Chapter 387: Auction of the Immortal

Each private booth had a dedicated attendant to ring the bell and call out bids; service was thorough.

The two arrived early, with plenty of time before the start; the attendant set out a tea tray and brought them a rare fruit snack platter from the Great Jin—varied and exotic, but small in quantity.

If you finish and want more, they'll say there's none left—but they'll tell you where you might find some, as the chief steward knows how to run hunger marketing.

Wang Kang and his companion stood by the window, watching the growing crowd below, and became more and more astonished.

"Are there more people than expected?"

"They're probably all from the south like us, needing three thousand taels as proof of wealth to get in—that's not a small sum even in Youzhou."

"That was before; now Youzhou… hahaha—it's hard to say whether there are hidden dragons and crouching tigers."

Yesterday afternoon, at the restaurant they still saw the Xie clan's qilin heir, once again confirming that the rumors from Jiangnan were true—the Xie clan really had been brought to Youzhou by the Northern Border King.

The two sipped tea and chatted, guessing the identities of the various groups arriving, and time flew by.

As evening approached, the attendant came in with tonight's auction catalog and asked if they wanted dinner.

"Can we eat here?"

The attendant handed over a menu from the Da Wang Restaurant: "Futu Pavilion has no kitchen, but guests can order food, and we'll arrange for the restaurant to deliver it."

Wang Shen took it, looked, and thought, "Good—this is the restaurant he treats as his second home in Youzhou."

The two spoiled heirs let loose a hundred taels again—since they have money, they might as well spend it; Youzhou has a hundred ways to empty their pockets.

After ordering, about half an hour later, two restaurant runners brought up their dishes. Full and satisfied, the guests were nearly all present.

Da Wang took a day off, rode his beloved White Dragon Horse together with Wei Shen, went out for an exhilarating ride, then made a special detour to the seaside to check on his 'dragon' and whale, and returned to the city heading straight to Futu Pavilion.

His little entourage, none missing, filled a private booth completely.

"Everyone's here?" Wei Ke was surprised they were all present.

Wei Shen was also quite surprised: "How did you get in? Surely you don't all have three thousand taels?" He, penniless, relied on Da Wang's face to get in—that's too sad.

Liang Ben puffed out his chest: "Of course!... We scraped it together. Sniff, my father's returned, my monthly silver's been cut—when is Da Wang coming back to Luoshui Pass?" Can it be right away!

"You'll be disappointed then—the Luoshui Pass project is finished; next they'll replace his deputy and your brother to rotate defenses there, and the Marquis of the Eastern Capital will return to Shanggu Pass."

Upon hearing that, Liang Ben nearly fainted: "Then wouldn't he be coming back to Youzhou often?"

"You can understand it that way!"

"Da Wang! You've let me down too much!"

Human joy and sorrow are not shared; amid everyone's merciless teasing of Liang Er, the auction began.

It started half an hour early, to sell off Da Wang's junk.

Zhu Ti, the chief steward, has a knack for sales; what looked like a parrot's egg became, in her mouth, a mysterious bird‑egg blind box, said to have a chance of hatching a bird that can speak human words.

"Mysterious Hatchable Bird Egg Blind Box, containing three bird eggs, opening bid one hundred taels, each raise must be at least ten taels."

The masked Zhu Chief Steward struck the auction hammer, signaling that bidding could begin; someone in Da Wang's booth felt moved.

Lu Hen stood up and shouted, "I want it!" A bird that can speak human words—if real, it'd be worth a thousand taels!

Their booth's attendant hadn't even asked how much to raise when the Xie family's young master also rose and said he wanted it; Da Wang instantly felt pleased—where's the junk? This isn't bad market‑wise, right? So sought‑after!

"I'll go first—I bid one hundred fifty!"

Outside, someone had already bid—one hundred twenty, one hundred forty—in a blink it reached two hundred taels; Xie Tu moved, gesturing to his attendant, "Three hundred!"

Da Wang's glance at his Xie senior brother left him speechless—what a waste, since he thought you were a smart silver—"Xie senior brother, stay calm, do you have even a chance to understand? This is a word game!"

Xie Tu: "Three eggs, three chances." A speaking‑bird, if even one hatches, it's a gain—he's very curious.

He spoke, and the rest of the Xie family stopped bidding; Da Wang still felt a bit of sympathy for his all‑purpose laborer. In an instant the outside bid rose to two hundred sixty, and Da Wang's conscience awoke: "Don't bid anymore—I'll later give you three hundred taels to get a live parrot, a hundred percent success rate." These three eggs cost him only one yuanbao; the old pit—Da Wang's conscience rarely ached for the Xie family.

Xie Tu rose and thanked Da Wang.

Lu Xing, hearing that, also wanted one; the blind box downstairs had already been bid up to three hundred, and finally sold for three hundred fifty taels. Da Wang began stroking his chin, wondering whether to open a stall selling blind‑box bird eggs—unknown things always attract people……

The ensuing warm‑up was wholly fantastical; the junk picked up by Da Wang's Phoenix Collection still had a market among the "naïve‑white‑sweet" ancients.

The bubble machine despised by Baiyang, Liang Ben wanted it no matter what.

It's simply too dreamy, isn't it! Pull it once and countless bubbles fill the sky; if he had Xie Tu's literary talent, he'd surely write a poem. He's already imagined taking it to a flower‑pulling event, performing a few pulls before a crowd of young ladies, the sky full of bubbles—how stylish that would be—just wearing a white robe like Wei Ke's…… perfect!

"……Buy the bubble machine and get a bottle of bubble water, opening bid one hundred taels, each raise at least ten taels."

Liang Gongzi didn't need the attendant; he just slapped the bell and boldly called out, "Two hundred taels!"

"All right, Private Booth 9 on the third floor wins the warm‑up auction item number two—the Dreamy Bubble Machine." Zhu Ti, fearing a mistake, was quick‑eyed and quick‑handed; the hammer fell……

Everything happened so fast it was unexpected; Da Wang stared, mouth agape.

It seems… he's screwed his own people again……

"Liang Er, do you know the monthly stipend of the Order of the Wayfarers?"

"I don't know—I've only been there a few days; I heard it's paid at month's end?"

Da Wang felt sorry for him: "Figure it out—about one twentieth of a Dreamy Bubble Machine?"

Liang Ben: ……

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During the break we relaxed a bit……】