Start with the fisherman

Chapter 22: Striking the Sea, Wind and Thunder Fist
The Sihai Chamber of Commerce was very different from what Cao Ze had imagined. After entering, there were no merchandise on display in the lobby. Instead, after paying a deposit of five taels of silver, he was led by a waiter through a small door and then through a long corridor sloping downward, and finally arrived at a circular hall.

In the center of the circular hall, there is a platform about ten feet square. On the platform stands a graceful woman who is wearing a cheongsam, showing off her perfect curves to the fullest.

The woman was holding a gavel in her hand, looking around elegantly, asking questions constantly and occasionally knocking the gavel.

This is actually an auction.

And it seems that this is a long-term auction. You can come in and participate in the auction at any time, and you can also purchase consignment.

The waiter took Cao Ze into the garden hall and left.

At this time, there were already quite a few people sitting in the hall. Most of them, like Cao Ze, wore cloaks and were wrapped in black robes, making it impossible to recognize their identities.

Of course, the true appearance of the person sitting among them is inevitable.

Obviously these people were very confident in their own abilities. Cao Ze subconsciously moved away from them and sat down in a place at the back where there were fewer people.

After he sat down, he noticed that there was actually an attic above the garden hall. There were small rooms inside. Each small room had a window facing the garden hall. A fine bead curtain hung on the window, so he could only vaguely see someone inside, but could not tell their identity.

At this time, there were already quite a few people sitting in the attic.

Seeing this, Cao Ze began to look forward to it. There were so many people coming, which meant that this auction might have rare goods.

But when he thought of his empty purse, he couldn't help but feel sad.

"The next item to be auctioned is 1,000 kilograms of diamond sand, 300 kilograms of purple blood vine, and 200 kilograms of Litsea cubeba... The starting price is 1,000 taels of silver, and each bid increase must not be less than 100 taels..."

The woman on the stage talked eloquently, waved a small hammer, looked around with a smile, and was at ease. Although she was an auctioneer, she gave people a feeling of intellectual elegance, which broadened Cao Ze's horizons.

"One thousand one hundred taels!"

"Someone offered 1,100 taels. Is there a higher price?"

"One thousand two hundred taels!"

"One thousand three hundred taels!"

"Can we raise it to 1,400 taels for our distinguished guest upstairs?"

"Okay, go back downstairs, one thousand five hundred taels!"

"One thousand five hundred taels at a time. This is a large amount of supplies. One thousand six hundred taels is definitely not a loss..."

"Okay, one thousand six hundred taels..."

Next, Cao Ze felt as if he was swept up in a verbal storm. The auctioneer on the stage spoke very quickly and with great pressure, as if giving people no time to think at all. People had no choice but to follow her instructions and raise the price unconsciously.

In the end, the bulk of the goods, which had a starting price of one thousand taels, was sold at a price of one thousand eight hundred taels. The whole process took only a few tens of seconds, which amazed Cao Ze.

I can't help but sigh that these people spend money like water, spending 1,800 taels without any hesitation.

At the same time, he was also shocked by the auctioneer's performance. It turned out that auctions could be so artistic. If he had seen such auction videos on the Internet in his previous life, he would probably be able to watch them for hours without stopping.

Of course, he also heard some information before coming.

For example, this kind of bulk cargo auction is actually just a channel for pirates to sell stolen goods, and it can also be regarded as a tacit understanding between pirates and the major families in Cape City.

They rob your goods, and then you buy them back at a 40% discount or even lower. He takes his bribe, and you continue to do your business.

If your goods are bought by other people, you can't blame them.

However, the major families have also formed unspoken rules and will not fight among themselves over this matter. Usually, no matter which family owns the goods, other families will not interfere, otherwise the goods will just benefit the pirates for nothing.

Two more large deals were auctioned off next, and it seems the pirates have been reaping a rich harvest recently.

Then the items being auctioned started to become normal, including swords that could cut through iron like mud, medicinal herbs, rare treasures... as well as women and slaves looted by pirates. Of course, all items that could be auctioned were of top quality.

Seeing this, Cao Ze finally felt a little bit of anticipation. Not everything at this auction cost hundreds or thousands of taels of silver.

Because it is a long-term auction, many items are auctioned on a casual basis. There are no special arrangements and no finale.

Maybe the previous item was sold for several thousand taels of silver, while the next item may only cost a few taels of silver.

"The next item to be auctioned is a sword technique!"

