Silent Auction at the Public Jade Market (Five)

Since the silent auction would not open until ten in the morning, Chu Chen and the others did as they had the day before and spent some time looking at the rough stones first.

The rough stones Chu Chen examined today seemed to have split into two extremes. The good ones were exceptionally good, while the bad ones were exceptionally bad—and truly bad at that, leaving him no chance to find a bargain. This left him somewhat helpless. Judging from the situation, even the rough stones he won today would probably be far inferior to yesterday's.

At ten in the morning, a broadcast announced that the bidding had opened. Some impatient people hurried to the nearest place where the results had been posted to check them.

Liu Sizhe ran over and said impatiently, "Brother Chu, let's hurry and see the results!"

Chu Chen smiled and asked, "How many rough stones did you bid on?"

"About a dozen. They're all small rough stones, and I don't know if I won any." Liu Sizhe chuckled.

"Hey, why are you two still standing there? Hurry up and check the results!"

As soon as Liu Sizhe finished speaking, Fatty Dong shouted to them from not far away.

"Fatty, what's the rush? Those notices aren't going anywhere anytime soon." Liu Sizhe shouted back.

Chu Chen found it amusing. He wondered who had been acting so frantic just moments ago.

The group arrived in front of the list. It was densely covered with the numbers of five thousand rough stones and the entry-certificate numbers of the winners. Many people around the list were searching to see whether the rough stones they had bid on had won.

"Ah! Why is 1254 so expensive? One hundred and fifty thousand US dollars! Was the bidder insane?" a jade merchant