February 1, morning, the weather seemed especially gloomy.
First thing in the morning, Hans and Li Du took the bus towards the Smith Company's storage area.
The auction would start around nine o'clock, but Hans wanted them to be there earlier to observe their competitors
Knowing that this was Li Du's first time attending such an auction, Hans explained, "We need to arrive earlier to observe and gain a better understanding of our competitors so that we can formulate a strategy for the bidding rounds."
Most of the bidders seemed to have arrived at around eight thirty. Li Du estimated that there were about fifty people there.
He suddenly felt a bit of pressure, "There are so many people here but only eight storages?"
"They are all here for the massage chair. However, don't worry, at least a half of these people won't bid unless they have a hundred percent certainty, while the rest is only here hoping to buy something at a low price. Plus, we're here for only one storage unit, and I've got more than enough money with me for that."
"Where did you get the money?" Li Du asked puzzled.
"How did we get here today?" Hans asked back.
"We rode the bus…. S*it, don't tell me that you sold your car?" Li Du exclaimed.
"No, I only mortgaged it for three days, only then will I lose the car. So, can I rely on you or not? Do you really know which storage has the massage chair?"
"I didn't come prepared for nothing. I more or less know which storage it is in. Later on, you just need to wait for me to find it for you."
Ten minutes later, an old man came in wearing a cowboy hat before shouting really fast, "Everyone-line-up-I'm-going-to-skip-the-rules-so-those-that-don't-know-them-can-just-leave $%#&@..."
Li Du had always felt that his English were pretty good, but now he realized that he was overconfident.
As the door to the storage opened, everyone lined up waiting their turn, and it seemed that most people possessed a flashlight. The old man wearing the cowboy had stood outside with a stopwatch. He made sure that everyone stayed outside the regulated area while timing to make sure that everyone would get their one minute turn.
Even though everyone had only one minute, those fifty or so people took close to an hour in total.
Unit 202 didn't look to have anything in particular that seemed precious. The most promising items were a few household tools and appliances, but these could all be considered to be garbage.
Auction hunters weren't going to buy garbage, only storages that they thought would earn them money.
In most Americans' point of view, manpower and time were money, so spending them to clean an insignificant storage was only making them lose their money.
When it came to Hans and Li Du's turn, the two stood by the entrance while Hans swept his flashlight inside the storage as he explained, "We need to first look for things that are of worth, and this requires experience. Look at this, there's a 'handle with care' label printed on its side, I'm guessing that inside this box are plates and other glassware. And over there is a handle, so I think that there's a vacuum..."
Li Du nodded, at the moment, he found that he really couldn't look down on those professional treasure hunters.
That was because Hans's judgment was right. When he swept that area using the little bug, there was truly some beautiful pottery inside the box, and that handle really did belong to a vacuum cleaner.
Their one minute limit soon passed. As the two left, Hans quietly said, "The stuff inside is worth around $500 or so. I'm guessing that there're people who're willing to spend around $300 for it."
As the exhibition period ended, the auction started.
The aged cowboy raised his hand, "One hundred, one hundred, one hundred dollars is the starting bid, is there anyone who's willing to raise to one hundred fifty dollars, one hundred fifty, one hundred fifty…"
The speed of his speech was extremely fast, and Li Du had a hard time following.
There was someone who immediately nodded his head. The old man pointed to that man before continuing, "It is now a hundred and fifty, a hundred and fifty, a hundred and fifty dollars, two hundred, is there anyone who's willing to bid two hundred dollars, two hundred…"
"Me!" someone shouted
The old man immediately switched his finger over to the new bidder. "Excellent, it is now two hundred dollars, then how about three hundred dollars?"
Auctions were just like that, the auctioneer would ask for a price while the buyers would place their bid.
However, as the old man raised the price by a hundred dollars, the whole audience fell into silence. It was not that the stuff in the storage wasn't worth that price, but the fact that the raise was too big.
Hans raised his hand. "220 dollars!"
"You want this one? But the massage chair isn't in here," Li Du softly exclaimed.
"Don't worry, this storage is worth at least 220 dollars. With no doubt there are others who will follow this bid, I'm only doing this to show you the unspoken rules of the auction," Hans explained. "When the price suggested by the auctioneer is too high, then the bidders can suggest their own price as long as it's higher than the original one."
Just like what he said, as soon as that sentence was out, the auctioneer said, "Two hundred twenty dollars is the current bid, how about two hundred and fifty dollars, two hundred and fifty dollars anyone?"
"YEP!"
"Two hundred and fifty dollars, two hundred and fifty dollars, is anyone willing to bid two hundred and seventy-five dollars, two hundred and seventy-five dollars anyone?"
With no one else placing a higher bid, the auctioneer pointed his finger before asking, "Two hundred and fifty dollars once, twice, this is the last time, is there anyone else? Alright, two hundred and fifty dollars, this gentleman has won the bid!"
A Hispanic man nodded his head before going up with a lock. For the next 24 hours, that storage and everything in it would be his.
And just like that, unit 203 and 204 were both sold like that. The first was sold for $300, while the second was sold for $125, neither looked to worth more.
When it came to unit 205, through the cracks, Li Du saw the box with the massage chair in it.
He pretended to look around a bit before turning around and saying, "Mr. Fox, buy this one!"
Hans acted as nothing had happened, but no one noticed the serious tone of his voice, "How certain are you?"
Li Du nodded his head, "I've got 50% certainty."
"You are this certain? Alright, leave it to me," Hans happily replied.
It was already one in the afternoon. Both hadn't eaten anything yet, and they'd only drank a bit of water. However, everyone was like that as well, the tiredness could clearly be seen on their face. The competition had also somewhat calmed down.
On the other hand, the auctioneer could rest in the middle. In fact, he could sometime even take a half hour nap, so the old man still looked as refreshed as earlier.
"One hundred dollars, one hundred dollars is the starting price, is there anyone who's willing to bid one hundred and fifty dollars, one hundred and fifty dollars anyone…"
Hans raised his hand signaling his interest. The auctioneer pointed towards him, "One hundred and fifty dollars, one hundred and fifty is now the price. In that case, how about two hundred, two hundred dollars anyone?"
All of the other treasure hunters either had a frown on their face or were talking among themselves, completely ignoring the bidding. Either way, no one was willing to compete.
Li Du tried his best to keep his poker face. However, his heart was as turbulent as the stormy seas as he prayed to Jesus Christ that there was no competitor.
However, there was apparently someone else that noticed that box as a person raised the bid with a "Me!"
"Nice, it is now two hundred, two hundred dollars. Then how about two hundred and fifty, is there anyone who's willing to follow with two hundred and fifty dollars?"
"I'll follow!" Hans shook his head and shrugged as he replied, "At least I've got to buy something today, I'll bet with this storage then."
"Two hundred and fifty dollars, two hundred and fifty dollars is the bid, anyone who wants to bid three hundred, three hundred dollars anyone?" the auctioneer asked.
However, there was no one else who placed a higher bid. From the look of things in unit 205, this unit was even less valuable than the previous three storages, so just like what Hans said, buying this storage was indeed a bet.
After another quick round of questioning, seeing that there was no more bidder, the auctioneer pointed towards Hans, "Very good, unit 205 is now yours!"