บท 12: Lifting a Stone and Dropping It on One's Own Foot
บรรณาธิการ: Chrissy
Guan Wanshan knowingly said, "You are right. Of course I know that it is a great honor to be given this opportunity by a master dan-maker… Hmm, look, can we figure out something… to do it diversified and indirectly. What do you think?"
Ye Xiao frowned, "How diversified? How indirectly?"
"The diversified and indirect way is actually not that complicated. We can pay you some money for the dan beads first, and then you use the money to attend to the auction or just purchase the treasures… Isn't this an easy way for both of us to achieve our goals?"
Ye Xiao squinted at him and seriously replied, "What if we fail to get the treasures in the auction?"
Guan Wanshan smiled bitterly, "Brother Feng, it seems you are well aware of the auctions… Alas, it is not all that easy these days. However, the treasures may be held on tightly by different groups, and the government has also announced that some of them should be handed in. However, since we can stand mighty in the capital, we surely have our own secretive means… Otherwise, how can such a great amount of treasures from all over the world be gathered together?"
Saying those words, Guan Wanshan gave an impression of being proud.
Ye Xiao was slightly shocked and answered, "Since you say so, I can only trust you. But you clearly know about the quality of these dan beads from the master dan-maker and their value. Are there really that many treasures present over here? Besides, even if you manage to take out enough treasures this time; what about next time; or even the third time? I don't think you want this deal to be one-off, right?!"
All the while, Ye Xiao was continuously racking his brains, "How many objects in total could there be regarded as treasures in this world? Could this salesroom actually possess such resources?"
"I think that perhaps your opinion is slightly inaccurate. Stalactite and Starlight are of course treasures. Well, then ginseng and ganoderma [1]… are also treasures, aren't they?" Guan Wanshan said with confidence.
"Urh…" Ye Xiao couldn't help but stare blankly at this old man.
If some 10 years old ginseng could be considered a treasure… then the treasures in this world would really be uncountable…
However, Ye Xiao didn't expect getting a lot of top-level treasures all at once. It was just that the more the better, so he agreed with Guan Wanshan, "What you are saying is reasonable. As for these dan beads… What price can you offer for them?"
Guan Wanshan bitterly smiled and said after muttering for a while, "For some ordinary Pei-Yuan Dan beads, we usually spend no more than 2500 taels of silver each… and then we sell them on the auctions. Anyway, although the dan beads you bring are also simple Pei-Yuan Dan, it has the sky-top quality! Of course they couldn't be mentioned in the same breath, so… look, what about 25,000 taels of silver for each, what do you think?"
[Are these dan beads really that valuable?!] Ye Xiao was shocked and shouted out in his mind.
But his face only showed a serious frown as he answered with an irrefutable tone, "100,000 taels of silver each!"
Difficulty was clearly shown on Guan Wanshan's face, "Brother Feng, for these Pei-Yuan Dan beads that were produced by your master dan-maker and has reached the legendary grade 10, it is indeed worthy of 100,000 taels of silver. As a matter of fact, it could very well be worth even more… But, because these dan beads are really so precious, we will not sell them at the auction; instead, we will keep them… Heh, heh, in our present financial situation, 100,000 taels of silver… is quite beyond our budget…"
Ye Xiao was unmoved, "Lack of money? Well then you could buy less. Just take five of them. As for the other ten, you can sell them at the auction for me. No matter how much they are sold for, it all belongs to me."
Guan Wanshan was stunned, [This guy really has a rigorous way of doing things.]
In customary cases of auctions, if one thing was not unique and even had over ten identical pieces, the final bidding price would be reduced badly. After all, when there were many identical treasures, the relation between demand and supply would change. For instance, an upper-level dan bead may be sold for a sky-high price, but if there were ten identical upper-level dan bead at the same time, no matter how precious they were, the price would decrease badly for sure.
What Ye Xiao suggested - one for 100,000 taels of silver and fifteen for 1,500,000 taels of silver was totally inconsistent with the trade principle in auctions!
However, there were always exceptions; the supreme dan beads Ye Xiao had brought was actually such an exception. Pei-Yuan Dan with sky-high quality had reached the limit of dan-making in the world. Even if there were more than 15 pieces, the price would never decrease even a bit - it would even get higher instead!
If the dan beads were truly on sale at the auction, the price would definitely go higher than 100,000 taels of silver. If Guan Wanshan wanted to buy them after the auction, it would simply be impossible with a budget of a mere 100,000 taels of silver per dan bead. It was his good luck that he could get five in advance now!
"Fine, that's it then." Guan Wanshan gnashed and promised.
He clearly knew that whoever could take out these supreme dan beads was no ordinary person. He believed that as long as this guy was satisfied, there would be more opportunities like this in the future.
But if he wasn't satisfied, he wouldn't get another opportunity.
When Ye Xiao walked into the salesroom, he only had a taels of silver on him. Yet when he left the salesroom, he got a note for 500,000 taels of silver!
