I was a conman in the Ming Dynasty.

Chapter 58 Charity Auction 4

Chapter 58 Charity Auction Part 4

The auction was underway, and Ma Biao and his companions were no longer surprised. These shameless scoundrels were scrambling to flatter Wang Wenzhou, spending thousands of taels of silver on a piece of junk without a second thought or even blinking an eye. It was utterly shameless!

"Old Ma, I heard you've been acquiring land lately?" Yang Mu asked.

"Haha!" Ma Biao laughed and said, "Brother Yang, you just got back and you already know? You're very well-informed." Ma Biao pointed to the other two, "It's not just me acquiring land, they're both doing it too. You don't need to, though, there's a whole lot of land near the West Gate that belongs to your family."

"What exactly does Lao Ma mean by this? Those are all dry lands that can't be irrigated, yet they're priced higher than the best fertile fields. I'm just wondering, are you guys crazy?" Yang Mu asked, frowning.

“Even if someone were crazy, Old Ma couldn’t be. Don’t let his rough appearance fool you, he’s actually quite shrewd! None of us can match him. It was Old Ma who told me about acquiring the land, that’s why I did it,” Sun Ming said, taking a sip of tea.

"Old Ma, stop keeping me in suspense and tell Brother Yang already. Look how anxious he is," Lin Nan said with a smile.

Ma Biao grinned and laughed loudly, "Actually, I didn't know about this at first. One day, that little brat Ma Deyun came home and said that Wang Shazi was going to build a labor camp and a school outside the city. He also said that recently, Li Jinshui and several out-of-town businessmen have been buying up land outside the city at high prices."

"I was very puzzled. Those rotten lands weren't worth anything. But then I suddenly realized that so many outsiders have come to Hanshan recently. Now the city is packed with people. It's so congested that you can't even walk. I suddenly realized that this Wang Shazi wants to expand the city. Wang Shazi is quite cunning, secretly letting merchants from other places buy up land."

Ma Biao took a sip of tea and continued, "We're not familiar with the outsiders who are buying up the land. We can't get any inside information from them. I specially invited Li Jinshui to dinner to try and get some information out of him. That guy is very tight-lipped and won't mention anything serious. As soon as I asked about the land acquisition, he changed the subject. I realized that there must be something fishy going on here."

"Brother Ma is so shrewd. You've gone too far. We're such good brothers, why didn't you tell me sooner?" Yang Mu complained.

“Brother Yang, if I knew anything, would I not inform you? I went to look for you, but you weren’t home. Your son is about the same as mine. Neither of them are capable of doing anything worthwhile. Would I dare tell him? If this gets out, the land price will double. Besides, your family already has a lot of land near the West Gate. You don’t need this much.” Ma Biao bowed apologetically.

“Old Ma is right. Before you returned to Hanshan County, Brother Yang, the land around the city gate had already been almost bought up. How about I spare some for you?” Sun Ming patted Yang Mu on the shoulder.

"Brother Sun, look at what you're saying. I'm not a petty person, I was just joking. It seems this Wang the Fool really wants to stir up some trouble in Hanshan County." Yang Mu waved his hand.

Several people nodded, all agreeing with Yang Mu's statement.

“Actually, this Wang the Fool does have some of the qualities of his ancestor, Yangming. He really does have the air of a capable minister who could govern a peaceful world,” Sun Ming said.

"Haha!" Ma Biao grinned and said, "It's hard to say whether Wang the Fool is a capable minister in times of peace. But he is definitely a ruthless hero in times of chaos. Putting aside everything else, just look at this charity auction tonight. This Wang the Fool is really shameless. He made more than 10,000 taels of silver in one night, which is almost as much as the wealth that several generations of our family have worked for."

Yang Mu nodded with a wry smile. Who could argue with that? He looked toward the auction stage.

