Yu Mingdong's face suddenly showed a trace of embarrassment. He said carefully, "Mr. Xia, it's like this … The public jade bid in Ruizhou will officially start this afternoon. This public jade bid is very important to me …"
Yu Mingdong carefully looked at Xia Ruofei again, and then quickly said, "Mr. Xia, don't worry. I've contacted the supplier. You can get the goods by tomorrow morning at the latest! If the public jade bid goes well, you can even get it tonight! "
It was obvious that Ma Zhiming was very important to Yu Mingdong. He even had some respect for him, so Yu Mingdong didn't dare to neglect the things that Ma Zhiming entrusted to him. He was also a little careful when talking to Xia Ruofei.
Although Xia Ruofei was anxious, he didn't want to force Yu Mingdong. He nodded and said, "Yes, Mr. Yu, it's important to do your own thing!"
"Thank you, Mr. Xia, for your understanding!" Yu Mingdong then explained, "In fact, the supplier also has to participate in the public jade bid, so even if I don't go to the public jade bid this afternoon, we may not be able to buy jade …"
"Mr. Yu, you don't have to explain." Xia Ruofei chuckled and said, "I've already caused you a lot of trouble this time. How could I delay your business any further?"
"You're welcome, Mr. Xia." Yu Mingdong breathed a sigh of relief and then said, "It's Mr. Xia's first time in Ruizhou, right? In fact, the public jade bid is very interesting. Mr. Xia can go with us in the afternoon. By the way, I've hired a very good stone gambling consultant this time. I'll ask him to give me some advice. Mr. Xia, you can also buy a few stones to play with! It's just entertainment! "
Xia Ruofei smiled and nodded. "Okay! Then I'll go with you to broaden my horizons! "
The car soon arrived at the Junhao Hotel in the downtown of Hongzhou City, which was the most luxurious hotel in Hongzhou City.
Because they still had to rush to Ruizhou to participate in the Jadeite Public Plate in the afternoon, this was really a "simple meal". Yu Mingdong had already ordered a few local signature dishes in advance. As soon as everyone arrived, the dishes were served immediately. The three of them did not drink. They quickly finished their lunch and continued to drive.
The journey from Hong Zhou to Rui Zhou was more than 90 kilometers. The three of them arrived in Rui Zhou in just over an hour.
It shouldn't be the first time Shi Lei accompanied Yu Mingdong here. He was also very familiar with the roads in Rui Zhou. He skillfully drove the Mercedes-Benz business car through the streets and alleys of Rui Zhou and soon arrived at a street intersection.
There was a large parking lot near the street. After the car drove in, Xia Ruofei saw that there were already many luxury cars parked in the parking lot.
Yu Mingdong said, "Mr. Xia, that's Feicui Street in Ruizhou. The Feicui Public Bid is in the middle and back of Feicui Street. We have to walk there."
After Shi Lei parked the car, the three of them got out of the car and walked into Feicui Street in Rui Zhou.
This was a pedestrian street. Without exception, the shops on both sides of the street all sold jade, and most of them sold raw stones. Many of the shops had signboards with the words "Stone Gambling" outside.
Although stone gambling had the word "gambling", in fact, it was legal. The essence of "stone gambling" was actually the trading of raw jade stones.
Because the surface of the jade was covered by a layer of weathered skin, the internal situation could not be seen, and no instrument could detect it.
Therefore, people could only infer that there was a supreme jade inside by the external characteristics of the skin. Most of the raw jade stones were traded in this way, which was also commonly known as "stone gambling".
Yu Mingdong saw that Xia Ruofei was very interested in the raw stones placed in front of the shops, so he said with a smile, "Mr. Xia, these shops are small and have a lot of tricks. It's okay to play occasionally, but there's a Jadeite Public Bid in these two days, so there's no need to waste time in these small shops."
Xia Ruofei nodded with a smile and said, "It seems that the scale of this Jadeite Public Bid is not small."
Yu Mingdong said, "The annual Jadeite Public Bid is naturally not small, but jade is also a non-renewable resource! In recent years, jade has been relatively hot, and Myanmar has been a little over-exploited. The size and quality of the raw stones have decreased a lot compared to previous years … "
Speaking of this, Yu Mingdong sighed again and said, "The competition this year must be very fierce. I don't know how much the price will be raised! This business is getting more and more difficult … "
Xia Ruofei had seen Yu Mingdong's business card and knew that he was the boss of a jade company. Hearing this, he couldn't help but ask with a smile, "Mr. Yu, isn't the high price a good thing for you?"
