It's the day of the auction, and the narrator tells the audience that he's going to bid on a necklace that's made of "pristine ruby" from the "country of n" . This is the first time the narrator has ever been to such an auction, he tells us. He's about to start bidding on the necklace when he sees another item up for auction. This one is a "lovers cup" , made out of white jade. The narrator tells us that this is the "most important item" for auction today, and that it's worth two hundred million dollars.