The two of them squatted at the door and chatted about the construction and development of the Chinese Village.
After chatting for a while, Da Mao walked out in a daze.
Li Du saw that he was in a bad mood and asked, "How is it? Tell me if you need any help. "
Da Mao forced a smile and said, "It's nothing. I asked Master Liu to continue investigating. Master Liu said that he should be able to settle this matter. There's no need to trouble you."
Hearing that, Li Du stood up and patted his shoulder a few times without asking any more questions.
Everyone had their own privacy and considerations. Although Da Mao liked to talk nonsense, he was a smart man. He had his own judgment, and Li Du respected his choice.
Besides, Li Du had no connections in Hpakant and was not familiar with the area. Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi, the two local tyrants, were more suitable to investigate. He just needed to prepare for the public auction with Da Mao.
Every Myanmar jade public auction was a grand event. The auction lasted for seven to ten days and the transaction value could reach tens of billions of RMB.
The transaction value was high, but the level of the auction was low.
The location of the auction was in Hpakant Town. Li Du went to take a look in advance. There was a lot of ore being sent in.
According to the new land laws of Myanmar, jade ore was national property. However, the country was corrupt and the government colluded with the businessmen. Secondly, the mines in Hpakant had been privately contracted for hundreds of years. Due to various reasons, the private trade of ore was still the main business.
Li Du had attended many auctions. The only one that could reach the level of a public auction was Sotheby's. He remembered that Sotheby's auctions were all high-end and stylish.
In comparison, the public auction was too shabby. It did not even rent a hotel as the venue. Instead, it simply marked out a piece of land and used a combination of iron rods and colored steel tiles to make a large shed. It could block the rain but not the wind.
The shed was surrounded by barbed wire. There was a sentry every few steps. There were armed police and patrol cars for support. The security was impeccable.
Li Du walked around the shed and exclaimed, "Are we going to participate in the auction here?"
"Yes," Zhong Da Pao said casually with a cigarette in his mouth.
Li Du said, "But what kind of auction is this? I feel like it's more like a concentration camp? "
Zhong Da Pao chuckled. "A place that earns money is a good place. Who cares about the concentration camp?"
Li Du could not help but shake his head. The Central Government of Myanmar's Ministry of Mines and the jade committee were too careless. Such an important auction had been turned into such a mess.
The people attending the auction did not care about comfort. What they cared about was security. After all, everyone came to Hpakant with a huge sum of money.
There was no problem with the security at the auction. Li Du and the others had just walked around when a military policeman came over with a gun and asked, "What are you doing? Hey, stop right there! "
Zhong Da Pao went over and stuffed a box of cigarettes into the officer's mouth. The officer's face was tense. Seeing that no one was looking, he quietly packed it up. Then he frowned and said, "Master Pao, don't cause trouble."
"What trouble did I cause?" Zhong Da Pao rolled his eyes. "I accompanied my friend here to take a look. We are going to attend this auction together tomorrow."
The policeman laughed. "You want to participate? You squib, you must have too much money to burn, right? "
Zhong Da Pao pushed him and said with a black face, "F * ck you. You're the one who's a squib. F * ck, I'm a double cannon!"
The military policeman was obviously very familiar with him. He did not make things difficult for them and left with the cigarettes.
After looking at the venue, Zhong Da Pao knew that Li Du had not participated in public auctions before, so he briefly explained the rules.
The auction was conducted in two ways. One was a secret auction, and the other was an open auction.
Secret auctions were the mainstream. When entering the auction, there would be a bidding slip. The merchants would look for the jade they were interested in and then fill in the bidding slip with their serial number, name, jade serial number, and price. Finally, they would put it into the bidding box corresponding to the serial number of the item.
In this process, the merchants who participated in the bidding did not know which jade the other party was interested in, nor did they know the price. When the bidding was opened, the winning bidder and the bidding price would be publicly announced according to the serial number of the item. That was how the auction was completed.
Open bidding was relatively rare. It was the same as other auctions. The merchants who participated in open bidding were all gathered in the trading hall. The operator of the public auction would announce the serial number of the item and the bidders would take turns to bid. Whoever offered the highest bid would win. It was fair and just.
"In terms of proportion, secret bidding is the mainstream. It accounts for eighty percent, and open bidding is only twenty percent," Zhong Da Pao explained.
Li Du nodded and said, "Alright, I understand."
Zhong Da Pao said helplessly, "D * mn, the mining department is too smart. Now that everyone has their eyes on the stone, in order to prevent it from being snatched away, they can only blindly bid a high price. It's so infuriating!"
Li Du smiled and said, "The goal of the mining department is to sell the stone at a higher price. What's so infuriating about that? When the time comes, just watch me. I'm too good at this. Do you know what my occupation is? "
"The top management of Harry Winston, Inc.?" Zhong Da Pao asked.
Li Du shook his head. "No, Brother Wolf, tell him."
Brother Wolf said, "The boss works in the auction industry. He's a professional auction expert. Every year, he attends hundreds of auctions, including real estate auctions, car auctions, and Sotheby's and other luxury goods auctions. It involves all industries in life!"
Zhong Da Pao was in awe. "Ah? Young Master Li is so knowledgeable about jade. I thought you were a professional luxury goods connoisseur. "
Li Du laughed. Brother Wolf was quite good with his words. He made storage auctions and real estate auctions sound so professional. These two industries were actually considered low-end jobs in America.
After understanding the environment of the auction, the next day's work became much simpler.
Li Du followed Zhong Da Pao and Liu Zi to the auction house. As there was a large number of police and military personnel in charge of security, there was no need to bring the bodyguards in. Li Du got them to wait outside.
The auction house was bustling. If Li Du did not know what was going on, he would have thought that it was a market in his hometown.
The auction house was located by the roadside. There was an intersection not far away. There were many tricycles, forklifts, tractors, and cranes parked at the intersection. The forklifts were used to deliver the stone, while the tricycles were used to transport passengers.
As the road was narrow and the condition was poor, tricycles were the mainstream means of transportation here. Even big bosses who were worth hundreds of millions of dollars would ride these tricycles to the auction house.
Hence, when Li Du walked over, he saw many eye-opening scenes. In front of him, a man with a big belly alighted from a tattered tricycle. The gold H belt on the man's waist shone brightly. Just this belt alone could be exchanged for a few tricycles.
There were also beautiful women getting off and off the tricycles, twisting their waists. When they alighted, all of them had a look of disgust on their faces. They quickly wiped their butts with tissues. Every time this happened, Liu Zi's eyes would be fixed on them …
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