Yu Mingdong said with a wry smile, "In theory, the price of raw stones is high, so is the price of jade products. But for a small company like us, the financial pressure is a bit big! Furthermore, if we really make a mistake, we might lose everything … "
Xia Ruofei sighed with emotion, "It seems that no business is easy!"
"That's right!" Yu Mingdong looked at the shop next to him and said, "These raw stone transactions are stable. As long as there is a channel to get the goods from Myanmar, they will definitely make a profit!"
The two of them chatted as they walked forward. Shi Lei quietly followed behind them and didn't interrupt easily.
Soon, they arrived at the site of the Ruizhou public jade bid.
It looked more like a big warehouse, and it looked a little simple. There was no gorgeous decoration, and the roof was made of colored steel tiles. It looked like a simple warehouse, which was very different from Xia Ruofei's imagination.
The only thing that could make people feel a trace of a local tyrant was that there were constantly well-dressed people walking into the "warehouse." In addition, there were seven or eight escort vehicles parked side by side at the door, and there were even a few armed sentries.
Yu Mingdong explained with a smile, "These are all people with gun licenses. The organizer of the event invited them from a security company. After all, some of the raw stones are very valuable!"
At this time, a silver-haired old man in a dark red Tang suit walked towards Yu Mingdong from not far away. There was a trace of dissatisfaction on his face. "Mr. Yu, the public jade bid is about to start. Why are you only here now?"
Yu Mingdong smiled and said, "Mr. He, I'm sorry! I was delayed on the way! "
Then Yu Mingdong immediately introduced, "Mr. Xia, let me introduce you. This is He Ping, the honorary director of the Dian Jade Association. He is the stone gambling consultant that I specially invited. He is very experienced in identifying raw stones!"
Yu Mingdong said to He Ping, "Mr. He, this is Mr. Xia Xia Ruofei. He is a friend of Mr. Ma from Hong Kong!"
Originally, He Ping didn't pay much attention to young people like Xia Ruofei. Seeing Yu Mingdong introduce him so seriously, he didn't think much of it in his heart.
However, when he heard Yu Mingdong say that Xia Ruofei was "a friend of Mr. Ma from Hong Kong," he couldn't help but be a little surprised. The expression on his face softened a little, and he nodded slightly at Xia Ruofei.
Xia Ruofei also smiled gently and said, "Mr. He, please advise me!"
He Ping said faintly, "Mr. Xia, you are too polite."
Even if he was Ma Zhiming's friend, He Ping wouldn't show as much enthusiasm as Yu Mingdong. He just said a few words, then immediately said to Yu Mingdong, "Mr. Yu, let's hurry up and enter the venue! The deadline for the first batch of raw stones today is five o 'clock in the afternoon. We don't have much time left. "
"Okay, okay, okay! I'll leave it to you later, Mr. He! "Yu Mingdong said with a smile.
He was a businessman, and he paid attention to harmony to make money. He also knew that experts like He Ping, who had rich experience in stone gambling, were somewhat arrogant. Naturally, he wouldn't care about the other party's attitude.
A group of people came to the door. After He Ping showed the invitation letter for the jade public bid, he went through a strict security check before he was allowed to enter the public bid site.
After entering the door, Xia Ruofei realized that the "simple warehouse" actually covered a very large area. It was much larger than the parking lot at the end of the street. In addition, although the roof was made of colored steel tiles, a lot of lighting equipment was installed. The entire public bid site was as bright as day.
Looking around, there were rows of black and yellow raw stones of different sizes densely packed together. It felt like there was no end in sight.
These raw stones were placed in different positions according to their size and appearance. The smaller ones were placed on display shelves, while the bigger ones were placed directly on the ground.
Every raw stone had a number, and there was a bidding box with the same number in front of them.
When they entered the door, everyone received a stack of pre-prepared double sheets. Each double sheet had a unique number printed on it. If they liked a raw stone, they just had to write down the price they gave on the first page of the double sheet and put it into the bidding box.
