Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 147: Chapter 144: Entering the Arena

Entering the trade fair venue, Huo Sining saw a banner hanging at the entrance with the words “The 7th Pingzhou Jade Exhibition and Sale” on it. Turning a corner, she arrived at the true location of the Jade Public Plate.

The vast square was as large as a football field, covered with tens of thousands of wooden rack display stands, each laden with countless jadeite raw stones of various sizes. Beneath those raw stones, a name card was attached, listing the stone’s number, quantity, weight, and base price.

Seeing so many stones, Su Qingqing, who had her fighting spirit crushed earlier, was suddenly revitalized. She pulled Huo Sining along with stars in her eyes, utterly thrilled.

Huo Sining also felt a bit dizzy. She had imagined what the public plate would look like before, but the sight of tens of thousands of jadeite roughs still left her somewhat flabbergasted.

“This is the Bright Bid Area, consisting of roughs sent in by individual customers affiliated with the Jade Public Plate. Ever since the Jade Association took over the Jade Public Plate, anyone who has registered for a membership card and paid the membership fee can exhibit here. The owners of these roughs include some stone-gambling shops and rough merchants, as well as some stone-gambling collectors. Most of these roughs have been carefully selected before being sent here, and the likelihood of their value increasing is quite significant, of course, the prices are not cheap,”

Seeing the reactions of Huo Sining and the others, Du Yuanwei beside them smiled and asked, “What do you think? Have you ever seen such a grand spectacle before?”

...

Huo Sining nodded. Although she had already seen many jadeite raw stones on Jade Street and at the rough recovery station, she had never encountered such a grand display before.

Countless jadeite raw stones were packed onto the display stands, making one feel as though they had entered a world of stones upon entering the venue.

The scene was magnificent, instantly making Huo Sining feel like she had been as frog in a well.

The venue was divided into the Bright Bid Area and Dark Bid Area. The so-called Bright Bid referred to raw stones with clearly marked prices, which could be purchased after negotiating the price with the owner; whereas the Dark Bid Area required filling out a bid sheet behind the scenes. Buyers would have to offer bids based on the raw material’s appearance, and the highest bid would win when the bidding commenced.

At first glance, the Bright Bid Area seemed more favorable since you didn’t have to compete with other bidders, and thus the rough’s price wouldn’t be bid up too high.

But Huo Sining was very clear that the real focus of this stone-gambling fair was in the Dark Bid Area.

Because the roughs with good appearance were all placed in the Dark Bid Area, with the rest being put in the Bright Bid Area. Therefore, the risk and potential for value increase were greater in the Dark Bid Area, while the Bright Bid Area had a more mixed and uneven quality.

So even though the base price in the Dark Bid Area was higher and the competition fiercer, many stone-gambling enthusiasts still flocked there.

Of course, although the likelihood of price increase for the roughs in the Bright Bid Area was smaller, those with limited funds or hoping to pick up a bargain naturally would not miss this massive stone event, as such an opportunity came only once a year.

Su Jinyuan and Qin Tian had their sights set on the Dark Bids, so they headed straight for the Dark Bid Area upon entering the venue.

Huo Sining and her two companions didn’t have much money on hand, so they could only wander around the Bright Bid Area.

As for Du Yuanwei, who had come simply to join in the fun, he would make a purchase if something suitable caught his eye but had no specific targets. He led Huo Sining and her friends toward the Bright Bid Area.

However, for some reason, Du Yuanwei felt like there was a sharp gaze fixed on him from behind. He looked back, but seeing nothing untoward, he chalked it up to his imagination.

Gu Xu had traveled from the Imperial Capital to Foshan, hoping to use this opportunity to get closer to Huo Sining and spend more time with the young lady. Yet, what he hadn’t calculated was that Su Jinyuan, for all his planning, would actually separate from the three women, and most importantly, he had let an unfamiliar man accompany them!

What kind of a brother was Su Jinyuan, to be so irresponsible! They were four single men and women; wasn’t he afraid that something might happen!?

If he kept letting them interact like this, and that kid named Du Yuanwei started having inappropriate thoughts about the girl…

The more Gu Xu thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. His face suddenly darkened, and he absently trailed behind Ouyang Jun and a few others, not catching a word of their conversation.

“Xu Zi…” Qin Tian had been discussing a semi-gambling jadeite raw stone with Ouyang Jun for a while, and when he turned around, he saw that Gu Xu seemed to be distracted and quickly called out to him.

Gu Xu was preoccupied with thoughts far away from his current surroundings, his mind already wandering off somewhere else, so when Qin Tian called out to him, he didn’t even realize it.

Ouyang Jun immediately found this amusing. Clapping Gu Xu on the shoulder, he laughed, “What are you thinking about? Your mind is wandering in broad daylight—are you daydreaming about romance?”

The implication behind his words was deep. When Gu Xu snapped back to reality and saw Ouyang Jun’s penetrating gaze, he felt uncomfortably transparent as if his inner thoughts had been laid bare. Subconsciously, he touched his nose and gave an awkward cough.

“Give me a break, would a monk even know what it’s like to be love-struck? I reckon he’s not interested in any of the jargon we’re talking about. It’s a wonder he’s even putting up with us looking at these cold stones here. Xu Zi, if you’re bored, just go have a look around. You don’t have to keep following us,” he said.

Qin Tian, unaware that someone had been struck by the arrow of love, assumed Gu Xu simply didn’t understand the professional jargon they were discussing and kindly set him free.

Gu Xu, with his mind on a certain little white rabbit teetering on the edge of a wolf’s den, was eager to come to her rescue. Hearing Qin Tian offering him a way out, he quickly took the cue to agree.

For the first time, Gu Xu felt that Qin Tian, this oblivious fellow, was incredibly helpful. Fine, considering how agreeable Qin Tian’s words were, he decided the next time, he would return the favor and not always respond with a cold face.

On the other side, Huo Sining was seriously examining the jadeite raw stones. However, after checking out several booths, Huo Sining couldn’t help but suck in a breath.

The tags on those jadeite raw stone booths had the base prices listed, but seeing all the zeros trailing behind the figures made Huo Sining’s head hurt.

Who the hell said the raw stones in the Bright Bid Area were cheap? She checked many tags, and each was tens or hundreds of thousands, with the least expensive starting at fifty thousand.

With the kind of money they had, those stones were way beyond what they could afford to splurge on.

Any of these stones alone could buy them a truckload back at the recycling factory.

Just the thought of it made Huo Sining cringe.

Many of the stones in the Bright Bid Area were ones with a ‘window’ opened into them, classified as semi-gambling jadeite raw stones.

Usually, these stones were of the old-pit type, either showcasing some green or revealing a part of the green ‘flesh’.

Even though the exposed jade might not be of the best quality, the fact that green was already visible made it very likely that the stone’s value would increase if the jade inside changed texture or the color deepened. That’s why these semi-gambling jadeite raw stones were so popular.