Invincible Young Master in the City
Chapter 188 - 188 184 Playable Walnut

188: Chapter 184: Playable Walnut 188: Chapter 184: Playable Walnut The auction continued, and when the bidding for the Qing Dynasty Jiaqing Period Nose Snuff Bottle that had paused midway started again, the price immediately more than doubled.

Moreover, the bidding kept climbing until it finally sold for a price three times higher than the market value.

The male customer who won the Nose Snuff Bottle stood up happily, nodding to the people around him in acknowledgment.

When he saw Shen Yan and Dongfang Yunqi both turning their heads to look at him, he was so excited he almost shouted out loud.

With the bidding for a single Nose Snuff Bottle, the atmosphere at the auction site became completely heated.

“This is a piece of Green Tianshan Stone, which is among the three most collectible Green Tianshan Stones, known as the ‘Seal Stone Green.’ Donated by Mr.

Chen Huayou, the General Manager of Su Fang Group,” the auctioneer carefully lifted a light green stone reminiscent of tender spring leaves, introducing its delicate and slightly translucent quality, “Let’s give Mr.

Chen Huayou a round of applause for his philanthropic gesture.”

Amidst the enthusiastic applause, a man in his early fifties stood up, his face beaming with pride as he nodded and bowed to the crowd around him in thanks.

After the applause ended, the auctioneer continued to describe the Green Tianshan Stone he held: “The ‘Seal Stone Green’ is extremely pure, without any impurities, hence called ‘clear.’ Its rarity is astonishing, its color is refined, its quality is gentle, and it is ‘modest’ by nature.

It is the stone most suited for seal carvings among all seal stones and has been highly coveted by seal engravers for over three hundred years.

Green Seal Stone, along with Changhua cinnabar stone and Shoushan Tian Huang Stone, is known as the ‘Three Treasures of Seal Stones.'”

“The dimensions of this piece of Seal Stone Green are 10×10×24cm,” the auctioneer suddenly raised his voice and said, “Here, I must remind everyone that because the veins of Seal Stone Green are thin and meander twisty turns within the rocks, they are exceedingly rare, and so each piece of Seal Stone Green is rather small.

A piece of this size is very uncommon and possesses extremely high collection value.”

“The bidding will start at one hundred thousand, with each raise not less than one thousand.

Let us begin,” the auctioneer announced.

“One hundred and fifty thousand!” As soon as the auctioneer finished speaking, someone instantly raised their paddle and bid.

Then another person bid, “Two hundred thousand!”

“Two hundred and ten thousand!”

“Two hundred and twenty thousand!”

…

…

“Three hundred and ten thousand!”

The bidding continued to escalate, the atmosphere growing ever more fervent.

“Five hundred thousand!” Suddenly, a clear voice called out.

The fervent bidding came to an abrupt halt.

Everyone looked in the direction of the voice in surprise, only to see a young man seated with poise in the third row from the front.

The young man appeared to be in his late twenties, tall and slender with handsome features and an extraordinary presence.

“His name is Xiao Yichen, the only son of Xiao Litong, the Chairman of Tongyi Group, and is rated as the foremost of the four young elites of Hua Hai City,” Heli Bobo whispered to Ye Fan in introduction.

Ye Fan looked at Xiao Yichen and thought to himself, “So he’s the one who parked the Lamborghini at the entrance of the Group’s lobby that day.

Didn’t Tongyi Group snatch the ‘Ji Lung Cleanse Tablet’ patent from Emali Group?

The fact that he went into Emali Group with a bouquet of roses that day suggests he was very likely looking for Li Zhaojun…”

His thoughts raced, and he quickly surmised that this Xiao Yichen had dubious intentions and was taking advantage of Li Zhaojun in her moment of trouble.

“Ridiculous, the so-called leader of the new generation of elite young masters is actually a fool.

With Li Zhaojun’s proud and competitive nature, how could she possibly accept his feigned sympathy?

She’s likely to dislike him even more,” he scoffed in his mind, not at all worried that Li Zhaojun would be deceived by Xiao Yichen.

