75: Chapter 75 One Hundred and Twenty Million

"The next item for auction is the long-awaited century-old ginseng. This century-old ginseng is in perfect condition, aged 150 years, weighing 64 grams, and is classified as special grade. The starting price is five million, with each bid increase no less than two hundred thousand. Please place your bids now!"

The room fell silent. This was today's finale, and the vast majority of people were here for the century-old ginseng. Everyone held their breath, preparing to bid.

"Ten million!" Finally, someone broke the silence. A somewhat obese middle-aged man was the first to offer a high price, perhaps hoping to scare off his opponents.

"Fifteen million!" The high price of fifteen million did not shake anyone; someone immediately added five million more.

"Twenty million!"

"Twenty-five million!"

"Thirty million!"

"Thirty-one million!"

As if triggering a chain reaction, everyone acted as if money was no object, with each bid increasing by five million. The momentum didn't stop until it reached thirty million, but this was not the end.

"Thirty-two million!"

"Thirty-one million five hundred thousand!"

"Please don't get agitated, sir!"

"Thirty-two million!"

...

"Thirty-four million five hundred thousand!"

"Thirty-four million seven hundred thousand!"

"...Thirty-five million five hundred thousand! Twice, thirty-five million five hundred thousand! Three times, bang! Sold! Congratulations to this gentleman for acquiring this 150-year-old Wild Mountain Ginseng!"

"Phew~" Cao Xiao let out a long sigh of relief. Just now was both exciting and nerve-wracking. Towards the end, the bidding became irregular as everyone tested each other's bottom line, and the bidding speed slowed down. The atmosphere became oppressive and heavy. Fortunately, the gavel finally fell. However, the competition for the second ginseng would likely be even more intense. They had almost started arguing just now; maybe a physical brawl would break out in a bit.

"Now we will auction the last century-old ginseng of the day. This ginseng is 210 years old, has a dry weight of 98 grams, and is top-grade. I won't waste everyone's time; the starting price for this ginseng is thirty million, with each bid increase no less than one million. Please bid now!" Cao Xiao directly raised the floor price to thirty million. Setting it lower would be meaningless. The final price of this ginseng wouldn't be lower than the first; it would likely be much higher. A century-old ginseng costing tens of millions was truly hard to imagine. Over the years, century-old ginseng had become increasingly rare, and the price had skyrocketed. A few years ago, a 300-year-old ginseng only sold for ten million, and now a 150-year-old one was nearly four times that price. Moreover, it would only get more expensive over time, to the point where even the wealthy would feel the sting. Of course, the high price was also related to the large weight and top-tier grade of the ginseng Cao Xiao brought out. It might be because the deep valley was suitable for ginseng growth; the ginseng he obtained were all about twice as heavy as those outside.

"Thirty-one million!" As soon as Cao Xiao finished speaking, someone couldn't wait to bid.

"Thirty-three million!"

...

"Forty million!"

"Forty-five million!"

...

"Fifty-six million!"

"Fifty-seven million!"

"Fifty-seven million going once! ...Three times! Bang, sold!"

As expected, this 200-year-old Wild Mountain Ginseng sold for nearly sixty million, almost double the first one.

"Finally, our grand finale for today: the roots of an 800-year-old Wild Mountain Ginseng. Due to being incomplete, this ginseng only weighs 113 grams, with the longest root being 1.3 meters. The starting price is fifty million, with each bid increase no less than one million! Please bid!" Cao Xiao felt a bit uneasy—not about how much the ginseng would sell for, but fearing it wouldn't sell at all. Because it had been gnawed on, and those present were all pampered wealthy people, they might have a psychological aversion to buying someone else's "used goods."

"Fifty-five million!"

Clearly, Cao Xiao's worry was unnecessary. After less than ten seconds of silence, someone immediately added five million. Cao Xiao also breathed a sigh of relief. As long as it could be sold, it would be fine; that way, he could pit the Jiang Family's money. There were far fewer bidders this time because not everyone could afford a ginseng worth tens of millions.

"Fifty-six million!"

"Sixty million!" Just as someone tentatively added one million, the first bidder instantly raised the price to sixty million. This was a move to clear the field.

"Sixty-one million!" The second bidder was unwilling to give up and added another million.

"Sixty-five million!" It was the first bidder again. Perhaps he preferred round numbers, as he added another four million.

"Sixty-eight million!"

"Sixty-nine million!"

"Seventy million!"

...

"Seventy-five million!"

