Chapter 177: Auction

Everyone's gaze was gathered on the glass screen.

One could see that within a wooden frame, there was a glass screen that was transparent at the top and deep green at the bottom.

Looking closer, they discovered that a picture of green mountains was actually carved onto the deep green screen.

Many people could not help but stand up.

The first auction item was actually so exquisite!

The auctioneer was very satisfied with the reaction below and said with a smile, "Everyone, please calm down and sit back down first."

Only then did the crowd realize their lack of composure.

The auctioneer introduced to everyone, "There is no need to introduce this Glazed Glass screen much; if you look closely, you can even see some details of the pine forest."

"Everything we are selling at this auction is a unique piece; those who like it must not miss out."

"The starting bid for this Green Mountain Screen is three thousand taels, with a minimum increment of one hundred taels each time; the highest bidder wins."

Those who came to this Glazed Auction were all wealthy households; ordinary families could not even afford the five-hundred-tael security deposit.

A middle-aged man with a round belly and a wealthy appearance held up his number plate and directly shouted a high price: "I bid five thousand taels of silver!"

Everyone knew there was only one such screen, so everyone's bids were raised.

"I bid five thousand five hundred taels!"

"I bid six thousand taels!"

"I bid eight thousand taels!"

"Ten thousand taels!"

Very quickly, the price rose to ten thousand taels of silver.

Yan Ning sat at the very back, her eyelids twitching; she had not expected these wealthy merchants to be so rich!

Had she known, she should have made some special items earlier and started the auction sooner.

That would have saved the Minister of Revenue from shouting every day about the national treasury being empty.

The auctioneer was also surprised, trying his best to control his expression and firmly avoiding laughing out loud.

It was that same wealthy merchant again, holding up his number plate and shouting loudly: "I bid fifteen thousand taels of silver!"

The venue suddenly went quiet.

That was fifteen thousand taels.

At this moment, the auctioneer said, "Fifteen thousand taels once, fifteen thousand taels..."

"Wait, I bid eighteen thousand taels."

The wealthy merchant continued to raise the price, and the price actually soared to twenty-three thousand taels.

In the end, it was that wealthy merchant who bought the Glazed Glass screen.

Even though he was wealthy, spending twenty-three thousand taels still made his heart ache a little.

So the problem was, what should he do if he was interested in every single auction item?

The second item to be auctioned was a bouquet of flowers.

The pink flowers were inserted into a narrow-necked Glazed Glass flower vase; the delicate pink flowers looked very girlish.

These flowers were also made of Glazed Glass; every single flower was meticulously crafted, and they were very complex to make.

In the end, this bouquet of flowers was auctioned for a total of fifteen thousand taels of silver.

The third auction item was a Candlestick.

It had a curved base, and on the Candlestick was a lampshade made of frosted Glazed Glass; the style was simple and elegant, but it looked very good.

This time, the Candlestick was not that expensive.

It sold for a total of eight thousand taels.

Afterward, there were Glass Chandelier, Glass Lamp, Glass Rose, and there were even bookmarks made of glass!

This auction earned quite a lot of money.

From now on, for the monthly auction, she would have to make more novel things; that way, she could earn a lot of money.

Yan Ning made a rough calculation; this auction was actually equivalent to a month's income from the shop.

Yan Ning immediately wrote letters to the other five branch stores.

Hurry up and get the auctions started!

And the business for Glass Door and Window also needed to be started.

Especially in Yangzhou.

Yangzhou was wealthy, so there should be many people who could not help but want to get a bright Glass Window.

On the other side, in Yangzhou.

Zhao Dai, Tao Ji, and the other two were gathered together to discuss farming.

These four were the same people who had traveled a long way from Yangzhou to the Capital to buy a Mirror last time.

They had bought some novel Seed at the Grocery Store.

After returning, Zhao Dai, Tao Ji, and the others followed the Instruction Manual and planted them step by step.

On the Instruction Manual, there was also a small, simple sketch printed, showing what the plant looked like at each stage.

Zhao Dai looked left and right, always feeling that something was not right.

Tao Ji and the others also felt that something was not right.

Tao Ji brought the other two to the Zhao residence, and the four of them actually encountered the same problem.

Zhao Dai said, "These branches and leaves are not as good as the ones in the drawing, and they are even turning a bit yellow."

The four of them put their heads together and finally found the root cause.

Tao Ji asked them, "Did you all plant them according to the Instruction Manual?"

The other three nodded in unison.

Zhao Dai muttered, "It's strange; we followed the Instruction Manual step by step, yet I don't know which part went wrong."

Tao Ji looked at the Instruction Manual carefully.

He realized suddenly, "Could it be a problem with the Fertilizer?"

Tao Ji pointed to the fertilization step that was glossed over in the Instruction Manual; apart from this step, they had done everything else very well.

Zhao Dai pondered, "How is the Fertilizer made? Can we ask the country folk if they are willing to sell it to us?"

Tao Ji said, "I think we should just follow the method for composting."

Among the four, only Tao Ji's Instruction Manual contained the method for composting, but it was rather explosive, so Tao Ji had no choice but to give it up.

Fortunately, he hadn't thrown that piece of paper away.

Let it be stinky; at least in a few months, they would be able to make Hot and Sour Shredded Potatoes and Boiled Pork Slices.

The four of them swallowed their saliva, preparing to do it immediately.

Who would have thought that Zhao Dai's younger brother, Zhao Quan, would walk by and say disdainfully to Zhao Dai, "I haven't seen you for a few days, and my elder brother has become even more dull-witted. You must have been cheated by someone for these Seeds; otherwise, why would they kindly give them to you?"

Zhao Dai frowned, "Zhao Quan, don't go too far."

Zhao Quan snorted coldly, "Being this dull-witted really has shamed the entire Zhao family. How stupid, believing whatever others tell you. How come I don't know of any new Seeds in the Capital?"

Zhao Dai couldn't be bothered to pay him any mind.

Anyway, his Seeds were made in his room.

However, what the four of them didn't expect was that during a banquet, Zhao Quan mocked Zhao Dai and the other three, recounting the story of how they meticulously cared for the Seeds that others had tricked them into buying.

People in their circle couldn't help but tease Zhao Dai and his group when they saw them.

To this, Zhao Dai just laughed it off, even telling them not to come begging for Seeds later on.

On the other side, in the Capital.

The Xiao Shi at the Grocery Store had let it slip two days ago that there would be a large quantity of Seeds in the next few days.

When asked when, he couldn't say for sure either.

After all, the Imperial Farm needed to package the Seeds, and he didn't know how long it would take to finish, nor did he know if there was enough cotton cloth to make the Cotton Pouches.

The result was that for several days in a row, the entrance to the Grocery Store was packed with people.

Some people even started lining up from the Yin hour, fearing they wouldn't be able to snatch any.

In the following days, the people lining up each day arrived even earlier than the day before.

There were even people coming out to line up at the Zi hour.

Yan Ning was shocked by this.

Is it necessary to be this desperate for a bite to eat?

However, seeing everyone's high enthusiasm, Yan Ning was also quite happy that the new Seeds could finally be promoted.

Many people from out of town were also surprised to see this scene.

What on earth is this thing that makes people willing to forgo sleep just to come and snatch it?

They were also somewhat interested in such a good thing, so they got up early the next day and lined up at the back.

It was just such a long line that they didn't know if it would be their turn.