222: Auction 1

As Yang Qi and Zhang Jun exchanged banter, the three of them entered the venue.

By then, the venue was already set up, and quite a few people had arrived, observing the exhibits in groups of three to five.

Yang Qi and the other two went directly to the dried goods section. The first thing that caught their eye was dried abalone. Their initial impression was its sheer size. He looked at the description on the sign next to it: a single dried abalone weighed 4-5 liang, making it a definite “double-head abalone.”

Yang Qi and Bai Xue exchanged glances, both knowing what the other was thinking. This abalone was about the same size as the one they caught last time at Endless Island.

Originally, the two had planned to go again midway, but they had to return early because they encountered a school of Large Yellow Croaker, so they didn't make it.

“Yang Qi, these Sea Cucumbers are quite large too.”

“Yes, they are quite large.”

Yang Qi also thought they were quite big. At this moment, he saw several vacuum-packed dried fish.

“Is this wild Large Yellow Croaker Xiang?”

Large Yellow Croaker Xiang is essentially Large Yellow Croaker prepared through processes like salting and sun-drying.

It is a traditional famous dish from Zhejiang, belonging to the Zhejiang cuisine family. It is divided into “Bai Xiang” (white Xiang) and “Lao Xiang” (old Xiang).

After being split along the back, salted, then rinsed and sun-dried, it is called “Bai Xiang” or “Dan Xiang” (lightly salted Xiang). If it is not rinsed before sun-drying, it is called “Lao Xiang.”

Because it is split along the back, its overall shape is round, the fish meat is pure white, moderately salty, and tastes incredibly delicious. It is also rich in nutrients, protein, and various trace elements.

Stewed with ginger or cooked into porridge, it has a very significant effect on nourishing Women after childbirth.

Large Yellow Croaker Xiang has medicinal values such as appetizing, clearing heat, promoting saliva, invigorating qi, promoting blood circulation, and diuresis.

The cooking methods are also diverse, including steaming, braising, pan-frying, and stewing.

Large Yellow Croaker Xiang originated in Zhejiang in the 1960s, a time when wild Large Yellow Croaker resources were abundant.

During the fishing season, local fishermen had a bountiful harvest of wild Large Yellow Croaker. Due to limitations in preservation and transportation, the fresh fish were processed into fish Xiang for storage, gradually becoming a local specialty industry.

After the wild Large Yellow Croaker resources gradually depleted, its value soared countless times.

Wild Large Yellow Croaker Xiang has practically disappeared from the lives of ordinary people.

The Large Yellow Croaker Xiang sold in markets nowadays is made from farmed Large Yellow Croaker, or even from similar-looking fish like Large Yellow Croaker substitutes.

The most eye-catching item in the dried goods section was still a box of dried wild Large Yellow Croaker maw.

Yang Qi looked at the description on the sign and learned that this box of dried goods weighed one catty and three liang.

It looked like there were only about ten fish maws in total, which indicated that the wild Large Yellow Croaker from which these maws were taken were very large individuals and extremely rare.

The sun-drying of fresh Large Yellow Croaker maw is highly technical; it's not that it's difficult to dry, but rather that skilled masters achieve a higher yield rate when drying.

From one catty of fresh fish maw, an experienced master can dry six liang or even more of dried fish maw.

However, someone with average skills might only be able to dry five liang or less of dried product.

Moving on, the two arrived at the chilled fresh section. Zhang Jun kept greeting people he knew along the way.

Yang Qi and the other didn't pay attention to him and began to admire the seafood. The exhibits here were clearly much richer.

They saw many rare and even some previously unseen seafood items, such as a 14-catty East Star Grouper, a 12-catty Mouse Grouper, and a 15-catty Large Yellow Croaker.

The most striking exhibits in the chilled fresh section were the nine Bluefin Tuna, each over 500 catties, caught by Yang Qi and Zhang Jun, as well as the two Yellowfin Tuna, each weighing nearly 300 catties.

Also, the six fattest Dogtooth Tuna they had caught.

Yang Qi saw the 17 “fat pigs” laid out in a row, practically occupying more than half of the chilled fresh section.

Yang Qi immediately felt a surge of pride, and Bai Xue also felt honored, tightening her grip on Yang Qi's hand almost imperceptibly.

Past these Tuna, was the live fresh section, with rows of fish tanks, arranged beautifully like an aquarium.

The variety here was even greater: Spiny Lobsters weighing over 2 catties, Giant Crabs over 4 catties, Giant San Dao fish around 4 catties, Yang Qi and Zhang Jun's Giant Green Wrasse over 20 catties, and so on.

There were also several live Abalone weighing around one catty, and Giant Conches the size of washbasins, weighing 9 catties.

Even though he and Bai Xue went fishing every few days and caught a lot of high-quality fish, they were still incredibly envious of the fish at the auction site.

Yang Qi also noticed some palm-sized ornamental fish, which indeed looked beautiful, but he felt they were just a couple of bites.

In the last large fish tank was Zhang Jun's Giant Grouper, weighing over 300 catties.

The crowd at the venue was also growing. Zhang Jun finally hurried over. They had learned from Chen Tianming about the fish they and Yang Qi were auctioning.

He had long wanted to see all the fish he was auctioning. After escaping the greetings of acquaintances, he rushed through the Tuna section and eagerly arrived in front of his Giant Grouper.

He grinned and said to the two:

“Hehehe, Yang Qi, Xiaoxue, help me take some photos.”

“Still taking photos? Didn’t we already take some?”

“Is this the same? Find an angle, try to get the banner in the background. Hurry up, what are you dawdling for?”

Zhang Jun was already impatient.

So the three returned the way they came, taking photos until they reached the Tuna before stopping.

They went to their seats and started admiring the photos they had just taken, picking out the good and handsome ones to post directly on their Moments.

Not long after, people gradually filled the nearby seats, and the auction began.

First, of course, was the unshakeable leader’s speech, a flurry of “crackling” remarks.

Yang Qi didn't even bother listening to those meaningless words. He held Bai Xue's fair and soft hand, pretending to tell her fortune.

This earned him repeated eye-rolls from Zhang Jun.

Yang Qi didn't know how much time had passed when he noticed that the venue occasionally became a bit noisier.

It turned out the auction had begun, and the two also shifted their attention to the auction.

The first item up for bid was the Giant Crab weighing about four catties. As an appetizer for the auction, it had to meet several conditions:

One was that it couldn't be too rare; it needed to be relatively popular.

Another was that it couldn't be too large, so the transaction amount would be moderate.

In essence, it was to warm up the crowd, to encourage more people to participate in the auction and set the atmosphere.

Otherwise, if the first item was a blockbuster, and the atmosphere wasn't right, many people wouldn't participate or wouldn't bid high.

In a serious case, it could even lead to the item not being sold.

Experienced auction houses usually prepare some such “atmosphere setters.”

And experienced auctioneers would, at opportune moments, release such items to liven up the atmosphere.

Finally, after a round of bidding, this Giant Crab, weighing over 4 catties, was bought by a Zhejiang boss for a high price of 2488 yuan.

That amounted to over 600 yuan per catty.