lcionline Chapter 122 Auction 1
Chapter 122 Auction 1
He inquired with Zhao Liangchen about the items he needed for the auction and immediately dispatched Liu Jin to his private vault to select some porcelain. In his eyes, those porcelains were like chicken ribs: tasteless to eat, a pity to discard, a mere waste of space. Most of the porcelain in his private vault was a treasured possession of successive emperors, exquisite tributes from various official kilns. Almost all bore the imperial seal, and even those without would bear the signature of an official kiln. If these porcelains were to fall into the hands of ordinary people, anyone with a discerning eye would instantly recognize their imperial origins. Therefore, the emperor never entertained the thought of trading them for money.
Selling them to foreigners, however, was another matter. After acquiring these treasures, they treasured them as if they had found a treasure, fearing that others would take them away. They hid them well, never wanting outsiders to know about them. When they returned to their own land, even if their own people learned that these treasures came from the imperial palace, what harm would that do? How could the emperor bear to hear their laughter?
Liu Jin didn't dare take more than five pieces of porcelain. It was only during this conversation between the Emperor and Zhao Liangchen that he learned of the Emperor's intentions. Far from finding the Emperor's actions inappropriate, he felt deeply sorry for him, believing him truly pitiful, forced into such a predicament that he had even begun selling off his own property.
The porcelain was taken out of the palace along with the reward given to Zhao Liangchen. It was normal for the emperor to reward him with some things after his promotion. Although he sold the emperor's reward to foreigners last time, the emperor had punished him. No one would have thought that Zhao Liangchen would still have the courage to secretly sell the emperor's reward after being beaten by the emperor again.
After leaving the palace, Zhao Liangchen brought the porcelain back to his house. Qi Lusheng also learned almost everything about those foreign merchants. He selected six powerful foreign merchants and agreed on a time to attend the auction.
Then he went to Zhao Liangchen's place and took the five pieces of porcelain to the farm. Su Qin was almost ready, and all that was left was to train Qi Lusheng.
Su Qin did not plan to show up at the auction. She planned to let Qi Lusheng host the entire auction, so Qi Lusheng needed to fully grasp the auction words of those items and the process and rhythm of the auction.
Qi Lusheng had never done anything serious since he was a child, and when such an important task was suddenly handed to him, he was as nervous as an ant on a hot pot, especially when he stood on the stage, he was at a loss. He usually talked eloquently and non-stop when drinking and bragging with his friends, but when he was on the stage, it was as if he was under a spell, so nervous that he couldn't even speak.
Su Qin stood with him on the stage, patiently teaching him sentence by sentence, and asked the servants of the farm to sit in the audience and pretend to be foreigners to ask questions.
Su Qin first demonstrated to Qi Lusheng. Seeing Su Qin's confident and relaxed look, Qi Lusheng was deeply moved and gradually got into the state.
Soon, the day of the auction arrived. Qi Lusheng led six foreign merchants to his farm. Old Zeng also came. He came to watch the fun. After all, he had never seen what an auction was like and wanted to broaden his horizons.
All the auction items were neatly placed around the venue, covered with bright red silk, as if they were a group of brides waiting to be married, shyly waiting for the moment to have their veils removed.
Each of the six foreign merchants first received a list of auction items. If they were interested in the goods on the list, they had to send the goods they brought to Su Qin for capital verification.
Su Qin does not refuse everyone. Only those whose goods pass the inspection are eligible to participate in the auction.
Although the foreign merchants were dissatisfied with Su Qin and his team for not allowing them to see the goods first but forcing them to inspect their goods first, this was after all on someone else's territory, and they were very interested in the goods on the list, so they could only bear it.
The auction officially kicked off, starting with the lowest-grade goods. This not only allowed the foreign merchants to become familiar with the rules and procedures, but also allowed Qi Lusheng to control the rhythm.
Su Qin and Mr. Zeng were sitting in a private room on the second floor, looking out. Mr. Zeng caught a glimpse of a maid uncovering a piece of red silk cloth, revealing the tea inside. The maid then brought the prepared samples and brewed tea to the foreign merchants one by one.
