28: Chapter 28 Shengfeng Auction

As the three stone-cutting machines worked continuously, all the raw stones selected by Elder Chen were opened in less than an hour. Of course, this only involved simply exposing the jade inside the raw stones without fully extracting it. The remaining work was left to the workers; otherwise, it would have taken a lot of time to fully extract all thirty-odd stones.

The stones belonging to Fang Yongchang and He Qianyun were also cut. Both of them had rather poor luck. Fang Yongchang's stone yielded a piece of Gold Silk variety jade about the size of a pinky finger, which was considered too small even for a ring face, yet he still happily took it and put it away. He Qianyun's stone revealed a fist-sized patch of jade after one cut, but the texture was dog-shit ground; he lost interest in cutting further, threw it on the ground, and ignored it, shouting about his bad luck.

Elder Chen didn't take any raw stones for himself, but Liu Guitang gave him a pair of finished Ice-species floating flower concubine bracelets. Elder Chen casually gave them to Cao Xiao, saying it was a gift for his mother. Cao Xiao didn't stand on ceremony; such a pair of high-quality Ice-species jade bracelets was worth about a million. He knew his teacher wasn't short on money and decided to simply show him proper filial respect in the future.

Finally, only Cao Xiao's three raw stones remained unopened. No one held much hope for the stones he had selected. Elder Chen helped draw the lines. The stone with the very dirty surface was saved for last. After the first two were cut, Cao Xiao directly gave the one containing jade to Liu Guitang. Since it wasn't worth much anyway, Cao Xiao didn't want to bother with it.

Now only the stone covered in blemishes remained. Elder Chen didn't even draw a line and just had someone cut it straight down the middle. Cao Xiao opened his mouth to say something but found it hard to speak up. Should he tell them there was a large piece of jade inside? That jade wasn't in the exact center of the stone, so this cut would definitely damage the jade meat, splitting it into one large and one small half. This would significantly reduce its value. The larger the volume of jade, the rarer it was. Besides jewelry, jade could be used for carved ornaments, and size was a key factor in determining value. An Ice-species Yang Green jade of this size, if given to a master to carve into an ornament, would definitely be worth much more than if it were all polished into jewelry—it might even double in value. But now, he could only watch helplessly as it was cut in two.

As the raw stone was sliced through, the internal situation was revealed before their eyes, and everyone looked as if they had seen a ghost. Elder Chen was also somewhat surprised, but he wasn't as excited as the others. Even an immortal finds it hard to judge a piece of jade; when facing such raw stones, one can only pray for enough luck, as no one can guarantee the jade inside won't be damaged.

"Cao Xiao, your luck is beyond words. To be able to cut a complete piece of jade out of this kind of stone, and such a large piece of Ice-species Yang Green at that. If it's extracted, it must weigh twenty or thirty catties. You've struck it rich! Old Liu, what's with that expression?" He Qianyun marveled as he walked over, pressing a high-intensity flashlight against the exposed jade, then looked up to see Liu Guitang's strange expression.

"My heart isn't good; this stimulation is too much. I need a moment," Liu Guitang said, his face twisting as he spoke.

"Let's extract it first. How many bracelets can be made from such a large piece? Cao Xiao, I want this Ice-species piece. I'll pay ten percent above the market price," Fang Yongchang said, his eyes now entirely fixed on the jade.

"Forget it! Are you really trying to take advantage like that? This is a massive piece of jade; how can you calculate it by market price? Once it's out, let Elder Chen set a price, and we'll compete fairly," He Qianyun grumbled at Fang Yongchang.

"I say, Old He, you're not in the jewelry business, so what do you want this jade for? I'm waiting for this to save my life!" Fang Yongchang said dissatisfiedly.

"A raw material this large is enough to make a Jade Mountain. My father-in-law's seventieth birthday is coming up, and I need to prepare a gift. High-end large material like this is rarely seen; I can't let you get it for a steal," He Qianyun said without looking back, his eyes glued to the jade.

"Are you two ignoring me? This material came from my place. If anyone's buying, it should be me. That way I'll feel a bit better. Don't join the fray; there's no share for you," Liu Guitang said. Seeing the two of them bickering over the jade, he stopped regretting and declared his sovereignty first.