He had become a multimillionaire by simply walking in, dumping some 'low quality' dan beads, and leaving the building!
Guan Wanshan had amiably offered him a Skyline VIP Card, yet he had rejected it without any hesitation.
"I will come back here for more business, however, I do not wish to be tied down here by such a simple card. Do I require a card to prove my status around
here?"
Looking at Ye Xiao's back, Guan Wanshan looked grave.
[… 'don't want to be tied up'… He really doesn't want it?!] Guan Wanshan was shocked.
"He really is a smart guy." As a sharp-sighted man, how could he not realize the implication behind Ye Xiao's words?
He didn't want a VIP plate, because he was a freewheeling and unfettered man.
A VIP card might be a symbol of one's status and showed his value, but it was also a binding - once Ye Xiao acquired a card like this, the next time he wished to attend a salesroom, he would be obligated to come back to this salesroom.
That was an invisible constraint.
Apparently, Ye Xiao didn't like that.
From within the shadows, a figure suddenly and quietly approached Master Guan, "Master, do we need to tail this guy?"
"No." Guan Wanshan showed a serious face, "This guy… he is absolutely someone we cannot mess around with. If we displease him, even if we kill him, we will lose the connection with the supreme dan-maker and face serious retributions… Inform the head office first and we'll deal with him later."
"Yes, master… Well, about the auction…"
"Delay it!" Guan Wanshan waved his hand and replied firmly, "There were a few herbs that were sufficient to become the main selling points, but as of this moment, compared to these supreme dan beads, they are far from enough. Make an announcement now. The auction will be delayed by ten days. Inform the head office about these supreme dan beads and ask them for a plan. We will follow their lead."
"Yes, master."
Ye Xiao had left the salesroom and made his way through a couple of back alleys, before he returned to one of the larger streets. He had regained the appearance of a young handsome lord. His appearance, demeanor, stature and temperament… were all changed.
The tall, strong and ugly Feng Zhiling was gone.
"The auction is tomorrow…" Ye Xiao was thinking, "With these 500,000 taels of silver, I can buy some treasures at least, right? Besides, I saw the jade ruyi… I need to make sure Zuo Wu-Ji gets it. Otherwise, if he retracts the deal…"
Ye Xiao was expecting the auction to proceed smoothly, but he was unaware of that fact that Master Guan had already delayed the auction.
And he, who wanted the auction to be smooth the most, was actually the main culprit for the delay…
Nothing happened on his way home. Ye Xiao practiced some martial arts after he got home, then he started reading. After all, he had only understood this mortal world through the memories of the departed Ye Xiao, but they were imperfect. It would be better for him to read more about this mortal world, so he would have an easier time settling in.
When the night was about to come, the guard appeared in front of Ye Xiao and informed him, "Lord Lan and Lord Zuo have come together. They are here to meet you, my lord."
"Why did they come together?" Ye Xiao was surprised.
"Fxxk! Fxxk, fxxk, fxxk…" Zuo Wu-Ji was yet to enter the room, but his shouts were already clearly resounding inside the mansion.
Lan Lang-Lang's voice also came with a depressed tone, "The Ling-Bao Hall Salesroom is apparently playing us…"
"What happened? Why are you both so angry?" Ye Xiao looked at both of them while frowning with confusion.
"I don't want to talk about it!" Zuo Wu-Ji sighed deeply, and then he sat on the chair, "The bloody auction is delayed! Fxxk…"
For Zuo Wu-Ji, who only wished for nothing but to restore his reputation in his family by regaining jade ruyi, every minute felt like a year!
He had finally gotten his hand on enough money to buy the jade ruyi, and all he had to do was bid on the jade ruyi at the auction… But the auction had actually been delayed!
When he heard about the delay, he had nearly spat out blood, because the miserable life he was recently accustomed to had to continue for at least another ten days!
"I don't want to live anymore… I can't live with it anymore…" Zuo Wu-Ji was crying without shedding any tears.
"Delay? Why is it delayed?" Ye Xiao's pupils dilated.
It was not a good news for him either. The sooner the auction was held, the earlier he could get some treasures. At that time, he would be able to him learn more about the sphere in his mind and the space within it, and he could also cultivate to a higher stage much faster.
"There is a goddamn moron!" Lan Lang-Lang sighed, "At this important moment, he actually took out a few supreme dan beads… With such precious items, how could the salesroom not delay the auction to make advertisements for the beads? Several days are absolutely not enough to advertise it! If we think of the situation, ten days is actually rushing it… Gosh, what a shame. I have heard that a cool-steel sword is on sale at the auction. I was planning to get it as soon as possible. Now I need to wait for another ten days. Fxxk that bloody moron…"
"Urh… Just because of some supreme dan beads… It is delayed?" Ye Xiao was slack-jawed.
Isn't it like lifting a stone and dropping it on one's own foot?
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[1] Ganoderma: A genus of polypore mushrooms that grow on wood, and they include about 80 species, many from tropical regions.
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