Following their movements, Qi Lusheng began his introduction on the stage. His eloquence was as vivid as a yellow oriole emerging from a valley. Although he felt a little nervous, he treated it like a casual chat with a friend, so his speech flowed with remarkable fluency. As the foreign merchants savored the tea, their minds, as if under Qi Lusheng's spell, were drawn involuntarily, and they couldn't help but raise their hands to bid. Since the tea was not particularly high quality and the quantity was large, the initial bids were low, and everyone had a chance to participate.
However, as the quality of the goods continued to rise, the merchants became extremely fierce in their bidding, even arguing violently and even engaging in physical violence. Of course, Su Qin had been prepared for this, and just as a fight was about to break out, Qi Lusheng waved his hand, and his men rushed forward like hungry tigers to hold the men down firmly.
Qi Lusheng's face was gloomy, and he spoke sternly, "I invited you all here in the hope of long-term cooperation. We should value harmony and make fortunes together, not harbor hatred. If you want to fight now, then go out and do it. You will never be welcome here again! I must remind you that I have a wide range of goods, and there are countless foreign merchants like you. It is an honor for you to be chosen, not a necessity."
Those foreign merchants were afraid of missing such a good opportunity, so they had to glare at each other and hold back their anger.
Qi Lusheng warned again: "I remind you again, the highest bidder wins. If you want it, raise the price. If you can't afford it, don't make trouble."
The auction continued, and while there were no further fights, the bidding atmosphere had quieted considerably. Firstly, they knew nothing about the auction and had no idea Qi Lusheng had prepared so many items, so they didn't have enough items or gold and silver. Secondly, they weren't stupid; they knew each other, so they naturally wouldn't bid maliciously. They had noticed something was going on, and a glance at each other revealed the truth. They still wanted to take advantage of the situation as before, but if the price exceeded their expectations, they would automatically give up. Qi Lusheng was eager to sell his goods, and the only one who was anxious was Qi Lusheng himself.
Therefore, many of the items Qi Lusheng had carefully prepared still had a lot left over and had not yet been auctioned. However, when the five pieces of porcelain presented as the finale were unveiled, the six foreign merchants were instantly stunned.
They were all merchants who had lived in this area for many years, so naturally they had a discerning eye. They recognized the items from the palace, but unless some family had fallen on hard times and secretly approached them to sell their wares, they would have rarely encountered porcelain like this one.
Qi Lusheng didn't specify that this was a gift from the Emperor, simply saying it was an heirloom from his family, and everyone believed it. The Wu'an Marquisate had a history of a hundred years, boasting numerous military achievements and countless rewards. Possessing such porcelain was nothing new.
The atmosphere suddenly heated up, with six people bidding fiercely. There was no time to bargain down. Such an opportunity was truly rare. Despite the fierce competition, Qi Lusheng remained calm and composed. How could he sell a gift from the Emperor at a low price? The price was already quite high. He knew what these merchants were bringing today. They hadn't taken this auction seriously and hadn't brought any of their most valuable treasures. Without a treasure of equal value, Qi Lusheng would never bid.
This was Su Qin's brilliant plan. Although the emperor planned to sell off items in the palace for silver, Su Qin couldn't let the emperor take things out of the palace endlessly! Doing so would not only easily expose the truth, but also make it difficult to sell at a good price.
Seeing those people arguing fiercely, Qi Lusheng hurriedly reminded them loudly, "Everyone, we accept payments on the spot. We don't accept credit or deposits. If you make an offer, you must provide goods and money of equal value on the spot. I advise you to first check how much you have left."
Upon hearing this, the merchants were suddenly enlightened and quickly checked their belongings. They were shocked to see that they had very little of their belongings and money left, and what remained was all things Qi Lusheng disdained. This drove them mad with anxiety, and they begged Qi Lusheng to give them another chance, allowing them to pay a deposit first to secure the items and then return to collect them immediately.
Qi Lusheng flatly refused: "You have seen what I have. It is a rare and good item. Just because you can't afford it doesn't mean others can't. Maybe I can get a higher price from another group of people. I said we settle the bill on the spot and don't accept credit or deposits.
If you can’t afford it, please go back and we’ll work together next time.”