"Stop arguing. If you keep it up, it won't be sold. Don't forget this jade belongs to Cao Xiao. Since it's been cut into two, leave the smaller piece for Little Liu and let Little Fang have the larger one; he hasn't had it easy either. Qianyun, if you want something, just have them make a finished product and sell it to you," Elder Chen interrupted their arguing and gave his distribution suggestion.

Everyone was satisfied, and no one objected to this distribution method. Half an hour later, the jade was fully extracted. The larger piece weighed 11.5 kilograms, and the smaller one was 7 kilograms. Elder Chen estimated the prices: 36 million for the larger one and 21 million for the smaller one. This wasn't calculated strictly by weight; the larger the volume and the more regular the shape, the greater the value. The larger piece was only 4.5 kilograms heavier than the smaller one, but its value was nearly double.

Liu Guitang and Fang Yongchang transferred the money to Cao Xiao. Cao Xiao was very excited, not just because he had an extra 57 million in his account, but because he could now accumulate enough wealth in a short time through stone gambling. This meant the plan in his heart could begin to unfold.

After leaving the furniture factory, Elder Chen took everyone to a villa for a meal of river delicacies. Milky fish head soup, crucian carp and tofu soup, stir-fried eel, scallion-braised crucian carp, bean paste carp,

spicy crawfish, Sister Song's fish soup, walnut trout, sauce-exploded frog, plum-steamed mandarin fish, steamed hairy crabs, Maofeng smoked shad, spicy river snails, steamed pufferfish—dozens of river delicacies filled a large table. Everyone ate to their heart's content, especially the steamed pufferfish, of which they ordered two extra portions later. Eating pufferfish in a restaurant is safe; every step of the preparation process is very strict. The head chef must have years of experience preparing pufferfish and must personally taste it before it's served to ensure it's non-toxic.

After the meal, Cao Xiao took the initiative to pay the bill. As a junior, he couldn't actually let his teacher pay. By the time he returned home, it was past ten o'clock. The girls weren't home. Cao Xiao called Liu Chang and found out they were out having a late-night snack. She asked if Cao Xiao wanted to join; since moving in, Liu Chang hadn't missed a single meal.

Ignoring the girls, Cao Xiao went to rest.

The next day, Cao Xiao didn't go anywhere. He transferred ten million to the company account. After communicating with Hao Linger for a while, he began organizing the data in his Intellect Brain. He didn't need to do this personally; he only had to set the direction and commands, and the Intellect Brain would organize it automatically. He started with mathematics. This time, he didn't do it in stages; all mathematical knowledge of Earth's civilization was to be organized. Knowledge that humans had already verified was organized quickly, finishing in less than an hour. However, the unverified mathematical conjectures proposed by mathematicians were kept aside. These conjectures involved levels that were too profound. Although the Intellect Brain could use existing mathematical knowledge to build models for exploration, Cao Xiao gave up after a simple test. The models built on current mathematical knowledge didn't meet the requirements. Verification required continuous refinement and accumulation of knowledge, which was hopeless in the short term. Even with the Intellect Brain's unparalleled computing power, it couldn't be completed quickly. Another reason was that the Intellect Brain consumed too much energy during calculations; it drained ten percent in less than two minutes. Terrified, Cao Xiao quickly stopped. At this rate, a full charge wouldn't last half an hour. This wasn't something he could do now, or he might accidentally drain all the energy. Since replenishing energy was currently troublesome, he could only save the calculation data and wait for later.

Cao Xiao greatly admired these great mathematicians because he guessed that some conjectures were simply beyond the reach of Earth's current level of civilization. These mathematical conjectures didn't have much practical use at the current stage, but proving even one would significantly drive the development of modern mathematical theory. Once a conjecture is proven, it transforms into a theorem and joins the system of mathematical theory, thereby enriching it. In the process of trying to solve a mathematical conjecture, whether it's ultimately solved or not, a large amount of effective mathematical thinking and methods are created. These methods play a crucial role in mathematical research. The types, characteristics, proposal methods, and solutions of mathematical conjectures have special value for general scientific methods, especially for the study of creative thinking methods.

So Cao Xiao thought that once his authority was upgraded and energy was sufficient, he would set about proving an unproven mathematical conjecture, slowly proving them one by one. Besides the inherent value of the knowledge, it would bring him high honors and elevate his social status. This would also serve as a form of protection for him; as long as he didn't act recklessly, those who wanted to trouble him would have reservations, making his development much easier. However, the specific details of how to operate this still needed careful planning.

