sperm whales, which belong to the family Spermatocetiidae within the suborder Odontoceti. They are the largest species in this suborder, with males reaching lengths of several meters and females reaching several meters. Their bodies are conical in shape, with the head accounting for about one-third of their body length. The head is cylindrical, with a blunt upper jaw that extends far beyond the lower jaw. Its head is exceptionally large, hence the nickname "giant whale." The female's head is unmatched by any other creature!
Sperm whales swallow large squid and octopuses containing tough keratinous tusks and lingual teeth, which are difficult to digest. When sperm whales ingest large mollusks, these tusks and lingual teeth accumulate in their gastrointestinal tract, irritating the intestines. The intestines then secrete a special waxy substance that encapsulates the food remnants, slowly forming ambergris. Some sperm whales vomit this congealed substance, while others expel it through their intestines. Only a small percentage of sperm whales retain the ambergris in their bodies.
Ambergris discharged into the sea is initially light black, gradually turning gray, then light gray, and finally white under the influence of seawater. White ambergris is of the highest quality; it must be soaked in seawater for over a hundred years to remove all impurities before it can be considered the finest ambergris.
Ambergris extracted from the intestines of a killed sperm whale is worthless. It must float and soak in seawater for decades to acquire its high value; some ambergris blocks have been soaking in seawater for over a century. The most valuable is white ambergris, while the least valuable is brown, which has only been soaking in seawater for about ten years.
The ambergris that Yang Shiyuan took out on stage was black and had never been soaked in seawater. It was most likely taken directly from the body of a whale that had been killed, because real ambergris is very hard to find now. The ocean is so vast and sperm whales are so rare!
Zhou Xuan's guess was actually quite accurate. The ambergris that Yang Shiyuan had was indeed obtained by fishermen from the body of a small sperm whale they had caught. The item was genuine, but it had no value whatsoever.
After explaining this, Yang Shiyuan immediately added, "Having said all this, I think everyone understands. Actually, what we auction are all antiques and collectibles. Today's item is a bit of an exception, but it's definitely a good one. I'll make a bid, starting at 1.5 million!"
"Two hundred!"
An elderly man in his sixties made the first offer at the front of the stage. Actually, calling him an old man is a bit of an exaggeration; he's a wealthy man who takes good care of himself and looks to be around fifty at most. But ** recognized this man; he's been seen in major and minor newspapers and on television in Beijing. His wealth is at least 5 billion RMB.
Today, being able to meet more than a dozen important figures face-to-face, whom he usually only sees on TV and in newspapers, was incredibly exciting. He didn't pay any attention to what Zhou Xuan was saying, but even if he had, he wouldn't have cared. He wouldn't have participated in the bidding, nor did he have the ability. Watching these idols from the sidelines and getting a thrill was enough for him.
Old Wu understood. He also knew Yang Shiyuan's intentions: to make a quick buck off these wealthy people. Old Wu didn't care about profiting from them; these people had plenty of money anyway, and most rich people weren't good people anyway. He figured he might as well make the money. Besides, Yang Shiyuan had made himself clear in one sentence. He was looking at antiques and collectibles, and this item didn't belong to that category. Any problems were Yang Shiyuan's own business, not theirs as appraisers.
Zhou Xuan smiled faintly, but didn't notice that Shangguan Mingyue next to him suddenly raised the price: "I'll bid three million!"
The moment the beautiful woman made her bid, it immediately attracted the attention of others. After a moment of silence, someone cheerfully joined the bidding: "Three and a half million!"