The auctioneer smiled charmingly at the crowd below, and introduced slowly, "This sword technique was discovered by a martial arts master who watched the snow. The sword moves like falling snow, seemingly slow but actually fast, real and fake, unpredictable. It is said that when practiced to a high level, the sword light can be transformed into heavy snow all over the sky, with murderous intent hidden!"

Hearing this, Cao Ze sat up straight. It was finally his time to perform.

However, the auctioneer's next words made him lean back in his chair again.

"The starting price is three hundred taels of silver!"

A penny can stump a heroic man!
Cao Ze sighed softly.

The Snowfall Knife caused a fierce competition. Apparently, many people had heard of the reputation of this sword technique, and some even came here specifically for it.

Finally, it was bought by a woman in a white palace dress on the second floor for five hundred taels. The woman was sitting in the attic box opposite Cao Ze. Cao Ze could vaguely see the blurry figure through the bead curtain.

Then several items were auctioned, including a gun technique, but the starting price was also over a hundred taels, which was not something Cao Ze could afford.

"The next item to be auctioned is a sword technique. It is said that this is a move that a martial arts master learned after experiencing a storm at sea. One strike of the sword can shatter the storm and split the sea!"

"Ms. Chen, forget it. No one will buy it!"

However, before she could finish her introduction, a man in black interrupted her impatiently.

It seems that this sword technique has been filmed many times.

However, Cao Ze has now given up the idea of ​​bidding for martial arts. The price of martial arts in this auction is simply beyond his ability to afford. He can only see if he can try his luck at the stalls outside. However, he did not leave immediately, as it would be good to broaden his horizons here.

The auctioneer smiled knowingly, not minding the interruption, but continued to introduce, "But this is only a broken move, and no one has mastered it for many years!"

"But if you can master it, the power of this sword move will definitely not be inferior to the previous Snowfall Sword. You may want to buy it and try it out."

"The starting price is ten taels of silver. You can't afford to lose money or be cheated. Each bid increase must not be less than one tael of silver."

He sat up in shock while dying of illness.

Cao Ze sat up straight again. This was simply a martial art tailor-made for him!
The incomplete form is not scary, as long as it can appear in the warrior attributes, just add some points and you'll be done.

The most important thing is that he can finally afford it at this price.

But he was not in a hurry to raise the price.

Quiet, so quiet that you can hear a pin drop.

The originally bustling auction hall fell into an eerie silence after this item came out. Everyone seemed to be afraid that their actions would be misunderstood as bidding, so they all sat there, motionless.

The auctioneer gave an awkward but polite smile, "I'd really feel sorry for you if you couldn't see this kind of knife skills."

This is truly a statement that makes me feel pity for him.

But everyone present was an old customer, and they were all hard-hearted. Many of them had even bid for it before, but without exception, after studying it for a while, they all chose to send it back here for bidding. The price of this knife technique also dropped from the initial starting price of fifty taels of silver to ten taels of silver.

Even so, no one is willing to spend this money.

Chen Ling was a little disappointed. As the top auctioneer in this Hai City, she had never failed before. However, she suffered the pain of failure in the auction due to this knife skill.

She also set the starting price for "Strike the Sea", but it was still of no avail.

"Twelve!"

At this moment, a man in black suddenly raised a sign at the back of the garden hall.

Chen Ling looked at it and smiled, "Okay, this gentleman offers ten taels of silver, is there a higher price?"

"Ten taels at a time!"

Seeing her beautiful smile, many people in the room suddenly felt jealous. If they had known that ten taels of silver could make a beauty smile, many of them would probably be willing to pay the money.

Unfortunately, a traitor took the lead.

Many people are indignant.

So, when Cao Ze thought he was safe, another person raised a sign.

"Fifteen taels!"

"Someone offered fifteen taels. Would you like to raise the price, sir?"

Cao Ze felt like someone was cutting his flesh with a knife and couldn't help feeling heartbroken.

Clearly no one wanted it just now, so how come as soon as I raised the price, more people started bidding higher?

Cao Ze looked at the person who raised the price, only to find that the other party was not hiding his figure, but was sitting in the front seat with his arms and legs spread out.

At this time, the other party didn't even look at him, but looked at the auctioneer on the stage.

Suddenly, Cao Ze realized that the other party made the bid not because of the item, but because of the beauty's smile just now.

I could only smile bitterly. As expected, the most difficult thing to accept is the favor of a beautiful woman!
"Twenty taels!"

Without hesitation, Cao Ze directly raised the price by five taels.

