Wang Wenxin did not buy many pieces; he had come along just for the fun of it.
Li Mingze actually won one, having increased the price by another thirty thousand on top of what Wang Shimin had offered.
It wasn't that he didn't trust the other party, but rather that he had no real acquaintance with them.
This piece was originally meant for Wang Shimin himself, but it had been intercepted by Li Mingze. Wang Shimin felt an indescribable sense of regret.
Although the rough stone's exterior was unremarkable, it contained seven-colored jade, from which many bracelets and ornaments could be carved.
Wang Shimin's regret was useless; Li Mingze was already processing the paperwork.
Guo Xuyang, of course, was unaware of the events that had transpired between them, nor did he have the inclination to inquire about them.
He was currently filling out bidding slips. To ensure there were no mistakes, he filled out ten slips for the rough stone numbered 1099.
The first slip exceeded Li Mingze's bid by fifty thousand. He intended to have Li Minxi submit this bid.
For the second slip, he wrote down twenty-three million, five hundred thirty thousand, three hundred twenty-three. This slip was prepared for Lü Liang.
For the third slip, he wrote down twenty-five million, six hundred fifty thousand, one hundred eighty-two. This slip was prepared for Wu Youzhi.
For the fourth slip, he wrote down twenty-six million, seven hundred twenty-one thousand, five hundred forty-one. This slip was prepared for Pi Xiaoqian.
For the fifth slip, he wrote down twenty-six million, seven hundred seventy-three thousand, two hundred twenty-two. He intended to bid on this slip himself.
For the sixth slip, he wrote down thirty-five million, eight hundred thousand. This slip was prepared for Jelena.
This was a reserved bid, meant to be submitted by Jelena just before the final sealing, to prevent Wang Shimin from knowing his intentions.
The remaining four slips were fully completed, awaiting only the final bidding price.
This was a precaution against unforeseen circumstances.
He knew that Wang Shimin would definitely target the rough stone numbered 1099 as well.
The imperial green jadeite contained within was exceptionally rare, making it impossible for him not to be tempted.
While Guo Xuyang was busy with this, Wang Shimin was already filling out the bidding slip for 1099.
His bidding price was thirty-five million, eight hundred eighty-two thousand, five hundred eighty-six.
His bid was exactly one hundred eighty-six higher than Li Ziwen's thirty-five million, eight hundred eighty-two thousand, five hundred.
This was a bit of malicious fun.
He wanted to secure this rough stone so that he would no longer have to listen to anyone else's orders.
Li Ziqi, merely a minor ability administrator, had dared to boss him around. He had endured this for far too long.
However, he had never shown it, always waiting for an opportunity.
Now that the opportunity had arrived, he naturally wouldn't let it pass.
He was also guarding against Guo Xuyang, knowing that Guo Xuyang was no less capable than himself.
The morning's opening bids clearly showed that several of the better-performing rough stones had all been taken by Guo Xuyang.
There were also a few people who were Guo Xuyang's accomplices, though they had deliberately kept a low profile these past few days.
But he knew of two fat men; these two were the owners of the Kyoto Jade Specialty Store.
He wasn't afraid of anything. At worst, he would guard the ballot box at the end and change the numbers as needed. It would all come down to who was faster.
During lunch, Guo Xuyang handed several bidding slips for the rough stone numbered 1099 to Wu Youzhi and the others.
He instructed them to submit their bids after five o'clock that afternoon.
He also specifically called Jelena and asked her to come over.
He handed her two bidding slips.
Upon seeing the numbers, Jelena's eyes widened.
"Yangzi, is it really worth that much?"
"Yes. Stack these two slips together and submit them less than a minute before five-thirty. Remember, absolutely do not submit them early. You are my final guarantee."
"Don't worry, Yangzi. I guarantee the mission will be completed."
After the afternoon session began, Guo Xuyang started submitting the slips he held into the ballot boxes one after another.
The rough stones from 1001 to 2000 were scheduled to be opened tomorrow.
Guo Xuyang submitted over five hundred bidding slips in total. These actions were all intended to mislead Wang Shimin.
It wasn't until 5:28 PM that Guo Xuyang finally submitted his own bidding slip into the ballot box for the rough stone numbered 1099.
Wang Shimin smiled upon seeing Guo Xuyang's bid and said, "Kid, I'll let you know that old ginger is spicier."
"Is that so? I hope you're the one who laughs last," Guo Xuyang replied.
As they were exchanging words, Jelena walked over and submitted her bidding slip into the ballot box.
The military officer following behind Jelena smiled at her, then collected the ballot box.
This all happened in an instant.
Wang Shimin was stunned. He didn't come to his senses until the bag containing the bidding slips was being transported away.
Unfortunately, the bag had already been moved.
All they could do was wait for the results of the opening bids the next morning.
Guo Xuyang paid no further attention to Wang Shimin and walked away with Jelena.
"Yangzi, did I do my job well?"
"Excellent. I didn't expect you to bring the Myanmar store officer."
"They happened to be behind me when I came, pure coincidence."
Seeing that she was unwilling to admit it, Guo Xuyang let it go.
As long as they won the bid tomorrow, nothing else mattered.
The night passed quickly.
Guo Xuyang appeared at the breakfast table, as energetic as ever.
Li Minxi did not leave her room.
It seemed like she wasn't planning on getting out of bed today.
Jelena also arrived early.
After Guo Xuyang finished breakfast, everyone headed to the public auction together.
The mission was complete, and there was no need to hide anything anymore.
At eight o'clock, the public auction officially announced the winning bids.
1001, Li Minxi, seven hundred twenty thousand.
1002, Wu Youzhi, three hundred sixty-five thousand.
1003, Pi Xiaoqian, seven hundred seventy-three thousand, six hundred fifty.
1004, Li Ziwen, eight million, seven hundred thirty-three thousand, two hundred twenty.
...
1099, Ten Perfect Myanmar Jade Specialty Co., Ltd., thirty-five million, eight hundred sixty thousand.
1100, Guo Xuyang, five hundred thirty-three thousand, five hundred.
1111, Pi Xiaoqian, three hundred fifty-two thousand.
...
1199, Wu Youzhi, seven million, five hundred eighty-four thousand, three hundred.
2000, Lü Liang, two million, one hundred twenty-five thousand, one hundred twenty.
After the announcement concluded, Guo Xuyang and his companions happily proceeded to handle customs clearance and transportation procedures.
Meanwhile, upon hearing the results, Wang Shimin's eyes rolled back, and he collapsed straight onto the ground.
Li Ziwen, startled, immediately called for an ambulance.
Everyone felt that this public auction was not very auspicious.
On the first day of the hidden bid opening, a general was assassinated.
On the second day of the hidden bid opening, an old man fainted.
No one knew what would happen on the third day.
After completing the customs clearance and transportation procedures, Guo Xuyang returned and learned of Wang Shimin's fainting spell.
With this rival gone, he could now sweep through the entire public auction, he thought to himself.
This time, he had filled out bidding slips for everything that showed any promise, submitting over three hundred in total.
When returning to the hotel that evening, Jelena also returned with everyone.
"Jelena, what happened to that general?" Guo Xuyang asked.
"Yesterday was an opportunity. I didn't expect it to be such a coincidence. This mission likely had more than one person undertaking it."
"Are you sure that was General Wu Minlai?"
"There's no way to confirm. The news is being very tightly controlled at the moment."