Others couldn't hold back either and began to bid, pushing the price to seventy-five million. At this point, only five people were still bidding. However, these five were still slowly increasing their bids. Cao Xiao had announced the price several times and almost dropped the gavel once, but someone bid again at the last moment.

"Eighty million!"

...

"Eighty-six million!"

...

"Ninety-three million!"

...

"Ninety-eight million!"

"Ninety-nine million once! One hundred million! This gentleman bids one hundred million! One hundred million once, one hundred million twice! One hundred million... One hundred million one hundred thousand! One hundred million two hundred thousand! ...One hundred million eight hundred thousand! One hundred and fifteen million! ..."

"One hundred and twenty million three times! Bang! Sold! Congratulations to this gentleman for winning the grand finale of this private auction. This auction has come to a successful conclusion! Please wait a moment; I have prepared a small gift for everyone. I hope you will accept it! I'll be right back!" Only now did Cao Xiao realize how hard the auctioneer's job was. The pressure was high, nerves had to be constantly taut, and one had to be alert in all directions. Just talking had made his throat feel like it was smoking.

Taking the mineral water handed over by He Yueyou, he unscrewed the cap and drank it all in one go. Then he walked towards the underground wine cellar. When he came out, he was carrying two large plastic bags. Not just He Yueyou, but everyone else was speechless. Did good things always have to be packed in plastic bags?

"Thank you all very much for attending this auction today. What I want to tell everyone is that this will not be the last auction. In the future, I will hold auctions here from time to time. As for the auction items, they will be rare treasures from all over the world. I believe you won't be disappointed then. However, the next auction won't be open to everyone, nor will I issue invitations. As for how to participate, it will depend on the gift I'm about to give you." Cao Xiao took out a long box from the bag. After opening it, inside was a twenty-centimeter-long black short knife. The entire knife was pitch black, even the blade was black. The curve of the knife was distinct and smooth, and strange patterns were engraved on the blade. These were transformed from the seal script for 'Tianxing'. The handle was wrapped in beautiful snakeskin. Cao Xiao raised his hand to display it to everyone.

"This is the gift I've prepared for everyone; every person present will receive one. You might think this is just a knife made with modern craftsmanship, but I want to tell you that these knives are made from a metal mixture refined from meteorites. It possesses magical properties that many artificial alloys do not have. For example, hardness. Its hardness reaches 20, which means it is much harder than diamond or Tungsten Steel. Please look at this piece of metal in my hand; this is the hardest Tungsten Steel available on the market."

The audience gasped. Cao Xiao wouldn't use fake Tungsten Steel to deceive them because these knives would be handed to them; they would know the truth as soon as they tried it. In that case, the hardness of this knife was terrifying. If used as a tool knife, it could increase machine cutting efficiency several times over. Not to mention, this knife could already be called a legendary weapon in ancient times; this point alone gave it great collectible value.

But Cao Xiao didn't stop. He laboriously cut the Tungsten Steel into small pieces and brought the knife to the guests in the front for them to see. There wasn't a single small nick on the blade; it was completely undamaged. Then, he suddenly plunged the tip of the knife into the ground with force, stepped on the handle, and pressed the handle toward the ground on one side. The blade bent nearly ninety degrees, yet it did not break. Cao Xiao slowly lifted his foot to let the blade spring back, repeatedly pressing both sides toward the ground several times, and the knife still didn't break. Cao Xiao didn't need to say more; everyone could see for themselves.

"This knife is the identification credential I've prepared for you. You can bring it to participate in the next auction. You don't have to worry about not passing security checks with it; this mixed metal emits a special magnetic field that can shield current metal detector scans. Of course, if anyone thinks of using it to do bad things on public transport, that's none of my business. Given the wealth of everyone here, I assume you wouldn't do such a thing. Furthermore, these knives have been numbered by me in a special place. Once anyone is found using it for illegal or criminal activities, I will provide the owner's identity information to the police. So please keep it safe and do not give it to others. Since this mixed metal material is refined from meteorites, the quantity is limited. Please cherish it; if it's lost, I won't issue it again."

Cao Xiao finished in one breath and watched everyone's reaction. No one present showed an indifferent expression. Of course, if someone didn't want it, he wouldn't force them. This metal was X1Q7 Alloy, not something refined from meteorites. The manufacturing cost was ridiculously low. The reason he used it as a credential for the auction was that it couldn't be forged. He had added X1 Prototype Alloy to a region of the blade. As long as the blade was electrified to reach a memory constant value, the knife's number would be displayed. To distinguish membership levels, the knives were also divided into several styles and lengths. He planned to divide the membership levels of the three hundred or so people present based on today's bidding situation.