Reborn As Super Heiress

Chapter 158: Chapter 155 Invalid Bidding Form

The two men came to a consensus without prior consultation and immediately started discussing the matter.

However, once Zhou Zhen brought up the fact that Su Jinyuan was bidding, Jin Youtai’s brows furrowed deeply.

“If even Donghua’s Mr. Su has bid thirty-six million, I think we should increase our bid to at least thirty-eight million, preferably forty million. Otherwise, we’re certain to lose the bid to someone else. The problem is I can only come up with eighteen million at most. Can you come up with the rest of the money?”

Jin Youtai had several considerations in saying this.

Having made his fortune in the jade business, he understood the principle of not putting all his eggs in one basket. Although he had twenty-five million in funds, he wouldn’t possibly risk it all on one piece of rough jade.

That piece with the sand hole was an only partially unveiled half-gamble rough jade, and no one could guarantee it wouldn’t cut badly. As long as there was a possibility of a bad cut, he had to leave himself a way out.

By saying he could only come up with twenty million, he would still keep seven million to give his own business a breather, ensuring he wouldn’t go bankrupt due to cash flow issues.

Moreover, by claiming he could only contribute eighteen million, the big risk would all fall on Zhou Zhen, while Jin Youtai only needed to follow and reap the benefits.

Jin Youtai was cunning in his calculations, but Zhou Zhen failed to see that the other party was scheming against him; he even felt secretly pleased.

Having Jin Youtai give up half of the profit for nothing was something Zhou Zhen was begrudging, but to his surprise, Jin Youtai could only offer up eighteen million.

As long as he could come up with twenty million, then he would have the decisive say in this hidden bid, and subsequently, the title of King Biao, along with the reputation and limelight, would all fall on his head.

As for the funds, as long as Jin Youtai took on the eighteen million, Zhou Zhen could think of a way to come up with the rest.

Zhou Zhen had already asked Master Zhao, and his father had given him a procurement budget of fifteen million; combined with the pocket money he had saved over the years, he had a total of over eighteen million.

That left a shortfall of two million.

For the remaining two million, Zhou Zhen planned to borrow from his sister, Zhou Mei.

He figured that as long as he didn’t tell her about the gamble on the stone, she would certainly not refuse.

Zhou Zhen was right to think so. After hearing her brother’s words, Zhou Mei agreed without a second thought, but she changed Zhou Zhen’s proposition from borrowing to a partnership and even increased the capital to five million.

Although she hadn’t seen the gamble stone, she sensed from her brother’s tone that there was a significant profit to be made, so she demanded that her five million be considered partnership capital. That way, when the gamble stone’s value increased after cutting, she would also get a share of the profits.

Fortune should not flow into outsiders’ fields, and Zhou Mei’s request was exactly what Zhou Zhen had been hoping for.

Zhou Zhen had been worried that bidding thirty-eight million would be risky, but with Zhou Mei’s participation, the combined capital of the two reached twenty-three million.

Once Jin Youtai learned of this, he immediately conceded the lion’s share to Zhou Zhen, who would bid the higher amount, while he would make up the remaining seventeen million.

The two quickly came to an agreement and quietly dropped their bid into box number 2547.

Meanwhile, Huo Sining had just walked into the Bright Bid Area and was stunned to see Su Jin bidding on 2547. She was caught completely off guard.

She did not know that Zhou Zhen had someone tracking Su Jin, so she was oblivious to his intentions. Suddenly anxious and restless, she lost all interest in viewing the openly displayed bids.

“Brother Jinyuan, didn’t I tell you there was a problem with bid number 2547? How could you…” Huo Sining couldn’t suppress her doubts anymore and finally broke the silence after returning to the hotel.

Surprised, Su Jinyuan laughed, “You saw me bidding?”

Huo Sining nodded.

Seeing the worry on Huo Sining’s face, Su Jinyuan chuckled helplessly, “Do you know how much I bid?”

Huo Sining shook her head.

“Thirty-six million,” Su Jinyuan gestured with his hands.

“Thirty-six million?!” Su Qingqing raised her voice in shock, unable to believe her brother.

Huo Sining heard the amount and was completely flustered, “It’s over, I told you that rough stone was going to collapse; the organizers deliberately set a trap for you, and you bid so much money. Aren’t you just giving them money? It’s over, I should have explained it to you clearer, I…”

“What’s the rush, I haven’t finished talking yet.” Huo Sining was speaking incoherently in her hurry, but before she could finish, Su Jinyuan interrupted her, “You only saw me putting the bid into the bid box, but you don’t know that my bid was invalid.”

What does that mean? The three exchanged glances, all baffled.

“We were tracked secretly by someone sent by Zhou Zhen when we were checking out the sealed bids.”

Seeing the confusion among the three, Master He quickly explained.

“They probably wanted to see which bids we were placing, then play out a ‘praying mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind’ scenario, trying to outbid us on the ones we bid on.”

Upon hearing this, Su Qingqing’s face turned red with anger, “I thought Zhou Zhen was just a bit nuts, but I didn’t expect him to be so despicable, using such shameless tactics—he really can stoop so low!”

Chuckles escaped from Su Jinyuan’s lips with a cunning and sly tone, “That’s why I decided to turn his scheme against him, making him lift a rock only to drop it on his own feet. Although I did submit that bid, I seemed to have forgotten to sign my signature on the final column.”

Huo Sining and the others were stunned for a moment but caught on in half a second, their faces flushing red as they all struggled to suppress their laughter, barely holding back the urge to burst out laughing.

For the following week, Huo Sining and Bai Yishan milled about the Bright Bid Area; although the rough jadeite stones from the Jade Public Plate were pricey, their quality was indeed much better than those from Jade Street and the recycling factory. At least, in that one week, Huo Sining had acquired nearly twenty pieces of rough jadeite, which was almost as much as the deals she found at the recycling factory.

Of course, the money spent on these nearly twenty rough stones flowed away like water; her assets of just six million halved in an instant.

However, Huo Sining was confident about the fully speculative jadeite she had purchased because she had selected them carefully with the help of the Water-Repelling Pearl. Though not yet cut open, she was certain that the jadeite inside would be top-notch.

Su Qingqing also had a fruitful time; limited by her funds, she could only speculate on the rough stones from the Bright Bid Area. With Du Yuanwei’s help, she bet on a piece of Blue Water Piao Hua and her initial assets of three to four hundred thousand multiplied several times. Along with some small-time gambling, though she had occasional losses, overall, she had earned a profit.

The deadline for the sealed bid submissions was on the afternoon of the ninth day after the jade gambling event began, six o’clock sharp, and the next day would be the bid opening.

Gu Xu didn’t wait for the end of the sealed bidding; he received a phone call and left in a hurry, saying only that he had some business to take care of in Hong Kong and didn’t leave any other details.

In Huo Sining’s backpack, the handkerchief with the scent of fresh grass that belonged to Gu Xu was neatly folded but she had not yet had the chance to return it to him.