Madmen don't keep diaries

Chapter 391 390 Slippery Loach, Be Careful Not to Fall into the Water

The auctioneer held up two fingers and shook them: "Still following the old rule of bidding on human sacrifices, twenty dried shrimps per round of bidding."

As soon as these words were spoken, someone immediately raised a sign.

The auctioneer immediately pointed his gavel: "Old customer in the northwest corner! Bids 120 dried shrimp!"

Before the words had even finished, someone else raised their hand on the other end.

The auctioneer shouted, "Outsiders, add another twenty dried shrimp!"

"People from outside the province" is actually a general term for people from other places.

The atmosphere gradually heated up, and Feng Xiuhu, caught up in the excitement, couldn't resist joining in the shouting.

Turning to look at Shunzi, he almost buried his head in his crotch, his face turning red to the roots of his ears—he was too embarrassed to look at the stage.

"Bang bang bang!"

The auctioneer brought down the gavel three times and shouted, "Sound of the gavel! Cheers! Congratulations to the owner from the southwest corner of the river, the hammer has fallen on two hundred and twenty dried shrimp!"

The auctioneer clapped his hands gently, and a waitress in a cheongsam came up and pushed the iron cage back behind the curtain.

"Cough cough."

The auctioneer cleared his throat: "Next up is the second major item."

He winked at the audience and said, "I know many of you came here for this, but remember, first come, first served. Business is unpredictable, and gains and losses are predestined. Please don't let this cause any trouble."

The cheongsam-clad waitress pushed something onto the stage again. Feng Xiuhu looked closely—it was still covered with a red cloth, but judging from the corner peeking out from below, it should be a large glass cabinet underneath.

He looked around and indeed found that many people were breathing heavily, and their gazes toward the stage seemed to be spitting fire.

What could it be?
The auctioneer, no longer keeping them in suspense, walked over and lifted the red cloth.

Inside the glass case, there was a woman in a cheongsam who looked pitiful.

This woman was slender and beautiful, and her hair and clothes were carefully styled—but unlike the two previous fragrant deer, she was striking seductive poses in front of the crowd.

Some people in the audience were already eager to try their luck, and couldn't help but shout to the auctioneer, "Say it! Name your price!"

The auctioneer, unhurried, raised his hand to the glass case and said, "Most people are probably familiar with this one—the top hostess who just got a refund from the Yanbo Le Nightclub, Red Begonia."

Starting bid: 200 dried shrimp!

In the middle of the second row, a young man suddenly stood up, held up a sign and shouted: "The rudder is turning the waves, please do me the honor of joining us."

This is slang in the "gutless bidding" industry, meaning to double the price directly.

This move drew the attention of many, and some who had intended to raise their placards to bid also lowered their hands.

The auctioneer rang a copper bell, drawing everyone's attention back to him: "Young master of the hall has bid, bringing out four hundred dried shrimp!"

The ringing of the copper bell was already a sign of respect for the young man—it meant that there was only one more round of bidding left, and if no one else raised their paddle, the red crabapple would be his.

Not far from the young man, a bearded man wearing a wide-brimmed hat slowly raised a wooden sign: "Wait a minute, I'll bet ten crab legs."

The young man was furious. He glared at her and burst into a tirade: "Zhu Baocai! Don't think I won't recognize you just because you're wearing a hat! You shameless bastard, you're already here and you're still trying to steal Haitang from me!"

The bearded man named Zhu Baocai sneered, "Young Master Qin, don't joke. You think four hundred dried shrimp is something to be proud of? And does it even match Haitang's status? I, Zhu, spent far more than that in one night at Yanbo Music."

The auctioneer rang the bell to interrupt the argument: "The anonymous customer has placed a bet on ten crab legs!"

Zhu Baocai lifted the brim of his hat and gave Young Master Qin a provocative look.

Almost everyone in the room was staring at Young Master Qin—he had already been trampled on, and if he didn't continue bidding now, he would lose all face.

Feng Xiuhu couldn't help but shout, "Hey you! Why don't you shout too!"

Seeing that the copper hammer had already struck twice, Young Master Qin's face turned bright red. Before the third strike could fall, he glared angrily at Zhu Baochai, then turned and walked straight away.

Boom!
As the third gavel fell, the auctioneer shouted, "A magnificent rainbow! Congratulations!"

Hong Haitang winked at Zhu Baocai from inside the glass case, only to be pushed away by the maid.

Zhu Baocai stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to those around him, and looked smug—then he also left the stage first, rushing impatiently backstage.

“How exciting!”

Although he didn't participate in either round of bidding, Feng Xiuhu was extremely excited.

But after the fierce competition just now, the following rounds of bidding seemed rather dull, as they mainly consisted of smuggled and shady items, including antiques and paintings, as well as jewelry used by certain celebrities.

Feng Xiuhu's patience was gradually wearing thin: "These pieces of junk can be called good stuff? I'm going to make a scene with that manager."

Just then, another round of auction items was brought out.

The object was an ordinary bamboo tube, about half a person's height, and it was unknown what was inside.

The auctioneer's expression turned serious. He glanced around the audience, but instead of introducing the fish, he solemnly warned, "The loach is slippery and difficult to catch; be careful not to fall into the water."

This is a reminder that this item has a significant origin, but its source is questionable. If you bid on it, it could become a hot potato.

Everyone sat up straight—regardless of whether they were going to take pictures or not, their curiosity was piqued.

The auctioneer opened the bamboo tube lid, pulled out a bundle of rolled-up, large drawings, and displayed them to the crowd.

"This is the design blueprint of the Wells Shipyard, which contains detailed annotations for five ironclad ships of different specifications, covering everything from smelting and casting materials to minute data."

The crowd below gasped in surprise and began to discuss the matter.

Confused, Feng Xiuhu casually pulled over the stranger sitting to his right and asked, "What's wrong with this design? What are they arguing about?"

The stranger sized up Feng Xiuhu and whispered, "You're from out of town, aren't you?"

Feng Xiuhu nodded.

The stranger lowered his voice further: "No wonder you don't know. The Wells Shipyard is the one under construction in Thousand Isles City, run entirely by foreigners. The shipyard isn't even finished yet, and the shipbuilding blueprints have already been leaked. How can this not be serious? Moreover, the shipbuilding technology for iron-hulled ships has always been controlled by foreigners from the Western Continent. If these blueprints are genuine—how can they not be valuable!"

Feng Xiuhu suddenly realized, but then lost interest—this matter had nothing to do with him.

He then shouted towards the stage, "Hurry up! I'm waiting for the next one!"

The auctioneer glanced over, raised the gavel, and announced, "Please be careful with this bid. Think it over carefully—starting price is one hundred crab legs!"

This price is undeniably high, but for such a genuinely "high-quality" item, it's practically a steal.

As soon as the price was announced, the room fell silent—not because they couldn't afford it, but because they dared not make the offer.

After a brief silence, the beaded curtain above rustled, and a red lantern lit up in VIP Box No. 3.

The auctioneer spotted it immediately and called out, "A VIP in Box 3 has placed a bid for 150 crab legs!"

Feng Xiuhu turned his head to look, but could only see the light and could not see the figure clearly.

But after the bid was placed in the third compartment, everyone in the hall fell silent, and no one raised the price.

The auctioneer seemed to have anticipated this, and after going through the motions of calling out a few words, he brought down the gavel three times.

"A magnificent rainbow! Congratulations to the VIP in carriage number three!"

Feng Xiuhu seemed to be deep in thought—the people in compartment number three did not seem to be ordinary people.

They are at least not people who run ordinary businesses.

(End of this chapter)