After the bidding deadline, the sheets in these bidding boxes would be counted immediately. The one with the highest bid would naturally be qualified to buy the raw stone. At that time, as long as they paid the purchase price with the second page of the double sheet, they could directly receive the raw stone.
The rules were very simple, but in the face of such a vast amount of raw stones, it was natural that everyone's eyesight would be tested.
Of course, it was different from a public auction. This kind of auction also involved a psychological game. They needed to guess how much their competitors might pay, and at the same time, calculate their own affordability to give a suitable price.
Of course, each bidding box also had the starting price of the corresponding raw stone. Anything lower than this price was naturally invalid.
There were so many raw stones here that it was impossible to count them. Of course, many of them could be cut with jade. After all, the raw stones that could be put on the jade public plate were also screened. However, being able to cut out jade didn't mean that they could definitely make money. Some of them might not even be worth the starting price, and there were even many that didn't have jade at all. In the end, it still depended on one's eyesight.
This was also the reason why those experienced stone gambling consultants were so popular. Xia Ruofei just fell behind and secretly asked Shi Lei. Yu Mingdong asked He Ping to help him with the appraisal. The reward for three days was two million yuan. If the price of the raw stone increased greatly, there would be an additional bonus.
Perhaps Ma Zhiming's reputation was big enough, but Yu Mingdong still attached great importance to Xia Ruofei. After entering the public plate, he had been introducing the situation to Xia Ruofei.
After all, when Xia Ruofei came in, it was like Granny Liu entering the Grand View Garden. At first glance, it was obvious that it was the first time that he had come to the jade public plate. He was also worried that if Xia Ruofei was affected by the atmosphere of the scene, he would be impulsive and lose a lot of money. If that happened, it would be difficult for him to explain it to Ma Zhiming.
"Mr. Xia, although there are many people coming and going here, in fact, there aren't many people who really come to 'stone gambling.'" Yu Mingdong said with a smile, "Most of the people here are in the domestic jade industry. Everyone comes to the public plate because they want to stock up as much raw materials as possible. After all, the price of jade has been rising in recent years."
Xia Ruofei nodded and said, "That is to say, even if the price is high, most of the jade that is cut out will be kept for themselves!"
"Yes!" Yu Mingdong said with a smile, "It's the same for my company. The raw materials have always been very tight. I'm counting on Mr. He's help this time to buy a few more pieces of good material! Otherwise, we'll be out of stock soon. "
When he was chatting with Xia Ruofei, he didn't forget to flatter He Ping.
The silver-haired He Ping looked quite a bit like a master, and he was still indifferent to Yu Mingdong's flattery.
The group of people passed by many raw stone display shelves, but they didn't stop. Xia Ruofei asked curiously, "Mr. Yu, there are so many raw stones here. Won't you be dazzled by the selection?"
Although he didn't know much about stone gambling, he had seen it once in the three mountains. Those stone gambling people could turn a raw stone over and over for a long time. Even if they were experienced drivers, they probably wouldn't be very efficient!
"This batch of raw stones has been on display for two days. Today is the deadline for the bidding. It can be said that everyone basically knows which raw stones they want." Yu Mingdong said with a smile, "This afternoon is just the final confirmation, and also to weigh the bidding strategy."
No wonder … Xia Ruofei thought to himself. Yu Mingdong must have preliminarily determined which pieces to compete for, so he and He Ping went straight to the target.
"Mr. Yu, I think the price of these raw stones isn't low. How do the people who win the bid trade?" Xia Ruofei asked again.
"After the bid is opened, the winning bid will be kept for half an hour. The organizers of the public bid have a special payment point. Cash, credit card, transfer, and check are all accepted!" Yu Mingdong said, "Every public bid is supported by the local government. The bank will send people to work on the spot, and the precious raw stones can be directly entrusted to a security company to escort them. Even the hospital will send doctors and ambulances. Every year, there are people whose hearts can't stand the excitement …"
Speaking of this, Yu Mingdong couldn't help but laugh.
This wasn't a joke. Stone gambling was known as "a knife to the poor, a knife to the rich, a knife to wear linen." It could turn a poor person into a millionaire in the blink of an eye, and it could also evaporate tens of millions of funds in an instant. The excitement was no less than real gambling.
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