He came here this time just to film a martial arts movie. This "Strike the Sea" is his last hope, and he must get it!

If he increased the price by one ounce at a time, it would probably cause those guys who wanted to please the beauty to compete with him, and eventually drive up the price.

Now just increase the price by five taels so that the other party can think more about it.

For many things, if you think about them more, you will calm down, just like in the auction house at this moment.

After hearing the price, the other guys who were originally ready to make trouble for Cao Ze also calmed down.

Not all of them are wealthy people who can easily bid several thousand taels of silver. Twenty taels of silver is not a small amount of money for them. If they raise the price and the other party doesn't want it anymore, wouldn't that be a waste of money?

A wise man would not spend twenty taels of silver to buy a useless martial art.

The man who had bid the price before hesitated for a moment and gave up the fight.

"Twenty taels of silver for three times, deal!"

"Ji Cang Hai was photographed by this friend. I hope this friend can gain some insights and restore Ji Cang Hai's glory!"

Chen Ling smiled brightly. This blessing was genuine. She really hoped that someone could master this skill and never let it return to her hands.

To many people present, the transaction of twenty taels of silver was just a minor episode.

The auction continues.

Cao Ze did not leave immediately.

Although the auctioneer's introduction to the auction items was brief, it gave a general idea. There are not many opportunities to get to know so many things.

Another hour later, Cao Ze got up and went to the backstage, paid the remaining fifteen taels of silver, and took the thin booklet.

During this hour, countless commodities were sold. One of them, the "Wind and Thunder God Fist", was sold at a high price of 1,600 taels, which was almost equivalent to the price of a whole shipload of goods.

The one who filmed the Wind and Thunder Fist was still the woman in the box on the second floor.

After leaving the Sihai Chamber of Commerce, Cao Ze went straight to the pharmacy where he had come from at the beginning and bought a dose of skin-mopping cream and a dose of Jade Skin Soup. He had inquired about the prices long before entering the Sihai Chamber of Commerce. The waiter did not lie to him. The price of the skin-mopping auxiliary prescription was five taels of silver.

A set of microdermabrasion cream can be used three times, and the Jade Skin Soup is also divided into three small portions. This makes Cao Ze feel much more balanced. After all, a set costs five taels of silver!

He put the booklet about Ji Canghai and two prescriptions into the pocket of his clothes and walked towards his boat.

This pocket was specially made by Su Xiaozhi with waterproof cloth, and the sealing technique was used. After the items are put in, as long as the opening is sealed, the items inside will not get wet even if they are soaked in sea water.

Although this trip to Hai City cost all the money, all the set goals were achieved, so it can be said that it was a very fruitful trip.

Rowing the black-sailed boat, Cao Ze returned happily.

Looking at the sky, it would probably be late at night by the time we reach Bishui Village.

It is not safe to be on the sea at night, especially on a sloop like his, which might encounter sea beasts or strong winds and waves.

In the darkness of night, if one is not prepared, a storm will hit and the sloop will surely capsize.

But he really had no money left, and he had no way to spend the night on the island, so he had to go back in the dark.

Cao Ze looked at the love points he had deliberately left and was not too worried. At worst, he could just fill up the water points and swim back to Bishui Village!
After leaving the island for a certain distance and finding that there were no other boats around, Cao Ze no longer hid his strength. He paddled hard and the sail boat suddenly rushed forward rapidly. For a moment, the speed increased by several times.

The sun sets in the west, dyeing the sea surface orange-red. Between the sea and the sky, a black-sailed boat passes leisurely, and ripples spread out behind it. It is truly a picturesque scene.

Soon, the sun completely sank into the sea and the sky became dark.

Cao Ze stopped paddling and frowned.

His nostrils twitched as he looked carefully, then he raised his head and looked forward.

It smells like blood!

Not far in front of him, a body was floating on the sea with several arrows stuck in the back.

Judging from the shape of the arrow, it should be the extremely powerful Shenbi crossbow.

This kind of crossbow is an excellent crossbow used by the Daqian imperial army. Even warriors with great skills in skin grinding cannot resist it. If they are not prepared, they will be shot into a sieve.

Without any hesitation, Cao Ze turned around, identified the direction of the water flow, and avoided the direction where the corpse was coming from.

He would rather detour dozens of nautical miles than get into trouble, and he didn't even choose to touch the corpse. He was worried that if he walked too slowly, he would run into those who killed this man.

(End of this chapter)