"Who owns this auction house? They must have a lot of money. They must have money to burn. Look at all this gold and silver plating. Even the signboard is made of pure gold!" Anle clicked his tongue and reached out to touch the silver carvings on the two rows of doorposts on either side of the entrance.
The group of people who entered were well-dressed, dressed in fine clothes and fine garments. They were clearly young masters and ladies from prominent families, and they had come together in groups.
Glancing at Anle by the door, who was leaning against a pillar and exclaiming in amazement, a girl in a brightly colored dress passed by Anle, glanced at her plain clothes, and scoffed in disdain.
"Where did this country bumpkin come from? These days, anyone can get in. When did this auction house become so low-class? They entertain all sorts of people, like it's an inn."
Walking beside the girl in the colorful, ornate dress was a girl in a simple dress with wide sleeves outlined in silver thread, her face veiled so that her features could not be seen.
A silver belt cinched her waist, and a white jade lotus necklace dangled from her slender willow-like waist, with three pink silk tassels adorning the pendant.
The necklace at her waist swayed gently against the hem of her skirt as she moved with her graceful steps.
Her every move exuded an ethereal, otherworldly charm; she possessed an elegant demeanor and a melodious voice.
"Alright, Sister Jinluan, say no more. This is an auction house, not a place for you to talk nonsense."
The girl in neon lights scoffed indignantly and walked ahead of the girl in plain white clothes with wide sleeves, entering the room.
Anle glanced at him, blinked, and heard Yu Rong, who was standing next to her, start to explain things to her.
"This Red City is the city lord's territory, so this auction house is naturally run by the city lord's family. It's only natural that they are wealthy and powerful."
“Oh,” Anle chuckled, stuck out her tongue, and whispered in Yu Rong’s ear, “Then I’ll set up an auction house in Jincheng in the future, one that’s even more impressive than this.”
Upon arriving at the door, he paid 100 taels of silver, and the attendant at the door handed Yu Rong a plaque and a set of keys.
The sign has the room number engraved on it, and the key is used to open the room.
Yu Rong took the key and led An Le to find the room. The house was circular, with the central open space being the spacious first-floor auction hall.
The auction hall is elevated on a platform that is almost level with the second floor. From the second or third floor, one can see the auction hall on the first floor clearly by opening the windows.
Anle was taken to room number 24 on the second floor by Yu Rong, and then left the room with the seven gemstone ornaments to be auctioned, and went to the fourth floor to find the steward.
Anle sat leisurely in a chair, poured herself a cup of tea, and looked around the room.
The room is less than ten square meters, but it's enough to entertain guests.
The purpose of this room is simply to facilitate the auction of guests and avoid any appearance of impropriety, so that all the guests do not crowd together, which would be unbecoming of their status and etiquette.
Yu Rong was never one for words. He went to the auction area on the fourth floor, found the manager, and handed the items to him.
He showed the sign in his hand to the manager, and waited for the manager to count and register the seven items before leaving.
The manager was completely dumbfounded when he saw a bunch of interesting things wrapped in a tattered black cloth. He had never seen such rare and novel items in the auction house before.
Of course, the preciousness of these gemstone objects goes without saying.
With its fine and smooth texture, lustrous appearance, and good moisture content, it is clearly a top-quality gemstone. In Hongcheng, it would be considered an absolute gem.
This novel and eye-catching item is definitely not from their country; it's clearly a high-quality product that came from outside.
Such a valuable item is not something he can decide on his own; it needs to be taken to his superiors for inspection so that they can set the starting price.
The price of this kind of thing is no longer something he can decide.
Yu Rong looked at the steward, who was staring blankly at the gemstone objects, and impatiently tapped the table without saying a word.
The steward suddenly woke up with a start.
"Ah, sir, my apologies. This is not something I can decide on my own. I need to take it to my superiors for a look. Please wait a moment, I'll be right back."
Yu Rong frowned, but patiently endured it.
The manager hurried up to the fifth floor, carrying a black cloth bundle in his hands, and knocked on the door.
"Young Master—"
"Come in." A gentle, slow voice came from inside the door.
"Young Master, we have a big customer this time. Look at these things." The steward pushed open the door, closed it behind him, and carefully stepped forward, placing the things he was carrying in front of the bed with trembling hands.
The man, who had been resting with his eyes closed on the couch, opened his eyes, revealing a pair of dark eyes that appeared even more profound against his pale skin.
Her eyes, which had been languid and somewhat vacant, froze when she caught sight of the pile of gemstones beside her pillow.
His dark eyes were fixed on the gemstone object. His bright pupils twitched slightly, and the mist that had been floating in his eyes instantly dissipated, revealing a few glimmers of dark light.
The lazy, spineless man finally sat up from his bed and smoothed his long, ink-black hair that was hanging down in front of him behind his neck.
Long, slender fingers touched the peach bracelet, the fingertips gently caressing the peach-shaped jade stone. Then, the bracelet was hooked onto the fingertips, held in the hand, and examined closely.
The steward rarely saw anything that would interest the young master so much, especially since he handled each item carefully, examining it with great interest, seemingly unable to get enough of playing with it.
The steward cleared his throat, breaking the momentary silence.
"Young Master, this big customer is quite impatient; he's still waiting downstairs. What do you think of the prices of these items—"
The man, who was fiddling with the gemstone ornaments, finally spoke slowly and gently.
"These gems look like they come from the Saros and Ilante region, but they also seem quite different from the ones I've seen before."
Not only is the quality superb, but even the design is something I've never seen before.
The manager spoke cautiously.
"Could it be that something new has appeared on the Red Earth?"
"If that were the case, it should have been sent to the capital long ago. Why did it have to be Hongcheng that gets to try it out?"
"However, it's rare for such a wonderful thing to fall from the sky and land on my head in Hongcheng, so naturally I must enjoy it properly."
This batch of goods is different from the previous ones; it won't be traded, but delivered to the capital, where it will generate a huge profit.
The person in charge looked troubled.
"Young Master, but the big customer downstairs is getting impatient. How should we tell him?"
The man glanced at him casually, his eyelids fluttering slightly, yet the steward felt a sudden tightness in his chest and a heavy sense of pressure.
"I'll handle it myself right away and make sure it's resolved."
If the young master were to say to him, "If you expect me to think of everything, what's the point of having you all?", then his career as the honorary manager of the auction house would be over.
There are countless examples like this.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