After finishing with mathematics, he began organizing other things. Since he didn't need to do it personally and only had to control the direction, the Intellect Brain could automatically process and archive everything. While he rested, the Intellect Brain continued working. By noon the next day, all the knowledge in the Intellect Brain's database, except for the unverifiable parts, had been organized. He didn't rashly transfer it to his mind. A human brain isn't a computer, and he couldn't guarantee his brain could hold so much information; even if it could, his brain might malfunction and become chaotic. In any case, keeping it in the Intellect Brain was very convenient for use.

Checking his personal options, as expected, his technological knowledge had reached the Primary Intermediate Technological Civilization level. Cao Xiao was both happy and a bit melancholy. He was happy that as long as he had enough energy, he could upgrade his authority by two levels in a short time. He was melancholy because he had already entered almost all of Earth's civilization's knowledge into the Intellect Brain, yet it only reached the Primary Intermediate level. Even after collecting all the knowledge not found in libraries and on the internet, he feared it would only reach the Primary Advanced level. Even if all those unverified pieces of knowledge were proven, they wouldn't form a system and wouldn't meet the requirements for a Level 4 authority upgrade. Upgrading further would likely be extremely difficult.

The girls had classes all day and wouldn't be back for lunch. With no one to cook, Cao Xiao had to do it himself, making two simple dishes. After eating, he drove slowly to a large hotel in the city center. He was here to attend the auction hosted by Shengfeng. Holding his invitation and guided by the staff, he reached the auction hall. After getting his number plate, he found Liu Guitang in the front. Elder Chen was also there today. Cao Xiao greeted them and sat next to his teacher. There were still over twenty minutes before the auction started, so Cao Xiao chatted with his teacher.

"Welcome, distinguished guests, to the 23rd Summer Auction hosted by Shengfeng. I am your auctioneer, Wang Zheng. Next, let me introduce the first item of the day—the Zisha Bamboo Rhythm Hexagonal Teapot crafted by Master Tao. As everyone knows, Master Tao stopped making Zisha teapots five years ago, so his works are now incredibly hard to find on the market. Shengfeng was able to acquire this piece through a stroke of luck. Alright, without further ado, the starting price for the Zisha Bamboo Rhythm Hexagonal Teapot by Master Tao is 800,000. Please place your bids." Before long, the scene quieted down as the auctioneer appeared and officially began the auction.

"Number 18 bids 850,000."

"Number 33 bids 890,000."

"Number 7 bids 900,000."

...

"Number 6, 2.6 million. This Zisha teapot is of immense collection value, it is... Are there any higher bids? 2.6 million for the first time,"

"Good, Number 8 bids 2.8 million."

"Three million for the first time, three million for the second time... alright, three million for the third time—sold!"

The Zisha teapot was sold for the high price of three million. Cao Xiao clicked his tongue in amazement. This teapot wasn't an antique but was made by a modern master who was still alive, yet its price was already higher than many antique artworks.

He had come today just to watch the auction of his blue amber bracelet and didn't intend to buy anything. He simply watched the auction proceed quietly while also paying attention to the market trends for antiques. According to Liu Guitang, this auction was divided into an antique artwork session and a jewelry session, and it also accepted commissions to auction some local real estate. His bracelet would be auctioned during the jewelry session.

As items were sold one by one, the antique artwork session drew to a close. But just then, Cao Xiao became interested in an item. It was an ink wash painting by a young painter titled 'wudang misty clouds painting'. What attracted Cao Xiao wasn't how good the painting was, but that it was large enough—two meters high and eight meters wide. It could completely serve as a background wall. His living room was very large, and there were no decorations on the walls; buying this painting to put on the living room wall would be perfect.

After checking it with his Detection Function, Cao Xiao made up his mind to buy it. The starting price for this painting was 1.2 million, but Cao Xiao felt its value was severely underestimated. The young painter's skill was excellent, and the entire scroll was flawless. The content depicted the scenery of Wudang Mountain: mountains, trees, flowers, flowing water, clouds, mist, buildings, figures, and animals were all integrated to form a grand and vast panoramic view of Wudang Mountain. It was elegant, vigorous, and fresh. Moreover, Cao Xiao could see a sense of ethereal and effortless Daoist intent in it, exuding a faint, otherworldly immortal aura. It felt as if it could wash one's soul and make one feel physically and mentally refreshed.