“Five hundred thousand, for the first time,” called the auctioneer.

“Five hundred thousand, for the second time.”

“Five hundred fifty thousand,” a voice as pure and pleasant as the orchid in a secluded valley called out.

The voice was so pleasing that everyone couldn’t help but look in its direction, and their gazes fell on Shen Yan.

“Hehe, since Miss Shen likes it, I shall gracefully bow out,” Xiao Yichen said with a laugh, his voice warm and magnetic, full of charisma.

Coupled with his handsome smile, he perfectly embodied the leading style of Hua Hai’s new generation of four young masters.

Shen Yan turned to Xiao Yichen and smiled, saying, “Are you Mr.

Xiao Yichen, the leader of the new generation of four young masters in Hua Hai?

I thank you for your generosity.”

“You’re welcome, Miss Shen,” Xiao Yichen said with a smile and nodded.

Despite Shen Yan personally turning her head to speak to him, he remained composed and at ease.

Shen Yan didn’t speak again and turned back around.

Since it was Shen Yan bidding and five hundred fifty thousand was already a very high price, no one else called out a bid.

“Fifty-five thousand for the third time!

Sold!” The auctioneer’s voice rang out excitedly.

“Congratulations to Miss Shen Yan for winning the piece of polished Qingtian stone, and thank you for your contribution to charity.”

A round of enthusiastic applause followed, and Shen Yan stood up, as was the custom, to nod in thanks to those around her.

After the polished Qingtian stone was sold, a young and beautiful lady carried out an exquisitely crafted brocade box.

Through the large screen, Ye Fan saw the auctioneer carefully opening the brocade box, revealing a pair of brownish-red peach pits.

At first glance, the pair of peach pits looked exactly the same in color, size, and pattern.

Looking at them individually, the patterns were densely arranged, the grooves were deep, they were large in size and round in shape, and especially the shiny brownish-red color on the surface, making them extremely appealing.

“Eh, plaything walnuts!” Ye Fan perked up, thinking to himself, “Hasn’t my master been going on about not being able to get his hands on a good pair of plaything walnuts?”

Though walnuts are a type of food, in the world of antiques, they are also a small collectible known as plaything walnuts.

To be considered plaything walnuts, the walnut shells must have especially deep patterns.

Then they are matched in pairs, finding two with the same size, pattern, and even weight.

Finally, they have to be handled over decades before the color can change from light to deep, culminating in a rich reddish hue.

In ancient times, playing with walnuts was quite trendy, with an adage that went: “Scholars play with walnuts, martial artists spin iron balls, the rich carry gourds, and loafers walk dogs.”

By the end of the Qing Dynasty, the habit of playing with walnuts was even more prevalent in the palace; every time the emperor or empress had a birthday, high-ranking officials would offer finely selected walnuts as a birthday tribute.

The Palace Museum in the Four-Nine City still houses over a dozen pairs of hand-polished walnuts, which are brownish-red and stored in exquisitely carved rosewood boxes, marked with the inscriptions “Respectfully presented by a certain prince” or “Prepared by a certain prince.”

Although times have changed and nowadays not many people in Huaxia play with plaything walnuts—many young people don’t even know they exist—some deep residences and mansions in Four-Nine City highly prize these fine plaything peach pits.

Giving a pair of top-quality plaything peach pits to an elder on their birthday is considered prestigious.

A pair of top-quality plaything peach pits can be worth up to several hundred thousand.

“This pair of plaything walnuts is of the ‘Dwarf Root Green Skin Lion’s Head’ variety, originating from Nanjiang of Zhuolu County, with a rugged appearance, beautiful and detailed patterns, a broad base, diamond-shaped navel, four-lobed mouth…

The similarity in size, pattern, volume, and weight is 99.9%…

They have a history of over 60 years…” Since plaything walnuts were a rather niche subject, the auctioneer gave a particularly detailed introduction.

“Great stuff, top-quality plaything walnuts!

I must win them at auction, they will be perfect as a birthday gift for my master!” Ye Fan thought to himself.

The ‘master’ he referred to was his martial arts master.