Ran Yun felt a bit of a pinch but, looking at the statues covered with red silk in front of him, he soon forgot about the money and waited excitedly for the stall owner to begin.
"Ladies and gentlemen, all the raw stones available today contain jade, they only differ in size and quality. Hence, the starting price is two strings of cash, and the highest bidder will take the stone. Today, we are only selling fifteen pieces, and we guarantee there are top-quality jades among them. To uphold our honesty, we will cut all the stones open for everyone to see after the end. However, if the buyer does not want it cut, then there is nothing we can do," the stall owner announced loudly, took a breath, and continued, "Next, it all depends on everyone’s judgment and luck!"
The gong sounded with a clang.
Ran Yan watched the stall owner, who was even thinner than Liu Qingsong, with great interest. The wisdom of the ancients is not to be underestimated; Ran Yan did not know when the auction industry began, but Tang Dynasty merchants had already used competitive bidding to make money.
More than ten servants simultaneously pulled off the red silk, revealing the true face of the stones. They looked no different from ordinary rocks on the outside. Most people were amateurs, which made those eager to try suddenly hesitate.
"Raw stones are bid in groups of five. If no one bids higher than your guess, you will have to purchase the raw stone at the price you guessed. Let me warn you upfront, gentlemen and ladies who do not have enough money or are not intent on buying stones, please do not bid, otherwise, we will have to see the government!" After saying that, the stall owner instructed his men to arrange the first group of stones to be placed on the wooden stage at the front.
The five stones had slight differences in color and shape, and there seemed to be not many experts present. Several richly dressed young men appeared eager to try.
After about five breaths, one of the young men in green robes pointed with his folding fan at the stone on the far right, "I’ll pay two strings for that one."
Seeing his confident demeanor, someone immediately followed with a bid, "I’ll pay two strings and five hundred cash!"
The stall owner, with a beaming smile, looked around at the crowd, "The gentleman has bid two strings and five hundred cash, anyone bids higher?"
"I bid four strings." The young man in green robes aggressively increased his bid.
Seeing him raise the bid by so much, the other young men who had been eager also began making their bids.
In the end, the stone was won by the man in green robes for twenty strings.
The stall owner quickly approached, bowing, "May I ask for the honored sir’s surname?"
"You need not honor it, my surname is Yang." The man in green robes returned the gesture.
Only those with official ranks of Seventh or Eighth Rank could wear green robes, so everyone understood when they saw his attire.
"Firstly, congratulations to Mr. Yang on obtaining this piece of raw stone..." the stall owner began, wearing a friendly smile, but Mr. Yang interrupted him with a raised hand, "Don’t congratulate me just yet; I don’t know whether it’s worth the twenty strings or not!"
"Does Mr. Yang mean... to cut it open?" asked the stall owner.
"Cut it open," Mr. Yang replied.
The stall owner turned around and instructed two master stone cutters to bring their tools and start cutting the stone next to the wooden platform.
Since stones containing jade should not be cut hastily or smashed open, the cutting was slow, and the crowd gathered around had no interest in guessing anymore. Instead, they stretched their necks to watch.
Seeing that it would be a while before they could continue, the stall owner chuckled, "It seems everyone is very interested in the raw stone Mr. Yang has obtained, so let us pause for a moment and let everyone have a good look."
Since most were watching intently, the applause was sporadic.
After about half a quarter of an hour, the stone was polished down to the size of a fist, and occasionally flashes of green could be seen as well as one or two pieces of jade the size of a thumbnail. The stone cutters said that although these two pieces of jade were small, their quality was very good, worth at least five or six strings.
The surrounding crowd congratulated Mr. Yang.
The stall owner, seeing the atmosphere liven again, continued with the stone guessing.
The audience realized that if one could measure well, there might be a profit to be made, so this round of guessing was much livelier than before. Some well-off citizens also began to bid, since guessing did not cost money. However, as the price surpassed five strings, fewer people were willing to guess.
Soon the second piece of raw stone was bought for six strings, and then the third and fourth...
Ran Yun, eager to try, grabbed Ran Yunsheng’s arm, "Brother, why don’t we buy one too?"
Ran Yan looked up at the stage and caught the stall owner’s glance.
"Alright, choose whichever one you like," Ran Yunsheng knew his sister well; she would never spend a lot of money on something she was not sure about.