Chapter 388: Fond of the Wealthy Who Are Greedy for Life and Fear Death

Liang Er lost confidence in his career prospects right away, just as the Great King had expected—this fellow said he'd quit his post if the delegation left. With this pittance of a salary, when could he ever enjoy the freedom of 'Spring River Flower Moon Night'? He couldn't even afford bubble‑machine freedom.

The Great King listened without comment, only giving Wei Shen a sympathetic glance.

Good evening!

All the junk the Great King used to warm up sold out, with not a single item left unbid—can you believe it? A rough estimate puts the profit at over seventy thousand taels, and this guy is thrilled beyond measure.

When the warm‑up auction ended, the Chief Steward continued to host the formal auction.

The opening lot was the Great King's set of four Kekebei La horses, four small steeds pulling an exquisite red‑wood carriage, which, guided by the staff, walked up to the auction platform with a tinkling sound.

"The first opening item is a heavyweight: an overseas miniature horse—the Kekebei La, a set of four! The adult size of this breed is exactly what you see now; they keep this shape their whole lives. Four horses hitched to a finely crafted red‑wood two‑person carriage, opening bid 200,000 taels of silver, with each raise no less than 100 taels."

As soon as the banquet began, the number of participants surged, especially since the carriage had been advertised in the newspapers—many came just for it.

Among them was a man surnamed Kang, who said, "I told you it couldn't be cheap—sure enough, it starts at 200,000. My great‑nephew is waiting anxiously at home; if I don't snag this, the old lady will make me look bad!"

"How could he have seen it otherwise? It's not like you weren't showing it off right in front of him!"

…and that's not wrong.

Each of these little horses costs the Great King 80,000 taels of silver to produce; selling them for 200,000 already means a loss, yet even that is shocking enough in the Great Jin.

In the blink of an eye outside, the bid had reached 220,600 taels; Kang Qu reckoned and said, "I'll bid 240,600!" That ought to kill the competition, right?

Who would have thought that adding another twenty thousand would just cause the bidder to hesitate, then someone else jumped in at 240,700, changing the increment from the previous two hundred or one hundred to a steady thousand‑tael jump!

"No, whoever invented this selling method is simply a genius at raking in wealth!"

"Who says it isn't! Good thing I'm wearing a mask; otherwise losing would be really embarrassing."

"But if you don't wear one, everyone will know what you bought! What if you win a Return‑Spring Pill—could you safely make it back to Jiaodong?"

Bids are called on the spot, highest wins. This kind of auction never existed before in the Great Jin. The buyers here are all wealthy; once they get excited, prices can skyrocket, and every rich merchant present feels the trip was worthwhile.

Those who come here are either rich merchants or aristocrats—whoever can outspend the other wins.

These opening horses successfully got them riled up; someone always shouted an extra hundred taels, and the price quickly shot up to 292,000, making the Great King overjoyed. To demonstrate how hot the item was, he himself jumped in to push the price higher.

Others would raise by a thousand each time; whenever he saw the momentum flagging, he'd jump in and add a hundred. Once the bidding hit 320,000 and he'd broken even, that guy dropped out.

Xie Tu got the gist, poured a cup of tea for the Great King and handed it over, asking, "Broken even yet?"

The Great King recalled that he still had to sell them for 400,000 each, and flatly denied it: "No way—400,000 is what I need to break even. But I'd also accept over 300,000." Having said that, nowadays there really are people spending three or four hundred thousand on a horse you can't ride, only play with, which still exceeds the Great King's expectations.

He still underestimated the aristocracy that controls ninety percent of the world's wealth.

Finally the hammer fell at 350,300; the Great King gave a meaningful glance at the winning box downstairs—man, they've got serious clout!

He then told the Chief Steward to keep a close eye on them.

Kang Qu had no idea that, over a toy that was his grandmother's favorite, his whole family had already been marked.

Only a few were bidding on the Kekebei La, but once the Sujin Te and Platinum Wild Horse came up, the number of participants clearly increased.

The Great King gave one of his stock horses to Wei Ke, another to Changli, and liquidated the rest.

The Platinum Wild Horses are hard to tame after sale, but later he could sell feed pellets as sidelines. In no time a Platinum Wild Horse fetched 220,600 taels—more than what the Great King got selling one to Baili Heng—and he became ever more convinced this business had great potential.

He and Wei Shen then went full‑time as shills, running two private boxes, and the competition got fiercely intense.

Xie Tu could see their shady tactics: once the heat rose they'd stop bidding, but when the price slowed they'd take turns setting the pace. He couldn't help asking the Great King, "Aren't you afraid of shooting yourself in the foot?"

"…What do we do if the hammer ends up in your hands?"

The Great King, a bachelor, replied: "Well, Zhu Ti will surely bring along its twin sister soon…"

Xie Tu: …

Everyone in the Stupa Pavilion has walked the longest road; it must be the Great King's routine—no wonder he's making money.

Wujihan came with the idea of buying fine horse breeds, and even though he was mentally prepared, the Great King's prices shut him out.

The black wind horse, same model as the Youzhou cavalry, sold for 160,800 taels, while the impressively splendid Sujin Te went for 250,200.

His budget was under 100,000; he'd grit his teeth and buy at 100k if he had to, but in the end no hammer fell below 150,000.

Originally the Great King wanted two million taels of silver from the Xiongnu, but they weren't ready to give it all. He talked once with Minister of Agriculture Zhang; the old man insisted not a single wen could be less, and he couldn't be bothered to argue further, thinking he'd revisit the talk with the Great King later—but when the troop review came out, everyone understood.

Nothing left to discuss.

That very afternoon he promptly paid the full two million taels and took delivery of the skin‑and‑bones Lian Xi, without saying another word.

Saying the Xiongnu couldn't come up with that sum, the Great King wouldn't believe it—after all, he'd just snatched a huge indemnity from Chang'an.

Wujihan rose to the rank of Left Gu Li King, and it wasn't solely thanks to his family background.

Now there's also the tribute obligation; horses priced above 200,000 are now only something he can watch.

Afterward, the Spring River Flower Moon Night‑style ornaments and several sets of luxurious jewelry all sold out. Seeing the Great King's smile, Xie Tu figured he must have made a tidy profit.

After the miscellaneous items were wrapped up, the day's main event soon arrived.

Return‑Spring Pill.

The Chief Steward lifted an opened silk‑satin box with her delicate jade hand; inside lay a wax‑sealed pill.

"Return‑Spring Pill. A top‑tier nourishing elixir refined from precious medicinals. Taking one pill can make the body's functions five years younger, and the effect is more pronounced the older one is. Return‑Spring Pills are exceedingly rare; this time the Stupa Pavilion has only three in stock, and when the next batch will arrive, or when we'll be able to gather these scarce ingredients again, is unknown."

Hope everyone cherishes this opportunity. Opening bid is one pill, highest bidder wins. Starting price: 500,000 taels of silver—begin!

The Great King brought out three pills to test the waters—only three chances—and it let the Stupa Pavilion come alive.

This time, even the boxes that had been silent all along sprang into action.

"Looks like everyone's really into health preservation!" the Great King gloated.

"I just love wealthy people who cling to life and fear death."

Xie Tu, the Lu brothers, and Liang Ben also had their thoughts: …

They were hit.