13 Chapter 13 Thirty-five Million!_1

Shanghai City, is the economic, financial, trade, shipping, and technological innovation center of the country, with a population of nearly twenty-five million, it is an international metropolis yearned for by countless businessmen.

Half an hour later, in the VIP room of the Jewelry Excellence Department at the Dejia Art Center.

Li Shi sat in the chair, surrounded by three people. Besides Senior Business Manager Zhou Ya Juan and expert He Yi Wei, the general manager and another expert Ge Yun, personally attended to him.

The procurement event was nearing its end, and they had not expected to receive such a rare treasure. It was truly a pleasant surprise.

After an initial appraisal, they started discussing the starting price and the reserve price.

Following a discussion between Ge Yun and He Yi Wei, they estimated the value to be 39 million Hong Kong dollars and suggested a starting price of 36 million Hong Kong dollars.

Li Shi accepted this proposal. After careful consideration, he set the reserve price at 36.2 million Hong Kong dollars. If no one bid higher than this amount, the item would remain unsold.

According to the information he had found, at the recent Li Bao Auction Company's spring auction in Yang Cheng, a green Jade Bracelet was sold for 31.2 million yuan, which is about 34.62 million Hong Kong dollars. Unlike his bracelet, that one was of slightly inferior quality, only that of high ice type, and it didn't have such a regular color. Otherwise, Ge Yun and He Yi Wei would not have valued it at 39 million Hong Kong dollars.

Having agreed on the details, it was time to sign the auction consignment contract.

The entire negotiation, contract signing, and bracelet appraisal transfer process were documented by both parties for record keeping.

After more than two hours, everything was finalized. Li Shi turned down the invitation to stay for further conversations and returned to his hotel. Standing by the window, he took out the contract and read it several times. Unable to contain the suppressed excitement, he waved his fist and jumped around in excitement, laughing out loud.

"Provided it does not remain unsold, the minimum transaction price should be 36.2 million Hong Kong dollars, deducting taxes and the auction house's fees, the amount I will receive is..."

He took out his phone to calculate, it was 31.132 million Hong Kong dollars, or roughly 28.077 million yuan!

"That means, as long as it is not unsold, I could receive at least 28 million yuan!"

Thinking about getting so much money in a short time, Li Shi couldn't contain his excitement, while also considering how to spend this money if it really comes into his hands.

"Will I actually ever stress about spending money one day?"

For a moment, it seemed like he was in a daze.

During junior high, he would often daydream about winning a lottery. He even saved money to buy lottery tickets, contributing more than twenty times. Later, as he grew up and learned more about the darker sides of society, he gave up on these dreams.

"First comes a house and a car, as well as improving my mother's living conditions, the rest… I'll think about it when the time comes."

In the past twenty years or so of his life, he had been a simple young man from the countryside. After stepping into society in Tan Zhou, a city with relatively low income levels, the highest he had ever earned, even with a part-time job, was just over ten thousand yuan a month.

"Over twenty million, if I rely on working for capitalists, I would need more than two hundred years without eating or drinking to make that much."

He sighed deeply at the thought.

"The money isn't in my hands yet, so I shouldn't rush into thinking about how to spend it. I'll put off the enjoyment for now and focus on improving my Chinese to a proficient level."

Li Shi tried his best to stay level-headed.

He believed that from now on, he should control money, not be its slave.

With the learning panel he possessed, he had the confidence to think so.

Flipping the Jade Ring on his thumb, Li Shi bought a ticket for the high-speed train and hailed a taxi to Shanghai Hong Qiao Station, where he took a train back to Tan Zhou.

Without a single wave of his hand, he immersed himself in his books, unfazed by the hustle and bustle of leaving Shanghai City.

"There's no need for goodbyes. I'm sure I'll be back in this city of gold and paper one day. By then, I should be able to enjoy the charm of this city."

Back in Tan Zhou, Li Shi peacefully stayed in his new rented house, studying the courses he did during his college years. The progress was much slower than he anticipated. He would only finish a book every three to five days. Just after half a month, his learning panel status finally upgraded from "Chinese (Proficient)" to "Chinese (Proficient+)."

In the meantime, during the past half a month, the Dejia Auction House had been continuously contacting him.

Ever since signing the consignment agreement, they had set up a special WeChat group for Li Shi called "Boss Li commission group". As soon as the catalog for the special jewelry auction in Xiang Jiang was out, it was instantly updated in the WeChat group.

Li Shi carefully observed all the items up for auction in the catalog: jade, diamonds, rubies, sapphires... all kinds of luxury jewelry with estimated prices ranging from several tens of thousands to several millions.

His bracelet and another Colombian Emerald Ring, being the two main items of the auction, did not have an estimated price, leaving only the words "Price Upon Request" written.

A cautious person by nature, Li Shi checked the official website of Dejia company to verify the catalog with the one from the WeChat group, and finally felt at ease after confirming they matched.

After a few more days while he was studying "Comparative Literature", Zhou Ya Juan called to invite him to attend the auction in Xiang Jiang. He politely declined the offer.

"Thank you, but I'll be fine watching the live broadcast."

After hanging up the phone, Li Shi, unphased, continued studying.

He had a feeling that he was close to advancing past "Chinese (Proficient+)."

Then, after another two weeks in August, he had revised books like"Ancient Chinese First Part and Last Part","Contemporary Literature","Modern Tutoring Course","History of Chinese Literary Criticism"and many others, but still, he felt stagnated.

He felt as if he was only separated by a thin layer from advancing, which seemed to break with a slight touch, but it just wouldn't.

On August 8th, The auction was held in Xiang Jiang as scheduled.

Li Shi turned on the online live broadcast early. He was munching on"China's Selected Annotated Literary Works"while keeping an eye on the auctioning situation of jade and diamond items.

At 3:00 in the afternoon, the middle-aged auctioneer began introducing the highlight of the auction, item number 3622 - a green jade Bracelet.

He instantly perked up, lifted his head, closed the book and looked at the tablet on the stand in front of him.

"This lot doesn't need much introduction from me, the starting price is 36 million Hong Kong dollars. Are there any bids?"

"Great, Bid number 86 for 36 million!"

"37 million!"

...

When someone called out 37 million, the tension that Li Shi had been feeling instantly disappeared - no need to worry about the item remaining unsold.

When Li Shi chose to exchange the bracelet, he used the part with the best quality as a reference. The color was evenly distributed and it was absolutely transparent. What was even more precious was that the entire bracelet had been exchanged using the best part of the jade, so it had very few impurities or flocculation. This was extremely rare.

The prices kept climbing.

Li Shi watched quietly, but his heartbeat continued to speed up.

"45.8 million, Sold!"

As the auction hammer fell, Li Shi took a deep breath.

He quickly took out his phone to calculate the amount and then used a search engine to convert it into yuan. Quickly, he was able to figure out the sum he would receive - over thirty-five million yuan!

According to the contract, as long as the buyer pays and picks up the item, this chunk of money will be deposited in his reserved bank account within ten working days!