Sheng Lan pointed to a calligraphy scroll and introduced, "Ladies and gentlemen, please take a look at the last item up for auction tonight. This is the Thousand Character Classic written by Wang Wenzhou, Lord Wang. You have all seen Lord Wang's calligraphy. Lord Wang's style is unique and has formed its own school. His brushstrokes are unrestrained and natural. He will surely become a master in the future."

Wang Qiang couldn't help but laugh, thinking to himself, "Sister-in-law, you've really been wronged. The young master's handwriting is worse than a three-year-old's, but you describe it so well that anyone who hasn't seen it would think it's a masterpiece. I'm almost dying of laughter listening to you; you're making it sound like the truth."

Sheng Lan was proficient in all the arts, including music, chess, calligraphy, and painting; how could she not understand the quality of calligraphy? She simply felt that Wang Wenzhou's calligraphy, though somewhat childish, was endearingly so. The more she looked at it, the more she thought Wang Wenzhou's calligraphy was quite good. His descriptions were truly heartfelt and sincere, without a trace of affectation.

"The auction of the Thousand Character Classic will now begin. The starting price for this work is 100 taels of silver, and the minimum increment is 10 taels."

As soon as Sheng Lan finished speaking, the voices of bidding rose and fell from the audience.

"Eight hundred taels!"

"One thousand two hundred taels!"

"Two thousand six hundred taels!"

Each time, only a few people would make the bid. Everyone present could see that these people were all very close to Wang Wenzhou. Tonight's charity auction was essentially these few people sending money to Wang Wenzhou. Sending so much money at once—there must be something fishy going on. Nobody's a fool; everyone here is a gentry member from Hanshan. Many people started plotting whether they should pay a visit to Lord Wang another day and try to get some benefits from him.

"Three thousand taels!" Li Jinshui shouted, raising his hand.

Geng San took a sip of tea and glanced once more at the gentry sitting around him. These people, who used to never even give him a second glance, were now on equal footing with him. Everything was fate, Geng San thought, believing he was only favored by Lord Wang because of good fortune. Otherwise, he would have already committed suicide by jumping into the river to escape his debts.

With a smile, Sheng Lan said, "Three thousand eight hundred taels once, three thousand eight hundred taels twice, is there anyone offering more than three thousand eight hundred taels?"

Geng San put down his teacup, stood up, and shouted loudly, "Five thousand taels!"

"Buzz!" The room erupted in chaos. Most of the people present recognized Geng San. Geng San had been a celebrity lately, having won a huge prize of ten thousand taels of silver. In Hanshan, even a three-year-old knew of this lucky man, Geng San.

They simply couldn't understand why Geng San, someone who was incredibly lucky and made his fortune by winning the lottery, would pay such a high price to buy junk. Everyone present knew that Li Jinshui, Feng Yuantao, and the others had recently been contracting projects in Hanshan. That was why they were giving money to Wang Wenzhou. Geng San, you nouveau riche, what's the meaning of giving money to Wang Wenzhou?

Could it be that even a nouveau riche like Geng San really wanted to get involved in construction projects? Thinking this, many people regretted their actions; they'd been shrewd all their lives, but made a foolish mistake. How could they be less as shrewd as this little scoundrel Geng San? Since those people could give Wang Wenzhou so much money, it meant they were making even more. Even Geng San had figured it out; why hadn't they noticed it sooner?

Sheng Lan slammed the auction gavel on the table and announced, "Five thousand taels once, five thousand taels twice, five thousand taels a third time! Congratulations, Geng San, Master Geng, for winning the Thousand Character Classic personally written by Wang Wenzhou."

With a smile, Geng San thanked everyone, "Thank you all for your kindness! It allowed me to bid on Wang Qingtian's work. It also allowed me to do my part for the people of Hanshan. Thank you!"

Seeing Geng San's expression, many people were filled with regret. They secretly resolved to seek an audience with Lord Wang the next day. They couldn't let a lowly scoundrel like Geng San monopolize the benefits.